Mia hangs off Penelope's shoulder and whispers loudly in her ear. "Told you I was gonna turn up! That's three out of three. I'm still the best!" She looks towards the booth filled with the guys that were thirsty for our pool table. "All yours," she yells over the music and waves them off.

A signature drum roll kicks off a Bob Marley joint. "Is This Love?" fills the air in the pool hall.

Mia hugs Penelope in a drunken happiness. "Ohh! This song!" She sways her hips. "Gets me in my soul."

I laugh and get up to join them.

"There she is!" Penelope yells as walk-dance towards them.

Singing along, I lean my head back and belt out the lyrics as loud as I care to. Even still the music overpowers me.

"Look who decided to crash the party." Penelope taps my arm and leans her head in the direction of the door.

Phoenix and Nixon stand at the entrance, surveying the crowd, then turn right, away from us to the other side of the pool hall.

"I don't think they saw us." I whisper.

"Wait, what's going on with you two?" Penelope runs her finger in circles inches away from my face.

Mia continues singing and dancing.

Penelope stares at me waiting for an explanation.

I wave her off. "It's nothing, girl. We just need space. I told you guys when I called. I had to get out." I glance over her shoulder, checking for Phoenix. "Honestly, I'd rather not run into him. You know?"

She looks into my eyes. "I get it. We'll just hang back here. Not gonna let them ruin our night. We'll leave when we're goddamn ready." Penelope pretends to land one on my chin. "There's the smile I was looking for."

I roll my eyes. "I'm going to the ladies' room. Be right back." I head towards the center of the pool hall for the bathroom.

"Hold up, bruh! What did she just say?"

A girl's laughter pierces through the chatter of the crowd.

Another guy laughs loudly.

I know that laugh.

"She said she wouldn't let you hit if you paid her a million dollars." He laughs in his hearty, gregarious way.

I follow the sound of his voice.

"But you?" A girl wearing a body-hugging, all-white cat suit, leans into Phoenix as he stands against a pool table taking a sip of his drink. She whispers something in his ear.

He laughs coyly and wags his finger at her.

My heart leaps into my throat.

Phoenix slickly slides away and walks to the other side of the table. The girl follows, gliding her fingers along the perimeter of the pool table as she walks. She gets up close to him, face to face and says something that makes him laugh. He finishes his drink and steps away. Sitting the empty glass on a nearby tabletop, he grabs a pool cue stick off the wall. Nixon racks the pools balls while the girl, plops her derriere on the side of the pool table to watch them play.

Who is she?

Oh, we're about to find out.

I step out into the open. "Phoenix?"

"Ari, hey!" A warm smile greets me.

I laugh. "What are the chances?"

"You follow me here?"

I laugh. "Follow you? I got here an hour or two ago. You?"

"Nah, been here like ten, fifteen minutes?" Phoenix looks to Nixon for confirmation.

Nixon sips his drink and nods.

"Who is she?" The girl in white asks.

"Who's your friend?" I ask.

Phoenix laughs at me. "Cocking your head to the side." He smiles to himself. "My Ari." He points his thumb at the shapely woman in white. "Who, her? You want to know who she is?"

The woman in white looks back and forth between us, stopping squarely at the side of Phoenix's face, her long ponytail swinging.

"Uh." He laughs uncomfortably and scratches his temple. "I . . . don't know?" He looks at her. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Some impression. You forgot her name already?" I squint, imagining myself do a happy dance.

"Right." She smiles sarcastically. "McKinsey."

Phoenix touches his chest. "And I'm Phoenix."

"Nice to meet you." She waves down the table towards Nixon. "Mckinsey."

He lifts his hand at her. "Nixon." Then he removes the triangle form the pool balls, leaving them in perfect formation.

She reaches across the pool table towards me. "Nice to meet you."

"Aria." I shake her hand.

"Do I know you?" she asks.

"I don't think so?" I scramble to place her face. It's oddly familiar.

"There you are. Been looking everywhere for you. We're getting ready to bounce." Penelope walks up from behind. "Oh, hey Phoenix. Nixon." Penelope pulls me to the side and whispers, "Mia is about to do something she'll regret! You know the guys that wanted our table? She's over there right now flirting. Hard. Had to keep her from locking lips with one of them. We gotta go! She's piss drunk." Penelope grabs my arm.

I pull back. "Did you not see that chick in white hanging on Phoenix?"

"What?" Penelope looks over my shoulder. "The fuck?"

"That's what I said. I heard them chatting and laughing and shit and had to see for myself."

"Well, what are you thinking?" she asks.

"I don't know. Let me go back over there."

"OK. I need to stop the gangbang Mia is about to get herself into. Meet me over on our side when you're done."

"OK."

Penelope leaves. I walk back over to Phoenix to find he's putting on his jacket.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"Nixon wants to check out another spot."

