{Last time on Suds, Terrance dropped a bomb on Lique. Bomb meaning his new fiancé, Jeanette. And he did it by bringing said fiancé home to meet his mother. Then, he had the nerve to ask Lique, "What's Wrong?" Where should we start?

Ready, Set... Suds!!}

~

TERRANCE studied his best friend, trying to make sense of her rage.

She yanked the front door open. It met his waiting hand as he forced it shut, caging her against the door until her blazing eyes met his.

"Are you mad about Jeanette?"
She rolled her eyes. "Let me out."
"Is it because I didn't tell you sooner?"
"I don't care." She snapped. "Move. I have to help my sister."
"Help her do what?"

Lique averted her glare and took a moment to slide on her camouflage jacket. The loose fit fell to her upper thighs.

Terrance watched her roll up the sleeves, grateful that she put her goodies away when he wasn't around, but still angry that the nightmare kept her trapped. Then he remembered that she felt most comfortable with him and smiled.

"You look nice," he said, running his
fingers along her jacket.
She crossed her arms. "Thanks."
He released the door, freeing her from the cage, and took a step back.
"I'm sorry."
Lique shrugged. "Don't be. It's not like we're together." The sting of their truth forced an awkward laugh from her lips.

Her dimming eyes, pricked his heart, and an unlikely possibility hit him. Terrance lifted his brows, then stitched them together as he searched for clues about her true feelings.

Examining her, he asked, "What if we were together?"

Her lips parted and her eyes filled with surprise before landing on him. A rapid series of blinks followed. Then she dropped her gaze to fidgeting hands.

The possibility grew, luring him closer. He touched her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his. Her breath hitched, making him think there was a chance.

"I need to know." His voice lowered to a tender octave. "Do you want us to be together?"

~

The daydream flirted with the lines of reality, trying to breakthrough. His warm cologne overpowered the scent of the food and she struggled to hold back the desire to kiss him. LALIQUE gulped.

Her voice shriveled. "Is that what you want?"
Terrance slid his hand under the jacket to her waist, gently squeezing the soft fabric. "I want you to be happy."

She scoffed. "So you'll sacrifice your happiness for mine?"
His brows furrowed. "What sacrifice?"
She shook her head. "The one where you stay by my side licking my wounds that never fully healed."

He flinched, moving his hand from her waist to the back of his neck and grimaced. "Is that why you think I'm still around?"
"Isn't it?"
He looked down his nose at her, shaking his head.
"Then why?"

The sound of Jeanette's fast approaching heels clicking down the hall toward them strangled his confession. He stared at Lique and his jaw tightened.

Lique glanced behind him as his woman approached, holding a basket of fresh picked vegetables.
"Baby," she chirped from behind. "Look what I got."

Terrance kept his eyes on Lique. "Don't leave yet."
She shook her head. "I promised Lei." The lie weighed her tongue down and she hugged herself, hating the crater sized distance between them.

"Muffin?" his fiancé called again, stopping beside him. "Is something wrong?" She looked from Terrance to Lalique and back again.

"Lique has to go," he said.
Jeanette smiled. "Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping we'd get to know each other better."
Lique pulled keys from her jacket pocket, searching for kind words. She drew a tight smile and nodded instead.

Terrance reached around Lique to open the door. "I'll walk you out."
His vanilla musk aroma heightened her senses as he drew close. Lique closed her eyes, relishing the moment.

Jeanette's smile dropped. "But I need your help making the salad." She faced Lique. "We cut fatty foods out of our diet." She laughed. "As delicious as your cooking smells, it's like a full on assault on a healthy lifestyle."

Terrance stiffened.
Lique rolled her lips together. "You don't have to walk me out."

Jeanette handed him the vegetables. "I know, right? You've managed walking to your car alone over the past six months." She ran her fingers along the diamond necklace. "I'm sure your little sister can manage without an escort." A wicked grin raised her smile and she turned to Lalique. "Unless you want one. I can think of a few friends who would love to take you for a ride."

"Jeanette." Terrance warned.
"What? I was joking. She knows I'm joking."

Lique rolled her lips together, offering another tight smile and a short wave as she trotted down the front stairs of his mother's brick bungalow to her car.

~

LEILAH stared at her reflection in their bathroom mirror while she waited. Her fingers slid across her ginger brown skin, sallowed from stress. Then she tugged at her wild hair. The big frizz of coiled disarray mirrored the emotions coursing through her.

Leilah tamed the soft, kinky curls into a top knot, hoping it was finally her time. She smoothed a hand over her swollen abdomen, letting the silk robe slide open, and examined the small rise of her stomach.

Cool slate tiles kissed her bare feet as she studied the pudge from different angles. Then she pulled the short robe together and tied it in place.

Lifting the pregnancy test from the double vanity, Lei closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and checked the results.

A lonely line stared back at her. She clasped her mouth, fighting down the screaming tears that battled to be heard. Then she sucked in the sadness and stilled her emotions, determined not to fall apart.

"Babe," Darien called.

His voice closed in. She tossed the test and the box in the garbage and turned her back to the door, gathering herself.

After a quick knock, he opened the bathroom door. Unable to face him, she pretended to tie her robe.

~

DARIEN tensed as he walked into their bathroom. An eerie feeling gut punched him, calling his attention to the waste basket. He caught a glimpse of the discarded box on the floor next to the trash and his heart sank.

