Page 17 of Perfect Rhythm
I rolled my eyes at the mention of his name. “How did that go?”
“It was cool. I did my thing like always.”
“Babe, you good in there?” I heard Eli call out from the other side of the bathroom door.
“Well, I guess that’s my cue,” I said. “It was good seeing you.”
“Good seeing you too, girl. Oh, and quick question.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Are you and Shade fucking?”
I let out an exhausted sigh and shook my head. “Bye, Brookia.”
“Girl, you can tell me. I know how hard it is to keep your hands off these fine ass?—”
Ignoring her, I yanked the door open and walked out.
Eli stumbled back. “You good? You were in there a long time.”
“I’m fine. Can we please leave? I’m tired and I’m not really hungry anymore.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, sure.”
“What’s all that about?” I asked, confused by his change in attitude.
“Nothing.”
“No, apparently it’s something. What’s the deal?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one that left me at the table to fight off accusations about you fucking another nigga.”
“What? I didn’t leave you to fight off anything. I answered her questions.”
“Yeah, but your ass walked away like you were guilty.”
“No, I walked away because I was pissed off for even being put in that situation. Eli, you knew they were going to be here tonight. You wanted to prove a point, and that shit backfired.”
“It only backfired because you didn’t stand your ground and make it clear?—”
“You know what? I’m done listening to this. You’re not about to make your piss poor judgment my fault.”
“My piss poor judgement?” he spat. “You were the one dry humping your boss at the club on your birthday.”
Heat shot through my chest.
I clenched my jaw, tempted to swing on him, but held back. “Let’s just go.”
“You sure? Because I’m thinking we should go our separate ways tonight.”
“Wait, what?” My voice cracked. “Are you seriously talking about leaving me here?”
“Nah, I’ll call you a car and make sure you get home.”
I didn’t move. I just stared at him, waiting for him to tell me he was bullshitting.
But he didn’t.
