Chapter 1

“One two skip a few, ninety-nine one-hundred! Ready or not, here I come!” Chanice took her hands off her face and turned away from the tree to find her best friend. She’d been inseparable from Justin since birth…well before that. Their moms often said that the two of them have been bonded since the womb when they met in their Lamaze class.

“I found you Jay!” Chanice exclaimed using her nickname for him when she spotted him hiding on the side of his house.

“You can’t catch me though!” he replied before sticking his tongue out at her and running towards the tree that she was just at. Chanice was right on his tail and almost had him but he reached the tree a millisecond before she touched him.

“Safe! Haha! I’m still faster than you!”

“Naw uh! I almost had you!” Chanice replied.

“You’ll never be faster than me ‘cause you’re a girl! Girls are slow and stupid and they’ll never be as fast as a boy!” Chanice’s feelings were hurt.

“Take it back!”

“No, it’s true! I saw it on TV.”

“No it’s not. Take it back!” she said again, this time shoving him.

“No!” He shoved her back.

“Yes!”

“No!”

“I said take it back!”

“And I said no!” Chanice shoved him again and Justin fell back on the ground. He growled. He was hurt and wanted to hit her back but was taught not to hit a girl. But she wasn’t a girl to him, she was just one of the boys. Justin grabbed her ankle and pulled her down. Before long the two of them were rolling around pushing each other. Another neighborhood kid they were playing with heard the commotion ran over to break them up.

“Stop it! Don’t hit him! Don’t push her!” Trace exclaimed, pulling the two apart. When he finally managed to separate them Chanice’s pants were torn, Justin’s lip was bleeding and both of them were breathing hard.

“Stupid girl,” Justin spat.

“You’re the stupid one. Stupid-head!” Chanice yelled before running home. She couldn’t cry in front of them. She didn’t want them to think that she was weaker than them because she was a girl. She wanted to show them that she could roll with the punches like everyone else. She raced upstairs to her bedroom and threw herself on her bed and cried. Justin had hurt her feelings and made her scrape her knee when he pulled her down.

“I hate him!” she yelled.

“First of all, you don’t hate anyone. Hate is a strong word, and we don’t use it in this house.” Chanice looked up and saw her mom standing in her doorway.

“Yes ma’am.” Deborah walked over and sat down next to her daughter on the bed.

“Now who were you talking about?”

“Stupid-head Justin.”

“Chanice…” her mom said in a threatening tone.

“Sorry. Justin; he said that girls aren’t as good as boys and we got into a fight and I never wanna see him again.” Deborah chuckled.

“What’s funny? I’m serious Mommy.”

“Sweetheart, you know how many times I’ve heard you say that out of the 8 years you’ve known him?”

“Iono, a thousand?”

“Probably.”

“And we’re still friends?” Chanice asked.

“Yes. Ya’ll argue and fight all the time, but the next day ya’ll are back out there running around like nothing happened. You watch, tomorrow morning he’s gonna knock on the door and you’re gonna race downstairs and outside with him.”

“No, I’m not,” Chanice huffed, “I mean it this time. We’re not friends anymore.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes I do; boys are…” Chanice was cut off when the doorbell rang. Deborah got up and walked downstairs to open the door and smiled when she saw Justin and his mom on the doorstep.

“Hey Lynn, hey Justin.”

“Hey Debbie.”

“Hey Auntie Debbie.”

“Come in,” Deborah said, opening the door wider.

“No, we don’t have time; Paul’s taking us out tonight. I just wanted to bring Justin by to apologize to Chanice, the two of them got into it today.”

“Yeah, she was just telling me about it. Let me call her down. Chanice!” Chanice jumped up when she heard her name and walked downstairs to the front door where everyone was. She stood next to her mother and held onto her skirt.

“Hey Auntie Lynn…Justin,” Chanice said with a mean look on her face.

“Chanice,” he replied with the same look. Both got pinched by their mothers.

“Justin, don’t you have something to say to Chanice?” Lynn asked her son.

“Sorry,” he mumbled in a barely audible tone.

“I didn’t hear you,” Lynn said in a stern voice.

“I said I’m sorry,” he repeated louder.

“Chanice has something to say too,” Deborah stated.

“I do?” Chanice asked, looking up at her mom’s face.

“Yes, you do.”

“I’m sorry Justin, do you forgive me?”

“Do you forgive me?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well yeah! You wanna finish playing? Everybody’s still outside,” he asked excitedly.

“No, it’s getting dark and Paul’s taking ya’ll out to eat,” Deborah told him, “Ya’ll can play tomorrow.”

“Alright. Bye Auntie Debbie, bye Chanice.” Justin and Lynn waved and Deborah closed the door. She turned to say something to her daughter and saw Chanice skipping upstairs.

“Those two,” Deborah chuckled.

Chapter 2

~*~ 4 years later ~*~

“What are you gonna wear?”

“I dunno; I’m thinking about wearing my denim skirt and a tank top with some flip-flops. You?”

“Probably some jeans and a tank top with my Air Forces.”

“The white ones?”

“Yeah.”

“That sounds cute. I can’t believe we’re actually going to our first boy/girl party!”

“Chanice, you’re going to your first boy/girl party. I’ve been goin’ to ‘em since last year.”

“Your parents let you go in 6th grade?”

“Well yeah; I can’t believe that this’ll be your first one and you’re in the 7th grade.”

“Well things are different here, Brit,” Chanice said to her good friend Britney. The two of them were on the phone figuring out what they were going to wear to a party that night.

“Don’t I know, Millington’s nowhere near exciting as Louisiana was.”

“Yeah, we’re better,” Chanice replied jokingly. Suddenly there was a knock at her door.

“Hold on,” Chanice told Britney before walking over and opening her door and seeing Justin standing there with two jerseys in his hands.

“Which one should I wear?” he asked.

“On the phone; are you blind now?”

“Is that Justin? He’s so cute!” Chanice heard Britney in her ear and dry-heaved.

“No he’s not!”

“Which one Cece?” Justin asked, using his nickname for her.

“I don’t know. Who let you in? I didn’t hear the doorbell.”

“Your dad, he was raising the garage door when I was walking up to the door and just let me in through the kitchen.”

“Oh; hold on,” she said to Justin, “Britney, let me let you go. This boy needs my help. I’ll see you at the party.”

“Alright, by girl.”

“Bye,” Chanice replied hanging up the cordless phone and tossing it on her bed.

“Now what do you need?” she asked, turning her attention to her best friend of 12 years.

“Should I wear the white or baby blue one?”

“What shoes are you wearing?”

“My light blue and white FUBU’s.”

“Both of them are UNC jerseys, Jay.”

“I know, but which one?”

“Umm…” This was nothing new; Justin was at her house quite a few times a week asking for advice on what to wear. He would always show up in a wifebeater and a pair of the numerous basketball shorts he had. He’d cross the yard that separated their houses or just get her attention through her window since their rooms were right across from each other.

“Wear the blue one.”

“You sure?”

“Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“No, not yet.”

“Not yet! I got you boy!” she replied playfully.

“What about my hair?”

“OMG, who are you tryna impress at this party?”

“No one.”

“Liar!”

“Whatever; what about my hair though?”

“Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Chanice went to her bathroom and returned a few minutes later with clear gel in the palms of her hands. She rubbed it in his mass of blondish curls and sent him on his way back to his house with a friendly swat on his behind.

“Hey!”

“Go get ready, Jay.”

“Alright. Mom said she’s gonna drop us off at seven.”

“Ok, I’ll be ready.” Chanice closed the front door and walked back up to her room to put on her flip-flops and lip gloss before going to the restroom to do her hair.

~*~

Justin and Chanice walked in the party and Eminem’s ’Real Slim Shady’ was blasting through the speakers. The basement was packed, but like every pre-teen party there weren’t that many people dancing together. Chanice saw Britney in the corner with two other girls that they hung out with and walked over while Justin went and joined some of his fellow basketball players on the other side of the room.

“This party is so lame,” Britney said after a while, “No one’s dancing. I could’ve stayed at home if I wanted to be in a divided room.”

