“She’s the center of my world.”
“As she should be. Are you and Jeremiah still in contact?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Mm. You know, he and Chris still talk quite often. How do you think he might feel about you and Chris?”
“I don’t really care what he thinks about anything, honestly. Besides, Chris and I are friends.”
“Okay, baby.”
I walked into the kitchen because I knew Mama was about to put her on the hot seat.
“You ready?”
“I am.”
“All right. Mama, I’m gonna walk Angel to her car.”
I led Angel to the living room, where I grabbed Belle’s diaper bag and car seat that had been detached from the base. She said goodnight to everyone, and we headed outside.
I put Belle into her car seat after I had reattached it to the base.
“So, did you enjoy yourself today?” I asked, standing with my arm placed on the top of the car, facing Angel, whose back was to the car door.
“I did. It was a nice thing to do for the holidays.”
“Glad I could provide a new experience for you.” I slid my fist underneath her chin and tilted her head up slightly. Her smiledropped from her face, and she crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Uh, I uhm . . . Chris, I’m not sure that going to this ball together is a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Shrugging, she answered, “Just being around your family and some of the questions that came up tonight made me realize that people might get the wrong impression about us. If your family thinks there’s something more to us, I can only imagine what other people will think. I don’t need anyone dredging up the past or making assumptions about me. I have an image to uphold on social media.”
Angel was a popular social media influencer with her own MixTube channel. People watched her videos and sought her opinions on everything from lifestyle and health to beauty and fashion. It was her bread and butter, and while I wasn’t trying to screw that up, I also didn’t want to get uninvited to the event—an event that my ex, Erica, was on the committee of. It wasn’t lost on me that attending the ball with Angel would send a message to Erica. But more than sending a message, I wanted to be in Angel’s presence again. No matter how you turned it, my motives weren’t all pure.
“It’s not about what other people think, Angel. It’s not about our family or friends, but about you and me. We’re good friends, and I’m just looking out for you. Besides, let ’em talk. The more they talk, the more your relevancy scores increase. Why don’t we hang out again before the ball? Just you and me?”
“I don’t know, Chris.”
“It’s just us getting accustomed to being around each other again and letting people get acclimated to seeing us hang out together. If they talk, it just drives up interest in you on social media and draws people to your channel. Trust me, Angel. I’ll never steer you wrong.”
The look in her eyes was hopeful, and I prayed to God that I didn’t screw that up.
Chapter 5
Angel
“Oh my God. I forgot you were multi-talented. There wasn’t anything you couldn’t do.”
“Are you complaining, Mr. Paramedic? Don’t you have to take an annual fitness for duty test or something?”
“Yeah,” he replied in a weary tone and brushed sweat off his forehead with his forearm. “But damn, girl, you ain’t let a nigga sit down to breathe since we hit the ice,” he complained.
I laughed. “You’re fine. You can handle a little exercise.”
It was easier for me to keep us busy. I found that when things slowed down, Christian and I talked a lot, and it left me wanting more. More time around him and more time alone with him. That wasn’t okay. I couldn’t let myself get comfortable in that feeling, because it was wrong.
