Me and My Girl

by C.N. Phillips

Genres: African American Urban; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

"I'm in love with my best friend's boyfriend." It seems to be a trend, but for twenty-five-year-old Matise Jackson, it is an ugly truth. When she told her college best friend the type of woman she thought he should be with, she was describing herself, but instead of falling into her trap and becoming her Prince Charming, he shows up at her doorstep with a new princess.

As much as Matise wants to hate Lia, she can't. They're so much alike that gradually they become the best of friends. Still, no sisterhood can stop Matise's heart from wanting the thing she desires most—Jordan. He is sexy as hell, smart, funny, and the two of them are so in sync with each other it scares her sometimes.

Matise knows he is the man designed for her, but there is one thing standing in the way. When she finally gets the chance to act on her heart's desires, will she rip apart a seemingly happy home, or will she live her life constantly wondering, "What if?"

Release date: August 28, 2018

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

“I want you to meet someone.”

Those were the words that changed my life. Well, maybe not my life, but a big part of it. Jordan Heart had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. It was always Matise and Jordan, Jordan and Matise. He was a nerdy kid back then, complete with the thick glasses and buck teeth. I wasn’t much better, being the lengthy, awkward girl with the long ponytail. Not to mention my acne was on fleek. We became friends by chance but stayed friends by choice. As the years went by we grew together and shed our ugly shells. Through our friendship, our parents even became the closest of friends.

The true feelings that I had for Jordan didn’t begin to show until our senior year of college. It was getting almost impossible to hide them, especially with as fine of a young man he had grown into. I stood on the sidelines, watching him go through girl after girl since high school, and it had started to take a toll on me. In college, Jordan was what every girl on campus could call a solid catch. He was in school for software development, and since his family owned one of the biggest software companies in Nebraska, he was promised a major job in the company.

I know, you’re probably waiting for the part where I tell you about how I confessed my love to him and we lived happily ever after, right? Well, that part doesn’t come. I mean, of course I planned to tell him that I was madly in love with him. From the tips of his short, curly hair all the way down to his toes. Wait. Let me rethink that. I hate feet. But you get my point. I actually did try to tell him how I felt the night of our college graduation.

Our parents had come together and planned the most beautiful dinner for us to welcome the next stages of our lives. My father owned an entertainment and media business called Angel Media that was based out of downtown Omaha. He hosted the entire dinner celebration in the banquet hall of the big building and invited everybody he could think of. When I say they went all out? They went all out. Since it was a winter graduation, there were ice sculptures throughout the large hall. The lights were dimmed so that the glittery sparkles projecting on the walls and tables could stand out. Hanging from the crystal chandeliers were pictures of both Jordan and me from babies to adults. Thinking back to that day made the butterflies flutter in my stomach the same way they did back then.

“Matise, darling! You look absolutely stunning!”

“Thank you, Auntie Lisa,” I said, smiling at my portly aunt.

She was a sweetheart when she wanted to be. And by “when she wanted to be” I mean when people were watching. She was my mother’s older sister, and she reminded her of that whenever she got a chance. Whereas my mother was content being a housewife, my aunt strived to be much more than that. She graduated with her master’s in psychology, and whenever she could get the chance, she was always trying to get into someone’s head. Aunt Lisa was a thicker woman, who wore her hair in a short, curly afro. She was pretty with a nice-sized bust and bottom, and because of that, she never had a problem getting a man. Now keeping them, that was a different story.

“All that beauty must have taken time. I’m assuming that’s why you’re late to your own party?”

I had to bite my inner cheek to keep from rolling my eyes and saying something smart back to her. Of course, she just had to be the first person I bumped into upon my slightly late arrival. My mama had always taught me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I offered her the nicest smile I could muster, given the fact that I was still biting my cheek, and I continued past her into the banquet hall.

My parents had truly outdone themselves. I was completely taken away by the decorations. It was like I was in some sort of winter wonderland. I spotted my parents standing next to Jordan’s parents near the punch table, so I made my way over toward them. On my way, people seated noticed me and offered their congratulations.

“Matise! You look gorgeous, honey!” Mrs. Heart said the moment she saw me. She grabbed my hands and spread them out to get a better look at my dark blue velvet strapless dress. Draped around my shoulders was a white faux fur that went well with the diamond earrings and choker my father had gifted me with earlier that morning.

“Thank you, Mrs. Heart. You look beautiful yourself,” I said, commenting on the ankle-length black gown she wore.

“Oh, this old thing?” she said modestly, but the way Mr. Heart’s eyebrows shot up at her comment let me know that the dress was anything but old.

