Free Promise Kept (Perry Skky Jr.) by Stephanie Perry Moore

again, like I was going to do her wrong or something. I simply prayed, Help her, Lord.
    Then to my surprise Savoy said, “You can go for it, he should be coming through sometime soon. I know we came up together and we’re heading out together.”
    “See,” the shorter one said, “she’s not dating him. She wouldn’t have thrown him off on somebody else.”
    “Oh, I’m not throwing him off on anybody else. I want to be clear that he is my boyfriend, but we’re here to praise God and I’m not trying to be with him all this weekend. He was doing his thing and I was doing mine. I thought we all came up here to get closer to God, but y’all talking about coming up here and dating somebody else’s man. I’m not trying to say what you did and did not get out of the weekend, but it seems like you might want to rethink that thought. I don’t have Perry on a leash if he has feelings about wanting to be with someone else. No, go for it.”
    That was my cue to make her feel more than sure that I was committed to her. I came around the corner, took her hand, pulled her to me and gave her a nice kiss.
    “Sorry to be rude, girls, but I was just trying to give my girl some affection. I missed her this weekend.” After we came out of our embrace, I said, “Oh, I’m Perry Skky, her boyfriend. You ready to go?”
    She just grinned from ear to ear and I liked that look. We were connected. She wasn’t sure if I had overheard her or if I just knew what she needed, but either way it was right on time and that was a God thing. She was right, this weekend had been about us getting closer and I think we had done that. We were able to connect better with one another. What a great relationship.
     
     
    “Hey, man,” Deuce said, “Mario’s out there to see you.”
    “What man, are you serious?”
    It was eleven o’clock at night, I just finished studying for a major test, and all I wanted to do was crash.
    “Man, he looks spaced out. Seriously, I think you need to talk to him.”
    “I wouldn’t go nowhere with Mario,” Lance said, eavesdropping on the conversation though he was supposed to be minding his own business fixing a sandwich or something. “What? Don’t look at me like that. The guys he messes with are crazy. I still remember the beat down they gave me.”
    “How you know he even want something like that? I saw him last week and he asked me for some change,” Deuce confessed.
    “Well, he already hit me up for some too,” Lance said. “I wish I would have known he had gotten some from you.”
    “Wait, both of y’all gave him some money? I already gave him some too.”
    “I already knew when I gave him some what he was into, but he made me feel bad for me having his job,” Lance said.
    “He made me feel bad too,” Deuce admitted, “saying us brothers got to stick together. Yeah he played on my heart strings too.”
    We heard the door get a good pounding.
    “Well, you better go on and get on out there,” Deuce said.
    “I’m out of change.”
    “Yeah, take your wallet.” Lance threw my wallet over from the counter to me.
    “Ha, ha, ha. Y’all been giving him that little hustle. I’ve given him some real money, and I’m not paying him any more.”
    “You say that,” Lance said. “You’re such a wuss. He’ll talk you out of your shirt.”
    “Perry, open up. Open up.”
    I grabbed my keys and headed to the door.
    “Mario, man. What’s up guy?” I said, trying to keep the conversation light.
    “Perry, I need your help. I really do.” I thought he looked bad the first time I saw him, but he looked even worse now.
    “Man, I’m tired. I got a big test coming up. I got to go to bed, Mario.”
    “I just need your help, you can’t leave me out there.”
    “I don’t have no money.”
    “I don’t want money, I need you to help me.”
    “Help you with what?” I asked.
    “I’ve been doing drugs; don’t judge me, man.”
    “Naw man, I ain’t gon’ judge you.”
    “I need to go to