Say So

Chapter One

COBY

I never imagined the sun would be shining the day I learned that heartbreak was the most deafening sound I’d never heard. It arrived silently like the wind until you were ready for it to pass through you.

But it’s been hours since my epiphany.

It was nighttime now.

I stared up at the full moon peeking out from behind gray clouds, wondering how I got here.

I thought I’d felt the worst of this pain when I became an orphan at fifteen, but as bad as losing my parents was, somehow this woe felt worse.

Walking away from someone you loved, someone who was still alive for you to touch and hold and see, was unbearable.

Time heals all wounds, but what about the ones that were free to keep tearing themselves open?

Even now, far from the source, my anguish echoed through me as I bypassed the long line outside the Diamond Lounge.

The upscale club straddled the boundary line between the high-end and low-rent district, sitting on the corner of the busy street where it attracted patrons of all types—young professionals, grad students, influencers, scammers, singles, couples, and friend groups.

Business was booming for my older brother’s club, but the pride I normally felt was dulled by the agony that sent me running to him for comfort in the first place.

As if to rub salt in the wound, a fresh wave of tears fell just as I reached the door where two bouncers were checking IDs.

“Hey, Dre,” I said to the friendly bouncer as I cut the line wrapped around the corner, pissing off all the people who were waiting.

I ignored the sound of their mad asses kissing their teeth and grumbling and focused on sounding like I wasn’t two seconds from falling apart.

“Is Shaun here?” I hadn’t even tried to call him because Hunter’s relentlessness forced me to turn off my phone after I stormed out in the middle of our fight.

“Nah, you just missed him,” Dre answered. “He left for the night about ten minutes ago.”

“Already?” I asked, feeling dumfounded as I looked around. The club was busy even on a Thursday night, so it made no sense for Roshaun to leave this early in the night I’m sure they needed all hands on deck this for crowd. “Why?”

Dre glanced up from the ID he was checking with a flashlight before shrugging and waving the group of girls inside.

They were still talking shit, but I paid those bitches with their beauty store bundles and ashy heels no mind.

“I don’t keep that man’s business in my back pocket, but you know your brother, Coby. ”

Meaning, Roshaun found someone to screw and ditched work early to play rather than get this money.

Why my brother started his own business when he had no work ethic was beyond me.

The new manager he hired to run his club was probably ready to quit, just like the last two.

Roshaun always piled too much on them because his priorities were fucking, spending money, making money, his car, and then me in that order.

“Okay, then,” I said with a sniffle as I turned to go. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

I didn’t make it more than a step before Dre laid a gentle hand on my arm. “I don’t know about that, girl. You seem like you’re going through it. I don’t know if I feel right about letting you leave.”

I had trouble meeting his gaze as I lied. “I’ll be all right.”

Dre made a frustrated sound. “Just…just go inside and wait while I try to get a hold of your brother.”

It was unlikely that Roshaun would have answered for me anyway since our relationship was rocky at best, but if Dre called, there was a chance my brother would answer.

It was sad but true. I thought about it for a moment longer before also realizing I had nowhere else to go.

I could go home, but Hunter was there, and she was the last person I wanted to see right now.

Exhaling heavily, I accepted Dre’s invitation with a faint nod.

He muttered something to the other bouncer before escorting me inside.

The club had two floors, each with a bar.

There were mirrors along the walls and chandeliers in the ceiling.

The white flowers, which appeared purple under the LED lights decorated the fluted pillars around the club.

The sparse crowd in the lounge section upstairs was surprising for such a busy night.

The stairs were even blocked off by a red velvet rope, and at the top stood a stone-faced guard who definitely didn’t belong to the club.

Someone high-profile was in the building.

Dre didn’t seem to care as he bypassed the downstairs bar and led me over to the glowing spiral stairs.

I watched him unhook the rope before placing a hand on my lower back when I hesitated.

While he led me upstairs, I tried once again to convince Dre that I was fine, but the gentle giant wasn’t convinced.

Before I could insist, the bodyguard placed a hand out to stop us from going any further once we reached the top.

