Chapter 4
Lauren
My nerves were getting the best of me. I sat there watching Bane look entirely too comfortable, casually munching on the appetizers and sipping his wine like he didn't have a single care in the world.
I was sweating bullets because Malcolm was supposed to pop up any minute, and I hadn't told him a damn thing about Bane being here.
Honestly, I didn't even know Bane was staying.
On the way here, he told me he was just going to wait out in the truck, but then he changed his mind.
When I tried to tell him no, he just laughed right in my face and asked me what I wanted to eat.
I just shut the fuck up after that, because what else was I supposed to say to him?
It was strictly a matter of 'I want this, Big Bane, please and thank you. '
To be fair, the man had been relatively calm and hadn't done anything crazy yet. He hadn't been tripping at all since we made love earlier. And then turned around and did it again right after. Yeah, basically I had been avoiding bending so he wouldn't get any more wild ideas.
The calm man fed me the rest of the appetizer while scrolling through his phone with his other hand. He paused, looking up to lock his dark eyes onto mine. "You look good, babygirl," he murmured.
I smiled, the tension leaving my shoulders for a split second. "Thank you, sweetheart."
I saw Malcolm approaching the table holding a fresh bouquet of flowers.
He had this huge, optimistic smile on his face, but the very second his eyes landed on Big Bane, that smile dropped straight to the floor.
Malcolm immediately got defensive, his chest puffing out as he glared at the table. “The fuck this nigga doing here?”
Bane didn't even blink. He leaned back in his chair, looking Malcolm up and down with indifference. “I go where I damn well please. What you gone do about it?”
“You caught me slipping last time, but I’ll beat yo ass, bruh. On some real shit,” Malcolm snapped, stepping right up to the edge of the table.
Bane just laughed, mocking the other man. I quickly reached out, trying to grab his arm, but he stood up too fast for me to catch him. He towered over Malcolm, instantly taking over the space.
“You better back up before I lay yo’ shit out, bruh. On some real shit, back the fuck up,” Bane warned. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and slapped it hard against the table. “I put twenty on the wood so you know it’s good. Stop playing with me, bruh.”
The tension was loud, and people at the surrounding tables were already starting to stare. I cleared my throat real loud, cutting right through the tension before a whole brawl started in the middle of the restaurant. “You both need to have a seat.”
Bane let out a heavy sigh, rolling his shoulders before he sat down first. Malcolm hesitated for a second, eyeing Bane warily, before he finally did the same. He was completely questioning me with his eyes, silently demanding to know what the hell was going on.
I looked back at Malcolm, trying to keep my voice even. “He wanted to come.”
“And?” Malcolm asked, his face tight.
“And, just focus on me. How are you?”
Hoping to shift the focus, Malcolm reached his hand across the table to touch mine, but before his fingers could even graze my skin, a low, menacing growl vibrated the table.
But Malcolm didn’t react to the threat. He kept his eyes locked onto mine, completely trying to block Bane out of the equation.
“I’m doing the best I can, Lauren,” Malcolm said, his voice dropping into this heavy tone. “When are you coming back so we can rebuild our life?”
Before I could even open my mouth to answer, Big Bane jumped right into the conversation. “Yo mama ain’t call you yet?”
Malcolm grew instantly annoyed, turning his head sharply to glare across the table. “No. And what the fuck does my mama got to do with this?”
Bane just shook his head, looking completely disappointed in him. “Man, she must not like yo’ ass either.”
“Bruh,” Malcolm muttered, completely exasperated.
I quickly grabbed Malcolm’s hand, trying to diffuse the bomb before it went off. “Thank you for the flowers, Malcolm. They really are nice.”
Bane mumbled, “They look cheap as hell,” right into his wine glass, but I chose peace and completely ignored him.
I took a deep breath, knowing I had to just say it. “I don’t think I’m coming back, Malcolm.”
The hurt flashed across his face instantly, his chest falling. “What do you mean you aren't coming back?”
“I... I think it’s time I move back home.”
