“I know you; you’re not usually that cold to people, not even the girls at school who I…”
The look she gave me dared me to finish that sentence. I wasn’t born yesterday, so I left that shit alone. “Come on, tell me.”
“You really don’t know?” She finally turned and looked at me.
“Not a clue.” My mind was going in six different directions at once, though. Sherry had proved that she had no issue with bending the truth to suit her means, so there’s a good chance that she’d said something to Lora along the same lines she’d tried feeding me. I’d been too preoccupied with her shit since that night I went to the ice cream parlor with Sherry to delve into that shit, but now I need to know.
Lora, for all her brashness these last few weeks, is my little wounded bird. The shit her dad had pulled had hurt her more than she likes to let on, but I hadn’t forgotten anything she told me about that time in her life or the way it made her feel when he left and the shit him, and his new skank had done in the months following.
If Sherry had spewed that same bullshit to her smack dab in the middle of our little tug of war, I could only imagine what that shit had done to her. “Tell me, did something go on between the two of you?”
“She warned me away from you.”
“Come again.”
She explained to me how Sherry had gone to her room and the things she’d said. So that night, when I thought that Sherry had gone upstairs to use the bathroom, she’d actually been there to do damage. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What was I going to say?”
“I think I remember coming to your room and kissing you after that. You could’ve told me then.”
“You also rejected me that night, remember.”
“Yeah, but you know why. It had nothing to do with her.” Looks like I’m gonna have to have another talk with Sherry. Where the fuck does she get off?
“For the record, that never happened. She lied and told our parents and hers that we had plans, and then she lied and told me that it was dad’s idea. I never made any plans with her.”
“But you two knew each other long before you and I met.”
“So? What does that mean? I knew Paul before we met; you don’t see me trying to date his ass.” She laughed, which is what I was after. I didn’t want her to see how pissed I was by what she’d just shared because I don’t want anything to mess with our day.
“Are we really going shopping?”
“Yes, plus, I wanted to give us time to talk about where we go from here. Don’t tense up; it’s all good, I promise.” I told her my idea about keeping things under wraps until I found the right time to tell our parents letting her know that I was going to be the one to deal with that, therefore, taking all of the pressure from off her shoulders.
“I kind of agree with you, but what are we going to do about your stable?”
“My what?” She gave me a sassy look out the side of her eye chocked full of attitude.
“Those chicken head groupies that are always following you around and talking about the size of your dick.”
“Whoa, since when do you talk like that?”
“Since now, answer the question.”
“What do you mean do with them? There’s nothing to do with them. I never hit the same skin twice you…” Oh shit, me and my damn mouth.
“What I am saying is, are they still going to be hanging around you at school, and what about when we go out somewhere?”
“No, they’re not going to be hanging around I’ll make sure of it, you have nothing to worry about I already told you.”
“Yeah, but how do I know you didn’t tell all of them the same thing you’re telling me?”
“Because I was never in love with any of them.” She tried hiding the look of pleasure on her face, but it was hard to miss. “Like I was saying, we’re gonna keep things cool for now until after the baby is born, at least.” Which should be any day now, which means I have to get my shit together soon.
We had a little back and forth as we ironed things out to her satisfaction. “What’re we doing here? I thought we were going to the mall?” She looked out the window at the jewelry store I’d pulled up to. “You’ll see.” I’d been thinking about this all morning, ever since I woke up, in fact. I know that with someone like her, action speaks louder than words, so I needed something to show her my heart, to show her that I mean what I say when I tell her that I love her.