Page 25 of Cause When You Love Someone
Right as my phone went off with Isabella’s food order, Essen sang my name. I grinned, admiring how good she looked in a fitted sleeveless gown made of lace.
“Why are you over here looking like you lost your best friend?”
“I’ll tell you about it later.” I sighed. “You look pretty. You plan on taking somebody home tonight?”
She frowned. “Not anybody in here. I just came to celebrate my brother. I still can’t believe he let Blaze throw him a party. She said SiR is performing in a few hours too!”
“Let?” I chuckled. “You know Blaze better than that. If she could, her ass would buy your brother the world, even if he didn’t want it.”
“They have a different type of love, but it’s theirs. Who are we to judge?”
Before I could mention a few instances when Church and Blaze deserved to be scrutinized, my phone went off. I checked my notifications, assuming it was my sister. However, it was a message from my favorite reality star.
Clarke: Superman?
I waited a few minutes before texting her back, asking what she needed.
Clarke: What are you doing?
That’s not how this works, was my simple reply.
Clarke:I don’t like the sound of that. Are you on a date?
I placed my phone on the table face down. Since the last time we were together, she had stayed on my mind. I wanted to place kisses down her back after she asked me to unzip her top. The fruity scent of her hair and the way her skin inherited goosebumps when I touched her made me feel obligated to warm her up.
“What the hell are you smiling about?” Essen asked, poking the top of my phone. “Who was that?”
“Get back,” I teased. “Clarke texted me.”
“The reality diva herself?” she asked with a hint of aloofness in her delivery.
“She’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad? Have you seen the articles the blogs post about her? That girl is crazy.”
“Like I said, she’s not that bad.”
My eyes fled to the dance floor when the heat from Essen’s hazel glare swept over me.
“Nah. Don’t do that, Ishmael. What’s up with you two?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “She’s cool. She’s not as funny as she thinks, which makes her funnier. She’s more grounded than I thought she was three weeks ago.”
Essen’s hands rushed to her mouth. “Oh my God. You like her.”
“I like things about her.” I pulled at the velvet handkerchief in my jacket pocket. “She has someone she swears she’s done with, but I don’t know. The shit is messy. Her mama is messy. Her life is messy.”
“But you were blushing when she messaged you.”
“I’m not afraid of a little mess every now and then.”
“You’s a lie.” She snickered. “For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve despised it.”
Though a premature idea, I almost said Clarke was worth the chaos. To deny the vulnerable space we moved into seemed unfair since, initially, the quiet spells were packed with judgment.
“We’re going out of town next month. I may need Izzy to stay with you while I’m gone. It’s during her summer break, and she’s usually with me.”
“Yay! You know I love spending time with my baby.” Her eyes narrowed over her cocktail glass. “Things with your mom still on the rocks?”
