Please excuse ANY grammatical errors.

February 14, 1992

~DeVanté's P.O.V~

"Do you love me, DeVanté?" Jessa asked me, laying on her side, still naked.

"You want me to be honest?" I said lifting my brow at her then looked up at the ceiling.

"Yes," she shifted her eyes.

"Truth is I don't." I said without a care in the world.

"Are you serious!?" She said sitting up, moving her blonde hair out of her face.

"I don't know why you so surprised, I be telling y'all broads what it is from the jump." I lifted my top half off the bed.

"Broad!? I'm not a broad, are you saying I'm not the only one you're with!?"

"Your words not mine." I said holding my hands up, shrugging.

"The box of chocolates had I love you on it. Why'd you get me that?" Her blonde, almost nonexistent eyebrows furrowed, blending into her skin tone.

I got up getting dressed, already knowing what this was about to lead to. "You mean the chocolates I ate?" I chuckled buckling my belt.

She scoffed, and pushed me. "You son of a bitch! My father warned me about you black guys, and I didn't listen. I listened to my damn friends instead. Telling me black guys are good in bed, but failed to mention their lack of love."

"Hmm," I put my shirt and pants on, then left out of the room, down the stairs, and grabbed my keys off the table.

"So, you're just going to leave me like this!?" Jessa yelled at me. I ignored her and kept walking towards the door.

"DeVanté I'm pregnant!" She yelled from the stairs, looking at me.

"Okay? And? It ain't my baby." I said nonchalantly, putting on my shoes, coat, then my gloves.

"But it is," she lowered her voice.

"It's definitely not. I bring my OWN protection, and when I'm through I check that shit with water. Then flush it down the toilet. I'm super careful, that's how I know it ain't mines IF you ARE pregnant. Apparently I wasn't the only one either. Bitches always trying to trap niggas." I opened the front door and walked out.

"Got some fucking nerve." I mumbled.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I heard from behind me. When I turned around I saw her charging at me, she was all red, almost demonic looking. My eyes widened, what the hell? She came up to me and started hitting, and scratching all over me.

"Aye! Ayo stop that shit!" I yelled now even more irritated. We ARE in a predominantly white neighborhood, and if they see this they WILL call the police Not to mention it's a quarter after three IN THE MORNING. He kept hitting, punching, and scratching

"Get your god damn hand off of me." I grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

She was crying hard as hell, with a red ass face. She was huffing and puffing like a blowfish. "RAAAAPPPEEE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, into the early morning air. A black man in a white neighborhood, grabbing a NAKED white woman yelling rape, they gon' call the police!

It's time to go! I ran as fast as I could to my car. She ran after me, and I saw some of the neighbors lights flicker on. I started the car and drove off, going over the speed limit. Hopefully she was too focused on catching up with me that she didn't think to take my license plate. I need to stop fucking around, these bitches be crazy. But, we all know I won't. At least not now, as a single man.

After about thirty minutes I made it back to the crib. For some reason I had a problem unlocking the door, so I had to fumble with it. Man, what the fuck!? I finally got it opened and when I opened it, I felt something cold touch the side of my head. Then I heard a gun cock, my heart stopped, and my eyes widened. I was pushed up against the wall, with the gun still against my head.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, AND WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" I heard Tia yell.

"It's me, DEVANTÉ! Remember? I live here." I quickly answered. I felt the gun move from my head, and Tia sigh. She calmed down, and so did I.

"Oh my goodness, I'm SO SORRY." She said as I flicked on the lights.

"You had a nigga scared. My heart stopped." I exhaled, looking at her.

"You scared me too. I'm here by myself, and heard somebody fumbling with the door. I thought somebody was trying to break in."

"Where's Dalvin?" I asked.

"I don't know, he left last night. I thought you were here, but found out you weren't." She said.

"You didn't think it was me or Dalvin coming in?" I asked closing the door.

"No, not when someone is fumbling with the door at four- something in the morning."

"Okay, you know I ain't EVER heard you curse. Hell, I didn't even know you cursed." I laughed taking off my coats, then Timberland boots.

