Page 62 of Dawning and Resurgence

Malin glared at me like I offended her. “Girl, Jessup is not Dre. Don’t forget I have a ring.”

She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers, exposing the six-carat diamond she had been sporting for almost two years now.

“That ring is not a guarantee, Mal.”

“Jessup isn’t crazy. He knows better than to make me plan this damn wedding if he’s not serious about it.”

“Does he?”

“Yes, he does and if not, I would leave his ass so quickly he wouldn’t remember what I looked like after I was gone. The only thing he would know for sure is that he lost the best thing that ever happened to him.” She flashed a confident smile and I shook my head, grinning when she added, “And don’t forget I was the one who convinced you to leave Dre when I realized he was full of shit.”

“You did, but it’s not always easy to follow the advice you give, Mal,” I warned and she shrugged.

“If it comes to that I won’t have that problem, but you’re coming to my wedding, right? You have to be there.”

“I don’t know, Mal.”

“If this is about Dre, then fuck him. His loss and if it comes down to you or him, Dre won’t be there, you will.”

“Pick a date first and we’ll see.”

“You ain’t shit.” She threw the straw wrapper at me then her expression turned serious. “Speaking of…”

We’d survived an entire hour without her bringing up last night or mentioning Ezekiel. I knew what was coming, but I didn’t know what I would tell her. Hell it was still new to me. Very new. I could feel him as I shifted in my chair.

I narrowed my eyes and she matched my stare. “If I ask you a question about all this, are you going to tell me the truth?”

“I’ll always tell you the truth, Mal, but if it’s something I’m not ready to discuss, I won’t.”

“Are you dating that guy you were with last night?”

“Yes.”

“You said he was your boss.”

“He is, by default. The foundation I work for is doing work with him.”

“Okay but why not just say you were dating when I asked who he was last night.”

“That part didn’t happen until after we left the club.”

“Afterhe found out about Dre?”

I tensed at the assumption.

“It wasn’t about Dre.,” I defended.

“Are you sure? Because men and their egos are a bad combination. How much did you complain about Dre playing games with you? Saying all he wanted was to lock you down? How do you know this is not the same thing?”

“It’s not. Dre and Ezekiel are nothing alike.”

“They might not look alike but they’re similar, Jhorie. You’re staying here so he has money. He was there last night to meet with Adrian McCants. Even if you don’t know who he is because you chose not to get deep in their business like that, you do know what he’s about. That means they’re into the same shit. They are the same, just living on different coasts.”

I laughed dryly. “I can see how you might think they’re the same but they’re not. Not even close.”

“You’re my best friend, Jhorie. We’ve been rocking for a long time so I care. I just want you to be happy…”

“I am.”

---