Page 95 of Body Language
“Ty…” I met her eyes. “Men can’t even handle me keeping my own damn bag. I asked him for a title. Just one simple thingthat would make me feel like I’m not just out here risking my peace for somebody who’s keeping their options open. And you know what happened? NOTHING. Like claiming me was too much, but me pouring into him wasn’t. I don’t rearrange my life for a man who can’t even give me the bare minimum of calling me his.”
Ty’s eyes narrowed, like she was studying me. “So, what? You like him, but you’re just gonna pretend you don’t?”
I let out a slow exhale. “Ty… Ireallylike Kendrix. That man has a way of looking at me like he can read my whole mind. I like the way he talks to me. I like the way he moves for me. But I’ve worked too hard to build the life I have. You know what it took for me to get here. I’m not about to jeopardize Hux’s stability, Heidi’s future, or my peace just to see if this man might be worth it. My life runs smooth because I made it that way, andthe second a man starts thinking he can dictate it? I’m back in survival mode. And I promised myself I’d never go back there.”
I leaned back, shaking my head.
“Ty, I’ve seen what happens when women let a man’s promises become their plan. They end up begging for the same energy they gave for free. I’m not doing that. I’ve built my life so that noone—not a man, not the market, not the damn weather—can shake it. If he wants me, he’s gonna have to step up in a way that makes me feel safe dropping my guard. And until then, I’m not risking what I built for ‘potential.’”
Ty tilted her head, half-smiling like she already knew what I was gonna say next. “So, what, you’re just gonna keep playing it cool?”
I smirked. “Cool, hot… whatever keeps me in control. Because love don’t pay the mortgage, and ‘I’m sorry’ don’t keep the lights on.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Bitch, I know I didn’t just give you all that good advice for nothing.”
I clinked my glass against hers. “And you gave it for free. That’s on you.”
We cracked up, but behind my laugh was a truth I’d never say out loud. Kendrix made me feel things I’d locked away. I liked him more than I wanted to. Wanted him more than I should. But until a man proved he could be the anchor and not the storm… I wasn’t letting up.
Pulling into the garage felt like crossing the finish line after a marathon. My shoulders dropped. Finally, home.
I half-expected to see a text from Kendrix blowing up my phone about my dance earlier. You know, some half-ass attemptat “putting his foot down,” which would’ve only made me horny, not obedient. But nothing. Not a damn word.
That pissed me off more than him actually saying something.
No long paragraph. No, “we need to talk.” No showing up at the club to pull me into the office like he owned the place. He didn’t even come back inside after he left. I know, because I had the host keep eyes on the door and tell me if anyone spotted him.
I stepped inside through the kitchen, expecting quiet. Maybe the tick of the clock or my own thoughts finally stretching out. Instead, I heard laughter.
Not just any laughter. Heidi’s giggles, Zejah’s breathy chuckles, and Hux yelling at the TV like he was trying to coach the players through the screen. My house wasn’t usually that loud at night, but those were the kinds of noises that hit me right in the chest. The ones that made all the chaos of my day worth it. So I quickened my pace, eager to join in.
I turned the corner into the living room and stopped dead.
Kendrix. Sitting on my damn couch, controller in his hand, eyes locked on the screen with Hux next to him.
The girls were camped out on the floor, running a full-blown nail salon. Toys, dolls, snacks everywhere, like they’d been at it for hours. Heidi was carefully painting Zejah’s toes, both of them in fits of laughter over something I missed.
Kendrix looked comfortable. Too comfortable.
I leaned against the doorway, arms folded.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?”
Kendrix didn’t even look my way. Just smirked a little and kept playing the game. Fine. Two could play that game.
I cut my eyes to Hux. “WTF, Hux?”
He barely glanced up from the screen. “He said he was your dude.”
My head snapped to Zejah, who was busy watching Heidi apply another coat of glitter polish.
She shrugged like it was nothing. “I’ve seen him with you a few times. He’s the one who helped bring me here, so I thought it was cool.”
Cool? COOL? My blood pressure raised up about twenty points.
But just when I was about to light the room up, Heidi ran over to him, wiggling her little fingers in his face. “Look, Kendrix! Gold with sparkles!”
He gave her this big grin and started hyping her up like she just won an award for Best Nail Design in the city. I caught the way her eyes lit up at his attention and… damn it. That stopped me.
