Edge of Love (21 page)

“
If you get the hell away
from me.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow. What happened
to you?”

I said nothing.

“
Girl
troubles?”

“
Fiancé
troubles.”

She nodded. “Getting cold
feet?”

“
No.”

“
Then what’s the
problem?”

“
Why do you
care?”

“
Well, you’re really cute
and it sounds like you’re going to be available soon.”

“
I’m not
interested.”

“
You’re still talking to
me.”

“
I’m too drunk to move,
that’s why.” My mind felt blurry from all the alcohol I drank. I
tried to block out the image of Cortland and Scarlet together but
it was difficult. I thought I would burst into tears every time I
thought about it. Now I knew how Scarlet felt when I slept with
Janice. I felt even worse for hurting her. I would never want her
to feel what I felt right now—agonizing pain.

“
You think I’m
cute.”

“
I can’t even see you,” I
said as I looked ahead.

“
So what did this girl do
to you?”

“
She lied to me then slept
with some guy.”

“
So she cheated on
you?”

“
No—it’s
complicated.”

“
I can uncomplicate it for
you.”

“
I already told you I’m
not interested.”

“
Well, I think you’re
lying.”

I felt my mind become dizzy. I pulled
out my phone and started to text Ryan. I wasn’t sure what I said
but I think I got my message across. I needed help. I was drunk and
confused. I couldn’t even move from my seat.

“
So what do you do for a
living?”

I ignored her. I just wanted her to
leave me alone.

“
Why are you ignoring
me?”

“
Because you’re
annoying.”

“
You need to get laid,
man.”

“
By my fiancé—the woman I
love.”

“
Well, she obviously
doesn’t love you if she lied to you.”

“
No—she does—it’s
complicated.” I rested my head in my hand and stared at the table.
A moment later, I felt a hand grip my shoulder.

“
You okay,
man?”

I shook my head.

Ryan stared at the annoying girl for a
moment. “Who’s this?”

“
Some annoying whore that
won’t leave me the fuck alone.”

The girl glared at me. “Fuck
off.”

“
Yeah—whatever,” I
said.

Ryan looked at me. “Let’s
go.”

“
Okay,” I said as I tried
to stand.

Ryan grabbed me and placed an arm
around my shoulder. He assisted me out of the bar until we made it
to the street. He hailed down a cab and helped me get inside. When
the car drove away, I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry that I texted you.
I just—”

“
Don’t worry about it,” he
said quickly. “Thanks for contacting me.”

“
I don’t know how many
glasses I had, but I’ve never drank that much before.”

He stared at me. “I can
tell.”

I moaned. “Yeah.”

“
Scarlet told me what
happened. You know there’s nothing between them, right?”

I nodded.

“
Cortland is in love with
Monnique and I wouldn’t let him be around Scarlet if he was
anything less than admirable. If you can’t believe her, then you
can believe that.”

“
I know.”

“
Don’t let it tear you
apart like this.”

I started to cry. I felt weak and
pathetic but I couldn’t help it. “I love her so fucking much. I—I
just hate imagining her with someone else. She’s mine.”

“
I know,” he said
gently.

“
Penelope cheated on me
and left me for someone else, but this hurts a lot more than that
ever did. She lied to me and kept this from me. How could she do
that? We tell each other everything. And how could she sleep with
him when she loved me?”

“
It didn’t mean
anything.”

I shook my head. “I still can’t stand
it. She’s my wife—is going to be my wife. I don’t want her to be
with anyone else.”

“
She isn’t. She’s only
with you.”

I pressed my forehead against the
window and felt the cool temperature of the glass. “I know we
weren’t together but—it kills me.”

Ryan didn’t say anything.

We were quiet for a moment. “Please
don’t tell Scarlet about this. Please.”

Ryan was quiet.

“
Please,” I begged. “I
don’t want her to know what I did.”

“
Okay. I won’t say
anything.”

“
Thank you.”

The cab stopped and I tried to reach
for my wallet but I kept grabbing the safety belt. Ryan pulled the
cash from his wallet then handed over the money. I tried to open
the door but I couldn’t figure out how. Ryan came to my side then
helped me get out. He helped me reach my apartment and got me
inside the door. He guided me to the couch and set me
down.

“
I’m so sorry about this,”
I said. I lied down and tried to stop the room from
spinning.

“
It’s fine, man.” He sat
on the other sofa and leaned back.

“
You don’t have to stay
here.”

“
I know. I’m your
brother—this is what brothers do.”

I felt my mind black out. Before I was
unconscious I said, “Scarlet.”

18

Janice insisted that I wear a dress
even though I didn’t want to.

“
What’s the point of
looking good if I’m engaged?”

“
So you’re going to try to
look bad on purpose?”

“
Well, no, but do I really
need to wear a tight black dress to eat hot wings, drink beer, and
watch a game? I was just going to wear jeans and a
jersey.”

Janice made a disgusted face. “No, you
aren’t going out like that.”

“
Are you wearing a
dress?’

“
Damn right I am. Ryan
likes it when I look hot when we go places. He says it ‘serves as a
reminder.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A reminder of
what?”

“
That’s he’s king—or
something like that. I don’t really know. I’m just with him because
he’s great in bed.”

I started laughing. “I don’t see any
other good qualities in him.”

She smiled. “He’s actually an amazing
guy. I love him very much.”

