I blinked erratically.
Nigga, what?! So you weren’t gonna get them for me?
That was red flag number two.
I didn’t say it out loud, but the flag was noted, highlighted, laminated, and waving like a parade banner.
“Okay,” I replied calmly. “But thegroceriesare still out there.”
His eyes widened, caught in the kind of panic only a forgotten mama birthday can trigger.
He chuckled. “Damn. I should probably grab those.”
Ya’ think?
Adrian rushed back outside like he was suddenly in a race against frostbite.
I shook my head and let my thoughts settle into the quiet.
This place is my peace palace, my hideout, my emotional safe zone, my home away from home, and the second I let someone else step into it, I immediately feel like I made a mistake.
Parts of Adrian were starting to unravel—little traits I hadn’t noticed before. Then again, we’d never stayed in each other’s presence longer than five hours at a time. Whenever we crossed paths on campus, it was strictly professional—quick nods, fake smiles, like we didn’t know each other beyond the occasional orgasm and overcooked alfredo. Whenever we went out to eat, we usually drove separately, which wasmypreference. No man was about to leave me stranded at a restaurant looking like a side dish, and I refused to be the girl pacing the parking lot in heels, blowing up a blocked number. And whenever we got a room, it was always “wham, bam,thank you, sir. I’ll see you when I need my next back-stretch and stress-release session… the kind Planet Fitness can’t offer.”
A quick little cardio session and a complimentary bottle of water was our rhythm.
Ineverwanted to stay the night. All that cuddling, pillow-talking, and accidentally breathing in sync brings feelings… and feelings bring complications… and complications bring unnecessary situationships. Adrian was the “come closer, baby,” type, and I was the “sir, scoot back, it’s hot” type. Still… he was beginning to display the exact qualities I despised in a man. When I was with Bryce, Ineverhad to ask.
No reminders. No hesitation. No passive-aggressive “we’re equal partners” performances when effort was clearly lopsided.
Hell, he’d grab my bags before his own. But… they say you find out the real about a person when money gets involved, when you get sick, when you need a helping hand, when you tell them no, you disagree with them, or when you set a boundary that inconveniences them. You also see their true colors when life blesses you a little more than it blesses them, when y’all have even the slightest misunderstanding, when y’all move in together, how they treat you when nobody’s watching, and obviously when you take a damn trip together.
I looked toward the door where Adrian shuffled grocery bags and huffed, performing exhaustion for an audience of one.
I sighed.
This is gonna be a long-ass weekend.
Chapter six
Bryce
“Note to self: Next time, confirm who’s on the guest list”
We were two minutes out from the cabin. The trees were tall as hell, the sky was pitch-black, and the headlights flickered, clearly traumatized by whatever they’d already seen and unwilling to witness anything else. Even the playlist started skipping, sounding more like a warning than a glitch.
“Bryce, are you really gonna be silent thewholetime we’re here?” Isis asked with that fake-ass pout she thought would work. “You haven’t said one word to me since we pulled out of my driveway.”
I turned my head toward her, slow and sinister, like a villain in a movie about to ruin somebody’s life just by blinking. “And you wonder why?”
I faced the road again.
“I really don’t know why. Can you tell me?”
“We’re late because of yo’ ass, Isis!” I yelled.
Isis stared, confused. “Late? For what exactly? Is there like… a check-in time? Are we meeting someone there? I’m not understanding what you mean by late.”
I inhaled slowly, counting down from ten, doing my best impression of anger management.
