Jasmine gave her a tight smile and went to sit at the table with Nai.
My eyes went back to Nairobi. “Sup, Nai?”
She cut her eye at me. “Hi, Fontaine.” Her eyes flicked to Parker. “Parker.”
The fuck?
Parker gave Nairobi a saccharine smile. “Nairobi. Glad to see you made it safely.”
What the fuck was going on?“Y’all know each other?”
Neither of them answered.
I pushed back from the bar and went over to Nai. “Yo, can I talk to you?” I asked low in her ear.
She shook her head. “I’m good.”
I jerked back, my chest tightening. I wasn’t trying to cause a scene in the restaurant, but she wasn’t about to carry me like that.
“Yeah. I think so.” My hand closed around her arm.
“Fontaine—” Jas started.
“Jas, you know I have love for you,” I said, looking at her. “But I’ma need you to chill on this one.”
I turned back to Nairobi and tightened my grip. “Let’s go,Kitten.”
Her head snapped up at me, eyes burning with anger, but underneath it there was something else—pain.
She tried pulling out my grasp, but I gripped tighter. Cursing under her breath, she finally shoved back from the table and stood.
I led us toward a secluded corner by the restrooms, my pulse racing as I let her go.
She folded her arms, her chest rising and falling as she glared at me. “What do you want, Fontaine?”
I ran a hand over my head. “What do I want?” I repeated, locking eyes with her. “I haven’t seen you in two years and now you just pop back up in Atlanta. What are you doing here?”
She went to answer but paused as a server briskly walked past us into the kitchen.
Her eyes found mine again. “What happened to ‘good luck with my lonely ass life’?” she spat. “It doesn’t matter why I’m back. I didn’t come back for you, that’s for sure.” She let out a cold laugh. “Aren’t you on a date? You just gonna leave your girl like that? I thought you had manners.”
“How do you know Parker?”
Her lips curled into a sneer. “Ask her.” She turned and walked off.
“Kit—”
Nairobi spun back around so fast.
“Fuck you,” she hissed, pointing at me.
My jaw ticked, but I didn’t move.
“You made it super clear in Miami that we’re off that,” she snapped, her heels clicking against the floor as she stormed back to Jasmine.
I let out a sharp breath and tried to shake off the interaction. I don’t know what pissed me off more—that she came home and didn’t reach out, or that Cash knew she was back and didn’t tell me. I’d never gotten over her, but it hurt less knowingshe was away. Now it felt like someone had reopened an old wound.
I walked back to the bar where Parker was watching the whole thing with thinly veiled amusement.