“Yeah, I totally agree,” Maggie added. Chanice and Lauren rolled their eyes. Ever since Britney moved to Millington Maggie’s been trying her hardest to basically become her clone. Maggie started off just agreeing with everything Britney said, like it was the law, but what freaked out Lauren and Chanice was when she dyed her hair and changed her style to mirror Britney’s. Lauren even started calling her ’M&M’, short for ’Mini Me’ a few weeks ago and Maggie hated it.

“Someone should go over there and grab a guy to dance with,” Britney said, twirling her blond hair around her index finger.

“Why don’t you go grab Justin?” Lauren asked. Britney scoffed before her face turned a deep shade of pink.

“What! You know you like him! You want his babies,” Chanice teased.

“No I don’t!” Britney exclaimed. The three other girls laughed.

“Ok, this party is boring,” sighed Chanice. All of a sudden she heard Sisqo’s ’Thong Song’ cue up. She smiled and walked over to the other side of the room and grabbed Justin.

“We’re dancing.”

“We are?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes, someone has to get this party started.”

There were ‘oohs’ then cheers then more people came out on the dance floor. By the time the chorus came the entire dance floor was packed and Justin had his hands on Chanice’s hips while they grinded. They were both laughing and neither realized what was going on until she heard Lauren say, “Uh oh! Chanice pushin’ on up on Britney’s man!”

“He’s not my man!” Britney exclaimed over the music.

“And it’s not even like that,” Chanice started, “we’re just dancing.”

“Umm hmm,” Lauren said, eyeing Justin and Chanice. Chanice was just about to say something when the song changed to Destiny Child’s ‘Emotion’. She turned around to face Justin when she felt someone tap her on her shoulder.

“Do you mind if I cut in?” Chanice looked up and saw Pierre standing there with a smile on his face.

“You wanna dance with me or him?” she asked playfully.

“With you! Why would I…” Chanice held up a hand to cut him off.

“Do you mind, Jay?”

“Naw, go ahead Cece,” Justin replied, letting go. Chanice couldn’t believe that she was actually dancing with Pierre! She’d had the biggest crush on him since the beginning of the year and now here she was slow dancing with him at a real house party! She wrapped her arms around his neck as he placed his around her waist and they swayed to the rhythm of the music. A smile spread across her face, but was quickly replaced with a frown when the music was abruptly cut off. A loud groan was heard throughout the room, but was then silenced by Britney’s voice.

“Ok, so I have an idea. How does ‘Spin the Bottle’ sound?”

Chapter 3

“Spin the bottle?” Chanice asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s what this party needs. I mean, it’s up to Trace since it’s his party, but it would really get this party started.”

“I don’t care,” Trace replied nonchalantly.

“Alright, dim the lights and everyone sit down in a circle,” Britney replied before grabbing a bottle of water and emptying it’s contents and joining everyone else in the center of the room.

“Ok, so does everyone know how to play?” she asked, positioning herself between Maggie and Chanice. A chorus of ‘yeahs’ were spoken before she placed the bottle in the center and spun it.

“Looks like the birthday boy’s gonna get his kiss after all,” Maggie commented when the bottle stopped on Trace. He crawled forward and met Britney in the middle of the circle for a quick peck before spinning the bottle himself and kissing Chanice when it landed on her.

“Damn, this is the best birthday ever,” Trace joked as Chanice spun the bottle. Everything seemed to go in slow motion when the bottle finally decreased in speed and landed on Justin. Chanice looked up and saw her friend sitting there with his mouth slightly open…his reaction mirroring her own.

“Can I get another spin? That was just a practice on,” she asked.

“Nope, you know the rules; whoever it lands on is who you have to kiss. No practice spins,” said Nicole, another partygoer sitting in the circle.

“Yeah, so just kiss him and get it over with,” Lauren added. Both Chanice and Justin sighed before leaning in and giving each other a peck that lasted about a millisecond long.

“Naw uh! That was not a kiss! I kiss my grandma longer than that!” Nicole exclaimed.

“Yeah, you have to kiss him again, Nicey,” Lauren said, using her nickname for her friend. Chanice rolled her eyes.

“You didn’t say how long the kiss had to be, just that it had to be a kiss.”

“And that wasn’t a kiss. That was a peck; now do it right this time or we’ll make you French kiss him.”

“Come on Cece, let’s just get this over with,” Justin said before grabbing the back of her neck and kissing her. It lasted all of 5 seconds but it felt like a lifetime to her. Damn, the boy was a great kisser and he was only 12. When he pulled back her eyes were still closed and she licked her lips. Wow. That as the only word that could describe the kiss. His lips were so soft, so supple and even though all they did was a peck on the lips she felt as though she tasted his soul. But wait, she wasn’t supposed to be thinking about him like that, right?”

~*~

“I changed my mind!” Chanice sang along with the Keyshia Cole track. She danced around her room in her tank top and boy shorts trying to figure out what to wear on her date with Pierre. It was their 3-year anniversary and he had planned a special surprise for her.

Chanice’s eyes shot over to her window where she heard the noise. She looked across the alleyway and saw Justin standing at his window motioning for her to do the same.

“What’s up, Jay?” she asked after raising the window.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready for my night out with my baby. Whatcha need?”

“Nothin’, just tryna figure out why you dancin’ around half-naked.”

“I’m not half-naked; I wear less than this at the beach, Jay. Wait, aren’t you supposed to be out with Britney?” she asked. Justin had been dating her since their sophomore year, the same year Chanice had hooked up with Pierre.

“Naw, she called and told me she wasn’t feeling good. I think it’s her time of the month.”

“Why do guys always say that? Ya’ll always think that we’re menstruating when we don’t wanna go out with ya’ll knuckleheads!”

“Well that’s gotta be the reason. Why else would she not wanna go out with all this sexiness,” he said jokingly.

“Maybe you made her sick; your ego makes me sick all the time.”

“Not funny Cece.” Chanice couldn’t stop laughing.

“Yes it is. Wait, so what are you gonna do tonight?”

“I was gonna try and hang out with you, but then I saw you dancin’ around half-naked…”

“I have on clothes!” she exclaimed.

“Not enough; I can see azz cheeks.”

“Don’t be lookin’ and you won’t see ‘em.”

“Well it’s kinda hard when it’s big and round and…”

“Jay!”

“I know, I know. That’s Pierre’s job.”

“Damn straight it is,” she replied. Was Justin flirting with her? Naw, he couldn’t have been. Nope. It was just the harmless banter they’d been doing for year…right?

“So what is it; 50 years?” he joked.

“No; it’s 3. You should know that since you and Britney’s 3 year is coming up.”

“Yeah, she can’t stop talking about it.”

“When is it again?” Chanice asked.

“The Sunday after prom. I have no idea what we’re gonna do though. Well,” he smirked, “I can think of a few things.”

“Gross Jay; I don’t wanna hear about you and Brit’s love life.”

“Well you know me; I’m a pimp.”

“You wish!” she replied playfully. All of a sudden her sidekick started playing Mary J. Blige’s ‘Be without you’, Pierre’s ringtone. She walked over to her bed to answer it.

“Hey baby.”

“Hey, I’ll be there in 15 minutes, ok?”

“Alright.”

“Alright; love you, bye.”

“Love you too, bye,” she replied before sliding the phone close.

“That was loverboy huh?” Justin asked when Chanice returned to the window.

“Yes that was Pierre; he’ll be here in 15 minutes.”

“Oh, where are ya’ll going?”

“No idea, he’s surprising me. But I gotta get dressed.”

“Yeah, I don’t want him seein’ you all half-naked and shit.”

“Timberlake…he’s seen me in less.”

“Ya’ll better not have been doin’ nothin’ nasty,” he said in a protective voice.

“That’s for me to know and you to wonder about,” she replied jokingly, “But for real Jay, I gotta get dressed. We’ll talk when I get back.”

“Alright. And make sure you’re fully covered, I don’t want him seein’ your T&A and gettin’ all excited.”

“Ok Dad.”

“For real Cece.”

“Ok Jay, bye.”

“Bye.” They both closed their windows at the same time and Chanice walked into her closet and slid on her red halter dress and tan wedge heels. Once she made sure that the straps on the shoes were secure she walked to her vanity and put on her jewelry: earrings, a charm bracelet and her senior class ring. She looked in the mirror and smoothed a stray hair before spraying on some Burberry London perfume and heading downstairs.

“My, you look pretty,” her mother greeted her when she walked into the den.

