"Tonight?" I asked. The idea of it was exciting.

"Right now," he said. "I'll bring some friends to meet your friends. What'd you say?"

"I guess it would be okay. My mom is sleeping...so...okay." I said it before I clearly thought it through.

"Cool. I'll see you in a minute then."

I hung up and sat there for a minute, gathered my thoughts. Knew that I needed to do something with my hair, maybe put on some lip gloss. There was no way of hiding my stomach. A bigger shirt would only make me look bigger. And why did I care anyway? Sean knew that I was pregnant. And he was just a friend anyway.

"That wasn't Vance, was it?" Alyssa asked.

I shook my head no, a sly grin on my face.

"Who was it then?" Indigo asked.

"Yeah, 'cause you were all smiles and everything," Jade added.

"It was Sean, wasn't it?" Alyssa asked.

"Who's Sean?" Asia asked.

"Sean from the exercise class?" Indigo asked. "I knew he liked you!"

"Like her?" Alyssa asked. "He's been over here kicking it with her."

"He's been over here?" Indigo asked. "And you didn't tell me? You been holding out on me!"

"Okay...okay...he came over on the Fourth of July," I explained. "And he's on his way over now."

"Right now?" Alyssa asked.

"Are you for real?" Tymia asked.

"And he's bringing some friends," I told them.

"Are they cute?" Jade asked.

"I don't know. He's cute, so his friends probably are, too."

"Oh my God! When were you gonna tell us?" Asia grabbed her purse and rushed into the guest bathroom. "I gotta comb my hair and put on some lip gloss."

"Asia, let me borrow your eyeliner pencil," Tymia said and went into the bathroom, too.

Indigo, Jade, Alyssa and I crept up the stairs and crowded into the other bathroom, careful not to wake Mommy. I checked my hair in the mirror and put on lip gloss. Indigo did something with Jade's hair while Alyssa sat on the edge of the bathtub and sent a text to someone. Probably her college-aged boyfriend. When "Blame It" echoed through the small bathroom, I grabbed my phone quickly. Didn't want Mommy to hear it.

"Hello," I whispered.

"Come outside," Sean insisted.

"Okay," I said before hanging up. I turned to my friends. "They're outside."

We made a beeline for my bedroom just so we could peek out the window and try to catch a glimpse of Sean and his friends before going downstairs. As they stood underneath the streetlight in front our house, we could tell that there were four of them...Sean and three other boys. One of them wore cornrows in his hair. With his sagging jeans, his muscles were defined against his tight-fitting T-shirt. Another boy had a short haircut and had dark skin and big eyes. He wore shorts and a wifebeater. His friend sported a Coogi outfit and brushed his waves.

"Okay, they're cute...from what I can tell," Jade said.

"I got the Omar Epps look-alike," Asia smiled.

"You are so fast," Indigo exclaimed. "Don't nobody want him."

"Whatever, Indi." Asia laughed.

"How about the tall, dark and handsome one in the denim shorts and Lakers jersey?" Jade asked.

"That's the one that belongs to Ta-me-ka," Alyssa said.

"He doesn't belong to me. He's just a friend," I corrected her. "Now let's go before they wake up my neighbors."

Standing on the curb, we all talked and laughed about nothing in particular. Asia and Omar Epps stepped away and began a private conversation of their own. Tymia laughed as Cornrows whispered something into her ear and Jade started quizzing the boy in the Coogi outfit about the rap industry. Alyssa, Indigo and I gathered around Sean to get a better look at his CD collection.

"I got anything you wanna hear," he bragged. "Old school, new school, rap, R & B. You name it."

Holding T.I.'s CD in her hand, Indigo said, "I would marry him if I wasn't already hopelessly in love with Marcus Carter." Her eyes became dreamy. She missed Marcus way more than she let on.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Alyssa asked.

"Yep...always and forever." Indigo twirled the charm on her necklace, the other half of a silver heart that she shared with Marcus. He wore the other half around his neck.

I always envied Indigo and Marcus's relationship from the day they got together. Marcus seemed like the perfect boyfriend and I believed that other boys could learn a thing or two from him about how to treat a girl. Marcus was Indigo's knight in shining armor.

"My boyfriend is sweet, too. We're getting married after we both graduate from college," Alyssa announced.

"He's already got a head start on you, girl," I teased. "What is he...like a junior in college?"

"Tameka, don't get me started on your missing-in-action boyfriend, Vance," she fired back, and although her words were accurate, they still hurt. I dropped my head as a slight pain shot through my heart. "Sorry." Alyssa grabbed my arm and placed her head on my shoulder. "I shouldn't have said that."

"What is up with Vance?" Indigo asked. "He really needs to do better."

"I told her that I could check up on him if she wanted me to. I'm headed down to Grambling for a weekend stay." Sean smiled. "I could rough him up a little bit."

"And I said that it's not necessary," I interjected.

"When are you leaving?" Indigo asked, and I could see the wheels in her head turning.

"Thursday morning. Me and my buddy Calvin over there is driving down there in his Jeep."

"And how much room is in this...Jeep?" Indigo continued.

"What are you thinking, Indi?" I asked skeptically.

"Got plenty of room. It's just the two of us," Sean said. "Why? Y'all wanna roll with us?"

"No," I said.

"Come on, Tameka. You know you wanna go down there and see what Vance is up to. Besides, it would be fun...something to do...a chance to get away for a few days."

"I agree. It might be fun," Alyssa added.

"Our parents will never agree to it," I reminded both Alyssa and Indigo. Indigo could barely spend the night at my house without the third degree. I wasn't sure how she figured she'd get them to let her go to Louisiana for the weekend.

