by Ambria Davis
“Who?” she asked, but I didn’t answer her. I was momentarily blinded, better yet, shocked, by the sight of Dontie walking through the food court.
“Where the fuck did he come from, and how the hell did he know I was here?” I said, not meaning to curse. It just slipped out of my mouth.
“Who?” she asked, turning and trying to see who I was looking at.
“Dontie,” I replied.
“Girl, you lying!”
“I wish that I was. Come on, let’s go before he sees me,” I said frantically as I began to pack up my things.
“Why? We haven’t finished eating yet,” she replied.
“Because I don’t want to see him, at least not now,” I said, getting up from my seat. I picked up my bags and purse and waited for her. “Hurry up, Kourtney!”
“I’m coming, girl, hold on,” she responded. I thought I was going to pass the hell out. Dontie was so close to my table, and he didn’t even see me. I watched as he picked up the phone, dialed a number, and put it to his ear. Please don’t let him be calling me, I thought as I tried to locate my phone.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she said as K. Michelle’s and R. Kelly’s “Baby, You and I” song came blasting through my phone. Even though the mall was packed, my phone had still rung loud. I hurried to try to silence the thing, but my nerves were so bad that it became a challenge to do so. I looked down to turn it off, and when I looked back up, he had turned and was now looking at me. For a minute, we just stood there staring at each other, not saying a word, staring at each other as if we were the only two people in the mall at that moment. I wanted to hate him or even curse him out, but I couldn’t. Looking at him reminded me of how and why I fell in love with him in the first place.
Dontie stood at about five foot eight, weighed about 200 pounds solid, and he had a chocolate complexion. He kept a fade that was fresh every single time that I saw him, with a pair of brown eyes and the prettiest smile that I’ve ever seen on a man. This man was handsome as fuck, which made it easy for me to love him and hard for me to stay mad at him. He moved his mouth to speak, but no words came out. I guess he was just as speechless as I was.
“Come on, Kourt,” I said, abruptly walking off in the opposite direction from him.
“Nay, chill out. You getting yourself worked up for nothing,” she said, trying to catch up with me. It was now my turn to be walking like someone had lit a fire under my ass. I didn’t answer her, I was too busy trying to get as far away from Dontie as I could get.
“Brinay!” I heard him yell my name, but I kept it pushing.
“What, Kourtney?” I asked, now yelling, but never slowing my stride.
“Can you please slow down?” she asked, sounding out of breath.
“I’ll slow down when I make it to the parking lot and away from Dontie,” I said as I continued to walk. I was almost to the exit . . . when all of my bags dropped out of my hands. My hands shook badly as I tried to pick them up. “Shit,” I said, because all of my things that I’d just bought in Victoria’s Secret were now on the floor.
“Let me help you, ma,” a voice said, causing me to freeze in place. I knew that voice and who it belonged to all too well. I played on the floor, trying my hardest not to get up and have to look him in the eye. “You can turn around, ma. I won’t hurt, bite, or do anything to you.”
Slowly, I turned around. I childishly wished that when I turned, I’d spin myself so fast that I’d ended up some place else, but when I spotted him still standing there with his phone in his hand, I knew that I couldn’t. So much for the Wizard of Oz, I thought to myself.
“Thank you, sir,” I said, grabbing my bags from out of his hands. I didn’t even look up. I didn’t want to see his face. “Come on, Kourtney.”
“Whoa! Brinay, chill out and talk to me,” he said, grabbing my arm.
“Dontie, let go of my arm, please. I have nothing to say to you right now.” I tried to pull my arm from out of his grasp, but he didn’t let it go.
“Oh, so that’s what we on now? You ’round here playing these little kiddies’-ass games. What, you feeling some type of way or something?” he asked. I still hadn’t turned around to face him.
“For real, bruh, just let go of my arm,” I said calmly.
“Nah, ma. I’m not letting you go until you turn around and talk to me.”
“I just told you that I have nothing to say to you right now,” I said in a low tone, “so can you please just let me go so I can get up out of here. I have places to go and people to see.”