“Thanks.”

“Pierre’s on his way?”

“Yes ma’am; he should be here pretty soon.” Deborah nodded and walked over to her.

“I can’t believe that you two have been together for 3 years. It seems like it was only yesterday that your Dad and I were grilling him about his intentions with you.” Chanice chuckled.

“But he’s a sweet guy; you seem happy with him.”

“I am Mom,” Chanice replied with a smile.

“Ah, teenage love. I remember those days.”

“What days?” Both women looked up and saw Mr. White walk in the room.

“We were talking about high school romance, Marlon,” Deborah said to her husband. She walked over and kissed his cheek.

“You know your mother and I were high school sweethearts.”

“I know Daddy; do we really need to get into that story right now? I don’t think that Pierre’s gonna wanna wait around here for another hour to hear that story for the millionth time,” she said playfully.

“Actually I wouldn’t mind.” Out of nowhere Pierre stepped in the room and walked over to her and kissed her forehead sweetly.

“Your dad let me in,” he said, reading her mind. Chanice smiled at him.

“So what do you two have planned tonight?” Marlon asked.

“Well it’s sort of a surprise, but…”

“No, it’s ok; we don’t wanna ruin it then,” Deborah interjected.

“Yeah, just have her back by two; she has to sing in the choir tomorrow.” Chanice stared at her dad with wide eyes.

“It’s ya’lls 3-year anniversary; I had to extend the curfew,” he told her.

“Thank you Daddy!” she exclaimed, walking over and hugging him and her mother.

“Ya’ll are the best.”

“We know,” Deborah replied with a smile.

“I’ll have her back before then safe and sound,” Pierre said to her parents.

“Alright then; you two have fun. Happy anniversary,” Deborah said, hugging both Chanice and Pierre before walking them to the door.

“They’re so cute together,” she said to Marlon, waving at the car as the couple drove off.

“Yeah, they remind me of us at that age.”

“Too bad though…” Deborah let her words trail, not finishing her statement.

Chapter 4

“So where are we going?” Chanice asked, squeezing Pierre’s hand. He took his eyes off the road for a second and looked at her and smiled.

“It’s a surprise, baby,” he said sweetly.

“Well am I overdressed, underdressed or what?” she continued.

“No, you looked beautiful.” Chanice smiled.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, you really do look good though; makes me feel bad that I didn’t…” Pierre stopped talking before he let the surprise slip.

“What? What didn’t you do?”

“You think you’re slick, huh?” he said, playfully pushing her thigh.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied with a mischievous smile. She almost had him.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

“Of course, I’m with you,” Chanice replied before leaning over the center console and kissing his cheek. The rest of the ride was quiet.

“Pierre…” Chanice was speechless when they arrived at their destination.

“I told you that you’d like it,” he replied before kissing her slightly open mouth and getting out the car to open the passenger’s door for her.

“I’ve been wanting to come here since it opened.”

“Well we’re here now, babe,” he responded, handing his keys to the valet and escorting his girlfriend inside the restaurant.

“Welcome to S’Vauge,” the hostess greeted kindly.

“Thanks; we have a reservation. Bruns, two.” The hostess looked down at the notepad before responding.

“Right this way.” She escorted them to an intimate booth in the corner of the restaurant.

“This is beautiful,” Chanice said once their waiter left with their drink order.

“But it pales in comparison to you. You look absolutely stunning tonight.”

“Thank you,” she replied blushing.

“No, thank you.” Chanice cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

“Thank you for these three wonderful years we’ve had together. You’ve been the best girlfriend a guy could have, and I dunno what I did to deserve you.”

“Pierre, I should be the one saying those things. You’ve stayed with me through some crazy times even though you didn’t have to. You’ve put up with my mess and still make me feel like I’m the most important person in the room when I’m with you.”

“That’s because you are.” Chanice smiled lovingly.

“You and that smile,” he began, “Girl, your smile has the power to make the person receiving it’s day brighter.” Her smile grew bigger.

“Ok, I was gonna wait until after dinner to give you this, but,” Pierre reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a black velvet box.

“Pierre…” Once again she was speechless. She opened the box and gasped. He’d gotten her a pair of diamond stud earrings and two more charms for her bracelet; a key and a heart.

“You hold the key to my heart, Nicey.” She caressed his cheek sweetly.

“These are…wow.”

“I know, you don’t have to say a word.”

“Jay’s gonna flip when he sees this!” Chanice exclaimed. Pierre’s expression turned sour.

“Yeah,” he chuckled half-heartedly. She took off her bracelet and added the two charms to it.

“Here, let me put it on you,” he said, extending his arm and taking the bracelet and putting it on her delicate wrist. She smiled and admired the piece of jewelry.

“These really are beautiful.”

“Well you deserve them.” Chanice leaned forward and kissed him sweetly before slipping the box with the earrings in it in her purse and pulled out a similar blue velvet box.

“I bought you something too.” She handed him the box and smiled when she saw his face light up when he opened it.

“Chanice, you didn’t have to…”

“Yes, I did. You’ve been talking about it forever.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to…whoa,” he said, admiring the jewel encrusted customized UNC watch. He placed the box on the table and threw his arms around her, embracing her in a warm hug.

“Well I’m happy that you like it,” she began, “but can you please let go; you’re smothering me.”

“Oh, my bad.”

“It’s ok,” she replied smoothing her hair. The waiter came and took their meal order and an hour later they were exiting the restaurant hand-in-hand.

“That was delicious,” Chanice said, looking up at her boyfriend adoringly.

“Yeah, it was; we may have to come back before we leave for college,” he replied, handing the valet his ticket. It took all of two minutes for the valet to return with Pierre’s navy blue Mustang.

“So where are we off to now?” she asked once they were out on the road.

“Just sit back and ride,” he replied, squeezing her thigh softly, “We’ll be there shortly.”

“Alright.” Chanice got comfortable in the leather passenger’s seat and locked hands with Pierre’s right. He raised them to his lips and placed a sweet kiss on the back of her hand. After what seemed like a five minute drive he pulled over into a parking lot.

“The park?” she asked, her face scrunched up, “What’s goin’ on…ohm gosh, ‘A Night of Jazz’! You remembered!”

“Of course I did, sweetheart. You said you wanted to go, right?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t talked about this for at least a month and a half.”

“Yeah, but when you said that you would love to come for our anniversary I got us tickets.”

“Pierre…” and again she was speechless. She cupped his face and kissed his lips tenderly. They kept eye contact when they separated; her light brown eyes staring into his dark brown ones.

“I love you,” she said sincerely.

“I love you too.”

“No, I really love you, Jay…Pierre,” she corrected herself. Shit. Why did she just call him that? Pierre eyed her suspiciously..

“I’m sorry, I felt my phone vibrating and I told Jay to text me if he needed something,” she lied. He knew she was lying. And this was the second time she’d mentioned Justin that night.

“Oh,” was his only response.

“Baby, you know what I meant to say. I did the same thing to him when you called me earlier,” she said as they walked through the park to the concert.

“You told him you love him?” Pierre asked, confused.

“No! No,” she began, “we were talking and I said your name instead of his when I heard your ringtone,” she lied again.

“So you don’t love him?” Pierre asked. That question was a double-edged sword.

“I do, like a brother. And I love you like a lover,” she said, smiling.

“Oh, alright. How ‘bout we go see this concert?” he said, putting some distance between them. Chanice sensed the tension and just nodded before leading them to the outdoor pavilion. This was all déjà vu. They’d had this conversation the previous year after a basketball game when Pierre got jealous of her hugging and cheering for Justin.

“You’re teammates!” she tried to explain to him, “I wasn’t just cheering for him; I was cheering for you and the rest of the team too. And what do you mean ‘what’s up with the hug’? I’ve known Jay since birth! He’s like my brother! And besides that, I can hug whoever I damn well please!” They’d separated for a week after that argument. Pierre ended up apologizing and buying her chocolates and a cute stuffed teddy bear. She’d taken him back then and now here they were having the same argument. He was constantly comparing their relationship to her relationship with Justin.

