80. Wanted 🤼

"Wake up, sleepy head."

At the sound of the baritone voice, I slowly opened my eyes to see my cousin smiling at me. I quickly sat up in bed. "Monica!"

She chuckled, "Gotcha!"

I sighed, "What time is it? And what are you doing here?"

"Girl, it's almost eight o'clock in the morning. E and I are going to the airport in a few hours. We're flying on a private plane to Houston, Texas. I've never been on a private plane before. I can't believe my boyfriend is The Zeke Rivers." Monica closed her eyes as she fell  backwards onto the bed.

I yawned.

Monica added, "Since we got some time to kill. What do you want to do?"

I stretched my arms before making eye contact with her. "First, I want to apologize to you--"

"Apology accepted," she interrupted me. "You know I was never mad at you. Well, I was, because you been holding in all those emotions instead of letting them out. When I went back and thought about it, I realized that you did let it all out and that was when we were at the restaurant which means you should feel better now. Right? Or do you regret what you and A.B. did since you are in his bed?" She questioned me.

I stated, "A.B. and I are not together in any way, shape or form."

Monica arched her brow. "We'll find out in nine months."

I ignored her comment. "Speaking of... where is A.B., and how did you get in here?"

Monica sat up. "I called A.B. and he let me in. He's at the gym. Also, Aunt Jackie called me, because you didn't go home last night. She wanted to know what was going on, because I dropped your luggage off there. I told her there was a misunderstanding and that I was supposed to take your bags to A.B.'s house."

My eyes grew big. "Did you tell my mama that I spent the night at A.B.'s house?"

"It was an accident. Funny thing is, Aunt Jackie laughed and said your luggage needs to be with you at A.B.'s house. So, I told her that I would pick it up and relay the message. That was about an hour ago. Aunt Jackie said she'll see you later on today, and your luggage is right there." She pointed at my suitcase at the edge of the bed.

I buried my face into the palms of my hands. Whyyyyyyyyy???

Monica rubbed my back. "It's okay, cousin. Our parents know we can't be their babies forever. We both got menseses now. Just make sure you're taking your vitamins regularly. We're not ready for BJ and Baby Bop just yet."

I rolled my eyes as I quickly got out of bed. I grabbed my suitcase and rolled it to the bathroom with me to freshen up. Fifteen minutes later, I put on my shoes and left Monica in A.B.'s apartment. I took the elevator downstairs to the gym. Even though I was still tired, I had to talk to A.B.

When I arrived at the gym, I spotted him lifting a barbell while lying on the bench press. Why couldn't he be doing something else like walking on the treadmill?

I made my way over to him. Were there any rules to bench pressing? I stood off to the side, waiting for him to finish. After three more presses, A.B. rested the barbell on the rack above his head. Then, he sat up.

Our eyes met.

"Good morning!" He grabbed his towel and wiped his forehead before standing up. "I thought you'd still be asleep," he told me.

I folded my arms. "Good morning. I would've been asleep if America's Most Annoying didn't wake me up. Why did you let her in your apartment?"

A.B. smirked, "She called and said she was bringing your luggage and that she wanted to talk to you. I told her you were sleeping, and I was already coming down to the gym."

I dropped my arms to my side. "You know good and well she was not going to let me sleep." I lowered my voice. "And how did I end up in your bed, again?"

A.B. answered, "You fell asleep on the couch. And I remember you said you were okay with the couch. So, I brought you some cover and a pillow. When I woke up this morning, you were in my bed."

I scratched my brow. There's no way I'm a sleep walker. "Are you done working out?

"I have one more thing to do. You could help me so I get done faster."

"How much faster?" I inquired.

"Five minutes," he stated.

I sighed, "Okay."

A.B. led me over to the mats area. He sat down. "Can you hold down my feet?" He asked me.

I got on my knees on the mat and held his feet down.

"Thanks." A.B. rested on his back. Then, he began doing sit-ups. At first, I didn't count. After a while, I started to count. How many sit-ups can a person do? When he finished, he lied down for a few seconds.

I let go of his feet. "How many did you do?"

"Two hundred." He sat up. Then, he spread his legs. "Now, I need you to catch this ball." He grabbed a black basketball. Wait, that's not a basketball. "Sit like I am, and we'll pass the ball to each other," he explained.

I narrowed my eyes at him as I spread my legs, causing our feet to touch. "You're trying to make me workout."

"It's easy, Jamie. This ball is only 5 pounds."

I sighed, "Okay."

"Ready?"

