Page 95 of Anything Goes

Feeling a little guilty, I leaned against the small bench. “My bad, man. You’re right. I shouldn’t be accusing you of anything. I know how much you love Ayesha. I mean, you have to love her. You put up with some crazy shit. I don't think I could do it.”

“Trust me, you’ll do anything for the one you truly love. Well, to a certain extent. The thing with Ayesha is, I’ve always known what she brings to the table. I made a decision about what I could and couldn’t handle when it came to our relationship. I’m not suggesting that everyone should deal with what I deal with. But I think it’s important to be willing to see what’s really special about a person. Everything doesn’t have to be just right. Ayesha isn’t just right, but she’s just right for me.”

I nodded, understanding exactly what he was trying to say.

I wasn’t sure how much of it I would actually apply to my own situation, but it was definitely food for thought.

“So, tell me what was so important that you had to drag me out of my damn apartment?” I asked.

He walked around the bench and lifted his foot to tie his shoe. “Word on the street is, your girl is leaving town.”

My eyes widened.

There’s no way Alauni’s leaving…right?

“Wait a minute, what?”

“Yeah, Maxine told Ayesha that she got some big job offer in New York, and get this, she’s engaged.”

I was relieved to learn that he wasn’t talking about Alauni, but surprised to hear the news about Maxine. “What?”

“Yep. Your face looked just like mine did when I found out. I don't know who was crazy enough to put a ring on her finger, but they did, and now she's off to New York.”

Confused, I shook my head.

None of this shit made sense. Just a few days ago, she was harassing me about us being together, and now she was engaged.

“Let me make sure I heard you right,” I said. “Maxine’s getting married?”

“Yep, and apparently the guy is some big-time surgeon out there.”

“Wow, that’s crazy. I mean, I’m glad she’s moving on, but if you knew half of the crap I’ve been through the last few days, you would understand why I’m so shocked.”

“Really? What’s been going on?”

Grabbing the ball from the bench, I said, “Oh, we’re going to have to get a game going while I explain this shit.”

“It’s that crazy?”

“Hell yeah!”

As soon as the words left my lips, Corey pulled off his hoodie and tossed it onto the bench. “Damn, let’s get started then.”

For the next few minutes, Corey and I dribbled around on the court, and I filled him in on everything that had been going on. I even expressed to him my feelings on my breakup with Alauni.

I wasn’t planning on sharing that, but once I mentioned her name, I couldn’t help it.

“Wow, that’s a lot,” he said, lifting his hands behind his head while attempting to catch his breath.

“Yeah, I know.”

“So, are you sure you want to leave her alone? I mean, I get where you’re coming from with the whole baby daddy situation, but I don’t think you should be so quick to give up.”

“Shit, I don’t want to give up, but I also don’t want to be in the middle of what they’ve got going on.”

“Okay, well, say that and let her do what needs to be done to fix it. Don’t just kick her to the damn curb.”

“It’s not like that.”