Micah’s eyes divert from hers, and it’s all the confirmation she needs.
Jahlani runs her tongue over her teeth, nodding as she takes in his tense shoulders.
“So, let me get this right,” she says. “You’re ending things with me becauseJasminetold you I’m not a ‘present partner’?”
He sucks in air, scratching the back of his head. “Don’t make this about her. She has nothing to do with it.”
She rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her chest. “Spare me. She has everything to do with it.”
He shifts forward, his mouth poised for rebuttal, but Jahlani raises her hand, letting out a derisive laugh.
“So, when did you have this riveting conversation with her about our relationship? Before or after you slept with her?”
Micah’s shoulders fall from his ears, his eyes downcast like a scolded puppy. He lets out a heavy breath as he drags a hand through his hair.
“You weren’t around, and I got tired of waiting,” he says, his voice low. “Jasmine was there. She listened, and it was nice.”
Jasmine was there. She listened.
The words ricochet through her head, and she waits and waits for something.
For anything.
For the words to strike through her heart, for her stomach to tumble into an abyss, for the flood of hysteria to overwhelm her senses, but it never manifests.
Instead, Jahlani lets his words settle over her like a weighted blanket. Heavy yet comforting because it’s here, as she watches him, with his shiny curls, broad shoulders, and freshly trimmed beard, that the realization dawns on her: Micah and her were never going to work. And it’s here that she realizes that, despite him unraveling their relationship in a few seconds, a small part of her is relieved it’s over.
She’s free.
Turning in the direction of the crowded streets, she watches as the rain escapes from the clouds. People run, using newspapers, tailored jackets, and purses to protect themselves.
Exhaling, she unwinds her arms, turning back to face him. “Okay.”
And it must not have been the reaction he was expecting because his eyebrows raise. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she says again, lifting her shoulders.
Micah pauses, clearly in shock,before scooting closer, jerking the round marble table between them with a tap of his index finger against it. “I just ended our two-year relationship and admitted to cheating on you, and all you have to say is‘okay’?”
He puts air quotes around the word, and the whole thing is quite comical.
At least to her.
Lifting her chin up, she straightens her posture. “What do you want me to say?”
Scoffing, he pushes his ice cream to the side. “I don’t believe this,” he grits out. He rakes his left hand through his hair, but the strands fall back against his forehead. He braces his elbows on the table, gathers the shredded napkins, and crushes them further.
Poor napkins.
“See,thisis your problem. I give and I give and you’re like”—he pauses, eyes darting around the room—“you’re like a machine.”
At this, her eyebrow raises, as he continues.
“You don’t know how to relax and take a break. You make everyone around you think they’re not enough just because they don’t want toworkthemselves to death.”
Her eyes become smaller as she inches closer. “Not everyone has daddy and mommy’s money to fall back on?—”
“See?Thisis what I’m talking about. I haven’t had to sweatfor anything a day in my life, and you can’t stand it, right?”
