Royce by D. Hamilton-Reed

we’re doing nothing wrong and you know it,” Royce said angrily.
                 Bobby looked at him, just stared for a moment, “What are you doing man?  Why do you care who has her?” 
              “Bobby man fuck I said leave it okay!”
    Bobby kept looking at Royce and he was beginning to see, “I understand Royce man, she’s new, she’s different.”
                 Royce looked at him, “What are you implying Bobby?”
                 Bobby knew Royce hadn’t seen many black people, but for him he’d grown up in Waco and went to Waco High and he’d seen plenty of black people and black girls and yeah there were a couple that he wanted to be with, but he didn’t need to go that route there were plenty of other girls around to dabble in that pond.
               “Look Royce, I get it.  You went to a private school and nothing the likes of Joy went there okay, I get it, but it’s a club man.  We all get to sample…the wares,” and Royce glared harder.
               “Bobby shut the hell up!   You don’t know how that sounds coming from you, and you know we don’t sample all the wares.  I haven’t been with Sarah and you damn well better not be with Tammy okay and you know there’s others we don’t want to be with, so can that shit, alright,” and Bobby knew he was right and he didn’t want Tammy anyway, he never did.  He’d always thought she won Royce my default that Royce could have had anybody he wanted.  He’d known that at Tech, he wasn’t a chick magnet like Royce and after he started hanging with him girls came up to him every day asking about Royce.  At first he would tell Royce, but Royce was so into Sharla and he understood that, Sharla was a complete babe.  He never understood how he ended up with Tammy after Sharla, Tammy was mediocre at best.  With the dental work and the boob job she’s better and between her and her trash friend Jody she was the cute one that night, but she wasn’t supposed to end up his wife that was for sure.  But now Royce was acting like he owned Joy and that wasn’t right,
                 “Yes, you’re right but that’s because we have an agreement between the two of us.  We don’t have an agreement about Joy and you know it…,” and Bobby paused for a moment before he said, “And you don’t have the right to make one concerning her either.”
                   Royce glared at him and said, “She makes her own decisions and you can’t force her.  None of you can force her to be with you if she doesn’t want to, and you know that!”  Royce said angrily.
               “Well I’m having her next time,” and he saw the fierce anger in Royce’s eyes, his blue eyes cold and hard as steel, his jaw and lips tight, and Bobby wondered, god dammit what’s he doing, he’s acting like she’s his , and he knew for sure he had to stop this.  He was taking Joy to his bed next time.
                 Tonight was the fourth time he was meeting Joy since they’d made their pact, and Royce smiled to himself as he worked out in his home gym.  He was doing his sit ups on his sit up contraption, preparing for tonight and Joy.  He was laying on the board his arms across his chest, going up and down counting his strong abs working, sweat beading on his body, his thoughts of Joy and on completing his work out.  He tried not to think of her too much or he’d lose count, he was on fifty he had a hundred and fifty more to go, he did two hundred every day.  He couldn’t’ stop smiling as he worked thinking of tonight and Joy.  Fuck me dark eyed lady , went through his mind, Ahh yeah , he was thinking, and then Bobby’s words came to his mind.  “Shit!”  He lost count, “I’m not starting over,” he said to himself.  That was his unwritten rule, if he lost count he must start over, “Fuck!”  He said to himself, “Where was I around