SugarCOAT

6. Today is Not Tomorrow 🐦

I wanted to scream as I looked in my bathroom mirror. I had another pimple. Right there! Right on my jawline. It was big and painful, and I wanted to scream. Ugh! Did I mention that I wanted to scream? I rolled my eyes as I washed my face before I took a shower.

Once I was bedtime ready, I went to the kitchen for a nighttime snack. I debated between a bowl of cereal and a blueberry muffin. I seriously need to go grocery shopping. As my mind went on autopilot, I began to make a bowl of cereal. Before I knew it, I was eating a bowl of cereal.

After getting semi-full, I went to my bedroom and picked up my phone off the dresser. I laughed when I saw I had eight missed calls from my cousin. I called her as I got in bed.

She answered on the first incomplete ring. "You either at his house or trying to hide something from me. It's been 24 hours, and I need to know what happened on your date with Zeke."

I lightly laughed, "Hey, Monica! How are you, cousin? Oh, me? I'm fine."

"Ain't nothing funny over here, over there, or anywhere," she fussed.

"Okay... I'll stop laughing," I exhaled my last chuckle. "The date with Zeke was cool. I'll never forget it." I went into detail about the gondola date. Monica had me near tears with her oohs and aahs. Then, I hit her with the "until he started talking about going to Los Angeles, California with him."

"WHAT?!" Monica exclaimed. "Zeke bought you a plane ticket to live with him in California?"

"Monica, I didn't say all that. He asked me to go to California."

"To live with him, right? Get married and have twins?" Monica teased me.

I rolled my eyes. "No."

Monica chuckled, "I'm just playing, girl. So, what did you tell him?"

I blew air from my mouth as I peeled the remaining polish off my finger nails. "I told him that I would think about it."

"Jamie, what's wrong with you? Zeke is a celebrity! He's rich and giving you an opportunity."

I knew she would say that. "Monica, I don't know him well enough. He could be lying about trying to help me and just want to sleep with me."

"Did he say you had to pay him? Do you have to come out of pocket for anything?"

"No. He said he'd cover all my expenses and pay my rent until my lease is up."

"Cousin, I love you, but you actin' stupid."

"I am not stupid!" I told her.

Monica said, "You say you want to be a singer and a songwriter. You go to a talent show that's going to air on national TV, and instead of getting picked for the show, you get a phone number from the creator of the show who just-so-happens to be Zeke Rivers. That's like going to a Michael Jackson concert, and M.J. dedicates the moonwalk to you. That's like watching Michael Jordan play in-person, and M.J. throws the ball to you. That's like when you dropped out of college and didn't tell yo parents, and M.J. let you move back home - no rent for you."

I rolled my eyes, yet again. "I see what you're doing, but my mom's initials are not M.J."

"The M stands for mama, and the J stands for her name - Jackie. Back to my point. You faced your fears even though that could've been your last day here on earth. All I'm saying is that you only get one life. You can either take risks or be like Adam Sandler in the movie Click. Girl, that's my movie! I think I'm gonna watch that when I get off the phone with you."

"Are you done, Monica?" 

"Girl, yeah."

I cleared my throat. I opened my mouth to speak, but my thoughts were still running a marathon.