“Yes, and it’s so easy. The other night, he had Ruby.” Both my friends' brows crease together in confusion. “He likes babies,” I offer as an explanation. “And it took all my willpower not to go off on him. This fool knows when it comes to Devin, I don’t do him no favors. I bit my tongue and didn’t say anything, but I didn’t lift a finger to help. He was so frazzled by morning that he dropped her off, came home, and dragged me into bed.” I leave out the part about his connection to Ms. Hazel. “You’ll never guess what else I found out.”
I shove a piece of bacon in my mouth.
“What?” Selene asks.
“He got into medical school. He was supposed to go to UCLA.” I gesture for them to come closer. “I looked it up, and it’s the eighth-best medical school in the country.”
“Eighth?” Selene asks. “See, if he wasn’t a dummy, he would have gone to the first.”
“Girl.” Eden balls up her napkin and tosses it at Selene, who dodges.
“Okay. Whatever. It’s impressive,” my cousin concedes. “But don’t you dare tell him I said that.”
“How on earth did he end up with Ruby?” Eden wants to know.
“No idea. My guess is Devin asked him to watch her because he knows Dax has a soft spot for her. I know his ass barely slept. She kept me up, too, but I pretended to be asleep.”
“And what happened when you got in bed after he dropped Ruby off?”
“Eden, you’re a married woman. Everything that comes naturally happened.” I throw both my hands up and do a slow grind at the table. Both girls cackle. “I have zero complaints about the man’s dick.”
“Then what happened?” Eden asks.
“He made us breakfast in bed. We talked. It was raining, so we spent the day fucking and napping. We finally got up in the early evening, and I made us dinner.”
“I hope he choked. And do you know if he’s allergic to anything? You can put it in the food and pretend you didn’t know.”
“Selene!” Eden admonishes. “Are you nuts?” Eden’s head whips around to look at me. “Don’t do that. Allergies are serious.”
“I don’t want to kill the psycho. Only make him suffer, and I think a broken heart is the best pain. Remember in the ninth grade when Jalen dumped me? I couldn’t get out of bed.” I lookaround the table while I wait for them to remember the pain I once endured.
“Girl, please.” Eden waves her hand around. “You were depressed for half a day, then my grandma gave me some money, and I took us out to lunch. After you inhaled a burger and slurped down that vanilla shake, you were over that loser.”
“Okay, well, it won’t be that easy for Mr. Hunt. I will break him.” I take my straw out of my water and bend it in half.
“And when you’re doing all of this, what is he doing?” Eden asks.
“Being thirsty,” Selene answers on my behalf.
“We already know his ass is thirsty, but I want to hear what he’s doing behind closed doors.” Eden looks at her watch and gestures for me to continue.
“Listen, if the man wasn’t a manipulative ass who blackmailed me into a marriage I didn’t want, I would like him. We—”
“Didn’t want?” Eden probes. “Does that mean you want it now?”
I clear my throat. “Hell to the no.” I shake my head at the thought. “As I was saying, we probably would have been a couple. I’ll admit, he can be very sweet and romantic. Even though I gave him a lot of attitude, he never reciprocated. If that baby belonged to anyone but my brother, I would love how he is with her, but I’m not about to open the door for Devin to dump his child on me.” I brush my bangs to the side. “I digress.” I wave my hand around in dismissal. “I guess he aight.”
“Well, while he’s beingaight.” Eden does her best to mimic my voice. “Make sure your ass doesn’t fall in love with him.”
I pretend to clutch my pearls. “He would be so lucky.”
“Yeah, he would,” Selene raises her water glass.
“Oh, and guess what else? He keeps insisting I go to fashion school to get my credentials. He says I’m talented, and Ishouldn’t give the haters the opportunity to say I’m untrained.” I cackle, but those words hit home. I’ve had the same thoughts, but he’s the first person to voice them.
“He’s correct,” Eden agrees. “Remember what happened to me? Things ended with my ex. I had to come back home to start over. You know what I had? My degree and my license to practice physical therapy. Yes, I had a setback, but I also had my education.” Eden takes my hands. “And did you hear what you just said? The man is pushing you to get an education. He’s not telling you that you don’t need it. That kinda sounds like good partner material to me.” I try to pull my hands from hers, but she holds on. “Do you think he meant it?”
Eden’s words are soft, almost soothing.
