Page 23 of Phase Two

“Fuck,” Carter sucked his teeth and walked toward his friend.

My heart pounded because the same way Carter would protect and ride for me, I knew he’d do it for his friend, and that was what he didn’t need to be doing. He had way too much to lose, but I knew certain things would never leave him no matter how far removed from the streets he was.

Carter and the security guard guided E toward the door. His jaw muscles were flexing and his nostrils expanding. E was visibly pissed. The woman and man that had been talking to E remained inside. The guy was frowning and having a heated moment with the woman. Curious what was going on, I stepped outside. Carter and E were a few feet away from the bar further down the sidewalk.

“Nigga, let that shit go!” Carter barked. “You said she broke up with you, so I don’t care if it was one day or one hour, you can’t be running up on her like that. Beefing over women isn’t what we do. Come on man, you gotta tighten up.”

“Man fuck that. All the time and money I spent on that broad. I just paid her fuckin’ car note last week.” I could tell by the slight slur in his words that E was drunk. Nothing paired worse with alcohol than a bruised ego and heart break.

“So, what you gonna tell her to do? Give the money back? Get in my car, bro. I’ll drive you home.”

“I can drive myself home.”

“Nah you can’t because you’ve clearly had too much to drink. Go sleep it off, and I’ll bring you back to get your car.”

“Nah, I’m good. I don’t need a babysitter. I knew that bitch had some shit with her though. I knew it,” E pointed a finger at Carter and wagged it. “I knew it.”

He turned and walked away leaving Carter staring after him.

“You good?” I rubbed his arm while he continued to stare after E.

“That nigga is so stubborn. He tries to act all hard but really, he loves Nicole. He’s just not fully ready to do right. And despite him not being ready to do right, he doesn’t want to accept her leaving.”

“That’s most men,” I shook my head, and he looked over at me. “I’m just saying,” I held my hands up in surrender. “I said most not all.”

“They probably think I ran out on the tab,” Carter sighed. “I’m going to pay it, and then we can leave unless you want to stay.”

“Nope. We can head out.”

“My place or yours?”

“Yours.”

I loved being with Carter but usually, he’d spend a night or two with me, then we’d skip a night. I’d spend a night or two with him then we’d skip two nights. It was too early for us to even consider living together, and we both still enjoyed our own space. I knew after this night, I’d stay home in my own house, and he would do the same for at least two nights. When we allowed ourselves the opportunity to miss one another when we did link up, it was always a real good time. I liked Carter a lot but unless something changed, I didn’t see us living together for at least a year if not more. At this stage in my life, I loved my space. Not having to share my bed, bathroom, closet, or all my time at home with someone else was great for me. I wasn’t pressed to ever have another live in boyfriend. Shit, I’d even consider having my own room in the house if I was married.

Back inside the bar, Jada and Yohana were being talked to death by an older guy in a white suit that resembled Mr. Brown. The woman that was obviously E’s ex walked over to us and gave me a small smile before addressing Carter.

“That guy is literally my co-worker. We’re hanging out in a group, and E is mad because I broke up with him. I broke up with him because he’s cheating. Yet, he’s in here acting an ass because he thinks I’m on a date. I’m willing to bet when I get home, he’ll be there. I don’t want to have to call the police on your boy, but he needs to leave me alone.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Nicole. What you and E have going on is your business. I tried to talk some sense into him but at the end of the day, E is going to do what he wants to do.”

“I know,” Nicole blew out an exasperated sigh. “He’s just real good at trying to change the narrative. I’m not sure if he tries to manipulate me simply because he’s older than me, but it’s annoying. Anyway, I won’t talk your head off. Bye.” She smiled at me once more and walked off.

“You want to go and check to make sure he’s good? She has every right to call the police if he starts bothering her, but I know you don’t want him going to jail.”

Carter released an annoyed huff as he pulled his wallet from his pocket and pulled out enough money to cover our food and drinks and the food and drinks Jada and Yohana had. I hugged them goodbye, and we left the bar.

“You think E needs a waiting to exhale moment? Maybe you and some of his other friends can get together and burn the things Nicole left at the house and talk about all the times you’ve been hurt while healing.”

Carter looked over at me with a frown. “Get the fuck outta here,” he chuckled.

“You and E are quite different, huh?” It was a general observation. For all I knew, Carter could be like E once I got to know him, but something told me, Carter was the levelheaded more mature one.

“What you mean?”

“As far as how you handle women. Just being mature, honest, intentional.”

“Maybe a little. E is just E,” Carter shrugged. “Sometimes, the right woman can make a man want to do better. Sometimes, no matter how right the woman is some men are just stuck in their ways. E isn’t a bad guy but at this point in life, we want different things I think.”