Nervous

I took the pie from him. “Thanks for the pie. Did you bake this?”

“Are you kidding? I can’t even boil water.”

“Now that I can do.”

“You just can’t make toast?” he asked jokingly.

“Right. I can’t make toast.”

He cleared his throat and ducked his head into my apartment. “Nice place.”

“Thanks.” I knew what he was hinting at, but wasn’t sure I was ready to invite a man who wasn’t there to fix something inside of my apartment. He didn’t appear to have plans to leave until I did, so I said, “Would you like to come in?”

“Thanks. I thought you’d never ask.”

I moved out of the way so he could enter and headed toward the kitchen. “Feel free to have a seat. I’ll be right back.”

I set the pie plate down on the counter and had to lean against it to catch my breath. My knees were wobbling and my hands were suddenly sweating. I ran them under cold water and lathered them with soap, splashing some of the water on my face. At that moment, I wished I’d taken the time to get properly dressed instead of staring at my television screen for so long.

I felt someone behind me and jerked around. Mason was standing there.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, Jonquinette.”

“No, you didn’t.” I turned off the water and reached into the cabinet for a couple of saucers. “I was just going to cut the pie. It looks delicious. Would you like a piece?”

“Absolutely. That pie cost me about ten bucks.”

We both laughed.

“I didn’t want to get you one of those cheap pies from the grocery store so I went to a bona fide bakery.”

The man was determined to make me blush. “I feel so special.”

He took his index finger and moved a tress of hair out of my face. “You are special. I can see that already.”

Things were going well up until that point. His hands on me. The way he was looking at me. I couldn’t take it.

I stepped away from him. “Mason, I just remembered that I have to meet someone in a few minutes.”

“Really? You just remembered that, huh?” he asked skeptically. He knew it was a fabrication.

“Yes, my friend. Um, Darnetta. She works with me and I promised her that I’d meet her today.”

I did make a promise to Darnetta. Just not for that day.

He looked highly disappointed. “In that case, I guess I better leave.”

“Would you like a piece of pie to take with you?”

“No thanks. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”

I felt bad as I saw Mason out. I really did think he was nice and he even made me laugh. That was rare. But I couldn’t be with him or any other man until I figured out what was going on with me. Hopefully, Dr. Spencer would get me the help that I needed. After all, she’d also made a promise.

11

jude

Meredith Williams Pierce aka Queen Bitch. There was no way I was going to allow Jon to go out to dinner with her. Not the way Jon had been acting lately. I couldn’t believe she’d actually flirted with that Mason character the day before. For the second time, no less. If she hadn’t kicked his ass out the apartment, I would have for damn sure.