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CHAPTER 27
“She must be the realest woman in the area,” Kevin said to Isaiah.
Isaiah paused in making his shot on the pool table. Instead of going to the favorite pool hall the team typically visited after a game, they were playing in Will’s game room. Isaiah stood and gave Kevin a confused look. “What?”
Will stood next to Kevin and nodded. “I gotta agree with my man.”
“She’s mad because I tried to help,” Isaiah said in a disbelieving tone of voice. “She kicked me out of her house.”
“Let’s be real, Isaiah,” Kevin said. “How many people do we come across that’ll be mad we paid all their bills? Zero to none. You’ve actually found a woman who doesn’t want you to come in and make all her problems disappear with a swipe of your checkbook.”
“Are you on her side?” Isaiah asked, frustrated.
“Not really. I get why you did what you did,” Will said. “No man is going to sit by and watch his woman struggle if he can help. But the fact that she didn’t ask and she’s upset means she isn’t after you for your money. That’s a good thing.”
“Did you think she wanted me for my money?”
Will shrugged and ran a hand over his beard. “I mean…that’s always a possibility when it comes to the women we meet.”
“Yeah,” Kevin said. “You’ve got someone who’s real about being with you. That’s not something to throw away.”
“I didn’t throw anything away. She kicked me out.”
Kevin held his pool cue in front of him and looked thoughtful. “Any idea why she’s mad about you paying her bills for her? I mean, with women there’s usually a reason.”
Will chuckled. “Usually? I can’t agree with that. How about around fifteen percent of the time there’s a good reason.”
Kevin shook his head and grinned. “Okay, I admit that. So what’s her reason?”
Isaiah thought back to what she’d accused him of doing. “She doesn’t want to be dependent on me. But that’s not what I’m trying to do.”
“Why would she think you’re doing that?” Kevin put down his cue and walked over. “Come on, man, let’s think about this from her side. You be you and I’ll be her.”
Isaiah laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Hell yeah.” Kevin put a hand on his hip and batted his eyes in a bad imitation of a woman. “Isaiah, you can’t be ruling my life.” He held up a finger and talked in a falsetto voice.
Isaiah and Will both laughed. “I’m not trying to take over your life.”
“You’re trying to control me,” Kevin continued in the same silly tone of voice. “You’re trying to run my life just like my…” Kevin’s words trailed off.
It hit him like a basketball in the face. “Just like her aunt.”
“I can’t trust you just like I can’t trust her,” Kevin continued.
She couldn’t trust her aunt. Her brother was in jail and then his girlfriend had moved to New York with no immediate plans to return, leaving her with the responsibility of taking care of Cory. She’d constantly had to handle the consequences of bad decisions made by people she should’ve been able to trust.
“She thinks I’ll move in, pretend to make things better, then leave her high and dry just like everyone else.”
Will looked between the two of them. “That actually worked?”
Isaiah shushed him and connected the dots. He told her he was falling in love, honestly loved her a little already, but he’d gone behind her back to do what he wanted anyway. That didn’t make it easy to trust him in the future. If she felt like he was stepping in and making things better, but she had no reassurance he wasn’t going to leave her hanging like everyone else, then of course she would push him away.
“Damn, how do I show her I’m not going anywhere?” He looked at his friends.
Will shrugged. “I’m not about that monogamous life.”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m zero for two with my long-term relationships. But what I will say is be honest with her. Show her you trust her to make her own decisions. Maybe then she’ll believe you won’t just drop her with all the work.”
