I flop onto the couch. “Don’t say I don’t love you, yeah?”
I reach into the bag I snuck past her mum and pull a sorrel pop out.
“Yes!” She squeals before grabbing it and sinking into the couch next to me. “You better have these at your wedding to Mr. Amazon Prime.”
“Of course I will,” I agree as I pull an ice lolly out for me. “I’m gonna order a tall one with a massive dick and a boring job. And he’s gonna have a basic name, like Gordon. Make his arse fix computers.”
“Not Gordon,” Za wheezes, curling up next to me. “You gotta order me one too, but I want one with a sexy name. Like… Diego, and he’s a professional surfer.”
“Surfer?” I ask. “In the middle of Croydon?”
She nods like it makes sense. “That way, when he pisses me off, I can kill him and say he drowned or something.”
“Morbid.” I grin, holding out my ice lolly to her. “I love it.”
She knocks hers against mine, and we do a little cheer before tearing them open.
“I just hope sexy surfer Diego can fix a fucking coffee table,” she sighs. “We’re gonna have to call a guy, aren’t we?”
I groan. “You’re still on about this stupid table? I thought?—”
“What are you two doing down here, hiding away?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
The hairs at the back of my neck rise before I even look up.
Za exhales. “Christ. What do you want, Jabari?”
“To talk to someone my own age, for one.” His footsteps echo closer. “Why are all the people here so old, man?”
He drops down between us, one arm is slung casually along the back of the couch and he makes sure our legs touch as he man-spreads across half the space.
This nigga’s like a gnat.
“Oi,” I say sharply, annoyed at his invasion of my personal space. “There’s no reason to take up half the seat with your—spreading.”
He laughs loudly, and the sound rolls right through me. “Yes, there is.”
Not gonna lie, I peek down at his lap before I can stop myself—big mistake.Hugemistake. My eyes almost triple in size, and my mouth goes dry.
How’s it laying across his lap on soft?
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to cleanse my mind of all impure thoughts because Za would kill me.
He must’ve noticed because when our eyes meet again, he’s smirking. Then, he reaches into the bag at our feet like nothing happened, brushing against me more in the process.
“Ou—treats!” He pulls out not one, not two, butthreeice lollies.
Za shoots forward. “Hey! Frankie smuggled those in for me!”
“Payment for covering for you at church,” he says, offering her another one, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.
I fold my arms. “And here I thought you did it out of the kindness of your heart.”
“I don’t have a heart.” He says that with little to no emotion.
“Of course. How could I forget?”
