Armoni POV:
I woke up to my alarm from my phone blasting in my ear, I hit the snooze button and rolled over. Since Jerome was all in my space, my face ended up dead in his chest. "Pookie scoot over." I mumbled as I nudged his body away from mine.
"Nigga you scoot over, I'm on the edge of the damn bed." He said smacking his lips. I lifted my head and noticed that I was all on his side of the bed and that he had little to no room.
"Sorry." I mumbled as I shifted my body so that he would have more room. As soon as I closed my eyes and started to drift back to sleep, my alarm was going off again. I huffed as I stared up at the ceiling.
"Gon' and get up before you late." Jerome mumbled.
"I don't wanna." I whined.
"Too bad." He chuckled.
"But I-"
"Girl if you don't get your ass up." Jerome said interrupting me. Since the boys won last night he didn't have practice so he could stay in the bed for a few more hours before he had to get up for his class.
"Fine." I huffed.
"I'll go fix you some breakfast while you get ready for work." He told me, making me raise my eyebrow. Jerome couldn't cook worth a damn but it was the thought that counts so I wasn't going to say anything.
"Aw, thank you babe." I cooed with a big smile on my face. "I'm surprised you're not hungover because you were definitely drunk last night." I laughed as I had a vision of him falling outside of the club.
"I am hungover." He scoffed. "My head hurting like a muthafucka right now. I was throwing up earlier, I'm surprised you didn't hear me."
"No I didn't hear you. Poor baby. You need me to get you anything?" I asked with a pout on my face as I rubbed his head.
"Nah Noonie, I'm straight." He replied.
"Okay, well imma go shower." I told him as I leaned over and kissed him before climbing out of the bed.
I went to my closet and picked out an outfit before heading to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth before putting on my shower cap and getting into the shower. I was in the shower for about twenty minutes as I cleaned myself up.
I wrapped a towel around my body and went back into my room. I sat on the bed with my phone to allow myself to air dry. After scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter I finally forced myself to get up and finish getting ready for the day.
I moisturized my skin and face before putting on a matching bra and panty set. You never know when it's going down so it's a must that I stay prepared. Jerome will never catch me in a pair of Granny panties. After I was dressed, I sat down to do my hair and makeup.
My ponytail still looked good from last night so I just touched up my edges before putting on some MAC powder, mascara, and lipstick. I almost decided against wearing makeup until I saw the scratches on my face that Brandy left.
"What's wrong?" I asked Jerome. I had come downstairs to eat breakfast before I left and Jerome was staring at me.
"I'm trying to figure out who you all dressed up for? You got a lil boyfriend at your office that I don't know about or something? It's that nigga that be bringing you coffee and shit, huh?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at me. I stared back at him, wondering where this was even coming from. I wasn't even that cute.
"No Jerome." I replied rolling my eyes at him.
"Well wh-"
"Because I wanted to. Sheesh." I said cutting him off. "You act like I'm not supposed to dress up for work. I do work in an office building." I reminded him, making him sigh.
"You right, I'm tripping. My bad for coming at you like that, I'm sorry bae." He apologized as he came over to me and kissed my forehead.
"It's okay Jerome." I mumbled, I couldn't help but to smile a little as he continued placing kisses all over my face. I noticed that he made sure to avoid kissing my lips because he didn't want lipstick on him. "Where's my breakfast?" I asked looking at the empty stove.
"Close your eyes." He told me.
"Oh Lord." I laughed as I sat down at the island before closing my eyes.
"Okay, open em up." He told me as I slowly opened my eyes. "Wala!" He grinned as he placed a big bowl of cereal, a banana, and a bottle of water in front of me. "How'd I do?" I appreciated Jerome for taking the time out to make sure that I was fed, even if it was just cereal. He had a hangover but yet he was still taking care of me. That's my baby.
"You did good baby." I giggled as I shook my head at him.
"Thank you, love." He smiled. "Imma go back upstairs and lay down until class. Have a good day Noonie." I leaned up and puckered my lips so he could kiss me. He looked down and eyed me before eventually pecking my lips.
"You too baby, feel better." I called to him as he left the kitchen and headed upstairs. I ate my breakfast and cleaned up the small mess in the kitchen before leaving the house. On my way to work, I picked up Aaliyah from Mama Jocelyn's house and took her to school.
***
"Aw babe, you're so sweet Jerome." I grinned as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed the side of his face repeatedly as he drove. I was just about to eat something light out of my snack drawer when I got a text from Jerome, telling me to come downstairs to the parking garage. He'd surprised me and picked me up from work on my lunch so he could take me out to eat.