That was one thing about Mrs. Heart that I had loved since I had met her. She knew how to let you have the spotlight, even if that meant toning herself down. It was a trait that Jordan, too, had picked up on. He looked just like her too, light brown skin tone and all. His muscles and height he got from his dad. Mr. Heart towered over us all, including my own father, and he smiled down at me.

“I would ask what took you so long to get here,” my mom started, “but given that you look just heavenly right now, I won’t chastise you too much. Oh, I’m so proud of you, honey!”

“Thank you, Mama,” I said and let her embrace me once Mrs. Heart let go of my hands.

She too looked amazing in the red dress she’d chosen for the night. Whereas my aunt Lisa was more on the plump side, my mother’s body was so tight it put women my age to shame. Not only was she in shape, but Larise Jackson had curves for days, and I was shaped just like her. Her smooth caramel skin was an exact replica of mine, and so was her flawless white smile. Her pride exuded from her body, and her grin spoke volumes.

My dad placed a big kiss on my forehead and patted my back. “You may have not been the son I wanted—”

“Honey.” My mom cut her eyes at him.

“Let me finish, woman!” he said to her and then turned his attention back to me. “You may not have been the son I wanted, but I know now why we sometimes don’t get what we want. You are more than I could ever have asked for in my child, and I love you so much for that.”

“Aw, Daddy,” I said, blinking away my tears. “You’re going to make me cry, and I spent an hour on my makeup!”

“I’m just proud of you, that’s all! Don’t go crying and getting all raccoon in the eyes!”

Both my mom and Mrs. Heart swatted him at the same time. My dad looked to Mr. Heart with wide eyes and put his hands up.

“Listen, you’re on your own. That’s three against one. My name is Bennet, and I ain’t in it!”

We all laughed. While they continued to chat, I found myself looking around the large crowd in the banquet hall. I was looking for one person in particular, but I didn’t find him.

“Is Jordan here?” I asked Mrs. Heart.

“Yes, baby. He tried to wait for you to get here to make his plate, but he was so hungry let him tell it. I think he’s upstairs on the balcony. Go ahead and make yourself a plate and join him. This is your party. Enjoy it!”

I did exactly what she said and loaded my plate with fried chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread, although I was positive that it wouldn’t get touched with the way the butterflies were going crazy in my stomach. On the drive to the party, I had given myself a pep talk about going for what I wanted. I had already obtained my degree in design, and now it was time to get the other thing I wanted: Jordan Heart. Not only was he my best friend, but he was the man I was madly in love with. Except, he didn’t know I loved him, in that way at least. But after that night, he would. I couldn’t go another day without knowing what his kisses felt like or seeing him look at me the way I dreamed he would one day. I knew that if I didn’t do it now, somebody else would beat me to the punch.

“Please be alone. Please be alone. Pleeease be alone,” I quietly wished as I made my way up the winding staircase toward the back of the hall.

When I reached the top, I sighed with relief when I saw Jordan sitting by himself by a fireplace, going to town on a piece of chicken. He was so fixated with his food that he didn’t even hear me approach until I placed my plate on the table. When he looked up and saw me, he smiled big, the way I hoped he would when he saw me.

“You changed your dress?”

“You noticed,” I said, smoothing my hands down my hips. I’d changed from the plain black one I wore to the graduation earlier, wanting to make a lasting impression, hopefully.

“You look good, Te Te.”

“Thank you.” I smiled shyly at him.

“You’re welcome,” he said, grinning. “You must have wanted to match me.”

He flashed the cuff links of his royal blue suit and looked down at himself smugly. I couldn’t hold it in. I cracked up. He was so silly I couldn’t stand it. He laughed too, showcasing the deep dimples in his cheeks.

My God he’s looks so good, I thought, taking in his appearance. It was like my attraction to him was growing by the minute. His hair was neatly lined up and cut into a tapered fade. He had a small mustache and goatee, giving his baby face the look of a grown man. His full lips looked so soft. I wondered what they would feel like on mine, both sets. My feelings for Jordan had grown into sexual desires, and I would have loved to know how it would feel with him between my legs while I looked into his sweet face as we made love. Or what it would be like to—

“It’s scary, huh?” he asked, snapping me out of my own head.

“What’s scary?” I asked and watched him avert his eyes to the flickering flames that were keeping us warm.

“We crossed over. We’re in the real world now.”

“It shouldn’t be so scary for you. You already have a job, and you haven’t even applied yet!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But . . .” He let his voice trail off.

“But what?”

