Page 30 of The Marriage Rebound

My phone rang at the perfect time to stop the smart-ass retort that was seconds away from being spoken. I’d been doing my best to bite my tongue over the past week. Normally, I’d be the moody one as she prepared to leave for overseas play, but that wasn’t the case this time. I was trying to be understanding, but truth be told, I was looking forward to having her home. Blowing her an air kiss, I grabbed my cell off the built-in dresser and saw Tanisha’s name and number displayed on the screen.

Courtney stepped into my line of sight, tapping at her watch and making the “hurry up” sign. I frowned at her, shooing her away. She was really trying to work my nerves.

I rolled my eyes at my wife again before answering the phone.

“Hey, Nish. What’s up?”

“Not much, just . . .”

There was a long pause with a heavy sigh, which made me take notice. I strolled over to the tufted bench and took a seat. “You alright, girl? What’s up? You don’t sound good.”

“You busy?”

“Nah, just tryin’ to figure out what to wear to the send-off dinner for Tina.”

“Where’s she moving to?”

“Nowhere. She and Courtney are usually preparing to leave to play overseas, so they always get together and have dinner before they go.”

“Wait, I thought Courtney was hurt. She’s still heading over there?”

“No, the rules are different. Bein’ hurt before the season means she stays here. But we’re still doin’ a dinner for Tina.”

“Oh, well, I won’t hold you.”

“Girl, what the hell. I know you ain’t call me for no reason. What is it? You sound like you got somethin’ on your mind.”

She groaned, then huffed out a long breath. “I can’t believe I was so goddamn stupid.”

Those were the last words I expected to hear from her. Tanisha’s ability to sniff out bullshit was unparalleled, and not much got past her. “What the fuck you talkin’ about?”

“Rod.”

“What about him?”

“He sent me a text.”

“Okay.” I stretched out the word, still confused, but having a gut feeling that whatever she was going to say next probably wouldn’t be good.

“That wasn’t meant for me.”

“Oh. Oh!”

She had been dating the guy for the last six months and seemed really into him. From the little she did say about how things were, it seemed like he was just as into her. And unlike a lot of guys, he didn’t seem to carry the insecurity of dating a stripper.

“How do you know it wasn’t for you?”

Another pause and a hard exhale. “Because he was talking about how sweet that pussy was last night, and considering he’s on the road . . .”

It took me a minute to let her words and the gravity of the situation sink in, considering she didn’t share often. The news was especially fucked up since Rod had pursued her for months and she’d resisted because she hadn’t dated a man in damn near five years. At least not on any serious we’re exclusive level.

“Nish, what? You got to be fuckin’ with me? Ain’t no goddamn way!”

She released a heavy sigh. “I wish I was lying, but no, that nigga really did that shit.”

“What happened when you confronted him?”

“I didn’t. I saw it, read it. Read it again. Cussed out my phone and nearly threw it across the room. But I wasn’t gonna break my shit over some ain’t-shit cheater. I just blocked his ass because I don’t have time for it. I’m not about to do the back-and-forth. And I didn’t want to hear none of his lame-ass, bullshit excuses.”