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?”