Page 10 of Collateral Love

She sighed. “YaYa?—”

“Please,” I cut in, sharper than I meant to be. Then I softened it, because she deserved that much. “I’m behind on schoolwork, and I need to focus.”

Her lips pressed together, but she nodded. Chanel always did. She trusted me in a way that was both comforting and terrifying.

“Okay,” she said.

She went back to her book.

I stood there a moment longer, watching her breathe, letting the weight of it settle into me.

This was the part nobody ever saw.

The reason behind the decisions. The calculus behind the control.

I didn’t want Channy anywhere near what I was building.

Which meant I had to be far enough away to stop her from touching any part of this life Zayden and I were building.

Later, in my room, I spread my notes across the bed and ran through them again. The campus maps, routes, schedules, and risk assessments. Zayden’s face flickered through my mind. His bright smile that I never seen before. I spent years watching him from afar, and I never knew his smile was bright enough to light up a room. I thought of his chiseled body and imagined what it would be like on top of mine. I thought of how turned on he looked when I pulled my gun on him in the library.

Respect looked different on men like him.

My AIM messenger buzzed on my Sidekick.

KingZay111:

You serious about this pink gangsta?

I smiled, impressed that he managed to get my AIM profile.

HotGirlYaYa:

About systems? Always.

KingZay111:

Meet Me Tomorrow in Crestwood at the Deli.

I stared at the screen for a moment, then typed.

HotGirlYaYa:

Bring Your Ideas. We’re talking strategy.

KingZay111:

You’re bossy.

HotGirlYaYa:

You’ll live.

I set the phone face down and leaned back against the headboard, exhaling slowly.

Engineer by day. Queen in waiting by night.

The line between them was thinner than people thought.