Page 18 of Dali: The Demolisher

9

Dali

The Past

After His First Championship Fight

As hypedas Dali’s crew was to celebrate his first professional win, there was only one person Dali wanted to celebrate with—Kassadee. A little over three years had passed since he unintentionally broke her heart, and he’d been fighting to make up for it ever since. Though they still talked and had sex, she’d friend-zoned him and done everything she could to preserve her heart. It stung knowing she didn’t trust him with it anymore, but Dali respected that. He made it his mission to be the best friend to her that he could possibly be, and he was grateful Kassadee allowed him to do that.

That didn’t mean he hadn’t gotten into a few squabbles behind her. Friend or not, Dali wasn’t willing to allow anyone to disrespect her or their friendship. Five times already the guys she called herself dating tried him, and five times he’d laid them all out. Regardless of how many times she reminded himthey were only friends, that never stopped Dali from going to war behind her.

His parents and friends were vying for his attention while his cousins lifted glasses for a toast. Dali walked through them, parting them like the Red Sea. With his eyes zeroed in on Kassadee, he almost floated to her. Her smile was wide as she held a bouquet of roses for him and a black gift box.

“Congratulations, champ!” she cheered, handing him the roses and the gift box. He opened it, and the sight of The Demolisher written in cursive font on a gold chain caused him to grin widely.

“Thank you, baby. Put it on me.”

He turned and lowered slightly so she could put the necklace around his neck. Once it was secured, Dali picked her up and wrapped her legs around him as she gasped.

“Dali, I—”

He silenced her with a kiss that had Ken sucking his teeth and grumbling, “Here they go with this shit again.”

“Mm,” he moaned against her lips before pulling away. Kas stared at him, eyes blinking and mouth partially open, making him chuckle. “Come to Miami with me. I want to celebrate my first championship win with my favorite girl.”

Pam, his mother, cleared her throat. “I’ma act like I didn’t hear that. A boy will forget the woman’s coochie he came out of just to slide in some more.”

Though they all laughed, Dali’s expression turned serious as he licked his lips. “Will you come with me, bae?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Kas asked quietly, eyes shifting around the room. It was the first time Dali had ever displayed his desire for her publicly, so he understood her shock.

“I want you. So yes, I’m sure.”

A slow smile spread her lips before she nodded her agreement. “Okay, we can go.”

As Dali carried her out of the room, her father demanded he bring her back home a virgin. His steps quickened when Kennessy mentioned that ship had sailed years ago…

10

Kassadee

The Next Thursday

The sightof Hunter was a welcomed surprise. I hadn’t seen him since we agreed to meet atEspresso Expressto plan our date. When he didn’t show up, I feared the worst. After I called his office and learned that he was there and okay, I figured he’d forgotten or simply changed his mind. Since then, Hunter hadn’t come toEver’s Pub, and I felt like he was avoiding me.

A part of me wanted to go and ask him what was up but I decided against it. His reasoning wouldn’t change anything between us. If he was no longer interested, he could have simply said that. It didn’t take me long to place my order for a medium-sized strawberries and cream hot tea and a rice krispy treat.Steepedhad some of the best tea and pastries in the world, not just Jasper Lane. Normally, I’d have my treat upstairs, but I decided to go down to the bookstore area and lounge on one of the bean bags until I needed to go to the bar for my shift.

As I headed out of the cozy space, my eyes inadvertently locked with Hunter’s. They rolled before my nostrils flared. He’dtalked all that shit for all this time, and when he finally got a chance with me, he blew it. His shoulders caved as sadness filled his eyes. He headed in my direction, but I didn’t bother stopping.

Steepedwas a three-level tea bar owned by Swayde. The third level was a massage parlor, the second level was the tea bar, and the first level was the bookstore. I made my way downstairs and scanned the room. When my eyes settled on a huge bean bag that was empty, I set my tea and rice krispy treat on the small light oak round table next to it and sat down.

“Can we talk?”

I looked up at the sound of Hunter’s voice.

“Do we really have anything to talk about? You stood me up for coffee and haven’t been in the bar since I agreed to finally let you take me out. Clearly, you don’t have anything to say to me.”

He sighed and kneeled so that we were face to face. “I had a lot to say to you actually but your boyfriend or whoever the hell he was fucked it up.”

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