Ménage à trios

14. Ari

I'm annoyed with Nia, Zayne and Rosie for the next couple of days. I don't know if it's because of what happened at Waffle House and the club or if I'm agitated that Zayne's period knocked mine on.

Either way, I've been in a mood and I just want to be by myself.

It's a little after 8pm and I'm laying in bed, sipping from a glass of wine. I'm watching The Parkers but really, they're watching me. My mind is too full for me to pay Monique and the professor any mind tonight.

My mom sent a text earlier when I was getting off work and wants me to come over for dinner. I miss her. And I know I need someone other than Nia, Zayne and Rosie to talk to.

But she's not the person and I don't feel like defending my sexuality tonight.

Ugh. My sexuality is another thing I'm tired of fighting. And now Zayne wants to entertain a man?

"Hey baby." Speaking of the devil herself.

Zayne saunters into my room with a duffel bag over her shoulders. Even though it's not hot outside, she's wearing tiny green high waist shorts and a white tank top that barely covers any skin. The matching green jean jacket makes me smile a little.

I love the way she dresses.

"Hey."

She frowns and slides in bed with me a second later.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just watching TV. You're home early." I say as I sit the wine glass on my nightstand. When Zayne doesn't respond, I look over my shoulder at her to see she's watching me.

"What?" I ask nervously.

"Tell me what's wrong, foreal."

How does she do that? Even when I don't want to admit somethings wrong, she knows. I can't hide anything from her even if I wanted to.

"Why does there have to be something wrong?" I bite the inside of my cheek as she cocks her head to the side. Pretty jet black beach waves fall over the tattoos on her chest from the movement and steals my attention.

"Am I wrong?" She asks.

Ugh. No, she's not wrong at all.

"Well...no. Not really but I don't want to talk about it."

"I left work 'cause I miss you and you feel far away right now." She frowns again. "And now you don't wanna tell me what's wrong. You gettin' tired of me?"

That makes my chest squeeze. I could never get tired of her.

"No, Zayne. I'm not." I grab her hand and rub it lightly but that doesn't make her smile.

"Then what is it?"

"A lot. I don't know." I sigh, putting my focus on a piece of lint on my sock.

I don't have to see Zayne to know she's staring a hole into my face. The intensity from her gaze makes my skin crawl.

"Aight, then." She says. "I'll be downstairs when you wanna talk." Zayne slides out of the bed quickly. My stomach turns.

"You don't have to leave..." I say, hoping she doesn't want to go. She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at me.

God, I love when she does that.

"Are you gon' smoke wimme?"

I roll my eyes and nod. It's not that I don't like smoking with her, because I do. I just don't like not being able to control myself when I'm around her. There's no way she's not going to know how I feel after there's weed in my system.

Zayne does the cutest happy dance and then digs through the bag on the floor. When she's in bed again, I watch the giddiness coming from her body as she lays out four different green tubes.

"I couldn't help myself. And there was a sale."

I laugh and shake my head.

"They have sales on weed?"

"Girl, yeah. When I get my own dispensary, imma have all kinds deals and sales too." She grins and starts her quick process in rolling a blunt.

I watch her in amazement like I do every time.

"It's cute when you get bubbly because of weed."

"I like to get high." She laughs and shows off a pearly white smile.

"But you never told me you want to own a dispensary." I say when I finally pull my eyes away from her tongue.

"I know. That's 'cause I didn't think I was ever gon' be able to afford it workin' at that stupid ass call center."

"But now?" I question as she lights a chunky backwood.

"I don't know, I been thinkin' 'bout what imma do if I foreal quit, I guess. Them bitches foreal gon' make me snap, bae." Zayne groans and hands the blunt to me.

"Then quit. I don't want you to end up doing something crazy and getting arrested again."

I push that flashback to the side and exhale.

"Imma probably have to do some time soon...for that."

My stomach drops.

"What?"

Zayne nods with a sad smile.

"Yeah, I got court in a couple weeks for that shit that went down with D'Juan since he pressed charges...but it's cool, it's gon' be aight."

"Does Rosie know? Why didn't you say something?!" I groan. I don't want Zayne to go back to jail! She already spent two months behind bars. She doesn't need to do anymore time!

I can't handle that again.

"Nah." Zayne puts her attention on the blunt as if she didn't just drop a bomb on me.

"Zayne, why didn't you say something before now?"

"'Cause I ain't wanna upset you like you are right now. And I don't want Rosie to feel bad. I'm always goin' to jail for somethin'. It's aight, baby. Imma be fine."

I hate that she's conditioned to being okay behind bars like an animal when she's not a bad person at all.

Ughhhhhh.

"Babe, I don't want you to go back to jail."

"It's gon' be straight, stop frownin'. Gimme kiss. I missed you today."

I give into Zayne's demand quickly, forgetting about everything else on my mind. Being in her arms and kissing her is the only thing I want right now.

I can't stop the tears from clouding my vision after the kiss ends. So I close my eyes and wrap my arms around Zayne's body.

What am I going to do if she goes back to jail?

...