“Well according to Whitney, you’re every woman.”
Danessa slammed her hand on the counter. “Is this a joke to you?”
“Did you hear the part where I said disregard the email?”
“I just want to understand whyyourassistant thoughtIwas some random bitch who would sign legal paperwork silencing myself.”
“I don’t think there was any thinking before she hit send.” NDAs were standard practice in my line of business. Nori was just doing what I paid her to do, cover my ass. Do I wish she hadn’t sent that email to Danessa? Yes. Because Danessa was clearly the exception to the rule.
Her eyes grew wide, and I could tell her brain was working overtime to connect imaginary dots. “Is that why you Cash Apped over that money? Is this all transactional to you?”
“That money was for your hair.”
“I don’t want your handouts.”
My eyes narrowed as I sized her up. “Not gonna lie, it feels like you’re picking a fight.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Maybe you’re hangry. I know I can be an asshole when I’m hungry.”
“Did you just call me an asshole?”
I rounded the kitchen counter and pulled up on her tilting her head until we were eye to eye. “Stop playing with me. I don’t expect you to sign an NDA because you, we, are not a secret. If you want, we could go to the roof and I’ll shout at the top of my lungs declaring our alliance and my devotion to you and only you.” I scanned the room. “Shit, matter fact we don’t need a roof. I just …” Grabbing Danessa’s hand, I walked over to the balcony and opened the door. In the still of the evening, I screamed at the top of my lungs. “I, Aldridge Mosley declare in front of God and this snake plant that Danessa Irwin is my person. I knew it when I was nineteen, and I know it now.”
Danessa reached for me trying to rein me in. “Aldi, my neighbors are very particular when it comes to noise, and they will slide a strongly worded passive aggressive note under my door.”
“Wait are you saying you don’t want me to disclose how much I care about you?”
I turned back toward the vast beyond. “We had sex last night and Danessa came five times.”
“Aldridge, get your ass back inside.” She sounded like a mother whose kid was acting up in the cereal aisle at Kroger.
“When are you going to get that I joke about a lot of things but you … I don’t play a single solitary game about you.”
Danessa looked up at me with big puppy dog eyes and all her fight seemed to dissolve. God, I loved this crazy woman. “Message received.”
Dropping into one of the chairs on the balcony, I pulled Danessa onto my lap. With my hands on either side of her hips, I rocked her overtop of me. “You’re not still mad at me, are you?”
“No.”
“I hate for you to be mad.”
“Aldi,” she moaned. “I’m good.” Running my hand over her skin, I gave her arm a soft pinch causing her to squeal. “What was that for?”
“I just needed to confirm this was real. You and me here, together after all this time.”
“It’s kind of trippy, right?”
“I thought you’d thoroughly closed the door. With multiple locks, a wooden barricade and a firing squad on the other side.”
Danessa affectionately stroked the back of my neck. “I’m not the one who closed the door.”
Pulling back my face was a puzzle. “You broke up with me and said don’t let the doorknob hit you where the good lord split you.”
“I said I wanted to remain friends.” Her voice was pinched, less ethereal, more restrained.
“And then proceeded to move to Chicago.” I stared her dead in her eyes. Because what the fuck? Don’t gaslight me.
