Chapter 15 #2
“You ready?” Hasheem’s fingers tightened around mine as he guided me through the crowd. I nodded my head, but my heart was pounding. I could feel eyes on us, heads turning, and whispers as we walked by. Here we go. I lifted my chin as we stepped fully into the sand.
“Wow.” Simone’s voice cut through the noise before I could take another step. “You must really love him to walk back all cozied up with him after he was in my bed a few hours ago.”
“Simone,” Hasheem said, his fingers tightening around mine. “Kill the bullshit. Harlowe already knows why I went to your room,” he went on. “I told her everything, including how ugly that damn robe was. You don’t have anything to hold over me. Go do yo’ damn job.”
“Right.” She laughed. “You don’t have to lie to her, Hasheem. I think it’s time she knows it’s always been me.”
“Come on.” Hasheem’s thumb stroked the back of my hand, guiding me around her. “We’re done talking to this delusional broad.”
I nodded, rolling my eyes at Simone. It was nothing she could say that would make me believe her over Hashy. I already believed him. We’d barely taken two steps before Simone slid in front of us again, blocking the path.
“Don’t walk away from me,” she snapped, eyes cutting between us.
“I gave you this opportunity. This whole trip?” She tapped her chest. “That was me. And now the two of you want to act like I’m a nuisance?
” Her voice dropped as she stepped closer to me.
Her words fell through clenched teeth and a fake smile.
“I made all this happen. You wouldn’t be here without me, Harlowe.
One email from me, and Duality will cancel your contract.
I can make it all go away. Every brand in this space will know you’re messy and unprofessional.
No more trips. No more collabs. No more brand deals.
” Her mouth curved like she won. “But hey, at least you got the man, right?”
That was it. This bobble head bitch had lost her damn mind. I closed the last few inches between us. I was done playing nice.
“Let’s clear a couple of things up,” I said.
“You didn’t make me. You didn’t build my platform.
You weren’t up at three a.m. editing videos or reading books so I could talk about them.
I did that. My readers did that. Duality saw that.
” Her mouth moved like she was about to argue, but I kept going.
“You can’t take what you didn’t build.” Hasheem’s arm slid around my waist, tugging me back against him.
“Same way you didn’t give me this man . . . and the same way you can’t take him.”
Simone’s brows flew up, and I smirked at the bothered look on her face.
“Come on, babe,” he said to me, not even giving her another glance.
“Everything is about to start. I want to get some footage of you on the blankets for the page.” He steered us past her, leaving her standing there looking stupid.
By the time we made it to the empty blanket Tiana and Malik had been saving for us, Tiana was halfway out of her earrings.
Malik had one hand on her knee, like he was trying to calm her down.
“It was about to get real ghetto up in paradise if that ho ain’t get out yo’ face,” Tiana muttered, sliding her earrings back in as we walked up. “I was one second away from catching a case on this beach.”
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.
“Y’all good?” Malik asked, eyes bouncing between us and the direction Simone stormed off.
“We’re great.” Hasheem nodded as he helped me lower onto the blanket.
“Good,” Tiana and Malik said in unison. We all settled onto the blankets.
Tiana and Malik on one side, me and Hasheem on the other.
A few of the Duality hosts stepped into the center of the heart with mics in their hands, and I quickly noticed that Simone was missing.
Good. Hopefully, I didn’t have to see her ass for the rest of the trip.
“Alright, beautiful people,” the staff member called, getting everyone’s attention.
“First, thank you again for trusting us with your Valentine’s Day, your stories, and your love.
We have gotten such amazing footage this weekend.
” A few couples clapped and cheered. “We’ve got one last surprise for you before we close out,” she went on.
“A little word from our founders, Kellon and Phileigh Barnes.”
They dimmed the lights around the circle and the portable screen lit up with Kellon and Phileigh.
Everyone smiled as they came onto the screen laughing and giving advice about communication and love.
It should have had me on cloud nine. Instead, I was in a weird head space from that run in with Simone.
“You good?” Hasheem leaned closer, sensing my mood.
“I’m settling,” I whispered, eyes pinned to the screen. “Trying not to let Simone get to me.”
“Don’t worry about her. If she try anything, she’ll regret it.” He pulled me into his side, and I tried to focus on the screen. Heavy on tried. But on the other side of the circle, two women were whispering about me. I could hear them loud and clear.
“That’s him, right?” One of them said. “The one who was in the room with that staff girl?”
“Girl, yes. And she still sitting next to him? Couldn’t be me.”
“Girl, shh. They can hear you.”