"Another spot? Could you be more vague?"

"You're dripping with sarcasm, Ari. Listen, I told you earlier, I'm trying to have a guys' night out. It was a surprise seeing you here. A pleasant one at that, but this is about my boy. He's off, in a bad way. I'm just trying to get him back to his old self. Sheila officially filed the papers a few days ago. She's pressing him to sign already."

"I'm sorry about your boy, but don't take it out on me."

The girl in white downs the last of her drink and grabs her clutch as if she's heading out. She keeps glancing at me and Phoenix.

And who's this bitch in white to you? Where did she come from?

Phoenix takes my hands and kisses each of them. "You know I love you, Ari. Nothing can ever change that. You're the mother of my child. We have a bond that is unbreakable, but I need air, Babe. Shit is getting to me. I need my head clear as I balance everything coming my way, right now. People depend on me. I have to be on point."

"But—"

"—No buts. It's me and Nixon tonight going wherever he wants to go. No tag-alongs. You should go home. I'll catch up with you later." Phoenix looks behind him. "Nixon, you ready?"

Nixon nods, zipping his jacket.

The girl in white walks as if she's part of their crew.

My pulse starts racing, I can't seem to catch my breath. I grab Phoenix's arm. "I thought you said no tag-alongs?"

"I did." He glances at Nixon and the girl. "Nixon, you invite her?"

Nixon nods. "Yep! She's rolling with me."

Didn't look like that when I pulled up, you vindictive asshole!

"Alright, I'm out." Phoenix kisses my hand again and joins them as they walk towards the door chatting and laughing.

I rub my belly.

The girl in white gives me a once over before stepping outside. "Is she pregnant?" she asks Phoenix.

He replies but the door closes, locking me out of their conversation.

Fuck!

Penelope walks up with Mia hanging clumsily on her shoulder. "Let's get Mia home."

"Whoa!" I take Mia's free arm and throw it over my shoulder.

"Ari," Mia kisses me on the cheek.

"Mia, how many drinks have you had?" Mia's silly grin says it all.

We support her until we get to the backseat of my Range Rover.

"How many drinks has she had?" I ask Penelope.

Penelope shrugs. "She said she was gonna turn up."

"We need to keep a better eye on her next time we go out." I start the truck and pull off.

Need to find out where Phoenix is going.

Should've let him answer when she asked who you were.

Shouldn't have taken no for an answer.

And force myself on him? I think not.

Shoulda coulda woulda.

Fuck!

                                                                                       ***

"Yeah, Mia was so gone! Turnt all the way up. We stopped and got food, cause she'd be complaining about a hangover tomorrow if we didn't. Might still have one with how much she drank."

Phoenix laughs.

"Just dropped Piña off. Heading home now. You?"

"Nixon is staying at a hotel for the time being until he figures out his next move. We're leaving here in a few so I can drop him off." Phoenix says.

"And what happens to me?" A random woman says. "You taking me home?" She giggles as if there's a double meaning.

Envy seizes my heart. "Who? Who is that, Phoenix? Is that girl still with you?"

"Yeah, she's here at the club. Hold on." He puts the phone down, his voice is drowned out by the music.

The fuck?

He picks up the phone. "Scratch that. They want to grab a bite to eat, then call it a night. Let me call you back."

I roll my eyes. "OK."

He hangs up.

The drive home is tense.

I don't like where this is going.

She's not the least bit into Nixon. It's plain as day who she's there for.

I can see her now, grabbing his crotch and whispering nasty nothings in his ear making his dick grow hard for her. She unzips her catsuit low enough for her voluptuous breast to pop out and he bends down to lap them up. Licking and sucking on her tits like a cat to catnip. She unzips his pants, revealing his goods. He flips her around, bending her over on a pool table. He pulls her catsuit down to her ankles, spreads his legs and has his way with her. It's loud and wet and slippery and fast. Each thrust is satisfying. He grips her hips as he has done me a thousand times. He zeroes in on her ass, spread wide over the table. It ends with him not being able to control himself. He pumps his essence into her.

No!

I'm not gonna sit by and just let her take him from me.

Tires screech in the road as I bust a U-turn and drive to the hotel Nixon is staying at. Parking near but not too close to the entrance, I wait for Phoenix to call me.

***

My ringing phone wakes me. Mia's smiling face takes over my screen.

What time is it?

Still dark out.

My phone reads 6:35 a.m.

Where am I?

The hotel parking lot.

Wow. One missed call from Phoenix.

Well, that plan was a bust.

Doing too much.

I press the start button on my Range Rover and sit, letting the truck warm up. Switching the gear to drive, I halt as Phoenix walks out the entrance across the parking lot to his truck.

Why is he just now leaving the hotel?

Did he get a room here? With her?

Fuck!

 ***************************************************************************

Ari is nearing a breaking point. What do you think she'll do next?