Page 20 of The Sweetest Surrender

Chapter Seven

“Are you still planning to have a one-night stand tonight because I can’t be a part of a coup.”

Octavia ran a keen eye over Selena’s body-hugging black dress and fishnet stockings.

Selena closed the knee-length trench coat and tied the belt around her midsection. She shut the door then put on her seatbelt. Her body shivered as it shook off the winter breeze and adjusted to the heat inside the vehicle. Glancing over, Selena didn’t try to give Octavia any excuses. Instead, she shrugged.

“Maybe catch a few eyes, no coup planned.”

“Look like you might catch something else at this rate,” Octavia said, resting her eyes on the five-inch silver fuck me heels Selena wore. Long silver earrings hung from Selena’s ears, and her wrists were blinged out.

“Are you going to keep judging me, or are we going to this club? You’re supposed to be helping me take my mind off my problems, remember?”

“You know what,” Octavia put the car in drive, “you’re absolutely right. My bad. Here we go.” She pulled away from the curb. “But just for the record, you didn’t give me any slack when Jonathon and I were just friends.”

“Mmhmm yada ya,” Selena said, waving Octavia off.

The women rode through Chicago’s eastside, headed for the highway. Selena wanted to keep her mind off of Jordan tonight. He hadn’t called today, and she hadn’t reached out to him either. Maybe he was keeping Madison warm, she thought, then bit down on her lip. Selena wasn’t kidding herself. She hoped Jordan was caught up in the drama of a court case and not Madison’s bed. The visualization of it ruffled her feathers and gave her an immediate attitude.

Selena sighed. She should’ve never put herself in this predicament. Just because Jordan’s brothers had settled down didn’t mean he would. Selena rolled her eyes at her audacity. Dumb, she thought again. As Octavia drove, Selena reached for the radio dial, needing to steer her mind in a different direction. She found a popular music station that was playing Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s new song, “Finesse.”

“Oh, that’s my jam,” Octavia said, increasing the volume.

Selena and Octavia rocked side to side to the beat as they tunneled down the road. Pulling down the visor, Selena checked her golden-brown foundation, finding it mixing perfectly with her bronze skin. She rubbed her lips together and puckered them in the mirror as she turned her head side to side to admire the blush on her high cheekbones. The mascara added the perfect shadow over her deep-set espresso eyes, and she posed as an alluring smile crept across her mouth. Tonight, instead of wearing color, her lips held a nude glossy sparkle that shone like a galaxy of stars. In her peripheral, Selena could see Octavia eyeing her.

“What is it?” Selena asked.

“I was going to compliment you on your glittery lip gloss. It’s cute.”

“Thanks.”

“I also like the way your hair falls after you wrap it. What shampoo do you use because you always have a bounce?”

Selena sat back, closed the visor, and glanced over at her friend.

“Is this your way of trying to make up to me for all of that judging you did a few minutes ago?”

Octavia twisted her lips. “Is it that obvious?”

Selena nodded. “Pretty much.”

Octavia sighed. “Is it working?”

“Maybe.”

That brought a smile to Octavia’s face. “Well, I’m being honest. I do like your shiny lip gloss, and your hair stays flawlessly straight.”

Selena smiled. “That’s because I use the creamy crack,” she said, referring to the relaxer she added to her hair every month faithfully.

At the mention of a perm, Octavia’s nose scrunched.

“Hey,” Selena said before Octavia could say anything about it. “You do what you like, and I do what I like. If I didn’t relax my hair, I’d be walking around here looking like Celie from The Color Purple.”

Octavia guffawed and turned into the parking lot of the Velvet Café.

“You would so not look like Celie.”

“Damn lie,” Selena responded.

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