"I could tell my parents that I'm spending the weekend at your house and you could tell Mel that you're spending the weekend with me." Indigo began to plead her case. "It's doable and you know it."

"I don't like lying to my mama," I said.

"Then tell her the truth," Alyssa suggested. "Aunt Mel is really cool. She's nothing like the rest of our parents."

"Tell you what...y'all figure it out and let me know," Sean said.

I secretly found the idea very interesting but didn't want any of them to know just how much. I would give anything to get down to Grambling and see what Vance was doing. I would surprise him and he would be so happy to see me. It would be a reunion that would give me pleasant dreams for months to come.

"We'll let you know," I told Sean.

"Let him know about what?" Jade was all up in the business all of a sudden; her newfound friend, who happened to be Sean's friend, Calvin, was standing close by.

"We're thinking about going down to Grambling with Sean on Thursday," Indigo explained.

"That's it. We're just thinking about it," I stressed.

"I wanna go." Asia approached and joined the conversation, too.

"Me, too." Tymia came out of nowhere.

"Why don't we all go," Calvin suggested. "I can probably get my dad's Suburban. It seats nine people and as long as y'all don't pack too much stuff we could probably do it."

"Yeah, you know how girls get carried away with all the shoes and clothes and stuff," Sean said.

"The gas will probably kill me, but it'll be worth it to hang out with Jade a little bit." He gave Jade a smile.

"I didn't say I was going," Jade teased. She was all smiles, too. Whatever she and Calvin were talking about earlier had her blushing, and it was obvious that they liked each other.

"You should consider going. That way we could get to know each other a little better." Calvin didn't have to do much convincing before she agreed.

"Okay," she said.

It seemed that the conversation had gone from "we'll think about it" to "what time we getting picked up on Thursday" and nobody had even considered what we were going to tell our parents. I could barely sleep that night as thoughts of Vance raced through my head. Seeing him was long overdue. As I mentally picked out the outfits and shoes I would pack, I knew that Thursday would take its time coming around.

twenty.

Vance With my size-eleven Jordans spread across the floral comforter, the lights dimmed and the scent of some sweet-smelling candle floating through the air, I wrapped Shay in my arms. Kissing her was like sucking on a peppermint because she had just popped one into her mouth. My hormones raged out of control as her head rested in the center of my chest. As music played softly on the stereo, I shut my eyes and wondered where the night would take us. I knew that sleeping with a girl had its consequences, especially since I was already dealing with a pregnant girlfriend in Atlanta.

In addition to my relationship with Tameka, I had a girl on campus that I was starting to fall for, too. She was definitely my type...athletic, smart, had a sense of humor...everything I wanted in a girl. Tameka represented what was right while Lexi represented what felt good. And now here I was adding to the equation. Shay was beautiful and sexy. She wasn't quite the type of girl I would take home and introduce to my mother. She was known around campus as hot and easy to get into bed, especially if you were an athlete. She was one of the groupies who hung around the gymnasium hoping that one of the basketball players would show just a little bit of interest in her. In my mind, she was simply a quick toss between the sheets.

She lifted my arms and pulled my shirt over my head and began planting soft kisses all over my chest. My self-control was slowly fading away as I lifted her shirt over her head. Her brown breasts were plump beneath her pink bra. Her stomach was flat and sexy with a silver navel ring glistening in the darkness. She removed her skintight jeans and dropped them to the floor. I did the same, but not before searching my pockets for a condom. I searched in each pocket thoroughly and couldn't find one. I pulled out my wallet and checked the compartments, too. Nothing.

"I don't have a condom," I announced. "You got one?"

"No, Vance. We don't really need one. Just go with it."

"Nah, I don't roll like that. Gotta use protection."

"I don't have no STDs or anything. I'm clean."

"I believe you, but before I lay with someone I gotta protect myself." I sat up in the bed. The mood was different. As much as I wanted Shay, I knew that it was stupid to move forward.

I stood, slipped my jeans back on.

"What're you doing?" she asked. She seemed to become angry.

"Hey, baby, as much as I want this right now, we can't afford to be careless. There are too many diseases out there..."

"Diseases? You think I got a disease?" She was standing, too, with her hands on her hips. Her pink underwear was looking all cute in the moonlight that crept into the window.

"I'm not saying you got a disease. I'm saying that I don't get down unless I got some protection. And you shouldn't be sleeping with anybody unless they do the same. You feel me?"

"Yeah, I feel you, Vance. You're just a tease is all you are. Brought me all the way over here for nothing!"

She was scaring me; made me want to take off running as far away from her as possible. But I played it cool. "Sorry you feel that way, Shay," I told her, grabbed my shirt from the floor and headed for the front door. She ran after me and pushed me from behind. When she began to yell all sorts of obscenities, I knew it was definitely time to go.

Before I approached the door, a key was stuck into the lock from the other side and the front door swung open. A group of at least five giggling girls rushed into the apartment. The leader, a light brown girl with short curly locks, looked me square in the eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm, uh..." It was as if I'd forgotten my name as a familiar, angry pair of eyes popped up from behind Curly Locks and looked right into mine.

"His name is Vance," Lexi said as she pushed her way into the apartment. She gave Shay, who was standing behind me, a look of disapproval as Shay stood there in her pink underwear.

"Shay, what's going on up in here? I didn't say you could use my apartment to get your little freak on. You said that you wanted to come here and study because you can't concentrate in your dorm room," Curly Locks stated.

I didn't wait around to hear Shay's response to her friend. I was too busy running after Lexi who had bolted out the door and down the stairs. I thought I saw tears in her eyes before she ran, and my heart ached. I never meant to hurt her. In fact, I couldn't even figure out why I was in some strange girl's apartment, with a girl that I knew was easy, about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

"Lexi," I called out to her.