And if she wasn’t pushing me intentionally, I was fa shit sho’ pressed.
My thumb hovered over the heart for too long. I could feel it, that pull. One tap away from stupid.
“Fuck it.”
I liked it anyway.
I removed my like fast as hell, but the damage was already done in my head. Because for one second, I wanted her to see it, to know somebody was watching and paying attention, even if she didn’t know who.
Yet.
I set the phone down beside me, leaned back against the locker, and stared at the ceiling until the lights blurred. I was down bad and ready to go hard in the paint, because that’s the type of man she probably needed. And I wanted to be the man she needed.
Shit…
“You really gon’ sit here all day, bro?” Chance’s voice echoed again. I didn’t even realize he’d come back. “You look like a man possessed.”
“Go home, Roger,” I joked.
“You need therapy.”
I cracked a smile. “Probably. I won’t lie, she’s the reason my ass can’t rest.”
“You also need a new assistant. And a leash.”
“Fuck you. You get that info I asked for?”
He sighed, shaking his head, but handed me a folder. “You didn’t hear any of this shit from me. Lieutenant Halima Grant. Born in Coupeville, TN, she’s been here for like five years. No record. No kids. She lives in a condooff Sycamore. Keeps to herself. The only thing I found interesting is that she treats her dog like a child. Women.”
I looked down at the paper, her name in black ink.Halima Lorraine Grant.
“You done?” Chance asked. I ignored him, looking up the meaning of her name. I knew it had to mean something as beautiful as it sounded.
“Not even close.”
He groaned. “Nigga, don’t start the crazy shit. Just text her like a normal man. Shit, you got money and clout. She gon go, bruh.”
“Man, chill out. And you better watch yo mouth, real shit.” I grimaced, looking up at his side. “And a normal man is something I could never be,” I said, standing and grabbing my shit for a shower. “She’s not normal. Neither am I. Match made in heaven.”
“You know what? I’m out.”
“Good. Do what I pay you to do. I need a meeting with Giveon also.”
“On it, simp… I mean, bruh.”
I laughed, waving him off because I hadn’t even gotten started yet on the simp shit I planned to be on.
I stuffed the folder in my bag and whispered, “Now we start from here.”
I didn’t know what that meant yet, whether it was a move, a message, or a mistake—but I was planning to find out.
One week later
The gym had been my sanctuary all week. It was the only place I could push down the frustration burning under my skin. Not about the fire. Not even about DaVinci Bryns and that moment that wouldn’t stop replaying in my head.
It was my mama’s bracelet. I’d lost it at that scene. I’d searched the engine, the station, my gear, and my apartment. I even called the insurance company and begged the fire marshal to let me go back. Nothing. It was the one thing I never took off, the one piece of her I carried every single day. And now it was just gone. I didn’t know what to do with that. It was a problem I couldn’t fix. And that left me frustrated.
“Girl, you’re going too hard,” Tessa said, watching me attack the weights like they’d personally wronged me. “I thought we were coming to look cute and do a quick little one, two.”
