Page 8 of Another Constant

He was quiet, giving me an answer I didn’t need because I’d surely go home and obsess over it. I was over the situation, or so I told myself, but I was still the type to obsess over the smallest things. Including an unnecessary conversation with the ex who refused to let go.

He helped me get the dogs to the car, then cornered me between my door and his body. “I love you enough to wait as long as you need to forgive me. I’m not going anywhere, because I know like you know we’re meant to be together.” Then he kissed the side of my face and backed up.

Hopefully he would be able to wait a lifetime because I had no intention of going back to him.***

“So you’re telling me as soon as we got off the phone he pulled up?”

“Yep.”

“And you compared him to a dog, Harlem?” She giggled and I nodded.

“It should have been an honor for him to be compared to one of my dogs.” I shrugged because that was the truth.

“Shut your crazy ass up. You weren’t comparing that man to your dog because you thought highly of him. You were telling him your dog is better than him…right?”

I shrugged. “Well.”

“So, you’re not taking him back?” she asked, eyes housing seriousness for once tonight.

“No, I’m not. I can’t. After everything I feel like what I did would be in vain. Not only that, but I’ll never trust him again. I’ll never be able to love him freely because who knows when he’ll get tired of me and need a break again? Is he gonna make a baby that time too? I refuse to put myself through that.”

“And you’re right. You shouldn’t have to. There is someone out there to love you and give you all that you need. Just gotta be patient. And love yourself extra hard until that person pops up.”

“So I hear. How is my godbaby? Does he miss me yet?” I asked about her son Adonis. He usually came by the shop to puppy sit with me during the summer, but I hadn’t seen him. Cay had allowed him to spend several weeks of the summer in Crescent Falls with her mother.

“He’s good. He’s not ready to come home, but I’m going to get him next week. I miss my baby and I’m sure my mama has overfed him every day he's been there to spite me.”

I laughed. “To spite you?”

“Hell yeah. I said no pork…she gave my baby pork. I said no sugary juices and she gave him that too. Shit I even told her to limit his cheese and dairy intake, for obvious reasons, and the other day when I was on FaceTime with him he had a fucking yogurt pop in his mouth. That lady is corrupting my child.”

I laughed so hard I couldn’t control myself. Just the thought had me in stitches because Cay was a lowkey control freak about things like that. “You know she ju?—”

“Aht, aht. You are not about to take her side. Not on my watch. She’s wrong and she knows it. I gave her my baby for a month and now I gotta get him home and deprogram him. Lord knows what I’ma do if he gets his ass here and asks me to smother a fucking pork chop.”

I looked at her like she was crazy, then pointed to her plate where she definitely had a smothered pork chop. “This is different, I’m grown and it’s only once a week,” she tried to explain, but nope I wasn’t going for that.

“It doesn't matter. You’re still eating it.”

She waved me off.

“You’re so bullheaded, woman.” I dug into my mac and cheese, then stuffed a spoonful in my mouth.

“So you gonna fuck the shop owner?”

“Nope. It’s not like that. He’s just gonna fix my car.”

“Among other things. Shit, if he looks like you described, I’d climb that tree right after he fixed the floor in my car.” She then winked.

“Um no, I’ll pass,” I said aloud but clutched my thighs together tightly. Just the thought of that man sent heat signals between my thighs. I had no intention of sleeping with him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fine.

“So you say, and you probably mean it, but your insides aren’t dead. You think he’s fine. I can tell by the way you’re clammed up over there. Either take Zax’s bitch ass back or move on with your life. Either way I won’t judge you, but I will curse your ass out initially if you choose to take him back.”

I laughed. “I hear you.”

“Glad you do because I only have one convincing pep talk in me a week.”

Caya and I talked for a while longer before paying our tabs and going our separate ways. I needed to get home and care for the pups while she was tired from being on her feet all day. Usually when we got home we’d call one another and talk on the phone the whole night, but tonight differed when I pulled up and my oldest brother OA was at my door. I got there right in time to see him jabbing his key in the door to open it. I had already noticed his car parked in my driveway when I pulled up.

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