This is a work of fiction. It is for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken seriously by anyone.
Note to reader: This is the concluding chapter to a story that began with Some Like it Rough, followed by Back for More Already, and All Tied Up. If you want to know how we got here, start from the beginning. Otherwise, enjoy yourself.
*
Sherica met her best friend at a trendy brunch spot the Sunday after her last encounter with Mac.
Alisha was Sherica's oldest and dearest friend. She was curvier than Sherica, and men seemed to like that. She wore her hair with long braids that went down to the middle of her back.
She was blunt. She suffered no fools and spoke her mind.
Together, the girls could give teachers, boys, coaches, professors, their parents, ministers, and the occasional policeman fits.
But it was so much more than that.
They had gone to school together, played soccer together, and consoled each other through break ups.
When Sherica's father left, it was Alisha's dad who picked up the slack and watched over her. He had always cheered for her as if she were his own flesh and blood.
They knew each other's dreams and disappointments and each other's darkest secrets.
When they got married, and both of them hoped they would one day, they both knew without having to say it aloud, that the other would be at their side when they made their vows.
So, when Sherica began to tell the story of what had happened to her, she knew she could tell her friend everything.
Alisha would be honest. She would hear her out, and she would never, ever breathe her secret.
Both women had started with expensive iced coffee drinks and bottomless mimosas.
Over the course of her tale, they switched to stronger stuff. Finally, the staff told them they needed to leave. They were prepping for the dinner rush.
The two women called an uber and went to a bar far away from campus where they could talk without people listening in.
As they sat together in a corner of a noisy sports bar, Sherica explained how it had ended, and how confused she was feeling.
Sherica looked at her friend and tried to read her.
Alisha seemed at a loss for words, which didn't happen often.
"Say it."
"Say what?" her friend asked.
She had picked up a menu. They needed to eat something to soak up the alcohol.
Sherica studied the massive blue plastic cup in her hands. She had switched to ice water.
"Tell me I'm a bad person. Tell me I'm an idiot. Tell me the truth."
Alisha looked up and gave her a look.
It said, do you really want to open that can of worms?
Yes, Alisha. I really do.
I need to.
"Okay," she said, setting down the menu. "That was... A lot."
"Tell me about it."
"But I'm not surprised."
Sherica felt like she had been struck on the head.
You're not surprised I've been having wild sex with an older white guy?
"Okay...?"
Alisha flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"I'm just being real with you. Something was gonna happen."
Alisha saw the look on her friend's face and sighed.
She leaned back in her seat with her glass. It was an ice water mixture with trace remnants gin and tonic.
"Tre was the first guy you got serious with, and neither of you ever moved on. Neither of you ever had to grow up. Eventually, he got comfortable and you got bored."
Sherica didn't know what to say. It felt like her relationship was being called out.
No, worse, SHE was being called out.
Like this is all obvious to everyone, how could she not have seen it all before? It made her feel like a fool. Like she had wasted valuable years of her life and everyone around her knew it.
And who was Alisha to judge her relationship?
She had no room to judge anyone's love life.
She doesn't even like Tre.
She never liked him.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
Alisha heard what was creeping into her friend's voice.
"Girl, I told you once. I told you twice. I told you a million fucking times you could do better than Tre and you just ain't fucking listening. You've been your stubborn ass self, trying to force a circle into a square hole."
Sherica tried to cool down. This is what you wanted, remember?
"I know. I know you did," she admitted, staring back at the blue cup.
Maybe if she looked hard enough it would melt into the table.
"Damn right I did. Don't get salty with me."
"So what do I do? Break up with Treshaun?"
Alisha sighed and thought for a moment.
"This guy really tied you up and went down on you?"
"Mhmm."
Damn right he did.
"And you're into that? Letting a guy take over?"
Sherica shrugged.
"I don't know. It's different. But I think so."
Alisha looked at the TV screen. Olympic highlights were rolling.
"Yeah. I think you should drop Tre and date this Mac guy."
Wait, what? Really??
Did I make the wrong choice?
What if I made the wrong choice?
Mac could have moved on already.
Shit!
Sherica started to panic.
But I did the right thing! How can I be wrong if I did the right thing?
"I hardly know the man!"
"Well, who's fault is that?"
Sherica sucked her teeth, and pouted.
"Girl, from what you said, that man's got a world class tongue. You don't just let that walk away."
"Doesn't matter," she mumbled. "I broke it off with him."
He's probably already moved on to someone else.
Alisha saw her friend's reaction. Her expression softened.
"It's okay. Really."
Sherica sighed and studied the table. It had old baseball cards of players she had never heard of glossed into the wood.
Alisha kept trying to talk her back up.
"Look, you remember my hoe phase? After I broke up with Daquan?"
This brought her back around.
She smiled.
Yes, Sherica had clear, distinct memories of THAT episode.
"Girl, we both know that wasn't a phase," Sherica said as she drained her glass. "More of an era."
"Yeah, anyway, I had lots and lots of fun."
The way she said it, made it clear that there was no way that Sherica would ever comprehend the amount of fun Alisha had during her hoe phase.
"I remember. I wish I didn't."
Their neighbors in the Walker Hall dorm remember too.
"My point is, even if this thing with Mac is done, maybe this a sign it's time to move on? See someone else? Have some fun?"
Fun sounded nice. But she had made a choice, and she was supposed to make it work with Treshaun.
And how would she even begin?
Dating Apps?
Fuck that.
And there was something else. She hadn't had the courage to say it aloud till now.
Sherica bit her lip, and in a low voice whispered, "I think I have a thing for white men now."
Alisha just stared back at her.
"Girl."
"I know..."
Alisha burst out laughing. "Where do you even go to meet white guys? You could hang out at a dog park."
"Or a golf course."
The two convulsed into laughter.
When it died down. Sherica asked the question that had been gnawing at her since she realized she had feelings for Mac.
"What would people say?"
Alisha scoffed.
"Girl, you'll get side-eye from bitches of all colors being with a white man. And yeah, some people back home might have a problem with it. But you didn't care much for what the people back home thought of you anyway. So why do you care now?"
