His jaw tightened. “Yeah. Ain’t gonna happen.” Again, he slid his arm around Belinda. “You mind if we cut this short? It’s late, and I gotta get up early tomorrow for work. I know you don’t trust me, but you’ll see. I ain’t gonna screw it up this time.”
I gave him a curt nod and kissed Belinda on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Nice to meet you, Keston,” Belinda called out as I opened the door. “Hope to see you soon.”
I shut the door behind us.
“Mother of God,” I muttered, striding down the hall to the elevator, and then to the car. Keston remained silent, matching me step for step. I waited until we were on the BQE to talk. “It’s late, and I’m in no mood to discuss anything. I’ll drop you off at your place.”
He didn’t answer right away. Once we were on the Williamsburg Bridge, heading toward the city, he stated, “I don’t think so. I’m coming home with you.”
As much as my body screamedHell to the yeahat his words, my head wasn’t on board. “Look, Keston, I can’t right now.”
He put a hand over mine on the steering wheel. “I know. But I can.”
There wasn’t much traffic on Delancey Street, which was a good thing as a rush of tears blurred my vision. I sniffled. “Dammit. I would’ve taken the West Side highway if I’d known. The Lower East Side is such a bitch to drive through.”
I caught the edge of Keston’s smile and turned the car in the right direction. It took half an hour to find parking a few blocks from my place.
“I’ll return the car tomorrow,” I explained, slipping the keys into my pocket. “I’m fine, you know.”
“Yeah, sure.” Keston put a hand to my back. “Let’s go.”
At that hour, relatively few people walked the streets in my neighborhood, yet cabs still whizzed past. I could’ve insisted Keston go home and put him in a car—I was crashing and emotional and might say things I’d later regret. But all the fight drained out of me, and the adrenaline that had kept me in forward motion seeped away. I put my head down and walked to my block.
Keston kept the pace easily, and my shaky fingers dropped the keys on the stoop. He picked them up and unlocked the heavy entrance door and the one to my apartment.
“It’s late,” I protested again, weakly, as he put his arms around me, but I didn’t resist when he tucked me into his chest. We might be the same size, but at that moment I felt as helpless as a kitten.
“I can tell time. And I’m still staying. Nothing’s happening except us sleeping in the same bed. I remember every time bad things would happen to me as a kid, all I wanted was for someone to be there for me.”
“And you want to be that person for me?”
“I think that’s obvious.”
I couldn’t object even if I wanted to. I’d spent hours driving, worrying about Belinda, afraid I’d show up and find her hurt and hysterical. Instead, she was excited and celebrating her engagement, warning me off her and her new life. I felt stupid, used, and wanted to curl up in a ball and hide.
Keston, sensing my submission, steered me to the bedroom, where he undressed me and put me into bed. He shed his clothes and climbed in. True to his word, he didn’t put the moves on me, not even a kiss. I scooted closer, needing his strength, and sighed. Contentment spread through me, warm as the Mediterranean sun, and peace filled my fractured soul.
“Good night, Bailey.”
I closed my eyes.
**
I awoke to the smell of coffee and an empty bed. I heard sounds in the kitchen. I ran to the bathroom, put on briefs, and when I entered the living room, seeing Keston in my kitchen, drinking coffee, had my stupid emotions in overdrive creating hopes and dreams of us living here and mornings like this being a daily occurrence.
“Hey,” he said, glancing up from the mug in his hands. “I figured you’d want coffee, so I made some. Nothing fancy, but it does the trick.”
“Thanks.” I joined him at the island and took the cup he handed me. “It’s good.”
“You really were a barista?”
I sipped my coffee. “Yeah. Three years. It helped me through college. Money was tight, and my dad didn’t make a hell of a lot as a patrol cop.”
“I didn’t know.”
“What, you thought I was too cute to be serving coffee drinks?” I teased. “And why would you know anything about me other than I’m great in bed?”
