chapter 16
Wesley
Something was off.
I noticed it.
Moses noticed it.
The only person that hadn’t clocked it was Erica, who’d been talking animatedly about everything that didn’t matter in this moment. Work, the gym, the last episode of Severance, and the latest political news … yeah, my sister was happily oblivious to the brewing storm.
Oh, and Whitney, because she didn’t know better. My sister’s childhood friend had recently moved to the city from Wellspring. Since I’d encouraged Erica to find some girlfriends, she’d invited her to lunch with us.
Erica brushed Mo’s arm. “It’s been a minute, Mo.”
Is she flirting with him?
“You look good,” my sister continued.
Yeah, she’s flirting.
Moses smirked. “You do, too.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “What’s good with you?”
“Nothing much, man,” Mo replied. “Working.”
Mo didn’t grow up in Detroit, but he’d often come around to spend time with Albany.
He was cool. That didn’t mean I wanted him to kick it with my sister.
I almost said something to that effect, but I stopped myself.
Because Mo could essentially say the same about me.
I did date his sister. She fell in love with me, gave herself to me.
Then, I broke her heart. And now I wanted her to trust me not to do it again, to give me a chance. To give us a chance.
The cold hard truth smacked me in the face as I turned over the reasons this would never work. Even if she’d forgiven me, how could she ever take the leap of faith required to give in to the fire burning between us? Even now, I felt it. The pull to her, the need to close the distance between us.
“What do you do?” Erica asked him.
He snickered. “A lot.”
Erica smiled, her eyes sparkling with renewed interest. It was no secret she’d crushed on Mo hard. And now that she was in the market, looking for a situation … “When did you get back to town?” my sister asked.
“I flew in for the funeral.”
My eyes met Albany’s, held her gaze for a moment. “Someone died?”
Albany had the sense to look guilty. We’d spent the night together. Even before that, we’d talked almost every day in some form. And she hadn’t told me her family suffered a loss. “Yes,” she replied.
“Who?” I pressed.
She held her head high. “My grandfather.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Albany.” Erica embraced her. “Is there anything I can do?”
Albany shook her head. “No, I’m fine. As you know, I didn’t know him.” I recognized the pain in her eyes before she could hide it. I wanted to reach out to her, to hold her. “I just figured I should pay my respects.”
The situation between her grandparents had weighed on her heart. We’d talked about it countless times, how she’d wished her grandmother could be happy. She dreamed of meeting him one day. Not because he was a good person. He wasn’t. But because he was her grandfather.
Erica’s expression softened. “Still, he’s family.”
“I promise to let you know if I need anything,” Albany conceded. “Thank you.”
Mo eyed me curiously. “You good, bruh?”
Clearing my throat, I nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Sure?”
Over the years, I’d known Mo to be very protective of Albany.
Almost more than I was. He’d gone against his father, his stepmother, and even Grandma to defend her.
I had no doubt he would do the same now.
Knowing her the way he did, I assumed he’d already guessed that the tension was the current flowing between me and Albany.
He didn’t like it, and I couldn’t blame him.
“Very,” I replied.
One thing Mo had to know about me? I didn’t back down for anybody. If he had a problem with me, he needed to tell me. While I respected him, I wasn’t scared of him either.
If he wanted me to stay away from his sister? She had to say it.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I added, shifting my gaze between Albany and Mo.
Erica elbowed her friend. “Oh. Whit, remember the woman I was telling you about?” Erica asked. “The PI?”
Whitney nodded. “Yeah, I believe so.”
“This is her. Albany.” Erica grinned. “She’s working for Batchelor Corp now.”
Recognition dawned on Whitney. “Oh.” She reached out to shake Albany’s hand. “Finally, I get to put a face to a name.”
Only Albany didn’t reciprocate the gesture. Instead, she asked, “Are you from Detroit?”
Whitney closed her hand into a fist, then shoved it into her pocket. “No.” She flashed a forced, yet polite smile. “I’m from Wellspring.”
Albany glanced at me, before she turned her attention back to Whitney. “What brings you to town?”
Albany was suspicious by nature. She was always the last person to warm up to outsiders.
It was one of the reasons I called her Bug.
She presented with a hard shell, but it was her protection mechanism, her way of shielding herself from attacks.
On the inside, though, she was delicate, gentle, harmless.
Like a ladybug. When we were kids, it would often come across as mean.
In eighth grade, some of the girls had campaigned to vote her Most Likely to Kick Someone’s Ass.
She hated the moniker because she wasn’t that.
