Wednesday afternoon

" Can I tell you something babe ? " Nai sighed and twirled her straw inside of her fountain coke " Anything , what's on your mind ? " Rich pulled in closer to the table to give Nai his attention.

" It's Harlee , she's been acting so weird lately . Always so moody , and she didn't even come to school yesterday " she shook her head .

" Maybe she was sick or something " he picked at his corn dog " Did you talk to her ? "

" Of course I spoke to her last night , she said exactly that . She wasn't feeling well , I've known Harlee for too long and I know when she is lying to me . I am sure she wasn't sick … I just wish I knew what was going on with my girl you know ? "

" Well you said she misses her man right ? I would say we could all hangout again but Joe been tripping lately , we have some drama filled friends I tell you that much " Rich rolled his eyes and munched on his meal.

" How is Joe doing ? did he get into loads of trouble for the fight ? " she asked .

" It's crazy Nai , his dumb ass didn't show up to school and the damn cops came looking for him . Joe really should have just walked away but he always trying to prove something and act unbreakable , now his ass might get kicked out on his senior year over dumbasses who don't give two damns about him. "

Nai shook her head once more and wiped her hands " Unbelievable , well I hope he doesn't get expelled , so I guess he didn't come to school today did he ? "

" Nah , I haven't spoke to his dumbass since Monday " Rich leaned back and cracked his neck " Joe was being scouted by some good universities and he probably just lost a scholarship , I swear he is so fucking stupid … you know what I am sorry babe let's stop getting bent out of shape because of our friends and focus on us " he winked his eye and smirked at Nai.

" … That sounds like a good idea boo , so what you wanna talk about " she gave him a rather adorable amount of sass which pleased him " I'll tell you everything you want to hear gorgeous , why don't you come closer so you can hear me better "

" Trust me that is not a problem at all " she became giddy and playful as she hurried around the table and leaned against him " So big boy what's on your mind ? " she chuckled and took him in for a light kiss .

Their fluff was unfortunately interrupted due to Joe's presence and habit of teasing " Get a room for crying outloud " he swayed into the pizzeria with a pathetic smirk on his face . Joe appeared to be a bit worn and sloppy than usual , he hand his hands in his sweat pants pocket and a white muscle shirt " Oh is this a date ? my bad ya'll I'll just be a few minutes " he invited himself to a seat much to the annoyance of Nai and Rich.

" Well well look who decided to show their face , man where the hell you been ? " Rich asked

" I've been around … I know I know I am in alot of trouble , I haven't been home since last night and I am probably going to get my ass booted from school " he leaned back and cracked his neck " But that doesn't mean life is bad right ? " he shrugged.

" Joe … you are something else " Rich shook his head " Your parents are gonna tear you apart if you get expelled "

" But wait , how can Joe even get expelled if the incident happened outside of the school ? " Nai chimed in.

" That shit don't matter Nai , we go to a catholic school and things have to be squeaky clean. But I won't stand and let a clown disrespect me … " he crossed his arms and tapped his foot " … Anyways forget that .. hey Nai where is Harlee ? " he didn't realize the big grin on his face after mentioning her name .

" Harlee had practice today , I told her that we would all go to the game on Friday . My poor baby is so stressed out but if we make alot of noise I am sure she will feel better " Nai leaned on Rich's shoulder for comfort.

" … That's not good … I'm down to go show some support for my girl so count me in " and there was his slip up , however it didn't necessarily mean that he exposed their involvement and he was almost unapologetic.

" Well damn you two must have really got along on that ride home " Rich teased " Well Harlee is very forgiving babe " Nai tapped his knee " As for you Joe , don't think I forgot about what you said to her the first time we met. You can be cool but Harlee has a man … just saying " she teased some more and he seemed to be uncomfortable by her words " Oh come on Joe I am kidding , don't make that face like my friend is basic or something "

Joe found himself blushing and began to laugh , his acting skills were worthy of an Oscar " Nah it's not like that at all … " he tapped the table " Sorry if it came across that way … but I am promise I don't have an issue with Harlee .. not at all "

Later in the evening

Harlee had the house to herself after a long afternoon of practice . Kaleek was working late once again so she just kept to herself and watched some syndicated episodes of Boy Meets World as her stomach continued to bubble up due to how nervous she was for Arjay's early arrival.

She remained stretched out on the couch and tapped her belly which was a habit of hers and soon found herself thinking about Joe .

" Oh brother … " she covered her red face and soon heard a knock on the door " Who the heck could that be " she yawned and rolled off of the couch to answer the door.

Of course when she answered there was her current tall dark and handsome mate possibly overstepping his boundaries .

" Joe ? what are you doing here are you insane ? " she gasped

" Well .. somebody is grumpy . I just missed you … and I wanted to see you " he held his hand out to her

" Yeah well you can't just show up to my house without telling me , you already know how my brother is and I told you this a thousand times " she tried not to raise her voice but in all honestly she wanted to step on his foot.

" But is he here now ? " Joe smirked and found her frustration amusing

" No .. but that's not really the point , you just can't pop up unannounced . Do you have any idea how exhausted I am ? " Harlee rubbed the back of neck and remained in the door way " … Hurry just come in " she rolled her eyes and allowed him inside .

" Wow … what's with the attitude baby ? " he asked in a playful manner trying to calm her down

" I don't have an attitude I'm just tired and under alot of stress , I just want to sleep for a week "

she raced ahead of Joe to the couch and crawled back into her fetal position " My body aches so much "

Joe took a seat next to her and rested her feet across his lap and began massaging her ankles , Harlee was caught of guard by how attentive and skilled he was in that area " Oh .. " she tried to hold in her smile .

" Yeah I know you didn't expect this , I am full of so many surprises … and I don't like seeing you hurting " he winked .

" I'm so hopeless " she laughed and poked fun at herself for being sucked in by his charm " Why do you have to be this way ? you make it so hard to be annoyed .. " she giggled .

" Baby , the real question is why are you in such a bubble ? you know you wanna let loose so just do it " he chuckled and carefully moved her legs .

Harlee sat up with enthusiasm and crawled into his arms , she rested into his chest as he ran his fingers through her mane " Actually I like sweet stuff like this …. just to be held … and feel safe in my man's arms … this is all I have ever wanted " she closed her eyes tighted her arms around his waist " Just to know …. that someone cares "

Joe caressed her face and kissed her forehead , she appeared to be at peace which stopped him from asking her about something regarding her relationship with Arjay . " Well I care … but it's gonna be so hard not to scoop you up after you win that game on Friday " he teased " I know … but it's for the best … we'll tell everyone eventually don't worry … "

Volleyball game next chapter , a huge conflict is coming up so buckle up kids