He sighs. “Baby. I am so sorry for crossing a boundary. I swear, I would never do it again. Okay?”
I just want to sleep.
“You should’ve told me,” I say. “Business and whatever we were doing don’t mix.”
“Were,” he replies with a scoff. “There’s no ‘were’. It’s not over, Jelly. We had a disagreement about something and we’re gonna fix it. That’s it. You and I are far from over.”
Oh.I look at him.
“Careful, big man.”
He lifts a brow. “Why?”
“You keep talking like that and I might actually think you care about me.”
He relaxes a little. “God forbid.”
I roll my eyes and stare straight ahead for the rest of the ride.
twenty-two
give ‘em grace.
Frankie.
I don’t knowwhy I came.
That’sthe first thought in my head as the car slows over gravel that definitely costs more than my rent.
This building is new.
Clean glass everywhere. No graffiti. No broken lights. No flyers taped to the door.
Since when does Jabari live somewhere like this?
Last time I checked, he was half at his mum’s, half hotel crashing. This place feels well thought out and it doesn’t match the version of him I’ve been yelling at in my head all afternoon.
The car comes to a full stop and I don’t get out.
I stare up at the building again, my chest tightening in a way I don’t like. Because if this is where he is now—if this is the version of him he’s stepping into—then it means the ground’s shifting under my feet into something I had no knowledge of and I fucking hate surprises.
“Since when do you live in a posh place like this?” I ask, finally unbuckling but not moving yet.
“Since I make too much money to live in a fucking hotel,” Jabari deadpans, like it should’ve been obvious.
I huff and glance back up at the building. “Hm. It is nice, though.”
He nods once. “Yeah. I wanted you and Za to help me pick, but?—”
My phone buzzes again in my hand. I don’t even look at the screen this time. Just turn it face down on my thigh.
“Yeah,” I cut in. “Well. We ain’t exactly all buddy-buddy right now either.”
Jabari doesn’t say anything right away but studies me instead… carefully.
“You gonna tell me what happened?” he asks.
“No,” I say quickly. Too quickly. “Not right now.”
