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She turned on her side to face me. Her fingers found my chest and started tracing lazy circles.

“This doesn’t fix anything,” she said.

“So, you about to go back to sleeping in the guest room tomorrow?”

She pinched me. “I’m still mad at you, Cardez.”

“You still stole from me, La’Belle.”

“Fuck you,” she snorted.

“I don’t think you can handle another round, ma.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t move away from me.

“My mom thinks I just landed a rich nigga I met at the club,” she said as her fingers went back to my chest. “What am I supposed to say? ‘Mama, I scammed my fiancé and he’s forcing me to marry him as punishment?’” She rolled on her back and blew out a hard breath. “She’d lose her mind and give me a lecture about how she knew this shit was always gonna catch up with me.”

The conversation was fucked up, but I was laying here enjoying it because it meant she was talking to me again.

“Did you tell Siani?” I asked.

“Most of it.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Well, it’ll have to do,” she yawned. “I’m tired and you just—” she gestured vaguely toward the rest of the bed. “Did all of that.”

“That’s how you describe what just happened?”

“I’m not about to be stroking your ego, Dez. Your head’s big enough.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s⁠—”

She slapped her hand over my mouth. “Goodnight, Dez!”

I kissed her palm. She pulled it away and smiled.

“Dez?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t want the wedding to be a spectacle in front of people I don’t know. If I have to do this—” she paused. “I want Siani, my mom and Walter and Jody there, if she’ll even talk to me by then. That’s it.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not gonna fight me on it?”

“I told you can have whatever you want.” I kissed the top of her head. “I’ve never lied to you, La’Belle.”

“Don’t make me regret tonight,” she murmured, her voice heavy with sleep.

I hugged her tighter.

I wanted to tell her she wouldn’t, that we’d be straight and figure the rest out. But there was still too much broken between us for me to promise her anything I wasn’t sure I could keep.

1 Listen to I Care 4 U by Aaliyah

2 Play Fuckin’ Sound by Lucky Daye