Chapter 25 Skye
SKYE
I had to play it cool.
I had to sit in the café and act like I was unbothered by the fact that I hadn’t slept next to Ocean in almost a week.
Nyx was rambling about her morning sickness and everything she hadn’t been able to keep down, which honestly sounded awful.
“Skye, are you listening to me?”
“Yes, I am.” I reached across the table, placing my hand over hers. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so terrible, but I’m sure it’ll let up soon. It’s still early. I heard it gets better as you go along.”
“Yeah?”
Hope flickered in her eyes, and I held onto it for her.
“Yeah. Just try to relax and enjoy this beautiful day. It’ll get better.” I smiled. “Hey, how about we talk about something lighter? Like the gender reveal. Are you and Shade excited to find out what you’re having?”
“Yes! I mean, I’ll be happy either way, but I’m really hoping for a boy.”
“Really? I just knew you’d be hoping for a girl, and he’d be hoping for a boy.”
Giggling, she took a sip of her tea. “Girl, Shade is hoping for twins. One boy, one girl.”
“Of course.” I laughed, shaking my head. “He just wants to get it out of the way, huh?”
“If only that were true.” She laughed. “Even if we have twins, he’s talking about four more.”
“What?” I gasped. “Six damn kids? Is he crazy?”
“Yes,” she said simply. “Just as crazy as that brother of his you’ve been fooling with.”
I scoffed. “Honey, nobody’s as crazy as that man. Ocean is on a whole other level.”
“Speaking of Ocean…” She leaned closer. “How are things with you two? You know, since you decided you were officially done messing around…even though you still living in his condo.”
I cleared my throat.
This was the conversation I didn’t want.
I wasn’t good at lying to Nyx. And I wasn’t ready to tell her the truth.
I couldn’t afford to look stupid again if things didn’t work out.
“Um…things are fine,” I said carefully. “He’s respecting my space, and I’m respecting his.”
“So y’all not fucking?”
“Nyx!”
Of course she’d ask that.
Before I could answer, a teenage girl approached us. “Excuse me…”
She stood beside the table, eyes locked on Nyx, while Trace hovered behind my best friend like a personal shield.
Nyx smiled warmly. “Hey, what can I do for you?”
“Can I get a picture with you?”
“Of course.”
Nyx leaned in, holding up the phone as they snapped a selfie.
Everybody knew selfies always came out better.
“I love watching you dance,” the girl gushed. “You’re my favorite. I want to be a professional dancer one day too.”
“Do you?” Nyx asked. “Are you already dancing?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I take hip-hop and contemporary classes after school, and I’m on a competition team on the weekends.”
My smile matched Nyx’s.
My girl deserved every bit of love she was getting from her fans. Nyx always knew what she wanted to do, and she’d worked her ass off for it.
“Are you going back on tour with Shade anytime soon?” the teenager asked.
Nyx shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But if I do, my fans will be the first to know.”
The girl giggled like she’d just won the lottery.
Trace gently touched her shoulder, signaling time.
“It was nice meeting you, Nyx. Thanks for the pic.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
The girl scurried off, glowing.
“She was cute,” I said.
“Yeah. She reminds me of me at that age. I couldn’t wait to graduate and start my life.”
“I bet. You got any regrets?”
She sighed. “Not really. But there’s definitely things I would’ve done differently.”
“Like what?”
I squeezed a lemon into my tea.
“I would’ve been more vigilant starting out. Paid more attention to my surroundings. The stuff I almost got caught up in was crazy.”
My chest tightened.
I knew exactly what she meant.
There were so many signs I ignored.
Maybe if I hadn’t, the worst thing imaginable wouldn’t have happened to me.
Even now, saying the word rape still felt foreign. Saying it made it real.
I’d told Ocean I’d moved past it.
The truth was, I’d just buried it.
As long as I didn’t talk about it, it felt like it didn’t exist.
I exhaled slowly, wishing I could shove the word back down my throat.
“Skye? You good?” Nyx’s hand squeezed mine.
“Yeah. I’m good.”
“You sure? You’re sweating.”
She slid me a napkin.
I pressed it to my forehead.
Damn.
“Yeah, just a hot flash,” I joked weakly. “You know I’m getting old.”
“Girl, bye. You’re not even close. If anybody should be sweating, it’s me. I got a whole human growing inside me.”
“Yeah, you do,” I smiled. “And you look amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“Always.”
I glanced over her shoulder. “So, since when did Trace start following you everywhere? I thought he was Shade’s bodyguard.”
“Apparently, he’s mine now,” she said. “Shade feels better knowing he’s with me.”
“Well who’s with Shade?”
“One of Trace’s trainees. He’s good, but—”
“My boy’s better,” Shade interrupted, kissing her forehead.
“Babe?” Nyx gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood and—”
He didn’t even finish before chaos hit. Fans swarmed. Phones flashed. Shade signed autographs like breathing, and a few fans begged for pictures with Nyx too, which he happily did.
My chest swelled watching them together. After everything she’d been through, she finally had real love.
“I’m going to head out,” I whispered.
“Already?” Nyx replied.
“I’ll call you later.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Enjoy your man.” I hugged her tight. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I walked out smiling.
“Skylar, right?”
I froze.
I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. The voice clicked immediately. Melina. She’d said my name wrong on purpose, the way people did when they wanted to remind you they didn’t respect you.
“Melba,” I said, returning the favor.
“It’s Melina.”
“Oh.” I smiled sweetly. “My bad. I thought we were intentionally fucking up names today.”
“I’m sorry,” she said innocently. “Did I say yours wrong?”
“Yes, bit—” I caught myself. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, you could do me one favor.”
I sighed. “And what’s that?”
“Stop fucking with Ocean.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
She stepped closer. “You heard me.”
“Oh, I heard you.” I laughed. “I just wanted to make sure you heard you.”
“I did.”
I shook my head. “You sound crazy as hell right now. You can’t tell me to stop messing with a man that isn’t yours.”
“He doesn’t have to be mine.”
Damn. Was I this delusional with Mecca?
I sighed. “Sweetheart, I don’t have time for this.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart.”
“I’ll call you whatever I want. Now get the fuck out my face.”
“And if I don’t?”
My nose flared.
And just like that…the crazy clocked in.