Dynasty slowly swiped her tongue over her lips before pursing them together. “Nice to meet you as well.” She reverted her attention to Aspen and questioned, “Where’s your man? I haven’t seen y’all together since I’ve been here.”
“Well, he is the guest of the night, so he’s been working. I’m not pressed about us being together, so you shouldn’t be either.”
As if he could sense the tension in the air and the conversation floating around him, Lance appeared. Mahari tapped Dynasty’s thigh for her to get up and greeted his cousin. Lance inserted himself in between Aspen and Mahari and kissed her.
“You good over here, mamas?”
Aspen smiled. “I’m hungry but good.”
Rubbing her belly, Lance inquired, “Why didn’t you grab you something from the bar?”
“Why didn’t you think to bring her something?” Lavender chimed in. “I mean, she is pregnant with your babies. You should know she’s always hungry.”
Dynasty snickered and mumbled something underneath her breath, and Aspen shot daggers at her.
Lance waved Lavender off. “And hey to you too, Lavender.” What she said must’ve gotten underneath Lance’s skin because he stood up and helped Aspen to her feet. He tossed his arm over her shoulder and led her over to the bar. “What you want, baby?”
“Just some buffalo wings and fries.”
“I got you.”
“What time do you perform? I’m getting tired,” Aspen admitted and yawned. The nightlife was no longer for her. She’d put all her energy into showing up, but it was getting late, and all she desired to do was climb into bed.
After ordering her food, Lance checked his watch and replied, “I go on in about an hour.”
Aspen wanted to stay and watch him perform, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out. Just as she was about to let him know, a woman in an outfit that left little to the imagination came over and invited Lance to take shots with them. Without any regard to how Aspen would feel, Lance accepted and allowed the woman to grab his hand and led him to her friend group.
Folding her bottom lip and tugging on it, Aspen tried to keep her emotions at bay. She was tired, overwhelmed, and upset.
Lance had pissed her off.
Mahari had pissed her off.
Dynasty had gotten underneath her skin.
Too much was going on for her to handle, and seeing Lance doing body shots off the women sent Aspen over the edge.
Despite how badly she wanted to cause a scene, she didn’t. Instead, Aspen stormed to the furthest restroom and locked herself in. She leaned with her palms gripping the sink and allowed her tears to fall. The thought of calling Denver to come get her crossed her mind, but she didn’t want anyone feeling like she was running from her problems.
She just didn’t have the emotional capacity to deal with them.
Minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Assuming it was Lavender, Aspen waddled over and unlocked it without opening it. She went back to the sink to wash her face, only to see Mahari walking in and shutting the door behind him.
“You better leave before your girlfriend gets mad and comes looking for you,” Aspen spat, running a paper towel under the water.
“Dynasty isn’t my girlfriend, Bunny. If she was, you would know.”
“Pfft. That’s not how it seems to me the way she’s all over you.” Aspen slammed the paper towel in the garbage can after wiping her face and turned toward Mahari. “And the audacity ofyou to act like you didn’t speak to me because of her. I thought we were better than that.”
“We are.”
“Then why ignore me?” Aspen watched as Mahari’s tongue slid over his lips as he ran his hands through his beard. She crossed her arms and waited for him to answer. When it took too long, Aspen snapped. “Stop trying to come up with a lie and be real!”
Mahari walked up on her, invading her personal space. He roughly cupped her chin and glared down at her. “You’re going to get enough of playing with me, Aspen. If you know one thing, you know I’m not a liar, so stop trying to paint me as one. I’m not Lance.”
“So you’re going to sit here and tell me she’s not the reason?”
“She’s not. Dynasty knows your place in my life. She knows when it comes to you, my parents, and my sister, I’m choosing y’all over everything else. Why do you think she made that slick-ass comment earlier?”
