Huey Freeman's Guide to Dating

Chapter Twelve: I Told You

Step Twelve:

For the record, I told you.
Now, you're one sad sucka!
It's time to decide once and for all.
Do you really want them back?
Or is it time to start with someone new?

He'd appeared so quickly, Jazmine's heart skipped a beat.

She hopped back, holding her hand to her chest as none other than Huey Freeman stalked up Cindy's driveway, shaking his head at her.

"Huey?" She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't play." He shot her a look as he sat next to her, looking her up and down. "I wasn't leaving you alone to deal with the fallout by yourself."

He gestured to the quiet street in front of her.

"Besides, it's not smart to be out here by yourself. Someone could snatch you up." He said.

Instead of pointing out that didn't happen much in Woodcrest, she nodded, frowning up at him.

"How was the rest of the rehearsal dinner?"

She wasn't surprised to hear him snort, but when he saw that she was actually expecting an answer, he started talking.

"I guess it wasn't bad....if the slow grinding was any indication..." He softened when Jazmine giggled. "Not funny. I think Aunt Cookie nearly broke her hip."

He paused, his face blank again when he turned looked at her, calm and confident, his face so beautiful she could barely focus on the stars.

"How'd your talk with Vince go?"

She kind of wanted to hurt him, tell him she went back.

But now that he was here, she was picking at her t-shirt, unable to lie to him anymore than she was able to lie to herself.

"It was okay." She finally admitted. "He was being honest for a change, saying he actually wanted to give us a shot. I'm the one who took things too far. I kissed him, so I told him I'd think about it for a day and get back to him. I have some stuff to figure out."

If Huey was upset about her doing exactly what he'd told her not to do, she couldn't tell.

"I think that's a good idea." Huey said after a second, , causing her heart to speed up a little faster, which was anything but good. "I mean, you need clarity, right? It's between Vince and Shawn, so eventually you're gonna have to choose one of them. Why make it harder than what it has to be?"

She wanted to ask him the same thing.

"Yeah." She nodded. "You're right."

They both paused for a second, their eyes on the night sky.

"So how'd you know I was here?" She asked him, shivering slightly from the cool air settling into the night.

"Caesar." He snorted. "How else?

"Right." She nodded, getting up to leave. "Well, I should head in. Cindy's waiting."

"Not yet." He turned to stare at her, gesturing for her to sit back down. "I have some things to say." He exhaled before he made a startling amount of eye contact, so much so that it took Jazmine's breath away.

She leaned forward, engrossed in him, suddenly realizing why she was ogling him more than usual. He was still dressed up in his button down and slacks from the rehearsal dinner, his fro freshly lined, and a fresh whiff of cologne she'd never smelled on him before.

She felt herself scoot closer, but at the last minute she backed away.

Huey already expressed how he felt about that.

It wasn't right to keep doing this, not if he'd explicitly told her not to. So instead, she kept her eyes on the bush near her porch, nodding.

"Okay." She managed, not wanting to seem weak, but not wanting to offend him either . "Go ahead."

In a weird way, she knew he didn't mind it, even without him saying a word.

But he gave her a small nod anyway, just enough for her to see it out of the corner of her eye. She quickly returned it, waiting for him to start talking.

"About the argument we had." He began, staring her down until he met her gaze. "You were right." He said softly. "It wasn't just you blurring the lines. I was just as complicit as you were, and I'm truly sorry about that." He shook his head. "I shouldn't have taken it as far as I did."

"It happens." Jazmine shrugged. "Two friends of the opposite-sex are bound for some awkward tension at some point."

She forced herself to act normal, to keep her voice as casual as possible, standing up to place a hand on his shoulder.

"What's important thing is that we've talked about it, and we know where we stand." She nodded, backing away. "And now we can be better friends to each other. It's not all bad."

He seemed surprised by that.

"I guess I never thought of it that way."

"That's what I'm here for." She grinned. "To remind you that there's always a bright side."

"Okay...." He snorted. "Now, you're delirious."

He raised a brow, that amused smirk on his face.

"There is no bright side in this world. When you free yourself from hope, you free yourself from the trap of illusion. That's when things get better."

"You know...." Jazmine couldn't help but laugh. "That's a really long way to say you like having me around."

Huey's lips twitched upward before he leaned back one the railing of the porch, staring back at her.