That Girl: Bre

by Amber Monroe

  “Umm, I think Jasmine said it was going to be about two hours. So I’ll call you an hour before it’s over.” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt.

  “Okay, have fun. Give Keisha my love and this too.” He said, pulling out an envelope that I knew had money in it. My dad was a giver and didn’t mind, especially when it came to family. He had a special place for Keisha in his heart because he was friends with her dad, who was killed when she was only six or seven years old. He knew how much Keisha meant to her father and made a vow to be there whenever she needed it.

  “Dad, you know Keisha is probably not going to take that,” I smirked because I knew my cousin.

  “I know, but say it’s for the baby. I know Daniel would want her and the baby to be taken care of. I can’t believe I’m even saying that. Baby…. And you two are pregnant around the same time. Y’all are reminding me of Aretha and Kourtnee. Kourtnee got pregnant with Keisha and kept wishing Aretha was pregnant too. Well, she got her wish, but was off by a year; however, they still raised y’all to be close even after Kourtnee left.” He shared.

  “I know. I can’t believe it either. It wasn’t planned, though.”

  “I know, love. I know.” He said, then rubbed my shoulder.

  “Do you think Daniel would’ve been like you and been supportive?” I asked.

  “Definitely. Keisha could do no wrong in his eyes, the same as you in my eyes. Things happen, but I think you’re doing the best that you can. Is this the life I wanted for you? No, but I know this is not the life my parents wanted for me either. I get that sometimes you have to go through your own stuff to grow and learn. However, I just hope that everything I taught you will get you back on track.”

  “It already has, daddy. I love you.” I said then leaned over to kiss his cheek. He just smiled and returned a kiss to my forehead.

  ∞∞∞

  “Am I early?” I asked as I walked into the house; the door was unlocked. Jasmine really outdid herself; she had pink and blue balloons, streamers, and a big banner on the wall that had; We’ll miss you, Keisha! I saw a small table in the living room that had gifts on it already. I placed my gift bag on the table as Jasmine was coming into the dining room with a white two-tier cake in her hands.

  “No, you’re on time. You know how these folks are around here. CPT!” She said while placing the cake on the table and rolling her eyes. I took a minute to admire Jasmine because she’s always been gorgeous to me, even though she always dressed in jeans and sneakers. I never really saw any resemblance between her and Chianne, but they had the same brown skin. Anywho, Jasmine reminded me of Chanel Iman with her cute baby face and foreign features. She had a body like Angela Simmons, though, and always wore her hair in braids. Today she actually surprised me by wearing a baby-blue colored maxi dress with silver sandals. Her braids were in half up/half down style with silver hair accessories.

  “You look so cute!” I said as I walked over to hug her.

  “Thanks, boo! You know this is not in my element, but I’m switching things up since I’m a wife now.” She said, hugging me back.

  “Oh yeah, Chianne told me that you were getting married last week. Congratulations!!” I said.

  “Thank you. Wow, look at you, so big and ready to pop. Keisha is not due until October, but her stomach is getting big.”

  “Don’t remind me. I have to carry this load around all the time. I can’t wait to give birth and drop this.”

  “When are you due?”

  “End of the month. Like the 27th.”

  “That’s right around the corner. Are you having a baby shower?”

  “No,” I said, then slightly put my head down. It’s not that I didn’t want one, it’s just that it didn’t seem right having one with everything going on.

  “Awww, well, this is your party as much as it’s Keisha’s.”

  “Oh no, it’s fine. This is for Keisha and her baby. I’m good.”

  “Bre!!!!” I heard a group of voices say in unison. I turned around to face the stairs and saw Keisha’s little sisters and brother, Kalliyah, Kamille, and Keshawn.

  “Hey, y’all,” I said as they ran down the stairs to hug me. We all hugged, and I let them get a feel of my belly. We talked for a minute, just catching up and whatnot. Jasmine’s husband, Domo, showed up next with some more stuff for the party. Eventually, everyone who was invited finally made it before Keisha got there. Most of the guests were Keisha’s friends and Natasha and Heaven. Jasmine shared that it was a surprise that she and my little cousins wanted to plan for her. I didn’t think it was a good idea because I know Keisha doesn’t really like surprises, especially during a time like this. However, I know she would’ve appreciated the gesture and enjoyed seeing everyone before she left. I was a little confused that nobody mentioned the father of the child. I know she was thinking about moving forward with Dre after her breakup with Dwayne. Still, I wasn’t sure what she actually ended up doing. Who was the father? And what’s really going on?

  When Keisha finally showed up, she was definitely surprised and seemed a little uncomfortable. I know she wasn’t expecting this, but she kind of looked like she didn’t kind of want it. Her eyes seemed filled with regret and sorrow. So when I saw her walk back out to the porch, Jasmine and I made eye contact and followed her. We saw her sitting on the porch and sat down next to her.

  “Sorry for walking out like that,” She said as she put her head down on her knees.

  “It’s okay. I should have talked to you before I did this, I thought it would’ve put a smile on your face if it was a surprise.” Jasmine said.