While Albany tended to retreat inward when she was around people she didn’t know, I’d never known her to be cold.
Whitney giggled nervously. “Um, I …”
“She lives here now,” I answered. “Moved a couple of weeks ago.”
“Hmph.” Albany looked at her phone, tapped on the screen before she lifted her eyes again. “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
Erica gasped. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought I’d said her name when you two came over.”
“You did,” I murmured.
Albany glared at me. “I didn’t hear her,” she grumbled through clenched teeth.
“Anyway”—Erica shrugged—“Whitney was one of my first friends when we moved to Wellspring.”
“That’s nice.” She eyed me, lifting a brow. “Is she your friend, too?”
Whitney chuckled. “I actually met Wes first. At school. I tutored him in math.”
“Oh.” Albany laughed. There was no humor in it, though. “I used to tutor him, too.” She clapped with faux glee. “What’s funny is … He never needed me to help him. He could solve a math problem with his eyes closed.”
“Albany,” Mo said.
She held a hand up. “Hold on, because I’m not done. Later—I told you this is a funny story—he told me he only did that so that he could spend more alone time with me. I fell for it.” She forced a smile. “Guess that trick worked in Wellspring, too.”
Shit. She was pissed. And I finally figured what that off feeling was. She was jealous. Which made me incredibly happy and emboldened to further my agenda of getting her back. Whit didn’t deserve her wrath, though.
“It wasn’t math,” I corrected. “I asked her to help me with English.”
Whitney snapped her fingers. “Oh, right. I think I helped Bryson with math. Sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Albany’s shoulders fell. “Mo, we should probably go order our food.”
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.
Meeting my waiting gaze, she shrugged. “Nothing. What’s wrong with you?”
“You’re not acting like yourself.”
“Well, I am being myself, Wes. You shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve told you time and again … you don’t know me anymore.” She walked away. “Let’s go, Mo.”
“Stop walking!” I blared.
Mo frowned. “Who the fuck are you talking to?”
Albany gripped his wrist when he stepped forward. “It’s okay.” She stomped toward me. “What?”
“Give me a minute,” I commanded.
She narrowed her eyes. “No. You’ll never get another minute from me.”
“Give. Me. A. Minute.”
Holding up one finger, she spat out, “One. You have one minute. Just until that elevator gets to my floor.” She stalked toward the elevator and stepped inside.
“Hold up.”
I glanced back at Mo as he approached me. “What’s up?”
“I never had a problem with you, Wes,” he offered. “I hope I don’t have to. She’s been through a lot. Don’t hurt her.”
“Your time starts now,” Albany shouted from the elevator.
“I would never hurt her,” I assured him.
“You already did.” He sighed. “Look, I know there’s more to the story, but it still doesn’t change what you did or how you handled it.”
My decision had haunted me for years. It didn’t surprise me that Mo knew more than I’d ever told anyone. Made me wonder who talked to him about it because my family signed NDAs to keep everything under wraps. “Did you say something to her?”
He shrugged. “She never needed to hear it from me.”
I nodded, gave him a dap. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Do that,” he said. “Because if I have to comfort her again over you … it’s not going to be good, bruh.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Your minute’s up.” He peered at the elevator. “You better hurry.”
Without another word, I walked toward the elevator, stepped inside and stood in front of her. Once the elevator door closed, before I could say anything, I felt the sting of her hand against my cheek. When she went to do it again, I grabbed her wrist. “What was that for?”
She wrenched her arm from my grip. “Move.”
“What’s wrong with you?” I prodded.
“You got me walking around here jealous as fuck and I hate it.”
I smirked. “You always were a little possessive,” I teased.
“Shut up.” She rubbed her forehead. “That poor girl. I was mean to her for no reason.”
“You were pretty shitty to her.”
“Oh God. I need to apologize.” She pointed at me. “It’s your fault.”
I grabbed her hand, kissed the tips of her fingers, then sucked her ring finger into my mouth.
She gasped.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You should be.” She blew out a harsh breath. “That post set me off earlier and then I saw you with her…. Ugh.” She shoved me away. “Don’t touch me.”
The elevator arrived on her floor, and she barreled out of there. “Time’s up.”
I jogged after her. “Stop walking away from me.”
She whirled around, fury in her brown eyes. “You mean like you walked away from me?”
Squeezing her wrist, I pulled her to me. “I know I hurt you, Bug. I can’t change that, but I’m willing to …” I couldn’t finish my thought because she wasn’t ready to hear it. She wasn’t ready to give me what I wanted.
“Willing to what?”