Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if something has happened, but I’ve pushed that thought down to keep from losing my shit. She’s stubborn. She’s doing this to be stubborn, I know it in my gut.
“I’m only concerned about you. This isn’t like you, but I’ll mind my damn business,” Ryan says.
“Ry, I’m sorry.”
“Eat my ass.” He goes to turn away from me, but I grab him by the arm and tug him into me. Damn, this kid has outgrown us all. He’s at least five inches taller than me, but he still melts in my arms like the big baby he is. He wouldn’t let on to anyone, but I know I’ve hurt his feelings. “I love you, Ry. I’m annoyed with some shit. It’s not you.”
He pulls away and looks me in my eyes. “Damn, we’re going to have another wedding,” he says.
“What?”
“Whoever she is, she’s different. You think she can handle all your kinky shit? Wait, that’s the problem, you like this one, but she doesn’t know.”
I roll my eyes. “Goodbye, Ryan.”
“Hold on, what the fuck is going on with Missy then? She’s been blowing me up. You said you told her about this, and she didn’t want to come. I call bullshit.”
I clench my jaw. First, I don’t know how or why Missy has been calling and texting my brothers. Yes, I talked to her the other night when I arrived here in Seattle. I was exhausted and told her I was handling some personal shit with my family and I’d check on her in a few days.
I don’t know why I lied to Ryan. I guess it was because I knew he would pry. My phone grabs my attention as it vibrates with a text. It’s Roni.
I’m here.
“Hey, we’ll talk later,” I say to Ry and take off before he can grill me any further.
When I get out front, I’m expecting a town car. Instead, I find a motorcycle roaring its way up the street. When it stops Roni climbs off in a pair of tight-fitting jeans, a T-shirt, and boots. Parking the bike, she removes her helmet, gets off, and leans back against the motorcycle. She’s not dressed for a wedding at all.
Moving down the driveway, I stop in front of her and shove my hands into my pockets to keep from touching her. Not only would that be inappropriate, but I’ve come to learn she’s not fond of people in her space. I want to respect that as much as I can. Our dance the other night was definitely out of her comfort zone, which made me cherish it even more.
“You left. You left and didn’t say a word,” she says, her words coming off oddly detached.
“You followed,” I say and grin.
She shrugs. “I wanted answers and I wanted them in person.”
“What happened to your dress? I told them to get you a dress and heels,” I say.
“I don’t want to go to a wedding,” she seethes. “I don’t know them, and I apparently don’t know you.”
I close the gap between us. “Yet, here you are.”
She pushes at my chest, causing me to take a step back. Not from the force of the shove, but because it’s what she wants. She glares at me, her nostrils flaring.
“You could have told me to my face. I never thought of you as a coward,” she spats.
“Wait, how am I a coward?” I say, wrinkling my brows.
She widens her eyes. Not for the first time in the last few minutes alone, I want to tug her in and kiss that sexy ass mouth. Even as she’s pissed off, I note that she looks good, healthy.
I can’t help thoughts of reaching for that single braid she has resting over one shoulder. I love that it’s not perfect. It’s fuzzy strands rebel against the weave she’s forced them into. Her curls as defiant as she is.
“How are you not a coward? We had a thing. Then you run off. Why?”
“I told you in the letter, my brother needed me.”
She looks past me to the house, drawing her brows together. When her confused gaze comes back to me, I think I understand where her thoughts are. I ball my fists in my pockets because right now, all I want is to reach for her.
“You didn’t know he was getting married? You couldn’t have told me sooner that you were leaving?”
That ache in her voice is my undoing. I take my hands from my pockets and place them on her waist, bringing her to me. Kissing her forehead, I keep my lips against her skin as I speak.
“It’s a complicated situation. We all had to come in at the last minute. If you’d have worn the dress like I asked, you would’ve understood. I could have explained…” I trail off the moment I know I’ve lost her.
Her body stiffens and she pulls away slowly. I run through my words to find which ones were the trigger. Fuck, I have to learn to be more careful with my words when it comes to her.
Roni
“First, John, you didn’t ask me shit. You left yet another note and some strangers to tell me that you wanted me to come to this wedding where I don’t know anyone, and they don’t know me. A bunch of white folks that would make me feel out of place,” I snap.
He laughs. I mean, a deep belly laugh. I eye him in disgust. Okay fine, I’m not disgusted by anything I see. He is wearing the hell out of that tux. I want to grab the lapels and kiss those sexy lips of his.
I hate how he always makes me feel this way. Other people, I don’t give a fuck about. I could go days without talking to anyone, but when it comes to John, he makes me crave something I don’t think I’ve ever had.
It’s more than a sexual attraction. It’s his attention. I want his attention. It sounds so needy, but it’s the only way I know how to describe how I feel about him.
Then he laughs and goes from gorgeous to breathtaking during said laugh, but he’s laughing at me, nonetheless. Which only pisses me off more. Jerk.
“Come on, come inside with me. I want to show you something,” he says through his laughter.
“No, I’m not dressed for a wedding.”
He rolls his eyes over me and I swear he’s seeing me naked. “It will be fine. No one will care.”
“If no one cares why the dress and personal shopper?”
He frowns. “Are you forgetting that you took off from campus without a word to anyone or permission? You are the one that got on a plane and followed me here. You are the one that used a credit card no longer in your possession. You are the one that went to my hotel for… what? Why did you come here?
“You know what, don’t answer that. I thought if you were going to be here for this, you could be my…”
He cuts off. I can see him trying to wrangle his temper. Note to self, that temper is hot. I might want to trigger it again sometime just to watch.
“Date?” I finish his words and narrow my eyes at him. “Yeah, that’s a no. I’ll be at the hotel when you’re finished. I never should’ve come here.”
“Roni, wait,” he calls out as I throw my leg over my bike and reach for my helmet to tug on.
I don’t stop to hear what he has to say as I turn the key and start the bike. For over an hour, I sat a few miles away pondering whether or not to come here. I was right the first time. This is no place for me.
“I’ll get my answers later,” I mutter to myself as I take off down the street.