Stop trippin,
I know you got a man but girl he's slippin
I can see myself gettin' in where I fit in
I want you to see, just how much your man ain't me cause
He ain't fly, He don't even drive
Cause when you wanna sneak out in the middle of the night baby Im your guy
Imma reason he ain't being all that he can be
Baby please your man, your man ain't me

“Hello?”

Jazzelle paused when she heard the female voice on the end of the phone.

“Yeah, is Darius there?”

She asked nicely. Who was answering his cell phone at 2 in the morning?

“He in da shower right now but I’ll tell him you called.”

She stared at the phone when the girl rudely hung up. This was going to piss her off for the rest of the day. If Darius didn’t love her anymore why didn’t he just break things off and let her go? Why did he have to humiliate her like that?

Jazzelle opened her phone again and dialed the familiar number she hadn’t dialed in a while.

“What’s up stranger?”

She smiled at the greeting. After the kiss she and Justin had shared she figured she should stay away from him so she wouldn’t do anything stupid. Even if Darius was a dick, she wasn’t a cheater.

“I’m sorry about this week. I wanted to call you but I didn’t really know what to say.”

“I’m not gonna apologize for kissing you because it felt too damn right. I’ve dreamt about your lips since that night. I‘m a man possessed.”

She laughed at that.

“You’re too much of dork Justin, but I am sorry. I needed to get my thoughts together but shit’s messed up.”

“What’s wrong?”

She sighed and wondered whether she should tell him or not.

“I just called Darius and some bitch answered his phone talking bout he’s in the shower. I’m not sure I want to know what’s going on.”

She heard him sigh. She knew he was frustrated with her.

“But you do know what’s going on Jazzelle; you’re just choosing to ignore it.”

“I know. I don’t know why I’m trippin off him J, I just… I don’t know.”

“Come see me?”

He asked hopefully. She hesitated for a moment.

“ I don’t know if that’s a good idea Justin.“

“Please? I just want to talk in person, I hate discussing this type of stuff over the phone.”

Jazzelle debated with herself for a few moments before tossing caution to the wind.

“I’ll be right there.”

They decided to meet at a park near his house. Jazelle knew she was being an idiot when it came to Darius and she was sure Justin was going to give her a piece of his mind.

“How did you end up with this guy anyway?” Justin asked as soon as they took a seat on the bench facing the baseball field.

Jazzelle smiled wryly as she remembered when she started dating Darius.

“We met at a fundraiser for the hospital I work at. His firm was one of big donors and he approached me after a baseball game. I was freshly out of medical school and I hadn’t dated much so I was a pretty easy target. He ran a nice game on me and I fell for it. I didn’t even realize I had been played till recently. I had been walking around in this love bubble while he was laughing at me behind my back.”

Justin could tell she was getting angry with every word she spoke.

“I understand that feeling cause I’ve been in some of those relationships myself but I got out when I knew they weren’t working out. If you’re not happy, why don’t you end it?”

Jazzelle didn’t have an answer for him. She’d love nothing more than to end her bullshit relationship with Darius and get with him but fear was a bitch.

“Why are you afraid to be with me?”

Has the boy ever heard of beating around the bush?

“Cause I’ve been hurt and I’m hurting now. I don’t know you well enough to decided whether you’re worth the risk. My man’s hurting me enough to last me a lifetime.”

Before she could stop him his lips connected with hers and she found herself melting into his touch, his kiss, his biceps… his everything.

He pulled away breathless and gave her a lingering kiss.

“Ya man ain’t me baby.”

“I know.”

She whispered as he got up and walked to his car.