"Anything for my Noonie." He said making me blush. I relaxed back in my seat and he laced my fingers with his as he continued driving us. He let me pick the restaurant and I wanted something quick and simple so I chose Chick Fil A since it was close to my office building. You can never go wrong with them. Good food and good service.
Once we got there, we only waited in line for a few moments before we were able to order our food. After placing our order, we went and sat next to each other at a small table at the back of the restaurant. "You so fucking greedy bae." Jerome laughed, shaking his head at me as he looked at the receipt. "Thirty six dollars for two people at a damn fast food place."
"Sorry." I mumbled with a pout on my face. I hate ordering food when I'm hungry because I'll end up ordering the whole damn menu. I'd gotten a spicy chicken deluxe combo with two slices of American cheese and fries, a twelve piece nugget combo with fries as well, a large fruit cup, a frosted lemonade and a fruit punch. I felt like a damn pig.
"And you better eat it all too." He joked as he kissed my cheek. After only waiting for a few minutes our food was brought to us. Jerome said the blessing and we dug in.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked him as I popped a chicken nugget into my mouth. He looked up from his sandwich and nodded his head before taking a bite. "Have you ... ever messed around with Brandy, or even given her an idea that you were interested in her, at all?" I asked him, bringing up the conversation that Brandy and I had yesterday. I wanted to hear it from him and I trusted him to tell me the truth.
"Nah, never." He said shaking his head as he took a sip of his drink. "But before I got serious with you I used to sell to her but we wasn't on no friendly type shit. She would just hit me up whenever she needed it and I would sell to her. She always seemed kinda off to me, that's why I never really fucked with her. She did try to suck my dick one time though." He explained to me.
"Hm." I mumbled. "And that's all?"
"Yeah that's it, besides the text messages she sent me, but I already told you about that shit." He shrugged. I was quiet as he continued to eat his food. I was trying my best to read him to see if he was lying or not.
"She told me something different yesterday." I said twisting my mouth to the side.
"Mm. What she say?" He asked.
"Well basically she was saying that you liked her before you met me and that I stole you from her." I informed him.
"First of all, she's not even my type, in looks or personality. Second, I wouldn't even put you in that type of position Noonie. I'll never put you in a place to look dumb or embarrassed by anybody. Third, I can't stand being in the room for a few minutes with that damn girl so how the fuck would I even deal with her in that way. I only tolerate her existence for you and Drea's sake." He explained. "She got some fucking nerve." He scoffed.
"I asked her if she had any proof or examples of y'all messing around and she didn't have any so I was just like whatever." I admitted to him before sighing.
"She's delusional as fuck. I don't even see how her and Andrea shared a womb. They're total opposites." He said shaking his head.
"I don't either." I admitted. "She wasn't always like this towards me. She was actually a really good friend and sister to me in the first year of our friendship. People change I guess."
"I'm sorry babe, you was a good friend to her so I'm sorry she did that shit to you. You don't need her broke, dusty ass anyway. You got me and Li. We're the only friends you need." He said making me laugh as I ate a waffle fry.
"Thank you baby." I smiled. We were silent for a while as we ate our food before I spoke up again. "Last night was interesting." I smirked.
"I was acting up or something?" He asked.
"First off, you literally dragged me out of the club because I was dancing with a girl and you accused me of trying to meet up with her in the bathroom so she could eat my pussy. Then when we got outside, you tripped over the curb and fell trying to get in the car. After we finally got home it took you like ten minutes to get up the stairs and when I finally got your drunk ass in bed you wouldn't shut up." I explained.
"Damn, I was annoying. My bad." He laughed.
"Annnnnnnd, you told me you loved me." I told him, trying to hide my smile.
"For real? I said that?" He asked with a look of shock on his face.
"Yeah, you did." I nodded as I watched his facial expression change from a look of shock to a frown.
"Damn. I take that back. I didn't mean that shit, I was just drunk. My bad." He said making me raise my eyebrow. "I gotta watch my liquor."
"Oh really? So that's how you really feel?" I asked him, looking at him long and hard. I was giving him an opportunity to clean up the big ass mess he made.
"Yeah, I was just drunk and talking out of my ass." He shrugged, making me nod my head. I remained silent the rest of lunch and I knew he could feel the attitude and tension radiating off of me but I didn't care, he had me fucked up.
"What's wrong with you?" Jerome asked me as he pulled into the parking garage of my office building.
"Nothing. Thanks for lunch." I snapped as I opened the door. Before I could get out of the car, Jerome grabbed my arm, preventing me from getting out. "Jerome let me go before I'm late to work." I huffed. I was already annoyed at him and he was making it worse on himself.
"Stop being so childish and just tell me what's wrong with you." He said smacking his lips.
"Stop being childish and let my arm go." I countered.
"You always tripping, man." He said smacking his lips.