"I don't really. I do in situations like these, and when I'm angry. You guys just haven't seen me angry." She explained to me putting the safety back on the gun.

"Yo, you really was about to shoot me in the head?" I laughed taking a seat on the couch.

"No. Well, if it came to that then yes. ONLY if you turned out to be an intruder. But I would have shot the another body part first, before doing that. That was just a scare tactic." She sat her gun on the table, and sat on the couch-chair near me.

"Well that shit worked. Scared the hell out of a nigga. My heart even stopped." I laughed. "Where'd you learn that at, anyways?" I asked her, because I'm very curious to know.

"I took a self-defense class before preparing to leave Gary." She explained.

"That's dope. Somebody after you or something?" I joked.

"No, I would freeze up in situations where I should react. Sometimes I still do, I don't know what it is." She shrugged.

"Oh, okkaayyy," I nodded my head at her.

She looked up at me, "What happened to your face?"

"What you mean?" I asked confused standing up.

"It's bleeding."

"You sure you didn't do it when you slammed me against the wall? Hemmed a nigga up and shit." I walked up to the mirror.

"No, it looks like a cat scratched you or something." She said, and I looked into the mirror.

"Ol' dumb ass bitch." I mumbled out.

"Excuse me!?" Tia said raising her thick eyebrows, moving her head closer, frowning.

"No, not you!" I quickly reassured her. "I meant to the person who did this to me." I turned around.

"Oh." She her tone lowered. "What happened?" She asked.

"This chick I know."

"Dang, you had to do something horrible for her to do you like that." She said laughing.

"Nahh, it wasn't nothing serious. She was just tripping, is all." I said then walked to the bathroom to grab the cotton and peroxide.

When I came back to where she was she was silently laughed. It real life scared a nigga. "What? What's so funny?"

"I just think it's funny. No HILARIOUS, how you were trying to rap to me when you already got somebody."

~Tia's P.O.V~

When DeVanté left the room I thought about what he said. So this dude was trying to holler at me when he already with somebody. The dudes really be trying to play us women, luckily I didn't fall for it though. He came back into the living room with cotton balls and hydrogen peroxide. I was silently laughing with my arm leaning on my other one, and the back of my hand on my chin.

"What? What's so funny?" He asked me, looking at me like I was nuts.

"I just find it funny. No, HILARIOUS how you were trying to rap to me, when you're already with someone." I laughed, but not so amused.

I continued, "Ain't no woman just gon' scratch you up like THAT for no reason."

"Look, it ain't even like that a'ight? I AIN'T even with nobody, I'm a single man." He looked at me.

"That's what dudes that sleep around say. 'I'm a single man!'"

"You really TRIED to play me." I said after a short period of silence, folding both of my arms across my chess.

"I'm not. I WASN'T trying to play you. You said you weren't ready to be with anyone." He frowned.

"I did, and I'm still not. That does detour the fact that you tried to play me. It damn sure ain't stop you from trying. Don't think I didn't catch on to some of your gestures." I scoffed at him.

"Once again, I wasn't trying to play you! I stopped fucking around when I started to really talk to you in January, up until recently." He said raising his voice in the beginning.

"How would I REALLY know that-" I said and got cut off by him.

He continued, "I wasn't trying to fuck you over or nothing. I was, and still am interested in you. You said you wanted to wait and I said I'd wait for you. I'm STILL waiting for you. I said I'm going to make you my wife and I meant that shit. I'm not a liar. I'm sorry about whatever impression I gave you or am giving you. I'm single right now, but when I'm say I'm committed, I'm REALLY committed. You established that we're friends and I understand that." DeVanté spilled out sincerely.

"Do you really, though?" I leaned on one leg, with my arms still folded, tilting my head.

"I do now, and I will no longer cross the boundaries that you've set in this friendship. NO more pushing up. Okay?" He asked with a puppy dog face.

I laughed, "Okay." I dropped my arms to my side.

"Friends?" He asked holding his arms out.

"We cool or whatever..." I turned my head at him playing.

He sucked his teeth, "Get yo ass over here and give a nigga a hug. I just spilled my feelings out and shit, it's the least you could do." He joked hugging me.

