“I’ll let you off with a warning this time, but don’t you ever in your life disrespect Rosemary Abrams. You got it?”
“I—can’t—breathe!” Preston struggled to say as he gasped for air.
“Do you understand what the fuck I said?”
Russell tightened his grip as Preston continued to struggle.
“Yes!”
When Russell released him, Preston fell to the ground, coughing, wheezing, and rubbing his neck. Russell marchedtoward Gayle and me angrily, with his eyes focused on me. He took both of my hands in his when he reached me and looked me over.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
“No.”
“Good. You’re coming with me.”
He released one of my hands, and as we walked away, Gayle said, “What about me?”
Russell paused and swore under his breath before responding.
“My bad. Let’s go.”
She followed us, mumbling something under her breath. Preston struggled to get up as we passed, and she expressed concern.
“Are you okay?” I heard her ask behind me.
“Bitch, get the fuck away from me!” Preston shouted.
“Well, excuse me for being nice. He should’ve beaten your rude ass.”
Her footsteps quickened behind us until she caught up. We made it to Russell’s truck, and he opened the front passenger door, helping me inside while Gayle waited. When he went to open the back passenger door, she said, “I got it.”
I could feel the coolness in her tone, but I couldn’t blame her for feeling a way about riding in the back seat and what had transpired a few minutes ago. The fifteen-minute ride to drop her off was awkward as hell, . . . at least for me. Russell didn’t seem to give a damn.
We arrived at an apartment building on a decent side of town, and Russell parked in front. He rushed out of the car, but by the time he arrived at her door, Gayle had already gotten out, slamming the door.
“A blind man can see what’s going on here, so I won’t make a big deal about it, but I don’t appreciate you using me as a pawn to make her jealous,” Gayle said.
“That’s not?—”
“Russell, don’t lie to me. The chemistry between us is in negative digits, and you couldn’t even eat your dinner because you were too focused on her and her date. I’m not as stupid as you think. Thank you for allowing me to be your date for the evening. The food and music were good, and I made some great connections, so I don’t feel like I wasted my time. I hope you two work out your problems and wish you well.”
She walked away, not giving him a chance to respond. I didn’t know Gayle, but I suddenly liked her attitude. Once she made it into the building safely, Russell slipped back behind the wheel and looked at me. He looked slightly amused, which caused me to laugh.
“I guess she told you,” I said, teasing him.
“She sure did. I didn’t know it was that obvious, but I’m not surprised. I can’t hide how I feel about you.”
“That stunt you pulled is what caused the argument between me and Preston.”
“Fuck that nigga. He’d be dead had he put his hands on you. I spared his life.”
“But you almost choked the life out of him.”
“Nah. If I wanted him to die, he would have.”
He finally pulled away from the curb. Now that Gayle was gone, so was the tension in the air. Although the situation probably pissed her off, I was glad she handled it with class. She was definitely a better woman than me, because I probably would’ve showed my entire ass.