“What about us?” he asked, his voice cracking just a little bit.
I hesitated, shifting uncomfortably in my chair under the weight of the question.
I slowly suggested that maybe we could do long distance, dating each other casually while we tried to repair what we had.
The moment the words left my mouth, Malcolm looked so uncomfortable.
He looked like a man who was desperately trying to say something, but his brain completely froze because he didn't even know how to process what I was proposing.
He stared at me for a long, quiet second before he finally found his voice. “So you want me to share you?”
I gave him a slow nod. “I mean, yeah. My husband and I reconnected and I don’t wanna lose that, but I’m willing to try with you as well, if you can handle it.”
Malcolm repeated the words like they tasted like battery acid. “If I can handle it? Lauren, I don’t share.”
“Well,” I said, leaning in a little bit. “Maybe you could.”
Malcolm sat there looking completely conflicted, his eyes darting between me and the table as his pride battled it out with his feelings.
Meanwhile, Bane was completely unbothered by the audacity of my speech.
He casually flagged down the waiter, ordering another expensive bottle of wine and a whole new round of appetizers for the table.
He went right back to scrolling through his phone, but I could see the wicked, satisfied smirk playing on his lips from behind the screen.
Bane leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table with a completely deadpan expression. "If you gonna date my wife, then you can't use half your ass but your full ass."
Malcolm blinked, his head tilting back in total confusion. “What?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Bane, think about what you just said.”
He didn't even flinch, doubling down. “What, that the man gotta put his whole ass in it? Yeah, I meant what the fuck I said. We don’t do half effort like them half dead flowers he thought to give you.”
Malcolm shifted aggressively in his seat, glaring across the table at him. “Man, this ain’t yo conversation.”
Bane’s eyes cut to him like daggers, the casual demeanor vanishing. “Man, shut your bitch-ass up. I was talking to my wife.”
“Nuh-uh,” I snapped, slamming my hand lightly on the table and pointing a finger directly at Bane. “You are not about to do this in front of me.”
“But he wanna be a goofy ass nigga and try me—”
“Have self-control and check it,” I cut him off. “Is you Big Bane or not?”
He looked dead at me, his jaw clenching so hard that a thick muscle ticked in his cheek.
He actually got quiet, letting me put him right in his place.
He slouched back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, and mumbled under his breath, “At least I’m loyal to the soil.
I ain’t switching up like some folks who wanna’ bring some dry-ass, cheap-ass, lame-ass flowers. Them shits is out of season.”
“Bane.”
“Aight, I’ll shut up.”
The waiter finally returned to take our actual dinner orders, thankfully breaking up the tension. We went around the table placing our orders, but when it got to Malcolm, he casually specified that he wanted extra garnish sprinkled on top of his rice.
Bane stopped tracking his phone and looked up, staring at Malcolm with disgust like the man had just asked for a plate of dirt. The waiter scribbled it down and walked away. Bane leaned over into my space.
“This is the man you really wanna spend your time with?” he muttered.
I bumped his heavy shoulder with mine, trying to keep my face completely neutral. “Stop acting up.”
He leaned right back in, his whisper thick with genuine, deep-seated judgment. “What grown man you know orders garnish?”
I tucked in my lips, trying to swallow my laugh. Bane was so annoying, but he didn’t care.
Malcolm stared across the table at me, his eyes practically pleading. “Lauren, I literally cut off my fiancé for you.”
I blinked, the shock hitting me dead in my chest. “I never told you to do all that, Malcolm. If I had known you were engaged, we wouldn't have ever gotten as far as we did.”
“So you're really not willing to cut this man off for me?” he asked, pointing a trembling finger over at Bane.
“No,” I said flatly.
Bane leaned forward, casually tapping his thick fingers against his wine glass. “Look, here's the deal. If you gonna date my wife, I’ll let you have every third weekend of the month. How about that?”
Malcolm looked at him like he had entirely lost his mind. “That don't work for me.”
Bane cocked his head to the side, his expression completely deadpan. “Take it or leave it, buddy.”
