Page 7 of Mine

“I don’t know, bae. I wasn’t really thinking about you. I was in a rush to get here and just got myself something.”

“Wow. Okay.”

With a chuckle, I ran my fingers through my hair and left the living room. I went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine, hoping it would help me calm down. I was starting to not like how I acted with Houston. Some of the shit he did pulled me out of character, and I was too calm and laidback to be in an almost constant state of anger or disappointment because of something he said or did. Even if I told myself it wasn’t intentional, it still hurt, and I was tired of downplaying that.

I snatched a bag of frozen hot wings from the freezer then grabbed some cup noodles from the pantry. I kept telling myself not everyone was considerate and thoughtful and that I shouldn’t be upset when a person wasn’t. But you’d think at some point your partner would mirror your actions. You’d think my constant consideration of Houston would make him consider me, but he didn’t. And I was trying my hardest not to snap because he wouldn’t see the bigger picture. He wouldn’t see the principle behind it. All he’d see was me starting an argument because of some damn tacos.

Blinking back my tears, I inhaled a deep breath. I’d never made a habit out of letting a man see me in my feelings, and I didn’t want to start now.

“Oh, you didn’t have nothing to eat?” he asked from the living room. I shook my head and set the noodles on the counter. “Why you ain’t say that, bae?”

Chuckling, I gripped the stove handle and released a shaky exhale.

“How was I supposed to know you were getting something while you were out, Houston? We agreed we were going to eat and watch a movie until we crashed, so I assumed you wanted to have something delivered or me to cook since you didn’t mention stopping anywhere.”

He waited until he was done chewing to respond. “Yeah, but I decided I wanted these tacos at the last minute. I didn’t really think to call and ask you if you wanted something. My fault.”

I preheated the oven, not even bothering to respond. I didn’t really want the wings, but I was so irritated I didn’t want to wait to have something delivered because it would further fuck up my mood. But the thought of eating something I didn’t really want pissed me off more, so I cut the oven off and decided to go to the restaurant to get my own tacos.

By the time I was done slipping into a pair of jeans, a tee, and my white and black Sambas, Houston was making his way into my room.

“Where you going?” he questioned as a frown covered his face.

“To get me something to eat.”

“Why you ain’t ask for none of my tacos?”

“First of all, I shouldn’t have had to ask for any. Second, it was only three. If you gave me some, you would have complained about not having enough to get full.”

“Well where you ’bout to go?”

“Don’t worry about it. You weren’t worried about if I was hungry or not while you were getting your food.”

“Ugh here we go,” he complained, head flinging back as his eyes rolled.

“Yeah, here we go. Why on Earth would you get yourself something to eat and not bring me anything?” My hands were on my hips as my weight shifted to my right side.

“I told you I didn’t think about it.”

“So you didn’t think about me?”

“You making this something it’s not, Presly.”

“No, I’m making it what it is. I would never do some shit like this to you. I always consider you. Anytime I’m out and about to get food, don’t I always check to see if you’ve eaten? If I cook,don’t I always call and see if you want a plate? You knew you were coming to my home, so what part of your mind told you it was okay for you to not get me something to eat?”

“I’ll go get you something, aight? Damn. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is a big deal!” I yelled as he turned to head out of the door. “It’s not the tacos, Houston. It’s the fact that you don’t consider me. You don’t prioritize me. You’re not thoughtful at all. The only time you get me shit is if you fucked up or we’re on a date. But in our average day to day, I’m always the one taking care of you, and I’m tired of that energy not being reciprocated.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he scratched his head. “Look, I’m not about to argue with you. I told you I had a long day and just wanted to eat and chill. If you want me to get you something, I will. Otherwise, I’m done with this shit.”

The audacity this nigga had to take his shoes off as if he thought he was about to get in my bed.

“Nu unh. You can go ahead and put those back on and head to your house.”

“Are you serious right now?” he asked through his chuckle. “You putting me out over some fucking tacos, bruh?”

“I’m putting you out because this is yet another example of how you don’t think about me.”

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