I look around, pretending I don’t know who she is talking to.
“Girl, if you don’t go away.” I wave her off.
“I saw Cori’s car here, so I figured you three losers would be together. Why don’t you go back to wherever you came from?”
“Why don’t you get the hell out of my face?” I do my best to sound bored.
“You must not suck his dick that good. Cori is still driving you around like she’s some chauffeur.”
“It’s called friendship,” Cori says. “Not that you’d know anything about that.”
“He gave me a car.” Lexi proudly puffs out her chest.
“Great. Go get in it and drive away.” I take another bite of my food and hope she leaves.
“Well, enjoy it while it lasts. I was in your shoes, and now I’m out. You’ll be out soon enough.”
Selene rolls her eyes.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly the same, was it, Lexi? Didn’t you have to keep it a secret? Meanwhile, everyone in town knows about him and Eden.” Selene gives Lexi a smug look.
“You bitch,” Lexi hisses while she tosses her hair again before walking away.
“Gross.” Selene picks up a long, black hair off her plate.
Lexi storms out of the restaurant, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Why did you say that, Selene?” Cori shakes her head.
“First, she got hair in my food. Second, I’m sick of women like her,” Selene says. “No one told her to be okay with being a man’s secret. And I heard she had to sell the car. Anyway, be careful with her.”
“I can beat her ass with both hands tied behind my back.” I’ve never lost a fight, and I don’t intend for my first to be Lexi.
“I think if someone touches a hair on your head, your man would burn down this entire town.”
“Ain’t nobody thinking about Lexi,” I huff.
My phone buzzes in my purse, and I pull it out while I follow my friends out. As usual, my bill was taken care of.
Rip:Outside
As I’m typing my response, I walk through the front door and see him. He’s not in all black like usual. He breaks up his black cargo pants with a gray ribbed tee. His hair is out and touches his shoulders. It looks fuller than normal, like he didn’t have time to dry it this morning. He sees me, and his lips curl into a smile.
I look down at my ugly burgundy scrubs and curse at how bad I look, but he doesn’t seem to care. He opens his arms, and I fly in. He lifts me off my feet and sticks his head in the side of my neck.
“My thorny rose,” he whispers. “Finally.” He lifts me higher and hugs me tighter. When my feet meet the ground, he cups my face and looks into my eyes. He takes one of my hands and presses it to his heart. “Forever.”
His mouth finally lands on mine after that last word, and I sigh at how perfect this moment is.
“I missed you,” I murmur against his mouth.
“Me too.”
“I love you.”
“Me too, baby.”
Selene and Cori look on, and from across the street, I see Lexi standing there with her arms crossed.
