Page 6 of Bern and Isley (D-Ville Projects #5)

Bern

I was starving like a muhfucka. My mama didn’t cook because she was out on a little date.

I hit Isley to see if she was whipping up anything in the kitchen and she said no.

I wasn’t in the mood to stand over a stove either, so I invited her out to dinner with me.

We pulled up to this lot not too far from the D-Ville projects.

There were a variety of food trucks. There was almost every type of cuisine you could want, soul food, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, etc.

They even had dessert trucks, one offered Sno Cones and ice cream.

The other had funnel cakes, fried Oreos, cheesecake, and other things of that nature.

It was a good crowd out, so I guess nobody wanted to be in the kitchen. There were several families and couples out. I even saw a couple of niggas from DP.

“So many options,” Isley said once I opened her car door.

“I know, right?” I glanced around at the food truck options trying to decide what I had taste for.

“I think I want hibachi.” Isley turned toward the direction of the Hibachi Ninjas food truck.

“That does sound good.” My stomach instantly growled at the thought. “Yeah, let’s get that.”

Surprisingly, there was no line, so we were able to walk up and immediately place our order.

I decided on the steak and chicken combo and Isley went with the vegetarian option.

When it came to pay, she actually had the nerve to pull out her wallet.

Shit lowkey pissed me off. Even when we were kids, she never had to pay for her own meal when I was around.

Either she forgot who I was or that nigga she was with had her forgetting how the fuck she was supposed to be treated when a man was around. Shit didn’t sit right with me.

After fifteen minutes, our order numbers were called. We found an empty spot at a picnic table to sit down and enjoy our meals. The sun was starting to set, so the temperature dropped a smidge. It was still muggy as fuck, but it was bearable.

“You never told me how the interview went,” Isley said as she meticulously poured yum-yum sauce on her fried rice.

“I guess it went okay. The interviewers were kind of hard to read. Hopefully I’ll hear back from them within the next week or so.”

She nodded as she took a bite of her food. I grinned at her. I could watch her pretty self eat all day. The way she moaned and her eyes rolled indicated the food was damn good. Her ass was not shy about throwing down and I loved that for her.

“I’m sure you got in the bag.” She offered an encouraging smile.

“I hope so,” I admitted. “I know the money I have put back is only going to last so long.”

She looked at me with sad eyes. “I wish I had some to give you.”

“I don’t need your money, Ice.” I chuckled. “I promise you that I’m straight. I’m just trying to stack it.”

“I’m glad you’re good… but I would love to have something to offer you. You’ve always looked out for me. It would just be nice to be in a position to return the favor. That’s all.”

That shit tugged at my heart strings. The thoughtfulness of it. She was right that I’d always looked out for her. If I had it, she had it. But I didn’t do any of it to get something in return.

“I already know if you had it, you’d hook me up. No doubt.”

“You damn right.”

We continued to enjoy our meal. Isley was full after she’d only eaten half of hers.

I demolished all of mine. There wasn’t even a morsel of broccoli left over.

Outside of the need to feed my belly, I was glad to just be out of the house.

Since I’d been out on parole, all I did was eat, sleep, and work out.

Unique had been blowing me up, trying to get some dick, but I wasn’t on that.

The way she crashed out about me walking Isley to the car after the party disturbed me.

I didn’t like drama. And I could already see fucking around with her would bring drama to my door.

I didn’t like the messy shit, so it was best to cut her ass off.

She could fuck on whatever niggas she was fuckin’ on when I was behind bars.

“Sometimes I wished I had my own place,” Isley admitted as she gathered her trash.

“I can feel that. You’re just ready for privacy or is there something that happened?”

“Both. I feel like I haven’t progressed as an adult. This is not how I expected life to look like at thirty when I was younger. I thought by now I’d be married with a kid, living in a white house with a picket fence. Not sharing an apartment with my aunt and her sorry ass son.”

I heard what she said and could feel where she was coming from. That’s one thing I loved about her; Isley’s loyalty was unmatched. She didn’t turn her back on those who’d been there for her. But in this case, I felt it was time she put her needs and wants first.

“Ice, I understand you want to be there for your aunt and help her out. But how long are you willing to put your life on hold?”

Her eyes teared up and she sniffled. I stood and joined her on her side of the table. Wrapping my arm around, I leaned into her. “Don’t cry. You know I can’t take that.”

“I miss my mama and Ruffin a lot lately. I hate that they’re not here with me.”

I grabbed one of the brown napkins we had left over then dabbed her tears.

It had been a while since she’d brought up her mother and brother.

I remember how broken she was when I met her.

The heavy grief that she carried. It broke my heart to see her so sad then and even more now.

I wished there was something I could do to heal her heart in the places where it was broken.

“I too wish they were here with you. But I know they’re smiling down on you.

And proud of the woman you’ve become. It’s natural to feel like you should be further in life, but don’t diminish all of the hurdles you’ve overcome.

So many people choose very dark paths after suffering loss.

You were able to keep your head up and make positive choices. ”

“Yeah. I guess I should be thankful that I didn’t turn to crack,” she joked.

“No, that’s real talk. Some people deal with life’s challenges by turning to drugs or other disastrous routes.”

“This is true,” she agreed.

“Everything your heart desires is going to come to you, Ice. Things can change in an instant. This time next year you could be married with a bun in the oven. I know it’s cliché but you just have to hold on and don’t give up.”

“You’re right.” She exhaled and forced a smile. “Thanks for inviting me out. This is just what I needed. Sorry for being a crybaby.”

“You’re not a crybaby. It’s healthy to get those tears out. I’m glad you feel safe enough with a nigga to shed a couple tears without judgement.”

“Of course.”

We sat and conversed at the food truck lot until it was dark before we headed back to the apartments.

When we arrived at the complex, I got out to walk Isley inside of the building.

I knew the niggas of DP didn’t play about violence and shit against women, but Isley was my personal assignment.

I didn’t leave shit to chance where she was concerned.

We cracked jokes in the lobby while we waited for the elevator.

When the elevator dinged and opened, a tall, husky man with a frown on his face stepped out.

“Oh so this why you couldn’t answer my calls?” he asked, stepping toward us.

A surprised look covered Isley’s face.

“Nigga, who the fuck are you?” I stepped between them and tapped my finger on his forehead. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

He took a step back. “I’m her man, but this ain’t got shit to do with you,” he responded, then turned his attention to Isley.

“Nigga, if it has anything to do with her, it concerns me. So watch how the fuck you come at her!”

He held his hands up and sighed. “My bad, man. Isley, can I talk to you in private?”

She looked from him to me with wide eyes. She fidgeted with her purse strap as she contemplated.

“Ice, you don’t have to talk to this nigga if you don’t want to,” I told her while keeping my eyes on the lame.

“It’s cool, Bern. Thanks for dinner. I’ll call you later,” she assured me.

I turned to her, staring into her eyes for evidence of any kind of fear. “Are you sure?”

She offered a faint smile. “Yes, it’s all good. I promise.”

“Aight. I better hear from you in the next twenty minutes.”

“Okay, okay,” she agreed.

Reluctantly, I backed off as she and her man took the elevator up to her apartment.

My blood was still boiling. It had been one red flag after the other with this dude.

And it was pissing me off that Isley was even entertaining that lame ass dude.

She deserved better than a simp. She needed a real nigga who was willing to protect and provide for her.

One willing to do life behind her if it came down to it. And that nigga was not it.