Page 25 of Until the Ink Dries

Tierra finally left and Benjamin wasn’t too far behind. He looked embarrassed as he apologized to me before leaving the gym. I turned to Jordan and Shirah.

“They have a baby?” I asked.

Jordan nodded. “Yeah… not my boy’s proudest moment. Not baby girl, but Tierra.”

“Are they together?”

“Hell no. It’s not my place to speak on their shit, just know he’s single and if he wasn’t, Tierra would be the last person he’d run back to.” He tried to lighten the mood. “How about a dance? Your knees good to go, Shirah?”

“For you? I’ll make something shake.”

Jordan grinned. “I hope so. You coming, Willow?” he asked. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be sandwiched between you two.”

Shirah smacked his arm, causing him to laugh. “Don’t play with me or my girl like that.”

“I’m joking! Stop abusing me.”

She bucked at him before turning to me. “You coming, boo?”

“Nah. You two go ahead. I’m gonna grab another drink.”

They shrugged and headed back to the dance floor. I went back to the bar and ordered something a little stronger. Taking a seat, I made sure to face the door in case Benjamin came back in. Concern for him flooded my core. I wasn’t even sure if he would come back, so I guess this was going to be a waiting game.

When he didn’t come back after a while, I began to worry. As hype as Tierra was, anything could have transpired in the parking lot. Deciding to check on him, I stood from my seat and made my way outside to look for him. It took about five minutes to locate him, and I was only able to because he was sitting in a truck under a lamp post. He seemed a little out of it because even as I approached the truck, he didn’t move. Raising my hand, I gently tapped the window.

His gaze slowly drifted over to me, and he rolled the window down. I offered a soft smile.

“I know tonight has been long for you, but do you mind giving me a ride home? I

Benjamin clicked the locks. “Get in.”

* * *

CURRENTLY

The car ride with Benjamin was pretty silent for a little while. When I approached his window, I could tell he had been crying and I felt bad. I wasn’t sure what transpired between him and Tierra outside, but I knew it couldn’t have been good. Peering over at him, I sensed that he was in deep thought.

“Benjamin?” I said softly.

He didn’t look at me, but he did respond. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I’m here if you want to talk.”

Finally, he looked over at me. “I appreciate that, Willow. You hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“I don’t really feel like being around too many people right now, so we could grab something and go back to my place.”

“Your place?”

“Why not? You already bore witness to my business tonight. You might as well come up.”

I simply nodded. “Well, okay. It is still early and my date left me for yours.”

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