Page 31 of The Marriage Rebound

I nodded, agreeing completely with the sentiment. “I feel that, I feel that. But damn, are you okay? What the fuck, of course you not okay, that was some fucked-up shit. Okay, okay, okay. Whatcha wanna do? Key his car? Slash his tires? Sugar in the tank? Whatcha want? I got you.”

She laughed, which was a good sign, but I knew she was hurting and that pissed me off. Tanisha was good people, and that nigga didn’t deserve her in the first place. Then for him to do her dirty like this, I was ready to ride out for my friend.

“I ’preciate the sentiment, but nah, he gets no more of my energy. Not even vindictive rage.”

I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see me. Sometimes Tanisha was too levelheaded for her own good. “Fine. You got plans?”

“Not a damn thing. I thought about goin’ in, but you know how slow it be during the week and I would only end up more aggravated.”

“I feel that. Instead, what you gon’ do is get your ass dressed and meet us at K-Q.”

“Girl, what? And what is K-Q?”

“Just what I said. You’re getting dressed and comin’ out with us. It’s some upscale Korean barbecue spot.”

“I can’t just crash your dinner.”

I smacked my lips. “It ain’t nothin’ special or sacred. We’re just gettin’ together to hang out. It’s usually me with all of Courtney’s friends. I might as well have one of my own.”

“You say that like you don’t like her friends.”

“I do, they cool people. But get yo ass dressed and meet us there.” I glanced at the doorway when Courtney appeared again, tapping her watch. “I’m comin’. I’m comin’. Sorry, Courtney in here rushin’ me. Let me go, but I’ll shoot you the address.”

“Okay. And can you not say anything to Denise? I’m not in the mood to hear whatever it is she’d probably have to say.”

I tried not to be offended by her request. It was one thing to put my own business in the streets . . . “I won’t say a word.”

“Thanks, and thanks for listening.”

“Girl, I got you. Anytime.”

After I ended the call, I looked up to see my wife, who was still frowning at me from the doorway.

“Who was that?”

“Tanisha. She got some bad news, and she needed a friend, so I told her to come have dinner with us.”

She scrunched her face like she’d eaten something sour. “You just invited her along without asking?”

I stood and went back to trying to figure out my outfit for the night. “Is it a problem?”

“Not that it would matter since you already told her, but it’s fine. Now, will you please get dressed so we can go?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Gimme fifteen.”

“Tuh, you mean thirty.”

I turned, putting my hands on my hips and frowning at her. Court had her arms crossed and eyes wide as if she was daring me to challenge her statement.

“I said fifteen, so I meant fifteen.”

She mimicked my stance, her frown overly exaggerated. “Woman, you don’t even have your makeup done yet. Thirty.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, which made a slow grin spread across her face.

“Am I wrong?”

She wasn’t, but she didn’t need me to tell her that. I took in her outfit. Dark-wash jeans that hugged her ass and thighs paired with a simple light green polo. She completed her look with the limited-edition pink-and-green Nikes I got her for her birthday last year. She made comments about my clothes-buying habit, but her sneaker game wasn’t far behind.