Page 27 of Set me Free

When the music finally stopped, I clapped. She jumped, spinning around, eyes wide.

"What the hell Creed?"

I smirked. "Damn, didn’t mean to scare you."

She placed a hand over her chest, exhaling. The moment she realized it was me, her whole expression shifted.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked, arms crossing.

Yeah. She was still mad.

"You ain’t been answering my calls," I said simply.

"Yeah, maybe take the fucking hint," she shot back.

I exhaled stepping further into the room.

"Look, I shouldn’t have said what I said."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Ya think." She agreed.

I sighed. "I’m sorry, Serenity. For real. I was trippin’ and I didn’t mean to call you out your name like that. I was fucking out of line. I don’t even know why I said that shit. Obviously, I don’t think you a ho, that shit was dumb. I—I fucked up okay and I need you to forgive me, that shit won’t happen again."

She stared at me for a long moment, lips pressed together, arms folded. Then, finally, she let out a breath, shaking her head.

"You’re annoying."

I smirked. "Yeah, but you love me."

She rolled her eyes. "Lies."

I chuckled, stepping closer.

"We good?" I asked.

She hesitated before nodding.

"Yeah. We’re good."

"Best friends?" I teased.

She huffed but smirked.

"Best friends."

I should’ve been happy with that. But the problem was…I wasn’t.

7

SERENITY

"You know I could get used to this, right?"

I smirked over my caramel macchiato, watching as Egypt stretched out in the booth, looking as content as ever. We were sitting inside one of those little overpriced cafés near campus, our drinks in front of us, a half-eaten pastry plate between us.

Averi snorted, tucking a piece of her sleek black bob behind her ear.

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