“Ma, I ain’t letting you go until we talk, so you can just cut all that other shit out,” he said, hitting a nerve. He fucked with my nerves so bad, that before I knew what I was doing, I turned around and slapped the taste out of his mouth.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked, holding his face. I looked at him, then to the hand that I used to slap him with, then back at him before I took off, dropping everything except my purse and phone.
“Brinay,” Kourtney said, running behind me. I didn’t stop, though. I was trying to get the hell out of there.
Chapter Eleven
Dontie
When I woke up this morning, I was feeling some type of way. I was still mad about what happened between Chance and I, and on top of that, I still wasn’t able to talk to Brinay like I wanted to. Not to mention that Sky was over here talking my damn head off about meeting her family. I ain’t want be bothered with that shit none whatsoever, so I was kind of zoned out instead of listening to anything that she was over there saying.
“Baby?” she called out to me. “Dontie.”
“Huh, huh?” I asked, snapping out of my thoughts, “What’s up, ma?”
“Where were you?” she asked, looking at me from across the table.
“What are you talking about? I was right here,” I replied.
“I’ve been talking to you, but you’ve been distant. It’s like you’re here physically, but your mind is somewhere else. What’s up with that?” she asked, moving her plate from in front of her.
“Nah, I was just thinking about a few things, that’s all,” I said to her.
“Uh-huh! Well, we need to hurry up and head to the mall. You know it’s Saturday, and there’ll be a lot of people there trying to find whatever deals that they can find,” she said, getting up from the table.
“I thought we already had everything that we need. What are we going to the mall for?” I asked, still seated. I wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere.
“I got a few things I need to get for tonight.”
“Nah, ma, I’m good. You can go to the mall. I’ll just see you when you get back,” I said, getting up from the table. “I’m going take a nap.”
“Dontie, don’t start with your shit. I need you to come with me to the mall, so you might as well come on,” she said with her hands on her hips.
“Ma, I already told you that I’m not coming, so you might as well just go ahead and be on ya way.”
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you overnight, but you’ve been acting all shitty since you woke up this morning. You need to get yourself together, po’tna,” she had the nerve to say.
“Ain’t shit happened to me. I just don’t feel like going to the mall. Damn!” I yelled. “You always be bugging a nigga. Go on with that shit, cuz I’m not for it today, Sky.”
“Really? I’m not trying to go there with you either. All I ask is for you to go to the mall with me, and you come with shit,” she responded. “I’m your wife now. You should want to be around me more.”
Yeah, and I’m beginning to regret making your ass that, I thought to myself. I was getting tired of her shit, and we haven’t been married for all of two-and-a-half weeks. It was bad enough that I ain’t really bought the ring for her ass to begin with. Now she was making me begin to really regret the choice of marrying her.
“Sky, for real, ma, I’m not in the mood to even go anywhere. Why you can’t just go without me?” I asked, tryin
g to approach her in a different way.
“Because I can’t, that’s why,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Lord, why me?” I asked.
“Why you what, huh? So what, you want to call it quits or something, Dontie?” she asked, walking toward me.
“I didn’t say that, Sky,” I replied calmly.
“You didn’t have to. Your attitude and the way you’re acting says it all,” she said, putting her hands in my face. I had to count to ten in my head to keep myself from choking her ass.
“Sky, I’m no woman beater, and I’ve never put my hands on a woman before in my life, so I’m going to kindly ask that you never, in your life, put your hands on me again,” I said, remaining calm.
“Or what? What’re you going to do?” she said, pushing my head back with her index finger. “You better get your shit together.”
I don’t know why she was acting hard all of a sudden, but I was not feeling it, so to keep myself from knocking her fucking head from off of her shoulders, I didn’t say anything.
“If you ain’t ready in the next minute, I’m leaving your ass right there, and you’ll have no other choice but to go to the mall by your damn self,” I threw in before I exited the kitchen. I went straight to the room and threw on a fresh white tee, some khaki cargo shorts, and a pair of fresh white Adidas. I didn’t put on any jewelry. I just threw on my Rolex, grabbed my keys, and headed back out the door.
