Prologue #4
“Skye, fuck.” He groaned against my shoulder blade. A few strokes later, I felt him go still behind me, breath ragged, his whole body pressed into mine, not moving.
Ducane grabbed me and carried me to the shower.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, baby, I heard I’ll feel it more in the morning. Thank you for taking me out on a real date and sharing such an important moment with me.”
He kissed the top of my forehead and brought me into his arms for a hug.
“You never have to thank me for loving you, Skye.”
We showered quickly; my body was fighting hard to stay upright.
Back in his bed with the covers up to my chin and his arms around me, I snuggled into him and pinched myself. I didn’t know what the future held. What I knew was that I’d given him something I couldn’t take back, and some part of me didn’t want to. We were tied together now. Forever.
Skye
Six Months Later
“Skye, stop fidgeting with your hair. It looks good. Ducane is going to love it.”
“Ducane loves everything about me. The hair isn’t the point.” I turned from the mirror and looked at Airalynn sitting on my bed with her legs crossed and zero anxiety about any of this. “This is a dinner with his parents. I need them to love it. Me.”
Airalynn tilted her head. “You look beautiful, and you don’t need them to love you. Just Ducane.”
“I look nervous.”
“You look beautiful and nervous. Two things can be true.” Fee said, dusting my face with highlighter.
I turned back to the mirror.
What started as him following a stranger out of a classroom had become the thing I structured my whole day around without ever meaning to.
Between school, my shifts at The Diner, and his pro bono work on campus, we'd settled into a rhythm that belonged only to us.
We found each other between classes, stole dinners whenever our schedules lined up, and ended most nights in his apartment.
No interference. No outside opinions. Just two people figuring out what forever looked like one day at a time.
Senior year changed that.
His parents had caught wind of us seeing each other. Apparently, we were “hot and heavy.” The dinner invitation showed up shortly after. This was dinner number three, and I was done biting my tongue.
Ducane said it would be fine.
I wanted to believe him, and mostly I did.
But as the time inched closer, I felt less confident.
When I met Ducane, I accused him of being the jock or the campus hoe.
I never considered that he was the son of two of the most powerful lawyers in the state.
He was the silver spoon kid, but I loved that he never acted like it.
Tonight felt like the night everything would either open up for me or close for good.
I knew they'd clock the dress and heels for what they were, borrowed for one night, tags still on for a return tomorrow, and decide exactly where I came from before I said a word.
I smoothed the front of my dress one more time and grabbed my bag.
“How do I look?”
“You look great.” Airalynn stood and fixed my strap. “And I know his family name scares you. But Ducane is following his heart. Who cares what his uppity parents think? He loves you.”
The doorbell sounded before I could say anything back. I kissed Airalynn on the cheek, hugged Fee, and opened the door.
My handsome man was looking too good to even begin to calm my nerves.
He offered his arm, and I took it. We made small talk the whole ride over, his hand finding mine across the console.
“Are you okay?” I asked; his silence felt different tonight.
“Yeah, baby, I’m cool, just tired.”
Within twenty minutes, we were pulling up to Sasha Roe. My body shook with nerves as Ducane helped me from the car.
“Relax,” he whispered in my ear before kissing it. “I love you, and that’s all that’s ever going to matter.”
I melted and straightened up as we headed in for dinner.
We were seated, and introductions commenced. And then the small, intimate dinner got started. The restaurant had low lighting, small portions, and goop splayed over the plates. All the things that made everything cost way too much. A dollop of chicken was $90, absurd.
I was seated next to Ducane with Bianca, a family friend who laughed too loudly at everything Ducane said on the other side of me. She kept subtly scratching my ankle with her heel under the table. It felt purposeful because how does one’s foot find me even when I move it?
I let it go and kept my smile wide and conversation light. Turning up in a restaurant like this in front of his people wasn’t how I wanted them to remember me.
But when Bianca stood to make a point, her martini tilted, and the cold liquid hit my dress, causing me to cuss and shriek before I could stop myself.
