Page 19 of Love At Close Range

Pierce pulled away from the curb, but I stayed where I was instead of following immediately. For the first time since I got to Arbor Point, the job wasn’t the first thing on my mind. I stared at the empty space where his truck had been while eight years of shit I thought I had dealt with came crawling right back to the surface. I was pissed and hurt all over again, and that alone pissed me off because I didn’t think Reiana still had the ability to make me feel either one. I had spent too many years convincing myself that whatever we had was dead, and I had built an entire life without her being part of it. I had a daughter I loved more than anything, businesses to run, family that depended on me, and enough shit going on that Reiana Scott should’ve been nothing but an old memory. The worst part wasn’t even the anger or the questions running through my head. It was the fact that after eight fucking years, one look at that woman was enough to remind me that the piece of myself I thought I buried when she left had never really gone anywhere.

And somehow, out of every muthafucka she could’ve ended up with, Reiana was with the same nigga I was eventually going to put in the ground.

8

Reiana

same night…

Dinner at The Blue Room was supposed to be Dorian’s way of making up for the weird shit he’d been on lately. After popping up at my house with flowers and that half-ass explanation about some big contract, he spent the next couple of days calling and checking in like normal. I still didn’t completely believe his ass, but I decided not to keep pressing him when I didn’t have anything concrete to press him about.

I sat across from him in one of the booths toward the back of the lounge, watching him look down at his phone for what had to be the fifth time since our food came. He wasn’t texting anybody that I could see. He would look at the screen, lock it, sit it back down, and then pick it up a few minutes later like he was waiting on something.

“You expecting a call or something?” I asked as I leaned back against the booth and watched him reach for his phone again.

“Nah, baby,” Dorian answered as he glanced at the screen before turning it facedown. “I’m good.”

I stared at him for a few seconds because that answer did absolutely nothing for me. His mouth said he was good, but everything else about him said otherwise. He had been distracted since we sat down, and twice he looked toward the entrance when somebody walked in, like he was expecting somebody.

“You sure?” I questioned as I picked up my drink. “Because you’ve checked that phone more than you’ve looked at me since we got here.”

“I’m sure,” Dorian assured me as he reached across the table and touched my hand. “It’s just some work shit. I told you I had that deal going on.”

I pulled my hand from beneath his and grabbed my glass instead. “You keep saying that, but you still haven’t really told me shit.”

Dorian released a breath and leaned back in his seat before looking around the lounge. “Reiana, what do you want me to tell you?”

“The truth would be nice,” I answered as I raised my brow. “Because whatever you’ve been telling me lately damn sure ain’t it.”

“I’m not lying to you,” Dorian denied as he took a sip from his glass. “I got a lot of money tied up in some shit right now, and I’m trying to make sure everything goes the way it’s supposed to. That’s it.”

“What shit?” I questioned as I rested my forearms on the table. “What deal? What property? Who are you dealing with? You keep giving me these broad ass answers like I’m the gah damn Feds and you’re on trial,” I snapped.

Dorian looked at me for a moment before rubbing his hand across his beard. “Why I gotta give you every detail for you to believe me? If I said that’s what it is, Ree, then damn… that’s what it is,” he huffed in frustration.

That pissed me the fuck off. I wasn’t asking to go through his phone. I wasn’t asking him where he was every second of the day, and I damn sure wasn’t trying to control a grown-ass man. I was simply asking why my boyfriend had been walking around like he was waiting for somebody to blow up his spot.

“You don’t,” I replied as I sat back and folded my arms. “But don’t sit here and act like I’m crazy for noticing that your ass been moving funny. You take calls away from me, you ignore half the calls you get when I’m around, and now we’re sitting at dinner, and you’ve spent the whole time watching that fucking phone and checking the door.”

“I’m not acting like you’re crazy,” Dorian responded as he reached for my hand again. “I’m saying you’re making this bigger than it is,” he pleaded.

I hated when somebody tried to make me feel like I was overreacting instead of answering the damn question. I had already been through enough in my life to know when my instincts were screaming at me for a reason. I didn’t always know exactly what the reason was, but I damn sure knew better than to ignore it.

“I’m making it bigger than it is?” I repeated as I stared at him. “Okay.” I scoffed.

The tone of my voice must’ve told him he was heading in the wrong direction because his expression changed immediately.

“Come on, baby. That ain’t what I meant,” Dorian corrected as he moved closer to me in the booth. “I’m just saying I got some business shit stressing me out, and I’on want to bring that shit to you.”

“You already brought it to me,” I pointed out as I looked at him. “Your whole energy has been fucked up for weeks.”

Dorian was quiet for a few seconds before he wrapped his arm around me and gently pulled me closer, pressing his lips against the side of my neck.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, aight,” Dorian assured me as he kissed my neck again. “I promise you. I’m handling it.”

“I hope you are,” I responded as I turned my head enough to look at him. “Because I meant what I told you before. I’m not dealing with nobody’s bullshit, Dorian.”

“I know, baby,” Dorian replied as he rubbed his thumb against the back of my neck. “You’on have anything to worry about… I promise.”