July 26th, 2023 | Tuesday

        Twisting the door knob to the house, Paris pushed the door open and let himself in like any other time. He figured if they really wanted to keep him and Jordan from freely entering their house, why not start off with the basics and lock the door? That made the most sense to him.

Until then he would freely do him until he was stopped. He wasn't even doing it out of spite, but old habits sometimes died hard. It was hard to break the habit he had gotten into doing on a regular basis, so in a way he needed to be reminded, with a locked door if you asked him.

Closing the door behind him softly, he slowly started walking to the room where he knew True used to reside. Raising his hand he knocked on the door twice, and tried not to smile when he heard something fall on the other side of the door he was patiently waiting at.

The door flew open, and his eyes instantly fell to her since she was a bit shorter than him. "Did you just fall?" He forced himself to push the words out so that he could distract himself from looking the way he did. She was wearing an outfit but it seemed to be a minimum amount of clothes if you asked him.

She opened her mouth, "I...I just didn't know you were gonna come in the house, and I was just..." She stopped herself from saying anything else. She was completely blindsided at the fact that he had entered her house instead of her needing to open the front door for him. He had caught her right while she was in the middle of cleaning her room.

"Aight," He responded with a nod, tugging on his chin hair with his other hand holding the black plastic bag from the corner store he had visited before arriving. "Can I come in yo room den?" He didn't actually want to, but he was just asking to see how far he could go before she drew the line.

Deep down he had been doing that since he met her, but it was fun to get into her head, especially because to a certain extent he liked her. As much as he could with the small information he knew about her at least. He enjoyed every conversation they had thus far, and as much as he wanted it to be a good thing, he was unsure.

She gulped, feeling her mouth go dry. She had been getting ready for this exact moment, but she had buried the thought that he would actually even make it this far into the house. "Yeah, I'm still getting it situated." She uttered out lowly even though it looked completely fine.

"This shit look fye," He admitted as she stepped aside letting him enter the room. His eyes darted everywhere as he simultaneously sat the bag down on her desk to take a better look everywhere. The room wasn't very spacious but she made the small room into something much better. "Purple yo favorite color?" He guessed by the theme.

"And light pink."

She nodded quickly, closing her room door so they wouldn't alarm Natalia. She had no idea where the woman was and she already had a feeling she was on her bad side. "Where the hole in the wall go?" He questioned making her instantly frown at the small but fully packed question that could've led to many open ended questions.

"I patched it up, it wasn't that much work..." She trailed off while crossing her arms over her chest eyeing him as he eyed the room the exact same way. "How did you know about the hole? You been in here that many times to notice that?" When she asked the question for some reason he had felt like he was caught.

Furrowing his eyebrows, she leaned against her door patiently waiting for a response. She didn't even know why she cared so much, but because she knew it was previously her older step sister's room it concerned her more than she wanted to admit. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter." She waved it off. "Thanks for the peanuts ill text you and tell you how well I liked them." She was trying to dismiss him now that her mood had shifted.

She wanted him to leave now.

"You not gon' let me explain what I got or nothin' like that , you jus ready to kick me to the curb huh." He smiled lazily, realizing she had put two and two together and now she felt some type of way about it. He didn't know whether to be happy she felt a way, or feel bad and try to ease her mind. After all, she was the one with a boyfriend. So could she really be mad?

Huffing loudly, she made her way over to her bed, and took a seat on the white ottoman at the foot of her bed to avoid having a seat on her new sheets in outside clothing. "Sure," She mumbled although she was disinterested with the thought of him now. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut and be cute. He had one job.

Shaking his head, he grabbed the bag from the desk and made his way across the room taking a seat next to her. "Calm down, what you mad at me fa'?" He questioned looking at the side of her face, watching her chest rise and fall while looking ahead.

"Can you just show me."

He smirked, and carefully pulled the two styrofoam cups in brown paper bags out of the bag, "I got hot peanuts, and I got regular. Plus a blue mystic." He explained easily and passed her the cold plastic bottle. She took it as the smell wafted through her nose causing her mouth to water.

"These ones got cut up potatoes in em." He informed her, and she tried her best to seem uninterested. "The mystic for the cajun ones just in case they too hot." He explained, and she took the cajun ones first digging in the bag retrieving a peanut watching steam flow from it.

She opened the shell and ate it, instantly feeling her tongue sting in a way. The flavor from the seasoning canceled it out since it tasted so good to her. She instantly smiled and went for more, starting to put the shells in the leftover black corner store bag sitting next to them.

