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I sat next to Cardez, wondering how much Tariq knew about our situation. Siani was a girls’ girl through and through, so if he knew anything, it hadn’t come from her. Did he believe the same story everyone else did, that this was some whirlwind romance?

We sat and a very flustered waitress came over to take our orders. The band played Brazilian jazz and bossa nova. Me and Siani body rolled in our seats when they played Mas Que Nada. And she was right, the mini cornbread that came in the bread basket was delicious.

After the last set, Cardez got up to get the next round of drinks from the bar instead of waiting on the server.

I watched him as he tried to get the bartender’s attention, when a woman came up beside him and put her hand on his arm.

She was tall with honey-brown skin. Her natural hair was out in a big twist out. She was effortlessly beautiful, her full figure hugged by the sweater dress she wore. She said something to Cardez that made him laugh. A real one, the kind he gave me when he smiled with his whole face.

From across the room, I knew he’d fucked her. Maybe they’d been something more.

He didn’t move her hand, and he didn’t step back from her either. He looked like he was very comfortable with her. She leaned in to say something else and Cardez shook his head. Then his eyes came up and found mine.

The woman followed his gaze, and when our eyes met, she smiled. It wasn’t fake, which somehow made it worse. She said something else to him, hugged him and headed to the front.

“Who’s that?” Siani asked. She’d been watching too.

“I don’t know yet.”

Cardez came back with our drinks and set my cocktail in front of me before he sat back down.

I took a sip. “Who was that at the bar?”

“A friend.”

“Is her name ‘Friend’?”

He sighed, and I could see him trying to determine how much to say in front of Siani and Tariq.

“Her name’s Harmony,” he said. “It was a friends with benefits situation, but that’s over.”

“Oh.”

I didn’t have a right to a single thing I was feeling. This summer, I was worried about Cardez’s money and not him. He didn’t owe me anything. We’d barely known each other.

Siani was looking at me from across the table with her eyebrows up. I shook my head slightly.

“You good?” Cardez asked as the band made their way back on stage.

“It’s my birthday, why wouldn’t I be?” I smiled at him. From my periphery, I saw the woman get up and go to the restroom. I gave it a minute to make sure Cardez hadn’t noticed, then excused myself.

There were two stalls, neither occupied. She was at the sink washing her hands.

“Congratulations,” she said, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “I saw the announcement in the paper.”

“Thanks.”

I leaned against the wall by the door and folded my arms. “Where do you know him from?”

“You didn’t ask him?”

“I’m asking you.”

She shut the water off and reached for a paper towel. “Dez and I met at a function a few years ago. It was never anything serious. He never led me on, and I never asked him for more than what he gave.”

“That’s a lot of information for one question.”

“I like to cut through the bullshit.” She dried her hands and dropped the paper towel in the trash. “Would me being jealous make this easier for you?”