I could hear the sincerity in her
voice. I was happy that my brother had the unconditional love of a
woman. It reminded me of Sean. The thought of him pained my
heart.

“
Don’t do that,” she said
firmly.

“
Do what?”

“
Make that sad face. I
know you’re thinking about Sean.”

I sighed. “I can’t help
it.”

“
Forget about him this
week. Take advantage of the time to clear your head and think
straight. You two had a lot of issues recently. Take the time to
sort out your feelings about them.”

“
I guess you’re
right.”

“
I’m always
right.”

“
Let’s not get carried
away.”

We both walked into the living room to
the sound of whistles. I felt my heart drop when I saw Cortland. I
wasn’t sure if I should be spending any time with him.

Cortland caught my expression. “I can
leave if you don’t want me here. I don’t want to make anything
worse for you.” His eyes sagged in despair and I saw how sad he
was. He didn’t want to lose my friendship.

Ryan shook his head. “No, you’re
staying, Cortland.”

I nodded. “I want you to
stay.”

“
Are you sure? I don’t
want to cause any more problems with Sean.”

I shook my head. “We aren’t alone
together—Janice and Ryan will be there. It shouldn’t be a
problem.”

“
I won’t touch
you.”

Ryan stepped toward us. “Enough of
this teeny-bopper drama bullshit. Let’s go get some wings and
beer.”

I smiled then looked at Cortland.
“It’s fine, really.”

“
Okay.”

Ryan opened the front door. “And don’t
worry about eating too much. We’re playing some serious ball
tomorrow.” He turned to Janice. “But you don’t have to worry about
that, baby. You look damn fine the way you are.” He grabbed her
face and kissed her then walked out the door. They were so cute
together but it made me nauseated at the same time.

I knew Ryan was trying to organize
activities so I wouldn’t sink into a depression like last time. I
appreciated it but it wasn’t necessary. I followed them out the
door and we walked down to the street where Cortland’s car was
parked.

We drove to the bar downtown then
walked inside. There were televisions everywhere and we took a seat
in the corner so we could watch the big screen. I felt awkward
wearing such a form-fitting dress to a bar when I was engaged, but
since I was already here I knew I shouldn’t dwell on it. Cortland
sat on my left and Ryan sat on my right while he had his arm
wrapped around Janice.

I turned to Cortland. “Where’s
Monnique?”

“
Uh, she’s working,” he
said without looking at me.

The waiter brought our beers then
walked away.

I knew Cortland was lying just by
looking at him. “Why didn’t you invite her?”

He shrugged. “I just wanted it to be
us, you know?”

I knew it was because of me. “You
don’t have to do that, Cortland.”

He took a drink of his beer. “Don’t
worry about it.”

Ryan turned to Janice. “Baby, go to
the counter and flirt with the bartender so our drinks will be
free.”

I laughed. “Is that why he wants you
to get dressed up?”

“
He does it with dinners
too,” she said.

I looked at my brother. “You’re not
even poor.”

He shrugged. “I still like free food.
And since my girlfriend is damn fine, I may as well get something
out of it.”

She looked at him. “You get to fuck
me, don’t you?”

He smiled. “That’s always a pleasure,
but I like to squeeze you for all your worth, you know?”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s so
romantic.”

“
I need to start doing
that with Monnique,” Cortland said.

“
You guys are pigs,” I
said.

Ryan looked at me. “You’re a girl,
Scar. You don’t know how expensive girls can get.”

I smiled at Janice. “You put up with
this?”

Ryan spoke before Janice could open
her mouth. “I give her a place to live, don’t I? I’m the
king.”

“
What the hell is that
supposed to mean?” I said. “Who the hell says that?”

Janice rolled her eyes. “He says it
when we’re in bed, too.”

Cortland laughed. “It sounds like you
are giving yourself a pep talk, bro.”

Ryan drank from his beer. “Shut up,
you peasants. I’m the king!”

“
You are something else,”
I said.

The waiter brought our hot wings and
we watched the game while we stuffed ourselves.

I looked at Janice. “Can you get these
for free?”

She flipped her hair back. “I can
try.”

“
That’s my girl,” Ryan
said.

I couldn’t help it. I started
laughing. I hadn’t felt this carefree or calm in over a week. Sean
hadn’t called me since he saw me with Cortland and I respected his
space. I saw how heartbroken he was. I knew I would just make him
more upset. Ever since that horrific weekend, I’ve been nothing but
stressed and depressed. Being with my family really made a
difference. I don’t know what I would do without them.

The front door opened and a bunch of
guys wearing suits walked inside. A few women trailed behind them
wearing pencil skirts and tight fitting blouses. They were
obviously a group of colleagues. When they took their seats on the
other side of the bar, I realized Sean was with them. A beautiful
brunette sat right next to him and leaned close to him. The sight
pained my heart. I knew I was overreacting, but it still made me
angry. Since Sean and I were so shaky, I was so sensitive that I
was going to lose him.

The woman leaned forward and spoke to
Sean. He nodded to her then looked at the television on the wall.
The waiter brought their drinks and Sean immediately began drinking
his.

Ryan spotted Sean. “Damn,” he said as
he leaned his head back.

“
Seriously?” Janice said.
“What are the odds?”

I didn’t respond. I was just staring
at him, watching him with the brunette.

Ryan read my mind. “It doesn’t mean
anything, Scarlet. It’s just a colleague.”