Page 72 of Unleashed

Rhonda mutters a thank you. I ask, “Why’d you come?”

Holding her phone, she laughs before looking at me with her smile dissolving. “I’m a glutton for punishment.”

I nod. “Same here.” I didn’t have a choice this time, though.

Ferrera turns to Hadley. “I heard you and Greg burn up the dance floor. I want to see.”

Hadley and I look at each other, unsure if we can or should. We’re working on our friendship, but I don’t see us dancing like we used to. We’ve changed. She’s married and a mom now. I was married, but now I’m not. I was a dad. Then I wasn’t. Then I was. Now, I’m back to being nothing to anybody.

Hadley sighs when she sees I’m not jumping at the chance. “I think I’ll keep it tame tonight.” She gets up, her smile wobbling as she leaves to find Simone and Sylvie among the colored lights.

Ferrera watches her walk away before turning to me. “What are you doing, Greg? I mean, a fake marriage?” His stern gaze screams that I’m the stupidest chump alive.

I glance at Rhonda, staring at the faux-wood table. She’s ashamed of me or thinking about her shopping list. Turning back to Nico, I sigh. “I helped her out in Durham with this...idea. She wanted to quit and lose her bonus cash. I told her no.”

“Do you get a cut?” Nico asks, taking a sip from his long neck.

“I was supposed to, but I don’t want it. She can use it for school.”

“Aren’t you going to law school?”

The music thumps to a different beat, and I frown because we’re talking about this here. “After I pass the LSAT in a few months. The firm is paying for it, and Amos is pulling strings for me at the school’s registration office to process my application faster. He probably blew somebody for a favor, but I doubt Vaughn is that skilled. I hope to start in the fall if I don’t fail the test on my first attempt.”

When my gaze leaves Nico’s dubious scowl, I look at Rhonda again, who smiles. “That’s fantastic, Greg.”

I shrug as I pick up my beer and then set it down. It hasn’t left my sight to worry if someone slipped a mickey. Not everyone is out to get me, but it’s always on my mind. I trust a handful of people and think I can trust Rhonda and Nico. Yet, I trusted Simone with my life, and she broke it and my motherfucking heart.

No. She did me a damn favor.

Sadly, I need to stay sober since I drove. Plus, did I not learn anything from being a shitty bartender and a sloppy drunk?

I watch randos gyrating to Jennifer Lopez howling about waiting for sex on a subway. When it ends, I search the lit-up floor, and X Ambassadors’ Unsteady plays. I don’t see Simone, Hadley, or Sylvie.

When I shift in my chair, I notice a somber Ferrera frowning at me and a statue-like Rhonda, who gives me a pursed-lip smile but then looks away. Without giving it much thought, I push out my chair, making Ferrera and Rhonda wonder if I’m hitting the road. Inhaling, I round the table and stop at Rhonda’s chair. Overwhelmed with abrupt nerves and swift stupidity, I ask, “Do you want to dance?”

Confused, she stutters, “With you?”

I laugh because her surprised expression is damn cute. “Yeah, with me. Unless you’re waiting for Ferrera to ask. In that case, Godspeed.”

Nico glowers more, but it’s true. For as long as I’ve known him, he’s dated no one. But he’s okay with lecturing me about my dating shitshow and getting married. And unmarried. And then fake married.

Rhonda only stares up at me. Any longer, and the song will be over. I offer her my hand, and she sets down her phone, glances at Nico, and back up at me. “Okay, Greg. I’d like that.” When she puts her hand in mine, I feel her shaking. Or maybe it’s me shaking.

Through swaying people, I lead her to the dance floor and pass the other three. Hadley gawks at me, not sure if to smile. Sylvie stops walking with her mouth hanging open, making Simone run into her since she’s gawking at us too. For a second, it looks like Simone may cry, but Simone is no Niagara Falls.

I pull Rhonda to the edge of the dance floor with slow-blinking amber lights. Looking down at her face, she appears apprehensive and statue-like, so I drape her hands over my shoulders. She finally smiles, and I rest my hands on her hips, pulling her closer. The music is loud, but I hear her soft gasp against my chest. Her hair smells like honeysuckle and peonies. My grandmother grew peonies behind her house, filling her yard with their scent. They’re my favorite flower. I included them in the bouquet I sent for Eden’s funeral. They were one of her favorites, too.

I lean back to ask, “What’s the matter? You seem...sad?”

Rhonda hesitates, starts, and then restarts several times before asking, “Were you married to Simone when you and I went to the festival?”

I laugh. “Hold on, Ronnie. No. And you knew I had a thing for...” I wince and veer away from discussing Hadley, especially since she’s with us. “It’s a long and sordid tale, but in summary, I ran off to Durham for a while. Simone followed. She worked at my aunt’s bar with me. She mentioned her jerk dad’s twisted mind, and I offered to help her out. We got married in a bar. Simone had second thoughts and moved back to Richmond. Annulled the marriage. Her dad is in town and still thinks we’re married. I’m keeping my end of the deal. So, here we are. Does that explain it?”

Rhonda nods and squeezes her unmoving fingers, almost as if dancing with me would be scandalous if I were married. “I don’t know what to say, Greg.”

“Only a handful of people know we were married. Now, we must convince everyone else to go along with it, just to convince her father and pretend to break up after he’s gone.”

She cringes, scrunching her nose. “That sounds kind of horrible.”

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