“Because I don’t have anything to say to you,” her whispered words came out harsh. “You playing stupid is only going to piss me off. You have somebody else, right? My big ass doesn’t even get you hard, right?” her voice cracked as I twisted the top off a bottle of cognac. “I gained weight, and you’re not attracted to me anymore, right? When you get back in town just come pick up your clothes. I’ll have everything packed.”
Shorty removed the phone from her ear, turned around, and caught me staring. Her face reddened immediately. “This is embarrassing,” she muttered more to herself than me.
I had been staring because I was trying to see what the person she was talking to saw. I’d never seen her before a day in my life, so I had no clue of how small she used to be. But from where I was standing, there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with her. If a nigga’s dick wouldn’t get hard for that, he must not like women. Shorty’s gaze darted around the yard as she avoided eye contact with me. I could see it. She wasn’t just embarrassed that I heard her conversation. She was insecure and for the life of me, I couldn’t see why. A little extra cushion or not, her face was beautiful. As she sipped from the cup in her hand, I angled my head to the left.
“What’s embarrassing?”
Ole girl looked over at me and chuckled lowly. “I’m sure you just heard my conversation. I didn’t know anyone was near me.”
My left shoulder hiked into a passive shrug. “I heard it, but I see no need for you to be embarrassed.” I let my eyes roam the length of her frame. “You look fine to me. His loss.”
“His loss,” she sighed and drank from the cup.
“What’s your name?”
“Rhapsody.”
Her eyes were sad. Her tone was depressing. Even her body language was tense and uptight. Her heartbreak was fresh, and that was an emotional attachment I didn’t need. Some women tried to get over one man by getting under another one and most times, it didn’t end well.
“Rhapsody,” I repeated with a bob of my head. “I like that. I’m Blaze. This is my house, and I gave Ryan strict instructions not to have his guests coming inside my crib, but I’ll make an exception for you. If you want to get out of this heat and chill for a bit come in.”
“Thank you,” she gave me what was supposed to be a smile, I assumed. Her face barely moved.
I turned to walk back inside the house. I’d never denied there were men out there that messed good women up. Funny thing was when I was younger and immature, I messed up plenty. Never once did I cheat on Andrea or do her wrong, but she was so insecure and so convinced that I was doing her dirty, she stole from me and played the fuck out of herself. Inside the house, I tuned back into the highlights and sipped my drink. Paired with the edible, one drink was going to put me exactly where I needed to be. Relaxed. Loose. The door opened, and my brow hiked until Ryan came into view. Regardless of how relaxed or loose I was, anyone that stepped over that threshold without permission was going to get it.
“Nigga, you see all that fine shit in the backyard, and you’re in the house like you’re scared of pussy.”
“Fuck outta here,” I sucked my teeth. “While you’re in here worried about me make sure you keep your guests in check.”
Glancing through the window, I saw Rhapsody back at the drink table. It was safe to assume shorty was drowning her sorrows. If I didn’t care about coming across as a perverted creep, I’d offer to fold shorty all kinds of ways and attempt to show her that a fuck nigga could never handle all those curves and that she was better off without him.
“Man, I got them. Everybody that I invited is cool people.” He peeked outside himself and saw Rhapsody headed for the door. “Ahh hell nah, don’t curse her out. Melody will beat my ass,” he attempted to go to the door to keep Rhapsody from coming in.
“She’s good. I told her she’s the only one that could come in.”
A sly grin eased across Ryan’s face as the door opened. “My nigga,” he mumbled real low.
Rhapsody peeked into the living room. “If it’s okay, I just want to cool off for about ten minutes.”
“You’re good, Mama,” I let her know, and she looked away bashfully.
Ryan excused himself, and Rhapsody sat across from me in an accent chair. Her cup was clutched tightly in her hand. “You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you.”
Aside from the television the room was silent for a few minutes. “How long were you with that fuck nigga if you don’t mind me asking?”
Rhapsody bit the corner of her bottom lip. “Two years. I just recently gained weight in the past two months, and he didn’t like it, I guess.”
I eyed her for a minute. She kind of told ole boy off over the phone, but she wasn’t mad enough for me. “I don’t know howmuch you weighed before, but shorty you’re acting like you’re fat or some shit. You aren’t big. More like thick.”
“My thighs might be thick, but these love handles and this pudge, that’s all fat.”
I owned a gym. I knew the importance of people feeling good and looking good. If Rhapsody wanted to lose weight for herself, I could get it. But if her low self-esteem was based off how that lame ass nigga felt, that was bullshit in my opinion. I didn’t respond, and she changed the subject.
“You live in this big house alone?”
“Yeap.”
