Page 86 of Feeling Blue

“I appreciate that more than you know.”

Forever rendered him a genuine smile after months of being as polite and platonic as she could be where he was concerned. He may have been a load of bullshit to her, but he’d always been the best manager and friend to her sister, and she truly loved that. With Paradise being in the entertainment business, she’d definitely encountered her share of snakes in the grass, and it worried Forever each and every time she heard about it.

“It’s no thing. That’s my girl. She’s always in good hands with me.”

Instead of responding, Forever nodded and took a step forward. Goody’s deejay was announcing her, which meant her segment was about to get started, and she needed to call Yummy. With her phone in hand, she dialed her on FaceTime, and Yummy answered immediately with a bonnet on and a mouth full of chips.

“That baby is making you too greedy. It’s showtime, whore.”

“He is for real, but don’t even get me started on this damn baby tonight. He’s not even here yet, and he’s already making me miss all the fun.”

“Don’t do my nephew. Nobody told you to hunch his daddy until he got here.”

“Don’t upset me, Forever. Just flip the camera around.”

Forever had her hand up, preparing to flip the camera around when she spotted Marcellus in her screen. He was directly behind her and somewhat posted, as if he was her man. Him being way too close to her body was the problem, and he was really pushing it, but she’d let him live. As long as he didn’t touch her or say anything else that would piss her off, then she’d play it cool.

Too bad Yummy hadn’t gotten that memo because before the camera could flip, her mouth opened, and belligerence flew out.

“The fuck that creepy ass nigga doing behind you? Let me find out y’all back fucking around and I’ma snitch hoe.”

Marcellus laughed first, with Forever snickering immediately after. “Cousin, you have got to start speaking more lady like. That mouth is so unpretty.”

“Nah, that married man standing behind you is unpretty, but let me mind my pregnant business. I can’t talk. His brother got me at home barefoot and pregnant, eating these nasty ass hot fries that I can’t shake. It’s clearly something in that Blake blood.”

“Good evening to you too, Eternity.”

“What’s good, brother-in-law?” She waved with a big smile like she hadn’t just been at his neck with ridicule.

After taking a few more steps ahead to get a good angle of Goody and to put some distance between her and Marcellus, Forever began bobbing her head to one of her favorite songs by Goody. The bright white lights flashing over her sister’s head flickered against the crowd, displaying the packed-out arena. Hands and phones were in the air and swaying back and forth to the beat, overflowing Forever’s heart with happiness.

Just as Goody was happy to see her doing good and thriving in life with Blue, she was just as enamored with the blissful life she lived with her career and family. She too had been on the receiving end of a fuck nigga, so to see the place she was at in life, nearly brought Forever to tears. Misty vision interrupted the sight in front of her, but was quickly remedied when she felt Marcellus’ chest on her back.

“I’m sorry. So sorry. Please, give me another chance,” his lips pressed against the bare skin of her back.

Involuntarily, her body shivered from the notion.

“Please, baby. I’m begging you. I fucked up.”

Stuck silent, Forever didn’t say anything, only remained stoic and somewhat uninterested in the pleas she was hearing. An upcoming lawyer with a history of hearing lies and deceit for a living, she’d heard her share of foolishness and people professing how sorry they were when they really weren’t, but Marcellus took the cake. Maybe it was his audacity, maybe it was persistence, maybe it was because he was just so damned intoxicating, but she was truly stuck on stupid and unable to move.

Not one coherent thought arose. She could barely even hear straight, to be honest. Even in a room filled with screaming people, all she could hear was him, and it was really messing with her head. For months, those words were all she’d wanted to hear. For him to just apologize and be genuine about it. Tochoose her and let Bridges feel the pain that she’d been forced to feel, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d walked her down and forced the pain on her. Now he wanted to be sorry.

“You know something, you’re just like the people I see in court. You’re never sorry when you’re out here messing up the lives of innocent people, only when you get caught, and it doesn’t turn out how you thought it would.” Forever’s dark eyes squinted when she took another step forward, putting more distance between them. “If you were truly sorry, you would leave me alone and accept defeat. Let me be happy with the man that treats me right.”

Marcellus shook his head adamantly. “I can’t do that. I don’t want to.”

“I didn’t want to watch you toss me to the side and love on your wife, but I had to.”

No more of Blue’s time was wasted on Marcellus after that. He’d been very clear on their call about her conversation belonging to him, so since she already knew he wouldn’t have given Marcellus a second of his time, she chose not to either. When she was finally situated in a different spot, she heard Eternity’s voice again.

“Yeah, bitch, you told him! I’m proud of you. He needs to back off already. This begging is getting old.”

“Girl, I almost forgot you was on the phone, but he really does. I don’t have time to be pulling Blue off that man,”

“Pulling me off who?”

Forever’s body jumped so hard that she dropped her phone. When she tried to turn around to see Blue behind her, she bumped into his shoulder as he bent down to retrieve her phone. Her eyes landed on Auto next, since he was upright and smiling at her.

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