I finally threw my arms, wrapping them around him and hugging back. Just then the door spammed and in walked Dalvin. Both of our heads snapped in his direction.

"Looking like two deers in a headlight! I fucking knew it! Y'all fucked! Y'all niggas all hugged up and he got all those scratches on him. Damn, why'd you have to scratch up his face though? You must be rough."

"Dalvin? Please do us a favor?" I said pulling away from DeVanté.

"What's that?"

"SHUT UP!" DeVanté and I said at the same time, then looked at each other laughing.

"Nigga, how many times do I have to tell you that we NEVER did ANYTHING?" DeVanté said to Dalvin.

"You mean to tell me, he thought this more than once?" I asked with a raised brow looking back and forth between them.

"Duhh, Tia," Dalvin said sounding like a cow. "Of course, who wouldn't? That one day y'all was both up early in the morning. You don't seem like a morni person, and De damn sure ain't. Y'all was in there cooking and shit. We all know when somebody in the kitchen early they got some of thay hot stuff Donna Summer spoke about." He laughed.

"I never touched him. I was just up early in the morning that day." I explained to Dalvin.

"BULLSHIT," Dalvin slickly coughed out.

"She's being serious Dalvin." DeVanté frowned.

"Tia, you were GLOWING." He put emphasis on glowing.

"I wear cocoa butter Dalvin." I tried reasoning with him.

"Tia, the glow you had on your face was a 'relieved' glow, not no cocoa butter one. I know cocoa butter when I see it. Though right now it does just look like cocoa butter." He laughed.

Dalvin continued, "But y'all still ain't off the hook from the other day. Y'all both were in the house. Unless- unless... Ahh hell naw, y'all niggas nasty as hell!" He laughed out loud.

"What do you mean?" DeVanté asked.

"Y'all BOTH KNOW WHAT I mean! Don't play dumb, or is play the wrong word to use." He laughed clapping his hands.

I turned tomato red, and when I turned towards De and he was the same way, but he was irritated. Oh my GOODNESS, did he as well? Naww, he don't look like the type, but he did say he wasn't messing with anybody. Idunno 🤷🏾

"You talking about us and shit. Where was you? I almost got my head blown off." DeVanté said changing the subject.

"You nosy ass nigga, minding my bid' ness." Dalvin laughed.

"So you can question us but we can't question you?" DeVanté asked.

"Well in thw words of De 'you can ask me, but it doesn't mean I'll answer'. Ain't that what you be saying?" Dalvin asked.

DeVanté kissed his teeth, "Touché." I just laughed shaking my head at them.

"What did you mean, when you said you almost got your head blown off?" Dalvin frowned.

"I came in this morning, she had a gun up to my head, thinking I was an intruder." DeVanté said gesturing to me with his head.

"Damn, so you Bad, Bad Leroy Brown huh?" Dalvin said joking. "Was it loaded?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course it was loaded, I THOUGHT it was an intruder, duhhhh Dalvin." I mocked his tone of voice from earlier.

"Okay, damn..."

"Her ass had me hemmed up against the wall. She slammed my ass!" DeVanté exaggerated.

"It wasn't that hard. Stop it now." I said unamused.

"The hell it ain't! I see a bruise forming from you slamming me so hard." He looked in the mirror grazing his fingers against his face.

"Damn, Tia done went from Leroy Brown to Leroy Greene from 'Last Dragon'." Dalvin laughed. "DeVanté you being a ol' sensitive ass nigga."

"Let that shit happen to you and see how 'SENSITIVE' I'm being." DeVanté looked at Dalvin from the corner of his eyes.

"Hmm, well I'm beat. I'm finna head to bed." Dalvin said walking away.

"Well, goodnight. I mean morning." I said looking at the clock.

"I'll see y'all later." He said to DeVanté and I.

"Well, I can't fo back to sleep now." I said to DeVanté.

"Me either, you wanna watch TV?" DeVanté asked.

"Yeah, sure." I shrugged.

"Cool, let me go take a shower first though. A'ight?" He asked.

"A'ight," I replied.

"Let's watch it in my room, don't worry I washed my sheets."

