Page 59 of Perfect Rhythm

I sucked my teeth. “What was it like, Eli?”

“It was just a kiss. Granted, I’m sure that doesn’t make it any better. But I promise, that’s all it was.”

I tried to look into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth, but he was looking at everyone but me.

“I don’t believe you,” I said. He grabbed my hand, but I yanked away from him. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

The moment the words left my mouth, Shade’s Range rolled into the parking lot.

Antone had barely hit the brakes before the door swung open.

I met Shade’s gaze, silently pleading with him not to come our way. Eli and I were already drawing enough attention. I didn’t need him adding to the chaos.

Reluctantly, he eased back into the Range and closed the door.

Relief washed over me.

“Babe, please just listen to me,” Eli begged. “I promise you that there’s nothing serious going on with me and Nimah. I’m pretty sure she sent you that message because I told her that.”

“You told her what?”

“That there would never be anything between me and her,” he said. “Look, after that kiss, I told her that it was a mistake. I told her that we needed to keep things professional. But she wasn’t feeling that. The girl is crazy.”

“If she is, it’s probably because you made her that way.” I looked at him like he was stupid. “That’s the thing with you niggas. Y’all do dumb shit, then try to call us crazy for how we respond.”

“You know what? You’re right. I never should’ve kissed her. I just got caught up in the moment while rehearsing lines.” Laughing, he shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t even know if I shouldadmit to doing anything wrong. If you really think about it, I was just acting.”

I jerked my head back.

“You must be out of your fucking mind if you think I’m about to believe that shit. How long have you been screwing her?” I shoved my finger into his chest, making sure he knew how pissed I was. “And I want the truth.”

He looked away from me and sighed. “I...I don’t know. It was while you were on the road. But I swear to God, it only happened once.”

“Bullshit!”

“I swear. Baby, I would never fuck around on you more than once.”

Once again, he tried to touch me. I stepped back and looked him over in disgust.

“More than once?” I wanted to take my knee and shove it into his dick, but I knew I would do it repeatedly, so I stopped myself. “The fact that you can even fix your mouth to say that is crazy. Once was enough, Eli. I’m not like these other hoes. I don’t allow a nigga to cheat on me over and over again. One time is all you get. You’re not going to make a fool out of me.”

“Oh, you mean like you’ve made a fool out of me?” he said with a lifted brow.

“What?”

“Come on now, Nyx. Don’t try to act like you’re squeaky clean in all of this. I’ve seen enough to know otherwise.”

I looked him in the eyes, no longer willing to give a damn about sparing his feelings. “What you’ve seen on the blogs is nothing in comparison to what’s happened. Trust me.” I gave him a smirk, then turned to walk away from him, but he yanked me back.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what the fuck I said.”

Suddenly, his grip tightened around my arm, and his glare darkened. He was furious, and rightfully so. Although I hadn’t gone as far as he had with Nimah, I was more than happy to make him think I had.

“Stop playing with me, Nyx. Did you fuck that nigga?”

I licked my lips before giving him a shameless smile and whispering, “Nah, but his mouth definitely fucked me.”