Page 64 of Loving the Legend
If anyone told me it’d be this easy to hook up with a guy, I’d have secretly wished they were right while laughing in their face. Idris warned me that anything was possible tonight.
“Here, give me your number,” he says as he hands over his phone.
Once I type it in and hand it back to him, he calls my phone so I have his number. I notice a few messages on my phone, but when I unlock it, I sense we’re being watched, so I scan the rooftop. At first glance, I don’t notice anyone looking our way, but then I see a flash of red in my periphery. There’s a column obscuring my line of sight. I step back to get a better look and spot Sid—now clad in a V-neck T-shirt—talking to an actress who stars in a mega superhero movie. He’s nodding in response but staring directly at Will and me.
I shoot him a nod.
He gives me an intense look that I can’t decipher so I quirk my eyebrows at him.
He continues staring at me while crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Let’s head down. I can leave first and meet you at your place,” Will offers.
I whip my head back around to face him. “Sounds good.”
“After you,” he directs me.
I lead the way towards the exit.
Halfway down the steps, I hear, “Ty, hold up.”
I halt, causing Will to collide with me. I turn, reaching out an arm to steady us both.
I look at Sid, then Will, and feel a little awkward.
“Give me a sec. I’ll be right back,” I tell Will.
“Meet you outside? I need to find a restroom real quick,” he whispers.
I nod as he brushes past me.
Sid nods for me to follow him as he heads down the steps past me. When we reach the quietest level, he turns down an empty corridor and faces me.
“You didn’t get my text?” he asks, leaning his arm against the wall.
“What text?” I pull out my phone and see Will’s missed call from a moment ago.
Sid: You’re here! Where’d you go?
“My bad, I didn’t see your message until now. See.” I show him my phone.
“Why didn’t you come over when you saw me by the pool downstairs?”
Ugh. He spotted me lurking. I suppress a groan. “I didn’t want to cock-block you.”
“So if I’m talking to someone, I have to be trying to fuck them?”
“Nah. It just seemed intimate between you two, so I wanted to give you space.”
“We’re both board members for a grassroots organization focused on criminal justice reform. There’s never been anything more than that between us.”
“Oh, that’s dope…I meant no offense.” Tension emanates from him in waves. “What’s up? You good?”
“Yeah. I just thought if we’d ever see each other out at an event, we’d chill together after everything, you know?” He crosses his arms over his chest again.
My chest tightens, staring into his gorgeous eyes that almost look hurt.
“I do want to chill with you, but if you’re on a date or whatever, I’ll give you space. That’s all that was.”
