The Game of Love

9

She stared at the blank screen. Questions invading her mind.

Lunch had gone good, Adrian seemed to enjoy himself. So why hadn't he texted her since?

She picked up the device, scrolling to his name, her fingers tapping against the screen before she stopped herself and backspaced.

She couldn't be the one to reach out first or else she'd look like the thirsty one and she was anything but thirsty.

Her fingers combed through her hair. Usually men tried and failed numerous times to get her attention while Adrian was wasting his opportunity.

She threw the phone on the couch. He had another thing coming if he thought she'd be the one to message him first.

She'd continue with her usual Saturday routine of deep cleaning her house from room to room. It was a routine she'd developed in her early twenties, needing her space clean and organized so that her creative juices could function.

After cleaning, she cuddled up on her couch, the novel Such A Fun Age between her fingertips as she lost herself between the pages of the book.

The phone ringing caused her to shoot up, a smirk tugging at her lips, he'd finally came to his senses.

Her smirk falling as she saw the name displayed on her screen.

"Hey."

"Wow, someone seems happy to hear from me."

Jade took a deep breath, she could not let this man get under her skin like this.

"Sorry, I thought it was someone else."

"Who? The man from lunch Wednesday?"

She could hear the grin in Jewel's voice.

"I told you and you could tell mom, Adrian is barely even a friend. We met recently."

That should keep her mother from repeatedly calling her.

"Maybe you should answer mom's calls and tell her that yourself."

Jade's head shook from side to side.

"Nuh uh, I'm good."

"Jade..."

She could hear the frustration in Jewel's tone.

"Mom only wants what's best for you."

Jade's eyes rolled, leave it up to Jewel to always defend their mother's actions.

"Belittling another human being is not wanting what's best for me. It's embarrassing to have to deal with this over and over."

"No Jade, what's embarrassing is you not knowing your worth. First the guy that looks like a garbage truck collector and now the guy that cuts hair for a living."

Jade's jaw dropped, her fingers clenching around the device. She knew her sister was never fond of Luis, but she'd never openly expressed what she thought of him.

"Do you have charity written over your forehead? You're an educated, beautiful young woman, you need a man beside you that complements you, your goals and your career in life."

"You mean a rich man?"

Jade questioned, her head spinning. This she could handle from her mother but her older sister. She couldn't believe it.

"Yes, a man that's financially stable. Look at the economy we're living in Jade. Pampers and milk are more expensive than getting your hair done. Gas and food prices are rising daily, you need someone by your side who can meet you fifty or more. Not you seventy-five and them twenty-five."