Page 23 of What I Needed

“Everything sounds so good. It’s kinda hard to decide.”

“What have you had before?”

“I’ve never been here.”

“Really?” I tried not to sound surprised.

“I’ve always wanted to come, though, so thank you for bringing me. What do you recommend?”

Before I could respond, I received a text from Jaxon. I glanced at my phone and saw the preview of his text.

Jax:

Look at this shit.

“Can you see what this text says? My code is 7-1-0-0,” I told Erissa because my hands were occupied.

She picked up my phone and entered the code. I watched as she read the text.

“It’s a link to something on Keeping It in the Closet.”

“Click on it.”

Her eyes widened, and she lifted her head and looked around.

“It’s a picture of us.”

“No shit?”

She held my phone in front of me, and sure enough, on the screen was a picture of us walking into the restaurant.

“What does it say?” I asked.

@KIITC: Say it ain’t so. Say it ain’t so. Say it ain’t so. Did Mr. Playboy himself turn in his player card for fatherhood? And who is this mystery woman who got him to stop hopping from bed to bed? Okay, nosy neighbors. It’s time to get to work. Who is the beauty who caught River Westmore slipping?

“These people don’t waste time. Do you want to get our food to go?”

She shook her head and shrugged as she continued to scroll on my phone.

“These comments are crazy,” she said, ignoring my question.

“What are they saying?”

@CandiGurl: That nigga ain’t turned in his player card. My homegirl was with him last week.

@The12and3: Didn’t y’all just post him with two other women a few days ago? Y’all just messy.

@MindingMyBiz: If that’s his baby mama, I feel sorry for her. That man ain’t got a faithful bone in his body.

“That’s enough.” I interrupted before she continued. “We should get our food to go. You don’t need to be caught up in my drama.”

She shrugged before saying, “They’ve already seen us and posted the pics, so we might as well stay and enjoy our food.”

“You sure? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine.”

A few minutes later, our server arrived, and we were ready to place our drink and food orders. I ordered a chicken Caesar salad, while Erissa got the soulful plate, which consisted of fried catfish, yams, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and cornbread.