Page 61 of Endgame

“Depends on what movie it is,” Lila replied, even as she stretched out next to King on his bed.

“The Shining. You know, so we can compare and contrast it with the book and all that for class.”

“Spoiler alert: the Overlook is basically just a supernatural representation of the patriarchy.” Lila paused. “But I’ll watch it with you if you don’t say I’m emotionally dead inside for laughing at some of the cheesy parts.”

“There are no cheesy parts in this movie. It’s terrifying. At least, I thought so when I was ten.”

“I sort of feel like that may have been too young to watch this movie?” Lila wrinkled her nose. “Then again, my parents didn’t let me watch anything other than G and PG movies until I was 13, so I can’t really judge.”

“I’d take overprotectiveness over negligence any day.”

She reached out and squeezed his hand in silent acknowledgement of his fucked-up childhood.

King unpaused the movie, and before long, Lila found herself tucked inside the crook of his arm, her head resting on his broad chest. Enveloped by his warmth, relaxed by the rising and falling of his chest, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

Later, in the middle of the night, she woke up, momentarily confused where she was. The movie was long over, and King was fast asleep, spooning her from behind. She figured she should probably leave to go sleep in her own bed, but when she tried to gently slip out of King’s grasp, his grip tightened, just a little bit.

“Please stay,” he murmured into her neck, his voice vulnerable in its sleep-drenched state.

So stay, she did.

Chapter 33

Lila had to admit that the “Nothing but the 90s” party had turned out to be pretty great. The music was spot on, and the fits ranged from Tommy Hilfiger everything to various shades of Nirvana-esque flannel. Also, there were lots of butterfly clips happening, and Lila wasn’t the least bit mad about it.

She did, however, miss Wren something fierce. Though she’d temporarily lost her wingwoman to the museums and the architecture of the Old World, she took comfort in the fact that every time they talked, Wren’s smile seemed to be brighter, the weight on her shoulders a little lighter.

Lila also missed Vicky and Dani, who’d both moved back to their hometown after graduation. Julia and Nate were still going strong and now living together, so even though Julia was still at school, she wasn’t at the party tonight. Lila couldn’t help but feel like many of her girlfriends were moving on without her, which made her even more grateful for her boys. Things were simpler in a lot of ways since she’d moved in with them. Except for the large asterisk that loomed next to King’s name.

“You’re not dancing,” Knight chided as he slid next to her against the railing of their front porch. He was clad in what was his best approximation of the “boy band in the late 90s” look. With spiky gelled hair and everything. Seriously, it was crispy to the touch and more than slightly terrifying.

“Nah.” She shrugged. “I guess the mood hasn’t hit me just yet.” She leaned against the railing and turned her head to look at him. “Why aren’t you out there?”

“I felt like adopting more of a supervisory role this time around.”

“I’m here for that energy.” Her lips curled up in a nostalgic grin. “Can you believe it’s been a year since we tore up the floor with our wicked dance moves?”

He chuckled heartily. “We were the best ones out there, for sure.” Knight’s expression turned from joyous to pensive as he continued, “Not to get too cheesy on your ass, but I’m so glad that our paths crossed back then. You know you’ve got a brother for life, right? No matter what?”

Lila’s throat suddenly felt all lumpy as she gently hip checked her friend. “Same. No matter what, no matter where, no matter when.”

Knight stuck his pinky out, and Lila linked hers with his. Then they turned back to survey the party. Déjà vu pricked at her consciousness as she glanced down to the side of the house and saw King leaning against the side of it.

Knight cast a knowing look her way. “Go get him, Li.”

Lila’s brows furrowed. “I don’t know that he wants to be. Gotten, I mean.”

“Are you sure about that?”

She shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. All I know is that I’m scared.” It came out barely above a whisper. “I don’t think my heart can handle the aftermath of another rejection.” Though in her heart, she knew that wasn’t quite right. Not anymore. Not with how much King had changed. Still…

“You love him though. Don’t you?”

Lila paused, debated. Then she decided to go with honesty. Because it was Knight, and he was one of her best friends. She nodded, swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. “Yeah, I do. So much it aches.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Knight raised his brows but didn’t wait around for an answer. He just smiled, chucked her softly on the chin, and made his way down into the dancing crowd.

Almost as if her body was on autopilot, she made her way down the couple of porch steps and headed left to where King was perched. He pushed off the wall and advanced so they were almost standing toe-to-toe. Again, he hadn’t dressed up for the theme, though he looked edible in the black tee and dark jeans look he was currently rocking.

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