LIMITLESS

Chapter XIV

“So what did you think of her, hooyo?” Hakeem asked his mother. Rayan had just left their apartment after coming over for dinner the next night. This was their first time meeting and Hakeem believed that they had hit it off well.

“Do you want the truth?” she asked as she loaded the dishwasher.

“Of course.”

“I like her.” she shrugged. “She seems nice but I’m skeptical.”

“Skeptical of what?” he asked.

“I’m afraid that she’s not serious about this.” she explained. “She’s very young and I’m afraid this is all being rushed.”

“You got married when you were younger.” he replied.

“And you saw how that worked out.” she looked up at him. “I ended up a single teen mom.”

“This situation is different, hooyo.” he said. “I’m a good guy and she’s a good girl. Trust me, I questioned her a lot and gave her a lot of chances to back out. She’s serious about this.”

“If you say so.” his mother said. “I want to talk to her alone, though.”

“And you’ll get that chance before the wedding. I promise.” he said. “Please have an open mind about this.” he continued, suddenly more serious. “It’s very important to me that you two get along.”

“It’s important to me too.” his mother agreed. “We’ll make it work, don’t worry.” she assured him. Hakeem slightly smiled at his mother. He wanted to thank her but was interrupted by a phone call. He squinted at his phone as soon as he saw who was calling.

“I’ll be right back.” he told his mother, and exited the apartment. “Hello.” he said once he was finally in the hallway.

“Hey Hakeem.” Bayden, Hakeem’s ex replied.

“Why are you calling me?” he asked.

“I heard you’re getting married.”

“Who told you that?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about that. Is it true?”

“Yes it is. But it’s none of your business.”

“I can’t check up on an old friend?”

“That’s not your job.” he said, clearly frustrated. “We’ve been done for years. I’ve moved on and I’m happy. You should try and do the same.”

“You’re marrying a girl that’s barely out of high school, weirdo. Is that really what makes you happy?”

“She might be eighteen but she’s way more mature than you are. You’re a twenty-two year old hung up on an ex from high school. It’s pathetic.” he said angrily into the phone.

“That doesn’t hurt my feelings.” she laughed. “I don’t want you.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want you to know what you’re getting yourself into by marrying this girl.” That made Hakeem roll his eyes. Bayden always thought that she knew everything about everybody. She was an expert at gossiping and messing things up. He was over it, and quite frankly did not want anything to do with her anymore. He thought that she would have left him alone following her recent move to Canada to stay with her father. Yet she always found a way to immerse herself back into his life.

“Bye Bayden.” Hakeem sighed. “Don’t bother calling again.”

“See you at the wedding.” she replied smoothly. He could feel her smiling through the phone. He hung up and walked back inside.