A month has passed since I found out about the contract. Kwashie and I texted everyday and we met up for lunch some days. He invited me to stay over for the weekend and I was debating if I should or shouldn't. I haven't spoken to CJ and I was trying my best to forget her, I wanted to tell her everything. I got my courage up after two joints and decided to call her.

"Why are you calling my phone?" She asked. She picked up on the first ring which I was grateful for.

"I miss you," I said.

"No. You don't."

"I do and I want to see you. Please let me see you." I begged.

"Then why'd you tell me to move on when I saw you in the parking lot of the ice cream parlor?" She asked.

"Oh. You searched it up?" I had whispered move on in French that day before walking off.

"Yes, I did." She sighed.

"I don't think we can be together because you don't deserve to be on the sideline."

"You're right. I don't deserve to be half loved," she was getting angry and I could hear it in her voice.

"Let me see you."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I've stopped crying, if I should see you now the tears will come right back. You return like August and I fall every time." her voice was breaking.

If it was one thing I loved about her it was her poetic side. She always wrote poems confessing her love and adoration for me and I'm guessing they're all sad and speaking of her broken heart now.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," I said getting emotional.

"I know but it happened and I'm trying my best to move on. To move on from you, you've made your choice." I could hear her sniffling.

"Thanks for answering. I really missed your voice, I also miss your face and I miss how you felt in my arms. It's where you belong but I don't want to be selfish so I'll leave you alone. I hope you do recover and I also hope you never forget the love we shared."

"I love you," I said when she didn't answer.

"And I love you Zim but I can't be in love with you anymore." She was crying now and it brought down my own tears.

"I understand.." I forcefully wiped the tears from my face.

"Goodbye." She said.

She disconnected the call when I didn't respond. I just didn't know what to say, I didn't want to tell her goodbye. I didn't want her to leave my life. We always said talk to you later or see you later because she thought goodbye was too final and I think I finally understood what she meant. I got up from my bed and went to my closet for my duffle bag, I started packing things for the weekend. I packed an outfit in case we were to go out for dinner and I packed swim trunks as well since I hated the two piece swim sets that my mother bought for me. I always slightly overpacked because it's better to have it than to want it. I packed up my travel toothbrush and face scrubs that I'd need, deodorant and cologne. I went to bathe and got dressed in light blue skinny jeans and a white cotton button down. I added my large dark green and blue plaid flannel to the outfit, folding the wrists and slid into my Doc Martens. I put in my diamond earrings, white G-Shock watch and my diamond necklace. I slid my money clip into my pocket and took my phone and the charger up slipping it into my duffle bag.

He already sent his address so all I needed to do was to put it in the GPS. I went downstairs to inform my mother of my current plans and that I'd be back on Monday. I had already called Richard first to let him know and he was okay with the plan, I sent him the address so he could at least know where I was. I hopped into my Jeep and started it up buzzing the gate so it would be open by time I got to the end of the driveway. I buzzed it again and drove off after it was fully closed. I first stopped at BK to get a strawberry milkshake then I went to Subway for a foot long and double chocolate chip cookies, yep fat fuck. Kwashie lived a great distance from me, I knew the area. It was another high class neighborhood on the other side of town. I plugged my phone up to the aux cord and shuffled my music.

"SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE CITY GO AGAINST ME, EVERY TIME IM IN THE STREETS I HEAR YA YA YA YA YA... MAN DOWN WHERE YOU FROM MY NIGGA... FUCK WHO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU FROM MY NIGGA.... WHERE YO GRANDMA STAY HUH MY NIGGA... ITS MADCIDDYYY LIKE WHAT MY NIGGA." I sang out while at the stop light and started to milly rock.

"Yeahhh.. hit them folks ma." I heard a feminine voice from beside me and I attempted to hit them folks.

I looked over and saw a light skinned stud staring back up at me, I looked beyond her and another stud was sitting in the passenger seat. I laughed and waved at them.

"Let me get your number," She said.

"Nahh because when you realize that I'm androgynous you're gonna flake out and I'm not about that kind of disrespect."

"What do you mean androgynous? You don't look like a stud," she said.

"Bruh she means she dresses masculine," her friend in the passenger seat said.

"Thanks ma, you want my number?" I asked her.

"Nah, I got a girlfriend plus I like my girls in tight dresses and heels." She laughed.

"Bet," I said.

"I don't have a problem with you dressing masculine as long as I'm the one hitting it." She bit her lip.

"Boy you dykes sure are heteronormative." I flipped her my middle finger and when the light turned green I said, "gotta blast." And stepped on the gas pedal speeding off.

