Page 59 of False Start

"Sorry, girl. It definitely did. Thanks so much for coming out with me."

"Of course," she says, like I was silly for thinking otherwise. "I could tell you were down on the phone. What gives?"

I stall with another gulp of my drink before sighing.

"Maya and I. We had a huge fight. I really don't know if we're ever going to be cool again."

She nods. Maya probably already filled her in, given they've known each other since junior high.

"Maya told me," she confirms. "She said she caught you making out with Cory?" I respond with a sheepish look, and she rears back.

"Iknewsomething was up with you two! But how are you gonna date Adam'sbrotherwithout at least telling Maya? And, am I wrong, or isn't he a little bit of an asshole? Not at the center, but with women."

I shake my head.

"Yes, he's Adam's brother and yes, hecanbe an asshole, but we got it all wrong." When Tiffany frowns, I rush to explain. "What he said to her last year was uncalled for. That's afact. But there's more to it than that.

"He was dating a plus-size woman from work around the same time Adam and Maya started getting serious. Someone saw them out together, it got back to his boss, and the sleazeball essentially made Cory break things off. But not before saying a bunch of vile shit that Cory repeated when Adam brought Maya around."

"He actually broke up with her?!" Tiffany gasps.

I shake my head again.

"I thought the same thing when he told me, but apparently, his boss threatened to deny him a promotion if he didn't. And you know he was up againstChadandBrentandTannertrying to get ahead in that White ass firm. It was either break up with her, or leave the firm he workedyearsto get into."

My cheeks feel hot just thinking about the rampant discrimination he had to deal with. He might not face the same level of bullshit a Black man would in that situation, but Banks Ripley definitely let him know he would never be top dog.

"Well, shit," Tiffany says, slumping against her chair in disbelief. "So this whole time Maya thought he hated her, when he was really just lashing out?"

"Exactly," I say, a little louder than necessary. "And she kept avoiding him whenever he tried to explain."

I don't miss that I'm defending him. Still playing the girlfriend role, even though I gave it up almost two weeks ago now.

"So, are you why Cory started volunteering at the center?" she asks with a mischievous smile.

I roll my eyes.

"Actually, no. That was him trying to make amends with Maya. He thought helping you out would get him in her good graces. I almost had a heart attack when I saw him that first day. I made him swear not to say anything while we were there."

"Wait a minute!" Tiffany twists on her barstool to face me head on. "You were dating back then? That was months ago, Denise! How did this even happen?Whendid this even happen?"

Months of trying to keep people out of my business and now I'm forced to recount every detail of my personal life several times over. I fill her in on the drunken hookup the night of the wedding. Having to come back for the necklace and hooking up again. The fuck-buddy arrangement. The locksmith incident. And even how we made things official. It takes so long, our food arrives.

Tiffany swirls the mini straw around her drink to break up the mint leaves. I can tell she's still processing everything; hell, I am too.

"Denise!" she sighs, looking almost bewildered, "How could you not tell us any of this?! We're your girls, and you had a whole ass relationship behind everyone's backs?"

"I—" I start, but then stop short. Whydidn'tI tell them? Why did I think I had to have everything ironed out and perfect before letting anybody know?

"At first," I try again, "there was nothing to tell. He was just a booty call. I barely even liked him."

"Well, you certainly like him now," she says, sucking her teeth. "You and Maya are going to drive me to an early grave, I swear!"

"Me?!" I scoff. "She'sthe one acting like I broke some girl code just because I wanted to wait to feel things out before telling every-damn-body."

"Youdidbreak girl code and you know it," she scolds. "He was a grade A asshole to her, and you went and hooked up with him, anyway. You didn't think it warranted even a chat? He's her brother-in-law, D."

I lower my eyes, thoroughly convicted.

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