“Well, well, well.” His voice rolled out low as he stood to his full height. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
“Small world,” she said, forcing her tone casual even though her palms were slick and her heart was racing. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“World ain’t that small.” He stepped closer, heat radiating off him. “You’ve been dodgin’ me. What’s up with that?”
“I’ve been busy.”
He let out a short laugh. “Busy enough to leave me on read for a month?”
She swallowed. “That’s not what this was.”
He shook his head once. “Come with me. I need some privacy.”
He extended his hand. Calloused and warm when she took it, the same hands that had held her face in that elevator, the same hands that had traced the length of her body in a hotel room she still dreamed about. The gold teeth in his mouth seemed to be melting the string of her thong with every flash of his smile.
“I like this dress,” he said, but his voice didn’t have the warmth she remembered. “But you fuck up the scene in anything you put on.”
Before she could respond, his hand was on hers, and he was guiding her away from the crowd.
“Rolani, what?—”
“Nah, we're not doing this out here.” His tone left no room for argument.
He led her through the club, past the bar, down a hallway she hadn’t noticed before. He knocked twice on a door marked “Office” before pushing it open.
“Rolani, we?—”
“Trey’s my guy,” he said, closing the door behind them. The bass from the club muffled but still thumped through the walls. “Chill out.”
The lock clicked.
Kennedi’s heart rate spiked. They were alone. Truly alone for the first time since LA.
He leaned back against the door, arms crossed, eyes locked on her. No smile. No gold tooth flashing. Just that hard stare that made her feel like he could see straight through her. He removed the blunt from his pocket and lit it. He needed to calm his nerves. He was happy to see her, but he was furious with how she’d played it after L.A.
“Kennedi, Kennedi, Kennedi.” Smoke curled from his lips as he spoke.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“What was it?” He pushed off the door, taking a step closer. “The night wasn’t good. I read the room wrong. Or you just got what you wanted and bounced?”
“I told you. I don’t stick around. Even when I want to. And newsflash, you scare me.”
“I scare you?” He pointed to himself, blunt between his fingers, smoke rising between them. “You weren’t scared when I had that ass tooted in the air, your knees by your ears, and that sweet pussy in my mouth. I don’t remember fear being in the room, Ken. Try again.”
“Rolani.” She swallowed hard. “I got a job offer. Back in Colorado. I’m leaving Tuesday.”
The blunt stopped halfway to his mouth. He was frozen in place.
“Tuesday.” He said it quietly. The anger she’d been bracing for didn’t come. What came was worse. Understanding.
“Cool, I ain’t no hating ass nigga. Congrats. But I ain’t ask about the job.” He took another step, close enough now that the smoke from his blunt drifted across her collarbone. “I asked about you. About us. About why you been treating me like a fuck nigga.”
“Nothings changed.” The words slipped out before she could dress them up. “I don’t stay, Rolani. I never have. And you keep pushing like this is something I’m supposed to know how to handle. Like you’re forcing a version of me I haven’t agreed to be.”
The room was quiet except for the bass pulsing through the walls.
His jaw loosened. The anger didn’t vanish, but it stopped driving. He moved closer, then stopped himself just short of touching her.
