Three dots appeared immediately.
Tessa:Unfortunately, yes. I’ve been waiting for you to crack. What's going on?
Me: I met his sister today. Omni. She's dope as hell.
Tessa:Okay, AND?
Me:And he sent me a whole Le Creuset set. Both colors I was looking at. And a collar for Brixxi.
Tessa:So what's the problem? Why you texting me at midnight instead of riding dick? Confusion!!
I stared at the screen, fingers hovering. I couldn’t stand her ass. Here I was trying to be serious and she was making jokes.
Me:What if he leaves? What if I let him in and he does what Daddy did?
The response took a minute.
Tessa:Baby, your daddy's pain isn’t DaVinci's pain. And his choices aren’t DaVinci’s choices. You can't keep punishing good men for what one broken man did. And I love your father, you know that, but he has to heal.
My eyes stung.
Tessa:And real talk? You’re not sixteen anymore. You survived losing your mama. You survived your daddy checking in and out. You built a whole life for yourself. If DaVinci leaves, it’ll hurt like hell, but you’ll survive that too. But if you walk away from this without even trying? You’ll spend the rest of your life wondering what if.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand.
Me:When did you get so wise?
Tessa:I've always been wise, you just don't listen. Now go to sleep, and tell him you’re ready. Stop running.
Me:What if I’m not ready?
Tessa:Then tell him you're scared, but you want to try anyway. That's what grown folks do. They try, and they communicate. Love you.
Me: Love you, Tessie.
I set the phone down and turned on my side, looking at Brixxi. She opened one eye, then closed it again, unbothered.
“What do you think, B?” I whispered. “Should I jump?”
She snored in response.
I thought about the fire DaVinci’s eyes held when he looked at me. Though his house was burning behind us, all he could see was me. It was why I hadn’t went back for round two at the scene. There was no way I could face off with him again without cracking. Domineering, charming, gorgeous—I didn't stand a chance against him
“I plan to have you, Halo. All of you.”
Those words were written on my damn heart like I’d scribbled them all over my notebook. I didn’t know this feeling. I didn’t know enough about this emotion, and it scared me. Nobody had ever wanted all of me. Not the sharp parts, not the scared parts, not the parts that were still grieving a mama I lost years ago and a daddy who was still alive but unable to choose me.
But DaVinci was asking for it. All of it. And he was offering all of himself in return.
That was the difference between him and Daddy. Daddy had retreated into his pain. DaVinci was walking through his and reaching for me at the same time. In two days, he’d show up. And this time, I’d be ready. Not because I wasn't scared anymore, but because I’d decided he was worth being scared for.
The law offices of Moreau & Associates took up the entire fifth floor of Piedmont Center. Back in the day, the building looked daunting, like somewhere I had no business being. I’d been making this trip since my rookie contract, when my boy Giveon Moreau was the only lawyer willing to bet on me.
Now I walked in like I owned the place.
Because in a way, I did.
Money talked, and I had plenty to say. I owned the tenth floor, my business mecca. Offices, a full kitchen, conference rooms, a gym, and some more shit. Pops and Omni ran their businesses out of here too. Sometimes I was in awe of how far I’d come, how far we’d come.