“You’re the love of my life, and he’s just Justin. That goofy kid I grew up with who’s like a brother to me,” was something she’d said to him numerous times. And she was telling the truth. Justin was like a brother to her…a brother who just happened to be hot. Not that she noticed or anything. Chanice tried to clear her mind and just focus on the band playing ‘Shiny Stockings’. That was one of her favorite charts. Unlike a lot of her peers, Chanice loved jazz music...well she liked all music, but jazz was definitely one of her favorite genres. The laid back feel of the music brightened her day every time she listened to it. Pierre understood her passion and even like some of it; which was one of the reasons he got them tickets for tonight’s concert.

“This is really nice, babe,” Chanice said, smiling up at him. He returned it half-heartedly. She noticed the change in his tone and demeanor and tried to make it better by placing butterfly kisses on his neck and wrapping her arms around him.

“Not now, Nicey,” Pierre said in an annoyed tone.

“Fine; gosh, I was just tryna help you enjoy the concert.”

“Well I could if I could focus on it. Besides, this isn’t the place for all that.”

“You didn’t used to care,” she replied, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Well I do now. So just sit back and watch the damn concert,” he said sternly. Chanice scoffed. Did he just curse at her? This was not how she imagined tonight was gonna be. She didn’t want to upset him even more so she sat back and enjoyed the band’s rendition of ‘Nutville’. When they finished there was a 15 minute intermission and Chanice saw it as an opportunity to fix whatever was going on between them. She placed a hand on his thigh and slowly moved it closer to his lap, but he grabbed her wrist before she could.

“Damnit, I said no,” he said through clenched teeth, “Stop acting so damn slutty. That shit may work with Justin, but it won’t work with me.”

“Excuse me!” Chanice exclaimed, standing up and looking down at him.

“You heard me. I don’t need to repeat myself,” he replied calmly.

“Fuck you! I don’t know what the hell your problem is tonight, but you need to get off of whatever angry jealousy trip you’re on and open your fuckin’ eyes. I’m with you, not him. I love…or thought I loved you. I don’t know now. A loving girlfriend wouldn’t have just said what you said to me.” Chanice grabbed her purse and stormed off towards the parking lot, scrolling through her address book for the taxi service’s phone number.

“Chanice! Wait Chanice!” Pierre caught up with her and grabbed her arm in attempt to slow her down. She snatched her arm away from him.

“Let go of me. Don’t touch me ever again.”

“I’m sorry baby. I don’t know what came over me back there,” he said to her back. She was still walking away from him. When she didn’t respond he grabbed her arm more forcibly and pinned her against a nearby tree.

“Ow! You’re hurting me,” she said on the verge of tears.

“Good, now you know how I feel,” he said, tightening his grip, “Now I said that I was sorry for what I said. Will you come back and enjoy the rest of the concert with me?”

“No, I wanna go home. I’m finished with this date, finished with this relationship,” she spat.

“Fine,” he said before throwing her on the ground, “Leave. Call Timberbitch and tell him to come pick ya slutty azz up. I don’t care anymore.” Chanice was in tears. He’d really hurt her; both mentally and physically. He’d said some hurtful words to her before, but he’d never put his hands on her. She was scared and she decided to call the one person she knew that would be there for her no questions asked.

“What it do, Cece?”

Chapter 5

“He did what!?!”

“Keep your voice down! I am sitting right next to you, ya know,” Chanice replied softly. She was in the passenger’s seat of Justin’ light blue Explorer, a gift from UNC when he chose to accept their basketball scholarship. The two of them were on their way back to his house because Chanice didn’t want her parents to know about her and Pierre just yet.

“I’m not gonna lower my damn voice! It’s my fuckin’ car!” Justin exclaimed. Chanice winced. She could tell that he was thoroughly pissed off by the extensive use of profanity in his statement. Justin saw his friend wince and placed his right hand on her knee.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you Cece. I’m just pissed that he actually put his hands on you! Did he hit you?”

“No, he just grabbed my arm and even after I told him that he was hurting me he wouldn’t let go. In fact, he squeezed it tighter,” she replied, rubbing her sore arm.

“So why is your dress torn?”

“He pushed me and I tore on some tree.”

“He pushed you!?!” Justin exclaimed, slamming on his brakes. That God there was no one behind them.

“That’s it. I’ma kill him.”

“Justin! How ‘bout you focus on not getting us killed right now!?!”

“I’ma gut him like the scum his is,” he continued, picking up speed. Chanice listened as his death threat ramblings continued. She was still in shock from the whole experience; she couldn’t stop herself from shaking and crying. How could he do that to her? How could the guy who loved her cause her so much pain both mentally and physically?

“Are you there?” Justin’s voice and snapping fingers in her face brought Chanice out of her trance-like state.

“Huh? I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”

“I asked you if you were ok?”

“Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Alright. I guess I just got so wrapped up in how I was gonna kill him that I forgot to see how you were feeling.”

“It’s ok. Thank you for coming to get me though.”

“You don’t have to thank me Cece; I just did what needed to be done. Now what’s the game plan? You still wanna come to my house?”

“Yeah. I’ll go home when I’m sure my folks are sleep. I just don’t wanna deal with them tonight.”

“Alright. You know you can just stay the night if you want. You know the guestroom is you unofficial room.” It was true. The closet in the room was full of her clothes and shoes, some even from when she was younger. She even had some bathroom space for all the toiletries she’d left or kept there over the years. And it was the same way for his things at her house.

“So you wanna call ‘em and tell ‘em you’re spending the night?” Chanice checked the time on the radio display before replying, “They’re sleep; I’ll send my dad a text message. He’ll see it when he gets up for his ‘middle of the night bathroom run’.” She pulled out her Sidekick and typed a message letting her dad know that she was just gonna stay the night at Justin’s and that she would see them in the morning. Justin pulled in his garage just as she hit ‘Send’, and the two of them sat in the car in silence for a minute after he killed the engine.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked her again.

“Yeah; I think I’ll be ok. I just need to…” Chanice didn’t finish her statement. She fiddled with her charm bracelet and stared off.

“You got new charms?” Justin asked after noticing her gift from Pierre.

“Yeah, he gave me these and earrings tonight,” she replied, pulling the velvet box out her purse and handing it to him.

“Wow Cece; these are beautiful.”

“I knew you’d say that,” she choked out through tears.

“Aww Cece; don’t cry,” Justin said, pulling her in for a hug.

“I’m sorry. I’m just a blubbering mess.”

“Naw, you’re ok,” he replied, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb, “Come on, let’s go in the house. We both need to some rest.” She nodded and they both exited the car and headed into the home. Chanice knew they house like it was her own, but still accepted Justin’s hand when he offered it as they were going upstairs. He walked her to ‘her’ bedroom and kissed her forehead sweetly before holding her and saying, “It’s gonna be alright, ok?” Chanice nodded.

“Goodnight Cece.”

“’Night Jay.” Justin waited until Chanice closed the door to go to his room. He hated seeing her like this; he hated that she had allowed herself to be broken by Pierre once again.

“Shit!” he exclaimed, throwing his composition book across his room. Thank God both of his parents were sound sleepers or else Lynn would’ve come up to his room and cussed him out two days passed Sunday. Justin walked over to his bed and sighed as he plopped down on it.

“Why Cece? Why are you still with that dude?” he asked no one in particular. He laid back, stretching his limbs and yawning before he glanced to his right and saw his English binder still open and on the page he’d been writing his latest assignment.

He glanced at the poem and scribbled ‘For Cece’ on the top of the page. Just sighed and closed the binder and placed it on his nightstand. He stood up and pulled off his black wifebeater and shoes and socks before turning off his light and getting back in his bed and under his covers. Chanice had just finished her 6th total pace around ‘her’ room. She stared down at the phone in her hands and let the tears fall from her face. She re-read Pierre’s 4 IMs before deleting them and signed off of AIM. She didn’t need this. She didn’t need his harassment on top of what he did to her earlier that night. She turned her phone on ‘Silent’ and placed it in her purse and started taking off her dress. Once she was just in her panties she walked over to the dresser and pulled out a big t-shirt and a pair of her cheerleader shorts. She turned off the light and got in the bed and under the covers, but she couldn’t get comfortable. She tossed and turned for about 30 minutes until she finally got up and waked to Justin’s room. She inched open his door and whispered, “Jay?”

