Page 18 of Know Your Place

“Don’t Juicy me. Why this bitch gazing all up in your eyes and asking you if you need anything? Something you need to tell me, Beretta?”

“You trippin’.” I wasn’t about to entertain her shit right now. I was still pissed about earlier, and I had a shorter fuse than normal right now.

Icelynn took a step back. “I’m trippin’? You came up to my place of work and caused a scene. I thought I would come to return the favor. How convenient that you got a bitch here to make things a little more interesting.”

Before I could respond, Icelynn pulled a pair of rose gold brass knuckles out of her purse, put them on, and then punched the closest glass display to her.

Alarms blared, and I jumped into action as her crazy ass thoughtfully browsed the selection of guns now at her disposal. I jogged to the back and dismantled the alarm. When I walked back to the front, Icelynn had a gun pointed at Trina, who cowered on the floor while Keegan laughed at the scene in front of him.

“Really, nigga? You ain’t think to take the gun from her?” I asked. I walked right up to Icelynn and snatched the gun from her.

“It ain’t like it’s loaded.” Keegan shrugged.

As soon as I had the gun, Trina got up and sprinted out of the store.

Icelynn pouted. “Aw, she’s a party pooper.”

I stared at her for several long seconds, trying to process what I felt at the moment. Finally, I said, “You gotta be certified. Crazy in the fuckin’ head. A damn lunatic.”

“I just wanted to know why she was gazing into your eyes like she saw Jesus,” Icelynn replied. Her innocent tone didn’t fool me.

“And that was so damn important you had to damage my display case and point a gun at her?” I didn’t know if I should be turned on or pissed off.

Icelynn shrugged. “I didn’t like her face. It pissed me off, so I thought maybe if I shot it off . . .” I laughed without meaning to. Icelynn cocked her head. “I’m funny?”

“I don’t know what the fuck you are other than driving me up a damn wall.”

“I’ma let you two fight it out,” Keegan said as he tapped on his phone while he walked toward the door. I knew his lovesick ass was probably filling his wife in on all the tea. Snitchin’ ass.

Once he left the shop, I walked over to the door and locked it so no customers could come in. I had my manager go home for the day because when I was done here, I was going to close up shop, so it was just me and Icelynn now.

“I’m driving you up a damn wall when you ran my damn customer out earlier? Do you know how that made me look? I might not have any clients left after that stunt. You know people love running to social media and talking shit,” Icelynn ranted.

“And you just lost me my damn graphic designer and cost me thousands for this display case,” I argued. The battle between being pissed and turned on was still at hand. My dick was hard, but my blood pressure was all the way up dealing with this looney tune. “You’re payin’ for this shit.”

“Like fuck I am.” Icelynn crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at me. “Why the fuck was she lookin’ at you like that, Beretta? You fuckin’ her?”

“You fuckin’ the nigga wit’ the hairless balls since you liked being all up in his shit?” The thought had me wanting to choke her little ass.

A sly smile covered her face. “You jealous?”

I scoffed. “Not any more jealous than you are.”

We stared at each other for a long moment before she shook her head and took a step back from me. She ran a hand through her braids. I could tell she was close to getting a new style soon, but she was still so damn beautiful to me. It pissed me off.

“This is ridiculous. I don’t even know why I came here. I’m so tired, Beretta.”

She sounded so defeated when she said my name.

“Tired of what?”

“Us.” That one word caused a pain in my heart. I stumbled back some as if she had hit me. “I’m tired of the constant arguing and feeling like I can’t win with you. One second, we’re best friends, and the next, we’re in the middle of a nuclear war. I can’t keep up.”

“Maybe if you stopped getting mad at me . . .” I suggested and let my sentence fall off.

She scoffed. “You get mad at me first.”

“Not always true.”