Page 4 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

I shouldn’t have touched her, let alone kissed her. Now, I couldn’t go back. I could still feel the softness of her lips on mine and the harmonic swirl of her tongue with mine.Damn it! Why did she have to be Osei’s girl?She’s far from my first kiss, but kissing her … fucking ignited a fire in me.How do I live with this revelation?

I sat alone, wrestling with my fiery emotions, and kept my gaze upon the skies, hoping if I stared hard enough, the cool breeze would kill my desire for her. Only it didn’t. I lost track of time until Osei opened the slide.

“There you are. I’ve been calling you. I thought you left?” Osei’s husky voice interrupted me. He sounded tired. I’d turned my phone off after my mom’s call interrupted my moment with her,something I should have done after the first ring. I wanted to understand the conflicting emotions I felt towards her and the undeniable fact that I kissed my brother's girl without remorse.

“I needed a quiet moment away from mom’s calls,” I answered as he laughed, and I rose and entered the room, shutting the slide.

“She called you to confirm my story that you’re here,” he said. I nodded. “Well, the party’s over, and no disorderly conduct reported,” he affirmed.

“You mean the police didn’t knock on your door and you’re not in handcuffs?” I mocked.

“That’s yours and mom’s interpretation. Handcuffs are only necessary when I’m with my girl.” He said with a cheeky smile—just as my stomach turned at the thought of him and her together. I doused the image of her in his arms in gasoline and fucking lit it on fire in my mind.

“Well, I’m going to bed. A few of my friends cleaned up with me, and Paula is coming in tomorrow to finish up the cleaning,” he said casually, like he didn’t just steal my housekeeper, and I paid for the upkeep of his unit and mine.

“I’ll head home then.” I pulled out my phone to call my ride. I wasn’t in the mood to drive.

“You won’t stay the night?” He questioned. “We can do breakfast in the morning,” he offered as he took off his fake police costume. I smiled. It was three a.m., and I knew my brother wouldn’t be up for breakfast. I’d be surprised if he woke up before sunset.

“You need me to tuck you in and read you a bedtime story?” I replied, mimicking how mom used to respond to him when he was little.

“Goodnight, Luke,” he said, tossing a pillow at me. “Lock the door behind you,” he hollered. I left when Martin texted, letting me know he was waiting, making sure I locked the door.

I knew Osei would drop onto his bed and knock out. Osei sleeps like a log. When he started house shopping, our mom insisted on helping him find the right place. I bought him theplace for his twenty-third birthday. My stepdad wasn’t happy about me buying Osei such an expensive unit. He said Osei was getting a free ride. Mom said it was me looking after my baby brother.

I just thought he was my knucklehead baby brother, and since I had a surplus, I was happy to buy him a house. He’s been good, but only when he plans to throw a party does he throw me into a loop—and mom is in my ears every fucking second.

I went home that night, struggling with what I wanted and how it would affect my relationship with my brother. Every thought I had about the engagement ring in my pocket was crushed that night. I got home and locked away the ring. It was a decision that didn’t feel right anyway, but everything about the kiss felt right. I realized I needed to explore the meaning of that kiss before I followed through with my planned-out arrangement.

It was a night that changed my plans—the first meeting with Ayodele, who my brother calls Dele. In the last few months, I’ve watched them together, driven with him to drop off lunch or dinner for her, and I’ve taken my craving for her out to the clubs, lounges, midday in my office, and all-around Chicago with my friend Declan. But then Declan found Anne again and stopped partying with me. For Declan, once he laid eyes on Anne, no other woman mattered.

I’ve managed to seal away in a box every nauseating thought of Osei and Ayodele together and found ways to change the topic whenever he mentioned her name. He’s convinced I don’t like her, so he doesn’t talk much about her to me. If only he knew the truth.

Chapter 3

LUKE

Three months ago, at Declan’s wedding, I watched in emotional turmoil as my brother and Dele danced and laughed together. She wore an elegant orange dress that screamed sexy, accentuating every sleek curve of her body. The side slit, exposing her thigh, was killing me, and the more I watched her synchronize dance moves with Osei, the more it gnawed at me. Each time our eyes met, I just gave her a brief nod and quickly looked away, acting dismissive, as if I wasn’t staring. But even as jealousy churned in my stomach, its grip grew tighter with every hug Osei gave her, his arm possessively wrapped around her. I’ve always protected Osei, but just that once, I wanted to break his arm.

“You going to drink yourself to death, or start throwing literal daggers at them?” Declan said to me, breaking my thoughts. I turned to him, flashing a grin I hoped looked real.

“Not working,” he replied, seeing through my fake smile.

“I’m having fun at your wedding, bro,” I lied. “You and Anne are a beautiful love story.” I wanted that too. I could have had it with Dele, but she was Osei’s girl. They were laughing like they were in their own world, his arm casually draped around her.

“Not sure I can say you’re having fun with the way your eyes are laser-focused on the woman Osei is dancing with.” Declan declared.

“Whatever, man,” I muttered, taking another sip of my hard liquor. I was edging dangerously towards being drunk, far beyond tipsy. Even as I kept telling myself not to look at Osei and Dele, I kept failing.

“I’ve never seen you like this. You need to let her know, before you drink yourself into a coma,” Declan said, his concern now painted on his face.

“She’s Osei’s girl.”

He looked over at them and back at me.

“I don’t think they’re together,” he said, shocking me.

“They are together,” I grumbled. I’d known since the night I kissed her, and three weeks after that balcony kiss, when I couldn’t shake thoughts of her. I followed him to drop off her lunch, and he introduced her to me as “his favorite girl,” that moment hit me like a hammer to the chest.

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