Her Decision

No Doubt

Jamar

After agreeing to hit up the diner with girls and Sayed, I went home to get cleaned up. My mom was still out enjoying her day so I knew she wouldn’t be home. I planned to shower and then call Aliana. We needed to set things straight if I was going to go anywhere with her tonight. I put my Alexa on the J. Cole station and let myself zone out to the music and running water. I got out and as expected: Aliana had texted me.

*Aliana*

are u still mad?

So she already knew that I was mad. Well if she wasn’t going to beat around the bush then neither was I. Together or not that still wasn’t cool. If she’s my girl and she knows it, she doesn’t even need to get out of character like that. It’s childish and bad for the image I’m trying to build.

Of course I’m still mad. You know I can’t associate myself with drama or petty bs.

*Aliana*

You’re mad at me for doing what I did, but fail to mention how you whistled at this chick and called her pretty girl..?

*Aliana*

This is how you treat me when all I’ve ever done was be there for you? Seriously?

*Aliana*

You know what? Forget texting. I’m coming over there right now.

Why do you need to come over? If you’re trying to use s*x to apologize then just say that.

Aliana was seriously pissing me off. This was how it was always turned out. She could never just come out and say that she was wrong. I was worked up from the day so I did allow her to go down on me, but that was it. We sat on the bed and I told her we still needed to talk. “Aliana what you did was not cool and I need you to acknowledge that.” I started off. This would not end well if she didn’t do the right thing. “You’re right JD. I was wrong for putting my hands on her. It was the first day of school after all. I just got carried away in my anger and lost my cool.” Aliana sincerely said. I breathed out a sigh of relief. Now we could try to move forward a little.

“JD I’m not okay with just being friends with benefits anymore. I want to be your girlfriend. We’re seniors now and going away to college soon. I want some reassurance that I can trust you. I can give you time to think about it but I won’t wait forever for an answer either.” Aliana said to me. We were having a heart to heart for real and not just using s*x as a distraction. It was different. “I need some time to think about what I want to do. We’re still young.” And I haven’t felt the mate pull with you at all. But I wouldn’t tell her that. We headed out to Lola’s to forget about today’s events. I shot a quick text to my mom letting her know my location and she sent me back a selfie of her with a blue mask and cucumbers over her eyes. That made me smile. I was happy she got to relax.

We pulled up to Lola’s and got seated almost immediately. It helped that Simone’s brother was the owner and head chef. Aliana and I sat on one side of the booth while Sayed and Simone sat on the other. We all relaxed and began to talk about our days. Sayed had everyone laughing because he was complaining about having to do the pledge of allegiance every day since he was a front office aide. I had just grabbed some fries to dunk in my ketchup when Amber and her crew walked in. She had let her bun down and now huge curls had taken its place. She had shoe game and that made me laugh to myself. Ali said sneakers were boys and she kept a fresh pedicure and expensive sandals. I finally finished checking her out and noticed that she was rolling her eyes. Why? I just wanted to talk to her and apologize.

I was taken aback by Aliana sliding herself into my lap. “Mya and I can’t wait to get home with you alone tonight.” She whispered in my ear. Mya was Aliana’s wolf and she was a freak. Everything I knew about mates, I knew from Aliana and Mya. They had told me a lot and yet we couldn’t understand why Ali and I weren’t mates. I felt her sliding her hands across me in a seductive way under the table. But for some reason, I couldn’t stop what she was doing. I knew she was doing this to make Amber jealous and I could see that it was working. She was staring daggers at Aliana and I both. I just hoped she could see in my eyes how badly I wanted to talk and apologize. I watched as she mouthed to her friends that she was ready to go. The lights flickered and Simone sighed. She had been begging her brother to find another way to introduce his dance parties without freaking everyone out. “DAAAANCE PARTYYYY!”

Everyone got up to move to the dance floor and enjoy the rest of the night. I looked for Amber everywhere but she was in the middle of the dance floor with her friends. They were definitely getting noticed. Luckily nobody had talked to Amber yet, they seemed to know she was younger than the rest of us seniors. “Can you at least pretend you’re not checking for her? Damn! Simone about ripped me a new one just now” Sayed said as he punched my shoulder. I knew that my friend was right, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to do the right thing by Aliana, but Amber would still be on my mind. Ali dragged me to the floor to dance and I held her close to me. She smelled like her signature Versace perfume. I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy the moment.

We were actually having a good time. I scanned the dance floor once again and saw Amber standing alone sipping a drink. I hoped she was having a good time. Then someone walked to her. Who is that with Amber? I don’t know. I think he looks like a younger player on the basketball team though. Trent? No. Terrance! I think his name is Terrance. I thought back to Gideon. I used our wolf hearing to see if I could hear their conversation. “My name is Terrance, can I get the pleasure of knowing yours?” I could almost hear the smile in his voice. NO! “Amber. If you’ve been trying to get at me all night, what took you so long?” she replied. I couldn’t believe it. I knew I had no right to be upset, but I felt the rage come over me. I was going to lose my chance with Amber.