Page 15 of Breeze and Melodie

“Are you expecting someone?”

“No.”

I went to the door and opened it to find Melodie on the other side.

“Hey! Are you busy?”

“Just having dinner with Tia. Wassup?”

“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt. You left this at my apartment this morning.” She held up the T-shirt I had on last night, and I took it from her hand.

“Thanks. You good, though? Has he?—”

“I’m good, and no, he hasn’t reached out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She walked away, and I watched her until she got on the elevator. When I finally closed the door and turned around, Tia stood a few feet away. Her arms were folded across her chest, all her weight resting on one leg, and attitude all over her face.

“What the fuck was that about?” she questioned.

“Nothing. You done eating already?”

“It was something, Breeze.” She snatched the T-shirt from my hand. “Why were you with her this morning?”

“I’m gonna go finish my sandwich.”

I walked past her, and she was on my heels. We hadn’t had many disagreements, but one thing I didn’t do was argue with women. I returned to my seat, picked up my sandwich, and just before I took a bite, Tia knocked it from my hand.

“Answer my question, Breeze!”

“Tia, sit down and finish your food. We’ll talk when we’re done eating.”

“I don’t?—”

“Sit down, Tia!”

I hated to raise my voice, but her hardheaded ass was pissing me off. She returned to her seat, flopping down in a huff, but didn’t touch her salad. I couldn’t force her to eat, but I was hungry.

“Do you want me to put that back in the container?”

“The only thing I want you to do is answer my damn question.”

I released a breath to calm myself before cleaning up my mess. When I finished, I went to the living room and sat on the couch.

“C’mere.”

Surprisingly, she joined me without a smart remark but sat in the sofa chair.

“This better be good,” she mumbled.

“Around midnight last night, Melodie called me, sounding very distraught. Her and her boyfriend . . . Well, I guess he’s her ex-boyfriend now; they got into it, and it got physical. She was locked inside the bathroom in her bedroom when she called me. He was refusing to leave, and she needed my help.”

“That doesn’t explain why you left your shirt at her place.”

I sighed because I knew no matter how I worded what I had to say next, it wouldn’t sound right to Tia.

“When I left this morning, I guess I forgot to grab it.”

“This morning, huh? What time this morning, Breeze?”

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