Page 25 of Phase Two

“Hell no nigga,” I frowned, and he looked over at me and sucked his teeth.

“Fuck you making that face for?”

“You do know her friends are over thirty, right? They’re not going to put up with your shit. Plus, I think only one of them that I know of is single, and she just filed for divorce. Leave that lady alone.” I wasn’t a hater, but E was toxic. Alise would never forgive me if he dogged out one of her friends.

“Yeah, I’ll stick with the twenty-five- to thirty-year-olds. They want to be City Girls. They don’t give a damn if I play games, they’ll just try and match my energy.”

With a chuckle, I shook my head. “You gotta grow up one day, bro.”

“It won’t be today.”

“I can’t go with you. I don’t even know you.” A drunken giggle fell off someone’s lips as I was preparing to leave.

Looking to my left, I did a double take when I saw Shanese’s friend, Jessica. They had been friends for many years, and I had met Jessica numerous times. She had came to family gatherings and gone on trips with Shanese.

She was barely able to stand and some thirsty, sleezy looking nigga, was holding her up trying to convince her to leave with him. My blood boiled as he whispered in her ear. I wasn’t sure if Jessica had gotten drunk on her own or if she had been drugged, but that lil’ nigga was about to get knocked the fuck out if he didn’t back up.

“Jessica,” the baritone in my voice made ole boy jump.

They both looked over at me. His face scrunched while her eyes widened. “Hey, Mr. Whitfield.”

The guy that was holding onto Jessica abruptly let her go, and she almost fell, so I reached out and caught her. “You had a lil’ too much to drink. You drove?”

“I did,” she nodded and giggled while her eyes damn near closed. “I only had two drinks.”

With that, ole boy eased away. That bitch ass nigga probably put something in her drink because there was no way she was that gone off two drinks.

“We gotta get you to the hospital. You have way more than alcohol in your system. Did you take anything?”

“No. I just had two drinks,” she leaned her entire body against me, and shorty was heavier than she appeared because of the dead weight.

“Okay hold on. Let me get you out to the car.”

While holding her up, I confirmed with the bartender that she only had two drinks.

“Yeah. After the second one, I saw the guy that just left sitting beside her whispering in her ear. She went from sober to sloppy real fast, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions because she could have taken something on her own.”

“Right,” I sighed. “Okay thanks.”

This wasn’t how I had planned on spending my night, but I wouldn’t ever have let Jessica leave with ole boy or drive herself home. Since I didn’t know what he’d given her, I wasn’t going to take her home and leave her alone. The hospital was the only option.

“You’re taking me home with you?” she cooed with a lazy smile as I pulled the seatbelt across her body.

“Nah, we’re not going to my house. Sit back for me.”

“You smell good. Ummmm,” she moaned, and I ignored her. “I have to pee daddy,” she slurred, and my face contorted into a grimace. That shit was cringe as fuck seeing as how she was my daughter’s friend. I knew if I told Jessica what she said when she was sober, she’d die from embarrassment.

She tried to sit up and take the seatbelt off, and at that point I was irritated because she could barely walk.

“Don’t take this seatbelt off, Jessica. Give me one second, I got you.”

“Okay.”

I got in the car, started the engine, and drove like a bat out of hell to the nearest hospital all while praying she didn’t pee in my car. On the way there, I called Shanese to let her know what was up and to see if she could get a hold of Jessica’s parents or someone that could come to the hospital and get her. When I unlocked the phone to call my daughter, I saw a call from Alise, but it wasn’t a missed call. Confused, I tapped her name, and it had been an outgoing call that lasted for fifteen seconds. I must have accidentally called her while I was trying to get Jessica in the car.

By the time I got Jessica checked into the ER and explained everything to the nurses, my daughter was arriving. She said Jessica’s parents were on a cruise and that she’d stay with her until they discharged her. In the car, I tried to call Alise back, and the call went straight to voicemail. I waited two minutes then tried her again. Same thing.

Either her phone was off, dead, or she had me blocked. I almost went to her house, but I tossed my phone in the passenger seat and headed home. I was too tired for the bullshit.