I kept my eyes on the screen and took a slow sip, but I angled my head just enough to catch them in my peripheral to let them see I’d heard every word. The video blurred a little and the Duality logo filled the screen. The video ended, and the host came back on the mic.
“Weren’t they amazing?” She beamed. “Okay, one last thing before we let y’all loose on the dance floor.
We thought it would be fun to end with a quick little game of Never Have I Ever.
Y’all know we like games.” A couple of the husbands groaned, and somebody laughed in response.
“Nothing too wild,” she promised. “Just honesty and a little liquid courage to wrap up your last night in Zanzibar. We’ll go around the circle.
You say your ‘never have I ever,’ and anybody it applies to takes a sip. ”
Staff immediately started passing little paper cups around and set a big bottle of tequila on every couple’s blanket.
It was on brand for this trip for there to be no shortage of alcohol.
I took the bottle and poured myself a drink, ready for the chance to take it to the head.
The first few couples started very light.
“Never have I ever fallen asleep mid-argument.”
“Never have I ever slid in my partner’s DMs first.”
“Never have I ever lied about liking a gift.”
People were laughing, drinking, kissing, and leaning into each other like they didn’t have a care in the world.
And for the first time on this trip, Hasheem and I matched the vibe.
I was cozy between his legs with his arm draped around me.
Every now and then, he dipped his head and whispered some slick little comment in my ear that had me snorting into my cup.
From the outside, nobody watching would guess we’d only made it official yesterday.
The mic kept moving around the circle, couples lifting their cups, groaning, and laughing at all the confessions as the tequila made its rounds.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Simone posted up near one of the cameras, tablet in hand.
She leaned in close to another Duality staffer and whispered something that had both of their eyes shooting in my direction.
My stomach flipped, and I blew out a deep breath.
I’d let Simone spin her version of me and Hasheem for damn near a year now.
I was not about to let her control the narrative of this trip too.
By the time the mic finally landed in my hands, my chest was tight, but my mind was made up. I lifted my cup and my truth fell out.
“Never have I ever,” I started, my voice shaking, “taken a couples’ brand trip despite not having a man, begged my best friend to pretend to be my boyfriend so I wouldn’t lose the opportunity.
. . and then actually fell in love with him on said trip, only for me to catch him coming out of his half-naked ex-fiancée’s room while the sprinklers were going off. ”
A few people let out an uncomfortable laugh under their breath, then realized I was dead ass serious.
“Never have I ever,” I went on, “found out that he was actually in her room because he’d just found out that same ex didn’t call off their engagement because she was uncomfortable with our friendship like she told everybody, even though I was the one that set them up .
. . but because she’s a cheater, cheater pumpkin eater who slept with his brother and lied on me to make herself feel better.
” I blew out a deep breath before continuing.
“And never have I ever had to look that same best friend in the face and decide I’m done letting other people’s lies write our story, even if loving him in public scares the hell out of me.
” Silence. All I could hear was the sound of the waves.
I tipped my cup back, proud of myself, and drank. No one else moved.
“Damn, girl,” a woman across from us said softly. “That was real specific.”
A hysterical little laugh fell from my throat.
“Whew,” the host said after a beat, trying to sound upbeat and landing somewhere near rattled. “Thank you for your honesty, Harlowe. That was . . . real.”
I turned my head toward Simone and the Duality team. Their cameras were still pointed at us, red lights blinking.
“You were so pressed to tell my business,” I said, locking eyes with Simone.
“Consider it told. If you don’t want to use our footage after this, that’s fine with me.
No hard feelings. Y’all don’t have to worry about me coming to y’all launch party.
” A couple of people gasped. Someone choked on their drink.
“Thank you for the trip. Zanzibar was beautiful.”
Hasheem was on his feet in a heartbeat. “Come on, babe,” he said, pulling me up from the blanket and looping his arm through mine. His glare swept the circle. “Show’s over. And for the record”—he glanced back at Simone—“I wouldn’t cheat on a Bentley for a broke down Pinto.”
A few people laughed as he guided us out of the lopsided heart of lanterns and fairy lights, away from the cameras and the whispers. Once we were far enough down the beach that the music sounded like a memory, he squeezed and kissed my hand.
“I’m proud of you for telling it yourself.”
“I was not about to let her narrate my mess,” I said. “If it’s gonna be a messy origin story, it’ll be my version not hers.”
He laughed softly as he wrapped me in his arms, and something in my chest eased. It almost felt easy to believe we’d be okay. The fear of what came next was still in the back of my head, but for the first time all weekend, I wasn’t listening to it.