"Okay." I said blankly. "And?"
"This is exactly why I don't do relationships." He said making me roll my eyes. "Females get to tripping out of nowhere. I don't have time for this shit bruh."
"Well then let my fucking arm go." I spat.
"You really get on my nerves with this shit. You on your period or something? I been extra nice to you all day and now all of a sudden you got an attitude." He said making me mug him.
"Let my arm go before I punch you." I said calmly.
"And what you gon' do when I punch your little ass back?" He chuckled. Him laughing in my face fired me up even more.
"Fight you! The fuck?" I said raising my voice a little. I was not scared of Jerome and if I had to square up with him, I would. My brother taught me to never back down from anybody trying to punk me. Jerome might whoop my ass but at least I wasn't going down without a fight.
He busted out laughing and that made me even angrier. "Jerome let my arm go before you piss me off. For real." I told him slowly. He continued to laugh and I finally got fed up and swung at him, punching him in his mouth. He released my arm and I got out of his car and slammed his door shut. I heard him yelling out of the car window to me but I ignored him and kept on walking to my destination.
"How the fuck do you tell somebody you love them and then just take it back?" I mumbled to myself as I walked back and forth in my office. "Maybe I'm overreacting." I sighed as I leaned my hip against my desk for a moment. "Hell naw, he was an asshole for acting like that and he got me fucked up! Bitch ass nigga! Hoe ass." I snapped as I began pacing back and forth again. "I should go and punch his rude ass again."
There was a knock on my door and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. "10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1." I mumbled with my eyes closed. "Come in." I called as I went and sat down at my desk.
"Hey can you- whoa, what the hell is wrong with you?" My Boss Erica asked as she came into my office and closed the door. Clearly my counting backwards and deep breaths didn't help because the anger was still written across my face.
"Nothing, I'm fine." I said shaking my head and laughing uneasily.
"No ma'am. Try that lying bullshit on somebody else." She scoffed as she gave me a knowing look, making me smile a little. Sometimes I love and hate that Erica knows me so well.
"Well last night Jerome and I went out and he ended up getting drunk." I explained to her, she nodded her head and I continued on with my story. "He told me that he loved me before we went to sleep. That was the first time he's ever mentioned love to me before."
"Awww." She cooed.
"Aw my ass." I scoffed.
"What's so bad about that?" She asked with a frown on her face.
"Just wait." I said rolling my eyes. "Today while we were at lunch I asked him about it and he was like well I take it back, I was just drunk, I didn't mean it." I explained to her, making her frown deepen. "He was being a real asshole about it."
"Well maybe he was just scared Mookie. You said it yourself that he's never really been in a committed relationship before." She suggested making me roll my eyes.
"Who's side are you on?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
"I'm just saying." She said throwing her hands up in surrender as she chuckled.
"It wasn't even the fact that he took it back, it was the way he said what he said. Like there's something wrong with loving me." I mumbled.
"Aw Mookie don't think like that. Like I said, he was probably just scared and he was caught off guard." She said reaching across my desk and rubbing my hand.
"I don't know, maybe I'm overreacting about it." I shrugged.
"I don't think you're overreacting Mook, you're entitled to the way you feel. What he said hurt your feelings, but you have to communicate that with him. He probably doesn't even realize he said anything wrong." She explained.
"He doesn't realize it and that's what pissed me off even more." I huffed.
"Well he isn't a mind reader Mookie. How's he supposed to know if you don't talk to him about it?" She said shaking her head at me. "Just try to talk to him about and he'll clear it up. Like I said, he was probably just caught off guard."
"I'll talk to him about it." I sighed.
"Good." She smiled as she patted my hand.
***
After leaving practice, I went grocery shopping for dinner to cook for tonight before coming home. I decided on something quick and easy to make. Spaghetti, green beans, salad, and garlic bread. When I got home, the only one home was Tatiyana. I tried calling Jerome but he didn't answer my call.
I took a quick shower and changed into a pair of running shorts and a Nike sports bra before starting on dinner. Halfway through cooking, Li and Jerome finally came home. "Hey Mama." Li said running into the kitchen.
"Hi baby. How was school?" I asked her. She hugged me and I wrapped an arm around her and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"It was good." She replied simply.
"Well, what'd you do today? Learn anything new? Get in trouble? What was for lunch? Tell me." I said making her laugh. I continued with making dinner as I listened to her tell me all about her day. Jerome sat at the island silently scrolling through his phone while Li helped me put dinner together.
"How was your day, Jerome?" I asked finally him, breaking the awkward silence and tension that was between us. Aaliyah and I kept the conversation flowing between us but Jerome just sat there ignoring both of us. I didn't want Li to know that we weren't in a good place so I tried to act as normal as possible.
