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33
Sierra
Two weeks have passedsince my fallout with Maliki.
“Your brother and I totally understand if you don’t want to come,” Chloe says. “It won’t hurt our feelings.”
Her engagement party is tonight.
At Down Home.
I wave off her offer. “No, it’s fine. I’ll avoid Maliki. Everything will be good.”
Yeah, right.
I fake a smile.
“What’s going on with the bar’s remodel?” she asks.
“All the hard work is done. We already selected flooring and paint. The contractors were scheduled, and I sent copies to Liz. The contractors will show up, do their job, and I’ll check on them while Maliki is gone from the bar. Liz has agreed for me to come in on his days off.”
“Maliki is okay with that?”
I shrug. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Lies.
Chloe whistles. “Oh Lordy, your life is becoming more interesting than mine.”
* * *
“Why the frown, new roomie?”
Josh, Rex’sandmy roommate, crashes next to me on the couch, a wild grin on his face.
Rex glances up from his video game—a video game he’sdeveloping. “Boy problems.” He pauses his game, tosses the controller to the side, and turns to face us. “Maliki problems.”
I wince, just hearing his name.
It possesses so many good and bad memories.
“You going to the party tonight?” Rex asks.
I nod.
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
It’s stupid, but as I have for so many years, I’m going there even though it’s a bad idea. I’ve become a professional at ignoring warnings to steer clear of Down Home Pub.
“I can’t miss my brother’s engagement party because of boy problems, and it’s not like I hate Maliki.” I wrinkle my nose. “We just aren’t right for each other.”
Wrong.
We are right for each other.
You can be right for someone and it still not work out.
Romeo and Juliet.
