𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐫 || Completed

𝐒𝐢𝐱: 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐟𝐟

"Don't be over here short-changing yourself either" Ant called out once he caught up to them. Jaz sucked her teeth at him in response, waving him off. " I'm about to make it everything you look at" He picked up a tote she'd eyed, inspecting it. "You like this?"

"I got the black one," she said scanning a few more things on the wall.

He looked at the worker thinking it over. "You got the beige one here?"

"Why don't you go stand over there with Daff," Jazmine said frantically waving him off again. "You're acting like my dad"

"I don't think he likes me very much" he responded putting the bag back and nodding to the worker. The lady winked taking the hint and made a mental note to grab the beige tote from the back.

"He doesn't like himself", Jazmine rolled her eyes picking up a mustard-colored shoulder bag from the Adidas x Gucci collection. The worker went to the back to grab the tote and shoulder bag. "Is she going to get this?"

"Yeah you touched it" he chuckled as she checked the price. "Put it down" She side-eyed him, setting it back on display.

"You know you don't have to do this. Seeing you was enough"

"It's not enough for me" he responded nonchalantly. After that, he sat down in one of the seats nearby. His eyes scanned over her slowly. "Did you ever try to reach out?"

"I did," she said not looking at him. She picked up a monogram bag running her hand over it. When the worker reappeared from the back she quickly looked up at her, shaking her head. Ant contradicted her giving the lady a nod. "I won't even bother asking you, my number hasn't changed"

Her tone was sarcastic. Anthony folded his arms, sighing. He didn't want to say he lost it when he got a new phone, because she probably would have called bullshit. "Shit got crazy when my music started taking off"

"Of course" she fixed her eyes on a few more bags, then turned her attention to the shoe section. Anthony stood to his feet following behind her.

"I didn't forget about you"

"Right" she nodded tucking hair behind her ear. With all the excitement of seeing him, she didn't take much thought into how she'd felt when she tried to call him that day. If anything she wanted to block the memory out. Now that he was bringing it up some disappointment resurfaced.

"I'm serious, I just thought you wouldn't want to hear from me," he said, being honest. She just chuckled scanning over some sandals. "You didn't pay me any mind after he came around"

Jaz stopped in her tracks looking back at Anthony. "Don't do that. That had nothing to do with it"

"Sure"

"If I recall, you stopped talking to me," she said matter-of-factly. He pinched his lips up to the side of his face, looking at her with a stale expression.

"Either old age is fucking up your memory, or you just making shit up" he joked. Looking back at Daff, who had taken a seat focused on his phone, Ant decided to speak up. Something Alana had told him a few days ago made him curious. "Wassup with y'all anyways? Something feels off"

Jazmine hesitated at the question. She turned back to the shoes folding her arms. "He's been..."

"What?" Ant probed, watching her fidget.

"I think he's having a hard time. You give a kid a bunch of money and attention, it changes them a little" she was attempting to sugar coat it, but Ant wasn't buying it.

"Does it though? Did it change me?"

She glared back at him tickled. "Maybe a little. You're much more pushy than I remember"

"So what exactly changed?" he questioned, dismissing her snarky remark. "With him, not me"

Jaz shrugged, taking a moment to also glance at Daffyd.  She didn't want to incriminate him, but Anthony was somebody she'd spent her life trusting. She didn't want to lie to him either. She sulked for a moment, before reluctantly telling the truth. "He's been having a cheating problem"

Anthony's face twisted into an angry scowl. He turned towards Daff for just a split second, only for Jazmine to grab him by the sleeve.

"Don't," she started, before tugging at him. "We're working on it"

"Working on it? This nigga puffing his chest up at me and he the one cheating?" Ant couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "You gotta be joking"

"I don't have to energy for you to play Mr. Macho man with him. Just leave it alone" she sighed, irritated at the thought. "I never told him I knew you. He's probably feeling slighted"

"And you just let him slide for a couple of new bags, huh" his tone came off critical. To her, he'd started to sound like Diamond. "That's how you roll now?"

"Look, he's trying," she said once again coming to Daff's defense. Ant smacked his lips, blinking slowly.
She ignored his gaze, speaking to the woman as she approached. "Do you have this pair in a women's 7?"

"Grab her all the graphic pairs in women's 7" he cut in, taking note that Jazmine was pondering over them for a while. Before Jazmine could argue he asked her another question. "Is that what happened the night of your birthday?"

She quickly looked back at him, raising her eyebrows. "Who told you that?"

"Answer my question" he demanded, his face stern and unmoved. "Did it happen on Saturday?" Her lack of response spoke volumes. He laughed shaking his head, looking back at Daffyd and then to Jazmine. "Look if you want a football player that bad, I can find you another one"

"Is that what you think?" she asked, animosity filling each word. "That's how you see me now?"

"That's how you're acting Jaz. I ain't ever seen you let a nigga walk all over you like-"

"You don't know shit about him" she cut him off poking him in the chest. Then she froze. It was like a sudden realization had washed over her. She was dumb. "I- I'm sorry. I don't know..."

"Look, this ain't even my business. I'm sorry" he was in complete disbelief. As much as he wanted to be supportive, it was like he'd walked into the twilight zone. Either way, with the time they spent apart this wasn't his situation to speak on. Perhaps he was overstepping. "If that's the kind of nigga you want, that's your business"

She couldn't even look at him, she was so embarrassed. "I just want to give him a chance. That's all"

"If you gon' take him back, at least make the nigga sweat. I raised you better than that" he said trying to lighten the mood. She was staring down at her feet, feeling a sense of regret. "Hey," he called out lifting her chin. "If you love him, I get it. I know how it is, but I'm serious Jazmine. Make that nigga sweat"

The change in his tone made her feel more empowered. She looked over at Daff who was now staring in their direction. He had a weird look, knitting his eyebrows together. Probably at how close Ant's face was to hers. Not to mention his finger hooked under her chin.

Instincts we're telling her to swat his hand and back away. However, the situation from her birthday made it almost laughable. This man had spent lord knows how long returning her love and patience with infidelity; now he was huffing and puffing because he was unaware of her ties to Anthony?

That's when it dawned on her just how much fun she could have in these circumstances. Since it got under his skin that bad, why not use it to her advantage. She looked back up at Anthony and a devious grin spread across her lips. "Then help me"