  “Although it would’ve been nice to have a heads up, it’s not why I’m overwhelmed,” Keisha said.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t seem fair to me to have a celebration for the baby when he/she is not going to be around.”

  “Well, that’s why I wanted to do this for you because…” Jasmine said before Keisha cut her off.

  “I’m placing the baby up for adoption.” Keisha finally admitted. We were silent.

  23. Eric

  “Hey, it’s Chianne. Obviously, I can’t answer the phone, so leave a message or not (laugh)...” I sighed and ended the call. It has been two weeks since Chianne caught me kissing Tiffany and I haven’t talked to her because she continues to ignore my calls. I felt bad because this is not how I wanted things to go, nor did I want to hurt her. I know I wasn’t sure of where this would go with us, but I never intended to break her heart. If I could do things differently, I would….I should’ve.

  Two weeks ago….

  “I thought you were supposed to leave thirty minutes ago.” Chuck, one of my managers, said as he walked into the back area of the store. I was sitting in a chair in the makeshift break area.

  “I know I am. I’m just waiting for somebody.” I said. I was waiting for Tiffany because she wanted to cop some shoes, and I was selling it to her on the low. Of course, we couldn’t do that, but one of my co-workers showed me how to, which had been my little side hustle whenever I needed some extra money. I didn’t really didn’t need the money, but I wanted it so I could treat Chianne to a good night. I know she didn’t want anything fancy, and I wasn’t going all out, but I did want to cop her a nice gift for our first date. I was going to buy her a little “C” initial necklace from one of the jewelry vendors in the mall. I knew the guy who worked there and he was going to hook me up with a friendly price. Anywho, the money I was making off Tiffany was going towards the necklace before I met up Chianne.

  I got up with a bag of shoes and met her outside of the store. I can’t lie; she was looking good. Her long black hair was hanging down her back. And she was wearing a yellow strapless, fitted maxi dress that outlined every curve on her body. She had some yellow Fenty fur slides on and had a Gucci tote bag on her shoulder. As good as Tiffany looked, she still didn’t have shit on Chianne. Tiffany was slim thick, like certain angles made her seem like she had a phat ass. Chianne was thick all ar
ound- it didn’t matter which angle she was in; you saw her thickness.

  The only thing that really attracted me to Tiffany was initially her light skin tone, and she was my typical type. And don’t get me wrong, Chianne was cute, but I just had a preference. I would never admit that to anyone because nowadays, you got crucified for admitting a complexion preference, and people will be quick to bring up colorism. I don’t see anything wrong with being naturally attracted to a particular complexion. It’s your preference, and it’s not like you hate the other complexions. My dad, older sister, and brother were brown skin, so I definitely wasn’t prejudiced. It’s just my preference, and maybe that’s why I’m still talking to Tiffany. We haven’t done anything, but if she was ready to take it there, I don’t think I would turn her down. I would just tell Chianne that we are better off as friends instead of hurting her.

  “What’s up,” I said as I approached Tiffany. She hugged me, and I hugged her back.

  “Nothing much. That’s for me?” She smiled.

  “Nah.” I joked.

  “It better be.” She said as she tried to peek into the bag. I switched the bag to my other hand and played around with her for a minute.

  “Stop playing, Eric.” She giggled as she tried to jump up and reach the bag since I had it in the air. She was so short, so it was cute seeing her jump up and down.

  “Aight’. I’m done.” I smiled and brought the bag down. She punched me in the stomach, and although she was little, her punches hurt. I bent over and grabbed my belly while she laughed.

  That’s what you get.” She said. I stood up and gently slapped her on the stomach.

  “Ouch.” She whined then grabbed her stomach.

  “That didn’t even hurt. At least not as much as yours did,” I said then tried to pull her close to me.

  “No!” She siad, while trying to hide her smile. Damn, she is so cute.

  “Come here, big head.”

  “Your head is bigger than mine.” She smirked. I looked down at her as I felt my heart starting to race. Damn, was I feeling her more than I thought I was?

  “You lucky you’re cute,” I admitted and wrapped my hands around her waist.

  “You lucky I’m cute too.” She said and wrapped her arms around my neck with the shoe bag still in her hands. We just looked at each other for a minute. I had a feeling that someone was looking at us, but I just figured it was the people walking by being nosey.

  “What?” I asked as I looked into her eyes. It seemed like her eyes were saying more than her mouth. She continued to look at me then got on her tippy toes to kiss me. And wasn't just a peck, she enforced some tongue, and I returned the favor.

  “So, this is why you were staying after work late?” I heard a familiar voice say, startling me. I ended my embrace with Tiffany, but it was too late. I was guilty as hell.

  “Chianne….” I started, but she interrupted me.

  “Who is this?” She asked while mugging on Tiffany. For some reason, Tiffany then crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk on her face.

  “I’m his girlfriend. Who are you?” Tiffany answered and shocked the hell out of me.

  “Girlfriend?” Chianne repeated, then just nodded her head.

