My eyes dropped to her perfect, pink lips.
Fuck. There it was.
That goddamn forsaken word.
One I’d sworn to never use in relation to her because it was what everyone else used around her. And I couldn’t be like everyone else. I had to be different to her.
Perfect.
But fuck if she wasn’t.
I knew I wasn’t supposed to do any of this shit anymore.
We’d come to a silent, mutual agreement to press pause on whatever it was that was transgressing between us.
No one wanted us to be together.
Not our families.
Not our friends.
Not even her.
At least not yet.
I’d been more than patient until now. I could be patient a little while longer.
Wait till I completely took over the Dynasty. Till she graduated from Columbia and was no longer on a tight leash with her overprotective family.
Till we could both sayfuck itand do whatever we wanted.
I told myself I had enough self-control to not pursue her right now. That I could stay away from her when not needed.
But it was moments like this when the blood boiled in my veins with so muchwantandneedfor one sole person – something I’d never experienced before – that I felt like I waslosing my goddamn mind.
“What’s up, nerds?”
Both Natalia’s and my head snapped towards the voice.
Kali was light-heartedly skipping towards us, the biggest smile on her face, shopping bags in one hand, an expensive, overpriced purple café drink in the other.
“Oh my God, Kali… You look bomb.”
“What do you think?” My sister beamed, twirling to show off the waist-long bouncy hair. “I got a Colombian blow-out.”
“And a mani-pedi,” Natalia marveled at Kali’s two-inch, bright-pink nails, holding her hands in hers, before peering down to see my sister’s toes in some high-heeled sandals. “So pretty… How do you feel?”
“Good.”
“How’d you get in here?”
“Sneaked in with a study group.” Kali dropped her bags onto the chair next to Natalia, before sitting down next to me.
“Did you go see that guy downtown I told you about?”
Since Zane’s gym was going to open at the beginning of summer, I thought what better congratulatory gift than sending him his first client?
I trusted Zane. He was a loyal associate of the Sus. He’d not only never hurt Kali, he’d also make sure no one else was fucking with her.