“Are you always this damn clumsy?” I asked, already moving toward the bathroom. My eyes rolled when I made it inside. This night was going exactly how I figured it would.
The vibes were off. When his mother followed me into the bathroom, I was even more convinced that this night was never meant to go well.
I was at the sink, blotting the fabric, when she appeared beside me with paper towels and a calm demeanor that shocked me. She hadn’t been cold during dinner, just too… too inquisitive. Considering how insufferable Ruben had been all night, I was surprised she had any patience left for me.
“Here. Let me help you.” She worked at the stain without making a production of it. “Bianca can be clumsy. Especially when she’s insecure.”
We stopped and looked at each other in the mirror.
“She’s had a crush on Ducane since middle school,” Dena said simply. “He likes you, though. A lot.” She tilted her head. “You’re a free spirit. I can see that. What are your plans after school, Skye? In life.” A pause. “With my son?”
“Would my plans for your son matter?”
She looked at me for a second, pity crossing her face.
“Probably not,” she said. “But I know my boy. He’ll give it his best. And it still won’t be enough.”
I looked down at the paper towels in my hands.
“I love him.”
She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.
“Oh, baby girl, I know you do.”
She paused.
“Some things you can’t stop. You can only brace for impact.”
She handed me the last of the paper towels and checked herself in the mirror once.
“Fix your dress, sweetheart. You’re a lovely girl, and you’ve yet to reach your full potential; never forget that.”
She was gone before I could respond.
I stood there for a moment looking at my own reflection. I wanted to run out of that bathroom and all the way home. But instead, I pushed back through the door. The cake with sparklers stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t his birthday. My brows bunched together as I got closer to the table.
Congratulations was written in script across the cake.
“Skye, you missed the news. Ruben is handing the Upland office to Ducane,” Bianca said, extending her hand to Ducane like she was Vanna White.
Upland?
Upland was four hours away. My throat tightened thinking about the distance and what it all meant before I could stop myself from going there. He didn’t look excited the way everyone else did.
I set my face and moved back to the table. Our eyes locked, mine softened.
“Congratulations, Duke. Upland is not ready,” I said, coming closer and kissing his cheek.
He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it before leaning back with his arm around my chair. His body shook slightly. He was fuming.
“I’ll be back.”
Soon he stood, and Ruben, his father, followed. I watched them from across the room, Ducane pulling at his tie while his father spoke harshly, prompting Ducane to step closer and do the same, even more harshly.
I turned back to the table.
“Mrs. Simmons, I’ll be moving to Upland soon as well.” Bianca smiled into her fresh martini. “You’ll have to text me all the hot spots.”
Dena looked at Bianca for a long moment before her eyes settled somewhere past her.
“Well, isn’t that convenient?”
“I know. Daddy said it only makes sense for the heirs to the kingdom to take over together.” Bianca smoothed her napkin. “I couldn’t agree more. Ducane and I will be the dream team. Like Johnny and June.”
“So crack heads?” I asked while his mother stifled her laugh.
I picked up my water glass and said nothing else.
Brace for impact. Brace for impact. Brace for impact. I chanted in my head to calm my nerves.
That was the second time my heart broke for real.
“Let’s go, Skye,” Ducane said, pulling me from my chant. I snapped out of it and stood with him.
He took my hand and led us out of the restaurant.
“Baby, slow down,” I said, trying to pull away. He was damn near dragging me, and these heels wouldn’t allow it. He turned and paced the sidewalk. I left him to it for a second.
“I’m about to explode, Skye. How do I get us an Uber? Is it an app?”
This man had never ordered his own ride in his life and was about to walk away from the people who made sure he never had to. I bit back a smile.
“We drove, Ducane.”
“I gave him that shit back. Fuck him and that car. The apartment, all of it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Skye, I can’t do it.” He stopped and looked me in my eyes. His hand went to his ear, tugging once, and the strain in his face made me step forward and place a hand on his cheek. “I can’t go to Upland. Not if you aren’t coming with me.”