Page 10 of Bern and Isley (D-Ville Projects #5)

Bern

“What’s your beef with that big dude?” Theo asked before taking a gulp of water.

“Shid, ain’t no beef,” I lied as I grabbed my towel from my gym bag and wiped the sea of sweat pouring from my face and neck.

Theo and Antwan invited me to play ball with them. And I agreed like a damn fool. That heat and humidity was tearing my ass up. I was sweating from every place imaginable and I couldn’t wait to get home to wash the funk off.

“I can’t tell,” Antwan butted in.

“That ain’t one of them niggas Unique was fuckin’, is it?” Theo smirked.

“Man, go to hell.” I sucked my teeth. “That’s Isley’s boyfriend or whatever he’s supposed to be.”

Antwan and Theo raised their brows and glanced at each other then back at me.

“Don’t y’all start that shit,” I warned them.

“I’m not saying a word.” Theo moved his fingers over his mouth in a zipping fashion.

“Hell, I’ll say it,” Antwan said as he began removing his sneakers. “If you want Isley, stop being a pussy about it. You ain’t have to press her dude. You was fouling the shit out of that man.”

Antwan and Theo cracked up laughing. I didn’t see shit funny. Did I guard that nigga a little rough? Maybe. It’s streetball, if he wanted that soft shit, he should’ve gone to the local YMCA.

“He’ll be alright.” I shrugged.

“Okay but you didn’t address the part about you needing to man up when it comes to shooting your shot at Isley.”

I ignored that part on purpose. I was trying hard to suppress my feelings for her.

What if I poured my heart out to her and she didn’t feel the same?

Shit would be awkward as hell going forward.

She may not want to have anything to do with me anymore.

That would break me more than any rejection would.

Isley had been there for a nigga through good times and bad.

She was the first person I thought of when something good happened to me or if I had a fucked-up day.

She was the person I could share every goal or dream with and she’d support that shit. No matter how unrealistic it sounded.

“It’s not like that.” I avoided their stares. “But I need to head home. I can’t believe I let y’all niggas talk me into this shit. ’Bout to have a damn heat stroke trying to play ball.”

“Mmmhmm… I know a nigga trying to avoid a conversation when I see one,” Antwan said.

“Gone on.” I waved them off as I grabbed my duffle bag then headed to my car.

Thoughts of Isley filled my head the entire ride home.

My dick got hard remembering how good she looked at the car wash a few days prior.

Her thick hips filled that denim romper out.

Her beautiful, moisturized legs were on full display.

I imagined how good they would look wrapped around my waist while I made sweet love to her.

I headed straight for the shower when I made it into the house.

The warm water flowing down my body soothed my tense muscles.

After thoroughly cleansing from head to toe, I stepped out of the shower and dried off before entering my bedroom.

I threw on a black tank and black Jordan basketball shorts before heading to the kitchen.

My mom was seated at the table snacking on a plate of fruit. I took a seat across from her.

“How’s things coming along with the car wash so far?”

“Everything going good so far. I had a guy come out and repair one of the vacuum cleaners that didn’t work.”

Mom frowned at me. “Repairs already?”

“Yeah, I knew the place needed some work before I bought it. That’s why the selling price was so low,” I admitted. “Thankfully it didn’t cost but a couple of hundred to fix that.”

She nodded. “Okay, baby. You know more about these things than I do. I’m just so happy for you. I know Isley was over the moon about it, wasn’t she?”

I grinned, remembering the joy on her face when I revealed the news. “You already know.”

“That’s the type of woman you need to marry, Claybern.”

“Oh, here you go,” I sighed.

She threw her hands up. “I’m just calling it like I see it, son. Isley is a beautiful person. Inside and out. Loyal. Kindhearted. She’s always been a joy to be around. You just don’t run across people like her very often.”

I couldn’t argue about any of the attributes my mother had rattled off like a shopping list. Isley was all of those things plus more. And I agreed that coming across a jewel like her didn’t happen often. Maybe even once in a lifetime.

“I’m not trying to be all in your business. But I think you should definitely consider if y’all are meant to be more than friends. The fact that y’all have built a solid friendship gives you a head start to what could be a beautiful, strong relationship.”

“I hear you,” I replied, attempting to sound nonchalant. I was taking in everything my mother said.

“Okay, so when are you doing this apartment hunting? I’m still mad about it, but I respect your decision to move out.”

“I have an appointment tomorrow to check out the unit in D-Ville after Isley retwists my hair.”

“Okay.” She exhaled deeply. “On the bright side, with you gone, I can let my boo thing spend the night. We can walk around in our birthday suits with no regard.”

I frowned in disgust. “You doing too much now.”

She cackled as she stood from the table. “I’m just trying to find the positives.”

“Mmmhmm. I don’t want to hear all of that.”

“My bad,” she giggled as she walked off, leaving me at the table meditating on everything she said about me and Isley. The more I thought about it, the more I tried to hype myself up to reveal my true feelings to Isley the next day. Fuck it, I was going to do it.