He thought Soul and I had moved on?
I almost wanted to laugh because of how far off he was, but I cleared my throat and cocked my head to look at him.
“I’m a grown ass man, I know. I think it’s just the fact that we were all close for so long. Then we did that. And my heart is still waiting for what comes after that.” He shook his head, looking disgusted with himself. “I tried to hook up with other people. But it feels empty. Hollow. And I feel like a dick for holding this over Harlow’s head because she told me—all of us—what it was that night.”
Damn.
I wasn’t expecting the words to flow so freely. Christian could keep a secret from himself, so for him to open up like this before his first cup of coffee had me speechless.
“I got coffee,” Soul announced while I was trying to untie my tongue. “And donuts. Chocolate glazed for Rico, old-fashioned for Chris and sprinkles for Harley.”
Christian got up before I could say anything else and helped Soul unload the bags on the kitchen counter.
But his words stayed on repeat even after Harlow walked in the house and joined us for breakfast.
I don’t know how to get over that night. I don’t know how to get over her.
That made three of us.
But what about Harlow? Had she gotten over what she’d done to us that night?
“I’m goingto grandma’s house,” Harlow said, entering the living room while I checked emails on my phone and Christian went over expenses for the bar.
Soul had left for work an hour ago and Harlow had disappeared upstairs around the same time.
She’d changed into another bikini—this one pink instead of the green she’d been wearing earlier. She had a white dress on over it and her hair spilled over her shoulders in tight coils.
“You need my keys?”
“No.” She shook her head and all I smelled was mangoes and sunshine. Whatever conditioner she used complimented the citrusy perfume she wore too well. “I want to walk.”
She said that but held out her hand as she hovered above my seated position.
I dapped her up and suppressed my laugh when she narrowed her eyes at me.
Without a word, I reached in my pocket for my card holder and gave her the one that had her birthday as a PIN.
“Thank you, bye.” She ran her hand over my waves and shot Christian a smile before she walked to the front of the house.
When the door closed, Christian looked up from his laptop screen and shook his head.
“She’s so fucking spoiled.”
“I know,” I said, smiling at my phone.
And that was our fault. We taught her to never go in her pockets if she was around a man. Why would that change just because it was us? If anything, she knew we had her covered three times over.
Exactly as it should be.
I turned my attention back to my phone, determined to get some work done before Soul and Harlow got home. Because I knew once they were back, I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but them. And that excited the fuck out of me.
Here to Stay?
I loved Rico and my best friends, but this morning when I woke up, there was a physical ache in my limbs I couldn’t explain. And when I tried to get ahead of it by starting my morning on the water, all I got was temporary relief that vanished when I sat at the breakfast table with them.
Their closeness was a palpable thing. And I’d spent the last decade of our lives popping in and out while their bond continued to grow. I missed them so deeply I couldn’t even hold eye contact with one of them for longer than a beat before my eyes felt mysteriously misty.
For the most part, I liked being a digital creator who could come and go at the drop of a dime.
