Chapter 12

Back to business. Surprisingly, two days went by and Bree didn’t receive any phone calls or messages from Demetrius. Bree had just gotten home from work, she parked her car in the garage took off her heels, and went inside, Kate called, “Hey Kate how are you?” she asked with cheer in her voice.

“I’m well. I was just calling to check in. I mean Allen told me about what happened at the beach with some guy.”

“Yeah,” she placed her key on a hook, “Girl, it was a whole hot mess. He tried to buck on Allen.”

“I bet that didn’t go over well,” she joked.

“And didn’t! Allen went into Bruce Lee mode and almost took the boy’s arm off his shoulder.”

They chuckled.

“He’s not one for foolishness. Well, I’ll be home Friday, I was hoping you could help me shop for the party, maybe cook a few of those fancy Creole dishes you told me about.”

“Oh, course love, I can do that.”

“Okay, take care.”

Bree headed upstairs to her bedroom, removed her clothes, and started a shower, her phone sounded it was her best friend Nicole that lived in Tampa, Florida, “Hey girl, what’s up?”

“I have some packages from amazon being delivered to your place, so don’t send my shit back.”

Bree laughed. She was known for sending back packages that didn’t have her name. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“You still got D on the waitlist?”

“Girl he’s not even on the list. Period.”

“Damn,” she chuckled, “But guess who asked about you?”

“Oh God, do I even dare ask.”

“So, you know.”

“Marcel?”

“Yes, bitch! He was looking all googly-eyed when I told him you might be breaking up with D. He told me to tell you to give him a call.”

Bree and Marcel were friends in high school. They were each other’s first sexual experience. Bree knew her mother always emphasized for her to marry a nice-looking black American man that could provide. So, she and Marcel became friends. Yet, after Bree met Demetrius, she still found herself confiding in Marcel.

Demetrius didn’t like the relationship Bree had with Marcel. He felt like they were too close. However, he never pushed the issue. He knew he had Bree’s mother to help sway her in the right direction. Plus, his move to North Carolina was part of his plan to get Bree away from the distraction.

“Are you going to call him?”

“I don’t know. I have to get in the shower.”

“Alright. But I think you should. You two were crazy about each other.”

The call ended. Did she really want to venture back down that path? It was two-fold. Her mother didn’t approve of Marcel because he wasn’t African-American and well, Marcel’s parents preferred him to be with a Latina that had fairer skin. As much as they liked each other, it just seemed like too much of a chore.

She shook her head and got into the shower.

After a nice warm shower, Bree had pulled her hair up into a bun, she wore short cotton shorts and a tank no bra. She expected Allen to come over after he got home from work. The doorbell sounded, she assumed it was the packages from amazon that Nicole told her about.

She opened the door and froze. There was Demetrius. He stood tall wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt, “You gone invite me in?”

She sighed and stepped aside. They were in the foyer, “Can we sit and talk?”

“I don’t know why you’re here.”

“I’ve been waiting on your response, Breonna. You remember the conversation we had?”

She huffed and stuck out her lips, “I figured you had spoken to Terrell by now and—”

“Oh, you mean about that lil situation, you fucking with some white boy on the coast, yeah, he told me, but, shit it ain’t like I haven’t tapped a few since you’ve been gone. I say, we squash all that and move on. Rent this house, air b-n-b this bitch, and come back to Raleigh. We have too much invested and I know he ain’t putting it down like me.”

She scoffed, this dude really thinks he’s the only man in the world that knows how to fuck, she shook her head. Her face morphed into confusion and she damn near chuckled. “I’m not doing any of that.”

“So just like that, two years we’ve been together and already, you just over me?”

It was sad to say and even harder to admit, she had grown tired of his foolishness long before she left. She stayed as long as she could. When she finally had all her ducks lined up, she bounced.