Page 8 of Dali: The Demolisher

Sucking my teeth, I shook my head. “That’s neither here nor there.”

He laughed, and as much as I didn’t want to, I chuckled. “Nah, nigga. I don’t even want to hear that shit.”

“It hasn’t been just me. Kas be on that bullshit too.”

“I won’t deny that, but at the same time, you’re the man. It’s your job to lead her into whatever it is y’all gonna do.”

I couldn’t deny that.

“All I keep thinking about is what if it’s too late? What if the bond is broken because the chemistry is off? What if it doesn’t work out and it makes things even weirder between us?”

“And what if she meets someone and falls in love?” Just the thought of that had my heart twisting in my chest. “What if you waste so much time she convinces herself you don’t want her and she releases you from her heart? I haven’t always wanted y’all together, but I know you love my sister. If you want her, now’s the time.”

My eyes found Kassadee again. She set three drinks on the table for the rowdy crew that I was sure was from out of town. When she turned to walk away, one of the men smacked her ass and tried to pull her down onto his lap. I’m not sure which one of us jumped up from our seats first, but we charged over to the table and had him out of his chair within seconds.

Kennessy delivered a right hook to his jaw that had the man swiveling in my direction and my uppercut had him flying into the table. I allowed Kennessy to finish him off because he’d do less damage but still fuck him up well. When I felt like the man had enough, I grabbed Kennessy and shoved him over to the bar. Once I made sure he was calm enough not to go back over to the table, I searched the space for Kassadee. She hated violence and fighting, which was probably the biggest reason why we’d never gotten together.

When I didn’t see her, I headed toward the bathrooms. Not caring about who was inside, I stepped into the women’s bathroom and called her name. She wasn’t in a stall. Instead, she was pacing in front of the sinks as she bit her thumb nail.

“You good?” I asked, walking over to her since she hadn’t acknowledged me calling her name. Gripping her shoulders, I had to force her to stop pacing.

“Hmm?” She looked up at me as if she didn’t even know I was in there with her.

“Are you okay, Kas?”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “Y-Yeah, I’m good.” Kassadee released a shaky breath. “I’m used to men getting handsy when they get that liquid courage. Y’all didn’t have to do that, Dali.”

“Do you really think either of us would stand by and watch a person violate or disrespect you? I don’t give a damn who it is.”

Her eyes rolled to the side as she released a hard exhale. “You know how I feel about violence.”

“And you know how I feel about you.”

“Actually, I don’t. You hitting someone doesn’t prove anything, Dali. You literally do that for a living.”

She pushed my hands from her shoulders and headed out of the bathroom.

“Not anymore.” I gripped her hand and turned her to face me. “And how can you say you don’t know how I feel about you?”

“Kas, are you okay?” Andy asked, meeting us in the hallway. “Linda came and told me what happened.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Do you need to take the rest of the night off? Those guys are out of here, and you don’t have to worry about them coming back.”

“I’ll be fine.” Her eyes shifted in my direction briefly. “I need to get back behind the bar.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she quickly walked away.

This was the first time I considered how not actively pursuing Kassadee made her feel.

Was Kennessy right?

Had I taken too long and ruined my chance?

I thought because of how organic our chemistry was that Kassadee wouldalwaystrust my feelings for her. Now… I wasn’t so sure.

5

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