chapter 17
Albany
I had a long day full of meetings, of research, and of uncertainty.
One thing I didn’t have today? A phone call or even a text from Wes.
It had been three days since he’d declared his love for me, told me that he’d wait for me.
And he’d stayed true to his word. The only problem is I wasn’t ready for how it felt to not hear his voice, to see his face.
I’d subtly asked around about him, cornered Erica in the mailroom, rushed into the elevator to catch Hendrix. I even casually dropped hints to Granny when I met with her this afternoon. He’d seemingly gone ghost.
“Are you there, Pooh?”
I blinked. “Yes, Grandma. Fourth of July at your house. Should I bring anything?”
“No, baby,” she replied. “I have money to hire chefs.”
I shifted the phone to my other ear as I neared my front door. “Okay.”
“Wear something nice,” she ordered.
My steps faltered when I noticed that my door was ajar. Pausing, I told Grandma I’d call her back. Sighing, I gripped the piece at my hip and readied myself to draw. I pushed the door open.
I scanned the room. It was empty. Nothing seemed out of place, which was not surprising because I didn’t have much.
Except for my surveillance equipment, my work computers, my files …
Shit. I crept toward the office. When I heard something shatter in the bathroom, I counted to ten before I kicked the door open and …
Bri screamed. “Albany!”
I clicked the safety and dropped my weapon. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I stopped by after work,” she exclaimed.
My friend was also my emergency contact. Bri had all of my secure information, my important passwords, a spare key, and my security codes. She was also my power of attorney. I secured my firearm. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were a criminal.”
“This place is like Fort Knox. How would a criminal get in?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I wiped the sweat off my brow and took a moment to gather my composure.
Bri approached me. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“A lot,” I murmured.
Her shoulders fell. “Damn. Did you want to talk about it?”
I walked into my bedroom. “Not really.”
“Good.” She plopped down on my bed.
I glanced at her. “Wow.”
Giggling, she peered up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry. I had a difficult day.”
“Me, too.” I crawled on the bed next to her. “It sucked.”
“That’s why I came here. I figured I’d sleep over. The apartment is so quiet now without your late-night trips to the kitchen. You walk like you have tambourines hooked to your feet.”
I laughed. “I do not. You didn’t hear me approaching you today.”
“That’s because you were in bad-ass, Albany-the-PI mode. At night, it’s like you turn off that side of your brain.”
“Yet, you’re here.”
“I miss you.”
Frowning, I shot her a sidelong glance. “I just talked to you yesterday.”
“Yeah, but it’s not the same.” She sat up. “We’re both busy. At least when you stayed with me, we could catch up at the end of a day, watch a movie, or eat dinner together.”
“Is that what you want to do tonight?” I slid off the bed. “I can cook dinner?”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh my God, yes! Fried chicken me, please.”
I shuffled into the walk-in closet. “Are you sure?” Quickly, I undressed, tossing my clothes into a hamper. “I thought you were on a diet.”
As she yapped about the lack of taste in her protein shakes and her desire for something homecooked and seasoned well, I grabbed a pair of joggers and slid them on. Then, I put on an oversized T-shirt.
When I emerged from the closet, she was standing at my dresser trying on a pair of my earrings. “Can I have these?”
“No.” I took them from her and dropped them into my jewelry box. “You’re still wearing the earrings you took from me last month.”
She grinned. “We can switch them out.”
“No, girl. These are my favorites. Grandma gave them to me for Christmas.”
“Alright.” She stared at me. “You look different.”
I froze. Bri was like a hawk. She could smell deceit from a mile away, and I was hiding a big secret from her. Several, actually. Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I asked, “What do you mean?”
She circled me, assessing me in the way only she could. “I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it. Not yet anyway.”
“I slept with Wes,” I confessed with a heavy sigh. “I was going to tell you, but I didn’t.”
“Shut up. I knew it.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I said, “No, you didn’t.” I walked into the kitchen to start dinner. She was on my heels, asking all kinds of questions.
Where were we?
How were we?
When were we?
I pulled the chicken out of the refrigerator. “Wait a minute, how did you know I even had chicken to fry?” I asked.
“I’ve been here for a while. I looked around. You know I’m nosy.”
For the first time since I got home, I noticed the suitcase near the front door. “Is that your suitcase?”
“I had to pack some clothes,” she said. “Pass me that bag of chips. I’m so hungry. Do you have dip?”
