“Bear,”I murmured against Fontaine’s sweaty shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“We gotta get going,” I said as I kissed the top of his head.
He groaned like a spoiled child and rolled himself off me. “Shower with me?”
“Nuh uh. We’ll be late if we do all that,” I smirked, even though the ache between my thighs almost made me reconsider.
When Money said we were heading to New York, Fontaine didn’t even ask.
“I already got us a junior suite,” he said on the ride to the airport. “You gon’ be sneaking in my shit anyway.”
We still hadn’t defined our situation. Did he care? Of course. But this thing between us was too strong. No matter how many times I told myself I’d fall back, I kept ending up in his bed, with him buried deep inside me.
I hit the shower, letting the hot water clear my head, and threw on jeans and a hoodie.
When I came out of the shower, Fontaine was in his boxers, hunched over his laptop, glasses low on his nose.
I picked up my purse and slid on my sunnies. “Go wash up. I’ll meet you upstairs.”
He glanced up over the rim of his glasses. “Arriving at different times ain’t gonna make it less obvious.”
“Maybe not,” I shrugged. “But it doesn’t make itsuperobvious.”
“Yeah, aight,” he said, rolling his eyes before going back to work.
Before going to Cash’s room, I stopped at one of them overpriced delis for a breakfast sandwich. I almost got one for Fontaine, but caught myself.
It still tripped me out that I’d been riding with them for five months. Most contracts didn’t last this long, and if I weren’t so close with Cash, I probably would’ve been gone already. Rescue missions weren’t my usual gig either, but a job was a job. Niggas would die, and I’d still get my money.
“Look who decided to finally show up,” Jelani teased when he opened the door.
I brushed past him. “Here you go,” I said. “My bad for wanting to get some food before we got started.”
“Is that all?” he replied, closing the door behind him. I wasn’t even going to think about what he meant by that.
He leaned in. “Heads-up—Money’s been in a mood all morning.”
Sunlight spilled through the oversized windows of their suite. It was unnaturally quiet—normally, the guys would be talking shit before we got started. Jelani would be getting on Money’s nerves, but the vibe in here had me second-guessing if I should even open my mouth. And I don’t get rattled easily.
Cash stood by a window in the living room, hands in his pockets, staring down at the street as if he could will Jasmine to appear among the thousands of people below.
Slim was lounging in an armchair, eyes closed, looking completely unbothered.
“Slim,” I called to him, wanting to break the silence. “You end up linking with ol’ girl in Brooklyn?”
Slim cracked an eye open as a slow grin spread across his face. “Sure did,” he said.
I unwrapped my sandwich and glanced over to Cash, who still hadn’t acknowledged my presence.
“Where’s Fontaine?” Money said finally as he turned from the window.
Right on cue, there was a hard knock at the door. Jelani hopped up to answer it.
Fontaine strolled in, his book bag slung over one shoulder, with a man I didn’t recognize trailing behind him.
“My bad, y’all,” Fontaine said, dropping his bag on the floor. “Needed coffee.”
