The reality of last night hit me, cooling my blood fast. I backed up and sat against the headboard, rubbing the grit out my eyes. I looked down at her, tangled in the white hotel robe, looking good even when she was a mess.
“We need to talk about what happened,” I said.
Nique buried her face in the pillow. “Dex, please. The sun ain’t even up.”
“For real though. I have to head to work in a bit and I don’t want to walk into the office with you being in a cell on my mind. Talk to me.”
She stayed quiet for a minute, then finally rolled over. She walked me through her version of brunch, how that turned into the mess with Kel, finding out about Trisha, and how a conversation became a fight that ended with a vase across the back of her head. The hospital told her she probably blacked out from the combination of adrenaline and the hit.
“The glass scratched my neck up,” she muttered, touching the mark. “My hair took most of the force though so I didn’t need stitches. Thank God for this bush.” She tried to laugh it off.
I couldn’t find the humor in it. I was so pissed my jaw stayed locked. I would never put my hands on a woman, but I was seriously contemplating paying somebody to handle Kel and her ex the grimy way.
“You really thinking about not going to the wedding?” I asked after a beat.
Nique let out a dry laugh. “Dex, I have court Wednesday. Depending on what that judge says I might be doing time. I ain’t thinking about Tulum. I’m thinking about a jumpsuit.”
“I can get you a lawyer,” I said. “A real one. You get your name cleared, you promise me you’ll be on that plane.”
She looked at me sideways. “Why do you want me there so bad? Your favorite piece of pussy is already gonna be there,” she said, talking about Amina.
I chuckled and leaned in close, dropping my voice until I was right in her ear.
“You know damn well my favorite piece of pussy is between your thighs,” I told her. “Always has been.”
Nique didn’t flinch but I saw her breath catch. “I can’t tell. I ain’t the one who had your baby.”
“You want to have my baby, Nique? Is that what it is?”
She made a face and shoved my shoulder. “Ew nigga. Back up with that hot ass morning breath.”
I laughed and finally swung my legs out the bed. As I stood up the print in my joggers was still very much present. I caught her eyes drop before she caught herself.
I grabbed it through the fabric and looked at her. “You want some of this before I leave? Clear that headache right up.”
Nique rolled her eyes, her face flushing. “Nigga, I like girls or did you forget?”
I headed toward the door and grabbed my keys off the desk. I looked back at her one last time. “Nique, you know damn well you ain’t gay. I’ve known you almost seventeen years. You can play that role for everybody else but don’t play it with me.”
“Aren’t you leaving?” she snapped.
I nodded, smirking as I slipped into my shoes. “I’ll be back later.”
“Why?”
I looked her up and down. “You plan on wearing that robe for three days? You don’t have a charger or a change of clothes.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it, realizing she was literally stranded in a five-star hotel with nothing but the skin she was born in.
“That’s what I thought,” I said, opening the door. “I’ll see you later.”
I didn’t wake back up until nearly ten in the morning.
The room was silent, but my body felt like it was vibrating. I was hungry as hell and restless in a way that had nothing to do with food. That was a dangerous combination when you were trapped in a luxury hotel room with nothing but your thoughts and the lingering scent of the man who just left.
I hated the effect Dex had on me. It was the whole reason I stayed away from him. When he was around, I couldn’t think straight, so I stayed mean just to keep my guard up. Being a bitchwas the only thing standing between me and falling right back into that trap.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand, the dead screen jogging my memory from the night before.