“It’s okay. I should have talked to you before I did this, I thought it would’ve put a smile on your face if it was a surprise.” Jasmine said.
“Although it would’ve been nice to have a heads up, it’s not why I’m overwhelmed,” Keisha said.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“It doesn’t seem fair to me to have a celebration for the baby when he/she is not going to be around.”
“Well, that’s why I wanted to do this for you because…” Jasmine said before Keisha cut her off.
“I’m placing the baby up for adoption.” Keisha finally admitted. We were silent.
23. Eric
“Hey, it’s Chianne. Obviously, I can’t answer the phone, so leave a message or not (laugh)...” I sighed and ended the call. It has been two weeks since Chianne caught me kissing Tiffany and I haven’t talked to her because she continues to ignore my calls. I felt bad because this is not how I wanted things to go, nor did I want to hurt her. I know I wasn’t sure of where this would go with us, but I never intended to break her heart. If I could do things differently, I would….I should’ve.
Two weeks ago….
“I thought you were supposed to leave thirty minutes ago.” Chuck, one of my managers, said as he walked into the back area of the store. I was sitting in a chair in the makeshift break area.
“I know I am. I’m just waiting for somebody.” I said. I was waiting for Tiffany because she wanted to cop some shoes, and I was selling it to her on the low. Of course, we couldn’t do that, but one of my co-workers showed me how to, which had been my little side hustle whenever I needed some extra money. I didn’t really didn’t need the money, but I wanted it so I could treat Chianne to a good night. I know she didn’t want anything fancy, and I wasn’t going all out, but I did want to cop her a nice gift for our first date. I was going to buy her a little “C” initial necklace from one of the jewelry vendors in the mall. I knew the guy who worked there and he was going to hook me up with a friendly price. Anywho, the money I was making off Tiffany was going towards the necklace before I met up Chianne.
I got up with a bag of shoes and met her outside of the store. I can’t lie; she was looking good. Her long black hair was hanging down her back. And she was wearing a yellow strapless, fitted maxi dress that outlined every curve on her body. She had some yellow Fenty fur slides on and had a Gucci tote bag on her shoulder. As good as Tiffany looked, she still didn’t have shit on Chianne. Tiffany was slim thick, like certain angles made her seem like she had a phat ass. Chianne was thick all around- it didn’t matter which angle she was in; you saw her thickness.
The only thing that really attracted me to Tiffany was initially her light skin tone, and she was my typical type. And don’t get me wrong, Chianne was cute, but I just had a preference. I would never admit that to anyone because nowadays, you got crucified for admitting a complexion preference, and people will be quick to bring up colorism. I don’t see anything wrong with being naturally attracted to a particular complexion. It’s your preference, and it’s not like you hate the other complexions. My dad, older sister, and brother were brown skin, so I definitely wasn’t prejudiced. It’s just my preference, and maybe that’s why I’m still talking to Tiffany. We haven’t done anything, but if she was ready to take it there, I don’t think I would turn her down. I would just tell Chianne that we are better off as friends instead of hurting her.
“What’s up,” I said as I approached Tiffany. She hugged me, and I hugged her back.
“Nothing much. That’s for me?” She smiled.
“Nah.” I joked.
“It better be.” She said as she tried to peek into the bag. I switched the bag to my other hand and played around with her for a minute.
“Stop playing, Eric.” She giggled as she tried to jump up and reach the bag since I had it in the air. She was so short, so it was cute seeing her jump up and down.
“Aight’. I’m done.” I smiled and brought the bag down. She punched me in the stomach, and although she was little, her punches hurt. I bent over and grabbed my belly while she laughed.
That’s what you get.” She said. I stood up and gently slapped her on the stomach.
“Ouch.” She whined then grabbed her stomach.
“That didn’t even hurt. At least not as much as yours did,” I said then tried to pull her close to me.
“No!” She siad, while trying to hide her smile. Damn, she is so cute.
“Come here, big head.”
“Your head is bigger than mine.” She smirked. I looked down at her as I felt my heart starting to race. Damn, was I feeling her more than I thought I was?
“You lucky you’re cute,” I admitted and wrapped my hands around her waist.
“You lucky I’m cute too.” She said and wrapped her arms around my neck with the shoe bag still in her hands. We just looked at each other for a minute. I had a feeling that someone was looking at us, but I just figured it was the people walking by being nosey.
“What?” I asked as I looked into her eyes. It seemed like her eyes were saying more than her mouth. She continued to look at me then got on her tippy toes to kiss me. And wasn't just a peck, she enforced some tongue, and I returned the favor.
“So, this is why you were staying after work late?” I heard a familiar voice say, startling
