Page 56 of The Wright Man

Her whole face lit up, smug and proud. "Of course."

I smirked. "So if I took a guess that the chocolate cake downstairs is one of yours...?"

She leaned in like she was telling a secret. "You'd be correct."

"Then we need to get our asses back down there while there's still some left."

That made her laugh—real and from the belly—and damn if it didn't sound like music.

We stood at the same time. A little closer than we should've. Eyes catching for a second too long.

But we didn't touch. Didn't say what we were really thinking.

Just walked out together. Side by side.

Almost like we used to.

Almost.

* * *

The rest of the party went smooth as silk.

Angelica and I made our way back downstairs, and yes, I watched the sway of her ass the whole way down. Sue me.

She cut us both slices of cake like the consummate hostess she's always been, even when she's off-duty. That same grace, same warm little smile like she wasn't still catching her breath from everything that passed between us upstairs. I let her take the lead, like I always had.

We stepped into the backyard just as "Before I Let Go" hit its groove. Bella and Tina locked eyes on us like heat-seeking missiles. They looked like kids who'd just cracked the case of the century. Tina raised an eyebrow so high it practically hit her hairline. Bella was grinning like she won something.

Angelica caught their expressions and blushed—actual, visible color in her cheeks. She mouthed "Later," with a glare that didn't scare either of them. I smirked and looked away before they roped me into whatever the hell they were scheming.

The evening eased into that perfect golden hour glow. We ate cake. We talked shit. We danced. We laughed like we hadn't lost time. Uncle Marvin got progressively louder and drunker, hollering about spades and singing off-key to old-school Chuck Brown tracks. Bella and Tina pulled Angelica into a Soul Train line, then dragged me into the Wobble against my will.

I resisted for all of ten seconds before I gave in—because if you grew up in a Black household and don't know the Wobble by heart, you might as well turn in your cousin card.

Eventually, the music mellowed. People hugged and kissed their goodbyes, balancing foil-wrapped to-go plates and warm hugs. Aunties complimented Angelica's cake. Somebody's uncle tried to talk Tina into coming to church next Sunday. Bella stole a whole bottle of wine and dared anybody to stop her.

Once the last car pulled off, it was just us—me, the girls, and Cap. We turned on some soft R&B and cleaned up like old times. Angelica flicked soap suds at Tina for taking too long drying the plates. Me and Bella snuck a couple bites of the cake we were supposed to be putting away. Cap watched us from his chair with a drink in hand, shaking his head like we were some sitcom he never got tired of reruns for.

We ended up in the living room after that, sprawled across couches and armchairs, limbs everywhere. Angelica curled up on the couch next to where I was sitting. Tina was stretched out like a cat, hogging a whole couch. Bella had a blanket draped over her like she was 85.

They filled me in on all the stuff I'd missed—jobs, heartbreaks, tattoos, inside jokes I wasn't around to be part of.

At some point, Angelica threw her head back laughing, then leaned against my shoulder like she forgot we hadn't done that in years. I let her stay there.

Bella let it slip she was headed back to campus in a few weeks, getting an early start on her last semester.

"You missed my high school graduation. You better be at this one," Bella said, lobbing a pillow at me like a grenade.

I caught it midair, grinning. "Graduation? Ain't you like thirty?"

"Don't play with me! I'm twenty-one, you big brooding bitch."

"Bella Bear..." Cap warned from his chair without even looking up.

"Sorry, Daddy," she sing-songed, sticking her tongue out at me like a five-year-old.

I tossed the pillow back at her with a laugh. "Yeah, watch your mouth, Punk. Twenty-one ain't too old to get popped."