“How long are you staying?” I handed her the family-size bag of Better Made chips and grabbed the tub of French onion dip from the fridge. It was then that I noticed she had on my slippers. “And why are you wearing my Uggs?”
Hunching a shoulder, she said, “I forgot mine at home. Oh, and can we play my visit by ear?”
“Whatever you need.” I surveyed her. “What happened, Bri? Is it Hendrix?”
“No, actually, it’s me.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I’m pregnant.”
I rounded the counter. “What?”
“Yeah. It’s official.”
“Oh my … What are you going to do?”
Bri was a driven professional. She had a detailed life plan that didn’t involve children before the age of thirty-five. Being a single mother was definitely not a bullet point on her list of goals either.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell Hen?”
“What makes you think he’s the father?”
I hopped onto one of the barstools. “I know you.”
“I haven’t said anything.” She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t even know how to break the news to him. He doesn’t want kids.”
“Now?”
“Never,” she said. “It’s a thing with him. ’Cause of his parents.”
The thing about parents was … sometimes they fucked their kids up.
And Hendrix lost the lottery. Both of his parents were terrible people.
We’d bonded over that many times. From the outside, it looked like he had everything he wanted.
Yet, all the money in the world didn’t change the trauma that he’d endured.
I cupped her cheek. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. “It’s okay. I’ll figure it out. I always do.”
“Well, you’re not alone. I’m here for you. Whatever you decide.” I hugged her. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she murmured, her voice shaky. “Thank you.”
We held on to each other for a moment before I pulled away. “I say we skip the fried chicken and order all of your favorites.”
Bri flashed a watery smile. “Sushi? And ice cream.”
“Coming right up.”
An hour later, we were on the couch watching Real Housewives of Atlanta reruns. Porsha had just admitted Phaedra lied on Kandi. That episode was still good.
“Man, I still can’t believe she lied like that,” Bri said. “I would’ve whooped her ass.”
“I know, right?” I popped a crab roll into my mouth. “She definitely needs a swift uppercut.”
Bri picked up the remote and turned the television off. “Okay, I tried to give you time to get your thoughts together. But it’s time. I told you my secret. Now, it’s your turn.”
“It’s not a secret. I already told you what happened.”
“That’s not good enough. The last time I saw you and Wes, you were arguing.”
“We always argue.”
“What is it? Foreplay?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. You tell me. Arguing to have hate sex is a you-and-Hen thing.”
Bri gaped, tossing an edamame pod at me. “You got jokes.”
“Just sayin’.”
“I call foul.”
Sighing, I said, “You’re right. That was a bitchy thing to say, considering your current condition.”
“Oh my God. I’m pregnant, not dying.”
I set my plate on the coffee table and tucked my legs under my butt. “True.”
“And I need to take my mind off my troubles. Your drama is much better entertainment.”
“How’s Kay?” I said, changing the subject again.
Since the wedding was called off, everyone had gone silent on it. Amir had immersed himself into his work and Kay had disappeared.
“She’s fine,” Bri explained. “Considering a move to Atlanta.”
“Ah. Mo was in town.”
Her eyes flickered to mine. “Really?”
I nodded. “He said they’ve talked.”
“I don’t know. Truth is, she hasn’t said much to me. I’m worried about her. And you.” She pointed at me. “We can talk about Kay later. I want to hear about you and Wes.”
I massaged my temples. “Fine. Our night together was … unexpected, but not really.”
“Excuse me?”
“He keeps pushing me beyond my comfort zone, all the while acting like he’s letting me set the pace. Then, he’s so damn Wes.”
She cracked up. “What?”
“He does these things.” I shook my fist in the air. “It’s so frustrating because then I want to beg him to fuck me out of my misery. And listen, as much as I want to hate him, I just can’t. He told me the truth about why he left the way he did.”
Over the next several minutes, I told my best friend everything that happened, starting from the night of the storm, and ending at our last conversation here. The more I talked about it, the more I realized that I was over it.
“We were kids,” I said. “He was a kid. Yeah, he messed up, but he was also in a bad situation.”
“So where does that leave you and him?”
“I don’t know. He’s very apologetic and committed to winning me over.
But do I have to let him in again? I don’t want to get involved with another man that doesn’t have his shit together.
Even if he’s wrapped in dark chocolate and big dick energy.
The one thing I’ve learned through all of this Darrell shit is I have to look out for my emotional health. ”
She nodded. “I get it.”
I raised a brow. “That’s it?”