Dex glanced back at the door, presumably to make sure Charlye wasn’t close by. He lowered his voice, “Definitely.” When I frowned, he rushed on, “Not that I’m trying to hide it, but Charlye is convinced I had the biggest crush on Demi in high school.”
Curious, I leaned in. “She knows your gaze was squarely onherback then, right?” Dex had been #TeamCharlye since we were little kids. I’d never even seen him look twice at Demi.
“My fault,” he explained. “I made the mistake of telling her that Demi could sing me to sleep any night.”
“Ah.” She didn’t do it often, but when Demi sang, it almost made time stand still. Her voice was soft and sultry, regal yet vulnerable. Even her speaking voice had a lullaby tone to it. It had often soothed the coarse parts of my soul and had even brought me back to consciousness when I was bleeding to death in the hot New Orleans heat. “That sound…” Of all the things I remembered about that night, what stood out the most was the relief, the hope that surged through me once I knew she was there. Although my parents had always offered us a safe place to land, Demi had provided a safe haven for me that night. But it wasn’t the only time she’d done it. I felt that way often when she was around, and that realization hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d never been the guy dreaming of a future withonewoman and maybe some kids running around the house, but the thought that I could have that every day for the rest of my life… I blinked myself out of the memory and looked at Dex. “I want her.”
Dex observed my quietly before he asked, “Do you want the idea of her?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Nah. I just want her.”
“What about Tristan?”
The fact that he’d brought up Tristan irritated the hell out of me. “He doesn’t deserve her.” That would’ve been true even if I didn’t want Demi for myself. Tristan had done nothing but treat her like an afterthought, an option that hemightchoose eventually.
“You do know that this could present a problem that you two may not be able to come back from.”
“Why?” I challenged.
“You know how it is. People sleep until something—orsomeone—wakes them up.”
“I can’t worry about that.”
“ButIcan worry about you. I’ve never seen you so resolute about a woman.”
“She’s not just any woman,” I argued.
“Exactly.” Dex clasped my shoulder. “When your heart is in it, there’s always a risk.”
In the past, I’d done my share of dirt, hurt a lot of feelings. It would be karma if I threw all my cards on the table only to have Tristan swoop in with a royal flush and break me. Yet, even if a determined Tristan joined the game, in the end, it would still be up to Demi to call the play. The safe option would be to ignore everything, find another woman to fuck, and keep it moving. But I’d never been one to take the safe route. Which meant one thing. Time to raise the stakes.
“Isn’t that what life is all about, bruh?” I asked.
Dex smirked. “Well, Dad always taught us to step up to bat. What are you going to do?”
“Hit that shit out of the park.”
* * *
Instead of staying at Bliss’last night, I went to my parents’ house. Against my better judgment, I’d let Ma convince me to make a huge breakfast for her newly arrived houseguests. Wedding Week was in full swing, and my mother had opened their home to several people. This included her former pastor and his family, who’d moved to Memphis years ago. And Chastity.
Last night, I’d managed to avoid my recently divorced prom date by sneaking through the back door and up the private staircase straight to my bedroom. And I’d been hiding from them ever since. At least until my father knocked on the door.
“What’s up, son?” Pop stepped into my room. “Hmm.” He shoved his hands into his pocket and spun around, taking in the newly decorated space. “Your mother told me it was a small remodel.”
Stretching, I chuckled. “She wasn’t playin’ around. You should see the other rooms.”
Luckily, my mother hadn’t forced any of us to relive our childhood when we returned to the house. While we could always stay there, she’d transformed each of the bedrooms into small hotel-like suites with upgraded amenities. Even with fresh paint, new furniture, and plush carpet, it still felt likemyroom. Having visited all of us several times, she’d taken elements of our own homes to create the space. For me, I preferred clean and comfortable. And Ma delivered with dark wood furniture, metal and glass accents, soft leather chairs, dim lighting, and different shades of grey and blue. The small refrigerator was filled with my favorite drinks. An accent cabinet hid snacks, and a box of Frosted Flakes. The one thing she didn’t get rid of from my childhood was the hot plate I’d purchased years ago.
My father studied the hot plate, rubbing his palm over the top. “It’s you, though.”
“Right.”
Pop sat down on one of the leather chairs, crossing one leg over his knee. “How are you? I feel like we haven’t talked in a while.”
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Work’s been busy.”
“Are you really buying Dex’s house?”
