"Know What You Want"

(Sequel To Learn The Hard Way)

Ch. 6

-- The Next Morning --

Druex walked up to her house, getting more nervous as the moments passed. Druex wasn't the type to actually care what he looked like but this morning he spent extra time getting ready. Last night he had his sister retwist his twists, this morning it took him two hours to actually find the right outfit. He finally settled for what he knew she liked best on him, a jersey, white T-shirt under it, some heavily starched jeans, and some new Reebok Above The Rim shoes. He stood at the door breathing in and out slowly, trying to get his thoughts together.

Druex finally knocked, slowly twice, his heart racing. Seconds later Brittney answered dressed in American Eagle low waist flares and a Football Homecoming T-shirt, she looked really surprised to see him, the only sound that came out of her mouth was, "Hi."

Druex smiled fighting his need to hold her close, "Hey, can I ask you some questions? And if I'm right about you the answers to all these questions will be yes."

Brittney smiled looking him over and restraining herself replied, "Sure."

"Do you love chocolates?" Druex asked, he had thought of all this last night in bed.

"Yes." Brittney replied wondering where he was going with this.

"Do you love Basketball?" He asked seeing the confused look on her face.

"Yes." She replied leaning on the door frame.

"Now, do you miss me?" Druex asked hoping she would reply like he had hoped.

Brittney looked around a minute before answering, she looked into his eyes a minute before she answered, "Yes."

Druex sighed loudly he was really excited that she missed him but he couldn't show that yet, "Would you like to the know the reason I'm here?"

Brittney shook her head before answering, "Yes."

Druex smiled before asking the last question, "May I come in?"

Brittney smiled, laughed softly, she had just realized they were standing in the door, "Yea, come in."

They walked into the house, to the living room, where so many other talks between the two had taken place. The most memorable one being the day they told each other how they felt about one another. Druex sat next to her silently getting his thoughts together, Brittney was nervous out of her mind, she didn't exactly know what to say.

"Maybe I don't deserve to apologize to you again, maybe I don't deserve to get sit next to you, and maybe I don't really deserve to explain myself. But since I am gettin the chance here goes....Bri baby I dunno exactly what to say. I am so sorry, I know things will never be the same, that's why I'm so sorry. Truthfully all I ever wanted was to be with you, that's it, I never meant to hurt you. Maybe you don't believe that Bri, but it's true." Druex said looking at her every now and then noticing the lost look on her face.

Brittney was staring out the window, not saying a word, his words were sinking in slowly, she believed him but she had something's she needed to get off her chest, "I believe you Druex, I really do. But why? Why do this to me? Why do this to us? Why do this yourself? That's what I really wanna know! If you really wanted to be with me...why did you do this to yourself Druex?"

Druex looked at her, he wasn't expecting that at all, "Bri, I don't know, I just know that I made the biggest mistake in my whole in entire life."

"Mistakes, Druex, mistakes, three of them, and you know it's funny I want to punish you so bad. I want to make you feel pain worse than I do, but you hurt yourself just as much as you hurt me. So it seems that the more I punish you the more I punish myself! It's not fair Druex, I want to cry, I want to scream but NOTHING is coming out but words! Memories, feelings, what I wanted to give you, what I wanted from you! Nothing makes sense anymore." Brittney replied running her hands over her face, sighing loudly, still not looking at Druex.

Druex almost didn't have a reply to that but he reached over and took her hand, "Bri, maybe you won't take me back, but could you do one thing for me?"

Brittney looked at their hands, together, intertwined it made her skin tingle, he made her tremble with want, "Anything Druex, anything."

"Forgive me, please that's just all I ask, don't hate me." Druex replied staring into her eyes, he could see the tears well up in her deep brown eyes.

Brittney sighed, looking into his eyes, she didn't feel uncomfortable, even as he moved a little to be closer to her, she felt like nothing could be any more right than what was happening at that very moment. "I am forgiving you...right now, because I could never, ever, hate you D."

"I know this is a little sudden," Druex said inhaling loudly, "but would you be mine again?"

"I can't answer that right now Druex." Brittney replied as he stood up shaking his head.

Brittney stood right in front of him, she could see the tears in his eyes, "Yea...I understand."

Brittney stopped him as he was about to walk toward the door, the first tear went down her cheek, and it was a surprised to Druex. In their year together she had never cried in front of him, "Can I ask one question?"

Druex looked into her eyes, trying not to blink so the tears wouldn't fall, he may have loved her but he still had a male ego to contend with, "Yea."

"What did you mean when you said, you never loved Akira?" Brittney asked stepping closer to him.