  “Chianne, it’s not- I didn’t mean-” I tried to say, but was about to stutter because I didn’t know how to fix this.

  “It’s cool, Eric. I just brought you some food because I thought you were working so hard. Please, continue on. Oh, and you owe me $13. Cash app is fine.” Chianne said then began to walk away. I grabbed her on her forearm then stopped for a minute.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. She snatched her arm away and continued to walk away. I looked around and saw that some people were watching us. Shit was embarrassing, but I never meant to hurt Chianne. It’s not that I’ve been cheating on her, this was the first time. I didn’t mean it like that, but you get what I’m saying. Was I wrong to have my hands around Tiffany’s waist? Yes, I was, but she initiated that kiss. I could’ve pulled away, but I didn’t.

  “You cheating me?” Tiffany said, taking me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, and she had a big ass smile on her face. I probably should’ve been concerned about that, but I wasn’t thinking correctly.

  “I can’t cheat on somebody that’s not my girl,” I smirked.

  “Who said I wasn’t your girl, though?”

  “I didn’t know we were in a relationship.”

  “Well, now you do, so drop your dead weight. We don’t need that negative energy around us.”

  “She’s special to me.” I shared, and my heart started to ache a little.

  “Obviously not that damn special.”

  “I messed up, but I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

  “Oh, well.” She shrugged. Once again, I should’ve been concerned about her nonchalant attitude, but I wasn’t because, to be honest, I was relieved. We were young, and I wasn’t trying to settle with one girl already. Yeah, I know we lost our virginity to each other, but we were comfortable.

  “Thanks for the shoes. I’ll call you later.” Tiffany said, then kissed me on my cheek before walking away. I hope I’m able to repair things with Chianne because she was still my friend, best friend, and she didn’t even know that. Also, if things didn’t work out, I wanted us to always have a friendship, but I have a feeling she won’t be down with that after I promised not to hurt her. Shit. I broke the very thing she told me not to.

  ∞∞∞

  Present Day….

  After trying to call Chianne multiple times, I got tired and just gave up. I know she was mad, but if she wasn’t willing to hear me out, then oh well. I wasn’t about to kiss her ass even though I probably should have. She didn’t deserve how I treated her, and I’ll probably live with that guilt for the rest of my life. I just hope that Ms.Karma won’t bite me too hard in the ass.

  I didn’t understand her response and put the phone on the passenger seat next to me. I finally had my license, but no ride, so my one of homeboys let me borrow his car, so I could see Tiffany. She was finally paying me for the shoes, and instead of sending me that payment via CashApp, she invited me to her house to get the money. I usually accepted payments during the exchange, but I bent the rules for her a little. I wasn’t pressed for cash, but business was business. Anywho, I pulled up to the security booth and saw two large Latino men dressed in all back, sitting inside. The only time I’ve seen something like this was in tv shows and movies.

  “Name?” One of the security guards asked. He had a mug on his face as if I was beneath him.

  “Uhhh...Er..-Eric.” I started to stutter. I don’t even know why.

  “Eric, what?” He asked while checking out my car.

  “Eric Allen. I’m here to see Tiffany. Tiffany Henríquez.”

  “I know who you’re who to see. Do you have any weapons on you?”

  “What? No!”

  “Watch your tone, chico!” He yelled.

  “My bad. No. No, I don’t have any weapons. I’m just here to collect some money that she owes me for some shoes she got from me.” I shared. I don’t know why, but I just wanted him to know that this was strictly business. He looked at me then at the other security guard. They burst out laughing. I didn’t understand what was funny.

  “Go ahead!” He said as he signaled to the other guy to open up the large golden gates. I drove the car through and went down this long road that led to only God knows what. Just about two miles in, I saw a big ass mansion just straight ahead. The shit was huge. I didn’t even know Virginia had properties like this. It was a Federal Colonial-style home surrounded by a beautiful landscape of the greenest grass, trees, and bright flowers. Whoever the Henríquez family was, they were definitely paid and living large. As I got closer to the house, I saw a tower not too far from their home and noticed there were security guards there too. The fuck? I thought to myself.

  “Where do I park?” I asked as soon as Tiffany answered the phone. I was slightly irritated because she didn’t
inform or warn me about what it was like stepping foot on her property.

  “Just leave it right where you are. One of my dad’s security guards will park it in the designated area. I’m coming right out.” She said before ending the call. I blew out a breath of air because I had no clue as to what I was getting myself into. Who needs all this security and land? What kind of family was Tiffany in? She seemed to come from a decent and basic home, or that’s what I thought.

  I watched Tiffany come out of the mansion and walk down the long and massive stairs. I didn’t know if it was safe for me to just get out, so I waited for her to come to the call.

  “Why are you just sitting here?” She asked as she approached the car. I let the window down on the passenger side.

  “Just waiting for the okay to leave the car. I’m not trying to have those niggas up in the tower find a reason to do anything to me.” I said. Tiffany raised her eyebrow then laughed. I don’t know what was funny, but her laughing made me more uncomfortable.