Page 30 of I Heard It All Before

Chapter 11

Over three months had passed since Cam and Demi’s first encounter and that was only the beginning. They saw each other every single day and the IHOP was their designated spot. Demi had gone back home the following day after their first meeting, and she and Kamari had a long talk. He swore to her that he was giving up the drug game once he got rid of what he had and Demi, once again, had to trust her husband. It only took a week for him to get rid of it all and he was officially done. She was even happier because he’d found a job and was making an honest living. Kamari didn’t want to go back to school, so he’d started working at the courthouse doing transport, the same job that Demi had tried to get him to do before. Things were looking up and she was happy for that.

“Your high yellow ass is late. I’m on my second iced coffee,” Demi fussed when Cam came swaggering into the restaurant. He looked too handsome with his dark blue Levi’s, royal blue and black Jordan t-shirt, and matching Jordans on his feet.

“My fault, man. That stupid ass girl was getting on my nerves,” Cam replied as he leaned over and gave her a friendly hug.

He loved spending time with Demi, and she felt the same way. It was nice to have a friendship with someone of the opposite sex with no strings attached. He was attracted to Demi and he let her know, butit never went beyond them giving each other a few compliments. She thought that he was handsome too, but she was still a married woman and he had a girl.

“What happened? Was she trippin’ about you leaving?” Demi questioned.

“That and everything else. Where did you tell your hubby that you were going?” Cam asked her.

“To the nail salon. I really am going there when I leave from here though,” Demi replied, right as the waitress walked up.

She and Cam were only friends, but there was no way that they could tell that to their significant others. Cam already told her how his girlfriend always accused him of messing around with his ex. She was almost sure that she would be accusing him of messing with her too. And Kamari would have a fit if he knew that Demi was meeting up with another man, no matter if they were just friends or not. She looked forward to her daily talks with Cam, so she wasn’t willing to risk their friendship by telling her husband about it. They didn’t have a problem hooking up on the weekdays because they both worked. It was the weekends that were the hardest.

“How has it been going with y’all since he’s legit now?” Cam asked, once their food arrived and they started eating.

“It’s been going good. He made a month on the job a few days ago, so that’s a blessing. He complains all day, but he goes to work faithfully”, Demi replied.

“That’s what’s up. I understand how he feels though. It’s hard coming from making thousands every week to only making a few hundred,” Cam noted.

“Yeah, but you did it,” Demi reminded him.

“It wasn’t easy though Demi. Shit, I’m sitting here stressing over bills now. I never had that to worry about before.”

“I know it’s been rough on you friend, but I applaud you for doing the right thing. You could have easily called your father for help or turned back to the streets, but you did it on your own. And don’t worry, it’s my turn to treat, so the food is on me,” Demi laughed.

“I see you got jokes early this morning,” Can laughed with her, right as his phone rang.

“Wifey calling to check up on you,” Demi assumed

“Nah, this is my moms. What’s up Ma?” Cam asked, answering his mother’s call.

“What’s going on Camden and don’t you even fix your mouth to lie to me?” Nora said as soon as he answered

“Lie to you about what?” Cam questioned in confusion.

“Some man came knocking on my door for you early this morning. He looked like a damn bounty hunter or something. Now, if you’re in some kind of trouble, you better tell me right now. I don’t need no surprises,” Nora fussed.

“I’m not in no trouble Ma. I go from work to home and that’s it,” Cam swore.

“I hope you’re not out there in those streets again. I can’t take no more of you going to jail Camden,” Nora continued.

“Did you just hear what I said? I’m not doing nothing besides working. I bust my ass for that lil change that I make, but at least it’s legal. You think I would be struggling to pay my bills if I was still selling dope?” Cam replied in anger.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you, baby, but you know how much I worry. You think you might have a warrant out for your arrest or something? You know that happened the last time when you missed court.”

“I don’t have a warrant and I never had a court date. I’m not on no papers or nothing.”

“Okay, but I still wanna have Courtney look in her system, just to be sure,” Nora replied.

“Did this person leave a number or something?” Cam inquired.

“He left a card, but it didn’t say where he’s from. It only has his name and phone number on it,” Nora answered.

“Alright, well take a picture of it and send it to me,” Cam requested.

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