Lady J by L. Divine Page B

“Did you have a bad day at work?”
    â€œMore like a bad month,” I say, holding Rah’s hand, which is already comfortably resting on my thigh. “I have to find a new job, and fast.”
    â€œNo, what you need to do is hustle your skills,” Rah says, quoting a line from his own textbook. If anyone could teach a course on hustling, it’s him. “But hey, I got something that’ll cheer you up,” he says, shining his perfect smile at me. Sometimes I forget how beautiful this man really is.
    â€œOh really? It’s not another song, is it?” I say, teasing him. I love that I inspire him in the studio.
    â€œNo, smart-ass, it’s not,” Rah says, making Kamal giggle. He touches my hand to his lips and drops the blissful bombshell. “I told Trish I want to see other people. Well, not other people, just you,” he says. Damn, I didn’t see that one coming. I can’t even think about getting into another relationship right now. I need to put all of my effort into getting my paper straight.
    â€œWow. How did she take it?” I say, trying to hide my true feelings and ward off the impending argument for as long as possible. From the look on his face, I’ve hid nothing from Rah and I feel the pressure coming on.
    â€œShe took it. What I’m concerned with is your response,” he says. The traffic is heavy on La Brea, making me feel trapped in more ways than one. It’s times like these that I’m grateful for the bus.
    â€œI’m a little surprised,” I say, only telling half the truth. “I thought you didn’t want to give her up right now. What’s changed since last week?”
    â€œI changed my mind. I thought you’d be happier,” he says, looking at me and not the cars in front of him.
    â€œRah, let’s talk about this later. I’ve had a long day and Kamal’s in the car,” I whine. The last thing I want is to argue in front of his little brother. I spent my adolescence trying to shield Kamal from all of the fighting between Rah and their mom. I don’t want to remind him of those days at all if I can help it.
    â€œKamal hears everything anyway, and I’m not trying to make your day longer, but damn, girl, you sure are hard to please.” He’s right; it takes a hell of a lot more to please me than him opening up his dating options when it’s convenient for him.
    â€œAnd you’re hard to figure out,” I say, vexed that I feel more pressure. “One minute you’re telling me you’re not breaking up with Trish and the next you’re telling me you told her. What the hell am I supposed to think?”
    â€œYou’re supposed to think that I love you and want to see where we can go with this,” he says, putting his arm around my shoulders and trying to pull me into his chest. I don’t care how good he smells, I’m not buying it. Something else is up with Rah and I want to know what it is.
    â€œYeah, well, I need to focus on me right now, not another relationship with a cheating dude,” I say, pulling away from his tight grip.
    â€œNow wait just a minute, Miss Thang,” he says in a slight New York accent. He’s been listening to too much Notorious B.I.G. lately. “You don’t need to be going off on me like this. I’m not the one you’re mad at.” And he’s right. I don’t want to have this conversation right now and I told him that. Why don’t people hear me when I speak?
    â€œI said let’s talk about it later,” I say, folding my arms tightly across my chest and staring out of the window. Finally respecting my wishes, he turns up the volume and we ride the rest of the way in complete silence. I want to go home, take a bath, and eat some vanilla almond ice cream to help me forget about this day. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

6
    The Taming of the Shrew
    â€œIt