Page 18 of Whatever It Takes
“Saint save it. Answer my question? This is exactly why I don’t trust her around you. Do you see the comments? All of a sudden, you have all this chemistry with her after you ban me from coming to your sessions.”
“Bruh, you know why you’re not allowed at my sessions anymore. You’re trippin over her posting our progress. That’s her fucking job. What you being insecure for? That girl ain’t worried about me. She comes here, does her job, and goes home. Relax.”
“No Saint! This is fucking embarrassing. I had to turn my tags off. Bitches are asking me if I can fight!” She shouted. I sighed, running a hand across my face.
“Look, Mariah, I don’t know what you want me to do. You’re barely here. You ignore my messages. Shit, you barely even support me. So wassup? What we doin? Am I wasting my time?”
”Where is this coming from, Saint? You see the comments on that video, now you’re questioning our relationship?”
I sighed, tugging at my beard. “Mariah, this ain’t got shit to do with the video. I don’t think we should be having this conversation over the phone. I can come out there tonight so we can talk in person.”
The line fell silent before three beeps signaled the end of the call. I stared at the phone in disbelief. Instead of allowing her to ruin my night, I turned my attention back to the TV. We’d have this conversation when she returns from her trip.
There was no point in fighting for this relationship if I was the only one trying. It was funny how she’d been ignoring me ‘til she saw that post on social media. I wasn’t going to kiss her ass. If she didn’t want this anymore, neither did I.
“Girl,wear something comfortable. It’s just a game night.” I said, propping my phone up against my paper towel holder. I was on FaceTime with Chanel, discussing our plans for the night.
“I know, but his friends are ballers. I can’t just wear anything. What are you wearing?”
“Probably gonna wear that black bodysuit I got from the mall the other day with a cardigan or something.”
“Mmm. I’ll wear one of mySkimsoutfits. What time is Messiah coming to get the girls?”
My oven buzzed, indicating that it was preheated. I opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of my homemade cookie dough. I planned on bringing some to Saint’s house. I never go to anybody’s house empty-handed. “He already got them. You ain’t notice how quiet the house is?” I placed the cookies on a sheet tray before putting them in the oven.
“Look at you over there being Martha Stewart. I’m sure those aren’t the cookies he really wants.”
“You’re so stupid, that man is in a relationship, and I don’t fuck my patients. I could lose my job for that shit.”
“Wellllll, according toGossipInTheCove,wicked witch posted that she was single earlier today. Look.” I picked up my phone, watching as Chanel started sharing her screen. Mariah had posted a black screen with the word“single”in big, bold letters. The next slide was a video of her singing along to Ella Mai’s She Don’t.
“Still, I can’t fuck my patient girl. Mrs. Johnson would lose her old ass mind.” I rolled my eyes. Saint being single was news to me, but regardless of my attraction to him, I couldn’t act on it.
“Whatever. I’m about to get dressed and head over there.” Chanel said before ending the call.
Once the cookies were done, I put them on a wire rack to cool. I headed upstairs to my room to shower and get dressed. I moisturized my body with my favorite body glaze. I’d bought it from a small, black-owned brand. The black tank body suit fit my body like a glove. I threw a cute cropped jacket on and a pair of sneakers. I sprayed myself with a sweet, floral fragrance. It layered perfectly with my body glaze.
I looked in the mirror, admiring myself. I pushed my wand-curled hair over my shoulder and posed, snapping a few pictures to post later. I decided to keep it simple and only wear a cute lip combo instead of a full face of makeup. By the time I was coming down the steps, Chanel was walking through the door. She had a key to my home that she never hesitated to use.
She was dressed in a grey two-piece lounge set. Her hair was bone straight, parted down the middle. She had a pair of sandals on her feet. Her smooth chocolate skin glowed, and she looked good as hell.
“Let me pack up these cookies, and I’ll be ready,” I said, making my way into the kitchen. I put the cookies in a container and grabbed the bottle ofDon Julio Reposadofrom the freezer.
The front door swung open before I could ring the bell. Saint had two shot glasses in his hand. “Take a shot to enter.” He said, passing us the glasses. We gladly accepted them, immediately tossing them back.
I winced at the burn. “Shitttt. Here, I baked some cookies and bought a bottle. Saint, this is my best friend, Chanel. Chanel, this is Saint.”
He stepped aside, letting us in. “Wassup. Thanks, gorgeous. Everybody’s in the entertainment room. There’s food and drinks. Leave your phones in the box right there.” He pointed to a box sitting on an end table. We both put our phones in the box and followed him into the entertainment room. There were about 15 other people there. A few faces were familiar. Saint introduced us to everyone.
“Come sit over here!” Taryn said, gesturing to the space next to her on the sofa. She’s the fiancée of Rome, the wide receiver on the Jags. We’d become acquainted with each other after I worked with him last season. “Y’all look good!” She compliments, giving me a side hug.
“Thank you! I love your hair girl.” Chanel responded as we took a seat next to her. The men were seated at a table playing a game of spades.
“We’re already 3 shots in, y’all need to catch up. I’m Symone, by the way.” A gorgeous brown-skinned girl said. Her face was familiar, but I couldn’t figure out where I’d seen her.
Three shots turned into 5, and before we knew it, we were tipsy. The guys had moved from the table to the couches. We were in the middle of a drinking game calledNDA. Symone pulled a card from the deck and read it.
“Okay, Moo, sit in the middle of the group and let them ask you questions for a minute or take two shots.”