When I made it back to the living room, she was standing there waiting for me by the door with her purse on her shoulder. I didn’t say anything to her. I opened the door and went straight to my car, leaving the door open behind me. I made it to the car in five seconds flat and got in. She was speed walking to catch up. I was starting up the car when she opened the door and climbed in.
“You really need to cut that shit out,” she said, grabbing her seat belt and putting it on. I didn’t respond to her, nor did I even bother to put on my seat belt. I knew how much that drove her crazy, and I wanted to piss her off like she did to me. I just put the car in gear and drove off.
“So you’re not going to put your seat belt on, Dontie?” she asked. Again, I ignored her. I grabbed my Lil Wayne’s “Sorry for the Wait” two mixtape, placed it in the radio, and tuned the volume up. I knew she was heated because she folded her arms across her chest and started mumbling to herself. I didn’t wanted to hear, nor did I care about, whatever it was that she was saying. I just bobbed my head along to the music the whole ride to the mall.
* * *
That was how I ended up at Dolphin’s Mall early in the morning. I was still mad at Sky, and she was obviously mad at me, because when we walked in the mall, we both went our separate ways. I wasn’t really tripping off nothing, so when she walked in her own direction, I was fine with that. Like I said, I really didn’t have anything to get from the mall, and I didn’t know what she was coming to get, so I decided to window-shop until she was finished. I bypassed a few stores when my stomach decided to start talking to me. Since Sky had messed up my breakfast, I hadn’t eaten anything yet, so I made my way toward the food court to grab me some grub.
On my way to the food court, I decided to call Brinay. I wanted so badly to be in her presence, to be able to hold her, to feel her, to kiss her, but I knew she needed time. Right now, I’d just have to settle on hearing her voice, even though she might curse me out or have an attitude. I didn’t care or mind at all, though. Placing the phone to my ear, it rang a few times; then it cut straight to voice mail. I wanted to be mad, but I couldn’t. I was just surprised that she took me off of the blocked list, so I was one step closer to getting back on her good side, I guess. I’ll give her a few minutes before I’ll call her back, I thought just as my phone started to ring. I noticed that it was Chance calling. I didn’t know what he wanted since we weren’t on the best of terms, but he was family, and I wasn’t going to put him off just because we had one little argument.
“What’s up, man?” I asked, answering the phone.
“Ain’t shit, man, I just touched down. Where you at?” he replied.
“Where? You in Miami?” I asked, shocked.
“Yeah, man, remember you wanted me to come to that little thingy with your girl and her family tonight?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that I asked you to come with me, man. I’m at the mall right now, though. What you about to get into?” I said. I had totally forgotten that I had asked him to come with me, but I was surprised that he actually came.
“You thought I was going to let you get thrown to the wolves by yaself, nigga? I’m about to head to the telly and catch a nap, man. That ride was long, and I was tired as fuck. I almost ran off the road a few times,” he joked. See, that’s what I loved about that little nigga. No matter what went down between us, he was never one to hold a grudge. He would always be the first one to speak and squash the shit. Occasionally, I had to ask myself if we were really related, because we were complete opposites sometimes.
“All right, man. I’ll see you when you come by the house later on. Go and get yourself some rest, bruh. Hit me up when you wake up.”
“All right, fam. I’ll see you later, bruh,” he said, and we hung up.
I’d made my way across the food court, trying to find a table. The place was insanely packed, and there was not one open table in sight.
“I don’t know why everyone is in the mall today, and that’s why I didn’t want to come,” I said to myself. I’m sure if Sky was right in front of me, I’d have to curse her ass out for bitching about not finding a seat when I told her ass not to come here in the first place. If there was one thing that she knew how to do for sure, it was bitching.
