Page 48 of Girl, We Go Together
Lamont
The thread was still there from last week. His bold words, the ones I never answered. Before I could second-guess myself, I typed.
You still serious about dinner?
I hit send, and instantly, my heart started pounding. A part of me prayed he wouldn’t answer. But another part of me, the part aching to feel wanted again, was already waiting for his reply. The message had barely left my screen before the bubbles popped up. My chest tightened as I stared, frozen, until his reply landed.
I’ve been waiting for you to say that. Name the place, Cay. Any night, I’m there.
He didn’t hesitate, not even a little. It was like he’d been sitting with his phone in his hand, hoping I’d finally cave. Right when I was debating on just leaving this one like the last messages on seen, another message dropped right after.
As a matter of fact, don’t even worry about it. Friday night. I’ll pick you up. Just tell me where.
My heart was beating unevenly as nerves started to take over my body. I glanced toward the hallway where Orion’s footsteps had disappeared, where the distance between us had stretched so wide I didn’t know how to pull it back. And honestly, I didn’t even want to. Then, I looked back at Lamont’s name glowing on my screen. His words were laced with promise, and that made me feel secure. Like this time around, maybe he wouldn’t fumble. My fingers hovered over our messages. They trembled a bit before I started typing.
I’ll let you know.
I didn’t hit send right away. I had carefully and quietly taken Oriana upstairs and laid her on her bed. Once I made it to the bedroom, I stared at the baby monitor. Oriana’s tiny breaths filled the room. I pulled my phone from the pocket of my robe, and then my thumb pressed down, and the message flew out. The second it did, a shiver ran through me. The feeling was cloaked in fear and excitement. I set the phone face down on the nightstand, my heart still racing from the message I’d just sent. Before I could breathe, Orion’s footsteps sounded up the stairs.
He came into the room slowly while rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes looked tired, like he had been outside mentally battling our discussion. I knew he hadn’t driven off because he didn’t take his keys with him. Maybe he went for a walk or sat on the porch. I didn’t even bother asking him where he had gone because I didn’t care.
“Cay… my bad,” he muttered while sitting on the edge of the bed. “I ain’t mean to make you feel less than. I didn’t mean to downplay your feelings, and I ain’t been showing you enough love.”
I kept my eyes on the baby monitor, afraid he’d see too much if I met his gaze. He reached for my hand. His touch was warm, and the callous in the palm of his hand rubbed against the softness of mine.
“You’re beautiful, you hear me? I don’t care what’s on the Gram, I don’t care what anybody else got going on. You my family, and I love you.”
Well, him owning up to his shit wasn’t on my Bingo card for the evening. The words landed heavily in my chest, almost breaking me. Part of me wanted to believe him, but the other part, the louder part, was already locked on Friday night. I couldn’t deny how badly I wanted to see Lamont again. I was intrigued by the possibility of feeling wanted in a way Orion’s late apology couldn’t undo. I forced a smile.
“I love you too,” I whispered while squeezing his hand back.
But in my mind, the decision had already been made. Friday night, guess who was showing up to dinner? I was.
Chapter 17
Orion
Something wasn’t sitting right with me. Cayla had been moving differently all week. She was quieter, always on her phone, and pulling away when I reached for her. I told myself I was tripping, but tonight? Tonight sealed it. She came out of the bedroom in a fitted dress. I ain’t seen her wear one of those since before the baby. Her nails were freshly done, her hair was laid, and her toes were white-tipped like she was going on a damn date.
“You look nice,” I said, leaning back on the couch.
Oriana was asleep in the bassinet beside me.
“Thanks,” she said quickly while grabbing her car keys from her purse. “I’m meeting up with Zynea, so I need you to watch the baby tonight.”
That’s when the alarm bells went off. Because just an hour ago, while scrolling on Instagram, I saw that Zynea had posted a boomerang of a basketball court… in Phoenix. Thousands of miles away. I kept my face neutral as I began to nod like I believed her.
“Yeah, I got Oriana. Have fun.”
She smiled a little too tightly and kissed the baby before heading out the door. Her ass didn’t even give me a fucking kiss. The second it closed, I stood up, heat boiling in my chest.
“So, you're lying to me now, Cayla?” I said out loud, but more to myself.
Quickly, I ran to the kitchen and dug through the junk drawer until I found the Air Tag I’d bought months back and never used. My hands shook as I slipped outside. I went to the driver's side of her car and knocked for her to roll the window down.
Slowly, she let the window come down.
“No kiss for me?”
