27. Laila
Laila
Zara and I clink our glasses together before we tap them on the bar and then down our shots. I grimace at the burn of the liquor and then take a sip of my mixed drink to chase it.
“Another round?” I ask.
“Listen, I’m all for you having a good time,” Zara says. “But drowning yourself in liquor isn’t going to make you feel better about Sonny, babe.”
I frown. “It’s not about him.”
Zara rolls her eyes at me and in a joking voice says, “Lie detector has determined that’s a lie. Try again.”
“It’s not,” I argue. “You’re the one who always wants me to come out and have fun, and here I am.”
“I do, but I also want you to be happy and not just here because you’re trying to avoid thinking about that man that you’re mad at.”
“I’m not mad at him,” I say, sighing. “I’m just… sad. I feel like we were in this little bubble and then someone came and popped it, and now we’re out in the open for all to see.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of celebrities who don’t share all their business and Sonny wasn’t one of them to begin with.”
“Maybe,” I reply, noncommittally.
Zara wants to argue more with me but she doesn’t. Instead she turns and flags the bartender down and orders us more shots of vodka.
Deep down, I know she’s right because truthfully I don’t want to be here.
I want to be able to go back to two weeks ago before everything changed.
But I can’t and I couldn’t stand one more second of wallowing in my apartment so a night out at Oasis with vodka shots and Moscow Mules was the next logical option in my eyes.
It’s been almost two weeks since those pictures and articles came out and I feel like I’ve only just now been able to come up for air after being blindsided seeing my face all over the media.
I deleted all social media off my phone after one late night of reading mean comments about myself and besides work, I haven’t left my apartment until now. Tonight I’m determined not to think about any of it. I just want to have some fun.
We stay by the bar instead of finding seating somewhere else tonight. It’s not very busy and the vibes are good. We talk and drink and I finally start to feel myself relax and enjoy the night. Zara and I decide to take another round of shots, the last ones before we plan to call it a night.
“Next round is on me,” a voice says from my left.
I turn to see who is speaking to us and annoyance immediately sparks when I see who it is.
Devin is sitting on the stool next to me with a smirk on his face, a glass of Jack and Coke most likely, in his hand.
“I’m actually done for the night, so no thanks,” I say.
“Let me pick up your tab then.”
“No.”
I flick my hair over my shoulder and turn back to Zara prepared to tell her that I’m ready to leave when Devin interjects again, his tone filled with condescension.
“It’s just a drink Laila. No big deal.”
“I’m not interested,” I say.
“Why are you even here?” Zara cuts in. “Don’t you have a baby you need to be tending to.”
“I’m here talking to Laila,” he says.
“We don’t have shit to talk about,” I reply.
Devin takes a sip of his drink. “You’re fucking a new nigga and think you’re all that now huh? Only washed up singers do it for you now.”
“Get the fuck out my face Devin.”
Devin holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I was just trying to be nice, no need to be so hostile.”
“If you think that’s hostile you haven’t seen anything yet. Why don’t you go on and bother someone else.”
“I was just being nice and offering to get you a drink. Didn’t realize that was such a problem.”
I feel Bryce’s presence before he even speaks. The warmth of his body near mine brings goosebumps to my arms, his cologne in my nostrils so familiar.
“Your ears must need to be checked because you clearly can’t take a hint,” Bryce says to Devin. “I think it’s time for you to get up outta here.”
Devin chuckles and takes a sip from his drink. “Good thing I didn’t ask what you thought.”
“You’ve clearly misunderstood. It wasn’t a suggestion,” Bryce says.
Xavier comes up behind Devin with another man who must be security. The security guard taps him on the shoulder and says something low in his ear.
“What I’m getting asked to leave over a bitch I was trying to be nice to?” Devin says, his voice exasperated as if I was the one who did something to him.
Before the words have even fully left his mouth, I toss the contents of my glass in Devin’s direction.
Most of the liquid hits him square in the chest, soaking his shirt.
He jumps up and starts yelling, cursing at me but I’m already walking away, moving as fast as my legs will take me because all of this is just too much.
Instead of heading towards the exit, I find myself down one of the service hallways, the lights dim and the walls black, an area clearly not meant for patrons to be in. I turn on my heel and face Bryce who’s been only a few paces behind me this whole time.
“Are you following me now?”
“You’re in my lounge, but you think I’m the one following you?”
I let out an exasperated sigh, ready to turn around and get out of here when Bryce stops me, grabbing my arm.
“To answer your question, no. Tristan had some things that he wanted me to look over tonight. He had some opportunities that he thought I might be interested in investing in. I was headed out when I saw that nigga all in your face. I went over to make sure you were good.”
“You didn’t need to do that.”
“If you think that when I see another nigga, talking crazy in my girl’s face and I’m not gonna step in then you’ve got it all wrong,” Bryce says shaking his head.
“Well I’m sure it gave all the blogs and news outlets even more to talk about.”
“Fuck them and what they have to say,” he says. “It doesn’t matter.”
“That’s so easy for you to say,” I reply. “You’re not the one getting vile shit said about them, getting called a whore and a gold digger for even being associated with you.”
Bryce closes the small distance between us and brings his hands up to hold the sides of my face.
“I’m sorry,” he says, holding the sides of my face. “You don’t deserve to have your privacy violated like that-, or for people to think it’s okay to say horrible things about you. You told me your boundaries and I didn’t do enough to protect them. I won’t make that same mistake again.”
I force myself to take a step back, my mind filled with conflicting emotions because as much as I want to let Bryce in, it all feels like too much, too vulnerable. Bryce’s hands fall from my face and he shoves his hands in his pockets.
“I think we both need to take some time to figure this all out,” I say, looking down at my feet.
“I think that you’re using that as an excuse to push me away.”
I don’t have a response for that, not a good one, anyway. I am pushing him away. It’s easier than facing all the emotions that have been welling up inside of me, the hard parts that are uncomfortable to tackle. It’s easier to simply walk away.
I push past Bryce to walk back the way I came. “I gotta go find Zara.”
I’m almost at the end of the hallway when I hear Bryce’s voice behind me. “I don’t need time to figure anything out. I want you and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of that, even your doubts.”