Wasting Tea

*JAMIRA*

Seeing that name on my man’s phone nearly drove me to tears. My mind raced, so I decided to leave the room and go downstairs to call Ayana. She was the one person I could trust to give me advice.

I’d always turned to her for everything. She may be wild and unpredictable, but she’s a genuinely good person who’s always been there for me when I needed her most. I didn’t expect this situation to be any different.

With tears streaming down my face, I dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

I couldn’t hold back my sobs.

“Mira, are you crying?”

“Y… y.. mm hmm.”

“What the hell? What’s going on?”

“Chris knows,” I cried.

“Huh? What does he know? Mira, I need you to relax and tell me everything.”

I took a deep breath and began to explain the events of the night.

“That’s so messed up! And why did he try to confront you after he cooked you dinner and came on to you?”

“Yana, that’s not even the worst part.”

“So what is?”

“Keema was the one who sent him the pictures of me and Eric in the club and a video of us leaving together.”

I knew that would send Ayana over the edge. She didn’t play games about betrayal and girl code.

“Oh hell no, I knew that bitch was acting weird. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

“I didn’t go through the messages, but I’m sure there’s a connection.”

“Of course, there is! Why would she be texting your man and why does she have his number?”

Everything she said made sense. Now that I thought about it, how did she get his number? My mind started to piece things together. He had been trying to make me out to be the villain when he was texting my “friend” behind my back. The only thing I couldn’t understand was why.

I knew that the answers I needed were on that phone. But was I ready to face the truth? I decided now wasn’t the time. I wasn’t ready to go searching for answers and find them. I knew I needed to know, but I wasn’t sure how much heartache I could handle.

“I don’t know,” I said solemnly.

“She better hope I don’t get my hands on her. I’m going to beat her ass. Don’t nobody mess with my friend.”

That made me feel a bit better, knowing she had my back.

“Yana, what do I do?”

She went silent for a while, clearly contemplating all the possibilities of the situation. What she said next caught me off guard.

“Whatever happened to that guy anyway?”

Just then, I realized I hadn’t updated her on what happened that Monday after the club.

“Oh my god, Yana! I forgot to tell you about that!”

“Well, get to talking. I need to know everything.”

I proceeded to tell her about Mr. Greene telling me I was getting a new student, and how the student turned out to be Eric’s daughter, along with the conversation we had after our reunion.

I never heard Ayana gasp so much in my life.

“So, did you ever call him?”

“What no! It was a one-time thing.”

“No, ma’am! I say call him.”

“What?!”

“Call him and fuck him again. It’s clear you enjoyed it, and if you don’t want Chris in that way, fuck Eric at least until you figure out what’s going on with Chris and Keema.”

“Didn’t you hear me? He has a family.”

“I said fuck him, not marry him. And who cares? You have a man, remember? The way I see it, why should it matter?”

“Because it’s wrong, right?”

“And yet you ended up in his bed. None of that matters. He wants to see you again, so let him.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but she made a very good point. It didn’t matter, and Chris knows, so what’s the worst that could happen? And just like that, I decided to reach out to him. As I said, Ayana had a way of making me feel better.

“You’re right,” I said simply.

“Keep me updated, girl.”

“Okay, love you and thanks again.”

“Girl, you know I got your back. Love you too.”

Just like that, we ended the call, and I went to find Eric’s number and text him.

Hey… you up?

I got nervous right after because what if he didn’t answer. Shortly after, my phone buzzed with an incoming message.

Who is this?

Jamira…

I’m always up for you. What’s up?

I want to see you.

I mean, hell yeah, when?

Now, the conversation went silent for a few minutes before another message came through.

Ah, beautiful. Sorry, I can’t. I have a meeting in the morning. I wish I could.

Aww, I hope it goes well for you. I assume you’d be making it up to me?

It would be my pleasure.

We exchanged a few more messages until eventually, he stopped texting. I assumed he went to sleep. With nothing else to do, I got a blanket out of the closet and slept downstairs on the couch.

After what happened with Chris, I didn’t want to be in the same room as him.