Page 5 of He Thugged Me First

He nodded and looked around before standing. “C’mon tell yo’ friend you’re leaving.” He wasn’t asking either.

“And why would I do that? I don’t know you and?—”

“I ain’t a new face. Call ya people, and ain’t nobody tryna kidnap ya lil’ ass.” He side eyed me.

I laughed and looked up at him. I definitely didn’t get the serial killer or kidnapper vibe from him, so I did something dumb. I dropped my sister my location indefinitely before texting Mecca and telling her I was leaving. She didn’t respond right away, because of course she really wasn’t at the washroom.

“C’mon, shorty. I ain’t got all day. You going or?—”

“I’m coming. Don’t rush me.” I stood and slipped my phone into my wristlet before walking toward the way we came in. The feeling of his hand on my side made me turn around and look at him.

He pointed to the side where it was a gate, avoiding the overly crowded space.

Once we reached his car, he popped the lock, and I got in. We ended up going to get food and sitting down to eat.

“Why are you so quiet?” he asked, stuffing a French fry into his mouth.

“Because I’m not that much of a talker. I’m an intr?—”

“Nah. I don’t believe in that shit. Yeen no introvert. You just show ya self to the people you know best.”

I didn’t respond; I just looked at him. In a sense he was right, but how? He didn’t know me from a can of paint, but he had just nailed it.

“Nah, I ain’t stalking you. I just know people.”

I nodded. “I didn’t think you were.”

“L-O-V-E.” His voice pulled me from my thoughts. Now he was sitting on the edge of our tub peering at me. He looked frustrated. “How do you feel?”

“Nervous and uneasy.”

“Do you not trust me?” He reached for my hands and pulled me toward him.

“Why wouldn’t I trust you? I trust?—”

“Then be cool. I got us and shorty.” He looked up at me with that expression that let me know that he had everything, and I believed him. That was one thing about him. He was always true to his word, so I never had to question it.

I giggled. “Then you’ll tell my mama and Lo?”

He laughed. “Nah, baby, but you got that on ya own. Plus, you know Lo be ready to fight me. She already claims I’m corrupting you.”

“You’re right. I’ll tell them. What abou?—”

“You have one semester left, shorty. Didn’t you say you were taking a year off to focus on ya dancing?” He asked.

With a laugh, I smirked. “Dance how? I’m gonna be gigantic.”

“I mean, you can throw that ass in a circle for me anytime. I’ll judge as long as I can fuck after.” He winked.

Chapter 2

MECCA

Ishould’ve listened to my brother, but I didn’t. I thought I was grown. If a man didn’t value me or my time, then I was taught to leave him the fuck alone. But it was different with him. His touch alone had the ability to help me lay my common sense by the wayside. I should’ve stopped this before it started, but I didn’t. I’d been in love with this man since I was eighteen years old, and he paid me no attention. Last week, I called him when my brother was shot and heard a female in the background. I didn’t know why I was even hurt. He wasn’t mine when we were apart. I had to get that through my skull and stop breaking my own damn heart. This dance was getting tiring, and I could no longer do this. My heart wasn’t in it anymore, and neither was my head. The funny thing is, I used to love playing tit for tat with him. It tickled me with laughter, but somewhere between flaunting my little fling in his face and actually having the fling, I actually started to like this nigga. I met Justice while I was getting food. He didn’t know what he wanted, and I suggested something. Somewhere between all the bullshit I endured with Kasair, I actually started to like spending time withJustice. We were getting to know one another, and we had been talking for about three months now. I knew I needed to finally just cut Kasair off. I needed to do it for my sake, but I wasn’t strong enough.

“I know you’ve been writing, so tell me a story,” Love requested, sitting on my floor, looking at me. She always referred to my poetry as stories because she felt like they put her into a different space.

I smirked and walked over, grabbing my phone before I scrolled through it, looking for the one I wrote at the hospital while I was with my brother.

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