After what happened with Chris, Monica was outside Britney’s apartment. She didn’t know if she was there, but she needed to talk to her, so she took a chance.
She knocked on the door and it quickly opened. Britney glanced at her with an impatient glance.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“You sort of did.” Britney replied.
Monica looked inside and saw Jackie on the couch. He gave a smile while putting on his shirt.
“Mr. Parker.” She said while staring at his chest.
Britney looked at Monica and rolled her eyes.
“Hi, you must be one of Britney’s friends. You can call me Jackie.” He said while approaching the door.
“Maybe I should go.” Monica said.
“No, let me; there’s some stuff I need to take care of. I can come back later.” Jackie said. He kissed Britney, smiled at Monica again and left.
“I’m so sorry.” Monica said.
“It’s fine. So what’s the emergency? You seemed kind of frantic.” Britney said while sitting down.
“Where should I start? Something really strange happened today.”
“Okay, please enlighten me.”
“Well, you know Chris and I have sort of been hanging out lately, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Anyway, he helped me with my math assignments and stuff. Anyway, we spend the afternoon together, and then I went to his job to keep him company. We were talking and out of nowhere, he talked about how much he was thinking about me and wondered how things would have been if we pursued a relationship.”
“I remembered you two were sort of talking, but didn’t because of Donnell.”
“Well, today, Chris kissed me, but it doesn’t end there. When I was at his job, we sort of had sex, twice.”
Britney stared wide-eyed at Monica. “Are you serious? Why would you do that? He’s involved with Cheryl.”
“I know, and believe me, I feel really guilty about it. After we did it, Chris was so nonchalant about it, as if it was no big deal. Now, I’m wondering if he just wanted to find a way out of his relationship by being with me.”
“If he wanted out, he should have talked to Cheryl. And to think those two had a solid relationship.”
“He admitted part of the reason why he distanced himself from Cheryl was because of everything that happened with her and Devin last semester; I guess he felt he couldn’t trust her again.”
“If he’s thinking like that, why would he tell her to go talk to Marcus? You know what happened with us last semester?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, even though I’m guilty about what happened, I really had a great time with him. He’s a great person to hang out with. He’s nothing like Donnell.”
“You’re definitely right about that.” Britney agreed in a sarcastic tone.
“What does that mean?”
“Donnell would never cheat on you, even though you have on him millions of times. In fact, are you even still with him?”
“We sort of still are. I haven’t seen him in days though.”
Britney rolled her eyes. “You really need to let him go. Being together is not doing you or him any good.”
“I know.”
“And now that you and Chris slept together, there’s no point in saving the relationship.”
“I know.”
“Do you want to be with Chris?”
Monica sighed. “I don’t know; I mean, I really like him and I would like to see where things go between us.”
“How are you going to do that when he’s still with Cheryl? I know none of us should really judge each other because of our dating histories, but do you really think Chris will be with you? He cheated on Cheryl with you, so what makes you think he’s not going to do it to you.” “If I decide to be with him, then that’s a risk I will have to take.”
“I think you’re setting yourself up for failure.”
“I wished you were a little more encouraging.”
“And I wished you were a little more realistic.”
“Maybe you should be giving this advice to yourself since you’re dating your professor.” Monica said. She got up and went to the door.
“Just forget we ever talked about this.” She added. She opened the door and left.
Britney shook her head and sighed. “Maybe we should.”
*** After staying at Marcus’ for two hours, Cheryl decided to call it a night. When he dropped her off at her place, he hugged and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which made her smile. She wanted to do a little bit more, but Marcus was right; they definitely should not cross the line.
Before she got out of the car, she saw Chris sitting on her doorstep. She glanced at her watch, wondering why he wasn’t at work.
“Everything okay?” Marcus asked.
Cheryl shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
She got out and went towards him. He looked up, giving her a worried expression, which made her a little anxious.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I left early.”
“Is something wrong?”
He looked away from her, not knowing if he should tell her the reason why he was there.
He glanced over and saw Marcus’ car in the parking lot.
