Page 87 of Stay with Me

All I can do is wrap my arms around his neck and melt into him. I allow him to kiss me until the song ends and changes to an upbeat song. Not willing to let my man make a fool of himself out here on the dance floor, I take his hand and lead him away from the dancing crowd to our table.

“I like that song. Why are we going to our seats?” Knight asks, his voice filled with humor.

I glance back over my shoulder at him and glare. He bursts into laughter. I shake my head and keep walking.

Once at our table, he wraps his arms around me from behind and dips his head to kiss my lips. The music is forgotten as he wraps me in all things Knight and causes me to feel like we’re the only two in the world.

My heart begins to race, and those words bubble up on my lips. I pull away and look into his eyes, getting ready to let them spill. As soon as I think I’m about to be able to spit them out, Sunny’s mom comes to get me to help with the gifts Sunny has planned for the bridal party.

“Later,” Knight says and pecks my lips before I’m carried away.

“You two make a lovely couple,” Sunny’s mom coos as we walk away. “Hopefully, we’ll be at your engagement party next. That Jamel is perfect for my Sunny. You girls are all grown up and making your parents so proud.”

“Aw, thank you, Mrs. Jones.”

“I mean it. I prayed for you when you walked away from the DOJ. I wasn’t sure that was the best decision, but you made the best of things.”

“I did what felt right for me,” I say.

She covers my hand and gives it a squeeze. “That’s all we as parents want for our babies. What’s best for you.”

I give her a bright smile. Although my own words seem to fall flat on my ears. Am I really doing what feels best for me? My heart is tugging me back toward Knight, but my mind has my feet moving in the other direction.

I want a happy ending, that much is for sure. However, with who that should be with continues to have me spinning in circles. I can’t forget the late-night calls or finding out the next morning that Knight had been to the hospital after injures while on duty.

It was never that things were getting too serious between us. It was the anxiety of dating a cop. The sickening feeling of being away from him when he had to go to work.

Worrying about the bad guys who had made themselves so real to me. In addition to knowing I no longer had the power to make them pay for hurting the man I love.

Those are all the reasons I run from Knight. I’m terrified of loving him and the bad guys taking him away. Just the thought of him in danger sends me into a spiral.

I look over at Sunny, I know she has no questions about her life with Jamel. I envy her and my sister for being able to find and hold onto that.

* * *

Knight

The party is winding down, and I’m starting to feel the wear and tear of running around the last few days to support our friends. If this is just the engagement party, I can’t imagine what we’re in for during the wedding.

I loosen my tie and follow Jamel to the bar like he has asked. He’s had a huge smile on his face all night. I can’t say I blame him.

Sunny looks great, and this was a great party. My mind is still on Rem’s words about what she wants for an engagement party. I want to make that happen for her.

I think she almost said the words tonight. I saw them in her eyes. I had held my breath, waiting to hear them and then Mrs. Jones was there taking her away.

It seems someone or something is always walking her away from me. I’ve had enough of that. It might be time I proposed and pushed us both to our limits. I’ll deal with the aftermath later.

“This is the biggest decision of my life, and I can’t say I regret it. Look at her. That’s going to be my wife. God has blessed me, bro. I’m never fucking this up,” Jamel says with a huge smile on his face, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I’m happy for you, man. Sunny is great.”

“That she is. You’re next, you know that, right?”

“What makes you say that?” I ask with an amused grin.

Jamel gives a deep laugh and pats me on the back. “I have eyes. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. I knew she was the one from the first time I watched you set eyes on her for myself. I finally got it. It’s only a matter of time.”

I can’t help the smile that comes to my face. I’m hearing this more and more—my brothers see it, my friends, even my mom. It’s like everyone can see it but Rem.

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