I sat by her hip, and she sniffed, wiped her face, and scooted upright, drawing her knees up toward her chest before she croaked, “Thank you.” She reached for the mug with both hands.
I brushed a stray tear from her cheek and smiled sadly as she sipped.
After her first long gulp, she closed her eyes and exhaled, seemingly comforted. “Damn, that really does hit the spot. I always thought you were whack every time you drank this stuff when you were stressed.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Well, now you know.”
“Mmm.” She took another drink, and I watched her silently, not pressing for information, just making sure she remained calm. I wasn’t going to tell her I’d never been a fan of Theo’s, especially lately, or that I truly thought she was better off without him. She’d figure all that out later. I just wanted to get her as comfortable as possible.
But I did have to know… “You didn’t dump him because of what he said about me, did you?” While that would warm my heart, I could deal with his nastiness if she was truly happy with him.
“No. He was cheating on me,” she admitted before she took another fortifying drink. “I finally grew the balls to ask him about it, and…oh my God, JuJu, he actually admitted it. He said he loved me and wanted me to stay his girl, but every once in a while he just needed a little bit of strange to spice things up.”
My mouth dropped open. “He said that?”
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Word for word.”
“And he still has a penis?” I had to know, lifting my eyebrows incredulously.
She snorted and cracked a smile. “A bruised one, but yeah. Barely.”
“Oh my God!” My mouth dropped open. “Did you really rack him?”
Her smile grew a little more, even as she ducked her face. “I did.”
I hooted. “Yes! Girl, you are my hero. Way to go, Ty.” I pulled her into a big, encompassing hug, and she ended up resting her head on my shoulder.
“But what am I going to do now? I can’t be alone.”
She said alone as if it were a dirty, nasty thing. “Honey,” I scolded, pulling back. “You’re not alone. You always have us. And there isn’t anything wrong with being without a man. You don’t need some dick to define you. You are spectacular in your own right. Men are only good for…”
My rant trailed off as I thought of Colton. A few months earlier, I would’ve said something about guys only being good for sex and eye candy, but what I’d started with him was so much more than any of that.
Tyla cocked her head, waiting for my answer, so I smiled and patted her bent knee. “They’re good for making a team, but you have to be strong and individual in your own right so you can carry your weight of the partnership too. And he has to be working toward the same goal as you, with you. There’s nothing wrong with going it on your own, but there is something wrong with partnering up with someone who has their own agenda.”
Tyla sniffed and shook her head. “That wasn’t what I thought you were going to say at all.”
“I know,” I answered. “Me neither.”
“Right,” she said slowly. “So can we start man-bashing now?”
I chuckled. “Sure.”
Just then, the door burst open, and Sasha rushed inside, followed by Chad.
Tyla glanced past Sasha and instantly narrowed her eyes. “No dicks allowed. Motherfucking cheating asshole sons of bitches.”
Chad froze in the doorway, his eyes going wide. Pointing toward the hallway, he said to his girlfriend, “Yeah…I’ll just be in your room,” and he darted as fast as he could go past the couch.
We watched him disappear before Sasha turned back to Tyla and promptly pulled her into a hug. “Baby, I am so sorry. Tell Sash all about it.”
So Tyla proceeded to detail everything again, tears sprouting from her eyes. Sasha and I listened and answered when we needed to, and she seemed to have calmed significantly when a knock came on our door.
“Oh, God,” Tyla groaned, burying her face in Sasha’s shoulder. “If that’s him, I don’t want to talk to him.”
“I’ve got this,” I announced, pushing to my feet and straightening my shoulders. “Let’s see how bruised Igloo Pussy can make his balls.”
“Kick him once for me too,” Sasha commanded.