“I slept with Malcolm.” Olivia’s remorse emerged through her lips.
“You what?” Savvy screamed and slapped both hands on her cheeks.
“Stop yelling. People are looking at us. I think Deacon Yargrove heard you.” Olivia nodded toward a man gazing their way before she opened the car door. “Get inside and I’ll tell you what happened.”
“Olivia. You’re kidding me, right? I know you didn’t say what I think you said,” Savvy slid into the passenger seat and closed the door. She widened her eyes and stared at Olivia. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Olivia groaned. “I wish it wasn’t true. I didn’t expect it to happen.” She untied the colorful silk scarf decorating her neck. “Look.”
Savvy squinted. “Is that a hickey? Olivia. Why were you two together? Where did this crime happen?”
“At my house.” Olivia hung her head and tied the scarf, covering the mark of passion.
“Your house? For what? Did you invite him over?” Savvy couldn’t believe the words coming from Olivia’s mouth.
“He showed up. Uninvited. He started apologizing about this and that. He kissed me, and blah, blah, blah. Next thing I knew, we did it.” Olivia flapped her hands around and explained the scenario at a rapid-fire pace.
Savvy’s mouth popped open and froze. “Really? Blah, blah, blah? What in the world does that mean? I can’t fill in the blanks.” She shrugged with palms extended outward to try to get some sense of understanding.
“I know it’s crazy. He’s still my husband, legally. Doesn’t this mean I’m not a complete ratchet person for sleeping with him?” Olivia smirked.
“Sure, the two of you are still married.” Savvy scratched her head in confusion. “Am I missing something here? Did you forget about the fact you and Malcolm can’t stand each other? He cheated on you last year with not one, but several women. On top of that, he made one of them his fiancée.”
“If anyone is ratchet, it’s Mariah. She’s the one who is engaged to my husband.” Olivia crossed her arms and pinched her lips. “Speaking of that skank, she knows we were together last night.”
“What?” Savvy yelled in the car space. “Olivia. How did she find out already?”
“I woke up this morning, by myself, and figured all of this had to be a nightmare. I called Malcolm after discovering the hickey and being buck naked. Also, all the physical activity made my body achy. You know what I mean?” Olivia chuckled.
“Ewww. Leave out some detail. How did she find out?”
“Well, Malcolm tried to hide in the pantry and hold a conversation with me on the phone. He told me he loved me and she walked in on him.” Olivia clapped her hands once for emphasis. “Girl, Mariah hit him with a pot. I heard everything.”
“She beat Malcolm up with a pot? This would be comical if it wasn’t a serious situation. I can’t believe this happened.”
“I called Malcolm on my way to church to make sure the kids were okay. They were in the room when she beat him up. She’s lucky she didn’t lay a hand on my children. You know I would’ve been on my way to their place to handle some thangs.” Olivia pounded her fist into her hand.
“Man. All of this happened with the kids there? Now, that’s an example of ratchet behavior.”
“Yup. So, now she gets to suffer like I did when he cheated on me.” Olivia snapped her fingers and smacked her lips. “Sweet revenge.”
“Excuse me? You did this for revenge?” Savvy snapped her head toward Olivia with her mouth wide open.
“Not exactly. I didn’t set out to get my revenge. Although, since it turned out the way it did, justice has been served,” Olivia said, with smug content. “Does the constant urge for retaliation make me ratchet?”
“Okay. Put aside who is ratchet. My question for you is, why did you have sex with Malcolm? Are you thinking about getting back together?”
“Oh boy. Here you go trying to get deep in analysis about what happened,” Olivia huffed. “I haven’t contemplated anything beyond the moment. He told me he belongs to me and is still in love with me. I don’t know what to do with his declaration.”
“Olivia. You need to proceed with caution. You’re still in recovery from all that has happened to you. You have a lot of healing to do. Don’t let physical enjoyment cloud your rational thinking about the reality of everything,” Savvy counseled.
“Boy. I opened a can of worms. I should’ve known you’d start nagging me about our entanglement. Geesh.” Olivia rolled her eyes.
“I’m not saying anything you don’t already know to consider. I don’t want to see you hurt again. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks for listening.” Olivia smiled. “Now, let’s change subjects. I heard your voicemail. What in the world happened with Pharrell? You have got to tell me all about this crazy dinner date. Are we still on to play racquetball this afternoon?”
“Yes. We better get going if we’re going to make our court reservation time. I’m ready to beat your socks off.” Savvy laughed. “Boy, do I have a story to tell you about Mr. Pharrell. Talk about ratchet. I’ll call you on the drive there.” Savvy opened the door to head to her car.
“Naw. Let’s chat about it when we get there. I need these details in person. Hurry up and meet me at the gym.” Savvy closed the car door before Olivia drove away.
TWENTY-ONE
Savvy
“All he did is talk about himself?” Olivia asked before slamming the racquetball against the wall.
“Ugh.” Savvy dove for the ball with her racquet and managed to hit an around-the-wall shot, which caught Olivia off guard. She assumed she had the point in the bag.
“Aah.” Olivia flew into the air in time to swat the ball with expert force.
Savvy grunted and slammed the ball. The shot traveled down the line and rebounded straight before sliding along a side wall.
Olivia’s effort to return the ball