A lonely tear fell down his cheek and Brittney thought she would die, "I meant that I loved you, ever since they day I met you, I loved you and no one else."

Brittney didn't know what to say or do, she wiped the tear off his cheek, and pulled him into a hug, "Druex, I...I...I'm sorry."

Druex kissed her forehead letting her go, squeezing his eyes closed for a minute, "Yea, I gotta go."

Brittney bit her lip as he walked out her door, the tears started slowly but the longer she thought about it the faster they came. She didn't know he was sitting in his car thinking about her, and fighting off the tears that were sitting on the edge of his eyelids.

-- Later That Day --

Brittany was sitting on Brittney's bed watching her curl her hair, "So what you just ignored the fact that he's in love with you?"

"I didn't ignore it, I just didn't say anything about it, that doesn't mean I ignored him." Brittney replied looking into the mirror, she was getting ready to go to Envy for the first time in weeks. She and Druex didn't go to Envy much when they were together, they usually just chilled together or went some where quiet.

"You didn't tell the man how you felt?" Brittany asked playing with her long hair that she had put up in a messy clip.

"No, I just couldn't do it, if I did there would have been a flood right then and there!" Brittney replied combing through her hair looking out the door at her best friend.

Brittany stared at Brittney like she was out of her mind, "You pride-filled heifer! What is wrong with you? You know you wanna get back with him, then why didn't you just say yes!"

"I didn't say no either, I just said I couldn't answer him right at the moment." Brittney replied sitting on her bed next to Brittany who was still looking at her as if she could shake her.

Brittany stood up, put her hands on her hips and said, "OK Brittney, I've sat here, watched you hurt, I've listened to you cry and miss him like heaven misses an angel, and I've watched you long to go back to before all this shit happened! And now that you have a chance to start over and go back to when everything was perfect...you refuse! I am not gonna sit here and watch you make a mistake bigger than Druex's!"

Brittney looked up at her best friend, biting her lip, "What do you mean B?"

"I mean, Brittney Renee Parker, you are not giving up on this relationship or Druex. You going to get yo black ass up and go to Druex, understand that." Brittany replied picking up some shoes and sitting them beside Brittney.

"But I thought we was gonna have a ladies night?" Brittney asked putting on her shoes. They were planning to go out with Kris, Monica, Tiraza, Kadeejia, Liz, and some more of their girlfriends. It was supposed to be a night without their boys, just a night to forget their men and just have a good time.

"Forget that, I think the girls will understand, we'll have another ladies night. You just go get that man who is in love with yo crazy ass." Brittany replied putting up the outfit Brittney was planning to wear to the club.

Brittney stood up looking in the mirror, "What am I supposed to say?"

"Don't be dense Brit, just say I love you, just say whatever is in your heart." Brittany smiled standing next to Brittney hitting her in the arm.

Brittney was actually nervous, everything she had heard over the past few days came flying back at her. Everybody should get another chance, right? She felt like this was more of her chance than it was his chance.

-- Later That Day - Druex --

"I'm goin upstairs aiight." Druex said to his sister as she started up the steps, he had just got his hair twisted, again for the second time in 2 days, but he had to get it done over because he had messed it up by taking a shower and not taking them down.

"Yea," Brooke replied stretching looking up at her older brother, "hey where did you go this mornin?"

"None ya." Druex replied walking up the stairs not wanting to get into it with his sister.

Brooke followed him upstairs not caring if he ignored her, "Come on bro, you gotta tell me, cuz you DON'T get up that early unless you were goin to see Brittney."

"Brooke shut up." Druex replied attempting to walk into his room and close the door in his sisters face.

Brooke walked in and leaned on the dresser, "Soo you went to see Brittney eh? How did it go?"

"Not the way I planned, now go away hell." Druex asked falling on his bed, facing the ceiling with his hand on his stomach.

"She'll come around, I won't take anyone else for a sister-in-law." Brooke smiled as she walked out the room.

"And I wouldn't hold my breath on that one Brooke." Druex replied closing his eyes, sighing softly.

"I would Druex, damn bro you know nothing about women and love at all do you? Even at 16 I know if a girl is in love with you she won't give up on you." Brooke replied shaking her head as she walked out his door.

Druex sat up, pulling a picture of him and Brittney out of the table drawer next to his bed. The picture had been taken at the fair last spring, Brittney was sitting on the bench next to Druex smiling at the camera and he was looking at Brittney smiling, that was actually the moment he knew he was sprung. A lot of niggas wouldn't admit that, but Druex had been changed in the past year and now he didn't care. But the only question that was going through his mind was if Brittney had given up on him, completely. Could he get a second chance to prove his love?