Page 34 of Girl, We Go Together
“Okay,” I whispered after a long pause. “Ladies’ night.”
Zynea squealed. “That’s what I like to hear! I’ll text you the details. Trust me, by the end of the night, you're going to remember who the hell you are.”
When the call ended, I stood there staring at my reflection. Lowly, I played some music and then dug through the closet for something to wear. After finally finding something that I thought I would be pleased with, I laid it out on the bed before rushing back into the bathroom to tend to my makeup and hair. It took me no time to press my hair straight and give myself a natural beat. I stood in front of the long mirror in the bedroom, tugging at my top. The leather skirt hugged my hips tighter than I remembered. My thighs pressed together in the knee-high boots, and though I tried to keep my chin up, the reflection staring back at me reminded me of the fifteen pounds I’d just seen on the scale earlier.
Still, I pushed past my insecurities and started to put hoop earrings in my ears. Zynea was right; I needed this. The bedroom door creaked open behind me, and I caught Orion’s reflection inthe mirror. He leaned on the doorframe with his eyes hooded, just watching me.
“You going somewhere?” His voice was calm, casual, but I could hear the weight underneath.
“Yeah,” I said, tugging at the hem of my top again. I was struggling to get it to lie right over my chest. “Zynea wants a ladies’ night. Just drinks and music… nothing too crazy.”
He didn’t answer right away. He just kept staring, and I could feel his eyes tracing every curve, every inch of me as I twisted in the mirror. Then, when I finally managed to pull the top down, he let out a low chuckle that made my stomach knot.
“You gained weight,” he said flatly. “I can tell. Look at you struggling just to put that shirt on.”
The words sliced deeper than I expected. My hands froze mid-adjustment, and for a second, I didn’t recognize the girl staring back in the mirror. I didn’t recognize the way her confidence shrank under his voice. For a minute, I didn’t recognize him either. Over the past year, he had given little jabs here and there, but nothing this outright and disrespectful. I forced a laugh, though it sounded shaky.
“You really had to say that?”
He shrugged, pushing off the doorframe to walk closer. “I’m just being real. You know I don’t sugarcoat shit. That skirt is barely holding on.”
My chest tightened, but I smoothed my skirt down anyway, turning away from him.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m still going.”
I could tell he was trying to kill my vibe, so I wouldn’t go, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. He tilted his head, studying me like I was some puzzle he couldn’t figure out. His lips curved into a smirk, but his eyes stayed sharp.
“A leather skirt, high boots, all that… for a ladies’ night? You sure you ain’t trying to get somebody’s attention?”
I bit down on my tongue, not giving him the satisfaction of a reply. I grabbed my bag and lipstick off the dresser and then brushed past him with my chin held high. Inside, though, his words weighed heavily, sinking into every part of me he already knew was insecure. Still, I wasn’t backing out. Not tonight. I couldn’t wait to get out and finally let loose.
The bass from the speakers vibrated through my chest as I sipped on my cocktail, letting the sweet burn loosen me up. Zynea was already halfway to tipsy, laughing so loud she drew eyes from the bar. At the same time, Brandi and Ali swayed to the beat, pulling me out onto the dance floor with them. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt light. The music wrapped around me. My boots stomped against the floor, and my leather skirt moved as I swayed. We clinked glasses, laughed, and for a few minutes, I forgot about the heaviness of the past year, forgot about Orion’s distance, and forgot about how insecure I felt earlier, tugging at this top.
Then the music cut out for a second. A voice came over the mic, smooth but commanding.
“Y’all look like y’all enjoying the night, and I want y’all to get back to it…”
I froze mid-step. My stomach dropped as the crowd shifted their attention to the man standing near the DJ booth. I knew that voice well. I slept next to it every night.
“But I’m looking for my bitch.”
My heart slammed in my chest. I wondered how Orion had even found me. Even in the dim lights, I could see the set of his jaw, the way his eyes scanned the crowd like he was ready to burn the whole club down until he found me. Zynea’s smile fellinstantly, and then her hand flew to her mouth. Brandi arched an eyebrow, smirking like she’d been waiting on something like this, while Ali leaned closer to me and whispered.
“I know that’s not your nigga. Oh, hell no.”
The whole room seemed to pause as his words hung in the air, and I stood there rooted to the spot, caught between humiliation, anger, and fear of what was about to happen next. My heart pounded so loud in my mind that it was louder than any music that was playing moments ago.
“She’s in a leather skirt, knee-high boots with a white top. Her hair is down and straight, although she usually wears curls.
He was giving the whole breakdown of me, and I was so damn embarrassed. I wanted to sink into the floor. I could feel the weight of everyone’s stares shifting toward me, like the whole club had been given a description and now they were on a scavenger hunt. Then, his tone shifted from playful to low and dangerous.
“Y’all got five minutes. If she ain’t brought to the front, I’ll shut this whole muthafucking place down. Tick tock.”
He placed the microphone at his side, and the room buzzed like a live wire. People whispered as they pointed. Even the DJ looked nervous. My cheeks burned hot, shame and anger mixed in my chest. I hadn’t even thought I looked all that good tonight. For the past year, he had paid little, if any, attention to me, but the minute I got dressed up and went outside, he wanted to show his ass. I didn’t even care about how I looked tonight. I wrestled with this top, hating how snug it was, so the last thing I needed was Orion calling attention to me.
For someone who didn’t even seem interested in my attire, he had a sure way of showing off his possessive habits tonight. I had never been through something like this before in my life. Watching the crowd look around for me was so unsettling. So embarrassing, but under the embarrassment was somethingelse… fear. Not fear of Orion exactly, but of what he would do. After all, I did know about him killing a man. So, when he said he’d shut the place down, I believed him. He walked into a full club and commanded the attention of fucking everyone. He stood on that stage without showing a weapon, but it was evident that he had one.
I wondered how he even slithered his way past security with one. I also wondered why the fuck they hadn’t grabbed him off the stage yet. The fear in some people’s eyes as they scanned the room for me had my breath caught in my throat. And now I had a choice. To stay planted and let this blow up in front of everybody, or turn myself over to him and get this scene over with. Either way, I could feel every pair of eyes in Secret Obsessions scavenging.
