“Chianne….” I started, but she interrupted me.
“Who is this?” She asked while mugging on Tiffany. For some reason, Tiffany then crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk on her face.
“I’m his girlfriend. Who are you?” Tiffany answered and shocked the hell out of me.
“Girlfriend?” Chianne repeated, then just nodded her head.
“Chianne, it’s not- I didn’t mean-” I tried to say, but was about to stutter because I didn’t know how to fix this.
“It’s cool, Eric. I just brought you some food because I thought you were working so hard. Please, continue on. Oh, and you owe me $13. Cash app is fine.” Chianne said then began to walk away. I grabbed her on her forearm then stopped for a minute.
“I’m sorry,” I said. She snatched her arm away and continued to walk away. I looked around and saw that some people were watching us. Shit was embarrassing, but I never meant to hurt Chianne. It’s not that I’ve been cheating on her, this was the first time. I didn’t mean it like that, but you get what I’m saying. Was I wrong to have my hands around Tiffany’s waist? Yes, I was, but she initiated that kiss. I could’ve pulled away, but I didn’t.
“You cheating me?” Tiffany said, taking me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, and she had a big ass smile on her face. I probably should’ve been concerned about that, but I wasn’t thinking correctly.
“I can’t cheat on somebody that’s not my girl,” I smirked.
“Who said I wasn’t your girl, though?”
“I didn’t know we were in a relationship.”
“Well, now you do, so drop your dead weight. We don’t need that negative energy around us.”
“She’s special to me.” I shared, and my heart started to ache a little.
“Obviously not that damn special.”
“I messed up, but I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“Oh, well.” She shrugged. Once again, I should’ve been concerned about her nonchalant attitude, but I wasn’t because, to be honest, I was relieved. We were young, and I wasn’t trying to settle with one girl already. Yeah, I know we lost our virginity to each other, but we were comfortable.
“Thanks for the shoes. I’ll call you later.” Tiffany said, then kissed me on my cheek before walking away. I hope I’m able to repair things with Chianne because she was still my friend, best friend, and she didn’t even know that. Also, if things didn’t work out, I wanted us to always have a friendship, but I have a feeling she won’t be down with that after I promised not to hurt her. Shit. I broke the very thing she told me not to.
∞∞∞
Present Day….
After trying to call Chianne multiple times, I got tired and just gave up. I know she was mad, but if she wasn’t willing to hear me out, then oh well. I wasn’t about to kiss her ass even though I probably should have. She didn’t deserve how I treated her, and I’ll probably live with that guilt for the rest of my life.I just hope that Ms.Karma won’t bite me too hard in the ass.
I didn’t understand her response and put the phone on the passenger seat next to me. I finally had my license, but no ride, so my one of homeboys let me borrow his car, so I could see Tiffany. She was finally paying me for the shoes, and instead of sending me that payment via CashApp, she invited me to her house to get the money. I usually accepted payments during the exchange, but I bent the rules for her a little. I wasn’t pressed for cash, but business was business. Anywho, I pulled up to the security booth and saw two large Latino men dressed in all back, sitting inside. The only time I’ve seen something like this was in tv shows and movies.
“Name?” One of the security guards asked. He had a mug on his face as if I was beneath him.
“Uhhh...Er..-Eric.” I started to stutter. I don’t even know why.
“Eric, what?” He asked while checking out my car.
“Eric Allen. I’m here to see Tiffany. Tiffany Henríquez.”
“I know who you’re who to see. Do you have any weapons on you?”
“What? No!”
“Watch your tone, chico!” He yelled.
“My bad. No. No, I don’t have any weapons. I’m just here to collect some money that she owes me for some shoes she got from me.” I shared. I don’t know why, but I just wanted him to know that this was strictly business. He looked at me then at the other security guard. They burst out laughing. I didn’t understand what was funny.
“Go ahead!” He said as he signaled to the other guy to open up the large golden gates. I drove the car through and went down this long road that led to only God knows what. Just about two miles in, I saw a big ass mansion just straight ahead. The shit was huge. I didn’t even know Virginia had properties like this. It was a Federal Colonial-style home surrounded by a beautiful landscape of the greenest grass, trees, and bright flowers. Whoever the Henríquez family was, they were definitely paid and living large. As I got closer to the house, I saw a tower not too far from their home and noticed there were security guards there too. The fuck? I thought to myself.
“Where do I park?” I asked as soon as Tiffany answered the phone. I was slightly irritated because she didn’t inform or warn me about what it was like stepping foot on her property.
“Just leave it right where you are. One of my dad’s security guards will park it in the designated area. I’m coming right out.” She said before ending the call. I blew out a breath of air because I had no clue as to what I was getting myself into. Who needs all this security and land?
