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“That girl got you fucked up. I don’t even know who you are anymore.” Key put his hand up to his face, pretending to cry.

“Ain’t nothing wrong with changing up some for your girl. You should try it. Maybe you can keep a bitch longer than three minutes.” He cut the fake crying out and immediately changed his expression to offended.

“This the first time you made it past a seven day trial, and now all of a sudden you’re the relationship guru.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Talking about your girl. Tuh! You chose her, but what your lovesick ass gone do if she don’t choose you?” I was confused.

“What you mean? We together already.”

“She got a nigga!”

“You seen him?” This nigga let out a deep breath as if I was frustrating him.

“BECAUSE HE IN JAIL!” We both went silent. “Look, I know you. Whatever you got planned for that nigga is between you and God. I’m not trying to save him or politic on his behalf. What I’m saying is, say he is out of the picture, and she still don’t choose you. Then what?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Seemed like simple math to me. Two minus one equaled me and Bubbles.

“Guilt. Love.” He paused and looked at me for a few seconds. “Because you killed him.” He let that sit, and that mufucka landed exactly where he hoped. I never thought of the possibility that she wouldn’t want to be with me or forgive me if I killed that lame ass nigga.

“I hear you.” My phone dinged, causing me to look down.

What time you coming?

I told her I was handling something with Key and went back to my thoughts. I don’t know if that was his intent, but that nigga had me deep in thought. It didn’t help her case that she pulled that stunt talking to that nigga in my house. By the time I pulled up at her house two hours later, my thoughts still hadn’t settled. Bubbles got in ready to joke, so she immediately put her feet on my dash. I didn’t say a word. I drove off, still unsure of how I wanted to handle this.

“What’s wrong with you?” I barely glanced over.

“Nothing. Why you think something wrong?” I shot back.

“Because you’re not talking, and your last text was dry as hell.” I shrugged and continued to drive. I wasn’t mad at her, but I wasn’t in the mood to joke around either. Bubbles removed her feet off the dash and started fidgeting with her purse. Then it was the seatbelt. I looked at her, but she did everything but look at me, and I could tell she knew I was staring. She finally glanced at me and then hurried up and looked back down. She was nervous about something, so I started to fish around to see where it got me.

“You got something you wanna tell me?” She opened her mouth and then closed it back. After a lil while, she finally spit it out.

“I, umm… I went to see Peanut.” That’s why she was scared. She thought the mood I was in was because somehow, I already knew. She was wrong, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

“Yeah?”

“I went a couple of days ago. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to tell you face to face.”

“How that go for you?” I wasn’t about to give her relief by saying that was cool.

“It was okay, I guess.” She really thought I was asking how did it go? She didn’t catch the sarcasm. “We didn’t really talk much. He kept bringing up me robbing the trap, and the police hit. I was not about to be talking in there. I’m like nigga, I know you not a criminal, but all the movies we done watched. Everybody should know not to do that. I wouldn’t respond, so we just ended the visit.” Peanut absolutely should have known better. You ain’t gotta be in the streets to have common sense, but I didn’t say any of that. I wasn’t interested in having another conversation about Peanut. I’d spent enough of my day hearing about that nigga. Bubbles glanced at me again, but I didn’t say a word. It remained that way until I pulled into Oakbrook Mall. My intentions were to take Bubbles shopping, but I didn’t get to tell her that. Once she told me she went to see that nigga, I decided to be petty. I told her we were coming to get something for me, and I was gone make her watch me shop while we were in one store. Then I was gone tell her she could get whatever. She was going to feel that shit even if she had no idea what I was doing. We walked inside of Gucci, and I began looking around.

“You didn’t tell me what we were coming to get.”

“I didn’t know I had to. I’m getting something for me.”

“That’s helpful.”

“You always this talkative when you shop?” She rolled her eyes before stomping off. I laughed and pointed out a few shoes to the clerk that I wanted. Every now and then, I glanced her way, but she wasn’t paying my ass any attention. She was picking up items and putting them back. When she grabbed the scarf, I thought she was about to do the same thing. Instead, she slipped it in her purse. My mouth damn near hit the salesclerk on the shoulder. She walked out the store, and I paid for my belongings. I was so shocked I couldn’t even be pissed. Walking outside, I found her standing in the cut.

“You could’ve asked me.”

“For what?” She genuinely looked confused.

“Bubbles.” I nodded toward her purse, but she dismissed it.

“I don’t like asking people for shit.”

“You ain’t have a problem asking me for that thirty thousand.” She shrugged.