Page 32

“Put it on and let me see,” he said simply, his eyes not leaving hers.

The air between them thickened, but neither pulled away. He was testing her.

Taylor tucked her knees to her chest, resting her chin there. “Why do you always go all out?”

“You changing the subject huh?”

Silence stretched between them. She glanced at the time, then sighed. “I should let you go. It’s late.”

“Yeah… yeah,” he said, but neither one of them moved to end the call.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Tomorrow night will be a good night. I promise.”

She smiled again, slower this time, the kind thatfelt earned, not forced.. “I trust you. So uhm, goodnight, Brooks.”

He held her gaze a beat longer. “Night, Tay.”

Her smile faded as the quiet wrapped around her.

Funny how joy always made room for grief, even when you didn’t invite it.

That ache in her chest, the one she thought she’d buried deep always crept up around her birthday.

And no matter how far she got from Tyree, that night still lived under her skin. He’d ruined a day that had always been celebrated. That was the night she realized she was on her own, even when she wasn’t alone.

Taylor lit a candle in the bathroom, letting the vanilla scent settle in the air as she blended foundation into her skin. The bathroom counter was cluttered with her favorite makeup, rare these days, but tonight was different.

It was her birthday.

She’d slipped into a slate blue dress that she’d saved up for. Spent extra time curling her hair. Put on the heels she only wore for special occasions. Tyree had promised dinner, promised a night just for them. Said he was making it special.

“I got reservations and everything,” he’d told her that morning, kissing her cheek while barely looking up from his phone. “You ain’t gotta worry ‘bout nothin’. Just be ready.”

She’d been ready.

She was still ready.

And now, two hours past the time he told her to be dressed, she was in their bedroom alone, pacing the floor with a slowly sinking feeling in her gut. Her phone buzzed just once. A text. Not him.

Princess:Girl, I think I just saw your man at Alley Kat. He gon off that oil. You better go get him before they throw him out.

Her throat tightened. She didn’t even respond.

Instead, she grabbed her keys and her coat. The dress stayed on. So did the heels. She drove across town in silence, hands tight on the wheel, stomach in knots. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe he’d stopped for a drink and lost track of time. Maybe…

No.

It was him.

She saw Tyree before she even stepped all the way inside. She spotted him slumped at the bar. Laughing too loud. Slurring something to a woman whose name he probably didn’t know. A half-empty bottle of cheap Vodka on the bar. The same man who told her to “trust him” this morning had been pouring his attention somewhere else all night.

Taylor didn’t make a scene. Didn’t yell. She simply walked over, touched his arm, and said his name low.

“Tyree.”

He blinked at her like he’d forgotten who she was.