This Can't be Life Read Online Free PDF Page B

trying to keep his eyes off Simone.
    “That’s cool,” I replied, looking at Simone who looked very uncomfortable.
    “Byron, this is Simone Johnson. Simone, Byron Boyd.” You could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
    “I know Byron.”
    “It’s been a long time. How you been? As a matter of fact, can I talk to you for a minute…alone?”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me. Talk to me for what, Byron? Please don’t start no shit with me. I’m not in the mood for this!” I was shocked.
    “After all we been through? You change your number and do the shit you did to me, and I don’t deserve to have a minute of your time?” He pleaded with her. Byron was the biggest dog in college, so it was surprising to see him standing there sounding so vulnerable. This was tripping me out.
    “What I did to you ? You’ve got to be kidding me! There’s nothing to discuss, Byron! What do you think we could possibly talk about? You weren’t trying to discuss anything when you put your…” She stopped in mid-sentence, exactly where I felt there would have been at least some hint that could’ve given me an idea of what had gone on between them. She took a deep breath as if she was trying to regain her composure.
    “If I wanted to discuss anything with you, I would’ve done it a long time ago. Now, can you please act like you’ve never seen me, Byron? Shit, this world is just too damned small.”
    Saved again by the waitress bringing the food but this time, I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. All I knew was that I wanted to know what the hell was going on. Byron walked off without so much as a goodbye as the waitress placed the food on the table. I sat down, feeling as if I had witnessed something I shouldn’t have.
    “Can you wrap my food to go, please? I’ve lost my appetite,” she asked the waitress.
    “Sure!” She was way too damned perky for the obvious tension in the air.
    “We can do this another time if you want, but my mood is really messed up now and I don’t want to be here. Can you have her wrap your food also?” she asked, for the sake of trying to be nice. Either the answer was yes or I’d have to find another way home, I was sure.
    “Yeah, can you wrap mine to go also? What was that all about Simone?” I asked, after the waitress walked off to wrap our untouched lunches.
    “Please, Deon, don’t even ask. Byron’s a crazy ass lunatic and I don’t ever want to talk about him!” she said, through clenched teeth.
    The ride to my house was a very awkward, silent one. John Legend was flowing from her Bose system and I was confused as hell. I didn’t know what went on between her and Byron, but I could tell that it wasn’t just some groupie thing. I could tell that he really had feelings for her and I needed to know what happened. We pulled up to my doorman and I signaled him off.
    “I really like spending time with you, Simone.” She looked at me with her sad eyes, then immediately looked away. She was a closed book and she wasn’t going to let me in. Of course, that bothered me, but it also fascinated me. I wasn’t planning to give up.
    “Me, too, Deon. I’m sorry about lunch. Look, thanks for coming with me.” She was staring out of the driver’s side window.  I leaned over and, with my right hand, turned her chin so that she would be looking at me and kissed her on the lips.
    “You can trust me, Simone. I promise, I won’t hurt you.”
    “I’ve heard that before, Deon,” she said, looking away.
    “I’m not like anyone you’ve met before, Simone. You’ll see. I’ll call you later,” I said, as I hopped out of her car.
    It seemed to take me forever to get inside of my house. For a split second, I wondered why I chose the penthouse but, as soon as I walked in and saw my view, I remembered. I walked into the kitchen, grabbed the cordless phone off the wall, and started dialing my agent’s office number.
    “Hey, Melissa. What’s gong on?” I asked my