Chapter 8
“Be careful,” I warned as I caught Sloan before she fell to the floor. “Are you okay?”
I stepped back to look into her eyes and noticed the tears. She tried wiping them, but they kept coming.
“I’m okay. I have to go.”
Sloan tried to step around me, but I stopped her. Her back was to me, but I turned her around. Tears continued to stream down her face, and she looked everywhere but at me. My jaw ticked because my thoughts automatically went to her husband doing something to her.
I’d been waiting to see her, but I didn’t want to see her like this. Something was wrong, and I would get to the bottom of it. At least, I hoped she would feel comfortable enough to tell me. It had been years since we saw each other, but not much about me had changed.
“You know how I feel about you crying, Sloan. Tell me what happened.”
She dropped her head and stared at the floor. Whatever it was really fucked with her because she hadn’t looked at me one time or stopped crying.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She wiped her face with her hands.
It didn’t help, though, because her eyes were red and puffy.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. How about we go get an early dinner or something? I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to drive like this.”
I could see the hesitation on her face, but I couldn’t let her leave in the state she was in. It would fuck with me if she drove and got into an accident because she wasn’t focused.
“Listen. No pressure. I just want to make sure you are good and safe. Ain’t shit changed between us, Sloan, but time. We were friends before any of this other shit going on in our lives.”
I glanced at her ring, but I wasn’t worrying about that. Her husband was nobody to me, and I didn’t owe him any loyalty. If he was the cause of her tears, then he would have to face the consequences of losing her.
“Um. Okay.” She finally agreed after a few long, tense seconds.
“I’ll drive. My car is in the back garage.” I grabbed her hand and led her toward the elevator.
We stood in silence while we waited for the elevator to come. It didn’t matter if we talked or not. I just wanted to be around her. All night, I thought about seeing her again. I just hated that it had to be this way.
“Do you have a taste for something specific?”
“No. It doesn’t matter. I’m not that hungry.” She kept her head down, and she sounded so defeated.
When the doors opened, I let Sloan enter first. She hurried to the corner, so I figured she didn’t want me close to her.
I respected her space and stood in the opposite corner but didn’t take my eyes off her.
I hated the sadness in her eyes. Whatever happened must not have been an emergency since she didn’t automatically leave.
That was a little relief because that must have meant the people in her life were at least safe.
While we rode the elevator down, I sent a quick message to one of my homeboys.
Not too far from the hospital, there was a lounge with private seating and a private entrance.
We could have gone to a regular restaurant, but I wanted to be as discreet as possible since Sloan wasn’t in the best state of mind.
Plus, I didn’t think she wanted anyone to see her with me.
This was my hometown, so most of the time, people didn’t bother me, but still.
I didn’t want to do anything that could cause problems in her marriage.
“I got you,” I reassured her as the elevator door opened. I grabbed Sloan’s hand and led her to where I parked.
Sloan stopped in her tracks when we made it to my car.
“Calil, how am I supposed to get in this small ass car?”
I chuckled and opened the doors. Sloan’s eyes widened when the doors went up.
“Easy. It’s not as small as it looks. Trust me.”
She twirled her wedding band around, but I didn’t pay it any mind. She was nervous, and I understood it, but I wasn’t worrying about that shit. We didn’t know each other as adults, and she was married, so I was just trying to be a friend.
Sloan moved closer to the car and got inside.
Once she was fully seated, I winked and closed the door.
When I got inside, I turned the car on. I looked over at Sloan, but she had her eyes closed.
I was surprised she didn’t react to the roar of my engine, but she seemed to be in a whole different world.
I wouldn’t bother her. I assumed she needed a moment to process whatever bothered her.
I was in my thoughts the whole way to the lounge.
I never thought Sloan and I would ever be in each other’s presence again.
We were just going to have a friendly meal, but it was still surreal to me.
When we arrived, I parked near the back entrance and shut the car off.
I had a sports car and liked to drive as fast as legally possible, so it didn’t take long to get there.
“Sloan, we’re here.”
She looked around confused for a second before she noticed where we were. She had fallen asleep, and I prayed she felt a little better after her quick nap. Her eyes were still sad.
Back when we dated, I hated seeing Sloan sad or crying.
I wanted to fix things for her but couldn’t sometimes.
Just like when I broke up with her, that was the hardest shit for me to do, but it was the right thing to do.
I would have fucked her up even more if I would have stayed with her and been on the shit I was on back then.
At least I broke up with her before I could cheat on her.
Sloan stretched and grabbed the bag she’d placed on the floor when we got in the car.
“Are we going to run into paparazzi here?”
“No. We’re good here. I sent a message to the owner to make sure we could use the back entrance and that we weren’t bothered by anyone but the wait staff.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t you dare touch that door,” I told her when she reached for the door handle.
That gesture made me think Sloan married a clown because she should have known not to touch a door handle whenever she was in the presence of a man.
The thought of her being with someone who treated her less than the queen she is bothered me.
I got out and walked around to her side of the car then helped her out.
It only took a couple of steps before we were at the back door. I did my signature knock, and someone opened the door a minute later.
“Mr. Cooper, Mr. Thomas told us you were coming. Welcome to OG’s Lounge.”
“Thank you.” I stepped back so Sloan could enter first, then followed behind her.
I bit my bottom lip as I watched the sway of her hips in the black skirt she wore. She was going through something, and I shouldn’t have looked at her the way I did, but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t get over how much she had filled out over the years.
We were led to a table and given menus. The server told us he would be back to take our orders. Sloan looked around and leaned over the table.
“Where is everyone?” she whispered, and I chuckled.
“There is no everyone. It’s just you and me.”
“How, though? You didn’t know if you would even see me or if I would agree to eat with you.”
I picked up the menu even though I already knew what I would get.
“I had a hunch.”
My homeboy Aaron was the owner of OGs. We met years ago when his wife, Chelsea, did a tattoo for me.
She was cold with it and had been the only person I let tat me up since.
Aaron gave me an open invitation to his lounge whenever I was in town.
It didn’t matter if they were open or not.
Apparently, he always had a chef and a server or server on standby for VIP guests, and I was one of them.
This was my first time using my special privileges, but I appreciated him for giving me the opportunity.
I got VIP treatment wherever I went, especially in Woodlake, but I didn’t always use it.
I didn’t want to be treated differently from anyone else, but this time, it came in handy.