"Huh?" I was HIGHLY confused on what he meant.

"Nevermind," he laughed out walking and I followed.

"You can sit down on the bed, get comfortable. Imma head to the shower." He pointed to the bathroom in his room.

"Okay," I sat down on the bed, slightly leaning against the headboard.

DeVanté went to his closet and pulled out some shorts. Then made his way to his drawer and pulled out some boxers. "A'ight," he went into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Where's the-" I looked around, finding the remote. "Nevermind!" I yelled back out.

"Huh?" He cracked the door open.

"I said nevermind." I laughed.

"Oh," he shut the door back.

I forgot about my gun sitting on the table, and went to grab it and put it back in the room I sleep. I went back into DeVanté's room, turned on the television and turned to Cartoon Network, 'CatDog' was just starting. I sang along silently with the theme song.
(It didn't come out until 1999, but what'evs.)

"CatDog, CatDog, alone is the world is a little CatDog!" I finished in a hillbilly accent like the guy that sings the theme. That was my favorite part of the song.

After three episode DeVanté came out in some basketball shorts. "You like this shit too? This cartoon go hard." He said laughing. "I ain't know you watched cartoons."

"Yeah, who DOESN'T like cartoons?" I joked.

"You'd be surprised, people I fucked around with thought I was childish as hell because I'm grown as hell still watching cartoons."

"Cartoons are the best. Especially Cartoon Network!" I laughed, and he sat down next on the other side of me.

"Hell, yeah!" He sat back, his legs on the bed, leaning his neck against the headboard. "You can put your legs on the bed if you want." He said, and I did because the position I was in was slightly uncomfortable.

We were cracking up at 'CatDog', it was too funny. After the three episodes I watched alone and the one I watched with DeVanté, 'Ed, Edd, n Eddy' came on next. We both whistled along to the song. (That didn't come out untill 1999 either, but hey...🤷🏾)

"Blllll," we both finished it rolling our tongue.

I elbowed him, laughing. "Yo..."

"Why does the ending of the theme songs the BEST part?" He said laughing at me.

"I know right! The ending is THE BEST part." I exclaimed.

"Yeah," he said lowly, moistening his lips, staring at me.

"You're doing it again," I pointed out.

"I'm sorry, I just ain't ever met somebody like you before." He chuckled shifting his eyes towards the television. "You know it's Valentine's Day right?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? My birthday is in two day." I laughed.

He looked at me and his eyes widened, "Two days!? What!? You never told me that."

"That's because YOU NEVER ASKED." I chuckled.

"My mama told me to never ask a woman about her age, teeth, and now her hair." He laughed.

"You could ask for my birthdate without directly asking my age. I'm nineteen by the way." I replied.

"What!? Nineteen!? How?" His eyes widened even more than before.

"Yes, I'm nineteen." I laughed.

"But you act like you're older, and not to be rude but your body is like a full-blown woman."

"Well DeVanté, its because I AM a full-blown woman." I raided my eyebrows higher.

"So you're about to be twenty?"

"I thought your mother said never ask a lady her age?"

"My mama said a lot of shit, plus she ain't here." He shook his head.

"Solve me this riddle DeVanté. If Tia is currently nineteen years of age on the fourteenth of February, and her birthday is in two days, how old is she turning?" I asked smartly.

"Yo, fuck you." He laughed elbowing me.

"Of course, I'm turning twenty." I laughed.

"Wow, that's crazy! I never would have thought you were nineteen." He said still in shock. "You seem so-so-so... Wise."

"Do I, really?" I asked with raised brows.

"Yes! Yes, you do!" He exclaimed.

"I just watch and learn from others around me mistakes. Then I won't have to make those same ones." I said to him shrugging.

"That's smart. That's smart." He nodded.

"Yes, yes it is." We smiled at each other, turned back to the television, and continued to watch cartoons on Cartoon Network.

Authors Note: Updates will be slow again because of I have to get back to schoolwork.

Word Count: 3,285

Please feel free to like and comment on the chapters. I will try my best to respond to you. Feedback is very motivating, and urges me to continue this story.

❤Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my story. I really appreciated it!❤️