Love and Other Things

chapter thirteen: press charges

              My lips tingle as I watch Love saunter away from me. I try my hardest to be respectful and keep my gaze on the back of her head, but my eyes can't help but stray south, especially after that move she just pulled. Her thigh tattoo is on full display.

I've never been so confused in my life and I have a teenage sister. Love is nothing like what she's been showing herself to be.

Fuck, she looks so good and smells even better despite our current environment that stinks of beer and sweat. And her lips ... I have to adjust my jeans. Luckily, I've learned self-control or I would've been bursting out of them.

That was a good kiss and I have to catch my breath before I turn back to my boys. Parker's eyes are wide considering he knows the history between us.

"Damn," Lonny grins widely, his chin resting comically on the palm of his hand, "That was hot."

Trey slaps his arm, "Shut up, man. Who the fuck was that?"

I don't even know how to respond so Parker does it for me, "Just Love Lewis, the love of his life." I roll my eyes and unfortunately he was too far from me to initiate a punch in the face so I cross my arms and lean back. He feigns a dreamy look and continues, "It all started when they were six. She had braids and he kicked sand into them and she's hated him ever since."

Trey sucks in a sharp breath, "Sand in a black girl's braids is crazy. No wonder she still hates you."

Jeremy shrugs and leans forward, "Doesn't look like that now."

"Okay," I interrupt the peanut gallery, "First of all, she isn't the love of my life. Second of all, it wasn't intentional. Third of all, just because she kissed me doesn't mean she suddenly doesn't hate me anymore."

Right? I mean, I don't know what it feels like to not be hated by her so I have no objective stance in the thought of her not hating me.

What the hell does that kiss mean?

"You should go talk to her." Jeremy The Levelheaded suggests, tilting the neck of his beer behind me where she's probably still standing with Destiny. "Figure out where her head is at before homeboy over there does it for you."

My head swivels on my body and my eyes catch onto her side profile. She's hovering over the bar counter, careful not to touch it but what shocks me is the sight of the guy, her guy Chris, who seemed to have made his entrance in the five minutes my back had been turned. He's talking at her considering his mouth is moving a mile a minute and she's just looking at him.

For once in my life, I don't know what to do. Hell, that kiss just fucked me over. If I go interrupt and that kiss was just a drunken idea that I tasted on her lips, I risk embarrassing myself. If I don't, I don't know how escalated their apparent one-sided argument can get.

Destiny tries to help, her hand pressed up against Chris's chest to hold him back as he speaks to — or yells at, I should say — Love. She's defending her and Love just looks completely over it.

"I'll be right back." I say without thinking and rise from my seat. I make my way over to the trio and that's when I realize that Love is crying. She's wiping fallen tears as Chris's voice gets even louder.

Fuck. I've known her long enough to know that she cries whenever someone raises their voice at her and at the first sight of actual confrontation.

"Chris, you're making a scene. Leave." Destiny's voice is firm, but Chris obviously has problems computing.

I touch Love's arm and pull her behind me, "Leave her alone, man."

"Mars, don't." She calls to me. Mars. She called me Mars.

He scoffs, "What, she fucking you too?"

"Chris —" She can barely get anything else out before the man in question shoves me back into her.

Chaos erupts.

Love falls onto the floor at the momentum and Destiny runs over to help her stand while my fist meets Chris's face. Once. Twice. Three times. My pounding into him is only stopped by Parker and Jeremy pulling me off him.

I never lose my temper like this but when my eyes catch on Love crying even harder and rubbing the elbow she'd fallen on, I realize why it happened today.

I hate seeing her cry and I hate seeing her in pain and the man now bleeding from his nose is the cause of that. The bartender is now yelling at me but I couldn't give less of a shit.

I wrangle myself out of their hold and mumble a quick, "I'll catch y'all later." With that, I follow after Destiny who'd started to lead Love out of the building. "Des." I call to her but she doesn't stop to look at me until we're all steps out of the bar.

Love avoids my gaze, still quickly wiping her tears away but it's hard to ignore.

"Now you know you didn't have to throw a punch," Destiny whispers when she stands directly in front of me but nothing anybody tells me about starting a fight over Love is going to be enough to convince me I did the wrong thing. "They have cameras. They're gonna ban you and if he presses charges, it's gonna fuck up your basketball thing."

"Fuck basketball." My volume matches hers so Love can't hear that I'll defend her probably until my last breath, "Who the fuck was that, huh? Yelling at her and shit."

She shakes her head, "It doesn't matter right now. I'm gonna take her home. Have a good night."

When she turns to go back to Love, I run a hand through my hair out of slight frustration. Fuck. It's bruised and there's no one else to blame but myself. I have practice in the morning but I might have to call out sick. Especially when some part of me urges me to open my mouth and speak.

"Love, I'll take you home," She pauses and faces me, brows furrowed. I lick my lips and step closer, "If that's okay with you."

Destiny sends her a look then sends me a look. Love just stares at me, eyes now narrowing as she carefully assesses me and probably tries to figure out my intentions. Hell, I don't even know what my intentions are.

I just know they're pure.

I don't know what to expect when her gaze averts to the sky and she bites her beautiful bottom lip.

"Okay."

i need to start eating more omg im about to like pass out