Page 9 of Own Me

“Alright, spill the tea.”

“You have to swear not to make a scene.”

I let out an impatient breath. “Just tell me what you need to say. When have you ever known me to make a scene?”

“Right. Well, that lying, no-good boyfriend of yours just walked in with another woman.”

“What?”

“You heard me correctly.”

I swing my body around and grip the top of my seat. I don’t see any sign of Chris.

“They went towards the buffet. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to see them from here.”

I push my chair back and bolt up, snatching my purse and squaring my shoulder, stomping in the direction of the buffet.

Shayla jumps out of her seat and blocks my way. “No, what are you doing?”

I glare at her because she should know what I’m about to do. “What do you think I’m going to do? My boyfriend just walked in with another woman, and he’s supposed to be in another state. I’m going to confront him here and now.”

“Wait a minute. Sit down and think about things before you confront Chris.”

I glower at her, but she tugs me back down to my seat.

“I know you’re angry and all, but so am I,” she says. “I think things could get loud if you go over there now. We don’t want these folks here to think we have no home training.”

“Chris lied to me. He blatantly lied, Shayla.” I reach inside my handbag to retrieve my cell phone. I swipe it and navigate the text messages to the text Chris had sent me a few hours ago. “See.” I hold my phone to her, and she takes it and reads the message aloud.

Chris:Yana, I’ll be flying in later tonight. Guess what, babe? I got the promotion. I will see you on Sunday. Be naked when I arrive.

She looks up from the phone to say, “What the hell? Stay here; I’ll be right back.”

“What are you up to?” I ask Shayla as she stands to her feet.

“Sit tight. I want to see something.” She walks away with my cell phone in hand.

Less than two minutes later, Shayla is back. She sits and hands me my phone. “Now you have evidence. Let him weasel out of this.”

I take the phone and peer down at the screen. In the video, Chris’s unmistakable image is on full display. I watch my handsome boyfriend, sit in the restaurant booth. His skin is the color of deep dark chestnut, and his expressive, dark brown eyes absorb the woman sitting next to him. Chris has a neatly trimmed mustache and a birthmark that reminds me of an M&M on the upper side of his right cheek. The other woman leans in to kiss that birthmark before tracing her lips to his mouth. Their passion puts every single kiss that Chris and I have shared to shame. The cherry on top is when the happy couple feeds each other from their buffet plates.

“Are you okay, Ayana?”

“I’m fine,” I say, even though I can’t help but feel hurt. Chris not only lied to me, but he’s cheating as well.

Considering I just had another man's head between my legs, I'm not one to talk, but the way they look at each other is like a punch in the gut. It's not just lust. I can see a connection Chris and I never had.

“I’m glad to hear that because you can never trust anything he says again. You deserve better treatment than he’s been giving you. He’s left you hanging so many times and didn’t even call you when he wasn’t going to show up for dates. Then, he just shows up when he’s ready. So, I say, good riddance!”

“I get what you’re saying, but I did wrong, too. I had a one-night stand.”

Shayla slides her chair next to mine and puts her arm around me, stroking my shoulder. “I know, but you were planning to break up with Chris anyway. Now you can leave the relationship without regrets.”

“Right, no regrets. Let’s get out of here before I change my mind about confronting Chris.”

“Lunch is on me today.” Shayla pulls out her wallet as we stand.

“Thank you. Let me just run to the restroom. I will meet you out front.”

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