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ChapterTen
DAY FOUR
“You know this is some hoe ass shit, right?” Pardi questioned, standing at the trunk of his car, glaring at Dallas.
“Damn, you got a bad attitude when you wake up in the morning,” Dallas chuckled.
“Who the fuck wouldn’t when you out here making seven am wake-up calls for me to run your errands like I work for you?”
“Leaving in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning would’ve been fucked up. Also, this was your idea.”
“Nah, I told you to figure your shit out. You wooing Sevyn before Christmas was Kohl’s idea and he’s her brother. Why didn’t you call him for this bullshit?”
“You were closer. Now quit bitching and open the damn trunk. It’s cold out here.”
“My entire fucking point.”
Shaking his head, Pardi did as Dallas requested and pulled the handle to open his liftgate. One quick glance left Dallas satisfied that Pardi had indeed gotten everything on the list.
“Good looking out. I appreciate it.”
“Boy, if ever I find myself strung out over a woman you better return this same energy.”
“I thought you already were?” Dallas teased, already heading back up the driveway.
“Fuck you!”
Ignoring his friend, Dallas headed back into the house, kicking the door closed behind him. For the next hour or so, he dedicated himself to setting up the living room exactly how he wanted.
By the time he was finished, Sevyn was just making her way downstairs, scratching at her wild hair and clad in just a t-shirt.
Dallas’ heart leapt at the smile on her face when she stepped into the room.
On each surface with enough space to hold one, there sat a vase of a dozen orange roses. He hadn’t gone the cliché route and scattered them everywhere since he didn’t want to clean them up later.
A couple of bottles of champagne rested in a bucket on the living room table, accompanied by a pair of wine glasses.
The breakfast Pardi picked up for him was unpacked and laid out on the kitchen island.
“See, I was about to go on a whole rant about how I feel insulted that you were up so early without me.”
“And the whole time, a nigga had to fight to get out of the bed to make sure I was done before you woke up.”
Wrapping her arms around her body, Sevyn glanced around the room in awe. “This is so damn beautiful.”
“Just like you,” Dallas kissed her forehead. “And keeping this food warm without it burning has been hell so hurry up before it gets cold, please.”
Laughing, she pushed herself up to brush her lips against his before doing as he asked. Not long after, they were both seated on her living room floor, eating with a movie playing in the background that neither one of them was paying attention to.
“Okay, last time you asked me but I never got to return the question,” Sevyn said, digging a fork into her eggs. “When did you realize that your feelings for me were more than friendly?”
Scratching his head, Dallas took a minute to answer. “Shit might come out a little more complicated than I’m trying to make it but I think, in a way, I always knew. I didn’t treat you the way I did because I was expecting something in return, but it was obvious that I went further for you than I would for Lorren. You never gave me the idea that you felt something for me so I left it alone. We were young and had a whole lot of life left to figure it out. Then you did say something and I figured that telling you I didn’t feel the same would give me more time to try and figure shit out.”
She laughed lightly, “Great plan.”
“It was dumb,” he smiled. “And it’s in the past. I don’t think I knew how strong my feelings were until we stopped talking, though. That shit was hard as fuck. Then everybody wanted to know why they hadn’t seen you or why you weren’t coming by the house when Kohl did. That’s when I really realized that I fucked up. There was so much going on on both ends that we both missed because we weren’t fucking with each other.”
“I know,” Sevyn agreed. “Demi tried to get me to come to so many things but that embarrassing feeling wouldn’t go away. I know that outside of our friends, nobody knew what happened, but still.”
