Chapter 16 #2
The memory flickered through my mind for a second, and I felt that same warmth settle in my chest again.
“It felt easy,” I said after a moment. “Natural.”
She leaned back in her chair with a satisfied smile.
I took a sip of my drink, trying not to smile too much.
“He was gentle,” I admitted quietly.
Nia’s grin widened.
“Oh wow.”
“What.”
“You love him.”
I shook my head again, but this time my protest didn’t sound nearly as convincing.
“I just…” I hesitated, searching for the right words. “I felt comfortable with him.”
Nia nodded slowly, her expression softening.
“That matters more than you think.”
For a second I looked down at the table again, the memory of the night lingering quietly in my chest.
“Yeah,” I said.
“It does.”
I cleared my throat and took another bite of my salad, trying to shake off the warmth creeping into my face.
Nia was still looking at me like she had just solved the greatest mystery of the century.
“Okay,” I said suddenly, pointing my fork at her. “Why are you all in my business?”
She blinked innocently.
“I’m not in your business.”
“Yes you are.”
“I’m supporting my friend.”
I leaned back in my chair, giving her a look.
“Uh huh.”
She smiled sweetly, and I immediately recognized that smile.
It was the same one she wore whenever she thought she had won an argument.
"Anyway," I said casually as I lifted my glass. "What's going on with you and my brother?"
Her entire expression froze.
"Excuse me?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, don't act brand new."
She sat up a little straighter.
"There is absolutely nothing going on with me and Cal."
I let out a dramatic sigh.
"Girl, please."
She tried to look offended, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her with the smallest twitch.
"You two have been circling each other for years."
Nia pointed a finger at me.
"First of all, that is not true."
"It is absolutely true."
"We are friends."
"You are definitely not just friends."
She scoffed.
"Yes, we are."
I leaned forward across the table and rested my chin in my hand.
"Nia."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Mars."
"I have known you basically your whole life," I said mimicking her from earlier.
"And?"
"And I know exactly what you look like when you are pretending not to like somebody."
"I am not pretending anything."
I laughed.
"You are a terrible liar."
"I am actually an excellent liar."
"You couldn't even get through that sentence without smiling."
She immediately pressed her lips together, trying to hide it and shook her head, laughing under her breath.
"You are impossible."
"I learned from the best."
She pointed at me again.
"Your brother gets on my nerves."
I smiled.
"I know."
"He is cocky."
"I know."
"He thinks he is funny."
"He is funny."
"He absolutely is not."
I laughed.
She rolled her eyes so dramatically I thought they might get stuck.
"Whatever," was all she said.
"I am your best friend. It is literally my job to notice these things."
She looked down at her plate, suddenly finding her potatoes incredibly interesting.
I watched her for a moment before smiling to myself.
She couldn't hold it together anymore.
A laugh escaped, and she covered her face with both hands.
"You are never going to let this go, are you?"
"Absolutely not."
She lowered her hands and smiled despite herself.
"For the record, nothing is happening."
I nodded slowly.
She pointed her fork at me.
"I am leaving."
I laughed.
"No, you're not."
She sighed dramatically before taking another bite of her food.
"I walked right into that one."
"You really did."
I smiled as I reached for my mimosa.
"You know what the funniest part is?"
She looked at me cautiously.
"What?"
"You two are so busy pretending nothing is happening that neither of you has realized everyone else figured it out months ago."
Her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink, and she immediately looked away.
She never answered.
She didn't have to.
For a moment the conversation drifted into lighter territory again, the tension from earlier dissolving into the easy rhythm we’d always had.
But underneath it all, the warmth from the night before still lingered quietly in my chest.
And Nia noticed that too.
Even if I wasn’t ready to admit it out loud.
I had just taken another sip of my drink when my phone buzzed against the table.
The sound startled me enough that I jumped slightly.
Nia’s eyes immediately dropped to the screen.
“Oh,” she said slowly, leaning forward. “Speak of the devil.”
I glanced down.
