Chapter 10 #2
I turned back around and my eyes found his again.
Subtly, he nodded and I nodded back, unsure of what to do with myself.
Instead of holding us up any longer, I walked off, following behind Sienna who was further ahead.
My eyes never left him, and his never left me.
Detroit was small… very small. Running into people you know wasn’t unlikely but Crescent?
My mind instantly went to us reconnecting and I wondered if the chain of events would have happened regardless.
I wondered if I hadn’t met back up with him then, if we would have crossed paths still, today, validating Emerald’s red string theory.
I shook that thought off and took a seat at the bar, only a couple of stools away from him and his boys.
I hadn’t seen him since the meeting at Skylight Industries.
We were supposed to meet the other day. Virtually.
But he gave me pushback on it, being difficult.
We’re supposed to meet in a few days. He wanted to meet in person.
Said because of the current state of the project, an in-person meeting should he mandatory.
I argued that we could talk about whatever we needed to talk about over Zoom.
The last message was sent by me a day ago.
He was purposely ignoring me. And that shit had been annoying the hell out of me.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood when he got up and headed in our direction. What the fuck was he doing? We weren’t on good terms. What could he possibly want?
“Wassup, how y’all doing?” he spoke to Sienna and Hazel before putting his eyes on me. “Mahogany. Funny seeing you here.”
Lightly, I laughed. “Yeah… right,” I said. Turning to my sisters, I introduced him as one of my clients.
Although he was more than that. A simple client wouldn’t have the hairs on the back of my neck standing.
My hands didn’t get clammy when I was around a simple client.
My regulars didn’t make my heart race or my skin tingle without touch.
Crescent was… God. He still had that effect on me, even in the middle of a little fight.
I couldn’t stand his ass! He looked damn good too.
He was, as usual, dressed in a nice designer suit.
His hair looked freshly cut and lined up.
And he smelled delicious. I wanted to bottle him up and spray him all over my pillows. Pathetic.
“Nice to meet y’all,” Crescent said with a soft smile. Looking to me, his eyes locked on mine and he nodded. “It was really nice seeing you.”
Smiling, I nodded back with a squint. “It was nice seeing you, too, Crescent.”
He walked off, going back over to his boys. And out of my own control, my eyes followed him. I couldn’t help it. Yes, yes, yes, I was aware of my sisters. I felt their eyes on me, but I truly did not give a damn. My current circumstances had my give a fuck meter at an all-time low.
“Mmh,” Hazel said, tilting her head to block my view. “Hello. Earth to Mahogany.”
I laughed and shook my head. “What?”
“You shol’ is staring. Like you’re not somebody’s wife,” she said before flagging the waitress down.
I wasn’t.
Legally, yes. But mentally and emotionally, I was a single fucking woman. So much of a single woman that when I got dressed, I did not put my wedding rings on. I know. I needed to end things to make it official but… baby steps. It was fuck Duke. Forever. I just needed to get the paperwork drawn up.
“Girl, please,” I said, before placing a piece of hair behind my ear. Turning, my eyes met Sienna’s and she gave me this knowing look that I couldn’t help but notice. One with a squint and pursed lips that read ‘mmhmm’.
“How long he been your client?” Sienna asked, fishing.
“About two months,” I said, before accepting my drink from the bartender. “Thank you.”
“Y’all close?”
I looked at her with a squint. “What are you trying to ask me, Si?”
Hazel jerked her head in their direction but didn’t turn to face them. “Seems like he can’t stop looking at you neither. He’s definitely giving you come fuck me eyes.”
I sucked my teeth and glanced over. She was right.
Crescent was staring at me, but I wasn’t sure if I could call them come fuck me eyes.
There was a bit of fire behind them. A bit of longing.
So much so that looking away was a bit hard for me to do.
I swallowed and ran my hand down the back of my neck, steady feeling his eyes piercing through me.
He wanted me. And I wanted him too. Not just to fuck but to catch up.
I missed Crescent. Missed his incompetence.
Missed how attentive he was when I talked about design.
Missed of back-and-forth banter over topics that had absolutely nothing to do with work.
Sure, I was being difficult. But he’d pissed me off real bad with that complaint.
I didn’t want to give in easy. Regardless of how I felt, Crescent didn’t deserve an in-person meeting yet.
