Boys Like Him

Playing dumb

Sunday came quietly but not with the kind of aching anticipation I'd spent the first two days drowning in.

Work helped.

The salon was alive from the moment we opened. Mariah and I slipped into rhythm like we hadn't been out of sync at all, moving around each other with ease, bumping shoulders, passing brushes, finishing each other's sentences without trying.

And for the first time in days, I breathed.

We even laughed.

Really laughed.

"Have you seen her i********:?" one of the girls whispered at some point, barely containing her giggles.

Mariah snorted. "Don't even start."

"No, seriously, she's wearing a scarf indoors now."

That did it.

I laughed, the sound surprising even me.

"Serves her right," Mariah muttered under her breath, shooting me a quick look like she was checking if it was okay.

It was.

God, it was.

For a few hours, Brianna became a joke instead of a wound. Lloyd became...Blurry. Like something that had happened in another life.

I worked harder than I ever had, washing, styling, cleaning, keeping my hands busy, and my mind busier.

By the time evening rolled in, my feet ached, my back protested, and the salon looked like it had survived a storm, but a good one.

We were closing up when the low, familiar purr of an engine broke the silence.

I didn't even have to look.

My body knew before my mind caught up.

My heart... Traitor.

Jumped and fluttered so hard I had to grip the counter for a second.

No.

No, no, no...

I couldn't help myself; I looked anyway. He was just stepping out of his car, the door swinging open with a quiet thud.

For a brief, paralyzing moment, my knees felt as though they might buckle beneath me.

A rush of relief washed over me, flooding my senses like a warm wave, filling the void of anxiety that had settled in my chest.

But just as quickly, that relief began to dissolve, replaced by a sharp and icy tide of anger that surged through my veins.

I could sense the tension behind me; Mariah had gone completely still, her presence like a shadow lingering in the air, waiting for the storm to break.

"Oh hell no."

She moved before I could even think, brushing past me and heading straight for the door just as he reached it.

He barely had time to lift his hand.

"Read the sign, dumbass," Mariah snapped, planting herself firmly in the doorway. "We're closed."

He didn't bat an eye.

Just flashed that infuriatingly easy smile.

That smile, so disarming yet maddening.

I had to look away.

"I can't let him get to you," Mariah muttered under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

"I can read, Mariah," he replied calmly, voice smooth as ever. "I'm not here for the salon."

My stomach twisted.

"I'm here for Nyelle."

I scoffed.

Refusing to look at him.

"Hi, Cherry."

My chest tightened so suddenly it almost hurt.

Don't.

Don't react.

"Don't 'Cherry' her," Mariah shot back instantly. "Who asked you to come here? Because she sure as hell didn't."

"Why aren't you looking at me, Nyelle?"

He ignored her completely.

Of course he did.

"Don't you miss me, baby?"

The audacity of it all.

The sheer nerve.

I snapped.

I couldn't stand there another second, letting him talk to me as if nothing had happened.

With a surge of defiance, I moved, brushing past him as I shoved the door open, stepping out into the cool evening air. The city lights blurred into a haze around me, but I didn't care. I just needed space.

Big mistake.

Because, of course, he followed. His footsteps echoed in the quiet night behind me.

And of course, Mariah wasn't far behind.

So now, it was the three of us.

Standing in the parking lot.

I wrapped my arms around myself, staring anywhere but at him.

"Say what you came to say," I muttered. "I'm tired."

"You're avoiding me."

I laughed.

"Wow. You figured that out all by yourself?"

"Cherry..."

"No," I cut in, finally looking at him.

"You don't get to come here," I gritted out, "after disappearing for days and act like nothing happened."

His jaw tightened.

"I told you I'd be busy."

"Busy?" I echoed, a disbelieving laugh slipping out. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

Mariah shifted beside me, arms crossed, watching him like she was one second away from swinging.

"You didn't think to mention," I continued, "that you'd still have time to entertain other girls in between being 'busy'?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I stared at him.

Incredulous.

"You're joking, right?"

"Nyelle," he called, "what are you talking about?"

I shook my head, stepping back.

"Don't," I said quietly. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Act like you don't know."

Mariah let out a sharp breath. "Oh, he knows."

His gaze flicked to her briefly, then back to me.

"I think," he replied carefully, "you should tell me exactly what you think you saw."

I stared at him, my chest rising too fast.

"You want me to spell it out for you?" My voice came out tight, trembling at the edges. "Fine. I saw you. On a call. With her. Making plans. Laughing. Like I don't even.." I cut myself off, shaking my head, a bitter sound slipping out. "God, you really think I'm stupid."

Mariah's hands settled on my shoulders then.

"Ny," she murmured, "breathe."

But I couldn't.

Because he was just standing there.

Watching me.

Not guilty or flustered.

Just... watching.

And that made it worse.

"What exactly do you think you saw?" he asked again.

I laughed, disbelieving.

"Unbelievable," I muttered. "You're actually doing this."

"Doing what?" His tone didn't rise.

"Playing dumb!" I snapped. "You were with Brianna. You're still with Brianna. And I'm what? Just what? Something to pass the time when you're bored?"

Mariah's grip tightened slightly. "Hey... hey, don't..."

"No, let me talk," I cut in, my eyes never leaving his. "Because clearly he thinks I'm an idiot."

"Why are you getting so worked up when we're not even a couple?" he deadpanned, his eyebrow raised in amusement.

My stomach dropped so fast it felt like the ground disappeared under me.

Mariah went still behind me.

"...What?" I whispered.

"I had made my feelings perfectly clear from the beginning: I'm not looking for a commitment right now, and you gave me your word that you understood. So what's the issue? Why are you turning this into such a big deal all of a sudden?" he added, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

My heart shattered.

A laugh bubbled out of me, but it sounded wrong.

"You know what?" I nodded, stepping back, my hands shaking now, but I didn't care. "You're right."

Mariah's hands slipped from my shoulders as I moved.

"You're absolutely right," I continued, my voice rising, heat flooding through me. "We're not together."

His brows pulled together slightly.

"So let me fix that for you," I said, already reaching for my phone.

"Nyelle..." he started.

"No," I snapped, holding up a hand. "Don't. Don't say my name like that."

My fingers moved fast.

Tap.

Scroll.

Block.

I turned the screen toward him, my chest heaving.

"There," I seethed, my voice shaking but loud. "Done."

A beat.

"Now we are absolutely nothing."