A sudden laugh nearly choked its way out of my throat. I had to quickly bite the inside of my cheek to keep from losing it, because why the fuck did Big Bane just use the word buddy? It was so wildly dramatic and out of character for him that it almost felt like a fever dream.
Malcolm slammed his hands down on the table, turning his attention straight back to me. “You just gone let this man talk to me like this?”
Bane snapped his eyes up, the casual tone completely vanishing from his face. “Listen, bro, I could be getting my dick wet right now instead of sitting at this whack-ass dinner, so you definitely gonna hear my mouth. Now let me taste some of that garnish on your rice.”
Bane didn't even wait for permission. He reached right over, snatched a piece of food off Malcolm’s plate, and chewed it while Malcolm sat there looking absolutely pissed. But Bane wasn't done playing with him yet.
“Wait, you from New York, right?” Bane asked, a sudden, wicked grin spreading across his face. “Let's have a rap battle then.”
Before either of us could stop him, Bane started thumping his heavy knuckles against the expensive wooden table, setting a loud, rhythmic beat. He cleared his throat and started spitting lines right there in the middle of the crowded restaurant.
“You had a diamond in your hands but couldn't handle the pressure,
Now Big Bane got her back and I'm treating her better.
You crying over garnish, getting mad at the chef,
Keep playing with my wife and you'll have nothing left.”
The bars were so clean and smooth that my hand moved on instinct. I reached across the table and dapped Bane up.
“Okay, somebody got some bars.”
“Appreciate you. Lil’ Baby better watch out.”
Malcolm’s face went from pissed to completely enraged. He glared at me, his chest heaving as I quickly cleared the smile off my face and tried to look serious. “Yeah, I’m really finna be done,” Malcolm snapped, shaking his head. “This ain’t gonna work for me.”
I adjusted my posture, letting out a soft sigh. “I understand, Malcolm.”
Bane slouched back in his chair, cutting his dark eyes at him. “See? I told you. He ain’t loyal to the soil. Now, spit a bar real quick, I’m finna’ hit you with this next bar. ”
That was the breaking point for Malcolm. He stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly against the floor. “I don’t appreciate you playing in my fucking face either over this fucking clown! This nigga should be in jail right now for what he did to my shop!”
Bane stood up just as fast. “Oh, you mad your feelings hurt? I already put twenty on the wood, bruh, so if you wanna knock this shit out, we can knock it out right here.”
Malcolm didn't bust a move. He stayed glued to his spot, but he cut his eyes back down to me one last time. “You’re making a big mistake, Lauren.”
Bane stepped even closer into his space. “No, she got done making mistakes when she left your dumb ass. Get the fuck on talkin’ about ordering some garnish. What grown man you know order garnish, bruh? Get the fuck out of here.”
Malcolm looked like he was genuinely about to take a swing, but he ultimately thought better of it. He turned around to walk off, stopped himself, marched right back to the table to snatch his bouquet of flowers, and stormed toward the exit.
As he was retreating, Bane aggressively waved his hand in the air after him. “Bye, nigga. Damn.”
I watched the restaurant doors swing shut behind him, feeling a tiny prick of sadness in my chest, but honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be.
Bane didn't let the food go to waste. He pulled Malcolm's plate right in front of him and took a massive forkful of the rice. He chewed for a second, nodding his head in surprise. “Aight, maybe the garnish ain’t so bad, but that shit is still weird. Who orders that?”
I let out a heavy sigh, finally digging into my own meal. “You really didn't have to show your ass like that, Bane.”
“I’m crazy about you, baby,” he admitted. “But I already knew he couldn’t handle it. Now, you wanna try some of this garnish on this rice?”
He scooped up another forkful and held it out to me. I opened my mouth, letting him feed me as the flavor hit my tongue. Bane smiled beautifully, his eyes completely softening as he watched me eat.
“I love you, wife,” he murmured.
I rolled my eyes, trying my absolute best to hide the massive smile on my face. “I love your crazy ass too.”