She ate them in silence, wishing in her head that he could leave. "You still finna sit here wit a attitude or you gonna say what's wrong." He was staring at the side of her face, slowly licking over his lips trying his best not to let his inner thoughts blurt from his mouth.

"You know about the hole in the wall, how?" She was looking at them. Truthfully, there were many explanations he could've used, and she felt he was dumb. The fact that he waited so long was an indication that he had already silently told on himself.

Smacking his teeth he decided to tell the truth although he was unsure why he cared that much. "Aight, I only been in hea' one time besides this time wit ole girl." He admitted and she squinted her eyes at his choice of words. It was a red flag on its own.

Turning her head to the side, she continued. "You mean, True. I mean why downplay it now, you weren't downplaying it when it was occurring." She muttered, stuffing her mouth with more legumes so that she wouldn't be forced to talk.

"It ain't even that serious, we was in here kissing like one time when I was eighteen and she was nineteen. Thats it." He explained, but realistically she didn't believe it. Paris didn't look like a boy who would just sit there and kiss, and especially not at eighteen years old.

Raising her eyebrows, she didn't give him the satisfaction he wanted when she muttered, "mmm." Added with a simple nod to go with. He subconsciously shifted in his seat.

"You feel better now?"

"Never felt a way in the first place, but thanks for the concern." She snipped towards him.

"Tell me what you thinkin' Siah, I can see that shit all ova' yo face. What you take me fa' a goofy?" He retorted, feeling some type of way by her replies.

Shrugging her shoulders, she uttered, "So you just like all your bestfriends' sisters or is it just my brother? Does Treyvon know you kissed True or?" She trailed off evenly.

He laughed under his breath in the midst of dropping his head. " Nah ion like all my niggas' sistas. I fuck wit you heavy though, Siah. You the one that's not available, and even if you was, I just can't cross dat line." He shook his head at the fact that he was already halfway across and he couldn't go any further but refused to go backwards.

"Seems like your lines are blurred, but you're right, I have a man. So it doesn't matter and thank you so, so much for this wonderful snack, probably my new fav, but get out." She tried to kick him out of her room but he didn't move an inch. He only gave her a sluggish smile and leaned his head against the railing of her canopy.

She watched him closely waiting for his next move but he didn't move an muscle. Instead just sitting there with his eyes closed and his head resting on her bed. "Are you going to leave, dude?" She asked out loud.

Slowly shaking his head, he refused to move. "I just went all the way to the sto', got you two different cups of peanuts and a drink then drove over here to you—and this is how you treat me?" He was laying it on thick to seem offended when he truly wasn't.

"I told you I could reimburse you, if you'd like of course." She was about to retrieve her phone so that she can sort out a way for digital payment. "You have Apple Pay?" She questioned, prompting him to open his eyes to stare at her.

"Ion want yo money Siah. And I don't got Apple Pay so don't even send dat shit." He lied, hating how easy it was for her to Apple Pay him at the moment since she already had his number and a recent text thread between the two of them. "Give me a hug, and that shit all squared off."

Unable to tell his intentions with something so simple as a hug made her more skeptical than before. She was unsure if she could trust him. He'd already expressed his attraction. "Fine, then you can leave." She bargained.

She scooted down the straight cushioned ottoman and first wrapped her right arm around his torso since she was sitting on the left of him, followed by her right, pressing the side of her face against his chest as he returned the gesture.

She took a deep breath smelling his cologne that had been soaked into his clothing somehow. "You smell super good." The words flew, but she didn't feel embarrassed by the truth.

"You too, and ya hair." He complimented realizing everything about her probably smelled good. It was a good sign to him though.

"Now leave," She tried to pull back slightly but he wouldn't allow her. She frowned as he held her with a firm grip trying her best to keep the confusing emotions she was experiencing in check. She was confused with herself and that was the hardest part about it. "Bye, Paris." Her tone was serious.

"Aight fine, imma leave." He let go, figuring it would be easier to get a conversation from her if he let her calm down and clear all the overwhelming thoughts from her mind. He was satisfied with her behavior anyways, because she was unwillingly showing how much she was interested in him and what he had to offer.

She may have had only a sliver of interest, but he could work better with that rather than nothing.

That's what he was counting on.

July 28th, 2023 | Thursday

Two days had passed since Paris had his small encounter in her room, and he could admit that keeping her off of his mind after convincing himself that nothing would come of it, seemed harder than he believed it would be.

He couldn't focus on one thing for the life of him, the day before he had to stop what he was doing and take a nap because he had grown so overstimulated with everything. That was new for him, and even in the end—it still didn't fix much except for him getting a little more rest.

