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Cassius chuckled, not surprised in the least bit. “Understood. I’ll only ask one more favor from you. Which one of these windows is hers?”
The woman looked nervous but stepped out, pointing to the left.
“Bet. Thank you.”
Jogging down the steps, Cassius headed in the direction she’d pointed out. Grabbing a rock, he flung it at a window on a whim, thankful it didn’t shatter. When no one appeared, he grabbed another and repeated his actions.
On the third round, the window finally flew open, but it wasn’t Aella who stuck her head out.
“What the fuck are you doing?” An equally beautiful woman demanded, glaring at him.
Cassius shot her a sheepish grin. “My bad, I was looking for Elle.”
“Mmm,” she said, folding her arms and giving a look of disdain. “Let me guess, you’re the future potential husband?”
He simply shrugged.
“For the record, Elle’s bedroom is two windows down. I’m her sister, Ria. And I don’t take too kindly to being woken out of my sleep.”
“My bad, Sis,” Cassius grinned sheepishly.
“Uh-huh. Stay right here. I’ll be back.”
Closing the window, she disappeared. It wasn’t long before she returned with her angry sister in tow.
“Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?” Aella’s voice pierced the night.
“Maybe. Come downstairs right quick.”
“No.”
Her stubbornness made him smile.
“Elle.”
“Aella,” she corrected. “Leave. Now.”
“You can’t give your husband five minutes?”
“Oop,” Ria giggled, thoroughly enjoying the show.
“I don’t have a husband. You’re a stranger who blew his chance before this got started.”
“If you’d bring your mean ass downstairs and just listen, I can explain.”
“She’ll be there in a minute,” Ria announced, yanking her sister inside and closing the window.
Taking her for her word, Cassius rubbed the back of his neck, desperately putting together what he wanted to say while trudging to the front porch. He didn’t have long to think on it. As promised, the front door swung open seconds later, and Ria gently shoved her sister out onto the porch.
“Talk, please. Thank you.”
“Ria—” Aella began to protest, only to have the door closed in her face. “Wow,” she chuckled, shaking her head.
“I promise I won’t be here long,” Cassius said, capturing her attention. “I just wanted to holla at you for a minute.”
Reluctantly pivoting, Aella folded her arms. “Why? To give me more prettily packaged words you don’t intend to follow through on?”
Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his Nike shorts, Cassius released an awkward chuckle. “For you to be this annoyed with me, you must have missed me at least a little bit.”
