Free Love Is Overdue by Natalie Myrie

him. Of course, the fight between the two
of them would have been the definition of an unfair advantage.
Tony, with his piddly 130 pounds and five foot seven frame was no
match for his opponent’s six feet and something like 170 pounds of
lean, hard muscle.
    “ What?” Ben’s
brother stared back at Tony like was completely insane.
    But the girl he was with –
undoubtedly Ben’s ex – had a sudden look of horror on her face as
she saw me come up behind Tony.
    “ Sorry!” I
interrupted quickly. “I’m really, really sorry...” I stammered
pathetically.
    “ Men like you
make me fucking sick!” Tony would not shut up. “How you going play
my girl and then show up here with this bitch hangin’ off your
arm?”
    Ben’s ex-girlfriend’s eyes
nearly popped out of their sockets as her jaw hit the floor. Ben’s
brother suddenly had much more than confusion dancing in his eyes.
Now it was something a little closer to rage.
    “ Who the fuck are
you?” he demanded suddenly.
    Oh shit, even the voice was
the same. And the accent.
    “ And who the fuck
is you callin’ a bitch?” Ben’s brother took a threatening step
closer to Tony.
    “ Tony!” I jumped
between them suddenly. “It’s not him!” I practically shouted, then
turned my focus back on the two of them. “I’m so sorry, this is
just one huge misunderstanding – Tony, please just back the fuck
up, it’s not him.”
    “ What?” Tony’s
eyes went wide with embarrassment. “Oh shit. My bad...”
    “ I’m really
sorry,” I said again, turning back to the two of them, and then
grabbed Tony by the arm. “Tony, let’s go...”
    “ Whoa – hold up a
minute.” She finally spoke. “What’s this all about?”
    I looked back over at the
two of them, wishing I could just bolt to the door. I turned to
Ben’s brother. “I’m sorry, it’s just that you look a lot like
someone I know and Tony thought that...well, you
know...”
    “ Well you can’t
blame me,” Tony protested in his own defense. “You looked like you
were about to bust into tears and you were only like ten feet away
from him – what the fuck you expect me to do?”
    “ Tony, shut up,”
I pleaded desperately.
    Ben’s brother focused in on
Tony again. “Just so you know, the next time you try step up to a
brother like that, you goin’ have more than fancy words a deal with
– fi real.”
    “ Ivan, it’s all
good, she thought you were Ben. It happens.” Ben’s ex spoke the
words I had dreaded the most.
    “ Shit, you know
him?” Tony and his big fat fucking mouth. I wanted to punch him
myself.
    Suddenly, though, the two of
them were focusing a lot more attention on me than on
Tony.
    “ Yeah, we know
him.” Ivan spoke. “It’s all good. Apology accepted.” I could tell
he was ready to drop the subject.
    “ Thank you,” I
said quickly, desperate to take advantage of the out he’d given us.
“Again, I’m really sorry. Tony, let’s go.” I grabbed his arm again
and nearly dragged his ass right out of the store.
     
    Ω
     
    So after the
horror of the chaos that ensued inside H&M, I didn’t even send
Ben a reply to his text message. I just kept trying to figure out
how to explain it all to him should I have to. I went through
various different scenarios of how the news of it would get back to
him. I knew my name had never been mentioned, but Tony’s sure was.
And any description made of the raging maniac that confronted the
two of them would undoubtedly have Tony’s name written all over it.
And I had told Ben all about him.
    So
when Ben’s number popped up on my phone, his call came as a
complete shock until I remembered that I had asked him to call me –
and a smile crossed my lips in the wake of all the drama I was
dealing with. He had called.
    “ Hello?” I
answered on the third ring.
    “ Hey...whassup
pretty lady?” His smooth, sexy voice was teasing me
already.
    I decided to forget the
drama for the time being.
    “ I’m good. How
are you?”
    “