Ring!
Ringg!
Ringggg!
"Hello," the velvet smooth voice says on the other end of the line.
"Hey," I say a little nervous as I follow Nova to the café.
"How are you," he asks.
"I could be better, but I'm fine for the most part," I say honestly.
"Mm, I bet. Where are you going now," he says.
"I'm headed to the café with Nova. We'll hang out there for a while before I go home for the day," I reply.
"So what happened exactly," he asks finished with the small talk and ready to get to the point.
"Nova and I were walking through the parking lot on our way to our History class when a group of girls block our path and its leader, a taller curvy girl accused me of hanging all over her man which is you, allegedly. So I told her to take her issues up with you because your relationship with her has nothing to do with me. Then I tried to excuse myself and Nova so that we could go to class, but she insisted on keeping me there and holding me I place with her hand on my shoulder. I asked her nicely to take her hand off of me and because she had back up she wanted to know what I would do if she didn't move her hand…" I say to him thinking about what happened earlier.
"And what did you do," he says as I've left him hanging mid explanation.
"I put her in a move," I say easily.
"What do you mean 'a move'," he questions.
"A move. I told you I can take care of myself," I say confidently.
"Hmm, where did you learn this move," he questions. I guess I'll have to come clean and tell him.
"I'm a trained mixed martial artist. I hold a second degree black belt to be specific," I tell him in a matter of fact way.
"Black belt," he says dumbfounded.
"2nd degree black belt sir," I say to him proudly. I've trained for fifteen years and worked really hard to achieve this level of black belt.
"You've never told me about this," he says stunned.
"Well, I told you I could handle myself. You never asked how," I say to him.
"What else are you capable of doing before you surprise me again," he asks.
"Umm, I know how to handle a firearm," I say to him casually.
"Seriously," he says shocked again.
"Absolutely! We take self-defense very serious in my family," I say holding back that I have a registered handgun I keep in a safe at home.
"I never would've imagined that you're that capable," he says impressed.
"What do you mean by that," I say feeling a little offended.
"It's not like that baby. I'm not saying that you're not capable; I just can't see you doing those things. It's amazing that you're capable in that way. I'm just shocked," he says placating me.
"I'll just have to show you one day," I say to him pulling up to the café and signal to Nova that she can go in ahead of me.
"Other than that how did it go in the security office," he asks moving on.
"It went well to me. They said that they will look into it and try to find out who she is because I really don't know her. We have a copy of the report so hopefully everything should be settled soon," I say to him.
"That's good. Take care of yourself I have to get ready for a meeting with the rest of the team and coach," he says and I hear voices in the background.
"Oh okay. I'll talk to you later then," I say.
"Alright baby, I'll talk to you later and stay out of trouble," he says seriously.
"Sure, sure," I say off handedly and the call ends.
I take a deep breath and sigh.
'How can tell me to stay out of trouble when the trouble is caused by him? He has some nerve!' I think to myself preparing to go inside the café with Nova.
I grab my school bag and get out the car and walk into the café. When I get inside the familiar coffee aroma that clings to the air here relaxes me as I look for Nova in our usual spot. When I get to her I drop my bag in the same chair hers is in and sink into my chair.
"So what did he have to say," Nova asks getting right to it.
"He just wanted to know what happened and how I handled the situation," I tell her taking out my
phone to scroll social media.
"That's it. You were on the phone for a little while," she says suspiciously.
"Oh yeah, I told him about my martial arts and shooting abilities because he asked how I handled the situation. Of course he didn't believe me so I explained to him, then he had to get off the phone to go to a meeting," I say to her then go back to my scrolling until I freeze.
"What's up," she says seeing the look on my face.
"Someone recorded and posted the incident from earlier on social media," I say to her with wide eyes.
"Seriously," she says snatching my phone to see for herself.
"Good grief this is becoming too much," I say shaking my head
"Right! People are so insensitive," Nova says.
