Page 14 of Phase Two

‘You’re doing too much’ I mumbled. “Go with the flow. Don’t read too much into it. Have fun.” I repeated those words to myself over and over again.

Dinner was over, and it was the part of the night that I dreaded. Carter walked me to the door and promised to call. Looking down at my watch I saw that it was almost ten. I’d be asleep soon, and I knew dreams of Carter would keep me occupied.

I

CHAPTER 6

CARTER

E shook his head at me as I finished lifting the weight. “I was there, bro. She’s fine as hell, and you haven’t cracked that?!”

“What part about thirty day fast don’t you understand. It’s already been almost two weeks. Let me do this,” It was my turn to shake my head.

“Fine. Get blue balls. What if she dies in thirty days, and you never get to sample that?”

“Is that all you think about? You act like a horny teenager.”

“Nigga what?” E asked. “You bugging for real. My dick still works, and I’m going to use it every chance I get. That’s on you if you choose not to partake. I don’t judge you, so don’t judge me.”

When women spoke about little man syndrome, I always thought of E. He was my homie, and I loved him. I wasn’t sure if it was something he’d gone through or the fact that he was only like 5’8 but his logic when it came to women baffled me at times. The insecurities were loud.

“You’re absolutely judging right now. And you just said a whole lot of nothing. You somehow latch on to women that need saving. You swoop in and save the day, and they want to repay you with pussy.”

“Nigga, you don’t know me.” E kissed his teeth. A huge indicator that I was right.

My response was laughter. Nicole had told him she wasn’t sure if they should move in together, and that nigga lost it. He’d been cheating on her left and right because in his brain that was clearly the size of a pea, she must be cheating too.

“Nicole clearly doesn’t need saving because she wants to stay in her own place and pay her own bills. I wish I would keep helping her and paying my bills too, when all she has to do is move in with me,” he grumbled.

“What would happen if she let her place go, moved in with you, and then she found out you cheated?”

The frown that covered E’s face had me chuckling. “I guess she’d move out. What’s your point?”

“My point, nigga, is that maybe she’s trying to save herself some trouble. If you and her break up, she’s right back out there having to find a place and start over. I can’t blame her for not wanting to risk that. Maybe she’s waiting on a proposal before she moves in.”

“Why you always siding with the bitches? You sound like a pick me.”

“Please grow up,” I chuckled. “You’re the one that’s been out here crying and crashing out because Nicole doesn’t want to live with you. I was trying to help you find a solution to the problem.”

“It’s not a problem. She can keep doing her, and I’ll keep doing me.”

“That’s what it it then.”

E was hurt. His ego had taken a hit, and he was dealing with it by acting out. All he had to do was really sit down and talk to Nicole and see where her head was at. If he didn’t want to do that, that was his business. I wasn’t going to keep giving unsolicited advice. I placed the weight down and grabbed my phone.

“Fuck,” I groaned after reading the text message a woman named Sheree had sent me.

“What’s up?”

“I forgot all about that wedding I told Sheree I’d go to with her. It’s at the end of the month. She just asked me if we were still going. We haven’t talked in about three weeks.” I shook my head at myself. She’d asked me more than four months ago to attend her sister’s wedding in Golden Waters, North Carolina with her. I was usually pretty good about remembering things without having to write them down. This one had slipped my mind like a muhfucka.

“Why haven’t you talked?”

“I think she was trying to make me jealous. She kept dropping hints that she wanted a relationship but if I wasn’t ready to commit, she’d pursue other things. I told her she was free to do that, and she started dating some guy she works with. I hadn’t even thought about the wedding honestly, but if they’re still dating, I wonder why she doesn’t take him instead.”

“Because you’re the one she really wants. She’s settling for him because he wants her. And why doesn’t the relationship Guru want to be with Sheree?” E smirked.

“Far from a relationship Guru. I just have a little bit of common sense. And Sheree does too much. I’m very honest, and I don’t have anything to hide, but we’re not in a relationship. She actually got mad because she wanted to go through my phone, and I told her she was out of her rabid ass mind. The first time she came to my house, she was all in the bathroom cabinets looking to see if there was anything in them that belonged to a woman. That was her last time there too. I’m good on that.”