“A big difference.”
“Jabari. I’d rather just let it go and move on.”
I hold her eyes. There’s no deflecting from this. “Please.”
“Please, what?”
“Forgive me.”
The silence stretches between us. Her eyes move over me slowly, tracing my face like she’s looking for something she lost a long time ago. Then she tilts her head, that familiar smirk ghosting across her lips.
“You know,” she murmurs, “from this angle, it looks like you’re on your knees begging.”
I huff a quiet laugh, leaning on my palms, the floor pressing into my knees. “Is that what it’ll take for you to forgive me?”
“It wouldn’t hurt,” she says, the smirk turning real now. “But I know you. And Jabari McKingsley doesn’t beg anyone.”
I meet her stare head-on.
“You’re right,” I say softly. “I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.”
She blinks, the smirk faltering, and I can tell she’s caught off guard even if she hides it well.
“What are you doing?”
“Begging.” My voice is quiet. “For you to forgive me.”
Her lips part, but she doesn’t say anything. So I continue, “You said I treated you like a prick, and you’re right. I did.”
Her eyes flick away, quick. “Jabari?—”
“I’m not asking you to forget,” I say, cutting her off. “Just… stop hating me for it.”
I can hear her breathing. I can hear my heartbeat.
Then she laughs, disbelieving. “You’re actually serious.”
“Swear down,” I insist. “If getting on my knees is what it takes, fine.”
So I do it properly. Both knees on the ground.
Her jaw drops then. “Big man?—”
“Forgive me, Francine.”
She covers her mouth like she’s trying not to laugh, or maybe not to let something else out. “You’ve lost your damn mind.”
“Oh, definitely,” I agree. “But I meant what I said.”
That earns me an eye roll, but she doesn’t move.
And when she finally does speak again, it’s quieter. “Get up, Jabari.”
I stay there another moment, just to see her reaction. The look she gives me almost makes me stay down longer. But I push up slowly, brushing my knees off.
“So that’s a yes?”
She smiles, shaking her head. “Ask again when you’re in your right mind.”
