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I showed my face at Jeb’s party and talked to a few old friends. From the look of things, Xander hadn’t done anything too crazy. The place was decorated with only a few balloons and a banner that said, “Enjoy Your Last Night of Life.” That was Xander’s idea. But other than that, everything was lowkey and just a bunch of men hanging out. After about an hour, I shook the groom’s hand and told him I had to go.
“Wish you could stay a little while longer, Bruise,” he said. “I know you have your own business, but you should try not to work too hard.”
“It’s not hard work, man. I love it,” I said, thinking about how much I loved Alise. Yeah, I loved her, and the thought had come to me at that moment. What I felt for her was indeed…love.
I left Jeb’s party headed to Tameka’s gathering. I had dropped Alise off an hour ago and told her I would be back after I stopped into Jeb’s event. There was a small group of women there to celebrate with Tameka, but compared to Jeb’s party, this one was action-packed. The ladies were playing games, laughing, tossing back hard liquor, and talking a lot of smack to each other. The only lady in the room that wasn’t tossing back drinks was Channing’s wife, Kemara. Other than that, it was a slush fest.
Alise was drinking with everyone and enjoying herself. She also seemed to be doing everything she could to act as if she didn’t notice me as I stood guard in the corner.
“Can you at least go outside and let us ladies have some privacy?” Alise asked, using the snappy tone that she had with me when she was around her friends.
“No,” I said plainly and continued to scan the room.
She started talking to her friends in a low tone that I couldn’t make out. A few minutes later, she got up and walked toward the door. I followed her.
“Alise, what’s going on with you? Why did you just speak to me like that in front of everyone?”
“If I don’t, they’ll know we’re…together.”
“And that would be a problem? Why?”
“I’m not ready.”
“Oh, you’re ready to be with me. When we’re alone, you can hardly keep your hands off of me, and I can’t keep mine off of you. You’re just not ready for people to know, and I’m fine with that, but what I can’t handle is you talking to me as if you didn’t just get off of my dick hours ago.”
“It’s just…”
“I know what it is. You’ve been hurt so many times that, even now that you have opened yourself up to me, you still don’t want other people to know you have done it again. You think I’m going to hurt you and that if I do, at least, you will be the only person who knows about the hurt. I can tell you right now, Alise, you don’t have to do that. You can trust me with your heart. If we break, it won’t be because I broke us.”
Her eyes widened in alarm, and she stepped back. Clearly, 'us' was more than the walls she'd built like Fort Knox around her could handle. I caught her arm before she backed all the way to the door and pulled her close to me.
“I love you,” I told her. I had to make her understand her heart wasn't at risk with me.
She stepped back, looking into my eyes like she was searching for something. “Bruiser, I…”
Having demanded enough of her emotionally tonight, I cut her off by pulling her in for a kiss that left us both moaning, hot, and bothered. "Go enjoy yourself, baby.”
She looked into my eyes, and I saw so much passion mixed with pain staring back at me. “I…I…”
I put a finger to her lips. “Go inside, Alise.”
She walked inside, and I went in behind her, posted up in the same corner I was in before, and watched her the rest of the night. I had to grin and bear it when the dancer danced his way over to her and stood in her face, gyrating his body. I could feel the blood coursing through my veins in my neck, hands, forehead, everywhere when he placed his hand on Alise’s leg and raised it in the air. If she had not been wearing jeans, what belonged to me would have been exposed.
“That’s enough of that! Back away from her,” I said, forceful enough for the man to hear me. My voice had boomed through the room, so loud that the music halted, and everyone turned and looked at me. I didn’t care. What I cared about was this man who had put his hands on what was mine, and that Alise had allowed it to happen. “What do you think you’re doing, Alise?” I growled.
“You need to back off, Bru—” Alise stopped speaking once I glared at her.
“Who are you, her bodyguard?” the dancer asked.
“Actually, he's a party pooper," Alise said, glaring at me for not keeping the ruse going that we weren't involved. It was one thing to keep our secret from our mutual acquaintances, another to outright act as if what we had didn't exist at all. She certainly wouldn't put up with it if the shoe were on the other foot. Neither would I.
“Let’s go, Alise. You’re trying to piss me off.” I took her by the hand and guided her out of the seat. She removed her hand from mine.
“I don’t need you to stand up! My legs work fine on their own!” She rose out of her seat and marched toward the door.
