Page 61 of Her Loyalty

"Where are we going?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know but all I know is you ain't gon' home." He went on and I smiled small.

"Okay. How about I go and find my car and I meet you at your house in an hour?" I asked and he nodded slowly.

"Aight, coo."

*

An hour later

"Here, Tiana. Stop bitchin'." Dom said to me as we sat in the car and he smoked his fifth blunt of the day.

"No, crazy. You know I'm not a smoker." I whined playfully and he smacked his lips.

"Hit this shit and stop playin' with me." He demanded and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine." I put my hand out for it and he took another long, hard pull before giving it to me.

Putting the blunt to my lips, he watched closely as I inhaled before blowing the smoke out of my mouth and then my nose.

"Damn." I heard him say under his breath and I smiled over to him, passing the blunt back.

"I ain't no smoker." He mocked, taking another pull and I softly hit his arm with a smile.

"I never said I didn't do it before, I just don't do it now. I don't like the way it makes me feel."

"You know that." I looked over to him as the sun shined on his brown eyes.

"Yeah, I know." He blew the smoke out, looking directly at me and I quickly looked down.

Though we were here chilling and I was enjoying this time he'd allowed me to have with him, things just didn't feel the same. I used to be all over and kissing him when I wanted. But now things felt robotic, as if I had to calculate all of my moves, calculate every thing I said. I just felt like I couldn't be the me I used to be with him.

Sighing heavily, he took another pull from the blunt before he put it out in the ashtray.

"Talk to me, T."

"Whatchu feeling right na'.." He trailed off and I looked up into his eyes, confused if he wanted the real or the generic answer that I'd just calculated in my mind.

"Well I'm just happy that I gradu-"

"Don't give me that bullshit, T. How you feeling right na' with a nigga?"

"Cause one minute you smilin' and laughing in my face then the next minute you looking all down and sad."

"Tell me what's up, tell me whatchu feelin'." He asked and I sighed deeply, looking down at my fingers.

"Well you know how I feel, Dominic." I expressed.

"I ain't down there, look at me when you talkin' to me, ma." He demanded as I looked up into his eyes.

"Na' go ahead and repeat what you just said." He instructed and I pushed hair behind my ear nervously.

"I said you know how I feel. It's not easy to just sit here and talk to a person you love as if y'all are just friends."

"We been doing it for months na'." He shrugged and I slanted my lips.

"Yeah but that was through text. This isn't the same." I explained to him.

---