As great as that sounded, I had an hour and a half left before boarding my private jet.
And I still had to make it through Miami traffic.
“Save that for when I return from L.A., Saje Baby. Then you can milk this muthafucka ’til it’s dry.”
I helped her put the bracelet on. We kissed, she wished me a safe flight, and we parted ways.
CHAPTER 5
EMBER
1:11 PM
Shane: Ember answer yo phone!
1:12 PM
Shane: So you really gon ignore me???
1:12PM
Shane: Fuck it then
1:18 PM
Shane: Stop playin’ with me… Why the fuck you not picking up?
1:18 PM
Shane: You must be fuckin that old sloppy ass nigga at yo job
1:20 PM
Shane: Fuck you Ember!
1:30 PM
Shane: I’m sorry baby. Answer yo phone!
Shane blew up my phone, making it hard for me to concentrate on my work. The constant pinging in my pocket interrupted me as soon as I started sorting through the items that were dropped off. This was an endless cycle with Shane, and I had reached my wit’s end. All the fights, the apologies, and the make-up sex had me on the verge of losing my mind.
Thankfully, bitch ass Mr. Gross left work early for his doctor’s appointment. Cassie and I knew if he was here, he would have been on my ass for constantly checking my phone. One thing about that man, he always had some shit to say.
“Dang, Ember. Is that yo’ nigga blowing up your phone? It hasn’t stopped dinging since you clocked in.”
“Yeah, it’s him,” I admitted. “We got into an argument last night, and now he’s crashing out. You know, per usual.”
Cassie shook her head, avoiding eye contact while inspecting a black velvet dress that still had a tag on it.
“When are you going to dump that fool?” she inquired bluntly, still not looking my way.
Cassie felt that Shane didn’t deserve me, and she was right. There was a time when I gave excuses after excuses about his ways, but now it was a different story. In Cassie’s mind, it should have been easy for me to leave him because he had given me many reasons to walk away from his ass. She didn’t understand that deep down, I wanted to, but I just couldn’t. Maybe thetrauma bonding kept me stuck. If anything, I blamed myself for not having the power to walk away and never look back.
When I didn’t answer Cassie’s question, her attention shifted from the dress to me. “I’m sorry, Ember. I’m not trying to overstep boundaries or come for you, nor am I judging.” She placed the dress on the counter away from a large pile of clothes she’d been organizing.
“I want better for you. You know that.” She moved closer to me, then gently squeezed my shoulder. “I hate seeing good women get done wrong. And I…” She paused before speaking again. “I guess I’m trying to understand why a woman as amazing as you decided to settle. It’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for a while now.”
I sighed because I’d been trying to figure out the same thing.
