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“Okay.”
He headed to the apartment complex without another word. I knew he was irritated with me, but there was no way I was about to tell him anything about what he saw today. I knew he saw my attraction to Jungle. Whenever I was around him, it was hard to hide. Once we got to the complex, I was about to hop out, but he grabbed my hand.
“Chelsea, call me. I’m not a dummy, so just keep it real with me. I could tell there’s something up with you and Mr. Patterson.”
My eyes widened as I stared at him. “How do you know him?”
“He’s a regular customer and a reference on your application. All of Houston knows who Milton ‘Jungle’ Patterson is, just like everyone knew his father. He doesn’t know me by name, but I’m more than sure he recognized me from the store. I make it a point to be familiar with our loyal customers.”
“He’s one of my best friends, but we got into it recently. It’s eating me alive because he won’t talk to me. I have to go.”
Again, he grabbed my hand, halting my forward progress. “Best friend? Tell that to someone that doesn’t know Jungle.”
It was at that moment that I realized he knew more about Jungle than the fact he was a customer. My eyes narrowed at him, and he chuckled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I have to go.”
I got out of his car as he chuckled more. Something wasn’t right. After closing the door, I practically power-walked to my apartment. When I walked in, Manman was sitting on the couch, watching TV. “How was the wedding?”
“It was beautiful, except the drama that went down with Jungle and the woman he’s dating. She’s also dating another man that happened to be at the wedding as well. Jungle actually knows him from the Berottes. We met him once. I can’t remember his name though.”
“Oh goodness. Are you going to go see about Jungle?”
I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat. “He said no. I had to call from Jericho’s phone before he left just so he would answer.”
“Jenetta… I love you. I’m sorry. I named you Jenetta, and it’s so hard to remember to call you Chelsea. Chelsea…”
“It’s okay, Manman. Jules is dead. You can call me Jenetta if you want to.”
She smiled and stood from the couch. When she pulled me in her arms, I broke down. “Mama, I messed up. Oh my God. Manman…”
“Come on, child.”
We went to the couch, and I sat next to her and prepared to unleash everything I was holding inside. After taking a deep breath, I started by saying, “I’m in love with Jungle.”
She rolled her eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know. Anyone that’s around the two of you can tell that much. I think he loves you too.”
“It’s hard being around him all the time, settling for just his friendship. That’s why I pushed him away. Tuesday, I tried to handle being around him, thinking I was strong enough. I love him so much I can’t fucking function around him. His constant denial of what’s between us is hard.”
“Have y’all slept together?”
“No, but… I slept with Van. That’s how I fucked up. He proposed being my sugar daddy in so many words. I said yes, and I asked him for three thousand dollars. He gave it to me, but I ended up giving it back to him. He was more than what I thought he was. That was where I went Thursday night. But today, he made the blood chill in my veins when he revealed that he knew who Jungle was.”
She’d met Van today when he came to pick me up for the wedding. “Baby… oh my goodness. Why would you need someone in that capacity?”
“I didn’t want to depend on Jungle financially anymore. He was dating a woman and trying to be serious with her. I wouldn’t want my man taking care of another woman. I felt like if they ever moved to the next level in their relationship, it would come to that. Jericho is about to get married and has a baby on the way. I hate being a burden. I just want to make a way for myself.”
“Baby, we’ve only been here for three months. You’re trying to move too fast. This won’t happen overnight. I’m only sixty years old. I can work. I’ve put in applications to be a janitor at the school and office buildings. Something will open up, and we will be fine. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did Van pressure you?”
“No. He actually said that we didn’t have to if I wasn’t comfortable. I was under the impression that was why I was there. I was paying up for the three grand. I’d gotten a money order and sent it to Jungle, only for him to deposit it back into my account.”
“Jungle isnothurting for money. He told me that his dad left them millions. I’d questioned him about how much money he was spending on us.”
“He told me, Manman, but that doesn’t mean we’re entitled to it.”
