Page 354 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

I smack my forehead against the stall with a clunk. “And Andrew saw it,” I mutter through my teeth. “I emotionally orgasmed on a stage. I had heart-eyes, Celie. I know I did. I felt it. Disney-princess pupils and all.”

She shrieks. “Waitwaitwait⁠—

“what the hell happened?”

“One second I’m standin’ there,

“speechin’ it up⁠—”

She gasps. “You gave a speech?”

“I know. That was my first mistake. ‘Cause next thing I know Teddy Vale steps out of cigar smoke singing my duet, lookin’ at me like I’m the last cigarette before war.”

“…No.”

“Yes,” I hiss.

“No.”

“Celie, YES!”

The bathroom door swings open,

laughter and music spilling in.

Celie and I jolt silent,

stop breathing⁠—

a freeze-frame in the footfalls.

They’re heels. Definitely heels.

They enter the stall next to me.

We don’t exhale

until she pisses and leaves.

Then I spill the best part—“AND THEN TEDDY FLIRTED WITH ME… I think.”

“NO.”

“Yes! He said ‘for you, I suffer’

“I swear to fuckin’ God.”

“IN FRONT OF ANDREW?”

“And three hundred other people.”

I slide down the stall until my ass hits the toilet lid, dress pooling around me like spilled blood.

“Raymond humiliated him, Celie.

“The lead bartender walked out,

“so Andrew got pressed to take over.”