Becoming Us (COMPLETE)

*Forty Five*

I looked up at the ceiling and blinked, willing the tears to dry. I refused to cry in the middle of a crowded bar.

Arms wrapped around me from behind. "What happened, baby?" Tre spun me around and frowned when he saw my face. "What did he say?"

I took a slow breath, determined not to make a scene and grateful that no one seemed to notice my world imploding right there on the edge of the dance floor. "He said he loves me, but he can't do this here." I sniffed. "And he thinks he's nothing to you. That's not true, is it?" I peered up at Tre's face and knew by the hurt in his eyes that it wasn't.

He shook his head. "No."

"He left with that woman from the gym."

Tre's jaw flexed, and he hugged me closer. "I'm sorry, baby. I wish he'd talked to us first, but," he sighed, "he's loved you through every relationship he's had. Maybe it'll be okay. He might just need more time."

My stomach soured. "No. This is different. We know we love each other and he left with someone else. He thinks he doesn't matter to us, so he moved on."

A tear spilled over my lashes, and Tre wiped it away with his thumb. "Do you want to go home?"

I inhaled and held it for a few seconds, trying to calm my nerves. "I have to at least say bye to Mandy first." Taking my drink from Tre, I downed it in two gulps. "Let's go."

Tre led the way through the crowd, back to Mandy. She lit up when she saw us and I was glad to see she was too buzzed to notice my mood. "Happy birthday, Mandy!" I leaned over to give her a hug. "We're going to head out."

"Already?" She frowned and then glanced up at Tre and grinned. "I don't blame you!" Tipping her head toward a couple of very attractive guys at her table, she said, "I'll be leaving too after I decide whose lucky night it is."

I couldn't help but smile. "By the looks of them, you'll be having a very happy birthday either way."

"You know I will!" Mandy waved to Tre. "Y'all have fun!"

Tre and I were quiet as we went through the crowd to the exit. The cool night air was pleasant against my skin after cutting through the stuffy dance floor packed with sweaty bodies, and the sound of traffic was a welcome replacement for the blaring music.

Tre opened my car door for me and sitting was a relief. The excitement of the night crashing into the heartbreak of Carey leaving had been so emotionally draining, I was tired. All I wanted was to go home where I could cry alone in the bathroom and not worry about anyone's feelings but my own for a few minutes.

Twenty minutes later, we were almost there. Tre's palm rested on my thigh, and I leaned my head against his arm. I was drunk enough to dull the pain of Carey leaving, so there were no more tears, but no amount of alcohol could make me as happy as I'd been a couple of hours ago, when I thought everything was fine, and the three of us would come home together.

"I'm sorry I'm being a downer."

Tre patted my leg. "It's not just you, baby."

"I wanted Carey to be with us tonight and all the time, forever." My words slurred, but I couldn't work up the energy to care.

"So did I."

"Why didn't he say something if he thought he was nothing to you, or if it bothered him that he wasn't called my boyfriend?" I sat up and my head spun a bit, so I gripped the door and Tre's arm for balance. "I mean, we didn't say it, but I thought he was mine and I was his too. Like I'm yours."

"I should've been clear with him and told him how I feel." Tre sighed.

"It's not your fault." I lifted his hand from my leg and kissed the back.