“Let us through,” Dre ordered through gritted teeth.

“No more girls.”

“She’s not here for your boss. She’s another VIP guest.”

“No more girls,” the bodyguard barked as if Dre hadn’t spoken.

Dre’s massive chest puffed out, and I almost palmed my forehead. “Look, you can let us through, or I can call Mr. Perry and let him know how his guests are treating his little sister.”

Another guard walked over at that moment to investigate, and I felt my cheeks warm as the commotion drew more gazes and the whispering started.

The guards spoke low to one another before the nosy one walked away again.

I tracked his path with my gaze as he made a beeline for the bar that was also being guarded by a wall of bodyguards.

They parted to let him through, and I barely got a glimpse of a lone man sitting at the end of the bar before the gap quickly closed again.

It made me wonder who their employer could be that his men were out-ranking my brother’s bouncers. Dre was practically seething, which means whoever the VIP was has been a problem all night.

Ohhhh booooy.

Forgetting my aching heart, I rolled my eyes at the dick measuring.

A moment later, the guard was already returning. I was prepared to be turned away when he waved his hand instead. “Boss said to let her through.”

Dre lifted a brow while I fought my anxiety. I wasn’t even dressed for the club, so I felt self-conscious enough in my skin-tight jeans and off-the-shoulder crop top.

“I need to search her,” the stair guard said before we could pass.

Dre started to argue, but I shook my head and held out my arms for the guard to pat me down. He then looked inside my oversized crossbody purse that I got from a thrift store before confiscating the pocket knife that Hunter made me carry around. “I’m gonna need that back when I leave,” I warned.

The guard said nothing as he straightened and waved me through.

I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other and let Dre escort me over to the end of the bar where there were far fewer people. Everyone seemed to have gravitated toward the opposite corner where Mr. VIP sat. I was careful not to look around or make eye contact with anyone as I sat.

Dre distracted me by wiping away the tears that hadn’t dried with a cocktail napkin.

After I gave him a tremulous smile in thanks, the sweet bouncer ordered me the sluttiest drink on the menu and a plate of their only vegan option.

Once he was sure I wasn’t going to fall apart, Dre fist-bumped me before quickly leaving.

As I watched him muscle his way back to the stairs, I had a fleeting moment of regret for turning him down when he asked me out. Now he was happily married with a baby on the way, and I was single yet again thanks to Hunter.

Who am I kidding, though? She would have run Dre off too, so it wouldn’t have mattered.

To say my bestie was possessive was an understatement, and I was guilty of the same.

But that was before we broke a cardinal rule that threatened everything.

Hunter tried to turn back time, and when I told her it was too late, she said we had to try.

It wasn’t the first time one of our relationships crashed and burned so that our friendship could endure.

I was just foolish enough to believe this time was different.

When my food and cocktail arrived, I ignored the former since my stomach felt like it had been shredded.

I quickly downed the strong drink, hoping to numb the shitty feeling, but it didn’t work and brought a fresh wave of tears.

I was still fighting them back and losing when the hairs on my arms suddenly rose.

Forgetting the drama my arrival caused earlier, my head shot up so I could find the source of the eerie feeling and immediately my gaze clashed with another across the long length of the bar.

Time slowed as I choked on the sight of the fine as fuck man lounging in a relaxed pose against the back of the bar stool.

He seemed to have been watching me for quite some time because he didn’t startle or look away now that he’d been caught.

In front of him was a portfolio, which he ignored along with a drink and a basket of wings.

His dark brown skin glowed under the purple LED lights around the bar, but he was slightly turned so the half of his face that wasn’t exposed cast his features in shadow.

It made him look like a demon.

I searched and searched, but it was the only flaw I could find.

Those high cheekbones and chiseled jawline looked like they had never even borne a single pimple.

His jet-black hair was cut into a low fade, heavily moisturized, and meticulously brushed.

The crisp white button-up shirt he wore underneath his blue pin-stripe vest pulled tautly against his muscles and had me choking on my damn tongue.