𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌'𝐒 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑

sᴇᴘᴛᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 20

sᴇᴘᴛᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 20, 2023

Ace walked into the warehouse where he worked in complete dread. It was 5 o'clock in the damn morning and the noise of the machinery was already pissing him off. He just hoped that the 10 hours would sped by.

"Alijah! My man!" Paul, the warehouse manager approached him with his arms wide. Ace mentally rolled his eyes and sarcastically smiled to the best of his abilities.

"Ace, Man. Not the government," he said, turning down the man's hug and motioned for a fist bump instead. "Ahhh. You Chicago boys play a lot of cards, huh?" Paul chuckled, thinking he was into something.

"Nah, Man. Just a childhood nickname," Ace with sort of a mug. Unintentionally. "Oh, okay, My man. Aye! Say hey to Jay-Z for me next time you go back to the Chi-Town!" he wheezed and slapped his knee.

"Paul, I'ma go to work, Man," he said with a blank stare. Georgia people don't take no damn hint, he thought to himself and walked to his station. And that nigga is from New York, he thought. That just blew his whole morning.

___

Ace and Trin walked through the grocery store for their monthly grocery shopping. Ace threw the stuff in the cart while Trin checked off the list, but all she would do is go after him and neatly align it with the other items.

He was lowkey starting to think she was either a little bit OCD or that she might be a control freak or something. Or maybe both.

Their apartment was always neatly organized and spotless. Her room back in Chicago was the same way, she just had a lot less space. She labeled the items in their fridge, in containers. Their pantry was very neatly stacked with their food. She cleaned up EVERYDAY without fail.

Her bed was always made if she wasn't laying in it. Her bathroom cabinets, perfection. She even got Ace's permission to go and clean his bathroom and his room.

He loved that she was neat, but it was like she couldn't let herself be untidy for a minute. But she never complained about anything being out of place, she would simply do it herself. She never wanted to feel like she was nagging or anything.

"Trin, you got OCD?" he asked. "No. Why?" she scrunched up her face while looking down at her phone and they walked to the next aisle. "Because you straighten up everything," he said. It wasn't a problem, he was just genuinely curious.

"I just want to see what we have in the cart. Am I annoying you with it?" she asked in a concerned way. "Of course not. I was just wondering," he said. "Okay," she said lowly. He looked at her to see that her face changed a bit.

"I didn't mean to make you self-conscious. I was just curious. Do your thing," he said. She nodded and looked at him for just a short second. "Can you go get cheese over there while I get the chips?" she asked him. "Okay," he said. "Make sure you get Kraft," she said. He nodded and walked away to get the milk.

Trin reached up to get the Skinny Pop Popcorn from the very top shelf, but she couldn't really reach it. She tried again and ended up getting the tip of the bag, but still not the full thing. She would just wait for Ace because she wasn't about to embarrass herself in that damn aisle.

An attractive guy nearby noticed the girl trying to reach it, so he was starting to make his way over when she stopped trying to get it. "I got that for you, Ma'am," the guy said. "N-no it's fi- nevermind," she said when he got the popcorn anyway. "Thank you," she flashed a small smile at him and looked down at her phone to check the item off of the list.

"No problem, no problem. You look so gorgeous today, if nobody told you," he said. Ace did, but she said, "Thank you so much." anyway. "Ain't no thing. What's your name?" he asked with his hand out for a handshake. "Triniti, you?" she asked, just out of politeness.

Ace approached the aisle and seen the two talking. His initial thought was not very positive. To him, he very much seen something more than it was. Then he saw them shake hands and she looked down at her phone. To him, she was definitely getting his number.

He couldn't stand to see much more, so he walked away until the encounter was over.

In all reality, she was looking down at the list, and they just exchanged names.

"So, Triniti, you tryna give a brother your number?" the guy asked. She learned that his name was Tye. "No, thanks. But thank you again for being so kind and getting my stuff for me," she politely declined his offer. "Oh okay. Nice meeting you," he said and started to walk away. She nodded.

Ace looked back into the asisle and saw her by herself, so he approached her and the cart again. This time with different attitude. He tossed the cheese in the cart and put his hand on it so they could start walking.

"What took you so long?" Trin chuckled and aligned the cheese with the other items in the cart. "Couldn't find it. We done yet?" he asked, his voice lace in annoyance. She was a little bit confused by the way he was acting, but she brushed it off because he hadn't had a good day.

"Yeah. That concludes the list, so we can go," she replied lowly. "Huh?" he exclaimed and turned around with a scrunched up face. "I-I said that concluded the list, so we can go," she repeated herself a little louder. "Okay then. Speak up," he said firmly.

"Sorry," she said with a heavy heart. Then, he realized what he had done to her. He made her sad with the way he spoke to her. He was having a bad day and saw what he saw (assuming the worst) and he took his anger out on her.

The two didn't speak for the rest of the time in the store, none on the ride home, and none when they carried the groceries in the house. And also none when they were putting away the groceries.

Triniti was really upset about what had happened, but she didn't want to speak first. She felt like they had been arguing way too much since they'd moved in together. She really wanted this to work up until they could part ways (but of course remain friends). So far, the living arrangement was working well, as they didn't have any problems financially.

It was their friendship that she felt like a strain had been put in place.

She wasn't upset to the point where she would cry, but it bothered her so badly. The tension in the room could be cut with a sheet of paper. Ace was always the one to talk first when something was bothering him, but he wouldn't today. He was just mad at the World.

"Alijah, did I do something wrong? Like was I annoying you in the store or something?" she broke the silence. She shocked herself when she did this. She vowed to herself that she would never give enough of a fuck about something to talk first. But he made her so vulnerable, and she couldn't fight her tongue.

"Trin, I'm not in the mood. I'm really not," he brushed her off. Her throat welled up and the back of her eyes were starting to sting. She rushed out of the kitchen and went to her room. She shut and locked the for behind herself.

She instantly got on her knees by her bed and fought back the tears that were going to come pouring down her face. "Lord, I am not going to let this bother me. This is going to blow over, but I just need my friend. He's all I have and I can't fall out with him. Just please bring whatever it is that is putting a strain on our relationship to light," she prayed.

Ace stood behind the door, hearing her very faint prayer. His heart fell heavy. He loved her and he was jealous.

What was putting their friendship in danger? Was it his jealousy? Was it her fear of loving someone? What was it?

It was their love...
___