Page 3 of Follow Me to Your Heart

She pretended to hug me, then whispered in my ear, “You will sit down and be cordial. Marquis has been asking about you, and from what I hear, you’ve been ignoring him. He’s a good boy for you, Korren.”

“Oh, so I’m supposed to accept the fact he cheated on me with two different girls?”

“He’s changed. You need to give him a chance like you do that little thug you run behind.”

Without another word, Mom tugged me over to the table. Marquis rose and pulled the chair out next to him. I rolled my eyes, sat down, and spoke to his mother, Claire. She was a sweet woman who was on my side whenever we broke up. I hated my mother was dragging her into her nonsense.

Marquis leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You look and smell so good, Korren. It’s so good to see you.”

I side-eyed him with my upper lip curled.

One thing I would never deny was how good Marquis looked.

His skin was the color of milk chocolate, but he was bitter like dark chocolate.

The waves flowing atop his head was enough to make me seasick.

I was a sucker for a man with a beard, but Marquis was divine without one.

When I finally turned to him, I fought with myself to not be captivated by his sultry brown eyes or his perfectly aligned smile.

Marquis was damn good to look at, but he was no good. He could fool my mother all he wanted. The streets talked, and he was an even bigger player now that we were in college. I refused to be added to his roster.

“Thank you,” was all I offered. I focused on his mother. “How have you been, Mrs. Claire?”

“I’ve been doing great. It’s so good to see you, Korren. I think about you often. Oh! Did you see I followed your nail page?”

“I did. Thank you for that.”

“It’s no problem at all. You’re doing an amazing job. That gift of yours is going to take you far.”

Mom cleared her throat and said, “Not further than that degree will. I think it’s a waste of time.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one,” Marquis mumbled, taking a sip of his water.

“And I’m glad I don’t care what either of you think.”

“Well, you should,” Mom stated. “We only want what’s best for you.”

I looked back and forth between Mom and Marquis, pointing at Marquis with my thumb. “And you think he’s what’s best for me?”

“I do.”

“Then you don’t know anything.”

The dinner was off to a terrible start, and I needed to get away. Thankfully, the waitress came over to get our appetizer order. While everyone was occupied looking at the menus, I sent Cage an ‘SOS’ text.

“Why didn’t you text me back earlier?” Marquis questioned.

“Because I didn’t want to. We haven’t spoken in months. The last thing you said to me was that I was just another piece of pussy for you. You think I’d want to talk to you after you said that?”

Mom and Claire gasped.

“Korren!” Mom exclaimed.

Clarie yelled, “Marquis! Did you really say that to her?”

Marquis opened and closed his mouth several times before swallowing.

He glared at me. I flashed him a pleased smirk.

One thing I would always do would be calling him out on his bullshit.

Marquis loved to play victim. In high school, he was the star baseball player, so he was sheltered by all the teachers and coaches.

In their eyes and my mother’s, he could do no wrong.

Thankfully, Claire didn’t play the radio with him. I believed that was the only reason he remained on the straight and narrow.

Underneath the table, Marquis roughly gripped my leg and squeezed. Whenever he was angry with me, he would do small shit to hurt me like pinch or being rough in general. I hated it. He went to pinch my arm, and it was the wrong thing to do. I felt Cage’s presence before he made himself known.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warned Marquis in a calm, even tone that was chilling. “Put your hands on her again, and you might not make it out of here alive.”

“What is he doing here?” Mom spat through gritted teeth.

“Doing something you always fail to do. Protect her. I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to have her around this goofy, but it’s all good. I got her.”

“You’re not taking my daughter anywhere! I’ll call the police!”

Cage chuckled. “You want me to call them for you? I’ll sit here and wait for them too.”

Swiftly, I shot up to my feet and grabbed my clutch. Mom was pushing Cage, and his calm demeanor wasn’t a good sign. The two of them never got along. If we let them, they would go back and forth until Cage had my mother in tears.

I laced my finger with Cage’s and started toward the door, drowning out the threats my mother yelled at my back. Outside, away from the chaos, Cage stopped and embraced me. I buried my face in his neck and cried.

“I got you, KoKo. Let it out.”

“Why does she do that to me?”

“I don’t know. I wish I had the answers for you.”

“Is it bad that she’s making me feel like I hate her when I love her so much?” I asked for clarification. My emotions were a wreck when it came to Alana.

Was it possible to love someone with every fiber of my being but almost hate them?

Cage lifted my face with his fingers tucked underneath my chin, making our eyes connect. Goosebumps covered my body, and there wasn’t a breeze in the atmosphere.

“You won’t even hate her. You may strongly dislike her, but you won’t hate her. It’s best to keep doing what you’ve been doing and loving her from a distance. It’s okay to be selfish with your feelings.”

“I’m tired of trying with her. It’s emotionally exhausting.”

“I know it.” Cage kissed my forehead.

“And I’m hungry.”

“A double cheeseburger fully loaded with seasoned crinkle cut fries and a Dr. Pepper?” Cage recited my order from Fatty’s, smiling.

“Please.”

“Come on. I got you.”