"Straight." He replied simply.
"Daddy! Ask Mama how her day was, don't be rude." Aaliyah hissed at him, making me shake my head as I chuckled to myself.
"Well how about you ask ya Mama why the fuck she punched me?" He told her, making me roll my eyes at him.
"You punched Daddy?" Li gasped as she looked back and forth between Jerome and I with wide eyes. I took a deep breath to calm myself down to prevent myself from going off on Jerome in front of her.
"Li go upstairs and start on your homework. I'll call you down when dinner is ready." I told her. She looked like she wanted to protest but she did as I said without a word.
Once she was gone, I turned my attention to Jerome. "First of all don't cuss like that in front of her and don't bring her into our personal issues, she's a child and it has nothing to do with her." I told him
"I just asked her a question. I don't see what the big deal is. You just bitching for no reason like usual." He shrugged as he waved me off.
"You're being real childish right now." I said eyeing him.
"Whatever man. You flipped out on me for no fucking reason. I didn't do shit to you and you punched me in my damn face and slammed the door to my new car. Hell wrong with you?" He said mugging me.
"Okay Jerome." I said simply. I had it set in my mind before they even got home that I was going to talk to Jerome about what happened at lunch and apologize but fuck that. Him and his attitude had me fucked up. I wasn't about to kiss his ass and I didn't want to talk to him while I was still pissed because I was liable to punch his ass again.
I turned my back to Jerome and ignored the fuck out of his existence as I finished up dinner for us. I called Aaliyah down and made a plate for her and I before sitting at the table. Usually I make Jerome's plate for him too, but fuck him right now, he can make his own damn plate.
"Say the blessing Li." I instructed her. After she said grace over our food, we both began to eat our food. "You did good on the bread Li, it's good." I told her. Although all she did was take it out of the box, put it on the foil, and put it in the oven I still wanted to give her props.
"Thanks Mama." She grinned.
Once Jerome noticed that I wasn't going to make his plate for him, he smacked his lips and got up from his seat. He left the kitchen and moments later I heard the front door slam. "What's wrong with Daddy?" Li asked with a frown on her face.
He's a bitch.
"We're not really getting along right now so Daddy needed to get some space." I explained to her. Jerome basically already put her in our business so there was no need in hiding or lying to her. She had eyes so she could clearly see that something was going on with us. I'd rather just talk to her about it instead of having her wonder.
"Is that why you punched him?" She asked, making me sigh.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean that it was the right thing to do." I sighed.
"Daddy's a cry baby." She blurted out. I almost choked on my juice so I swallowed quickly and tried not to bust out laughing.
"That's not nice Li." I told her. Although she wasn't lying, I was not about to have Aaliyah thinking it was okay to bad mouth her father.
"It's true." She shrugged.
"Li." I warned.
"Sorry." She mumbled. We talked as we ate the rest of our dinner and cleaned up together before getting ready for bed. After showering and putting on our pajamas, we got in the bed with ice cream and watched The Cheetah Girls before falling asleep.
***
"Daddy stop!" I heard Aaliyah scream loudly as she laughed. I had been trying to study for an exam that I had tomorrow for the past hour but I wasn't having much success at all. Jerome and Aaliyah were having pillow and tickle fights and every time I would leave the room, they would end up following me.
After he left during dinner the other night, we didn't see or hear from him for three days. This morning his trifling ass popped back up during breakfast trying to act like everything was all good. Nigga no. I hadn't said much to him all day even though he's been trying to kiss my ass. I've been paying him dust.
I was currently in the bathtub of the downstairs bathroom trying to study. I had headphones in with the door closed and I could still hear their heavy footsteps, laughter, and yelling. I was frustrated because I really needed to study for this test. I needed to bring my grade up and this was my chance to do so. I didn't want to rain on Aaliyah and Jerome's parade so I decided on going to the school library to study so I could get some peace and quiet.
After throwing on a hoodie and slipping on a pair of shoes, I grabbed everything I needed and jogged downstairs. "Where you going like that? You about to go work out or something?" Jerome asked me, noticing me heading for the front door.
Since when did he have the right to question my whereabouts and intentions when he likes to disappear for days at a time. "No, I'm going to the library." I finally answered after debating with myself about whether to give him a smart ass answer or not.
"Why? Something wrong with your laptop? You can use mine." He offered.
"No my laptop is fine, I'm just gonna go study for a test." I replied.
"Why you can't study here?" He asked me with a frown on his face.
Because y'all are loud as hell and disruptive as fuck. "I just don't wanna get distracted, I really need an A on this exam." I responded simply.
"Oh okay, well good luck and be safe." He told me as he came and kissed me.
