Page 33 of Plus Size Player

I nodded in his direction. “You, too.”

A few seconds passed before I saw my free tropical drink being made. The blue concoction with the purple flowers as an accent looked like it would taste good. But I got it because it complemented my purple outfit. As soon as the bartender placed the drink in front of me, I rigged my phone against a napkin dispenser and set the automatic timer.

“You want me to take it for you, shawty?” a man asked me, inviting himself to the empty barstool next to me.

“I think I got it,” I told him as I checked the photo and smiled. “Yeah, I got it.” My body turned to look at him. “But thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Your boyfriend isn’t going to kick my ass for sitting here, is he?”

I gave him a look. “Boyfriend?”

“That old man that was with you.” He pointed in the direction of the exit.

“Oh. Nah.”

“Well, either way, I’m glad you got your shot with your Blue Lagoon. Your thirty-dollar slushy.”

My brows furrowed at his mention of the cost. “Is that shade?”

“No, no, no. It’s an observation. You buying thirty-dollar drinks—”

“You seem obsessed with how much this drink costs.”

“I’m just trying to figure out who buys thirty-dollar drinks at the airport.”

I tilted my head and gave him a look. “If you can’t afford thisdrink, why do you think you can afford to go back and forth with me?”

His face contorted, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Who said I can’t afford it?”

I took a long sip. “The fact that you keep referencing the price is screaming that you can’t afford it.”

His jaw hardened. “I just figured if you were going to spend thirty dollars on something, it would be food.” He looked me up and down.

I let out a sarcastic laugh and took another sip. “Watch yourself.”

You…” He stopped, lifted his eyebrows, and then leaned back a little. “Wait, I know you from somewhere. You look mad familiar.”

I eyed the big man with the long locs and shook my head slowly. “Nah… I don’t think so.”

“Were you at Hamilton University the other night? At Dr. Reynolds’s lecture?”

“I was…” I said slowly.

“You almost ran into me and said watch yourself.”

My eyes widened as it clicked. “You were on your phone and not paying attention to where you were going.”

He pointed toward the exit. “And weren’t you withanother manthat night?”

“And?”

He narrowed his eyes and scoffed. “It’s just funny.”

“Why are you so worried about me and what I got going on?” I asked.

“Because it’s crazy how I ran into you twice and both times you were with somebody different.” His glare intensified. “I guess you put the eat in cheat.”

I put the straw to my lips. “You came over here talking to me, and now you’re taking shots at me.” Smirking, I shook my head. “It’s clear you’re broke financially, spiritually, and intellectually, so I’m going to just cut to the chase. You don’t have a chance with me. And I don’t want you to think it has anything to do with your little smart comment. I want to be clear when I say you never had a chance.”

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