Chapter Three
THE CALM BEFORE THE LENNOX
Lane believed lunch with Cadence and Nova should’ve qualified as both therapy and a cardiovascular event.
Therapy because these two women, whom she called best friends, always managed to get the truth out of her even when she arrived fully committed to lying, deflecting, and looking too good for a cry session.
Cardio because Nova made her laugh hard enough to hurt, and Cadence had developed the comedic timing of somebody’s shady auntie at a cookout.
Even sober Cadence was outlandishly funny.
They sat on the patio of Sage chatting as they waited for their food.
It had become one of their favorite Black-owned bistros tucked into Stonebridge’s arts district.
The sweet tea came in mason jars. The shrimp and grits were sinful, and every server knew Nova by name, and they still treated her like a normal person.
It didn't hurt that she once tipped the entire kitchen staff after eating there.
Lane sat between them in oversized sunglasses, letting her lavender pixie cut catch the sunlight. Her lips were glossed and her fitted jumpsuit made at least three men forget how to chew. She ignored them all with ease because attention from strangers had never impressed her.
“So, are we going to talk about Lennox acting like somebody stole the password to his firewall?” Cadence asked, getting right to business.
Nova tittered as Lane frowned and let her know they wouldn’t be discussing his fine stupid ass.
“No, we’re not talking about it?” Nova asked, “Or no, the password wasn’t stolen?”
“No, as in I’m ordering food before y’all turn my business into the lunch special,” she let them know.
“When it comes to you and Lennox, your business is the lunch special,” Cadence smirked.
“And dinner,” Nova added as Lane looked between them, hating how much she loved their nosy asses, but she wouldn’t change them for the world.
“No, you don’t,” Nova said. “You love us because we’re pretty and invasive.”
“Like lionfish,” Lane spoke as she studied the menu, “I’m getting the crab cake salad.”
“Lane,” Nova warned.
“And truffle fries for the table.”
“Lane, spill it,” Cadence fussed.
Lane’s lips pressed together at the sound of the name that bothered her more than it should have.
Lennox wasn’t the first man to get close enough to make her consider softness, then retreat when things became real.
He was just the first one whose absence left her feeling empty, and that irritated her more than she cared to admit.
Lane set the menu down. “He was acting weird.”
Cadence’s smile softened. “It bothered you.”
“It annoyed me,” Lane admitted, begrudgingly, making Nova’s brows shoot up.
“Is that Lane for it hurt your feelings?” Nova asked.
It was not Lane; let them know. Nova hummed like she didn’t quite believe her, and Cadence rolled her eyes. These hussies knew her too well.
Lane slid her sunglasses down her nose. “Do y’all want lunch or is being in my business soothing your appetite?”
Cadence and Nova snorted, not taking her seriously. Cadence told her to stop deflecting and answer Nova’s question. Lane almost gagged, admitting that her feelings were hurt.
“He had the nerve to act like I did something to him. He’s the one who pulled back, then showed up with another woman on his arm. Now he’s moody, and I’m supposed to care?” She asked.
“You do care,” Nova said.
She did care because, if nothing else, men kept audacity. “If he got hit by a bus, I’d call 911 before driving away from the scene of the crime,” she said, rolling her eyes as her friends laughed.
“That’s oddly specific,” Cadence pointed out.
“Because he’s specifically disturbing my peace,” Lane pointed out as well.
“How good was the sex that he can even irritate you?” Nova’s nosy ass asked.
Lane was like a deer caught in headlights at Nova’s question.
She wasn’t sure she should answer because a flashback of how skilled he was with his hands and mouth might make her send a “Hey Bighead,” text to her nemesis.
Cadence groaned at Nova’s question before she laughed because it was well known that the N in Nova stood for nosy.
“What? She’s never bothered by men, so I wanna know what kind of pretzel he twisted her to get her this way,” Nova spoke, using her fakest investigative journalism voice.
Lane took a long sip of tea as both women stared her down, waiting for her to spill all the naughty details. She purposely set the glass down slowly to build the suspense and irritate them.
“LANE!” They both yelled.
“Okay, okay, damn. Have some patience,” she said teasingly before continuing, “I’m only saying this once,” she finished as she saw Nova clasp her hands dramatically.
“That man is annoying, emotionally constipated, arrogant, nosy, and dramatic, but the sex? The sex was so good I understood completely why women double text his ass and call back-to-back,” she admitted as both women leaned in.
