Brown Sugar

Chapter Twelve.

"Why are you followin' me?" She asked, agitated, as she clutched onto her purse, looking around the area.

"We need to talk." Justin sighed.

"Talk? Oh, you want to talk to me now? I thought I was 'just a maid'." Beyoncé spat. Justin was unsure of how to respond. Beyoncé scoffed, shaking her head as she moved to go around him. However, he stopped her.

"Please, Beyoncé, I didn't mean it when I said that," Justin said genuinely.

"No, I think you did. And that's fine because I have nothing to say to you either." She could only take one last step before he matched her movement, holding her hands.

"Just hear me out," he whispered, taking a quick look at the people who passed them by, giving the two lingering stares. Beyoncé offered no response as she, too, looked at curious individuals who walked just a tad bit slower as they passed her and Justin.

"Listen; we cannot do this here with everyone watching." Beyoncé gave Justin an icy glare.

"We can go somewhere more private; just hear me out." He begged.

Beyoncé addressed him sharply, looking at him directly in the eye. "Justin, you're only gettin' two minutes; that's it." She brought her voice to a quiet hush.

"Fine." Justin nodded, finding that to be reasonable.

"Well, where is this 'more private' place? Because last time I checked, we were on a street corner." Beyoncé looked around.

Justin wasted no time as he pointed behind her towards a small passageway created by the outside walls of two neighboring stores. "Over there?"

Beyoncé quietly nodded as she followed Justin to the spot. He walked towards the end of the small alley so they could have privacy and not be seen from the sidewalk. He heard her already begin to tap her foot against the concrete impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest. The movement momentarily drew his attention to her bust before he heard her clear her throat.

Before finally speaking, Justin paused, giving his best effort to make his voice as soothing and apologetic as possible. "Beyoncé, I don't know where to start except to apologize. I was really out of line last week..in the study."

Beyoncé didn't break eye contact with Justin, though her foot stopped tapping. "If you expect me to stand here and tell you all is well, I'd be a liar." She spoke blatantly. He blinked in slight confusion, preparing a response, but she wasn't done."I heard your apology, and I'll say thank you for it."

"That's it?" Justin could hear his anger seep into his tone, becoming increasingly bitter. "I come here, I apologize, and this is how you're going to act?"

Beyoncé rolled her eyes, looking away momentarily before connecting with Justin's blue eyes again, her voice also taking on a new tone. "Justin, I know I'm just a maid, someone who works for you, but that doesn't give you a right to treat me the way you have!"

"I said I was sorry; what else do you want me to do!" He sighed.

Beyoncé shook her head as if she hadn't even heard him. "How dare you treat me like the dirt on your shoes, disrespecting me on every occasion you could these past weeks. And now, some weak apology is supposed to make me forget?" She was boiling inside.

"Wait, now you hold on a damn minute!" Justin nearly yelled, the hostility in his voice easily matching Beyoncé's.

"No, you listen to me for a minute!" Beyoncé snapped back. "I honestly don't know what your problem is, Justin. You walk around town, and women worship you, the men idle you." She shook her head."Yet you still feel a need to put other people down." She unfolded her arms as she shook her head. "Well, I won't be one of them. I'm not fixing to let you trample all over me one day and then want to change everything with a sorry excuse for an apology. I don't even know what caused all of this."