He hated that it was bothering him though because of the simple fact that the reality of their situation was that nothing would ever actually come with it. He had long ago realized he wasn't a relationship person, and she was in a relationship of her own.

That part he didn't care much about, because as stated he felt like they were over the moment she set foot in Florida soil. It just wouldn't work for them. It was just that whenever they were alone, and he was expressing as much as he could to her, something in him made it feel like he was betraying his best friend.

Tre had expressed how he didn't want either Jordan and Paris going after her because of her relationship, and the fact that she had a good head on her shoulders and didn't need them ruining her or their friendship in general. Both of their track records sucked like none before.

Paris had kissed his step sister, and accidentally had sex with his ex-girlfriends best friend since first grade for crying out loud.

That was the thing. The things he did were never to intentionally hurt you but somehow it always ended up that way in the end, unfortunately.

Remembering what Josiah had told him by the pool during one of their many moments as he laid on his back in his bed, he picked up his phone in search of her instagram. It wasn't hard to find, and the corners of his lips twitched when he noticed she had pictures up from the last time he saw her. The outfit was cute if nothing else.

The pad of his thumb clicked on the comments icon bringing him to them, noticing all the heart eyes and nice compliments she was receiving from everyone who liked the picture. To Paris, Josiah felt like a breath of fresh air to him, and no matter how hard he tried, he was struggling to drill the fact that they couldnt be anything in his mind.

Paris usually did whatever he wanted, so it was hard. Tre was lucky he had a large amount of respect from him. Scrolling through her other two pictures he was interrupted by a knock on his room, leading him to drop his phone on chest looking towards the door as Jordan entered. "Lilah at the door." He informed his cousin.

Paris smacked his teeth in agony, but instantly sat up. "She starting to get on my fuckin' nerves, even when im trynna be nice." He spoke to himself out loud, and Jordan heard triggering a laugh as Paris pushed past him. Making his way out the hall and across the living room he opened the door to see the girl waiting there expectantly.

She raised her eyebrows since she thought he would speak first but she would have to take matters into her own hands. "I'm stranded and I need a ride back to my momma house." She told him and he just stared down at her with a perplexed look.

"That not how you fuckin' ask somebody for some shit when you assed out. Tighten the fuck up, Delilah." He warned her, making her lips part at the use of her government name. His reaction to her harmless words shocked her but she really shouldn't have expected anything less.

She swallowed and looked away from him for a moment before looking back at him, clearing her throat in process. "Can you please take me home? Me and my friend got into it so she won't take me, I dont got money for an uber or lyft and I don't know how to take the bus anymore." She explained while stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.

With a sigh he reached to the right of him and grabbed his set of keys from the hook, stepping out the apartment prompting her to back up. "Let's go." He uttered out quickly, beginning to walk away leaving her to catch up due to her shorter legs that didn't match his pace.

Making it to the car, once he unlocked the doors and they slid inside, he wasted no time starting the car to pull them out. He couldn't stand her at the moment, but the respect he had in general wouldn't allow her to walk home in the dark, it just wasn't safe. "Thank you, Dice." She broke the silence.

"You straight."

"Why are you mad with me," She instantly took the opportunity to start a conversation once he actually gave her a verbal response like she wanted. "I didnt even do anything but you been icing me out since the last Toe Tag I came to. If you're mad about Kiari just say that." She shot just to get under his skin.

Running his tongue along his top row of teeth, he decided to give her the answer she in fact wasn't looking for. "I'm mad 'bout Kiari." His words constantly made her face drop.

Her goal was to say it so that he could deny it, and satisfy her own insecurities when he did the complete opposite.  "Then go be with that bitch then!" She snapped, letting her emotions get the best of her.

Shaking his head he went to reply, "I been wit Ari and dat ain't what I want." He started off instantly causing her to mellow out. " You bein' weird to that girl knowin' she don't 'een deserve that shit. Her feelings is valid so you being petty towards her rubbed me the wrong way." He admitted.

"So you dead ass mad at me over your ex? She's your ex for a reason she shouldn't even be none of your concern Dice." It was like she ignored the reason to why, and just addressed the plain why. She didn't like that he still felt like he had to care about Kiari's feelings.

"Me and dat girl was cool when we broke it off, why would I be acting like a scorned ex over the shit? In the end, what we did hurt her, and even though we ain't know that don't mean she shouldn't have a right to feel a way 'bout it at the end of the day." He preached feeling frustrated from all the girl drama he had been experiencing. "You don't gotta rub salt in the wound just 'cause she dropped you, cause she was right, we still fuckin'.  So you can't feel dat bad."