"I will." I replied simply as I moved my neck so that his kiss would land on my cheek instead of my lips. I was still upset with Jerome for what he said and pulling another disappearing act. He was really working my damn nerves by acting like nothing happened. "Come here Li, I'm leaving." I called to her.
I heard her footsteps patting the ground as she ran into the living room. "Bye Mama." She said running up to me and giving me a hug.
"Bye baby, be good. I'll see you later." I left the apartment and drove the short distance to the on campus library. I frowned once I noticed there were only a few cars in the parking lot. It was nine o'clock and the library didn't close until one in the morning.
I grabbed my backpack from the backseat of my car and made my way to the front steps of the library to see a note posted on the large double doors.
Closed for maintenance.
I rolled my eyes and sighed as I turned around and slowly walked back to my car. The school could've at least sent out an email or an alert notifying us that the library would be closed. I wasted my damn time, energy and gas coming up here for nothing.
I decided to try and study at Starbucks rather than studying in my car. At least I would be able to get a drink. Once I got to Starbucks, I ordered a drink and immediately focused my attention on the big text book and binder full of notes in front of me. I was in the process of making note cards when this loud ass group of individuals came in disrupting my peace.
They were a group of six people, three white girls, two white boys, and a black guy. I put my headphones in and blasted my music in an attempt to block out their noise but it failed. I could still hear their corny jokes and obnoxious laughs over the music.
"My mom's a bitch! I hate her so much."
"What'd she do this time?"
"Her fat ass wouldn't buy me cigarettes."
"I thought you were trying to quit."
"I was but fuck that shit. The point is, I asked her whale looking ass to do something and she didn't do it. Fuck her."
The whole group erupted into laughter and I was starting to get fed up. They were being loud but it was their wack ass conversations that was pissing me off the most. I will never understand how a person could fix their mouth to disrespect the person that gave birth to them and brought them into this world.
I tried to just ignore them but it seemed like they were getting louder and louder as more time went by. I looked up and noticed that the other customers that were in here and the baristas looked bothered by the noise as well.
"Can we help you?" One of the girls at the table asked me, as I approached their table.
"Hi, I'm trying to study for a test that I have in the morning but y'all are kinda being loud and it's hard for me to concentrate." I said being as nice as I possibly could about the situation. They were all silent as they looked at me.
"Okay ... so what do you want us to do about it?" The girl asked turning her nose up at me.
Shut the fuck up.
"Maybe be a little quieter and be a little more respectful of everybody else in here." I told her as I tried to keep myself calm.
"Oh, we're sorry." One of the guys spoke up.
"Yeah, we'll keep it down. Our bad." The girl beside him smiled as she nodded her head at me.
"No, fuck her. This is a public place we can be as loud as we fucking want." The girl that was cuddled up with the black guy said.
"Um, excuse me?" I scoffed as I raised my eyebrow and squinted my eyes at her to make sure that I heard her correctly.
"You heard me. Take your ass home if you want it to be quiet." She said with an attitude.
"Megan, oh my God. Why are you being so rude?" Another one of the girls gasped as she hit her arm.
"Don't worry. Megan is about to get her ass beat." I chuckled as I used the ponytail holder on my wrist to tie up my hair.
"Hey Mookie, what's up?" I heard somebody say from behind him. I briefly turned around to see Tray walking up behind me with a drink in his hand.
"Hi Tray." I said simply before turning around and focusing back on Megan. Nothing was about to stop or distract me for dishing out this ass whooping that I was about to give. "I'm not about to let you talk to me like you're crazy so do you wanna fight or what?" I asked simply. Anybody that knows me, knows that I don't let anybody disrespect me.
"You black bitches are so fucking ghetto. What is fighting me gonna solve?" She asked as she rolled her eyes at me and flipped her hair over her shoulder. She had the nerve to call me black but yet she was all up on a nigga that was darker than midnight. Nigga looked like he had been bathing in tar his whole life.
"I don't know Mayonnaise, come outside and find out." I shrugged with a small smirk on my face. I couldn't wait to bruise her pretty ass up and have her leaking blood.
"For what?" She scoffed.
"You can either come outside willingly or I'll drag your pale ass out there myself." I told her matter of factly.
"Mookie chill, come on let's get you home." Tray said gently grabbing my arm and trying to lead me away from their table. I snatched my arm out of his grasp and walked to Megan's side of the table. "Mookie for real, don't do this bruh. Whatever it is ain't worth it." He sighed.
I thought back to the conversation Jerome and I had about me fighting and sighed. Although I was beyond pissed, this situation wasn't worth me getting into trouble for. Megan's bitch ass looked like the type of bitch to press charges and I wasn't trying to have my livelihood ruined because of her.