I hated the fact that stud on stud isn't a normal thing in the lesbian community. We're all females for Christ sake. They wanna act all macho and manly, they don't wanna get they pussy ate nor their boobs felt on but I'd be damned if I ever allow one of them to get in bed with me. Sex is a two person effort, I'm gay gay I'll bump coochies with you and call it coochie carts. I just didn't want a girl that forgets that she's actually a woman, I want her to be feminine, femininity is so beautiful like why would you want to be a nigga? If you want to be a man so bad then go be trans and then date a woman and be in a heterosexual relationship but don't be a woman and identify as a lesbian but want to put a heteronormative spin on the relationship. Ugh, wish I was asexual everyone so damn upsetting but I sure do love me some pussy and this is why I'm confused as to why I'm drawn to Kwashie. I know that sexuality is fluid but I don't wanna be no water. I wanna be damn constant and suck coochie nectar.

I was turning into the neighborhood now where the Ekubans lived and my palms started sweating. I gave the security the gate password and told him who I was going to see and he let me in. I drove through admiring the houses that were there, I knew when I got to their house because a huge Ghanaian flag was sailing from the second floor porch. The gate wasn't closed so I turned into their driveway and parked in front of the fountain. Once I got out with my duffle bag and phone I also took a coin from the middle compartment and tossed it into their fountain closing my eyes and making a small wish.

I walked up to the front door and rung the doorbell. I heard rushing and then the door swung open revealing a smiling and well put together Mrs Ekuban.

"Oh, Zidania. You decided to come after all." She said pulling me in for a hug.

"Come in, come in." She stepped aside and allowed me to enter their home. It was beautiful, the walls were a dark earthy brown and their well polished furnishing reflected the light from the chandelier on the high ceiling.

"You have a lovely home," I said.

"Thank you my dear. Let me direct you to our guest room and then I'll show you to where my son is right now." She smiled and held onto my hand leading me up the stairs.

"Here you go, there is a connected bathroom and there is no television here because we believe in family time so we would gather and watch shows in the family room," she said.

"That's okay," it was not. I usually allowed the television to watch me fall asleep at nights.

I placed my bag at the foot of the bed and walked out behind Mrs Ekuban. She walked further down the hallway and turned following its direction then walked down some steps into a room that looked like a den. I didn't see anyone in the room and I thought she was leading me to see Kwashie.

"Kwashie," She called out.

"Yes mama," he sat up in the leather couch.

"Zidania is here," she said. He looked around and a smile formed on his face.

"You came," his smile broadening.

" I'm glad you no longer think that she isn't the perfect bride for you. I do apologize for what my son said at the dinner, you'd fetch a great bride price back in our homeland." She placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder and then turned to walk away.

"You look nice," Kwashie said.

"Thanks.." I blushed.

"I've seen enough masculine lesbians since being here and I think you kind of resemble one."

"You mean a stud?" I asked.

"Come sit down," he patted the space beside him.

I walked around the couch and sat beside him feeling the leather form under my weight.

"I don't understand why they're called studs. Back in Africa, a stud is a well dressed muscular man." He said.

"A stud is also a male horse, so I guess their taking it and empowering it with lesbianity." I said and he laughed.

"I like your sense of humor."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"I like that you resemble a stud, I think I do too." Huh??

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Nothing..." He turned his attention back to the television and started switching the channels.

"Would you like to play a game?" He asked.

"What you got?"

He pointed to his PS4, okay that's the first red flag. #teamxbox all the way bro.

"Ew," I said.

"What's wrong?" He looked genuinely concerned.

"Why is there a PS4 sitting there?" I asked.

"Let me guess, you prefer the XBOX? Well at least I know you play games. Other girls wouldn't have a preference." He turned on the game and handed me a controller.

"It's the same, I promise." The controller felt so small in my hand, it could never be the same.

"What you got bro?" I asked.

"Well my love, what is your specialty? Shooting hoops? Scoring goals? Taking headshots? Drifting?"

"I can rub you out in all of the above," I said.

"Let's make a bet."

"Let's hear it," this was my strong point. Bets were my thing, along with games of course.

"If I win, you have to let me propose to you in public." He said.

"If I win, you have to allow me to wear a suit to our wedding,"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with wearing dresses, so why is it that you'd like to wear a suit to our wedding, my bride?" He asked with the most puzzled look on his face.

"As I said before, my mother picks out my outfits. I am completely uncomfortable in dresses and if it is that you are comfortable with me dressing like this then you shouldn't have a problem ..."

"Alright, we have a deal." There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Bet."

"Bet."

"Since you listed four categories, we will have four rounds. Who has the most points at the end of the session wins the bet. If we tie with points then we'll have a tie breaker. Deal?"

"Deal..."

"Let's go then," I smiled mimicking his smirk.