“Come on Cece,” he replied, scooting back towards the wall and lifting his arm and the covers so she could get in next to him. This was something they’d been doing forever. It didn’t matter which house they were at; Chanice couldn’t sleep under the same roof as Justin unless he was next to her. It’d become so routine that he didn’t even have to open his eyes or wake up. Once she was settled in next to him Justin wrapped his arm around her middle. He kissed the back of her head sweetly and could tell that she’d already fall asleep by her even labored breathing.

“Sleep well Cece,” he said before kissing her head once more and mumbling ‘I love you’ in her hair. Chanice smiled. Justin always did that when he thought she was asleep, thinking that she wouldn’t hear him…but she did. She heard him everytime.

Chapter 6

The next few days were like hell for Chanice. when she finally went home the following day she locked herself in her room, only emerging for food and the restroom. She told her parents that she and Pierre had a fight and that they weren’t together anymore. She asked them to tell him that she wasn’t home if he called or stopped by, and she blocked his number on her cell phone. She decided to make an appearance for the outside world on Sunday when Justin came and picked her up for their longstanding weekly workout. They’d been hitting up the local 24 Hour Fitness since Justin got his driver’s permit 3 years earlier. During those three hours the two of them worked off all their frustration with Pierre and more. Both were beat when they pulled into the Smoothie King’s parking lot.

“You want your regular?” Justin asked, unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Jay! You don’t have to buy it.”

“It’s ok, you bought ‘em last week. I got you, Babygirl.” Chanice smiled…for the first time since Friday night she smiled.

“You know I hate that nickname,” she laughed.

“No you don’t,” he replied, chuckling, “So, your regular, Babygirl?”

“Timberlake…” she replied in a warning tone.

“Alright.” Chanice chuckled and rolled her eyes at him.

“Get me a 20 oz this time.”

“Ok. I’ll be back in a minute, Babygirl,” he said before getting out of the car.

“Timberlake!” Chanice replied, throwing a penny at him. She sighed and slouched back in her seat. He was right, she secretly enjoyed that nickname…when she was the only one being referred to as his ’Babygirl’. It’s not like she was jealous or anything, but she didn’t want Britney sharing the pet name with her. That wasn’t jealousy…right? Justin was back with their smoothies before she could answer herself.

“I got you an extra energy boost, you looked like you needed it.”

“Thanks,” she replied, accepting her drink from him.

“No prob. So, where to?”

“I don’t care; I just don’t wanna go home now.”

“So yesterday you didn’t wanna leave your house---no, your room, and now you don’t wanna go back? Damn, you females are so fuckin’ hormonal!” Chanice scoffed.

“Fuck you, Timberlake!” she replied, shoving his shoulder.

“Ouch! Damn girl, I was just playin’!”

“I bet you were,” she replied, rolling her eyes at him.

“Well since you have all this damn pent-up frustration, let’s go shoot some hoops.” A worried look flashed across Chanice’s face. It only lasted about a second, but Justin caught it. She didn’t want to run into Pierre on the court at the park.

“You know, we don’t have to go to the park. Paul put up a goal in the back a few months ago.” Chanice smiled.

“That’s a bet. So you ready to get ya azz handed to you?”

“Already startin’ to trash talk, damn! You seem pretty confident this time. Same wages as always?”

“Yeah, but this time it’s two lunches.”

“That’s a bet,” Justin replied, starting the engine and pulling out the parking lot.

~*~

“DJ won’t you play this girl a love song. She really needs to hear this freakin’ love song.” Chanice pressed the ‘Talk’ button on her phone, already knowing who it was.

“Wassup Jay?”

“Are you dressed?”

“Yeah,” she replied, looking down at her black tank top and khaki gauchos.

“Good, I’m coming in.” Before she could respond he’d already hung up and opened the door to her room.

“Damn Jay! I coulda been naked!”

“Which is why I called first,” he replied cooly.

“Oooook. So, what’s the reason for this early morning visit?”

“Oh, so now I need a reason to come by?” he said, giving her his signature Timberlake smile.

“When it’s this early, yes. What do you need?”

“Can you come with me to help me pick out Brit’s gift?”

“Yeah, but couldn’t you just wait ’til after school to ask me?”

“No, cuz we’re going now.”

“Jay…”

“What? You have TA first period and Music Theory after that. That’s like a whole 3 hours of nothing.”

“But what about you? Yeah, you have 1st period off, but don’t you have Dual English afterwards?”

“Yeah, but we’re watching ’Gattaca’ and I’ve seen that movie a million times.”

“That’s right. It is one of Aunt Lynn’s favorites.”

“So?”

“Yeah; but I’m ridin’ with you. It makes no sense to take two cars.”

“Alright; and I’ll bring you back home after practice tonight.”

“That’s a bet. Lemme just grab my shoes and we can go.”

“Alright,” Justin replied, plopping down on her bed. From experience, he knew that it was gonna take her a couple of minutes to get through that department store that she called a closet and choose a pair of shoes. She bent over gave him the perfect view of her onion booty; so beautiful it could make any man cry. In fact, those gauchos displayed every one of her voluptuous curves. The girl had a bangin’ body and wasn’t afraid to show flaunt it…in a tasteful way.

“You ready?” Chanice asked, snapping him back to reality.

“Oh, yeah.” He watched as she put a wide headband on her head and earrings in her ears.

“Alright, how do I look?”

Sexy as hell. “You look aight.”

“Shut up!” she replied playfully. Justin gave her another once over, starting from her Grecian sandal covered feet to her flowing dark brown hair. She really did look beautiful, but he’d never tell her that.

“Is there something wrong?” Chanice asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“No. Why?”

“You’re starin’ at me.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s ok; I’d be enchanted by my beauty if I was you too,” she replied playfully.

“Shut up. Let’s go.”

“Right behind ya.” The two of them headed downstairs and grabbed a couple of bagels from the kitchen before piling into his Explorer.

“So where are we off to?” Chanice asked once they were out on the open road.

“Memphis.”

“For what?”

“Jewelry.”

“What kind?”

“Damn girl! Is this ‘20 Questions’? Just sit back and ride,” he replied lightly.

“How am I supposed to help you if I don’t know what we’re shopping for?”

“I dunno; we’ll figure it out when we get there though.”

“Well damn, that makes a lot of sense.”

“Hush child. Here, put this in,” he said, handing her Kanye West’s ‘Late Registration’. They rode in silence for a while, just letting Kanye’s rhymes echo throughout the vehicle; until Chanice said, “You know, if you ever decided to do the Hollywood thing you’d fit right in.”

“What? Why do you say that?” he replied, taking his eyes off the road for a quick second to glance at her.

“Look at your outfit.” Justin obeyed and looked down at his Rolling Stones 40 Licks tee and jeans and black flip-flops.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“You’re dressed like a teen star; dude.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are. You even have the shades to top it all off. But I’m not sayin’ that it’s a bad thing,” she quickly added.

“Damn right,” he replied jokingly.

“For real. You’d really fit in the music industry. You have an ok voice,” she said recalling the times she was serenaded by him.

“Whatever Cece.”

“For real Jay! If you ever get injured or anything playin’ ball you should try the music biz. Shit, Tank did and he made millions.”

“Whatever,” he replied, changing the subject, “So I’m thinkin’ about gettin’ Brit a ring…” The two of them walked into the jewelry store and walked over to the ring display when they saw that the attendant was busy with another customer.

“This one’s pretty,” Chanice said, pointing to a platinum band ring with turquoise stone surrounded by tiny diamonds.

“Yeah, but I was looking at this one,” he said, pointing to a simple silver band ring with a pink diamond in the center.

“That may be a little out of your price range, Jay. But it is pretty though.”

“That it is. So you two here looking for an engagement or wedding band?” Both Justin and Chanice looked up at the sales attendant and chuckled.

“We’re not engaged,” Chanice replied with a smile, “We’re not even dating.”

“Oh; I apologize. I just assumed you two were a couple. Ya’ll are so cute together though; you ought to.”

“I’m actually here looking for a ring for my girlfriend,” Justin replied.

“Oh; and what did you have in mind, sir?” Forty-five minutes later Chanice and Justin exited the jewelry store. He’d custom built Britney’s ring and would be back to pick it up the day before prom.

“So, we still have…” Chanice looked down at her watch, “an hour and a half before our lunch period is over. What do you wanna do?”

“How ‘bout we do lunch; I mean since you owe me two.”