“Were you with Marcus tonight?” He asked, suddenly realizing the outfit she was wearing. “Were you two on a date?”
“Not really. We just hung out.”
“Wearing that?” he asked while staring at her.
“Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know, considering his history with your cousin.”
“You’re the one who told me to look after him, so that’s what I’m doing. What is your problem?”
“I don’t have one, but I will make it one if he does step to you in any way.”
“Excuse me? Should I say the same thing about Monica then, because you’re spending an awful lot of time with her?”
“She’s different.”
“I don’t know what your issue is right now, but maybe you need to leave and sleep it off.” Cheryl said while heading to the door. Before she could go in, Chris grabbed her arm.
“Wait.”
She glanced at him while shrugging her arm from him.
“There’s a reason why I came by. You are right about Monica and me. We have been spending a lot of time together.”
Cheryl glanced at him. She didn’t like how this conversation was going. Based on the look on his face, he was about to tell her something that she knew she wouldn’t like.
“What is it, Chris?”
He cleared his throat before looking ahead.
“We went out for lunch earlier; when I dropped her off at her room, I kissed her.”
Cheryl raised her eyebrow at him. “What did you say?”
“We kissed, Cheryl.”
She closed her eyes, not believing what she was hearing.
“And tonight, she came by my job to hang out. One thing led to another, and we had sex.”
Cheryl stared at him, when suddenly her hand went across his left cheek. The impact was so severe, he bent over, clutching it with his hand. “You asshole! Is this some sort of payback from what I’ve done? At least I didn’t sleep with Devin!”
“But you wanted to. I saw it every time you were around him.”
“Oh, so this is my fault that you went out and cheated? That you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants!”
“Don’t give me that! I bet you want to be with Marcus right now, that’s why you jumped at the chance to watch over him.”
“I did it as a favor for you. Because I know what it’s like to spiral out of control. I thought I could help him, and sleeping with him is not it.” “But you want to. And don’t deny it.”
“You are really being a dick right now. You’re trying to turn it around on me like it’s my fault you slept with Monica?”
“I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who assuming things.”
Marcus came over to the two, wondering what was going on. “Is everything okay?”
Cheryl shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
She looked at Chris. “So, are you trying to say you don’t want to be with me anymore? That you want to be with Monica?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Well, you must want to, because you’re certainly not going to be with the both of us.”
“Why can’t I?”
Cheryl was about to slap him again when Marcus grabbed her.
“I bet you’re glad this is happening. You couldn’t have Riana so you’re going for her cousin.” Chris claimed.
“Are you drunk, Chris?”
He shrugged, which made Cheryl even more furious.
“Just go, Chris.” Marcus said.
“Cheryl and I are not done talking.”
“Yes, you are. Go back to the dorm and sleep it off.” Marcus suggested.
“I’m not done talking to you, Cheryl! Just know you shouldn’t be upset with what I’ve done when you were having thoughts about sleeping with two different guys. So who’s the one being unfaithful?”
“Leave, Chris!” Marcus yelled.
Chris turned around and walked away. He stopped mid-stride and went back over to Cheryl.
“And I do want to be with Monica.” He said. He turned back around and went to his car.
Cheryl stared at him leaving, not knowing what to say. She was about to fall over when Marcus caught her. She began to cry while he held her.
“It’s going to be okay.” He said. He glanced at Chris pulling off. He couldn’t believe he would do that to Cheryl. Something must be going on with Chris, because he would have never done that.
“Come on.” He said. He continued to hold her as they made it to his car. He carefully put her in the passenger seat. When he went to the driver’s seat, he looked at her. She was still crying, but stared at the windshield.
“Why would he do that to me? Why would he tell me that and leave? I really thought he was different.”
“I don’t know, Cheryl.”
He put his arm around her, while she cried on his shoulder. A part of him wanted to go after Chris and beat his ass for what he’s doing to Cheryl, but he couldn’t do it. A few months ago, he was in a similar situation with his brother and Riana, so he couldn’t judge. All he could do is be a friend to Cheryl; just like she has been for him.
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