"It takes two people to have sex, Dice. So why are you trying to put it all on me when that makes no sense." She squinted her eyes in confusion.

"I don't owe her loyalty no more, dat aint my girl. Dat don't mean I can't feel bad. You rubbin' it in ha face though, i'm not trynna do dat."

"I don't owe her loyalty anymore either, dat aint my friend nor bestfriend." She retorted slickly, because they were in the same boat.

"Then you was never her friend in the first place." His comment made her close her lips tightly, tucking them in.

The rest of the ride was silent, since she didn't know how to recover from what he said. He didn't even want to talk to her anymore after she had proved his point anyway. When he pulled up to the beat up apartment complex, he parked. "Are you coming up?" She finally built up the courage to ask.

Shaking his head, he made her deflate. "Nah, man ian fuckin' witchu right now. You on some funny shit." He didn't hesitate to tell her how he felt as he opened his door. She huffed loudly as if it was supposed to move him, but it in fact did not. She got out as well, and slammed the door prompting him to furrow his eyebrows.

"Aye bro, tighten the fuck up wit my car." His Benz was like his baby. He had wanted the car since he was fourteen years old, and luckily with the way he made money rapidly, at twenty one it wasn't that hard to acquire. She only switched away, and didn't look back so that he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

Walking the opposite way, he made it towards the building with two apartments upstairs, and two downstairs. Walking past the staircase, he made it to the door with a B written in gold cursive, and knocked on it. He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth after waiting for about thirty seconds, and the door finally flung open.

"Bout time, woman." He joked stepping in. She instantly smacked him upside the head as he walked past her prompting his dreads to fling. "Aye, watchu hittin' me for? You be walkin' slower den my granny." He continued to throw jabs while she closed the door.

"Paris, keep playing with me." She warned before heading back towards her kitchen where she originally was. "What are you doing here, you usually call me before you pop up." Bella spoke, lifting the top from her brand new pots.

He smirked. "Ever since you got them pots you be cookin' every night huh. Then you don't even call and see if I want a plate, you a L moms for real." He felt like it was his job to annoy her with everything that came out of his mouth going towards her.

She rolled her eyes, picking up the utensil she was using to tend to her string beans. "Answer my question before I whoop your little bad ass." She threatened as if he wasn't over a foot taller than her, and way bigger than she would've liked. She hated when he got bigger than her because that's when he started believing he didn't have to listen to everything she said. "Answer my question, why you just popping up." The way she demanded an answer reminded him of Josiah.

Maybe he found her interesting because she reminded him of the type of personality that his own mother possessed.

"I was dropping Lilah off." He answered evenly since she knew who she was. Lilah seemed to make her presence known all the time, and it was even worse since they lived in the same area. "Im not gon' come over here and not stop by." He explained, and she nodded since that's exactly how he had better felt.

"Well," She started and he slickly rolled his eyes. "What are you and Lilah anyway? At this point yall have been messin' around for months,  make an honest woman out of her and at least make her your girlfriend." She looked over her shoulders to ensure he was listening to her.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to have this conversation right now. "Stop walking around here like your knuckle headed friend and cousin. I taught you better." She preached. She had taught him from a young age to respect women, and what he took with her lessons was on him, but she still had to remind him.

It was why he wasn't completely disrespectful when it came to Kiari and their past, and even Delilah. "Im not walkin' round here like dem watchu talm 'bout?" He played dumb on purpose. "Ma, I just got out of a relationship, i'm not wit allat right dis second, i'm just trynna live." He rubbed his palm against his neck.

She was unconvinced but she couldn't force him to do anything he didn't want. He was a grown adult, and he would just have to learn on his own. "If you say so, have you spoken to Kiari?" She quizzed, and he shook his head lying. Their last conversation wasn't worth bringing up. Especially because she didn't know that Lilah and Kiari were ex-best friends. "What about your father?" She went on.

His parents were no longer together, but they were practically best friends. He got the best of both worlds, and his household was as healthy as it could get with a co-parent situation. "Yeah the other day, pops say you acting funny wit him so he giving you the silent treatment." He laughed recalling the conversation.

"Thats some bullshit, he mad cause I wouldn't give him money after he won a bet, but he should've knew bets only apply if I win them." She snipped and Paris bursted into laughter, triggering a laugh from her as well that almost sounded identical.

It was moments like these that he loved.

Why he trynna rizz Josiah up like that??? All on her room and shit.

She got mad at him but got a bf? I would be mad too tho, he fine as hell!

Paris and Lilah argument?

Predictions?

Get both chapters to 215 votes and I'll update in Friday, yall gay bye.

MYA OUT🫡