Can't Be That Other Woman (11 page)

              “I’m no killer, baby. I’m sweet as can be, unless someone tests me,” he said, getting a little more serious.

              “I feel that.” I agreed with what he was saying.

              “So are you going to let me take you out or not?”

              “I don’t know,” I said, hunching my shoulder like a little girl.

              “It’s a yes or no answer. I won’t be mad if you say no, baby, at least I know I tried,” he said, making me laugh. I stood there for a minute, contemplating on an answer. Before I could open my mouth, my phone began buzzing. I looked to see a message from Tracy. When I opened it, I laughed at what it said. Turning around towards the shop, I spotted her looking towards me. I winked at her, before turning back around to Aqura.

              “Looks like we got an audience,” he said, getting out and nodding towards the shop.

              “Yes, that’s my best friend. So about you taking me out, my answer is yes,” I said, barely able to get the words out right. My chest was pounding and I could hear my heart beating through my ears.

              “All right, that’s cool. Let me get your number, then,” he said. I called out my number to him, and a few seconds later, my phone began ringing. “That’s my number, beautiful. Make sure you use it.”

              “All right boo, I gotcha.”

              “All right, I’ll be calling you in a few days. So you better answer that phone,” he said, before he pulled me in for a hug. It was unexpected, but I hugged him back.

              “Okay, I’ll be waiting,” I said, pulling back. He winked, before getting in his car and pulling off. He wasn’t down the street good, before Tracy’s ass came strolling out of the shop

              “I hope like hell that you got that nigga’s number. Shit, especially how long your ass been out here,” she said, butting in as usual.

              “For your information, I actually did get his number,” I said, turning my phone so that she could see it.

              “That’s good. Now my brother can see that he can’t have his fucking cake and eat it too. His ass was watching y’all the whole fucking time.” She started laughing as if that shit was straight comical or something.

              “Bitch, you need your ass whopped.”

              “I don’t need to shit,” she said. She looked at me and smiled, before walking back into the shop. I turned to watch what was going on in the streets, when I heard the bell ring behind me again.

              “You better be ready to go, since you’re out here stalking me and shit,” I said, before I turned around. I was shocked when I noticed Onijae standing there, and not Tracy.

              “So what, the cat’s got your tongue?” he asked, flashing a quick smile, before it disappeared behind a grin.

              “What do you want?” I asked, rolling my eyes at him. I really couldn’t believe he had the audacity to try to question me about any damn thing.

             
          “You know what I want, Lay Lay. Why are you out here playing on me like that?” he asked, stepping a little closer so that no one could hear us.

              “I don’t have time to play games with you, Onijae. I don’t hear from you in weeks, then when I do see you, you and your old lady all lovey-dovey. I’m not that stupid, I know when someone’s trying to play with me. So come with something better than that. I told you that I’m no one’s fool,” I said, looking him straight in the eyes.

              “I had to play things cool. When I went home that morning, she knew exactly where I was. The crazy bitch tracked my GPS on my truck. The only thing she didn’t know was that you were the one who lived in that house. I spent the last few weeks trying to get things right, in order, so I can be with you, Delaney,” he had the nerve to say.

              “Cut the bullshit, Onijae. You didn’t spend the last few weeks doing shit for nobody, but your damn self. You were the only one benefitting from that shit. I tried texting you and calling you, but I got nothing. So I stopped fucking trying. I’m only seventeen, I’ve barely had my heart broken. I’m not about to let it be by a man who has a woman that he’s attached to.”
              “I told you that this won’t be like that. I won’t treat you like the rest of them niggas treat the females they sleep with. I actually want you, Delaney.”
              “If you want me like you say you do, then telling me why the hell you’re still with Bianca then, Onijae?” I asked, raising my voice a little.

              “Lower your voice before people hear you,” he said, looking around us. Once he saw that no one was paying us any mind, he continued. “If I could get rid of her today, I would.”
              “Well, what’s stopping you then?” I asked, pissed off by the shit he was saying.

              “I still love her. I mean I’m not in love with her, but I still love her.”

              “Well, if you love her, then you should do right by her then,” I told him. I looked at him, waiting on him to say anything, but he didn’t say anything at all.  I left him standing right there feeling whatever way he was feeling. He had to see that I was actually serious. I wasn’t about to let him play me. I wasn’t going to play no man’s fool or be his other woman. I don’t care if I was only seventeen, and never had a man before in my life, but I wasn’t dumb. I’d seen the shit most women went through with sharing the same man. Trust and believe, I wasn’t trying to be like them, so I was making that shit known to him again.

* * *

              After leaving the shop with Tracy, we decided to head to the mall to do a little shopping. Thanks to the money that Aqura had given me for doing his hair and the five hundred that Onijae had sent for me, I had enough to buy something for all of my siblings and myself. Once we were through with shopping, I headed straight home to get ready for work. I was happy that I didn’t have to close the store tonight, because I was in no mood to stay late.

              When I got to work, I was thankful that the place wasn’t pack. There were a few people and that was including staff. I spoke to everybody, before I walked straight to the back to get myself together. I was ten minutes early, so I didn’t have to worry about being late for work.

              I’d been sitting in the break room for the past five minutes, when I heard the door open. My head was down, so I had no idea who it was.

              “What’s wrong, Delaney?” I heard someone ask. I looked up and saw Heather standing there. Heather was the other manager at the store, she and I were friends, but we weren’t close friends.