I nodded my head as I held my hands in position to catch the ball. A.B. threw it and I caught it. I threw it back, and he caught it. We did this a few times, and my arms were burning.

"Umm," I spoke up, "How many of these are we doing?"

"One hundred."

"A.B.!" I exclaimed. "This ball is heavy."

He smiled, "We'll stop at 50."

When I caught the ball, I put it down in front of me. "We stop now." I fell backwards.

A.B. chuckled, "That was only 27."

"How do you have the time to workout anyway?"

A.B. stood up and put the weighted ball back on the rack. He held his hand out to me. "It's routine now. I wake up, I study the Bible, and I exercise."

I took his hand as he helped me up to my feet. "Every day?"

"Every day unless something unforeseen comes up," he replied.

That's a commitment. I said, "Well, Monica is gonna take me to my parents' house. Feel free to come over... if you can."

A.B. smiled at me. "You're invitation is late. Your parents' invited me this morning while you were snoring."

"I do not snore!"

A.B. headed out the gym as I followed him. "Your mom was like 'is that Jamie snoring?'"

I nearly had a heart attack. "Between you and Monica, I don't know who's trying to embarrass me more. My parents' have never seen me with a guy. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you kept those jokes to yourself." I walked in front of him.

"Jamie, I was joking, but your mom did ask where did you sleep last night.'"

I turned around and slapped A.B. chest. "You are no longer invited, sir."

"You didn't invite me. So, you can't uninvite me." A.B. pressed the up button for the elevator.

I pointed at him. "I rebuke your entire vibe right now."

The elevator doors opened. We walked inside.

"I apologize, Ms. Sawyer." He smiled at me.

I playfully rolled my eyes after pressing the number to his apartment's floor. "Better had," I mumbled.

Suddenly, A.B. grabbed me and pulled me towards him in a bear hug.

I screamed, "A.B., your getting your sweat on me!"

He laughed, "I heard you say you wanted a better hug."

I giggled, "I did not!" I tried to free myself from his sweaty body, but I was also struggling with not laughing.

A.B. asked, "What did you say then?"

"I said you better had!" I nearly shouted.

A.B. freed me.

I quickly hopped over to the elevator doors. "Eww, I feel your sweat all over me."

A.B. chuckled, "Next time, speak up."

The elevator doors opened and we walked out. I started to walk fast. A.B. did the same.

Then, his apartment door opened and Monica stepped out. "Is that y'all making all that noise?"

"I'm gonna take a long shower just so you can stay in your own sweat." I took off running.

A.B. chased after me. "Jamie!"

Monica quickly went back inside the apartment.

I caught the door before it could close. Right when I was within reach of the bedroom door, A.B. grabbed my shirt, pulling me back. Somehow, he picked me up and sat me on the couch before turning to the bedroom.

I hopped off the couch and caught him before he could get to the bathroom. I jumped on his back, causing him to fall sideways onto his bed. At this point I was tired, yet, I was having so much fun.

A.B. dropped to his knees and collapsed on the floor, pinning me between the floor and his back.

"I win," A.B. chuckled.

"No, you don't!" I told him.

He tried to get up while keeping my down. When he turned around to face me, I yanked on his arm. He fell on top of me. We both laughed as our foreheads nearly collided.

A.B. admitted, "Jamie, I'm out-of-breath."

So was I, but I wasn't going to lose. "This isn't over until I'm in that bathroom," I stated.

At this point, we might as well been arm-wrestling.

A.B. said, "I'll do something embarrassing at your request... if you let me shower first."

"No! I want you to suffer now." I was not letting him go that easy.

"You got three seconds," A.B. began to count. "One... two..."

I greeted my teeth as I tried to get myself from under him while holding him from getting up. It was not a well executed strategy.

"Three." A.B. pressed his lips against my cheek.

"A.B.!" I shouted.

Then, he found my lips.

I froze like an ice sculpture. Right when I was about to close my eyes, A.B. got up and ran to the bathroom, closing the door.

I remained on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.

"I can't believe I didn't see that coming." Monica made her presence known.

I sat up to see my cousin standing at the bedroom door, eating a bag of popcorn. "Please don't tell me you saw all of that?" I asked her.

Monica admitted, "Yes, I did! I thought y'all were going to start wrestling. Woo! Those church men are sneaky, ain't they?"

I stood up and grabbed my suitcase. "Can you take me to my parents' house?" I don't know why I was embarrassed or was I confused?

"I got you, cousin."

Not only did I have his scent on me, I could still feel his lips on mine. What was he trying to do to me? Yes, it was fun and silly, but we're not together. What does he want from me?