“Shut up. I was this close,” she held up her index and thumb with a centimeter of space between them, “to beating you.” And she was. The final score was 52-50; Justin won at the last minute with a 3-pointer.

“Yep, but you lost; and I want Bennigans.”

“Whatever Timberlake. Let’s just go; you’re startin’ to piss me off now; bein’ so damn cocky.”

“It’s called continuity.” Chanice laughed in his face.

“You wish!”

Chapter 7

Justin and Chanice got to school five minutes before the bell rang to dismiss first lunch.

“You have calculus next right?”

“Yeah; come on, Jay, you should know my schedule by now.”

“Shut up. Just meet me in the gym after practice.”

“That’s a bet. See ya later.”

“Alright; bye Cece,” Justin replied, closing his locker door and walking off down the hallway. Chanice grabbed her calculus textbook and was closing her locker when she felt a hand on her waist…a hand that shouldn’t have been there.

“You have two seconds…” she said through clenched teeth.

“What? I can’t touch my girl?”

“Your girl!?!” she slammed her locker closed and spun around to face him.

“Are you on crack or something!?!”

“Chanice! Calm down; lower your voice.”

“Why? Are you afraid that these people will find out that you’re not perfect? That we’re not together because you put your hands on me?” Pierre got embarrassed when he realized that people had stopped what they were doing and were watching him and Chanice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered.

“Like hell you don’t! Don’t sit up here and lie or try to pretend like it didn’t happen. Like you didn’t grab me and push me!” Chanice’s outburst had caused such a disturbance that a teacher came out her classroom to see what all the commotion was about.

“What’s going on here?”

“Nothing ma’am,” Pierre quickly responded, “Chanice is just being a little dramatic.”

“I’m the dramatic one? I’m not the one who’s harassing their ex-girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend?”

“Yes, your ex-girlfriend who’s about to be late for her calculus class. Goodbye.” Chanice tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked off calmly; like nothing had happened at all.

~*~

Chanice checked her watch for the tenth time in five minutes and sighed heavily.

“Where is he?” she asked no one in particular. She was waiting on the bleachers in the gym, like they agreed, and he was late…20 minutes late to be exact. Chanice sighed once more and gather her belongings, deciding to find another ride. She was walking out the gym when she heard Justin’s laugh. She’d recognize that sound anywhere.

“I know man! Did you see her azz though? That thang was like ba-dow!” Chanice rolled her eyes. Boys are so…ugh!

“Bout time!” she exclaimed when she saw him walk in the gym with Darrell, another one of his teammates.

“Sorry Cece, Coach was talkin’ and I lost track of time. You ready?”

“Been ready, Jay.”

“Alright, I’ll holla at ya later Darrell.” The two guys did a complicated handshake.

“Bye Darrell,” Chanice said, pulling her purse strap up higher on her shoulder and following Justin out the gym.

“Bye Chanice.” She waved and followed Justin out to his Explorer in the senior parking lot and the both of them placed their stuff in the back seat.

“You hungry?” he asked after starting the engine.

“I can eat.”

“What do you wanna eat?”

“I don’t care; burgers.”

“McDonald’s it is.”

~*~

“OMG, I’m so friggin’ full,” Chanice said, falling back on her bed.

“You should be, you just had two cheeseburgers, fries, and a shake. Damn dude!” Justin replied, sipping on his Dr. Pepper. The two of them were hanging out in her room, eating the food they’d just gotten from Mc Donald’s and rehashing that day’s events.

“So I heard about what happened today,” he said after a few minutes of silence. Chanice sighed and rolled her eyes.

“He’s such a fuckin’ prick; I hate him.”

“Well I’m pretty sure the whole world knows that by now,” he replied, chuckling.

“Well he should’ve never grabbed me. I can’t believe he even tried that shit after what he did this past weekend.”

“As long as he doesn’t do anything else….”

“Yeah, I’ll Lorena Bobbitt his azz in a minute.” Justin laughed.

“For real!” she insisted.

“I believe you Cece,” Justin replied sincerely. She got up off her bed and threw her bag in the trash can.

“I’m about to hop in the shower; I smell like outside,” she said, walking to her dresser and pulling out a pair of Soffee shorts and a tank top.

“You want some company?” he asked, jokingly.

“Jay!” she exclaimed, turning around and staring at him in shock..

“I was just playin’, damn.” No he wasn’t., but of course he’d never let her know that.

“Well answer my phone if it rings.”

“Alright.” She opened the door adjoining her room to her restroom and pretty soon Justin heard the shower come on. He sighed and balled up his bag before throwing it in her trashcan and walking over to her dresser. He started looking at all the pictures she had up there. Damn that girl had a lot of pictures! He went down the line, seeing her grow up in each of them; a lot of them were of him and her. Then he came to this empty space next to her mirror. He could tell that she’d taken off a group of pictures and assumed that they were the ones of her and Pierre. He still couldn’t believe that Pierre had actually put his hands on her. It made his blood boil just to think about it.

“Don’t make me close one more door. I don’t wanna hurt anymore. Stay in my arms if you dare, or must I imagine you there. Don’t walk away from meeeee! Don’t walk awwwaaay from me! Cuz I have nothing, nothing, nothing…if I don’t haaaavvveee yoooooooooouuuuuuuuuuu” Justin listened in as Cece sang in the shower. People said that he had a good voice, but that girl had Christina Aguilera’s pipes. He was looking at her collection of awards for the millionth time when he felt his Sidekick vibrate before it rang Britney’s ringtone.

“Hello.”

“Hey baby! Whatcha doin’?”

“Hangin’ out with Cece; we stopped for burgers after practice.”

“Oh,” Britney said offhandly, “So do you plan on coming out here today?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably be around there in another hour or so.”

“Oh,” she sighed.

“I can come now if you want me to” he said, hearing the sadness in her voice.

“Naw, stay. I don’t wanna pull you away from Cece….and I thought I was your girlfriend.”

“Britney,” Justin sighed, “Let’s not start on that right now.”

“Let’s not start what, Justin? Last time I checked you and I were dating, but yet you’re with her every waking moment of the day.” Justin sighed. He really didn’t want to have this argument with her right now.

“Look, I’m not in the mood for this right now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“So you’re not coming over?”

“I’m not feeling too good….”

“Whatever,” Britney cut him off, “You don’t have to lie to me, Justin.”

“I’m not lying to you.” And he wasn’t; her attitude really was giving him a headache.

“Fine.”

“Bye,” he said before hanging up. He swiveled the top close just as Chanice stepped out the restroom with just a towel on.

“Who were you just yellin’ at?”

“I wasn’t yellin’ at anyone,” he said, forcing himself to look in her eyes instead of the rest of her beautiful body.

“Britney, huh?” she asked, walking over to her underwear drawer and pulling out a pink thong. Justin cocked an eyebrow.

“Don’t look at me like you’ve never seen a thong before.”

“I have just….” Chanice raised a hand to silence him.

“You don’t have to finish your statement. I know you want my body, Jay.” Justin’s jaw almost dropped. Chanice couldn’t hold it any longer and started laughing.

“Damn, I was just playing….but if you wanna…” she let her words trail and sauntered back into the restroom.

“Tease.”

Chapter 8

“Pass me a hash brown.”

“You already ate yours!”

“Well gimme your’s then,” Chanice replied, grabbing his hash brown from the McDonald’s bag. 

“Greedy pig, that’s mine!” he exclaimed, reaching for it before she shoved it in her mouth.

“But you still love me though,” she said after swallowing it, “Yum.”

“Unfortunately, I do.”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

“Well….”  Chanice playfully shoved Justin.

“Hey!  What was that for?”

“You’re being a smartazz,” she replied, making both of them laugh.  All of a sudden there was a tap at Chanice’s window, startling the both of them.  Justin let it down and Quinton, one of his teammates, and his girlfriend Jazmyn were standing there.

“The bell just rang.  You two lovebirds are gonna be late for class if ya’ll don’t hurry up.”

“Shut up, Jaz,” Chanice replied, “You know it ain’t even like that.”

“Umm hmm,” Quinton chimed in.

“Q, you know better than that.  Where is Brit anyway?” 

“She’s inside hugged up on Nate; everyone just assumed that you two had broken up since they’re all on each other in there.”

