him.â
âThatâs all well and good, Derrick, but he stayed out all night long again and I could care less if he was sleeping at your house or in an alley somewhere. Jaquon should have came home.â
âKeaââ Derrick called out, but I continued to take my frustration out on him.
âIâm tired of his crap. He likeâs sleeping over there so much, then maybe he should move over there permanently.â
âI know he needs to get himself together,â he said before I cut him off again.
âWhy are you calling for him anyway? Why couldnât he be man enough to call me himself? Is he trying to get a feel on the type of mood Iâm in? Well, you can tell him Iâm pissed the hell off.â
âI just called to tell you he was on his way home. I donât know why he didnât call you himself. He told me to give you a ring, so I did.â
âWell, thank you for calling me, Derrick.â
âAnytime. And Kea?â
âYes, Derrick?â
âDonât hurt my boy too bad,â he said laughing.
A few minutes later those keys I had been longing to hear jingled in the door lock. My heart kicked up some beats, and I almost ran to him, but I didnât. I wasnât going to be nipping at his heels like I always did, wrapping my arms around his neck, then arguing with him about where heâs been all night.
Hearing the screeching of the door hinges, the door opened, and then closed. I heard Jaquon call out to me. âBaby, where are you?â
I didnât answer.
âKea, baby, are you here? You got to be here because your car is still outside.â
The more he spoke, the closer I could tell he was getting to me.
âThere you are,â he said, coming over to me with one hand behind his back. He tried to kiss me on the cheek, but I stepped back before his lips could touch me. He paused, looking at the side of my face before backing away. I didnât say anything.
âDamn, you look good,â he said with his eyes roving up and down my body. âYou smell good too. Whatâs that fragrance again?â he asked in his joking manner, and I continued to ignore him.
âI brought you some flowers,â he said bringing his hand from around his back, holding a dozen yellow-stemmed roses. He held them out to me, but I didnât bother to take them.
âBaby, I know youâre mad at me.â
I paused and looked at him like, âDuh,â still saying nothing.
âSo youâre going to give me the silent treatment now?â
Still nothing.
âIâm getting scared because this is unusual for you. Your mouth should be running a mile a minute by this time.â
Still I said nothing, rolling lip gloss on my lips.
âBaby, say something,â he pleaded putting the flowers on the bed and trying to pull me toward him. I pushed his hands off of me and went to the closet to get my shoes.
âWhere are you going?â
âOut,â I said, finally speaking.
âBut I just got here.â
âAnd?â
âBaby, Iâm sorry for not coming home last night. I got drunk with the fellas and ...â
â... you stayed with Derrick because you couldnât drive. He called me like you told him to. It still doesnât explain you not being in our bed last night and how your fingers couldnât pick up the phone to dial our number.â
âI did call, but you started arguing with me.â
âBecause you werenât here with me,â I snapped. âIâm sick and tired of you getting off of work every Friday and not showing your face until the next day. Iâm also tired of you getting your boy to do your dirty work. And to be honest, Iâm starting to get sick and tired of your cheating ass.â
âIâm not cheating. I was trying to get here as soon as possible.â
âSoon as possible should have been last night,â I stated, âwith
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