Page 9 of Free to Fall

He didn’t flinch. Just grinned wider. “Funny. Still managed to get your attention though.”

“You wish,” I scoffed.

“I know,” he said, eyes darkening just slightly. “You ain't gotta say it.”

I huffed and looked away, but I could feel his gaze on me—burning slow, like he could see right through me. My skin tingled with awareness, and I hated how easy he made it look. How effortlessly he slipped into that space between annoyance and attraction, knowing I’d follow.

“I’d rather drink dirty bath water than admit I ever checked for you,” I shot back, biting back a smile.

“You check for me every time I walk in a room, E.” His voice dipped lower, smoother, like velvet and danger rolled into one. “Every time you wear that lip gloss, or laugh like that little ass joke was funny... You be askin’ for it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Please. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“I don’t have to,” he said with a shrug. “You do it for me.”

He smirked and leaned back in his chair like he’d just won something. And maybe he had. Because beneath the table, my heel had already drifted a little too close to his foot. Because I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at his hands—or remembering what they felt like, steady and sure on my body.

To everyone else, it was just another night of our usual back and forth. Another round of Egypt and Nas taking playful shots at each other like always. But to us? It was foreplay. It was a secret dance with no music—just heat, glances, and tension that was one step away from igniting. And the worst part was I loved every second of it.

Creed looked at me funny across the table. Just for a second. Like he saw something. Like he knew…Nah. He couldn’t. Could he?

Later that night after I got back from dinner, I paced my living room floor, then picked up my phone. He answered after two rings.

“What’s up?” Nasseem said, voice low.

“Did you tell Creed?” I asked, straight to it.

He paused. “Yeah.”

My stomach dropped. “Nasseem. We agreed?—”

“I know what we said.”

“You told him?” I repeated, my voice rising. “You do realize that man got a whole wife, right? You don’t think they pillow talk? You don’t think Serenity gon’ put two and two together and tell Averi?”

He exhaled hard. “I had to tell somebody, Egypt. I ain’t been able to breathe carryin’ this shit by myself.”

“We said this was between us!”

“You act like I ain’t been holdin’ this down too. Like I ain’t been playin’ my role in public, pretendin’ I don’t know what you taste like. That shit ain’t easy for me either.” I went quiet. He added, voice lower now, “I ain’t tell him to be messy. I told my brother, cause I needed to talk to somebody. That’s all.”

I sighed and sat down, the frustration mixing with something deeper…fear. Because the more people that knew, the more real this shit got. And if it got too real? It might not stay safe anymore.

I hadn’t calledher in almost a week, and I knew that was too long. The moment I heard her voice, my chest cracked just a little.

“Well, look who finally remembered she got a Nana,” My Nana, Dalila teased as she answered, her Southern drawl thick as honey and twice as warm.

I smiled into the phone, guilt already sitting on my shoulders. “I always remember you, Nana. Been runnin’ around with the end of the show and working on my music, things have just been crazy.”

She let out a soft “mmhmm,” clearly not buying it. “You runnin’ so fast you can’t even call and check on me?”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured.

“You always sorry,” she said, but her voice was softer now. “I miss you, Egypt. When you comin’ to see me?”

I hesitated. “Soon.”

That was a lie. She knew it. I knew it. But we let it sit there between us. Because going back to Memphis meant dealing with her daughter, my Aunt Cleo. She was my mother’s sister, who had hated her for reasons that had nothing to do with me, yet somehow made it her mission to transfer all that bitterness and hate onto me. Ever since my mama, Aya, passed, Cleo had treated me like I stole something from her. Maybe I did, at least that’s how she saw it. After all, I got the love she thought would finally be hers when Aya was gone.

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