Giving up the idea of finding a table where I’d be able to sit down, I grabbed my phone and dialed Brinay’s number again. It started ringing . . . but then the craziest thing happened, making my whole body go still. I heard the sound of a ringtone that I was all too familiar with. Any other time, I wouldn’t think about it, but since I was calling Brinay’s phone and the exact lyrics that she had set for my ring tone were now playing, I thought about it.
“It can’t be her,” I said, turning to where the sound was now coming from. When I turned around, I was staring straight at the woman who had my heart. She wasn’t looking at me at first, but when she looked up, she looked just as surprised as I was. I moved my mouth to say something to her, but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say to her now that she was here. Then her face changed, and she looked as if she was disgusted and mad about seeing me. Before I could say something, she took off walking in the opposite direction of me.
I wanted to call out to her, but I didn’t want to make a scene, so instead, I calmly but swiftly walked behind her. I wanted to wait until we got outside into the parking lot to confront her, because I knew Sky was in the mall somewhere shopping, and I didn’t want to risk the possibility of them seeing each other. We were almost to the exit when all of a sudden, her bags dropped out of her hands. I guess she was that nervous or scared to see me that she dropped everything.
I watched her as she scrambled to pick everything up from off the floor. Her hands were trembling so bad that she couldn’t do it, so I decided to help her. Once I’d picked up everything, I handed her the bags. She didn’t even look at me. She simply said thank you, grabbed her bags, and tried to walk off, but I stopped her. I wasn’t about to let her get away from me that easily. I wanted—no—I needed to talk to her, and I was going to do just that regardless of whether she wanted to.
We stood there saying a few words before she and her friend headed to the exit, with me right behind her. I know I was playing it close, but right now, I wasn’t thinking straight. I needed Brinay like the air that I breathe, and even though I was now married to Sky, nothing was going to change that, which is why I was following her, trying to make things right with her. I waited until we made it to their car and out of earshot before I spoke.
“Come here, Nay,” I said, grabbing her into a hug.
She resisted a bit before she gave in. Lord knows how bad I couldn’t wait to do this right here. I’d been dying for weeks to do this, and now that I was able to, I didn’t want to let her go.
“Let go of me, Tae,” she said, trying to push me off of her, but instead, I held her tighter.
“Stop! You’re squeezing me too tight,” she yelled, trying to push me again. This time, I let her go. “What are you doing here, and what do you want?” she asked.
“The question is, what are you doing here?” I asked her.
“I’m minding my own business. Now, what do you want, Tae? I have things to do, and you’re obviously holding me up,” she said, catching an attitude.
“Can you give us a minute, ma?” I asked her friend, who was waiting off to the side of her.
“You okay?” her friend asked her.
“Yeah, I’m good. Go ahead and get in the car. I’ll be there in a minute,” she told her. She looked at me, then rolled her eyes before walking around to the car and getting in.
“Nay, you got ya space. Start talking because a minute is all you’re going to get, baby,” she said with her hand on her hips.
I went to grab her hand, but she stopped me. “If I was you, I wouldn’t touch me.”
“Okay,” I said, moving my hand back and placing both of them in my pockets. I didn’t say anything. For a moment, I stood there, staring at her, admiring her beauty. For some strange reason, she had this beautiful glow on her face that I’ve never seen before, and I instantly got a bit jealous. I don’t know if it was because of some man, but I started mugging her.
“Look, if you ain’t gon’ say shit, then I’m out,” she said, moving toward the car.
“Ma, chill,” I said, grabbing her arm. “I miss you, baby.”
“Nah, you don’t miss me, Tae,” she replied, jacking her arms from my grasp.
“I do miss you. Why have you been ignoring me?” I asked.
“Dontie, I’m going to be quite honest with you. I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m not that chick. I’m not about to let no man come in my life thinking he can play me. See, I know your kind, and I tried to overlook it, but you’ve made it quite damn obvious a few times. See, at first, I wasn’t worrying about it, or maybe I tried to deny it, but I know you got some chick, besides me, who you mess with. Now, I’m not mad, nor am I tripping about the shit at all. I just needed you to know that I know,” she started to say, but I had to cut her off.
