𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 | 𝐃. 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐙𝐎 |

CHAPTER 6.

Chapter 6.
Deuce Tatum

"Yo, Deuce!"

I turned my head to see who was calling my name, seeing that it was my cousin, Malachi. He had an eager look on his face as he crossed the quad, walking past a few people until he reached me.

"Wassup, Chi." I said, dapping him up.

"Man," Malachi said, with a wide smile. "You'll never guess what just happened."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued as to what Deuce was going to say. It was a lot of things that could've happened with Malachi or around campus that would or could possibly shock me depending on what it was.

"What happened?" I asked.

Malachi smiled. "Okay, remember that girl who used to live in Aunt Asia and Uncle Juan's neighborhood that you used to mess with?"

"Nadia? Yeah, what about her?" I said, smiling at the memory of the girl. "How could I forget Nadia?"

"Well, turns out, she's back in The Bay for a few weeks, and she's single. Which means you can slide your way back in with her for the time that she's here." Malachi exclaimed.

I smiled at the thought and nodded my head. Nadia was my first and last girlfriend. I had been with her from 10th grade to 12th grade until we agreed to end things because she was going to Howard University in Washington, D.C. and didn't think that she could do long distance—truthfully, I couldn't handle long distance either, so here we were.

It was safe to say that Nadia had my heart, and always did and always would, which was why I would never be tied down to another girl. I don't know what love feels like—at least I think that I don't—but I would consider Nadia my first love because she was my first everything. First kiss, first girlfriend, first body, first girl I ever spent money on...first everything like I said.

I had given up hope on her coming back. She had a bad family environment and I knew that once she left for college, that it would be like pulling teeth to get her to come back to The Bay.

I know that college was her escape, her way of finding herself and her freedom. I knew all too well because she used to talk about it all the time; which made me wonder if she wanted to escape me as well—God knows that as much as she talked about it, it made me feel like that, but I ain't ever wanna take her excitement about college away by bringing my own feelings into it. So I never brought it up to her.

"Look at you...reminiscing about your days when you was a locked in man." Malachi said, laughing out loud. "I thought you ain't miss being tied down. Thought you liked being a single man; and what about Jelena?"

I scrunched up my face. "What about Jelena?"

"Man, you know Jelena has had a crush on you since she was old enough to realize what it meant to have a crush," Malachi explained. "Remember every time you brought Nadia around, she would act out like a little brat and pull little slick pranks on her that would make her wanna leave.

Now that she's older. She's more conniving. She's smarter and that jealousy meter is gonna go crazy. She's a teenager with emotions and hormones and a period. Females are crazy. Jelena is so used to being sweet-talked by you that she's definitely going to feel some type of way."

I rolled my eyes. "She shouldn't. I've already told Jelena that she's too young, and I'm not having that on my consciousness. Plus, I don't sweet talk her. Im just a nice person. If she takes that as me flirting with her or sweet talking her, then I hate to say it, she's delusional."

Malachi paused as if he was thinking for a moment and then he looked over at me and smiled. "So, what? What's the move, man?"

"We going to go give my girl a warm welcome..." I said, grabbing my bag, pulling it onto my shoulder.