“Everybody keeps telling me how lucky I am to be able to work for my old man’s company, and in a way they’re right. I’m blessed. But he’s starting me as a VP. Me, a VP right out of college.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah.” He shook his head with his brow furrowed slightly. “He opened the position up just for me. It’s just so much pressure to walk in the shoes of a man so great, and I don’t know if I will live up to his expectations.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“And how do you know that?”

My body acted before my brain even told it what to do. My hands reached and grabbed his, forcing him to look back at me. His deep brown eyes were on mine, searching them for an answer.

“Because you have already lived up to his expectations. He wouldn’t have given you the job if you hadn’t.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

“Aren’t I always?” I asked.

“So modest,” he said sarcastically and shook his head. “I guess the next step after this would be settling down and putting the player to rest.”

“As if you could do that,” I joked just to see what he would say.

“For the right one, I could. I think I just date women for looks. That’s why my interest always fades.”

“Well duh, I could have told you that!” I said, and we both laughed.

“Okay, since you know so much and since you’re the one person in the world who probably knows me like the back of their hand, tell me. What is my perfect girl?”

Here’s your chance. “Well, she’s beautiful of course. Funny, but intelligent. She has to sit up all night and not only binge watch every Star Wars movie with you, but she has to enjoy them. She has to be laid-back but know how to have a good time. She must be patient because sometimes it takes a while for you to come off your high horse to admit you’re wrong. Of course, she needs to be hardworking and dedicated. And oh, she has to love kids. Your mother has to love her, and she must know how to cook. And lastly, you know how you smile when you’re really really happy? She has to make you do that every day without even trying.”

“Wow.”

I had literally just described myself, and by the way he was staring at me, I thought he had figured it out. I took a deep breath. It was now or never. “Jordan, there is something that I need to talk to you about. It’s something that I have been thinking about telling you for a long time. I just didn’t know how to.”

“Wait.” He stopped me and removed his hands from mine. He then reached down and grabbed something from the ground by his feet. “I have something for you.”

He handed me a medium-sized gift bag, and a smile instantly came over my face. I was like a kid in the candy shop as I tore into it. When I pulled out a picture album, my heart instantly warmed. On the cover it said, “Best Friends Forever,” and inside were pictures of only us, starting from elementary school.

“We weren’t even friends when we were this young. How did you get pictures?” I asked in awe.

“Just because we weren’t friends doesn’t mean our mothers didn’t pose us together at birthday parties and school programs.”

“True!” I grinned, but his next words took away all of the warmth in my heart.

“Now you’re my best friend, Matise. I thank God every day I have someone as solid as you by my side. All these years you have kept me in check, and I’m even more thankful that we have honored our friendship by never crossing lines that can’t be erased. Don’t get me wrong, you grew from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan, but I know things between us would never be the same if anything like that were to happen between us. So basically, I’m saying thank you for being my real friend and not treating me like a piece of meat like the rest of these women.”

I was sure he expected me to laugh, or maybe tell him to get lost if he ever thought I wanted to sleep with him. But I couldn’t. I was too busy willing my tears not to drop and trying to soothe the ache in my heart.

“Matise, are you okay?” he asked.

He was so oblivious to what was happening, I almost laughed. There was no way I could tell him what was really on my mind, so instead, I lied. “Yes, I’m okay. I just never thought you could be so thoughtful, fathead. Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome. There are some pages in the back that don’t have pictures in them. I figured we can fill them in with whatever is coming in the future.”

“I’m sure we will.” I looked up at him when my eyes weren’t wet anymore, and I smiled.

“Anyways, what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

“Huh?” I tried to play dumb.

“You said you wanted to tell me something. You pregnant or something?”

“What? No, stupid. I, uhhh . . .” I tried to think fast. “Um, just that I’m moving to New York at the end of the summer. I accepted an interior design job there.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. I did have a job offer in New York that I had been seriously considering. The only reason I hadn’t accepted it was because I was hoping that Jordan would tell me that he was madly in love with me too and marry me. Okay, maybe I was thinking too much into that, but you get the point. I could have easily found a job in Nebraska, given the connections that my father had, and made that work. However, it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

“New York?” Jordan asked as his face slowly dropped. “That’s so far away. There isn’t anything here?”

“I mean, I’m sure there is, but for what they’re offering me for my starting salary, I couldn’t really pass it up.”

“So, you’ll be living there?”

“Well living here and working there would be a pretty long work commute, so I figured it would be best to move,” I answered sarcastically.

“Wow,” he said. “Then I guess congratulations. We’ll have to make the best of our last summer then.”

Last summer. The wo. . .