He wanted to throw around the contract and shit, I could do the same.
But damn… seeing him tonight made me realize how much I actually missed him.
“He know you married?” Hazel asked, mentioning that fucking marriage again. I thought it was funny how Sienna hadn’t mentioned it once. It was usually her that would remind me of my ring.
I sucked my teeth. “Yes, bitch, he’s aware. Get off of me. What you got to tell us?”
She squinted at me and turned the corners of her mouth up. “Mmhmm. Anyway.” With a deep breath, she pulled her purse closer to her and fished around it. A couple of seconds later, she pulled a black velvet box from it and slid it to Sienna who was in the middle.
“What is this?” Si asked as she opened it. Before Hazel could respond, her jaw dropped. Mine did too. Inside of the box was a diamond ring.
“This what I think it is?” Sienna asked.
Hazel nodded. “It’s exactly what you think it is.” She smiled. “I’m asking Tuesdai to marry me.”
“You must really be done with dick this time huh?” I mumbled with a smile of my own. “You know momma gon’ flip, right?”
“Fuck momma,” Hazel said, laughing. “You know I never gave a damn about that ladies opinion.”
“It’s beautiful, Haz,” Sienna said, before giving me the box.
It was beautiful. Very beautiful. As I stared down at it, I thought about what she said about not giving a damn about ‘that ladies’ opinion and it stung a little.
My entire life was based on giving a damn about that ladies opinion.
And I wondered what she’d say now, after the shit with Duke and I came out.
Did it matter? Should it matter? It didn’t.
For the first time in my life, it didn’t matter what she said.
Knowing her, she’d say something like ‘what’s done is done.
It was the past. You forgave him once, forgive him again’.
And you know what I’d do with that? Tell her to shove it up her muthafucking ass.
“It really is beautiful, Hazel. Congratulations. I know she’s going to say yes.”
Hazel and Tuesdai had been together for a couple of years. Even though they’d been together for a while, I did not expect her to come with a ring. My little sister was… I guess you could say a little promiscuous. A free spirit, really. I was surprised the relationship with Tuesdai lasted as long.
While we talked, I felt Crescent’s eyes steady on me.
Turning, I faced him and he didn’t shy away.
He kept staring. Ran his tongue over his bottom lip and stared deeper.
I squinted and made a face at him. He laughed, shook his head, and went to take a sip of his drink.
I wondered what it was. It was brown. A man like him, I’d bet it was scotch.
After finishing my drink, I ordered another one.
The edible had kicked in, and I felt good as hell, but I still needed a couple of drinks.
I was going through shit and really wanted to numb the pain.
And the drinks and edible were doing a damn good job.
I was really happy my sisters came and got me out of the house.
I went from crying to dancing on a barstool, exchanging looks with Crescent within a couple of hours.
“You don’t want to slow down?” Sienna asked.
“You don’t want to mind your business?” I snapped, biting into one of the wings I ordered not too long ago.
We exchanged looks. She sighed and picked her drink up. I could see her wanting to mention the elephant in the room. When she went to talk, I cut her off.
“I just want to enjoy my night, Si. That’s it. Can a bitch do that?”
She didn’t say anything. We gave each other another knowing look. If it weren’t for Hazel being so into her phone she would have asked what was going on. I didn’t want that question to come up. Didn’t want Sienna to reach her wits end neither and spill the beans.
“I gotta use the bathroom,” I mumbled, before grabbing my bag and getting up.
“I’m going with—”
“No, you’re not,” I interrupted. “I’m fine, Sienna. Okay? Just fine.”
The restroom was the last place I wanted to be with her. I understood why she wanted to talk. Understood why she was concerned but I really just wanted to leave that conversation alone. I wasn’t ready to have it. Didn’t know when I would be ready.
On my way to the restroom, I felt his eyes on me.
It was almost as if they stayed on me. Because I felt him watching, I added a little twist to my hips.
Walked with the confidence of a bad bitch because I was that.
Despite what I’d gone through. Despite what I felt.
Duke might’ve cheated… might’ve had a baby on me…
but one thing I could say was that he’d never taken my confidence from me.
What he did never made me feel ugly. Maybe lesser than.
Maybe not good enough. But never unattractive.