Best Night Ever...The Aftermath

Part 9 - Good Looking Out

Tiana's P.O.V.

I woke up and immediately felt all the emotions of the previous day weighing on my heart. Finding Candice the way I did was beyond heartbreaking. The fear that ran through me was enough, but then I also felt every ounce of my sister's pain. But my girl is a fighter! She'll be okay and pull through just fine. Grabbing my phone checking the time, I saw multiple messages and voice mails from Kameron which I ignored, texting Candice instead. Yesterday's drama with Kameron did nothing to help my current situation. I walked into the living room groggy and still a little sad. I found Bruno awake, chilling on the couch finishing what looked like one of the cupcakes I made the other day. "Candy's gonna get you eating her junk", I told him as I headed to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. "She'll live! If I didn't love your best friend I would wife you up right now just for these cupcakes", he said as he took a seat at the kitchen table. "Not sure how Kam would feel about that though", he added. "I'm sure he wouldn't care too much right about now", I said watching the coffee drip willing it to go faster. "You want to tell me what happened?" Bruno asked. "Let me have more coffee first, then sure, I guess it won't hurt talking to you about it", I said. I poured us both a mug and we both fixed it the way we liked it. "Alright Princess, what's up?" he said as we sat at the table. "Where do I even start?" I said frustrated. "How about with why you got upset in the first place", Bruno prompted. "Ok. So we obviously have been building a relationship over the last few months. He came out here to see me since I was here to see Candy this week. Everything has been great, I've been happy and completely caught up. That alone is weird for me because I'm not the kind of girl to be that way over any man", I said truthfully. "Go on", he said. "Anyway, like I said everything was fine; until shit the fan. The fact that he wouldn't get off his ass and come with me to see about Candy pissed me off. I mean, he feeds me all this 'oh Candy's your sister, so that makes her family' bullshit to me. But then when something is clearly wrong you won't come check on her?" I said. "I see", he said. "I get that no one knew what was going on, but clearly I was panicked and I was begging him to get in the car but he wanted to stay and hang out with his boys. Typical fucking man!" I bitched. "Umm, thanks", he said with a laugh. "Sorry. All I'm saying is if you say you love me then you can't only want to have my back when everything is sunshine and daises. So when we got back and he tried to once again pretend like he cared about me or her, I told him to get his shit and get out of here", I said pouring another cup.

"Ok. To be fair, no, he didn't know what was going on. There is no way any of us could see that coming. But, I could tell it was serious. I was with her before and knew something was up so it was different for me. But again, to be fair, if I could read the panic in you, he definitely should have and been there for you. No matter how he feels about Candy, he should have had your back", he said. "Exactly", I answered. "That being said"...."Here we go", I sighed. "Hear me out! Cut him a little slack T. I know he felt like shit for not being there. Yes he's a man and we do dumb shit. He's not Candy's man, he's yours and he should have been there for you. So punish him. Do whatever the hell it is you women do and forgive him girl", he said. "You have a point. I don't know maybe, I'll see", I said. "You know it'll be better than you moping around sad all day. Call him, talk it out, y'all will be cool", he said. "Maybe", I said. I knew he was right; doesn't change the fact that I was still pissed and a little hurt. "Enough of that! So, you and Lollipop are official now! This shit is crazy!" I said laughing. "Yeah, I guess it is", he said a little dumbfounded. "All new relationships are difficult and crazy Bruno. You both are complicated creatures so this should be interesting. I'm excited though. Cheese is gonna try to grill you but don't buy it!" I told him. "Her brother? They're coming in today right?" he asked. "Yeah, he was hitting the runway and just took off before I came out here so it shouldn't be long until they get in town. Jazz is extremely pregnant but she wanted to come anyway", I told him, talking about Cameron's wife. "He took off?" Bruno asked. "Cheese is a pilot. He used to work the big commercial lines but he's been doing the private pilot thing for about 2 years now. He actually flew us down to Hawaii when we came to see you earlier this year', I told him. "Seriously! How do I not know these things" he said. "Well you two were serious fuck buddies and each other's mistresses before. You'll get to the deep shit, as you saw yesterday", I said. I laughed when he gave me the side eye. "Well you were. And think about it, she just met your family yesterday. So you'll get to meet hers today! You'll love Cameron. He's practically Candice as a man. They can drive you crazy when they're together but you'll see!" I said smiling. "I just want to know her, that's all", he said. "Awe boo! You will. You may think she knows you, but honestly, she doesn't. Not really. That's what dating is Bruno. It's learning about who the other person is. That's what you talk about over fondue and wine and all that fancy shit she loves", I said laughing. "You know I've never even taken her on an actual fucking date", he said, shaking his head. "Well Papa Squirrel, you better fix that!" I told him.