"This is why I didn't want our relationship to be public! These type of girls always cause problems; I don't want to spend however long I'm with him defending myself from delusional women who want to be with him," I say to her.
"I wonder what he will think of this when he sees it," Nova says.
"Well he won't question my abilities first of all and I think it may help him to recognize that lunatic who's obsessed with him," I say to her shrugging my shoulders.
"True, but it looks like you don't need him to identify the girl because she's trying to blame you in the comments," Nova says looking at her phone and turning it to show me.
"Camille Sanders. Of course a girl with a name like this would cause nothing but trouble. I'm not going to respond to the foolery," I say confidently.
"If you say so. I hope it doesn't get any bigger than it is," she says.
"I'm going to get me a cup of tea and a snack. Maybe we should review our History notes midterms are coming soon," I say to her standing and stretching before going to place my order.
"Yeah you're right," she says joining me.
The line isn't too long with just a few people in front of us.
'Why do I have to deal with these kind of problems right in the beginning of my relationship? It's exhausting and ridiculous. Is he fine? Absolutely! He's popular to boot! Does he make me happy? Yes, I haven't felt like this in a while. Is he worth it? This is the only thing that makes me question myself. It's not that he's not worthy, I just don't like drama. Happy vs. Peace of mind.'
"Ma'am, may I help you," the cashier calls and I look up to see that I'm next in line.
"Yes, I'm sorry," I say apologizing to the cashier.
"It's no problem. How can I help you," she says with a smile.
"Could I get a large breakfast tea and banana nut muffin," I say to her.
"Yes ma'am. Is that everything," she asks.
"Yes, ma'am," I respond to her.
"Can I have a name for this order," she asks.
"Lena," I say to her.
"Lena True," she asks politely.
"Yesss," I say suspiciously.
"Okay. Your bill has been taken care of just wait near the pick-up window for your order," she says
politely.
"I'm sorry, but who paid my bill," I ask her politely.
"Mekhi came by last night, you have a thoughtful boyfriend," she says with a smile.
"Very! Thank you," I say to her warmly.
I take out my phone and send him a thank you text with kissy lip emoji.
"What's going on," Nova says waiting with me for her order.
"Mekhi paid for my order even though he's not here," I say to her with a smile.
"He is smooth," she says shaking her head.
"Isn't he," I say putting my phone back in my pocket.
"We should tell Rylie to meet us here when she's done with her class," she says taking out her phone.
"Yeah, I'm sure she wants to know what's going on," I say to her as she texts Rylie.
"Done," she says as they call our names for our orders.
We walk back to our table and take out our notes before digging into our food.
"Do you think this relationship is worth all the petty drama that comes along with it," I ask Nova as the question is nagging me.
"I mean every relationship comes with something. Yours is just on a bigger scale. Honestly don't you think he would still be as popular even if he didn't play basketball just based on his looks alone? He is fine as hell and every woman that comes across him knows it. They would still act a fool, they're just acting like bigger fools because not only is he fine but the see him with dollar sign eyes because of his talent. You've taken the man they've been chasing since he arrived at school and you didn't even have to work for it. It's only been a few days and you're happy being with him, he obviously cares a lot about you, don't let a few fools take away your future with him before it can even really get started," she says wisely advising me.
"You're right. I don't know why I keep overthinking it when he's been so good to me. I just need to relax and figure out how I'm going to handle these type of situations in the future," I say deciding to give this relationship all I've got fan girls and all.
"Good, you would regret it if you let a few bimbos ruin a good thing. Trust me being in love with someone who loves you genuinely is like the best feeling," she says glowing with her own love for Devin.
"Yeah, I see," I say laughing at her.
I examine my feelings for Mekhi while it's too early for me to love him I can feel that our love, should it last, will grow into something amazing. I know love because that's what I had for Jay before he went and ruined everything. Loving him caused me heartbreak and depression, but before the world of pain I remember the comfort of love and I feel that comfort with Mekhi. Satisfied with my decision to keep moving forward I begin studying again with a little more focus and a clearer mind.