“So what?”
“Damn, it’s like talking to a brick wall. Maybe this is why you’re in the friend zone.” He hopped off the stool and squeezed my shoulder once more. “I’ll leave you to wallowing. I’ll be in the city for a few days. Think about the party.”
After tipping my drink in his direction so I wouldn’t have to respond, I placed it back on the counter and slid it to the bartender, watching my brother disappear into the crowd. “Another one.”
“She’s not just a friend, is she?” Abdul asked.
I stared down at my phone and swiped away Nadia’s messages so I didn’t have to look at them any longer. I hoped she’d get the hint and stop messaging me before she came to visit. Hell, I needed to figure out what I was going to do—and what Athena and I were—before Nadia stepped on the plane to come here.
“No,” I whispered. “She’s never been.”
CHAPTER
SEVEN
CHARLIE
“Hector!” the barista shouted, placing a coffee on the counter of Mug Shot Café.
I lifted my gaze while Hector grabbed his coffee, then returned it to my phone to continue typing out a message to Athena. It was four in the afternoon, which meant that she’d be getting out of her internship soon.
Me: Meet me outside when you’re done.
Me: I have plans for us.
Athie: You do?!
Athie: I’ll be down in a couple mins!!
The barista placed two hot chocolates on the counter. “Charlie!”
After scooping them up, I kicked open the door and stepped out onto the cold Pittsburgh sidewalk. People rushed to catch the bus home while others loitered around the square, dressed in black and yellow for this weekend’s sports games down in the city.
“I’m in a bit of a sticky situation,” I said to Hector.
Hector, who had been reading a text off his digital watch, arched a brow and looked up at me. “You, in a sticky situation? No!” he said, feigning surprise.
Hector knew about my secret side hustle—if I could even call it that.
“Ha-ha,” I dragged out. “But I’m serious, and I need your advice.”
Hector thrust one hand into his suit pants pocket and sipped on his coffee. “Michelle mentioned that you stopped by Radiant twice yesterday, looking for me. Does this situation happen to involve your brother?”
“My brother?” I furrowed my brows. “Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s become a member of Radiant.”
I gritted my teeth and stopped. “He what?”
That asshole had told me that he was in town for a couple of days. If he became a member of Radiant, then that meant he either planned on visiting more often or he intended to move into the city. And his one deciding factor had to have been seeing Athena. He’d hated the city before.
“So, it’s not him?” Hector asked.
“No, it’s not him.” But maybe it was now.
That fucker was going to ruin everything that I had built with Athena over the past few years. He’d come right in, sweep her off her feet, and steal her from me, like he had done with all my friends since I had been just a kid.
“Is it about Athena?” Hector asked, continuing to walk toward Athena’s building. “Heather mentioned that she was acting a bit weird the other night. Things must be getting pretty serious if you’re bringing her to Radiant.”