He drew his attention back to his wife. In less than a heartbeat, his arms closed around her from behind and pulled her back into his chest.

She covered her eyes and a weak whimper escaped her lips.
"Shh," he said, turning her around.
Leilah buried her face in his chest and he held their grief close to his body.

"I'm fine," she whispered through a river tears flowing into the crevices of his bare chest.
"I know," he said.

Then he picked her up and carried her back to their bed. Darien cleaved to his wife and prayed.

~

In her favorite place, SHANTEL stretched out on a chaise watching the sky lose its daylight. The orangey purples of the evening deepened, tip toeing over Lake Michigan.

She poured herself another glass of wine and enjoyed the uninterrupted view from her darkened living room.

Her phone woke, showing video of Lalique at the door twisting her key. She arched a brow, but kept her eyes on the slow moving work of art in her view.

Lique complained. "Why is it so dark in here?" She peeled off her jacket, kicked off her shoes, and put them in the coat closet.

Shantel ignored the edge in her tone. "Aren't you supposed to be at dinner?"

Lique sighed, padded across the sleek living room to the kitchen, and grabbed a large wine glass. Then her bare feet slapped against the spotless, high end floors to the massive window, and she sat on a matching royal blue chaise next to Shantel.

She filled her glass with red wine and settled into the chaise, enjoying the expansive view through the floor to ceiling window.
"This view seems different every time I sit here."

Shantel nodded and rolled her head to see Lique. "What happened?"
Lique frowned. "A fake boob, big booty bimbo happened."
Shantel's well arched brows rose. "He blew you off?"
Lique swirled the untouched wine in the glass. "He brought a girl to meet his mother."
"But he knew you would be there."
Lique rolled her eyes. "He wanted me to meet her, too." She tilted the glass to her lips, sipped a mouthful, and her face twisted. "This is disgusting."
Shantel laughed. "Stop wasting my wine."

Lique placed the full glass on the end table, and stared out the window. Her shoulders drooped with each passing second.

Shantel sat upright, facing her friend. Lique wore a sleeveless, white ribbed body suit that followed her curves into dark denim jeans, distressed to show her brown legs. Since college, she muted her swank style with oversized sweaters and jackets. But when she was with Terrance, she never hid. Her chosen attire spoke volumes about her feelings for him than her mouth ever did.

Shantel settled into the facts and relaxed on her chaise. "He's had other girlfriends." She shrugged, keeping her tone even. "Don't read too much into it. She's probably just a new toy."
Lique shook her head. "A fiancé. They're getting married."

Shantel sipped her wine, calculating the situation. "Fiancé?" Her heart sank and she lost her thoughts in the deep purples of the sky. Blinking out of the confusion, she managed to speak. "He's marrying someone else?" Her brows bunched. "What did you do?"

"I left." Lique gasped, pulling her knees into her chest. "Can't you see the headlines? Middle School Science Teacher Strangles Best Friend's Fiancé.
Shantel chuckled, though her eyes narrowed.

Lique sighed. "You should have seen the way he looked at her. Like an all you can eat buffet."
Shantel's lip turned up and she shook her head. "Cheap." She decided. "He'll never marry her."

Lique rested her chin on her knees. "I'm losing my best friend." She sighed again. "But I guess I held him back long enough. Six years too long."

Breezing through different scenarios in her mind, Shantel came up blank and shook her head. "This doesn't make sense."

His special tune chirped on Lique's phone. Her face sparked to life. And she grinned as she tapped open the text message from Terrance.

Her smile vanished faster than it appeared and Lique groaned.
"Ugh. I hate her."
She rolled her eyes and handed the phone to Shantel.

"Hi Sis. It's Jeanette.
Not sure if my fiancé—"

The micro snub hit Shantel right off the bat. She sipped her wine, hating Terrance for his stupidity as she read.

"—got a chance to invite you
to our engagement party
on Saturday."

"Seems rushed. Is she pregnant?"
Lalique blanched.
Shantel drew her lips taut, hating Terrance more.

"Consider this your invite.
Bring his other friends, too.
I'd love to meet the old
college crew."

Shantel gathered her regal composure, returning the phone to Lique.
"Guess we have plans for Saturday."

Lique pursed her lips together, staring out at the lake. She stretched her legs out on the chaise, sipped the wine, and made a face.
"This is so nasty."

Lalique glanced over when Shantel didn't return a snide comment. "Are you worried about running into Sylus on Saturday?

Shantel emptied her glass and poured another. "Worry solves nothing."

Lique watched her down half the drink. "You don't have to come."
Shantel scoffed. "There's no use hiding. We're bound to see each other eventually." She threw back the last of the rich liquid and placed the glass on the table between them. "I'm surprised it's taken this long."
Lique nodded. "Four years is a long time." She bit her bottom lip. "He still asks about you."

Shantel's mocha face hardened and frost bit into her tone. "He lost the right to ask about me." Her hard glare turned on Lalique.

Lique threw her hands up. "We all vowed never to tell him anything about you." She shrugged. "I always tell him to ask you if he's so curious. Then he complains about being blocked." She pretended to zip her lips.

Shantel lay back on the chaise and stared out into the expanse. "Good."

{Stay tuned: for more frothy combustions of soap kissing water!!}

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