You Before Me [dave east]

| twenty seven

Xiomara;

"So tell me about that cop again," Paris says as we walk down Rodeo Drive trying to see where we want to shop next. Paris still works for Mr. Winchester at the office and we've been friends ever since she became the new receptionist. She wasn't making that much money though so I had her for our shopping trip with my own black card.

"Girl, I already told you all there is to know. I was walking through Watts and a bitch wasn't tryna get robbed or nothing so he offered me a ride and I took it. It's a cop, Paris. Ain't nobody looking at him like that." I laugh at the thought.

"Well it was an off duty cop. You know damn well he wasn't helping you out just to serve 'the people of the city' or whatever bullshit. Yeah I see you attracting them white boys." She chuckles.

"Well I'm married so I definitely ain't worried about no cop."

"Was he cute though?"

I look at her like she's crazy. "Okay first of all I don't even be looking at niggas to see if they cute, let alone white boys. Once you married and in love, everybody else just ugly."

"Well okay! Sorry girl, my bad for asking." She chuckles, feigning defense. "Sometimes I forget one of us married. You really living your best life with Dave though, huh? I mean, look at all this. Shopping at Rodeo Drive, bitch?" She says in disbelief.

"I love him." I say. It wasn't about the material. "I don't care about all this extra stuff, believe me."

"Okay, I hear that. Well how you holding up after your friend and stuff?" She says, sounding hesitant to ask.

"His name was Deshawn." I accidentally snap, not meaning to sound so defensive. "Look, I'm coming to terms with it, okay?" I add, sighing as Deshawn crosses my mind. I was trying so hard not to think about him because it only made me want to mope around. He wouldn't have wanted that.

"Okay. It's fine. Just take your time, okay?" Paris tries to smile assuringly.

We walk inside Fendi and I start looking at purses and heels. While I'm admiring a pair, my phone makes a noise in my bag so I fish it out, seeing it's my abuelita who sent me a picture of Maya.

"She's adorable." I hear a deep voice say behind me. I turn swiftly on the back of my heels, furrowing my eyebrows at the familiar face and yet I couldn't put a finger on it.

"Excuse me?" I say rudely, switching off my phone since I didn't appreciate just anybody looking over my shoulder. Especially at pictures of my daughter.

The guy chuckles. "Damn, Zo. I must really be that easy to forget."

I narrow my eyes, looking closer until my eyebrows raise in realization. I frown, waking along the shoe stands on the wall looking at them with Matéo hot on my heels. "Sorry," I apologize reluctantly, not really sorry at all. "I didn't recognize you, you look different with a beard."

"Yeah but something tells me that's not the reason you couldn't recognize me, Zo. I mean c'mon, since high school? I even worked at your abuelita's restaurant. I must just not be rememberable enough." He says in amusement.

Yes. That's exactly it.

"We left things on a weird note the last time we bumped into each other. The gas station?" He says, trying to juggle my memory even though he didn't need to. I certainly didn't forget his weird little vibe at the gas station three years ago.