Page 198 of Revv

My phone is still sitting on the counter.

Dark.

I check the time.

Nine.

For the first time all night, the anger shifts enough to let something colder underneath.

Where the fuck are you?

Revel doesn’t do silence.

The man treats being ignored like a personal fucking challenge. If I leave him on read, I get another message. If I tell him to fuck off, he sends a heart. If I disappear for an hour, suddenly there’s a selfie, a picture of whatever he’s eating or some dumb question about whether Guac misses him.

Months of trying to get that man to leave me alone, and now I suddenly can’t get a fucking text?

I grab my phone and call again.

Straight through to voicemail.

Mami’s brows pinch. “Still nothing?”

“No.”

“How many times have you called?”

I look away.

“Cece.”

“Four.”

“Maybe something happened.”

“Nope.”

“Mija—”

“I’m not doing that.” I shove my phone down onto the counter. “I’m not sitting here building excuses for a grown-ass man who could’ve sent two words if he was running late.”

“I didn’t tell you to make excuses.”

“This is how it starts. Traffic. Dead phone. Lost track of time. Then suddenly I’m doing emotional gymnastics while he gets to do whatever the fuck he wants.”

Mami goes quiet for a second.

“Not every man is your father, Cece.”

“Could’ve fooled me tonight.”

“And I still don’t think Revel is.”

I snort. “You talked to him for five minutes.”

“And he spent all five practically vibrating because I invited him to dinner.”

Despite myself, my mouth twitches.