“Well, neither of us are talking about marriage right now, so you can slow down on that. And if I don’t ever get divorced, that won’t be happening anyway.”
“Girl, at this point, I’m willing to just declare you divorced on my own.”
“I wish it worked like that,” I replied with a deep sigh. “It’s like he’s using every trick in the book to prolong this shit. Now, he wants every word in the divorce decree to be reviewed with a fine-tooth comb as if I’m asking him for something. I’m not asking him for a damn dime.”
“You don’t think he’ll try to come after your business, do you?”
I scoffed. “Hell no! He did absolutely nothing to contribute to me starting my candle company.”
“I mean, I know that. But you know how men are. They think they’re entitled to everything simply because they were in the same room while you were coming up with the idea. It’s that self-entitlement shit.”
“Yeah, well, he can go to hell on that one. If he even thinks about trying to fight me over my business, I’m going to wipe the floor with his ass.”
I paused for a moment, realizing that I hadn’t given that much thought. For both of our sakes, I hope he didn’t take it there.
Snapping her finger, Kendra said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, he was at Nicolette’s when I went by there the other day. I almost slapped him in the back of the head, but I didn’t want to hear my sister’s mouth. You know she likes to defend bullshit.”
“I don’t even care anymore. I know he’s only doing that to get me to talk to him.”
“Well, maybe you should. That might be the only way you’re going to get the whole thing resolved.”
“Not interested,” I spat. “We’re two adults. This really shouldn’t be that hard.”
“No, it shouldn’t. But clearly, being an adult isn’t one of his strong points. So, I suggest you show him how it’s done.”
“I don’t see that happening.”
“Nova, I think you’re being a little too stubborn on this. You can’t fully heal until you address the real issue, and Jayson is the real issue.”
“Jayson is a thorn in my side that I can’t get rid of. I don’t see how sitting down with him is going to change that.”
“You never know.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said while waving her off. “The previews should be starting in a few minutes. I’m going to go get our popcorn. Do you want butter?”
She frowned. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I do.”
“Hey, I was just asking. You remember the last time we went to the movies…you missed the best part of the movie because you spent fifteen minutes on the toilet.”
“Yeah, and had you been paying attention to how much butter they were putting on my popcorn, that might not have happened.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Really? It’s my fault?”
“Yep.”
“Whatever. I’ll be back,” I said before standing up and walking out of the theater.
22
Don
“Oh, so that’s what you’re wearing while we cook?” I asked as Nova stepped out of her bedroom wearing a sports bra and some black biker shorts.
“Um…yeah,” she replied as she looked herself over. I could tell she was confused by my statement, and probably thinking that I objected in some way. “I know this is supposed to be a date, but I figured since we’re just at my place, I should be comfortable.”
“Trust me, I’m not complaining. I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to focus on what we’re supposed to be cooking while I’m rubbing on your ass.”
Shaking her head, she giggled. “You’ll be fine.”
