J u s ta sI m a nand I were laughing over a bridezilla story, a deep voice cut through behind me. “Lemme see one more smile that ain’t directed at me, and the next venue we book is a funeral home.”I closed my eyes for half a second, then turned to see Knuck storming towards us. Pissed was an understatement. The look in his eyes was deadly. I thought to myself,here we go…
His eyes slid from me to Iman then back to me. “The fuck is this?” he asked.
Iman blinked once but stayed seated as I tried to introduce them. “Babe, this is…”
“Nah,” he cut in, towering over the table. “You told me you was meetin’ ol’ girl. The weddin’ planner.” His eyes snapped to Iman. “So, who the fuck is this nigga?”
Iman stood calmly, extending a hand. “Iman DuBois. Business partner to Shan and…”
Knuck looked at the hand as if it were foreign. “Where the hell she at?”
“She had an emergency, Keon,” I said quickly.
“So instead you sittin’ at brunch wit’ another nigga?”
People were staring now. I bounced Kassim, keeping my voice level. “Lower your voice. You’re forcing it right now.”
Knuck laughed. “Lower my voice?”
“It’s just a business brunch.”
“It looks like a date.”
Iman cleared his throat slightly. “Mr. Jones, I assure you…”
“You ain’t gotta assure me wit’ shit,” Knuck said, stepping closer.
I jumped up, placing a hand on his chest. “Okay. You’ve officiallylostyour mind. Iman, I apologize for…”
“Oh, so now you apologizin’ to him?”
“Yes, Knuck. Let’s just go.” I placed Kassim in the carrier, grabbed the diaper bag, and turned toward the exit. “Thank you for your time, Iman,” I said quickly.
Knuck scoffed behind me, but I kept walking. I was embarrassed as fuck… again. The moment we stepped onto the sidewalk outside the restaurant, I exhaled deeply and tried to wrap my head around the craziness that was my fiancé.
“What the fuck was that?” he demanded.
I spun around. “What wasthat?”
“You heard me, Ny. I couldn’tna gotten a heads up you meetin’ wit’ this nigga instead of ol’ girl?”
“First of all, it’s not that deep. It’s literally just a wedding planning brunch. I’m not fucking him! Secondly, how dare you embarrass meagain?! You came in there acting like a damn lunatic!” My hands shaking, voice cracking with anger and disbelief.
He laughed like that was funny. “A lunatic?”
“Yes!”
“You sittin’ there at brunch wit’ some random nigga andI’mthe crazy one?”
“For the last time, yes! He’s a wedding planner!”
“He’s another nigga.”
I threw my hands up. “Oh, my God. I can’t with you right now.”
He stepped closer. “You ain’t see the way you was smilin’ in this muthafucka’s face, Nyomi.”
“Smiling?”