Page 34 of Perfect Rhythm

NYX

I sat in the middle of my couch with my legs folded beneath me as I shoved a spoonful of cereal in my mouth. It was the middle of the day, and my mind still hadn’t fully grasped everything that had happened last night.

I hadn’t said a word to Eli since his dumb ass proposal, and knowing him, he’d probably tried to call me a million times. But he was still blocked, and that’s how it was going to stay.

My cell buzzed on the coffee table, and I quickly answered it. “Hey, Nani.”

“Hey, baby. Just wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine,” I replied.

“You sure? You didn’t seem fine last night. In fact, you seemed pretty pissed.”

“Dang, was it that obvious?”

“To me, yes. I think everyone else was too excited about the proposal to notice, especially your parents.”

My shoulders dropped, relieved that someone besides Skye was aware of my aggravation. “I swear, I don’t know why Eli did that. We’re not even together anymore.”

“What? Since when?”

“Since I found out he cheated on me with Nimah Watts.”

She gasped. “That soap opera girl?”

“Yep.”

Silence fell between us, and I already knew what she was thinking.

Although my grandmother never let it slip out in public, I was well aware that she felt like I could do better than Eli.

But in her eyes, no man was good enough for me, and it’s been that way since I was old enough to date.

Every guy I introduced her to, she gave them the same half smile, then pretended like they didn’t exist for the remainder of the time we dated.

As soon as things ended, she would be the first to remind me that she told me he wasn’t good enough for me.

Nani let out a deep sigh. “I told you that man wasn’t the one for you.”

Like always, right on cue.

“Well, maybe no man is.”

“There’s someone. You’ll see.”

“I doubt it.”

A knock at the door pulled me from my short spiral.

“Hold on.” I removed the phone from my ear and headed for the door.

I paused, blinking at the sight through the peephole.

Red roses…dozens of them.

I opened the door slowly.

“Delivery for Nyx,” the man said, holding the bouquet like an offering.

“Um, yeah, that’s me.” I accepted the roses and quickly scribbled my name on the tablet he held in front of me.

“Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Thanks. You too.”

I should’ve felt something. Roses always did that to me. But coming from Eli, they might as well have been weeds.

“Sounds like someone got something special,” Nani said.

“Yeah. Eli sent me some flowers.” I put my phone on speaker, then pulled the card from the bouquet.

Hey, beautiful. I just want you to know that I truly do respect your boundaries, and I hope these brighten your day. I miss you, and I hope to hear from you soon. –Shade

The grin that I was suppressing quickly spread across my face, and suddenly I felt my heart melt and my body tingle.

“Oh, wow, must not be from Eli.”

“Huh?”

“The way you just cooed, I could hear that smile beaming through the phone.”

I slammed my hand against my mouth as I giggled. “You heard that?”

“Sure did. Now, who is it you’ve forgotten to tell me about that’s out here sending you flowers?”

My mouth opened, then I slammed it shut.

Nope, I can’t tell her about Shade. There’s no point. It’s not even like that.

“It’s just a friend, Nani.”

“It doesn’t sound like just a friend. It sounds like the other reason you weren’t excited about being proposed to last night.”

She wasn’t wrong. But I wasn’t telling her that either.

“It’s not like that. I promise.”

“Mmhmm. I’ll wait.”

“Wait on what?”

“Wait on you to tell me the truth. I’m sure there’s more to this story.”

“Trust me, there isn’t. Shade and I—” I squeezed my eyes shut, then scolded myself for letting his name slip.

“Ah, okay. So his name is Shade, huh?” She paused. “Wait a minute, is it that young man that you work for? The one you were just dancing with?”

Horror filled my body. Please tell me she hadn’t seen that video.

“Dancing with? When?”

“At the concerts. Isn’t that the singer you mentioned?”

Relief washed over me, thankful that she was just repeating what I’d told her and not what she’d seen. “Oh, yeah.”

“So, does he send all of his employees flowers? Or just the ones he really likes?”

I giggled. “I don’t know, Nani. He probably sent them to us all,” I lied. “You know, as a way to thank us for a job well done while on the road.”

“Yeah, okay.” She chuckled. “I’m sure we’ll find our way back to this topic soon.”

“We won’t,” I spat. There was a heavy knock on the door, which made me nervous. “I’m going to let you go, Nani. You have a good day, okay?”

“You do the same, baby. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I placed my phone next to the flowers before checking to see who was outside of my apartment.

“What the hell?” I whispered as I lowered my eyes from the peephole and opened the door. “Mecca, what are you doing here?”

He stormed in like he’d been invited. “Nyx, you've got to do something. You got to fix this shit between me and Skye.”

I tried not to laugh in his face. “I don’t have to do a damn thing. You’re the one who made this bed. I warned you to get your shit together a long time ago.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” His eyes were bloodshot red, and it looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “I just need you to talk to her. She’ll listen to you.”

“And tell her what, Mecca?”

He frowned. “And tell her to give me another chance. Tell her that I’m going to do right by her this time.”

“I’m not telling her shit. We both know your ass is lying.”

“I’m not lying, Nyx.”

“Yes, you are. That’s what the fuck you do, and you’ve been doing it from day one, making her believe you’re going to give her what she wants, meanwhile you’ve been out here fucking bitches raw. There’s no telling how many random ass babies you got out there.”

“I don’t have any other kids.”

“Oh...right...you were probably able to convince the rest of them to have an abortion.” I sucked my teeth. “How many other hoes have you paid to kill your seeds?”

He turned away from me. “Fuck you, Nyx.”

“What? I’m just asking a question. You played my girl, and now she finally sees how much of a piece of shit you truly are. She’s not looking back. I can promise you that.”

I saw fury flash in his eyes as he moved toward me.

Snatching the paperweight from the shelf, I gave him a cold glare. “One more step, and I’m going to knock your ass out.”

He froze, his nostrils flaring. “I don’t have time for this shit. I’ll just get through to Skye some other way.”

“Mmhmm, good luck with that.”

“Whatever. I know she still loves me. She just needs some time to cool off.”

“I doubt she’s ever going to cool off from you getting another bitch pregnant, especially after begging you to let her be the only one.”

“Okay, well, tell her that she is the only one. Tell her that I want to get married, have a baby...all that shit.”

“Nigga are you crazy? You think she still wants that from you after everything you’ve done?

” I rolled my eyes. “What is it with you dumb ass men? You don’t want to give us what we desire when we ask for it, but when you fuck up, you want to give us that and the whole fucking world.

” I looked at him like the disgusting trash that he was.

“It just shows how easy it is for y’all to disrespect us and then expect us to accept your apology.

Nah, fuck y’all apology! Go give that shit to the bitches that don’t have any morals or self-respect.

We’re good over here.” I folded my arms over my chest and nodded toward the door. “You can leave now.”

He made it halfway before turning back. “Say what you want, but I’m getting Skye back. You’ll see.”

“Mmhmm. Don’t hold your breath. Bye!”

He scowled, yanked the door open, and stormed out.

Clown.