Nova’s dramatic ass actually shrieked while Cadence slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Do not embarrass me in this establishment,” Lane said.
“Your man, your man, your man,” Cadence chanted.
“Aht. I recovered and stopped drinking the Kool-Aid,” she reminded them.
Cadence laughed so hard she had to hold her belly button. The truth was, Lane was a grown woman with grown woman stories. She also had every right to be annoyed when the man attached to the best sex of her life started treating his feelings like a federal indictment.
Nova grinned. “So he put it on your ass.”
Lane lifted her chin and answered proudly, “He submitted a strong application for permanent residency between these thighs, but as only a man can do, he got scared and ran like Forrest Gump.”
“Did he ever explain why?” Cadence asked with a pissed-off expression.
“He panicked when his feelings got too deep to control, and I get it because I was in the same boat, but I told him he forfeited whatever he thought he felt when he walked away like the cowardly lion,” Lane shrugged.
“That sounds like the version of you that makes sure nobody gets the chance to leave twice,” Cadence said lovingly as she studied her.
Lane wanted to call Cadence a liar, but the problem with best friends was they knew you better than you knew yourself at times.
Even worse, they knew exactly where to press on your nerves.
Deciding to change the subject, Lane let her girls know she had a date tonight.
Both Nova and Cadence wanted more details on the mystery man.
She shared that they’d worked on a few deals together and he’d always been respectful in letting Lane know he was interested in her. It didn’t hurt that he was always dressed impeccably and smelled incredible.
Nova leaned toward Cadence and whispered, “That means boring.”
“It absolutely means boring,” Cadence agreed, “Dangerously fine men with sex appeal get acknowledged immediately.”
“That’s what dinner is for,” Lane said, “To find out if there’s chemistry.”
“And if there’s no chemistry?” Cadence asked.
“I’ll text y’all for an emergency rescue.”
“Code word?” Nova asked.
“Something subtle.”
“Pumpernickel,” Cadence said.
Lane stared as she snickered and Nova shook her head. “No. Something realistic. Like, ‘This man just explained NFTs to me.’”
“That would be an actual emergency,” Lane grimaced at the thought.
“NFT means call and pumpernickel means we show up,” Nova devised.
“Well, I hope you enjoy yourself. So, here’s to chemistry, no emergency rescues, and Lane not comparing every man to Lennox,” Cadence encouraged as she raised her fauxjito.
“I am not comparing; selectively evaluating at best.”
“Comparing,” Cadence and Nova said together.
Lane rolled her eyes, laughing despite herself.
The rest of lunch settled into something easier as they discussed Nova’s promo schedule.
Cadence’s Vogue shoot, as well as the baby names KC kept suggesting and Cadence kept rejecting.
Nova insisted that one twin needed a name that sounded expensive and dangerous—Cartier Reed —which Cadence vetoed immediately.
Lane said Cartier Reed sounded like a woman who stole husbands for sport.
They were still laughing when Lane’s phone buzzed, and she stilled.
Cadence noticed first. “Lane?”
Lane looked down at the unknown number texting her again. Her stomach tightened before she opened the message.
Unknown: I know you saw my last text. You can’t ignore me forever. We need to talk.
A second message arrived.
Unknown: Meet me, or I start telling people what you used to do after midnight.
Nova’s voice lowered, asking, “Who is that?”
Lane locked her phone and set it face down, her mood shifting instantly as she replied, “It’s nothing.”
Cadence’s eyes said she knew Lane was lying, and when she reached for her drink with a shaky hand, it confirmed Lane wasn’t okay.
Lane closed her eyes, hating to open this door.
Lane hated how quickly the past could drag itself into a sunny afternoon like an entrée with a side of childhood trauma, but this was Cadence and Nova; she could trust them with her pain.
“My mother has been reaching out,” she said.
Cadence and Nova’s expressions changed immediately. There was a mixture of concern and sympathy because while they didn’t know the whole story, they knew enough.
“What does she want?” Cadence asked.
If I had to guess, I’d say money, my attention, and access to try and make my life miserable as hers,” Lane answered before continuing, “and when I say no, she brings up my past as a threat.”
Lane fully expected them to ask for more details, but the questions never came.
Instead, they reminded Lane that it was okay not to be okay.
Lane had her head down, shying away from looking at her friends, but when she looked, there was no judgment in their faces, only anger on Lane’s behalf.
Feeling their love for her even without words spoken, Lane was able to open up.