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“You look,” Keisha started.
The heffa stared her up and down, then returned her gaze to Caleb, leaving her sentence unfinished. Bitch! Tiera rolled her eyes, then looked at Caleb to find him frowning. Ugh. Why was he always frowning at her these days? When he finally spoke to her, his words made her feel even worse.
“If you can’t handle your liquor, don’t drink it. There’s juice at the bar, too,” he told her. “Drink that.”
His words made Keisha giggle. Tiera wanted to curse them both out. However, she didn’t get a chance because they turned and walked away before she could think of anything witty to say. Blinking back tears, she took a few deep breaths to calm her anger. Her hand shook slightly as she clutched her glass while imagining it was Keisha’s throat she was clutching.
Juice? That bastard wanted her to drink juice like she was a kid. She was grown. Why did she need to drink juice? It was official. His view of her would never change. It didn’t matter how seductively she dressed. He would always see her as the little girl next door who’d followed him everywhere he went when they were younger.
“Hey, Tiera,” Terrence called out. “Come over here.” Her brother waved her over.
She looked from her twin to Caleb, who was staring into his drink. Then she looked at Keisha, who was smirking at her.
“No thanks,” Tiera whispered, knowing no one could hear her.
As her brother called to her again, she turned away from the group and headed to the bar area. A dirty martini was calling her name. And it was screaming louder than her brother. When she reached the bar, she realized two dirty martinis were calling her name. Along with their cousins, Sex On The Beach and Strawberry Mojito.
By the time she’d finished conversating with her favorite alcoholic beverages, she felt defeated and eager to go home. As she strode to the front of the venue, she dodged shady men who thought she was tipsy enough to go home with them. As if! She knew her limit. No matter how hurt her feelings were, she’d never drink until she was no longer in control of herself.
Before going off to college, her mother had told her two things about drinking at parties. One, never leave your drink unattended. Two, never drink more than you can handle. Sure, Tiera was too tipsy to drive, which was why she hadn’t driven to the event in the first place. But she wasn’t tipsy enough to be led off by some perv.
She paid for her taxi over the app on her phone, then strode outside to wait on the driver to arrive. The cold Chicago air against her skin felt good. Maybe it would cool off some of her anger. Not happening. Even the Windy city air couldn’t chill her out. Not tonight. Not after she’d failed to get Caleb’s attention and confess her feelings to him.
Not after the way he’d talked to her in front of his ex. She stared down at her phone. Her ride was close. Pushing away from the wall, she strode down the venue’s steps. She walked slowly. Alcohol and high heels were a bad combination. When the white vehicle pulled up, she walked to the passenger window to stare at the driver.
He matched the photo on the app. The driver nodded to her. She nodded back before opening the door and sliding into the back seat. She went to shut the door behind her just as someone grabbed it. A small scream escaped her as she was pushed across the seat, and someone plopped down next to her, slamming the door shut behind them.
“Caleb?” she yelled.
“You know this guy?” The driver asked as Caleb closed his eyes and relaxed against the seat.
“Yeah, I know him.” Why was the bastard in the car with her?
“Are you going to pay for two people?” The driver asked. “I take cash.”
“One second,” she said to the driver. To Caleb, she said, “Hey. Caleb. Pay the man or get another cab. Caleb.” She shook his shoulders. His eyes remained closed. Shit. There was no waking him when he was like this. She reached into her purse and pulled her money out.
“Thanks,” the driver said.
Tiera leaned back against the seat. She’d only been away from him an hour, and look at what he’d done to himself.
Tiera leaned closer to Caleb. “Caleb, where is Keisha?”
He grunted, but no coherent words emerged.
“How much did you drink? You always drink too much when you’re with her?” He’d often said he drank so much around Keisha, so he could handle being around her. “I don’t feel sorry for you,” Tiera told him. “That’s what you get for choosing girls like her.”
Instead of a girl like me. As they sped down the highway, her gaze never drifted from the drunk passenger sleeping next to her. She’d been mad at him when she’d left the venue. Now that he was beside her, she couldn’t muster up the anger she’d felt before.
“Sometimes, I hate you,” she whispered, knowing he couldn’t hear her.
Even if he could, he had a bad habit of not remembering what he’d done when he was drunk. Tomorrow, he wouldn’t recall the words she uttered tonight. This was her chance to speak the truth in her heart. Before she could get the words out, her phone rang. It was Terrence.
“Hello,” Tiera answered.
“Are you still here? Have you seen Caleb?”
“He’s with me. I’m in a cab heading home.”
