Page 83 of True Sight
Slowly, and when he’s ready, we lower ourselves down again but keep our hold on one another. He has an arm wrapped around me, holding me against his exposed chest. As we lay there, I tap the beat of his heart with my index finger which I’m starting to realize calms us both. Without meaning to, we fall asleep intertwined like two people trying to become one. Forehead to forehead and heart to heart.
32
CONRAD
Things between us changed after the nightmare I had at his house last week. Part of me was worried that it would freak him out or cause him to pull away, but it only brought us closer. It was as if we had advanced through another level of a game and each time we did, we only grew closer. We texted one another daily and if we weren’t able to see one another, we would call one another in the brief pauses of our day. He was getting busier with the opening of the studio just around the corner and I was busy working on all the tech the studio needed as well as new projects that I took on in between his work. With him leaving for London next week and it being Thanksgiving, we plan to hide away for the weekend and spend as much time together as we can before he leaves and I can’t wait.
As I hop up the front steps of Kolbi’s Charleston single, I feel my phone go off in my back pocket.
1 New Message: Sweets
Hello love, I know you’re with the guys tonight but I wanted to let you know I’m thinking about you. I’m at the studio now with Alex learning some new choreo we plan on doing for our holiday themed classes. If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll show you some of the sexier ones this weekend Have fun tonight
The message is accompanied by a photo of him and Alex cozied up together, looking sweaty from rehearsals, flashing peace signs at the camera. I’ve yet to meet Alex but I know how much of a friend she’s been to Henry since he moved here. From what he’s told me about her, she and Bailey would give one another a run for their money. The thought of my two worlds colliding makes me hesitate and consider what that might be like. To have the guys and their girls finally learn and get to know my guy.
My guy.
The way my heart so naturally claims him as mine makes me smile to myself.
“What the fuck is wrong with your face?” A familiar yet annoying voice pulls me from my thoughts. Without realizing it, I’ve made my way down the front hallway of the house and I’m standing in the doorway like a robot that’s short circuiting.
“My face? What the fuck is wrong with your face?” I throw back at Malcolm with a scowl.
“My face?” he cries back. “I’m not the one standing in the doorway like a complete idiot. It’syourface you should be worried about.”
“My face is?—”
“Children,please.” Kolbi groans and rolls his eyes like a worn down mother who hasn’t gotten any alone time.
“Yeah guys, chill. The ‘your face is uglier’ jokes are cute but don’t you think we’re a little old for them?” Hank comments from his seat.
“I would make a dead mom joke but those have been banned,” I mutter under my breath, tossing my phone down on the table and heading to the fridge for a beer.
“Yes they have, and for good reason,” Bailey’s voice cuts through the room, scowling at me from the kitchen island. “No one’s inner child is going to be healed if y’all keep making morbid jokes.”
“Bailey, please. I’m paying someone to heal my inner child and she tells me that humor is a natural way to cope. Didn’t you know? Trauma makes you funny.” I unscrew the cap of my beer and tip it to her before taking a sip.
“Who’s this therapist? I wanna meet her,” she demands, looking at me incredulously.
“Not in your lifetime.” I scowl back and cross my arms. We hold one another’s glare until Malcolm grabs our attention again.
“Connie boy, you have a new text.” His hand reaches for my abandoned phone and reads the screen. His face screws up into a cocky expression before glancing up at me. “Who’s ‘Sweets?’”
My heart nearly falls out of my ass and I close the gap between us in two long strides, reaching for the phone. Being a semi-professional boxer works in his favor as he swerves under my extended arm to deflect me.
“Malcolm, give me my phone.” I try to keep my voice flat as we squabble but I struggle to get a good hold on him.
“Come on, Connie, just tell us who it is. You’ve been so secretive lately, don’t you think you’ve hidden long enough?” His voice is playful but the way my body is reacting to being found out is anything but. My heart is pounding so loud Ican hear it in my ears and it feels like if my chest gets any tighter it’ll explode.
“Don’t be an ass, Malcolm. Give me my phone, please,” I nearly beg.
I finally get a hold on his collar just as Ophelia and Magnolia walk in from the living room. My arm is extended out, holding onto his shirt in a death grip and my phone is in his opposite hand extended away from me. Kolbi and Hank are sitting at the table, watching us play cat and mouse as Bailey stands behind Hank trying not to laugh. The two girls look at us with rounded eyes and the whole thing feels like a still shot from a movie. Malcolm freezes when Ophelia gives him a disapproving look and I’ve never been more thankful my friend is as pussywhipped as he is than I am right now.
“Come on, Connie, tell the class who you’re texting.” He eggs me on and flicks a brow at me. I can tell how much he’s enjoying our little dance by the way his smirk twitches on one side. Holding onto him, I look around the room and notice that every single person in it is staring at me. My breath falters as I come up with a plan.
“You promise to give me my phone back if I tell you?” I look at him out of the corner of my eye and tighten my fingers around the fabric of his shirt.
His smirk grows and he runs a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. “I promise.”
