As I made a right turn at the green light and drove along her block, I remembered that I wasn't even sure if she was home. Taking my eyes off the road for a split second, I reached over to the passenger side and grabbed my cell out of my purse. I held the phone in my right hand and flipped it open with my lips, keeping my other hand firmly on the steering wheel. Pressing the speed dial for Kelly, I hesitated to press the talk button until I finally decided against it. I'm just going to trust that she's home despite not having the confirmation. Besides I wanted my visit to be an unannounced ONE. I wanted her to feel as caught off guard as I was when I answered the phone. A smile crept along my face as I approached her house and spotted her car in the driveway as well as Michelle's parked NEXT to it. After parking my own car behind Michelle's, I sat in the driver's seat and stared at Kelly's front door.
The anger that I had built up to rage as Lazaro's unexpected phone call kept replaying itself in my mind. How could Kelly give so much of me to a complete stranger? Unbuckling my seat belt I hopped out of the car and made my way towards her front step. Although I had a key to her place my presence needed to be known and acknowledged. I balled up my fist and proceeded to furiously bang on her door which released some of the tension I had stored. I could hear Kelly shouting on the other side that she was coming and I smiled in content. I was glad that got her attention. Usually it took this girl forever and day to answer her door which was one of the primary reasons we all have access to each other's homes. I crossed my arms across my chest as the door swung open. I was greeted with a snarling Kelly.
"What the hell Beyoncé?!!” She asked with bulging eyes. “What you tryna do, break my shit down?!" Kelly yelled obviously pissed as she rubbed the outer part of it in a consoling kind of way.
I rolled my eyes ignoring her question and invited myself right in, breezing past her. I saw Michelle sitting by the kitchen counter sipping something from a brown mug and flipping through a magazine. I entered. She glanced up and I smiled.
"Oh it's just you Bey, I thought you was the police tryna bust in." She joked while turning her attention back to the magazine in her hand.
I smiled warmly at her and shook my head.
"Sorry bout that chelles." I replied.
"Okay first you disrespect my house and then you just gon' waltz yo' high yella ass on in without even answering my question? And what the hell you apologizing to Michelle for? That wasn't her damn door you just tried to knock the fuck over!!" Kelly yelled entering the kitchen soon after I did.
By now Michelle completely lost all interest in the ’10 ways to spice up YOUR bedroom’ article and looked at us with curiosity written all over her face. Turning around to address Ms. Kelly, I crossed my arms and cocked my eyebrow.
"Ummm Kelly? What did you do?" Michelle questioned sounding nervous for her physical being.
Kelly shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before resting her hands on her hips.
"The hell if I know." She answered with a stone face on, folding her arms as well in preparation for what's to come.
"You gave him my number?!!" I angrily asked, my index finger pressed in my chest.
Kelly's face softened as she flashed a guilty smile. Michelle on the other hand was still sitting there looking lost to the world.
"Him? Whose him?" Michelle asked stopping Kelly from answering my question.
I ignored Michelle's ignorance of the situation and kept my icy glare on Kelly who still had yet to answer. She stood there fiddling with her fingers with the nervousness of a child that did something bad. And who knew an ass whooping was in order. She kept her eyes glued to the floor now realizing why I was furious.
"Kelly!" I shouted recapturing her attention.
Kelly straightened up before releasing a heavy sigh and throwing her hands up.
"Damnit, yes ok! I did it." She admitted.
I bit down on my bottom lip as I took in a deep calming breath.
"What's the problem?" Kelly questioned oblivious to the fact that she was wrong.
"The problem?! The problem?!?! Kelly you gave out my information to a stranger!" I scolded, pointing my finger in her face.
"Can someone tell me what the hell I missed?" Michelle asked GETTING also frustrated.
Kelly swatted my finger out of her face.
"Calm down Beyoncé damn. It ain't that serious. He was feeling you like I said he was, he asked for it and I gave it to him that's all." She replied coldly. “You didn’t seem so mad about it the last time.” She glared back at me with a scowl.
I grabbed a hand full of my hair GETTING ready to go ballistic any moment now. I rubbed my forehead trying to think of what to say. “That…that was different.”
“How so Bey?” She tauntingly questioned. When I failed to answer she took that as a WIN and walked away. “Exactly.”
I turned around and grabbed her arm before she could pass by me. I swung her around to face me and she snatched out of my grasp.
"Look Kelly you can't just go around giving out my number to random guys without telling me. How the hell to you think I felt when he called?"
Unexpectedly, the corners of Kelly's mouth turned upward.
"So he called?" She asked in excitement dismissing my point.
"Kelly?!" I screamed.
She was going to drive me to an insane asylum. I was a ticking bomb just waiting to explode at that point.
"Somebody better tell me what the heck is going on up in HERE." Michelle demanded now standing up from her seat at the island.
"Michelle not now!!" I barked at her unintentionally.
God I was GETTING past the point of frustration. And Michelle wasn’t helping the situation either. She stood there with her mouth agape and a ‘who-the–fuck-you-talking-to?’ look on her face. Returning my attention back to Kelly, I stood there impatiently tapping my foot.
"Ok Beyoncé you are truly buggin' out." Kelly concluded before leaving the kitchen to head into the living room. I was right behind her. Hot on her tail.
I took hold of her once more, this time she didn’t try to pry away.
"How could you Kelly? After I told you..." I replied as hot tears left my eyes and rolled down my cheek.
