Free This Could Be Us But You Playin' 2 by Cachet

to look at me different.
    “Listen to me.” Franny grabbed Dominique by the shoulders and turned her around to face at her. “Never would I look at you any differently. You’re my baby, Nikki, and I know you know that right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Alright, now get yo’ butt on over here and tell me all about the guy who has you head over heels in love,” Franny told her, guiding her over to the bed.
    “Well, his name is Kaleb,” Dominique started, once they were both seated. “We were in a relationship before I moved here with you and Peanut, but we broke up and lost contact. That was up until a few months ago when Dre and I went to see the house I was telling you that were are buying. Turns out, Kaleb owns it with his best friend, Desmond, who just happens to be Peanut’s new boyfriend,” she explained. Franny nodded her head. “Afterwards, he called me up and asked me to meet him at the park. I went and we talked. It was then that I found out that we had broken up for nothing. From that day, we continued to talk and sometimes I’d go spend the night over his house when I was here with DJ,” Dominique admitted.
    Franny smacked her hand on her leg and laughed. “I knew you were up to something.”
    “You did?” Dominique asked, looking at her shocked.
    “Girl yes! I knew you weren’t coming up here that much to see me, that’s for sure.” When Dominique looked over at her, she rephrased what she had just said. “I’m not saying it like that. I’m just saying that you weren’t even here that much, so I knew you had to be out with someone.  Not only that, but Peanut was gone all the time with her new man, so where the hell else would you be?”
    “I guess I ain’t as slick as I thought I was.”
    “You damn sure aren’t.” Franny laughed before she got serious again. “What I want to know is what do you plan to do with Dre?”
    “What do you mean? I don’t plan to do anything with him.”
    “So, you’re going to continue to sneak around behind his back?”
    “No,” Dominique shook her head. “I don’t talk to Kaleb anymore. I broke it off.” She revealed. “It’s not worth it.”
    “What’s not worth it?” Franny asked, looking at her granddaughter puzzled.
    “Losing my family,” Dominique told her, as if she should have known.
    “Listen, trust me when I tell you that I don’t approve of cheating. I never have, and I never will. The reason being is people get hurt. You can’t play with someone’s feelings like that, baby. No one deserves to be cheated on.” Franny placed her hand on Dominique’s thigh, “Now, what I will say is this. If you love Dre… I mean truly love him, then by all means, stick with him. On the other hand, if you love this guy Kaleb, why live your life settling for Dre when you can actually be happy?”
    “What makes you think I love Kaleb?”
    “Nikki, I watched you as you spoke about this man. You wore a smile on your face the entire time you talked about him, and I haven’t seen you do that with anyone besides your father. That lets me know that you are in love with that man.”
    Franny was seeing right though her façade, so Dominique went on and told the truth. “I am,” she confessed, “but I’m also in love with Dre.”
    “No you aren’t. You love Dre, and that is a big difference,” Franny went on to explain. “I’ve seen the two of you interact, and I’ve never seen that look in your eyes when you stare at him.”
    Dominique sat on the bed confused. She didn’t know what her grandmother was talking about. Wanting to know what she meant, she asked, “What look is that, grandma?”
    “The look of love and adoration. The guy, Kaleb, isn’t even here. You’ve only spoke of him for maybe a few minutes, and I’ve already saw the look. You love that man with every fiber of your being. So, I wonder why you’re torturing yourself.”
    “Because it’s complicated,” Dominique admitted.
    “It’s only complicated because you make it