Page 23 of Verse Two
The last couple of days had been perfect. The grown-up Brixton had proven to be even better than the one I used to know, and I was borderline obsessed with the man. Although we hadn’t been reunited for too long, I didn’t think I’d be able to depart from him when the time came. When we landed, would he even want to be bothered with me? Or would he just go back to life as he knew it?
Brick said he was currently single, but there was no way he didn’t have all the women in Jai City falling all over him. I knew I was ready to lock in with him, but was he truly ready to do the same? I’d experienced sad breakups over the years, but the happiness I felt in Brick’s arms was an indicator that aheartbreak he caused would be unlike anything I’d ever known before. I probably wouldn’t survive it.
“What’s next?” I asked. The question came out much lower than I intended, so I cleared my throat and asked louder before looking up at him for an answer.
He gazed at me briefly before lowering his lips to meet mine softly.
“I’on know, Doll, but whatever it is includes you and me together.”
I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face at his words.
“You think so?”
He chuckled. “Iknowthat shit. Ain’t no way in the world I’m lettin’ you go again, Dy. That just ain’t happenin’.” Brick spoke with a confidence that made it impossible to doubt his words. He was saying we were in this, and call me crazy, but I believed him.
“You got plans when you get back? I heard you talkin’ to your moms earlier,” he said before kissing my forehead.
“Not specific plans, really. This week was just about spending time with her before I go to Paris.”
I was still looking up at him, and I didn’t miss how his jaws tensed when I mentioned Paris.
“What?” I asked.
His eyes scanned my entire face before he shook his head.
“Nun. I’m glad you’re gon’ have your time wit’ ya people, but if you’re really leavin’ next week, I’ma need my time, too. Stay with me tonight.”
I observed him silently as I contemplated his offer. There was still a hardness in his expression that let me know he wasn’t being honest about nothing bothering him. I had a feeling I knew what it was, but if he wasn’t up to discussing Paris right now, then I wouldn’t pressure him to.
As for his request, I wanted nothing more than to spend my nights cuddled up with Brixton. I was sure my mother and stepdad wouldn’t be fans of the arrangement, but my mind was made up as soon as he asked.
“Okay.”
That one word softened him once again, and he brought me even closer, prompting me to rest my head on his shoulder. We remained that way until we got our boarding call, and after Brixton gave the man assigned to the seat next to me a wad of cash, he wrapped his arms around me again.
The fact that he had just given up his first-class seat and a thousand dollars just to sit next to me in coach had me feeling all kinds of special, but he acted like it was no big deal.
We had just spent the first days of our reunion in blissful seclusion, so I wasn’t sure how the city noise and real life would affect what we were building, but I did know one thing: I wasn’t ready to let it go.
Nine
Dy
“You look nervous, Doll.”
I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth as I hopped out of Brick’s car. He closed the door and immediately grasped my hand. With my free hand, I pulled my keyring out of my cross-body bag and shuffled through the keys until I found the one that opened the front door.
“I am, a little,” I said honestly.
“Why? I was always cool with your moms.”
I glanced at Brick. He looked cool, calm, and collected. Meanwhile, I was a ball of nerves. My mother always thought Brixton was a nice guy, but only as my friend. My mother wasn’t okay with me having a boyfriend until I was a junior in high school, so there was never a time when she would have approved ofmorewith Brick while we were still in Terry.
I honestly wasn’t nervous about what either of my parents would say about us dating. Brickwasa nice guy, and he was extremely successful. They would surely approve, but I wasn’tlooking forward to telling them that I was going to be staying at his house instead of ours.
I knew they had big plans for us to spend all my time in town together, but Brick’s reappearance in my life made that an impossibility. I just hoped they didn’t make a big deal out of it.
Instead of voicing any of those concerns to Brick, I smiled at him and said, “You’re right,” before I unlocked the door and opened it.