I stared at Megan long and hard before I finally decided to just walk away. "You should thank him, he just saved your transparent ass from getting beat the fuck up."
"Whatever. You weren't gonna do shit." She scoffed as she rolled her eyes. I stepped to her like I was gonna hit her and she flinched hard as hell making me laugh.
"I'll be seeing you around Megan." I smirked.
"Crazy ass. Come on." Tray said shaking his head as I put all my things into my backpack and followed him out the door. "What was that all about?" He asked as he walked me to my car. I explained everything from start to finish to him. "Damn. Maybe I should've let you beat Megan's ass."
"Exactly. You don't know how hard it was for me to walk away just now." I sighed.
"I believe it, I'm proud of you." He laughed as he tried to hi five me.
"Whatever." I mumbled as I rolled my eyes.
"You can come to my place if you still need a place to study. My spot not too far from here." He suggested. I twisted my mouth to the side as I thought about it.
Jerome and I were still a upset with each other from our last argument and I was honestly trying to keep distance between us to prevent any friction between us. But at the same time I didn't want to be disrespectful to Jerome or to our relationship by going over to Tray's house. "I'll even help you study, I ain't got nothing else to do." He added making me smile as I weighed my options.
"Okay." I finally agreed.
"You wanna follow me or ride with me and I'll drop you back off to your car later?" He asked.
"I'll ride with you. Gas is too damn high." I said making him laugh. I followed him to his car and he opened the door for me, making me smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, love." He replied simply.
The drive to his apartment complex was less than ten minutes but it had managed to start pouring down rain by the time we got there. "I don't have no umbrella but you can use this. Here." He said taking his shirt off and passing it to me. I put it over my head to protect my hair as best as I could. "You better make a run for it, I'll get your bag and stuff." He told me.
"Thank you." I told him. I got out of the car and took off running until I was under the protection of the awning. Although I was only in the rain for a few seconds, it was coming down so hard and fast that I was soaking wet. Tray met up with me and led me to his apartment.
Since we came in through the side door, we walked through the kitchen to get to the living room. "It's nice in here." I told him as I looked around the living room.
"Thank ya." He mumbled. "Come here so you can get out them wet clothes." I followed him up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom.
"Your bed is huge." I said
"Yeah. I sleep kinda wild so I need my space." He explained as he went through the drawers looking for something that I could wear.
"Same." I laughed.
"Shorts or sweats?" He asked me.
"Sweats." I answered.
"You can change in the bathroom and I'll put your wet clothes in the dryer." He offered as he handed me a shirt and a pair of sweat pants.
"I know this is weird but I feel kinda gross. Do you mind if I take a shower?"
"Nah. Go ahead, I'll get you some towels." He said leaving the room. While waiting for him to come back, I decided to text Jerome to let him know where I was. Unlike him, I wasn't in to disappearing acts.
The library was closed and Starbucks was too loud so I'm studying at Tray's. Don't wait up.
After getting towels from Tray, I went into the bathroom and showered. I dried off before putting on the shirt and sweats he gave me. As expected they were big as hell and falling off of me. I rolled the waist band and tied the shirt to make them stay on my body. I didn't have on a bra or panties since they were both soaking wet. I just hoped my nipples would cooperate and not poke through this shirt no matter how cold I was.
I went downstairs to find Tray so he could dry my clothes for me. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll be back. I got snacks and shit in the pantry and drinks in the fridge if you're hungry or whatever."
"Okay, thank you." I smiled as I made my way to his kitchen. I was definitely not about to turn down some free food. I walked into his pantry and my eyes lit up at the sight of a family sized bag of Hot Funyuns and a box of Gushers. I grabbed them and a gatorade from the fridge.
"Alright, what we studying?" He asked me as he came and sat next to me. I looked away from him as I tried not to acknowledge how good he looked. He had on a pair of black basketball shorts and a white muscle shirt that was showcasing his muscular arms and chest.
"Marriage and Family. I made flash cards so you can just quiz me." I told him as I handed him the stack of color coded index cards.
"You cold?" He asked, noticing the chill bumps on my arms. I nodded my head and he shook his head at me before leaving the room. He returned with a blanket and a pair of socks.
"I hope you don't have no feet fungus." I joked as I scrunched up my face.
"Give me my damn socks back." He said smacking his lips as he reached for the socks. I couldn't help but to watch his heavily tattooed arms flex as he moved.
"Noooo, I'm sorry." I laughed as I put them on. I wrapped myself in the warm blanket and got comfortable on the couch. "Okay I'm ready for the first question." I told him.
"True or false ...."
I honestly wasn't expecting for Tray to be as attentive and interested in my school work as he was. I was surprised that he was helping me study for my test as much as he was. He quizzed me for a good hour and a half before I begged him to let me take a break.
