Page 29 of Lyric Squared
To cry for a man that had absolutely no interest in the heart I had offered him was pure foolishness. One wouldn’t catch me participating. Not publicly, at least. Not tonight. Preferably not any other night.
“Did you hear me?”
“I didn’t.” Or, maybe I had but had forgotten what Collin had said.
“You should spend the night with me.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should,” I agreed.
Anything to get over him. If it meant getting under Collin, then I was willing to try. We hadn’t reached that milestone in our journey, but tonight I was willing to pull back the curtains a little sooner than I’d originally planned.
“I think so,” he insisted. “So let me know when you’re ready and we can go.”
“I’m ready,” I pushed out, unsure of what I was saying or what I was doing.
“Then, let’s get out of here.”
“I have to let my brothers know that I’m leaving.”
I dropped my hands from around his neck and he did the same with my waist.
“Of course.”
Grabbing his hand, I pulled him in the direction of our table. It had been over an hour and two drinks since we’d left for the bar. When I returned, there was someone sitting in Laike’s lap, keeping him entertained. Luca was in his phone, more than likely texting Ever. Ken, he gave us both his undivided attention as I began to speak.
“I’m going to get out of here.”
“And go where?” Ken asked, straight-faced and expecting a response. When I hesitated, he turned to Laike and tapped him on the arm. “Y’all just letting sis roam the streets with anybody or y’all done did your due diligence?”
“I didn’t even know the nigga existed, so I haven’t had the chance to check into him.”
“Bet,” he confirmed with Laike. “So, again, where are you headed?” Ken sassed, daring me with his large, round eyes that were now visible. The weed had begun wearing off, obviously.
“Home,” Luca shrugged, never looking up from his cell.
“Sounds about right,” Ken agreed. “Have a good night,baby girl.”
“Goodnight,” Luca followed up.
“Call me in the morning,” Laike finalized.
Snatching Collin’s arm, I scurried from the table and didn’t stop until we were out of the door. When we reached the parking lot, and not a second sooner, I released a long, shaky stream of air. With my fingers spread wide, I fanned the night skies with my hands – desperate to catch a breeze though it was far from humid or hot.
“You good?” Collin asked, concerned.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You listening to your people or are you coming home with me?” he probed, handing the yellow ticket to the valet attendant at the small podium.
“If I’m not home and they happen to check, there won’t be a place on earth you can hide and not be found. This is all a test and the last thing I want you to do is fail. My brothers mean the world to me and their opinions matter. I’ve messed up once, and I refuse to do it again,” I explained.
Nodding, Collin accepted my answer for exactly what it was as our wait began in silence. His Tesla appeared two minutesinto our wait. Once we were inside and on our way back to my house, he lowered the volume on stereo.
“Just sitting here thinking about what you said back there a few minutes ago and how I’ve been feeling. I’m not worried about your brothers. They’re looking out for you and doing exactly what I would. More women need more men in their lives that care for them like those men care for you back there. They just confirmed what I already knew. I’m not walking into any bullshit, and I appreciate that.
“For the past few days, I’d been feeling like I’m ready to take things between us to the next level. I’m ready to make you mine, officially. I just want to know if that’s something you’re interested in or if there are any reservations.”
I’d known this moment was coming but now that it was here, there was a lump in my throat so large that I couldn’t get past it. I palmed my face, trying to relieve myself of the discomfort as my airway cleared.
