Best On Best

by Kizzie Kollins

“Yeah to some lame that cheated on her right before their wedding.” Keegan took another two steps toward Marcel. “I’m not here to have a pissing contest with you. I’m not here to go back and forth with you. I’m not going to try to get under your skin. I’m not going to raise my voice. I am going to tell you how this is going to go, though. You’re going to pick up your ring.” Keegan nudged his head toward where it was on the counter. “And you’re going to walk out of Nour’s house and not come back unless explicitly invited.”

“Isn’t it my job to make sure you stay out of trouble?” I tilted my head slightly and smiled a real smile this time. “No,” he deadpanned. “It’s your job to make sure I’m not drinking and I’ll lay buddy the fuck out sober so that’s not even an issue.”

“Yeah, I hear you, but if he keeps giving you issues and you don’t tell me, you and me will have some problems, alright?”

“Look, any man that’s worth it will wait for you if that’s what you want to do. If you want to screw someone the first night that you meet him, a man that’s worth it will respect you after that too.”

“If you want me to be here, I’ll be here. I promise. No questions asked.” He leaned into me. “And anything I’ve ever told you, I mean, Nour.”

“I’ve let it go. You should let it go.” “Fuck that. There’s no expiration date on disrespect,”

“We’re both figuring stuff out, and that’s cool, but at the end of all of this soul searching and self-reflecting, I want to be a man worthy of building a life with you and coming back here to feed cats with your grandpa and wash dishes with your grandma.” He laughed slightly. “That journey can take a few months or years or hell, maybe we’ll fall into each other later tonight, but regardless of how long the journey is, at the end of it is me and you, Nour. Nothing and nobody else will do it for me.” He maneuvered the fish easily and I watched the muscles in his arm as he skinned it. “That’s how I feel.”

“And I don’t care what you think I need. What I really need is for you to not put yourself last for me.”

Nour was an amazing support system but I was careful not to make her my sole support system. Whether she was my sober companion or not, I didn’t want to drain her. She deserved a partner that didn’t suck all of her energy and that created a space where she could be open, honest, and vulnerable without having to worry about them falling off the wagon.