"Whenever you're ready to go let me know." Tray told me as he leaned back into the couch and propped his feet up on the glass coffee table. His arm was thrown over his face but I could tell his eyes were closed.
"You can go to sleep if you want. I'll just keep studying and I'll wake you up when I'm ready to go." I told him.
"Your eyes dropping and you been yawning all night. How about we both take a lil nap." He suggested, making me laugh.
"Okay. Just an hour." I agreed.
"Alright, I'll set my alarm." He said.
I curled up and rested my head on the arm of the couch as Tray stretched out. After the hour nap, I was more tired after the nap than I was before. Not to mention it was still raining. Tray agreed just to take me to my car early in the morning since it was still raining and I didn't feel like getting up. I was exhausted so I didn't mind taking my ass back to sleep.
"Mookie get up! What time is your test?" Tray said shaking me awake.
"9:35." I mumbled as I snuggled deeper into the covers.
"Shit! Get up it's 9:12."
"Fuck!" I yelled as I jumped up off the couch. My feet got tangled up in the blankets and I ended up busting my ass. "Shut up and help me, it's not funny." I said smacking my lips as Tray laughed at me.
"Come man, goofy ass." He chuckled as he helped me up.
"Do you have an extra toothbrush I can borrow or something?" I asked him as I ran up the stairs to get to his bathroom.
"Damn. Nah, I don't." He mumbled.
"Tray!" I said smacking my lips.
"You can use mine." He shrugged.
"Ew no. I'll just use a washcloth." I told him as I used my fingers to comb through my hair to make a presentable bun. Tray returned with two wash cloths for me, one for my teeth and one for my face. After cleaning myself up to the best of my ability in the short amount of time I had, I rushed down to the living room and stuffed my feet into my shoes.
"Here." Tray said passing me a package of Pop Tarts and a bottle of water. I thanked him before grabbing my bag and following him out the door.
"Shit." I mumbled to myself as I strapped my seatbelt across my chest.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing." I mumbled. I didn't want to tell him that I ran out of the house without a bra or panties on. I was just thankful that this shirt was big but I prayed these big ass sweats wouldn't fall off me.
"Straight to school or to your car?" Tray asked me.
"Can you just take me straight to school and I'll get my car later? I can't miss this test." I told him as I tried turning my phone on. The apple logo only showed, meaning my phone was dead. Explaining why my alarm didn't go off this morning or a call from Jerome last night.
"Don't worry about your car. Just give me your keys and it'll be parked outside by the time that you're done with your test." He told me. I scarfed down my Pop Tarts as fast as I could since the drive to campus wouldn't take that long.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Yes. Just give me the keys, man." He said smacking his lips.
"Aw, you love me. Thank you Tray." I smiled.
"Yeah, yeah." He said waving me off. We pulled onto campus and as usual there was a lot of traffic coming and going so people could get to their classes.
"What time is it?" I asked him. He passed his phone to me and I clicked the home button to check the time. My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when I read 9:32. "Shit! Imma be late." I whined as I looked at the cars backed up. My class was across campus and it was on the third floor. There was no way in hell that I would make it on time.
"Well-"
"I gotta go! Thanks for everything." I told Tray as I leaned over to hug him quickly and grab my bag.
"Wait!" Tray yelled as I was climbing out of his car. He handed me his phone charger. "Call me when you're done with your test."
"I will, thanks again Tray." As soon as I got out of his car I took off running in the direction of my building and didn't stop. After running across campus and up three flights of stairs, I was out of breath.
I sighed in relief when I ran around the corner and saw that the door to my classroom was still open. I walked quickly and managed to slide in just as my professor was about to close the door. "Good to see you Ms. Jones, glad you could make it." She told me as I made my way to my seat.
Professor Terrell was one of my favorites, she made class interesting and the material relatable. We didn't have any class work or homework assignments due, we had four tests and an essay as our grade. Which was why it was so important for me not to miss this test.
"Thank you." I smiled as I sat down and got a pencil and scantron out of my backpack. I sat by the wall and there was a plug beside me so I plugged up my phone. I caught my breath as she explained the test to us while she passed them out.
I breezed through my test and was done in no time. Studying with Tray really did help me out, I was confident that I did well. I turned my test in and grabbed my things before leaving out of the classroom.
I turned on my phone and as soon as it was on my phone was blowing up with messages and missed calls. The majority of them were from Jerome. I scrolled passed them and went to Tray's to find out where my car was.
"You done already?" Tray asked as soon as he answered my call.
"Yeah, it was only fifty questions." I replied as I shrugged my shoulders.
"Alright well sit tight. I'll be there in a minute." He told me.