“WHAT!?!”  Justin shot out his Explorer and charged in the building, instantly spotting Britney with Nate’s arms around her.

“What the hell!” he exclaimed, approaching them.  They quickly detached themselves and Nate cleared his throat before Britney said, “Now you know how it feels,” in a low tone.

“What are you talking about!?!” Justin replied, his voice still raised.

“First of all, don’t yell at me.  And you know exactly what I’m talking about.  It hurts doesn’t it?”

“This is bullshit Brit, and you know it,” Cece interjected.

“You shut the hell up; you can’t say anything because you two are fuckin’ around too!”

“Excuse me!” Cece exclaimed.  Justin grabbed Britney’s arm and pulled her over to a corner.

“Let me go!”

“Not until you calm down and tell me what the hell’s goin’ on?”

“I’m just treatin’ you how you’ve been treatin’ me for past two years.”

“And how’s that?” Cece asked.

“You think I don’t know what’s goin’ on between you two?” Britney asked her, “Do you really think that I’m that blind that I can’t see that you two are messin’ around behind my back?”

“Are you fuckin’ serious!?!” Justin exclaimed through clenched teeth, “Where are you gettin’ this from?”

“Everywhere Jay.  Ya’ll are always together!”

“He’s like my brother!  And I thought  we were friends.  Why would I do that?” Cece asked.

“You tell me,” Britney replied, putting a hand on her hip.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Cece replied, rolling her eyes. 

“No, I’m not.  When are you two gonna open your eyes and see what everyone else is seeing.  I mean, damn it took me long enough to open my eyes; but ya’ll can’t be that naïve.”

“You know what?  Fuck this!  I’m tired of dealin’ with your jealousy shit.  I want out,” Justin said, leaning in so only Britney could hear him.

“That’s all I needed to know,” she replied before doing a 180 and walking off.

“That’s fucked up,” Chanice told Justin once Britney was out of earshot.

“Whatever, I don’t care.”  But Chanice could tell that he could.  The two had been together too long, and had been through too much for him not to care.

Chapter 9

The day couldn’t end soon enough. 

Both Justin and Chanice were glad that they didn’t have any after school activities because all they wanted to do was go home and go to sleep…in their own beds of course. 

“You hungry?” Justin asked as they turned out onto the main road behind their high school.  Once again he was giving her a ride home.

“Naw, I just wanna go home.  I can’t believe that bitch pulled that stunt!  Then she had the nerve enough to accuse us of messin’ around behind her back!  What the fuck kinda shit is that?”

“I mean!  Why would I do something like that?”

“Justin Randall!  Whatcha tryna say?  I’m not cute or something?”

“Well…”  Cece playfully shoved him.

“Fuck you!”

“You wish!” he replied.

“No, you do.  You know you want my body,” Chanice replied playfully.

“Oh yeah, lemme tell you about it!”  The two of them didn’t stop laughing until they pulled onto their street and saw the dozens of flowers on her doorstep.

“What the hell?” Justin asked, pulling into her driveway, “Who are these for?”  Chanice got out the SUV and walked over to the flowers to retrieve the card that was attached to them.

“They’re for me,” she said softly.

“Who are they from?” Justin asked, walking up behind her.  Chanice read the card, her eyes filling with water as she did before muttering “Pierre.”

“What?  Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know.  His card just says that he’s truly sorry and that I was the best thing that ever happened to him and that he still loves me.  He wants me to forgive him and go to the ‘Spring Formal’ with him.”  Justin sighed heavily.

“Don’t do it.”

“Don’t do what?” Chanice asked, looking up at him with confusion in her eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna let this dude back in you life after what he’s done.  Or do you just not remember?”

“I remember Jay, but people make mistakes.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t a mistake Cece!  He put his hands on you!”  Chanice winced…he was yelling again. 

“Look, I don’t need this right now.”

“No, you don’t need him right now.  You know that this dude’s bad news, and you’re letting him back in.”

“You know what?  Just because your relationship is fucked up, doesn’t mean that everyone else’s is too, Justin.”  He could tell that he was really starting to get to her, she hardly ever called him ‘Justin’.

“Whatever, do what you want; but don’t be mad when I say ‘I told you so’.”

“Fuck you, Justin Randall.”  Chanice walked in her house and slammed the door in his face.  Justin rubbed his head furiously and crossed the stone path that led to his house; not caring that his SUV was still parked in her driveway.  Chanice turned around and slid down the door landing in a squat.  As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew Justin was right.  She shouldn’t let Pierre back into her life after what he did, but people make mistakes right?  He apologized and that’s all that should matter, right?  If she was so certain of herself why was continually questioning herself.  Chanice finally gave in to her gut feelings and called Pierre.

~*~

“I did it.”

“You did what?” Justin asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“I called Pierre and told him that I couldn’t give him another chance.”

“You did?  What did he say?”

“He basically called me every name in the book.”

“Cece, I swear I’m gonna kill him this time.  He had no right to disrespect you like that.”

“Yeah, but I’m not saint either; we went blow for blow for a while.”  Justin chuckled.

“That’s my girl; I taught you well.”

“OMG, leave it to you to make light of a serious situation.”

“You like it!” Justin exclaimed playfully.  Chanice sighed.

“You’re crazy.”

“Crazy for you babe; only for you,” he joked again.

“OMG, what are you doing now?  I’m hungry and tonight’s ‘Date Night’ for my folks.”

“I could eat.  Where do you wanna go?”

“I don’t care; I just wanna eat.  I’ll meet you at your car in 5 minutes.”

“Alright.”  Justin hung up his phone and threw on some jeans before crossing the same pathway he’d crossed 2 hours before. 

“Hey,” Chanice greeted shyly, getting in the passenger’s side when she heard the doors unlock.

“Hey yourself.  What do you wanna eat?” Justin asked, starting the engine. 

“I really don’t care; it’s up to you.”  Justin hadn’t looked at her since they argued earlier, but noticed her bloodshot eyes when he glanced at her in the car.

“Whoa!  You ok?”

“I’m fine Jay.”

“You don’t look fine,” he replied, killing the engine and turning to face her. 

“Thanks Jay, I can always count on you to make me feel better,” she chuckled half-heartedly.

“Maybe we should order in; you don’t look like you should be out right now.”

“Once again, thanks.”

“That’s not what I mean Cece.  You just ended a major relationship.  Now I’m no ‘Dr. Phil’ or anything, but you need time to grieve.”

“OMG, I just broke up with him Jay; he didn’t die.  I’ll be fine.”

“Your mouth’s sayin’ one thing, but your eyes are sayin’ another.  It’s ok ya know.”

“Oh yeah,” she started, her voice cracking, “Why am I always the one crying?  He never shed a fuckin’ tear in this relationship!  I was always the one crying when we fought, when we broke up, through all this shit!”  Tears were streaming down her face.

“It’s ok, Cece,” Justin said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug.

“No it’s not!  You just broke up with Britney and you didn’t even blink!  Ya’ll have been together just as long as me and Pierre!”

“I may not have shown it, but I’m hurt Cece.  I truly am.  It’s not as acceptable for guys to cry as it is for girls, but believe me Pierre’s hurting right now because he just lost one of the most precious things on this earth.  He didn’t appreciate what he had until it was gone and he screwed himself over.”

“And what about you and Britney?  Is that how you feel?”“Our breakup was a long time coming, and I think we both knew that.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You know why Cece.”

“No, honestly I don’t.”

“Yes you do, and don’t make me tell you.  Let’s just go in this house and order Chinese and watch HBO.”  Chanice just nodded and exited the car and followed Justin to his house.  They’d gotten about halfway through their General Tso’s chicken and fried rice when Chanice asked, “Why do you think I know the reason why ya’ll broke up?”

“Because you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“YES, you do.”

“If I knew I wouldn’t be askin’ you.  Now tell me why.”

“Because she was jealous of you.”

Chapter 10

It took minute for his statement to register in her brain.
“Jealous of me?”

“I didn’t stutter Cece.”

“But why? She was the one who was with you; I was just your friend.” Justin cocked an eyebrow. Chanice was saying this like she was the one jealous of Britney.

“I mean,” Chanice started, realizing what she just said, “we’re just friends, why was she jealous of me?”

