He freezes for a second, sighs, then releases me.
“God forbid I wanna hold you.”
I sit up then climb out of bed. “Yeah, yeah, cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it.”
“Tuh, what are you, in grade school still?”
Prick.
Even though he sees me getting myself together, ?Jabari is still sprawled across my bed. Completely unbothered.
“By the way. My agent says I should get on social media,” he adds, like he’s telling me the weather.
I snort as I bend to grab my trousers off the floor. “Why aren’t you on it already?”
“Who has time for that shit?” he says.
“Fairs.” I step into my trousers, hopping once to pull them up over my hips. My legs still feel… uncooperative and I blame him entirely.
“Anyway,” he continues, watching me, “I want you to help me set it up.”
I freeze. Slowly, I turn my head.
“Do I look like your fucking agent?”
Before I can even finish the sentence, he’s sitting up, fingers already finding the buckle of my trousers, steadying my hands.
“Well,” he says mildly, fastening it for me, “he’s middle-aged and balding, so no.”
“Ohhh,” I say, heat flashing up my spine. “I get it. So you don’t have time, but I must be free. Is that it? I don’t have shit to do ‘cause gaming isn’t a real job?”
“I never said any of that.”
“Yeah, well fuck that and fuck you,” I snap, wrestling my shirt over my head and promptly getting stuck halfway through. My arms flail as the fabric twists.
I hiss in frustration.
“Okay,” he steps in, grips the hem of my shirt, and pulls it down gently, smoothing it over my torso.
“Besides,” I continue, jabbing a finger at his chest, “social media is forinfluentialpeople. And you couldn’t influence a llama to spit or a person dying of thirst to drink water!”
I’m so upset he asked me to help. What are we—friends?
He lifts a brow, amused, and reaches up to free my hair from the collar, fingers brushing my neck.
“Is that right?”
“It is!”
“Okay, well—” He cups my cheek, thumb warm against my skin, eyes steady and infuriatingly sincere. “I still want you to help me, Jelly.”
My stomach goes in free fall. I huff.
Once.
Twice.
His fingers continue to brush against my cheek as he refuses to let me go from his glare. I try very hard to hold onto my anger but fail.
