Dee and I were lying in bed one Saturday morning, just being lazy. We were watching cartoons of all things. One of the characters had the dilemma of choosing between two girls. He went back and forth between the two, and in the end, he was alone. I laughed.
"I don't see why he just didn't pick one," I said.
"Maybe he couldn't choose. They might both have good qualities." she replied.
"But one has to be better." I said
"But deciding which one is better might be hard."
"No, not if you know what you want."
"But what if you don't? I'm just saying..."
"So what if you had to choose between..."
I couldn't finish the sentence; she cut me off with a kiss.
"Look, why are we talking about this cartoon like it means anything? I know that I'd choose you, no matter who else was an option." she said, giving me a quick kiss.
"You better," I said, smiling.
She kissed me again and I forgot all about the conversation. She can always say things like that and give me a quick kiss to make me forget any type of bad feeling I have. We spent the rest of the day at home lounging around. And though she said that she wouldn't have a problem with choosing me, I couldn't help but question it a few weeks later.
*
We were eating lunch one day. We were having a wonderful time. I was laughing because she had spilled some soda on her shirt. She giggled as she wiped it off, then she looked up. I watched as her expression changed completely. She looked as though she'd seen a ghost.
"What is it baby?"
Before she could answer me, I heard the reason she looked that way. A voice from behind me said her name, and something told me that I wouldn't like the person it belonged to.
Dee looked up and whispered on word:
"Mellissa" she said.
I knew from the way she said it and the look on her face that it was the same Mellissa that had broken her heart years ago. She'd hurt my baby. And though I'd never even seen her, I hated her.
A few seconds later, a woman stood next to our table with her eyes focused on Dee. She spoke without even acknowledging me.
"Daphne! How've you been? You look wonderful." she said
"I'm fine. You look good, too Mel." said Dee
"Can I get a hug?" she said, her arms open.
Dee stood and gave her a hug. Then she turned to me.
"James, this is Mellissa. Mellissa, this is my girlfriend Jaime." she said, grabbing my hand.
"Nice to meet you," she said, "You are a lucky woman."
She shook my hand and smiled at me, but I could see that she wasn't happy to meet me. Something told me that she wished Dee was hers again. She could wish all she wanted, but Dee was with me. I wouldn't hesitate to tell her that if the need arose.
She had her hand behind Dee's back. She brought it back around, and she had Dee's phone in it. See, Dee keeps her cell phone in her back pocket. So Mellissa had to have reached into her pocket to get it. Knowing she had her hand that close to my girl's ass pissed me off. But I remained calm.
"I'll put my number in your phone. Here, put yours in mine." she said, handing her phone to Dee.
Dee put her number in her phone while Mellissa looked at her like she wanted to lay her over the table we'd been eating on. She gave Dee another hug then said her farewells.
She looked at me with a look that told me that she had no intention on just disappearing. I really didn't like this girl.
"You take care of her...she's a wonderful woman." She said, looking all nostalgic. I wanted to slap her.
She left and I wanted to explode, but I let Dee talk. She could see the look on my face and knew that I wasn't pleased.
