Alyssa Carter, Esquire #3
We were at the door before he finished stammering. I didn’t turn around as we walked out of his office. Julian was on his feet in the outer office, alert in a way that told me the walls were thin and he’d caught most of it.
He smiled at me. “Impressive.”
Just then, Brooks walked to the door of his office muttering just loud enough to be heard. “Uppity bitch.”
Julian moved before I registered it. Two strides and he was in the man’s face, causing Brooks to stumble back into the doorframe.
“What did you say?” Julian's voice was deadly quiet.
“Uh… Mr. Wade. I didn’t… I wasn’t…”
“Julian.” I touched his arm; the muscle under my hand felt like a cable. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t move. “You stay away from Denise Parker. You leave her son alone. And if I ever hear you disrespect Ms. Carter again, we're going to have a problem that can't be solved with a conversation. Clear?”
Brooks was nodding before the sentence ended. “Yes, yes, Mr. Wade. Yes sir, Mr. Wade, absolutely. Ms. Carter, Ms. Parker, I sincerely apologize.”
“Save it,” Julian said, stepping back. “You’ve already shown who you are.”
This time when I pulled on his arm, he let me lead him out. But I could feel the anger coming off him the whole way, humming.
Outside in the parking lot, Denise was waiting by her car, tears streaming down her face. “Thank you,” she kept saying. “Oh my God, thank you both.”
We hugged and she finally drove off. Then it was just Julian and me by his car.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said.
“Yes, I did.” Not a flicker of hesitation, and the certainty in his voice went through me.
He opened my door. “Let’s go.”
As we drove away, I realized something had shifted between us. Julian had just stood up for me, as if it was a reflex, without being asked. And I’d liked it.
That probably should have worried me more than it did.
julian
The iron hit the rack with a satisfying clang, sweat already beading on my forehead despite being only twenty minutes into our Thursday session. Khaz was moving through his bench routine with controlled precision.
He finished his set and sat up, grabbing his towel. “Denise told me about the school visit. Had to make her repeat it twice because I couldn't believe what I was hearing.”
“Man was out of line,” I said, adjusting the weight for my next set.
“That's what's got me curious.” Khaz stood, moving in to spot me. “I been knowing you my whole life, cuz. Watched you handle business deals gone wrong, family drama, that situation with the contractors trying to shake you down last year. You stay level, always.”
I started my set, using the movement to avoid his stare.
“Denise said you looked ready to put Brooks through a wall right there in the school office. That ain't you.”
I finished my reps and sat up. “So?”
“So, Alyssa. Are y’all a thing or…”
“We’re just friends.”
“You two seem to fit. Seeing you actually enjoy spending time with a woman? That’s rare. It’s nice to see.”
I smirked. “I enjoy plenty of time with women.”
“I'm not talking about fucking, Jules. I mean like a real relationship. With someone you actually care about.”
“Since when did you become a relationship counselor?” I asked, setting the weights down.
“Since I watched my cousin act like he doesn't want the same things everyone else does.”
“I don’t.”
We worked in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.
“You know the family's been talking, right?”
I groaned. “Why is everyone so concerned about me all of a sudden?”
“We want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“We want you to be happier then.” Khaz sat across from me. “And we can see what you can't.”
“Which is?”
“That you two are compatible.”
“We are…as friends. Besides the fact that she’s not built for the kind of arrangements I prefer. She deserves more than that.”
“You deserve more too, Julian.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“You're a family man. Always have been. How you stepped up when your mama died and Uncle Zay left. How you’ve handled things with Simone, Tre, Zion. Hell, all of us. But you keep acting like that part of you doesn't exist when it comes to women.”
“That's different. That's responsibility.”
“That's who you are. And you refuse to let yourself have what comes natural to you because... why? Because you might actually have to let someone in?”
“She's been through enough,” I said finally. “Husband murdered, had to rebuild her whole life. She doesn't need me making things more complicated.”
“Or maybe she needs exactly what you got to offer. Stability. Someone who’s there.”
“You talking like you know her.”
“Like I said, family's been talking.” Khaz stood, moving to his next exercise. “For the record, Raschad would be cool with it.”
That made me pause, weight halfway to my shoulder. “First of all, I know that. Second, if I was interested—which I'm not saying I am—I don't need his permission. Third, y'all need to find something else to do with your time because this matchmaking situation you got going is out of hand.”
Khaz laughed and let it go, and we finished our workouts talking about nothing. It wasn't until I was driving home that I thought about what I hadn't said back there. I'd been ready to put a man through a wall for calling her out of her name. That doesn’t fit a man who keeps his distance.