Jungle 3: Revisited

Chapter 6

Fresh off of work, Mike stopped by the mall to surprise Ebony with something to eat. After a few days, Ebony still had her attitude about him reading her journal. Mike felt a relief because he finally got what he wanted, even if it was sort of accidental. He talked to her about it and apologized again, but Ebony just wanted to be stubborn.

Walking inside the store, there was a nice amount of customers. Ebony wasn't in sight so he asked one of workers where she was. The manager of the store walked into the office and Mike stood around while he waited. A couple seconds later, La'Shonda and Ebony walked out.

"Hey, Mike." La'Shonda waved and gave him a hug.

"Hi." He smiled.

"What's that?" She pointed to the bag he held.

"Food. For Ebony."

"You must've read my mind, I ain't ate nothing yet. Let me clock out real quick." Ebony finally smiled as she typed on the computer monitor.

"Thank you." She walked over to him and placed a kiss on his lips.

The workers and La'Shonda looked surprised, but didn't say anything. La'Shonda smiled to herself with her head down and Ebony's coworkers tried to pretend like they weren't just staring. All the workers were familiar with Mike so it was shocking to them. The only reason Ebony kissed him was to make it known that it was no longer okay to try it with him. They knew Ebony didn't play and she wouldn't hesitate to put someone in their place.

"I'll be back y'all." Ebony grabbed his arm.

"Okay. Mike are you coming to the opening for the new store?" La'Shonda held her smile.

"Yeah. My mama got your text and she said she'll be there too. You need anything?"

"No. But it would mean a lot if you came to support."

"I got you. I'll be there." Mike nodded.

Leaving the store, Ebony purchased something to drink. She didn't want to eat in the food court so they went to Mike's car. Ebony opened the bag to see she had a burrito and chips with salsa. She smacked her lips and Mike asked her what was wrong.

"I never ate a burrito before. What if I don't like it?"

"Then I'll eat it. I'll just give you money to get something else."

"Oh that's the perks of having a boyfriend, huh? Free food. What's in this? It's hella big." She held it up with both hands.

"Steak, white rice, queso, cheese, and sour cream. I didn't get beans cause I wasn't sure what kind you liked."

"Oh okay, I like that stuff. What made you get this for me?" She took a big bite after praying.

"Because I wanted to see you. Is it good?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded with steak and rice falling from her mouth.

"Don't just stare at me. Why ain't you get nothing to eat?" Ebony said after swallowing.

"I did, but I ate it already. I can watch you eat."

"We need to go over some shit now that we go together, ya' heard me." She took another big bite.

"Like what?" Mike laughed.

"Like...when you come up here, don't be entertaining them bitches. They not yo fucking friends. Number two, stop posting sexual memes on social media. Nobody need to know what you wanna do or what you like to do. Three, I ain't no insecure bitch so you can have female friends as long as they ain't the type to overstep they boundaries. You better set boundaries for these bitches."