Page 143 of Set me Free

Across from me, Creed sat at the dining table, tearing into his meal like he hadn’t eaten in days. His crutches were proppedagainst the chair next to him, his injured leg stretched out carefully. Every now and then, his jaw would clench, and I could feel the frustration rolling off of him in waves.

“You staring at me for a reason, Beautiful?” he asked without looking up, his voice teasing but still tired.

I rolled my eyes, twirling my chopsticks between my fingers. “You wish I was staring at you.”

He finally lifted his gaze, a slow smirk pulling at his lips. “Nah, I know you were.”

I shook my head, fighting back a small smile.

“You got that look.” I told him.

“What look?”

“The ‘I’m pretending I’m fine, but I’m really two seconds away from throwing something at the wall’ look,” I said, gesturing toward him with my chopsticks.

Creed exhaled, running a hand over his beard. “Shit, you ain't wrong.”

I tilted my head. “I know.”

He sighed heavily, pushing his food around his plate. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to sit still while my team is out there playing without me. You know how fucking insane that is?” He let out a humorless laugh. “I’m supposed to be leading them. Instead, I’m just watching from the sidelines.”

I placed my chopsticks down, watching him carefully. “I know it’s hard, Creed. But you gotta give yourself time to heal. You keep pushing yourself, and you’ll only make it worse.”

He leaned back, rubbing at his temple. “I know, I know… but fuck.” I reached across the table and covered his hand with mine. He went still.

“You’ll bounce back,” I told him, my voice soft but firm. “You always do.”

His eyes met mine, something vulnerable flickering there for a split second before he nodded. “Yeah?”

I squeezed his hand. “Yeah.”

For a moment, we just stared at each other, the silence between us thick. Creed cleared his throat, pulling his hand away and grabbing his water. “So…what about you? How’s filming been?”

I hesitated for a second before answering. “It’s been good. We just wrapped another season, so now I actually have some free time.”

His brows lifted slightly. “Yeah? You planning on doing anything with it?”

I exhaled. “I think… I might get back into dance. I still want to open my dance studio. I think I’m at a place where I can dedicate to both.”

His face lit up in a way I hadn’t seen in a while. “For real?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I miss it.”

Creed grinned. “You should. You’re too good not to.”

A warmth spread through my chest, but I just nodded, looking down at my plate. “Thanks.”

He took a sip of water, then leaned forward. “So…you and ol’ boy. Iman.”

I lifted a brow. “What about him?”

“You still talking to him? I know he ain’t been cool with you staying at my house, unless you didn’t tell him.”

I hesitated before sighing. “No, I didn’t tell him, because we ended things.”

His expression didn’t change. No gloating, no smirk. Just a slow nod. “That’s probably for the best.”

I scoffed. “Oh? And why is that?”

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