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“Do you think you’ll ever forgive me?”

Against her will, her eyes found his, and she sank a little. The sorrowful look on his face made her want to empathize with him.

“I forgive you now. We’re cool. Just don’t be on no weird stuff and we’ll be alright,” she smiled.

“You have my word.” He looked around the room casually before looking back at her. “You look happy.”

“Extremely…the happiest.”

“Damn.”

She shrugged with a friendly smile, but that was the best she could do. She wasn’t lying.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you can do better, Forever. I mean, he looks like a cool dude, but you really want to start a life with him?”

“Sure do, and what’s better?” she faced him with her arms crossed over her chest. “A married man with a secret baby?”

“Forever,” he drug while running his hand over his face. “Do you seriously feel like he’s the best person for you?”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Come on now, you already know. Do I really need to say it?”

“Hell yeah, you need to say it because I don’t know nothing when it comes to him. Nothing other than he’s one of one. Haven’t met a man that can compare yet.”

“You’re delusional now,” Marcellus chuckled indignantly. “He’s a fucking felon. You just got the nigga out of prison for who knows what!”

“And she’s gon’ have to get me out again if you don’t get the fuck on,” Blue’s deep voice literally knocked Forever off balance.

Maybe it was the situation that had her equilibrium off because there was absolutely no way she’d been about to fall off the sound of his voice alone.

“It’s fine, Blue-Blue,” she found her words, while positioning herself so that she was still between the men.

With her hand on the center of Blue’s chest, she looked up to him, but his gaze was on Marcellus and hadn’t budged.

“Run all that shit back again, everything you just said to her, let me hear it.”

Marcellus shocked the hell out of Forever when he stood his ground. “I was talking to Forever.”

“About me. Now run it back again,” his typical calm demeanor was still there and present, but this time it was accompanied by a silent warning that clearly dared Marcellus to repeat himself.

Forever’s stomach flipped at the shivering cold surrounding her. Crip Blue was so scary. His peaceful mien was nothing like it had been since he’d been home. Back was the Zurich she’d met in prison. The one that hadn’t even been soft enough to go easy on her. Her tranquil and reassuringly composed baby was long gone, and blue flag wearing Blue was there, about to set it off in the baby shower.

“You guys, please,” she begged, while looking around the room for some sort of help.

Surely, there was someone around witnessing the bubbling of their moment that could lend a helping hand. Where was Calvary when she needed him?

“Breathe, baby. I ain’t gon’ do shit to this nigga.” Blue’s large hand grabbed the small of her back and pulled her toward him so that they were chest to chest.

His lips touched her forehead while his eyes remained trained ahead.

“Catch your breath. You know I got you.”

Even with the world feeling like it was about to spin off the hinges, Forever believed her man. His tone was soothing and calm, like it always was when speaking to her, and since he’d pressed her head into the center of his chest, the beating of his heart really was comforting her. She could only imagine how she looked cradled to him while who knows what took place over her head, but Blue had it like that with her. He clearly controlled her body better than she did.

“Hey, everything okay over here?”

“The fuck y’all niggas doing?”