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music, hands grasped just above her waist. There was still some room between them, of course. She was not about to upset Michael tonight, who was no doubt somewhere in the room observing the dance.
    “I’m okay.”
    “I don’t think so. I s everything going well with you-know- who?”
    “Ed, what are you talking about?”
    “You know how I feel about you, Julissa , and I’ m sorry that you don’t feel the same way with me. But when I say that I want to see you happy, I really do. Even if it means that it’s not with me. ”
    “I am happy.”
    “I can’t imagine that you would still be happy with that. I mean, the guy is a straight ass hole. Why can’t you see that?”
    “Look, Ed. We’re not at this wedding to talk about my relationship which is none of your damn business.”
    “Okay, alright. If there’s a problem with that guy, you know that you can come to me. I understand that you don’t go to Christ ina and Shanice about that shit , but you know I know…I’ve kept my promise to you all this time and I will always keep it.”
    The promise. The secret that Julissa had asked Ed to keep for almost more than a year. Once Ed had jogged her memory, the image was almost like yesterday. The day she never thought that she could hate a man so much.
    “G uess what?”
    “What?” Julissa mumbled, but she was only half listening.
    “I met this girl, Amber. I think she and I can be really good together, you know. Like…she’s wifey material…”
    As Ed went on and on about Amber, Julissa drifted off.
    How could she have hated a man so much, but love him the next day? It happened almost a year ago. Julissa had attended one of Michael’s employee parties. Everything was going okay, perfect, until she was caught off guard when another man took a seat in the empty chair next to her. Michael had just gotten up to grab wine coolers from the bar.
    Obviously, the man sitting beside her didn’t realize that Michael had just gotten up from the same seat. The red low cu t dress that Julissa wore that night encouraged his advances as he moved his chair closer to converse with her. The last thing that Julissa wanted to do was be rude to someone that Michael dealt with and mess things up for him, so she accepted the conversation. Besides, the guy was cute. From his buzz cut dark brown hair to the way the top two buttons of his dress shirt was unbuttoned revealing straight brown hair to match.
    A piece of something must have fallen onto Julissa’s hair because the man reached up, commenting that there was something on it . After he p ulled the piece of lint out , his fing ers lingered there and he ran his hands through the length a few more times, commenting at how surprised he was that her hair was so soft.
    All hell broke loose after that when Michael appeared before them slamming both wine coolers on the table. The guy got the point instantly, stood up, and ran , not walked, in the other direction .
    Michael had grabbed her arm slowly but firmly and asked her to come with him. He blew up in a corner where he was sure no one could see him. He was outraged, hissing almost every name in the book at her for coming on to that guy. He gave her no chance to explain herself, not even to say that nothing happened. Scared to death at this reaction from him for the first time, she tried to push him . With great force, he pushed her back into the wall with the palm of his hand, almost knocking the breath out of her.
    When she ’ d opened her eyes again, that was when she saw Ed standing be hind them. Michael’s back had been turned , so he ’d had no idea that he was there. The look in Ed’s eyes revealed that he saw the whol e thing. Julissa had silently pleaded with Ed, shaking her head , and practically warning him not to interfere. Ed had got ten the point and had stepped back. By the time Michael had calmed down and turned around, Ed had retreated .
    “Are you listening?”
    “What?” Julissa shook her head, blocking