“And what is that?”
“Meet me tonight, and I’ll tell you. I may even reconsider.”
“I wish I would meet you. We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“Oh, yes, we do, because if you don’t come, I’m going to ruin Stone’s reputation in this town before he even gets a chance to bring that gym off the ground. I haven’t been in this city long, but my connections are high up. I know you don’t know what he was into while he was away with the army. If I leak it to the newspapers, that gym will never see the light of day. Seven o’clock. I’ll text you the place later.”
Devonte was exactly the type of person who would try to ruin somebody’s business, so I had no doubt he meant every word. I didn’t know what he was talking about as far as Stone’s past, but whatever it was, I didn’t want it to get out. I wanted Stone to have the life he’d been working hard for. Stone was no longer in the army. He was a new father and soon-to-be business owner. That was all I needed to know.
Devonte was trying to threaten the future Stone had planned for himself, and I wasn’t going to have that. It was my fault thatDevonte was in either of our lives, so if one dinner with him could squash this whole thing, then I had to do it. Once I left the table with Devonte tonight, this would all be behind us, because there was no way in hell I was going back to him.
I pulled up to the restaurant that Devonte had texted me exactly at seven o’clock. Like he said, he was sitting at a table by the window. I saw him before I even walked in.
I was not dressed up. I’d thrown on some jeans and a hoodie. I just wanted to see what he had to say before I dipped, and he had less than twenty minutes to tell me what the fuck he wanted. I sat down and got straight to business.
“What do you want?”
“I just want to apologize to you. I know what I did to you back then was wrong. I’ve been in therapy, and I’ve worked on myself. I’m a better person now. If you give me a chance, we could work this out.”
“You know what?” I stood to leave, but Devonte held out his hand to stop me. I couldn’t believe he would even waste his breath to try to get me back; it was baffling. If I hadn’t made it clear by blocking every number he ever had, I didn’t even know what else I could do.
“Look, even if you don’t give me a chance, I still wanted to bring you here tonight to apologize and let you know I am not that man anymore.”
“Devonte, I’m a different person too. You could be the Pope, and I still wouldn’t want nothing to do with you. I’m with the person that I want to be with now, and the best thing you can do is walk away now because if he knows that you are still contacting me, it’s not going to be nothing nice.”
“Oh, I have a feeling he’s about to find out.”
Devonte pointed behind me, and as soon as I turned around, I saw Stone standing behind me. Devonte had set me up, and he did it on purpose. I didn’t know how he knew that Stone wouldbe here at this exact time, but he lured me here just so Stone could see us together.
“What the fuck?”
I was speechless. I didn’t have an explanation for Stone. I had no idea why I had even put myself in this position.
“Shanet, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“I just came to see what he had to say.”
“Why does what he has to say have anything to do with you?”
“I told you she was my girl.”
As soon as Devonte said that, Stone jumped over me and onto him. The first lick that connected with Devonte’s face could be heard throughout the whole restaurant. People moved from everywhere trying to break them up, but Stone had a grip on Devonte that couldn’t be broken.
“Stone, please!” I yelled, trying to get his attention before I moved to grab him. “Please stop!” I yelled again with my hand on his shoulder.
I could feel the tension in his shoulders release as he finally stood and let Devonte’s body hit the ground. I tried to calm him down, but it was too late. The police were already there, and Stone was being dragged out in handcuffs.
“Yeah,you can put it over there.”
It had been two weeks since Mama Bea had to bail me out of jail, and I was doing my best to stay focused on my business. I’d closed on the property, and we were now doing the renovations. Everything was coming together and, at the same time, falling apart.
Seeing Shanet sitting there having dinner with Devonte sent me into a blind rage. After all that bullshit she had been talking about us being straight with each other, she was the main one doing sneaky shit behind my back.
I thought Shanet was over the situation with Devonte, but being in that restaurant with him told me she wasn’t. The betrayal was what I got for getting my hopes up. I should havestayed to myself, but every moment since I laid eyes on Shanet in that group home had turned my life upside down.
I’d knocked Devonte out and let him know he needed to stay away from her, yet she was the one running back to him. That had me feeling like a fool. After everything she told me about him, her meeting up with him just didn’t make sense to me. I’d worked hard to make her feel safe, but she put herself right back in an unsafe situation.
I didn’t want to give up on Shanet. I was like a dog with a bone, but I had to do what was best for me. The best thing I could do for both of us was focus on what I had going on.