"Okay, just text when you get here." I told him as I sat down on one of the benches in the hallway. I put my headphones in and decided to read through the plethora of messages Jerome sent me last night.
The library was closed and Starbucks was too loud so I'm studying at Tray's. Don't wait up.
Pookie 😩😍: wtf
Pookie😩😍: don't play with me
Pookie😩😍: no u not
Pookie😩😍: bring ya ass home now
Pookie😩😍: if u go over there u single
Pookie😩😍: Istg
Pookie😩😍: answer ya damn phone
Pookie😩😍: not playing with u Mookie
Pookie😩😍: oh so now u cut ur phone off???
Pookie😩😍: k
Pookie😩😍:👌🏽
Pookie😩😍: u really got me fucked up
Pookie😩😍: u better pray I don't break ya fucking neck the next time I see u
Pookie😩😍: fuck u bruh
Pookie😩😍: bitch u don't got shit to say to me omm
Tatiyana💕: bish you better get home quick! Rome is pissed 😔
Tatiyana💕: hellooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tatiyana💕: Mookie wya?
Tatiyana💕: are u okay?
Tatiyana💕: nigga text me back
Tatiyana💕: okay bish ... now u got me worried 😒
Andrea🖤: nigga are u okay?
Andrea🖤:Everybody else stressing cause u not texting back ... but I'm chilling cause I know the real 👀😎😂😂
Andrea🖤: GET THAT DICK GIRL 🙌🏽
Mike😌: wya
Mike😌: can u come home so Jerome can get out my damn ear 😒
Mike😌: u ok?
Mamaaaaaaa👑🎀: Are you okay? Jerome said you didn't come home. Call me.
Dad🤞🏽🤗: r u ok baby girl? Love u
I smacked my lips as I read through all of the messages from last night. Jerome is childish and petty as fuck. He knew where I was going and who I was with, but yet he got all these people looking for me as if he didn't know what was going on.
If he was that concerned about my safety, he would've come knocking on Tray's door. He knows where he lives but yet he did all this shit just to be petty. On top of that he called me a bitch and was talking mad shit to me like he didn't disappear for three days. He better take his trifling ass on.
I took a screenshot of the message thread between Jerome and I, making sure to get the threats and him calling me out of my name. I was real tempted to send them to Emanuel.
Before I could send the message, I got a text from Tray, letting me know that he was parked outside. I grabbed my bag and made my way outside to see him parked in a no parking zone with music blasting. I shook my head at him as I quickly made my way to the car.
"Aye Mookie!" I heard somebody yell to me. I turned around to see that it was Stephon, one of Jerome and Mike's teammates jogging toward me.
"Hey. Wassup?" I asked, once he approached me. He had a slight mug on his face and he was trying hella hard to see who was in my car but the windows were tinted.
"We got a problem?" Tray asked rolling the window down and leaning over the console.
"No we don't." I replied simply. I knew what Tray was about and I wasn't trying to have an altercation on campus.
"Do my nigga Jerome know you got this nigga driving your car? And do you got on this nigga clothes, too? Aw hell naw!" He said getting loud with me. He had a look of disgust on his face as he shook his head. "I knew you was too damn pretty to be stuck with Jerome ass."
"Do ya baby mama know you was fucking Professor Dixon and made her get an abortion when you found out that she was pregnant?" I asked cocking my head to the side. His facial expression spoke everything that his mouth couldn't. "You mind your business and I'll mind mine. Bye Steph." I hold him as I got in the car.
"Bye Steph!" Tray yelled out the window as he waved and honked the horn.
"Childish." I chuckled as I put on my seatbelt. I took the time to respond to all of the messages and let everybody know that I was okay.
"I'm hungry as shit. You wanna go get some breakfast?" He asked me as he pulled into the Starbucks parking lot where his car was parked. I was hungry as hell and those pop tarts that I inhaled earlier were long gone.
"Can we go a little later? I wanna go home and shower first." I told him as we both got out of my car. I walked around to the driver's side and got in.
"Yeah. Just text me when you're ready and I'll meet you." He nodded.
"Okay, see you later." I agreed as he shut my car door for me and walked to his. I waited until his car was cranked up before driving to my apartment complex.
I rolled my eyes when I noticed that Jerome's car was parked, meaning he was home. I should've just took my ass to breakfast with Tray just like this to avoid Jerome some more. I was moving in slow motion because I did not feel like dealing with Jerome. I dragged myself up the steps and unlocked the front door with my key.
I walked through the living room and up the stairs. I saw Jerome on the balcony smoking and I walked by him and closed the door once I got to my room. I turned on the light and my face scrunched up when I noticed the majority of my stuff was in boxes and trash bags.