“I don’t know, but your name was always mentioned in our fights. She’d always be like ‘go to Chanice, run to her like you always do’. She thought we were messing around behind her back.”

“Once again, why would I do that? It’s not like you’re cute or anything,” Chanice replied with a chuckle. Justin threw a broccoli at her and laughed when the sauce from the chicken smeared on her cheek.

“You got a little something right here,” he said, rubbing his cheek.

“Where?” she asked, removing some of the sauce, but moving the rest down to the corner of her mouth.

“Here, lemme get it,” he said before brushing the pad of his thumb across her chin to get rid of the sauce. Chanice looked up and saw his baby blue eyes staring into her hazel ones and gave a faint smile.

“Thank---“ She was cut off when his lips came crashing down softly on hers. They stayed in that position for a little while, until Justin coaxed the kiss further. It didn’t take much persuasion on his part to get her return the kiss. Everything just felt right; like this is way things were supposed to be. Like she and Justin were supposed to be together this whole time…like they should be more than friends.

“Wait. We shouldn’t be doing this!” she exclaimed, pulling away from the kiss.

“What? Why? Was it something I did?”

“No, you were…you were great. But we can’t do this, Justin.” He rubbed his head in confusion. He could’ve sworn that he felt her kissing him back a few seconds ago and now she’s saying that they shouldn’t have done it? Something’s not adding up.

“We’re best friends, Jay.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.”

“Doesn’t this seem a little weird to you? You don’t feel like you’re kissing your sister?”

“Ugh! When you put it that way…no, I don’t feel like I’m kissing my sister. It felt great actually. I’ve wanted to do that since we were twelve.”

“But this is wrong, Jay. We shouldn’t be doing this; you’re like a brother to me.”

“I don’t think that you’d kiss a brother the way you just kissed me,” he replied, chuckling.

“Shut up! I’m tryna be serious here!” she replied, playfully hitting his arm.

“Me too. But I’m serious, that was one hell of a kiss!” Both of them started laughing.

“Wait, so what does this mean?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We kissed.”

“People kiss other people everyday, Cece.”

“But we’re not ‘people’, we’re us.”

“It was just a kiss, Cece.”

“I know, I know, I’m reading too much into it.”

“Yeah, it’s not like you think I’m cute or something,” he replied jokingly.

“Yeah, that’s true,” she shot back nonchalantly.

“Oh really!” Justin started tickling her.

“Stop Jay! I’m gonna pee on myself! Stop! I give up!”

“I don’t believe you,” he continued to tickle her, straddling her waist and pinning her arms above her head on the floor. All of a sudden their breathing was labored and it felt like the room’s temperature went up 100 degrees. Justin leaned forward slowly, gradually eliminating the space between their faces and was just about to kiss her when he heard the front door unlock.

“Anyone home?”

~*~

“OMG, that was close,” Chanice exclaimed breathlessly once the coast was clear. Lynn had gotten off of work early and walked in just in time to prevent Chanice from making the same mistake twice…but was it really a mistake?

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it, I should get going anyway.”

“Wait, you don’t wanna finish eating up in my room? We won’t be interrupted there.” That’s what she was feared…total and complete privacy with him.

“Naw, I have to work on my English paper.” She was lying and he knew it.

“Oh alright,” he replied hesitantly, “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, I’ll call you later,” she said, slowly rising and walking to the door. She was just about to close it behind her when she heard Justin call her name.

“You don’t regret it do you? I mean, you don’t regret kissing me do you? ‘Cause I don’t.”

“You don’t regret kissing yourself?” she joked, “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“You know what I mean.” She shook her head.

“No, I don’t regret kissing you, Jay.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Call ya later. Bye!” Justin closed the door behind her and sighed. He’d done it. He’d finally done it. But where were they to go from here?

~*~

“I kissed him! Oh my friggin’ friggin’!!! I kissed him!” Chanice was pacing back and forth in her room. She couldn’t believe that she’d actually kissed him. Did it mean that he felt the same way about her? But where did they stand now? Would everything still be the same between them? Those were the questions that ran through her mind for an hour while she paced the room until she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone.

Dj won’t you play this girl a love song
She really needs to hear this friggin’ love song

Chanice answered it before the third line of the chorus.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey yourself; what are you doing?”

“Wrapping up this paper,” she lied, “You?”

“Watching you pace back and forth.” Chanice looked over to the window and smiled sheepishly at him.

“Must be one helluva paper,” he joked.

“How long have you been watching me?”

“For the past forty-five minutes. So, whatcha thinkin’ about?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah; honestly.”

“Us. I’m tryna figure out where we go from here, Jay. I know you said that I was over-reacting because it was just a kiss, but it was more than that for me. It felt something when we----“

“Me too,” Justin interrupted.

“You huh?”

“I felt something too. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t wanna scare you or anything.”

“Why would I be scared?”

“Why wouldn’t you be? Who wants to hear that their best friend of 18 years has had the biggest crush on them for the majority of those years? That he’s wanted to kiss her like that everyday for as long as he could remember? That he wants to be more than just friends with her?”

“Me,” Chanice replied in a soft voice, “I do.”

“Yeah, whatever. Don’t patronize me, Chanice.”

“No, I really do. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that.”

“For real?” Justin asked softly, walking over to his mini balcony, before Chanice did the same.

“Yeah, for real. What’s wrong with us?”

“I dunno,” he replied, chuckling.

“OMG, what are we gonna do? Where do we go from here?”

“How about out for a walk or something?”

“I have a better idea, meet me at my car.”

Chapter 11

Where are we going?”

Just sit back and ride, we’ll be there shortly,” Chanice replied, turning up the volume on her car stereo. Mario’s ‘Let me love you’ was playing while they rode wordlessly to their destination. Minutes later Chanice pulled up in front of the same park Pierre had taken her to the night of their anniversary.

“What are we doing here?” Justin asked with a confused look on his face.

“Follow me,” she replied, getting out the car and heading towards the playground. When he finally caught up with her she was sitting on a swing, kicking her legs back and forth.

“You remember this, Jay?”

“Yeah, I remember this park, but what about it?”

“Do you remember the day you proposed to me and told me we’d be together forever?” Justin chuckled.

“Yeah, you said ‘no’ and socked me in the shoulder before running away screaming that ‘all boys are icky’, especially me. I was deeply hurt,” he responded with a laugh.

“I was six.”

“Yeah, me too! But I knew then how I felt for you.”

“I did too, I just didn’t want you to know,” she said, lowering her head. Justin walked behind her and began pushing her.

“Why not?” he asked, after pushing her in silence for a while.

“Same reason why I didn’t want to tell you earlier.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

“But I’m right here, Cece. How would you lose your best friend? And what makes you think that we would no longer be friends?”

“Because things change. I don’t wanna break up with you and not be able to talk to you because you hate me.”

“First of all, I could never hate you…no matter how hard I tried,” both of them chuckled, “and why are you thinking about us breaking up when we haven’t even hooked up yet. You’re thinking about an end that may never happen before we even begin the relationship.”

“Yeah, but I sort of have to do that after Pierre.”

“I’m not him, Cece.”

“I know…”

“You’re sayin’ that but do you really believe it? I don’t want to have to spend this entire relationship trying to convince you that I won’t hurt you like he did.”

“And you won’t have to, Jay.”

“You sure?” he asked, spinning the swing around so that she faced him. He stroked her cheek gently and stared intently in her brown eyes.

“I’m positive,” she replied smiling. He leaned in and kissed her lips sweetly. Ummm. She couldn’t describe how beautiful the kiss was. His kisses made her go weak in the knees and feel safe and secure all at the same time. When they finally separated for air she just stared at him with a slight grin on her face. He returned the smile and she lowered her head bashfully.

“So it’s official now, huh?”

“I guess so,” she replied.

“You’re my girl, Cece,” he said imitating Forest Gump. She rolled her eyes and looked up at him.

“Great way to ruin the moment, Jay.”

“You liked it!”

“No, I liked you.”

“And I liked you too, babe. I liked you then, now and forever.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chocolate covered candy kisses
They keep me reminiscing
All I want is what your giving
Nothing like your affection
So in love and you're the reason
There's no more lonely season
Lately boy, you drive me crazy
Think I wanna be your baby

Now homeboy wants to be my baby, be my baby, be my baby

*Strike that...my homeboy is my baby!*