Jalen
My heart did that annoying little flip it had started doing whenever his name appeared.
I tried to play it cool as I picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
His voice came through the speaker warm and smooth, instantly familiar.
“Hey.”
Just hearing it made the corner of my mouth lift without permission.
“Hey.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Just grabbing lunch with Nia.”
Across the table, Nia leaned back in her chair with a grin like she had front row seats to the entire conversation.
There was a small pause on the other end of the line.
“I miss you,” he said.
The words were quiet but clear.
Heat crept into my cheeks immediately.
“I… miss you too,” I said softly.
Nia clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
I shot her a warning look.
Jalen chuckled lightly through the phone.
“How’s your day going?”
“Pretty normal so far,” I said. “What about you?”
“Practice was good.”
Another small pause.
Then his tone shifted slightly.
“Actually… I needed to run something by you.”
My brow furrowed.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he said quickly. “It’s just something I wanted to talk to you about. I can call you later if you’re busy.”
“You can tell me now.”
I could hear him exhale quietly on the other end.
“I didn't know how to tell you last night, but I have an interview with Darren coming up," he said. “He requested me to come on the show this week for a segment about the game.”
My body stiffened before I could stop it.
Nia noticed immediately.
Her expression softened as she watched me.
For a moment I stared at the table, letting the name settle in my chest.
Then I forced my voice to stay calm.
“That makes sense,” I said.
“I'm telling coach I want to cancel,” he added quickly.
I blinked.
The sincerity in his voice made my chest tighten.
“You don’t have to cancel on my behalf,” I said gently.
“I don't mind at all, Amara.”
“I know,” I replied. “But that’s your job.”
He didn’t answer right away.
I could almost picture him standing somewhere quiet, thinking it through.
“I just don’t want you uncomfortable,” he said finally.
“I understand how this works,” I told him softly. “You shouldn’t miss opportunities because of me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Another small pause.
Then his voice warmed again.
“Alright.”
I smiled slightly.
Across the table, Nia was watching me with a knowing look.
“You going to be okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
And surprisingly, I meant it.
“Okay,” he said softly. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later.”
When I hung up, Nia leaned forward immediately.
“Alright,” she said. “What was that about?”
I set my phone down and exhaled slowly.
“He wanted to run something by me.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Go on.”
I stirred my drink absently as I explained.
“He has a segment on Darren Hill's show to talk about last week’s game.”
Nia’s expression shifted instantly.
Her shoulders softened as she studied my face.
“And?”
“He offered to turn it down,” I said.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“He did?”
“Yeah.”
I shrugged, trying to keep it casual.
“But I told him not to.”
Nia leaned back in her chair slowly.
“Are you actually okay with that?”
I thought about it for a moment.
“We’re not official,” I said carefully. “I can’t dictate where he goes or what appearances he makes.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I sighed softly.
“It’s been years, Nia.”
She didn’t interrupt.
“I’m sure Darren Hill doesn’t even remember who I am.”
Nia didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t push the point either.
Instead she reached for her water and nodded slowly.
“Well,” she said. “You handled that better than I would have.”
I laughed quietly.
We finished lunch not long after that, the conversation drifting back into lighter territory as we paid the check and walked out into the warm afternoon.
But the moment Nia left, my mind started circling back to the same place.
So instead of going straight upstairs to my apartment, I headed down to the gym in my building.
The familiar hum of treadmills and low music greeted me as I walked in. A few residents were scattered around the room, everyone minding their own business.
Perfect.
I needed to burn off the restless energy buzzing under my skin.
I started with the treadmill, pushing the speed faster than usual, letting the rhythm of my feet hitting the belt clear the noise from my head.
For a while it worked.
My breathing settled into a steady pattern.
My muscles warmed.
Then I glanced up.
The large television mounted on the wall above the weights switched to a sports segment, and before I had a chance to look away, his face filled the screen.
Darren Hill.
He looked exactly the way I remembered him.
Perfectly tailored suit.
Confident smile.
Easy charm.