“Nah, this is on me. Especially after today.”
“What’s special about today?”
I let my gaze drift downward, indicating the intimate positioning of our bodies. She blinked a few times, and I realized that she hadn’t thought about that.
“Oh.”
“Look, I don’t know what all they’ve seen or what they haven’t. People saw when I covered you on that driveway. Somebody is probably watching me all in your face right now. If some nigga is really after me and Seth, they’re keeping an eye on us. And you keep showing up.”
Her next response wasn’t what I was expecting.
“If I’m in trouble because of you… then maybe itisyour job to keep me safe, right?”
Good. She’d played right into it. Maybe I wouldn’t have to convince her. But I didn’t want to seem too eager.
“I’on even like you like that, with your stuck-up ass.”
“I don’t like you, either, but you got me into this?—”
I corrected her instantly. “Nah. Some niggas who don’t value their lives got you into this.”
“But until you find those niggas, you just implied they could be after me because of you.”
I let my hands slide further up the smoothness of her thighs until my fingers touched the hem of her skirt. She sucked in a breath, making her already full breasts stick out further. I had no idea why I was touching her like this, but she felt good against my palms. She covered my hands with hers. I expected her to push me away, but she didn’t.
“So, you should look out for me. Unless…”
I knew better than to fall for that shit, but I couldn’t help myself. “Unless what?”
“Unless you worried that you can’t.”
I stared at her, not sure if I should laugh or cuss her ass out. I was about to pretend to turn her down again when I changed my mind. I leaned in, my mouth an inch from hers. She bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes tangling with mine.
“You better know what you asking for.”
What am I asking for?I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. It felt a lot like flirting, except I didn’t even like Mekhi Venzant to flirt with him. But that didn’t explain why he was standing between my legs, his hands possessively gripping my thighs. And it sure as hell didn’t explain why I liked the feeling of his touch. Tilting my head, I looked up at him. This close, I could see how clear his chocolate brown eyes were, smell the mouth-watering scent of his cologne, feel how warm his skin was. Mekhi was an asshole, but he was a sexy one.
“I’m just asking that you watch my back until you figure all this out,” I said finally.
It was crazy that my interactions with him might put me at risk, considering we weren’t on friendly terms at all. But Icouldn’t forget the scary incident with the tulips. I had no idea who was behind that. I agreed it had to be because of him. I hadn’t had a secret admirer before all this. Plus, this would keep Ajani off my back and lessen the chance my parents would hear something that alarmed them. I really didn’t want to ruin their trip.
He frowned, like he was considering my request. His thumbs began to draw slow, tantalizing circles on the insides of my thighs as he thought. Heat spread from his hands to my body and zinged straight to my center.
“Mekhi—”
My voice was almost a moan. His thumbs kept moving as he caught my eyes, a smirk playing around his mouth. He looked like he knew exactly what he was doing to me. Trying to ignore it, I spoke again.
“Well?” I pressed.
He hesitated another moment before speaking. His next words caught me by surprise.
“I got you. But what I say goes. When I tell you to move, you move. If I tell your bougie ass to be still, you do that. Ain’t gon’ be no socializing with a bunch of people, especially if I don’t know them, until I figure out who did this shit. Understand?”
“But—”
He shook his head. “This shit ain’t negotiable, shorty. I’ma do what I think is best to look out for you and you gotta trust me for it to work.”
Sighing, I nodded. For some reason, Ididtrust him. I barely knew him, I didn’t really like him, but I trusted him. Made no sense.