              “Nothing is wrong, I’m good,” I told her, before I placed my head back down. The truth of the matter was that I wasn’t all right. My head was killing me and I couldn’t get Onijae off my brain, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

              “You know if you need to go home, you can. I can always work myself, besides, there’s not too many people shopping here today,” she suggested.

              “Thank you, but I don’t need to go home. I just had needed a minute to get my thoughts together,” I said getting up from the table. She looked at me with questionable eyes, but before she could say anything, I did. “Honestly, Heather, I’m really okay. I’ve just been through a little bit, but I’m good now. Nothing is going to stop me from clocking in and making this money.”

              “Okay, but if you need to talk, or need to go home, you can come and tell me. I’m always there for you if you need me to be,” she said, grabbing me into a hug.

Thanks boo, I really appreciate it,” I replied, hugging her back. “Now come on and let’s get up out of here, before people be looking for us.”
              “All right,” she said, laughing. Together, we made our way to the front of the store, which was a good thing, because just that fast, plenty of people were coming in. I walked over to the register to clock in, before I place my nametag on and began helping the customers.  With any luck, that could keep my mind from off everything that was going on.

              I was helping this mother find her daughter a pair of shoes, when my phone chimed. Ignoring it, I waited until I finished helping them, to pull it out. To my surprise, I had a message from Onijae.

             
Him: “What time do you get off?”

I looked at the message and read it, before placing it back into my pocket. I wasn’t about to entertain him. Then I remembered that had my iMessage thing on, which let him know the exact time I looked at his message. I know he was going to feel some type of way about me not responding, but that was all on him. He needed to know that he wasn’t going to be playing with me. If he wanted a toy to play with, they had too many toy stores around here for that. He could easily grab him up a few toys, and then sit around and play with them, because he most definitely wasn’t going to be playing with me.

              A few minutes later, my phone chimed again. I knew that it was Onijae, so I didn’t even bother to pull out my phone this time. Instead, I continued to do my job.

              It was around five in the evening when I finally decided to take my lunch break. I wasn’t that hungry, but I needed a break, so I walked to the food court and found a table in the corner to sit at. I pulled out my phone to call Tracy, when it began ringing. Looking at the caller ID, it was none other than Onijae himself. Ignoring his call, I placed the phone on the table and sat with my head back.
Lord, why must he be so difficult?
I thought, as I sat at the table. I wanted him, but I didn’t want the baggage that came along with him, nor was I trying to be a nigga’s sideline forever.

              I mean, he already made it clear that he loved Bianca. So why should I waste my damn time getting into something, that was going to be hard getting out of? I’d rather just not get into it at all, well, that was what I kept trying to tell myself.

              “I know damn well you saw me calling and texting that phone, Lay Lay,” I heard him say from behind me.

              “Of course I did,” I replied, not even bothering to turn around to acknowledge him.

              “Don’t go getting smart, Delaney. I’ll turn this mall the fuck up.”

              “Do what you please, Onijae,” I replied nonchalantly. I know he wanted me to be scared or worried, but I wasn’t. He needed to be worried about his old lady, because if someone happens to see him sitting at this table talking to me, I’m pretty sure she would flip her top on him.

              “Why are you acting like this?” he had the nerve to ask me.

              “Look Onijae, I’m not trying to get into all of this right now. So I would like it if you would just drop it, okay?”

              “Delaney, I don’t know what I did to you, but I’m honestly sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel the way that you’re feeling right now,” he explained, but all of that shit was going through one ear and out the other. He knew damn well what he did to make me feel like this, but since he wants to act crazy, I’m going to act crazy right along with him.

              For a while, we didn’t say anything to each other. We just sat there lost in each other’s eyes. In my mind, we were together. This was the man of my dreams, but I knew it was only a figment of my imagination. This man was never going to fully be mine and mine only. No matter what he said, how he said it or what he did or how he did it, he still belonged to someone else. Which is what I was saddened about.

              “Are you going to tell me what time you get off or not?” he asked, breaking the silence.

              “I get off at eight, why?”

              “Because I want to come and pick you up, Delaney, that’s why.”
              “Onijae, I don’t need you to come and pick me up. I’ve been catching the bus all of my life and I’d continue to catch it.” I told him. His ass wasn’t slick. He was not about to get me to be alone with him, nor was he about to get me in his car.

              “I don’t want to hear all of that shit,” he said, raising his hand up at me. “I’ll be out in the front of the mall at quarter to eight, don’t make me cause a scene, ma.”

              “I told you that I didn’t need to you give me a ride.”

              “You heard what I said,” he said, getting up from the table. “I gotta go take care of some business, I’ll see you later.”

              I opened my mouth to speak again, but I was hushed when he placed his lips on mine. I quickly pulled back and looked around to make sure that no one we knew was around. “You can’t be doing that, Onijae,” I told him.

              “I’m not doing anything, Lay Lay,” he said, flashing me a bright smile that warmed my heart. “Remember what I said. I’ll be waiting on you outside at quarter to eight.”

              “Yeah whatever.” I waved a hand at him. He smiled again, before he walked off. I continued to sit there and watched him disappear. The minute he left, I pulled out my phone to call Tracy, but she didn’t answer. I was about to call her again, when she sent a message saying that she was with her boo. I understood, but told her to call me when she had some time. After she replied, I got up and headed back to work, hoping that the rest of the day would fly by. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I was excited about Onijae picking me up from work today.