First round was 2K19. I wasn't very good at shooting hoops at all. He was getting three pointers after three pointers and I was barely tackling and evading. He managed to push away majority of my attempts to shoot, I was getting frustrated. He laughed every time he scored and I mean mugged him each time. The match was over and he took the first point. His mother came back with refreshments and baby carrots. Weird. Next round was FIFA19 and I was ready. I selected Chelsea as my side and he selected a side from the German league, pfffttttt.

"Germany? Wack..." I laughed at him.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes.

The match started and I had the upper hand. I made sure to familiarize myself with the buttons on the controller since I wasn't used to it. I already had the ball and was running down to his goal in less than 10 minutes of the match.

"Watch this," I said.

I finessed my way through his players and passed it to my forward before shooting for the goal. The crowd started cheering and I looked over at him with the widest smile on my face. It was his time to mean mug me and I loved it. We continued the match and I had 5 goals and he had 2 by half time. The only noise in the room was my teeth crunching into the baby carrots and the commentators commenting on the plays. We were coming close to the 90th minute and I was still pressuring his weak ass side. I was about to score my 10th goal when I felt the controller being slapped out of my hand. I started laughing and scrambling to get the controller back. He held it behind him and tried to run towards my side of the field to score his third goal. The whistle sounded signaling the end of the game, thank God we didn't get any extra time. He handed back the controller with a sigh. Accept your defeat human. I took the second point which made us tie.

The third round was starting now as we played Halo on a split screen. We were in survival mode and who had the most points would win. We both agreed to not attack each other and focus on accumulating points. I was leading when all of a sudden I was blown up, I looked over at him and he shrugged his shoulders shaking his head. I'm going to blame this on the alien ship since it was the first time. The clock was ticking and he passed me with his headshots and hit combos. I tried to reach him up but he was too far ahead and we only had one minute left. I started doing more melee attacks for more points but he was still too far ahead. 4..3..2..1. Game over. I heard him clear his throat beside me and I looked over at him. He won this round but he wouldn't get the next.

The last round was Need for Speed, had to pay respect to the OGs in the game. We decided on a long track with a good amount of curves to make it hard. I picked a Chevy Corvette and he selected his custom BMW M3 Evolution 2. Good choice. The race started and I then realized that the car I was driving was in its original state while his BMW was suped up.

"Bro, you are unfair as fuck." I said and his strong laughter rung out into the room.

He wasn't as good as I was with the turns but his car accelerated faster than mines so even though I went around the corner perfectly he still managed to recover and catch me back up. I was still in the lead though and it was the last lap, I was sweating bullets trying to concentrate on the track. I bent the last corner and was speeding down the short stretch to get to the finish line when I heard him chuckle and his finger lifted off the acceleration button. Maybe he was giving me this win but I was in for the shock of a lifetime when I saw his car fly pass crossing the finish line seconds before me. My mouth hung open and I was indeed shocked, I couldn't move. I stared at the tv screen while he got up and started dancing swaying his hips to the sound of his fingers snapping. I turned to stare at him and his movements weren't that of a male, they were feminine and it made me want to draw him into my lap but I remembered it was a he and I wasn't attracted to males. Again, maybe he's gay.

"Well my love, I guess I'll have to plan a special proposal date. Dress to impress." He said while dropping back into the couch beside me.

"You play dirty."

"Yet still I'm so clean." He laughed at his own joke. It wasn't even funny.

I mocked him and took the controller up restarting the race. I already lost but I wanted to play again. Once we were through and I lost again, I gave up. His mom called us to let us know that dinner was ready, we made our way to the dining room and he pulled the chair out for me allowing me to sit down. I said my thank you and smiled at Mr Ekuban. I was familiar with the pounded yam and fufu on the table because I was taught how to cook them myself. We ate and talked about my past school and Kwashie's as well. I looked over and saw him staring at me, I blushed and looked away. Dinner was through and I went to my room to have a shower.

I walked out of the adjoined bathroom wrapped in a towel when my door opened. I came face to face with a wide eyed Kwashie staring at me instead of looking away.

"Look away," I snapped.

"I'm sorry." He tried covering his eyes.

"You left your phone in the den so I was bringing it to you." He held up the phone in his hand.

I walked over to him and took the phone. He held onto my hand and spun me around pushing me up against the door, I tried to feel uncomfortable but I didn't. His hands were soft and delicate and I'm just noticing that they weren't very masculine hands. He took his hand from over his eyes and stared down at me, me being at 5"5 he easily towered over me.

"I find you very attractive Zim," He said.

"Uh.. t-thank you I guess." I stuttered.

"I'll wait until we're married before I let my control go and finally have a taste."

I was blushing uncontrollably and no words formed. I wouldn't dare speak because I couldn't trust my voice. I nodded and he let me go, I stepped away from the door and he opened it and left. I threw my phone on the bed and walked back into the bathroom for another shower but this time it would be colder than my mother's eyes.