She does this little head wobble thing that makes me want to slap her. Not that I make a habit of hitting women, but if there was just one I could and not feel bad about it, Stacey would be that person. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were here.”
I’m not sure what comes over me, but when she stands to leave, I place my hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down on the stool. It’s probably for the best that we’re all together in a crowded restaurant because it’s the only way I’m going to be able to keep my temper in check.
“Yes, Stacey. I’m here.” I take one step to the right so my body presses against Melanie’s side, making it very clear exactly how here I am. All of the work Stacey put into keeping us apart might have worked for a while, but now that Mel and I are back together, I have no intention of letting go. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that Melanie and I have worked out our differences and are very happy together now.”
Melanie chokes as the words come out of my mouth. I tap her back a few times to make sure she’s okay. I’m half expecting her to be upset with me, but it appears she’s trying to keep from laughing.
“Didn’t your wife just die?” Stacey asks condescendingly. I take a few breaths, but she cuts me off as I go to respond. “I mean, seriously Mel, what type of man starts fucking his ex right after burying the mother of his child?”
And she has officially crossed the line. I ease myself around the table so she can’t make some claim that I am threatening her. I glance over my shoulder to make sure Jacob isn’t witnessing what’s about to happen. The things I am going to say to Stacey shouldn’t be overheard by a child.
“You are a conniving bitch,” I sneer leaning in so close I doubt Melanie can hear what I’m saying. “You might have won six years ago, but this time, there isn’t a single fucking word that can come out of your disgusting mouth that will make Melanie believe your lies. You swore up and down that she wanted nothing to do with me, the whole time telling her that she was better off without me and that I would try to call if I had ever cared about her.”
As I continue repeating every lie she told Melanie, Stacey’s body stiffens and her eyes grow wide. I keep waiting for her to deny being a meddlesome bitch, but apparently she knows better.
“The thing is, I loved Melanie more than I had ever loved anyone. I told you, repeatedly, that I had fucked up and I realized it. I begged you to talk to her and tell her that I was sorry, that I would do anything to fix it. And every time, you told me that she wanted nothing to do with me, that she is the one who said I had cut her too deeply to get past.” My entire body is shaking with the rage I’m trying to contain. Melanie’s hand rests on my bicep, trying to pull me back. The only thing keeping me from jerking away from her is the fact that I don’t want Melanie knowing how affected I am right now.
“Xavier, you two were all wrong for one another,” Stacey rebukes. She pushes her stool back, trying to put space between us, but I take a step forward, not giving her an inch. “You were a controlling asshole. Seriously, what kind of man walks into a party and literally pulls the woman he’s supposed to love out as if she’s a disobedient child?”
“What kind of ‘friend’ takes a woman who is in a committed relationship to a party where the primary goal is public sex? Unlike you, Melanie is not, and never was, a whore. She had no place being at something like that.” Everything I didn’t say before rises to the surface. I notice the patrons at the table next to us trying to hide the fact that our conversation is much more interesting than the game, but I’m too far gone to care. After tonight, I have no desire to ever share the same air as Stacey, so this is my only chance to tell her what’s going through my head. “And don’t give me that shit about how you had her back and nothing would have happened to her. If I remember correctly, by the time I got there, you were on your back with your skirt hiked up around your waist like the cum dumpster you are.”
“Xavier,” Melanie hisses, pulling harder on my arm this time. I retreat, only because putting Stacey in her place isn’t worth it if it causes problems between Melanie and me. Stacey gets this smug look on her face, which is almost immediately wiped away by Melanie. “Stacey, Xavier is right. I should have seen it then, but I was na?ve and didn’t expect the woman who claimed to be my best friend to lie to me. I might not have liked some of the trash you brought home, but I was always supportive of you.”