Page 15 of Krash & Bern

She giggled. “I got plenty of time.” Her manicured fingers touched my chest.

I smirked. “Baby, you don’t got enough time for that. You here with your homegirls?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m here with my boys. We can do some shit if y’all down.”

“I’d like that a lot.”

The group of drunk friends headed out to the backyard to play some drinking games. We’d moved away from the kickback and had our own party in the back. We played charades and other games. The current game involved singing or rapping a song that included the word on the flash card.

My word was candy.

“Uh… Fuck. This is hard…” I snapped my fingers to evoke an answer.

“Time is ticking,” Camille sang.

“What’s that song from that one movie? It’s like candy! That old song?” I asked. The song was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t remember the lyrics in time.

“Aht! Loser! Take yo’ shot!” Camille’s friend Jade ordered as she clapped.

“But you knew what song I meant,” I argued.

“Wah! Wah! Take the shot!” Camille giggled as she slid the bottle to me.

“I ain’t no ho, so I will.” I poured the shot into my mouth and groaned.

The heaps of liquor numbed the pain Bernie’s actions caused. I had finally had a fun night without the pressure of my relationship looming over me.

“Y’all smoke?” Jade asked as she pulled a blunt out of her fanny pack.

I shook my head. “Nah. I don’t smoke because it’s against regulations in the professional boxing rules. My career too important to chase a high.”

“Boxer?” Camille asked. “I thought boxers be like three hundred pounds.”

I tittered. “Nah, there’s different weight classes.”

“I’d love to know more.” She pressed her hands on my chest and batted her long, thick eyelashes at me.

“You can Google it, baby. I know you don’t mean no harm, but I do have a girlfriend.”

She pouted her lips and crossed her arms. “Boo! Why isn’t she here with you?”

“She’s a computer science major. She’s usually out with her computer friends. This isn’t her scene.”

“It sounds to me like you need a girl who has more in common with you.”

I shook my head. “I’m good.” I turned my attention to Gary. “It’s getting late, and I know coach gon’ be on our ass tomorrow, so I’m finna head out.”

Gary dapped me up. “All right, bro. See you in the morning. Be safe.”

“Fa sho.”

I headed out feeling more conflicted than I had before I arrived. Bernice had always been the only constant in my life where I wasn’t afraid of what she was capable of.

Bernice and her family opened their homes to me until I was eighteen and could get an apartment on my own. Her pops even cosigned so I could afford rent without being overcharged.

Bernice was my heart in human form. She meant the world to me. I’d give my life to her if I could. She was the only person who hadn’t abandoned me, but shit didn’t feel the same. If things didn’t turn around for the better, I feared I’d have to make some drastic decisions.

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