recognize / b.simmons

10

ben sighed and threw his phone on the couch. what does she mean she's busy? it's 8:30 and "busy" only means one thing: she's with somebody else. and ben knew it.

ben knew he and amari were not together, that's been established and made clear several times by the woman herself, but it was the fact that she kept seeing other people while they had this agreement. they never negotiated seeing other people while they fool around, so she's grown and able to do as she pleases, but it bothers ben. that's makes another thing ben wants to bring up when he sees her tomorrow.

ben wants to text her again, he wants to take her attention away from her date and make her focus on him. it was selfish, but ben had feelings too.

he wishes he knew how amari did it. how she was able to see several people at once. but. you really think about it, it was easy, especially if ben wanted to do it with the lifestyle that he lived. women throw themselves at him every day, and he dodges maybe 30% of them. he's a man, and that's what men do, sadly. but it feels different when amari does it, and ben knows it's sexist to feel like that, but that doesn't stop him.

ben picks up his phone again, drawing his bottom lip in between his teeth. i should text her, he thinks. no. he sighs frustratedly, making all three of his dogs look at him. "what would you do? hmm?" he sighs at his dogs, who obviously don't say anything back. "what the hell am i doing? you're fucking dogs." he says and gets up, going to the kitchen, making his three dogs, bane, bronx, and chopper follow him into the kitchen.

he lets his mind wonder if amari likes animals, or if she's afraid. guess he'll find out tomorrow when she comes over.

he opens the cabinet where he keeps his glasses and he grabs a cup. he puts it underneath the ice dispenser and whatever ice doesn't make it in his cup, his dogs fight over. "chill, y'all," he says and walks over to their water bowls and dumps the ice in his cup in them. they go crazy, and ben just laughs.

he goes back to his kitchen and settles on bottled water instead. he then goes back to living room and grabs his phone to text a few of his friend that were in town.

the gang gc..

ben: lets go out?

joel: yessirrrrr

jimmy: i ain't got shit to do so

ben: so is that a yes?

joel: yessir

jimmy: yes nigga damn

ben: aight tell tobias and i'll let tristan know

jimmy: aight

if amari wanted to play games, ben would too.

-

"y'all ready to fuck the club up?" jimmy asks, passing around a bottle of ciroc in the lyft. in bens car it was jimmy, tristan, and his friend tahj. four big ass people in a small ass lyft.

ben takes the bottle from jimmy and takes a drink. the alcohol burns at the back of his throat. "ay, i got someone i want you to meet," tristan says to ben, taking the bottle of ciroc away from him.

"better not be no hollywood thot," ben says, earning snickers from jimmy and tahj, who don't know about him and amari. that was surely about to change.

"nah, you got that covered already," tristan says, taking a drink from the bottle and passing it around. this prompts tahj and jimmy to question ben, who dodges the questions.

"nigga, just tell us!" jimmy yells, clearly already drunk. ben shakes his head and looks out the car window.

"i don't kiss and tell," he says.