Page 6 of Bern and Isley
She batted her eyes and moaned. I hated to admit it, but that shit turned me on. I tried to focus on anything but her pretty mouth.
“Bern, is that you?” a soft voice called out from behind me.
I turned around to see Ms. Feona then immediately stood. “It’s me. Hey, how are you doing, Ms. Fee?”
“Oh baby, I’m making it.” She approached me and pulled me into a hug. Her embrace was a little lighter than I remembered. But seeing as she’d had some recent health challenges, it didn’t surprise me too much. But it made me sad nonetheless. When I went into the joint, she was a full-figured woman. Now she was half that size.
“Well, I’m glad to see you.”
“Same. I know Cynthia glad to have you back home.” She grinned.
“You know it,” I chuckled.
I hadn’t told my mama yet. But I planned to move out soon. Like in the next thirty days soon. I loved my mama with my entire heart, but I was not interested in living with my mother at thirty years old. I needed my own space, especially after being surrounded by so many people the last five years. I craved the opportunity to hear silence sometimes. Or to free ball around the house whenever I wanted to.
“You take care, hear?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She turned on her heels and disappeared to the back of the apartment.
I turned my attention back to Isley. She had inhaled that salad and was sipping on a bottle of lemonade. “Damn, you weren’t lying about starving, huh? You tore that food up!”
“Shut up, Bern.” She giggled as she stood to throw away her trash. “Come get your ass in this chair.”
I stood then took a seat in the designated hair chair. Isley threw a black cape around my neck. Then she rubbed her hands delicately through my hair. I closed my eyes as her fingers ran through my scalp. It was relaxing as hell. I didn’t want her to stop.
“Your hair is soft. And it’s longer than I thought it was. Very pretty coils,” she complimented as she began to twist me up.
“So when I’m going to meet this man of yours?” I asked. Not that I really wanted to meet the nigga, but I wanted to gauge how serious she was about him.
She drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know. He a little salty with me right now.”
“Salty? About what?” My brows knitted together in annoyance.
“It’s nothing…”
“Isley, don’t piss me off. I’ll lay that nigga out,” I warned her.
“See, that’s why I don’t tell you anything. People in relationships have disagreements sometimes, Bern. It’s nothing deep.”
“Yeah...aight,” I murmured.
I knew Isley wasn’t the same timid young girl I’d originally met. She was a little fiery now. She was a nice person, but she wasn’t taking shit off anyone. Not even me. But still. I couldn’t help but be protective of her. She meant everything to me. And I’d be damned if I let a nigga think shit was cool if he was out here getting fly with her in any kind of way.
“You need to be worried about Unique. I thought she was going to kick your ass last night.”
I chuckled. “She all talk. I’m not fazed by her ass.”
Unique was my ex. She thought just because I fucked her multiple times since my release that shit was sweet. But it wasn’t. I’d heard the rumors and chatter about her fucking around while I was doing my bid. The thing about it was I wasn’t trippin’ about it at all. I just asked her to be upfront about it. I knew it wasn’t fair to expect her to hold out while I was locked up. But she was messy with it. Fucking niggas in DP I was cool with was dirty. I knew from the beginning of our relationship six years ago that we wouldn’t be forever. She was a cool chick for the most part, but she was too insecure for me. She was a skinny chick who envied any woman with even the smallest curves. Itold her genetics played a big part in that shit. She’d begged me numerous times to pay to have some work done. I didn’t believe in that shit, so I refused to finance it. She looked good without it to me.
Another issue was her being jealous of me and Isley’s relationship. She couldn’t fathom that me and Ice never had any type of sexual relationship. Most people probably didn’t believe it. But we had never touched. Even when we became adults and she would come spend the night at my place. Nothing ever went down. Not even a kiss. Had it crossed my mind before? Hell yeah. But I had never acted on it.
“Are you excited about your interview?”
“Not really,” I admitted. “Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate my boy Theo putting in a word for me. But I’m not geeked to work in a warehouse.”
I wasn’t against having a blue-collar job. I just didn’t feel like it fed the entrepreneurial spirit I had. I needed flexibility. I needed unlimited earning potential. And I didn’t need a company deciding how much my time was worth.
“I can understand that.”