Instead I plainly let go of her arm and looked up at the ceiling avoiding her look of concern and bit down hard on my lip. I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand before finding the courage to look at her. Kelly, with furrowed brows, frowned and pursed her lips together before attempting to comfort me. I shrugged her hand off my shoulders and looked away with new tears ready to fall.
"Damn Bey...I'm sorry ok? God I didn't think you would be this upset about a phone number." She replied with a hint of sarcasm.
I shook my head.
"And Shawn Kelly?"
I looked at her with sad and tearful eyes. She looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"What about him?" She asked.
"How could you tell him about Sha..." I clamped my hand over my mouth preventing myself from crying hysterically.
My heart swelled up with so many emotions as I turned my back to her. Michelle now understanding walked over to me with extended arms. Covering my face, I accepted her warm embrace as I continued to silently sob. We quietly rocked as she hushed my soft cries all while softly stroking my arms like a loving mother would.
"Kelly you told what's-his-face about Shawn?!" She asked sounding almost as shocked as I was when he: Lazaro hinted at it.
I dug my buried face out of Michelle's shoulders and looked at Kelly to hear her answer as well. Her eyes widened and her jaw slightly dropped. If anything, she looked the most surprised out of the THREE of us.
"No I didn't...no I...I would never.” The words fumbled out of her mouth as she desperately tried to catch them. “I know I may have crossed a line giving him YOUR number in the first place, but I would never go so far as tell him something that personal." She admitted now in tears herself.
Walking over to where both Michelle and I were, she took my hand into her’s.
"You don't ...you don't think I'd do that do you?" She asked through trembling lips.
I glanced up at Michelle who was also anticipating my answer. Breaking away from her hold, I held Kelly now being the ONE doing the consoling.
"No." I replied.
Now I know Kelly long enough to know when she's being truthful and I couldn't help but trust and believe what she said was the gospel truth. Tears were dried and nerves were settled. We all re-entered the kitchen and sat around the island.
"So if you didn't tell him then...how did he know?" I finally managed to ask the question that been nagging at my brain since Kelly's words left her lips.
"I honestly don't know the answer to that question." Kelly replied equally stumped.
The room fell into a deaf moment. It was not so much an awkward silence, but more of a trapped in thought kind.
"So the only purpose of YOUR visit was to interrogate me and make me feel like shit?" Kelly asked ending the ongoing quiet in the kitchen.
I smiled to myself as I thought of the initial reason in coming over and decided to keep that my own secret. Knowing these TWO, I would be laughed at into NEXT week for almost burning down my house trying to cook frozen fry chips. In response I nodded my head and left it at that.
"Some friend you are then." Kelly said, sucking her teeth.
"Yeah, some friend you are giving strangers my number too." I responded in heavy sarcasm, reminding Kelly of her wrong doing.
Michelle shook her head and clearly not wanting to argument to START up again. Kelly sucked her teeth.
"I said sorry already Bey dang!''
"I know and I forgive you." I replied taking her hand and giving it a friendly squeeze.
"So what happened when he called? I mean I know you were upset but you weren't were rude to him... were you?" She asked out of curiosity.
"Actually I told him to lose my number." I recalled.
She shook her head and frowned.
"What?" I asked.
They both kept quiet.
"What?!" I asked again.
"That's messed up. Why you gotta go and do that love huh?" Michelle replied imitating TI.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well I was mad." I answered trying to justify my rudeness.
"At the wrong person!” She scolded. “You took your anger out on the dude when Kelly's fast ass over HERE was the one you were really mad at." She pointed out as Kelly sat there rolling her eyes.
"Shut up." Kelly said.
I traced my fingers along the granite table top feeling a little bit bad for about TWO seconds. "But he was wrong too." I answered as my short guilt trip ended.
Kelly sat there still shaking her head at me.
"Well, I still...I think you should give him a chance." She rushed her statement.
Biting her lip she waited for my answer while I on the other hand was still trying to understand her. What part of ‘no’ was so hard for her to comprehend?
"So that's his name huh?" Michelle asked reminding me that she was still out of the loop.
I closed my eyes and sighed while rubbing my temples with my elbow rested on the table.
"Kelly." I whined not wanting to go through this shit again.
"Come on Beyoncé you promised you wou..."
I held my finger up interrupting her.
"Uh uh...no! I know what I promised and that was that I'd think about it." I replied finishing her sentence knowing exactly where she was going with that.
"And have you thought about it?" Michelle asked interjecting her unwanted two cents.
"Michelle, please not you too. You don't even know who we talking ‘bout." I reminded her.
"Of course I do. We talkin' about dude who called you." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Beyoncé what are you afraid of? I have a special feeling about this one. I mean Lazaro was obviously able to read something about you right? What if he's number THREE Bey?" Kelly questioned.
“Aha! So that’s his name!” Michelle interrupted. I shook my head as she continued, siding with Kelly. "Yeah Kelly's right. What if this Laz guy is possibly that third 'ONE'?"
I stood up and proceeded to leave the table.
"No. No there is definitely no possibility." I replied over my shoulders as I headed towards the front door.
"Wait, why not?" Kelly yelled while following me out with Michelle not too far behind.
Feeling fresh tears stinging my eyes, I turned to answer them.
"Because...I don't want there to be a number THREE. I was just fine with the second one." I said before exiting her house and entering my car leaving them where they stood with matching blank expressions.
I quickly got into my car and backed out of her driveway. I only made it a couple of blocks away before I stopped and cut off the engine. I rested my forehead against the steering wheel and closed my eyes. I stayed in that position for a while as I reflected on our conversation. Michelle's question floated around in my mind. Could he be?
My stomach growled. So much for having dinner.