Me:
If he say some bullshit, lmk
As I left my office, he thumbs-upped my message. Nothing else came after that.
I checked my watch.
4:35.
On a random ass Wednesday.
Sliding my phone in my pocket, I took the stairs to the third floor two at a time and grabbed the rolling tray Soul left on our nightstand before walking out on my balcony.
Why was my dad back in Onyx Cove unannounced, and what the fuck did he want with Christian?
Not the Same
Sunday, July 31, 2016 | Age 21
I could ignore this call. A part of me wanted to. It felt justified and like I’d at least have the ball in my court. But another part of me—the part that was about to win—was just happy she wanted to be the first to tell me happy birthday. Regardless of how she dipped out of town afterherbirthday two weeks ago, I wanted to see her.
Pulling in a breath, I swiped the phone, accepting the FaceTime invitation. I didn’t exhale while I waited for her dimpled smile to fill my screen.
“Happy birthday, Soul!” Her voice cut in and out, but her camera was steady as she stared at me expectantly.
Pressing my back against my headboard, I sat up and let my face relax into an almost smile. “Thanks, Harley baby.”
“Was I the first to tell you?” She spoke hurriedly, her head now moving in and out of the frame.
I heard footsteps.
The echo of a stairwell.
Then Harlow’s grunt as she pushed open a door and stepped onto the street.
“Still not fucking with elevators?”
“Notalone,” she confirmed before muffled voices joined hers on the street.
Last year when she was visiting Miami, she got stuck in an elevator for two hours by herself. Since then, she took the stairs. It didn’t matter if it was ten flights or two.
People continued to shuffle past her on the sidewalk until she stopped walking and pressed her back against a building, mirroring my posture. “So, was I your first?”
Her voice hitched and her warm gaze examined my face.
“You were my first, Harley baby.”
Just as I thanked her, a banner notification from Rico popped up over her head.
Rico:
Happy birthday, Soul. Drinks on me later, love you
Car horns blaredin Harlow’s background and the sun shone brightly behind her phone, illuminating her pretty sun-kissed complexion.
Wherever she was, it was the middle of the day, and looking out my bedroom window at the midnight sky reminded me of how easy it was for her to put distance between us.
“What are you doing today?”
