“Thanks for everything, man,” I responded, heading for the door.
“Anytime. Be easy out there in them streets, killa.”
I finally chuckled and headed out of the room and out of the club. As much as I wanted to be with Delaney, I knew it wasn’t good for me to go to her place at the moment.
19
DELANEY
“Hey, beautiful. Can I buy you a drink?”
“No. I’m good, thanks,” I answered the light-skinned man with dreads.
“Well, can I have a minute of your time?”
I shook my head. “I’m good on that too. I’ve got a man.”
He bobbed his head and looked around the club. “Is he about to pop up in the next few minutes or something, because if not?—”
“She said she has a man,” Tanika snapped, frowning at the man.
“My bad, shorty.”
“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. I knew that it wasn’t the man she was annoyed with but me. “You make me sick with your no-man having ass. Got all these fine niggas stepping to you, and you keep turning them down. How you gon’ say you got a man when you ain’t spoke to him in a week?”
“What’s your problem? It’s not like I’m blocking you,” I declared.
“No, but we’ve been here all night with you, watching you do this. We want to go dance, but we can’t leave you alone becausethe entire point of the night is cheering your sad ass up. Sad Sally ass,” Tanika grumbled.
Aria laughed and spit her drink out. Damaris grabbed napkins to help her clean her mess.
“Girl, you are not gonna keep sitting at this table moping your ass off about that man.”
“Aria, I’m not in that mood.”
“I don’t give a damn. I’m telling you the truth, big sis.”
“She’s right, Del. We came out tonight to pick your spirits up, and you’ve been sitting at this table all night, looking like you’re a blink away from crying. That’s not fair to us,” Damaris stated.
“Cousin, you know I love you, and there’s nothing that I won’t do for you. But this sitting around in a hype club with all these fine niggas around being sad over one you threw away ain’t working for me. I’m sorry. I’m about to get out here and shake my ass,” Tanika declared, throwing back her drink.
“You and me both, because she’s definitely not listening to reason.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled, knowing that my sister and cousin couldn’t hear me over the loud music.
“You do realize that we’re all right, Del. You messed up. Admit it.”
“I did not mess up, D. What he did was foul.”
“What he did was try to protect you from the slimy, grimy bastard you call your ex-husband. I wish a man would go to those lengths for me,” Damaris admitted.
“To pop up in someone’s house and threaten their family? I may not care for Clayton and all he took me through, but that poor baby didn’t do anything to him.”
“Now let’s be real. Do you honestly think he’ll do anything to harm that baby?” Damaris queried.
I didn’t have to think about it. Even her question offended me, although I had just said the same thing myself. “Hell no!He’s not that type of guy. Now Clayton? Naijhel might have fucked him up, but he would never harm a hair on that baby’s head.”
“I’m glad you know your man, sis. Now you need to go get your man.”
