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“What about Ahmad? I know he can’t be too happy about this.”
“He doesn’t know yet, but I’m going to let her handle it. He’s either going to prison or fleeing the country. Either way, he’s not a threat to us.”
Kahlil nodded. “And Janae? You told her yet?”
“Nah. I wanted to tie up that last loose end with Piper before I did. I guess I’ll stop by her place after this and hope finding out the truth about me didn’t change anything for her.”
“I’m sure it didn’t. If she’s anything like Honey, which I’m sure she is because they are best friends, she’s going to accept you unconditionally and not punish you by denying you of her presence because of things you did in your past.”
All I could do was nod. “From your lips to God’s ears.”
CHAPTER28
Piper
After I picked Nathan up, we rode in silence. I stopped him by his barber so he could get his hair cut and shaved, and damn if my pussy didn’t get wet at the sight of my best friend. The ride to my place was silent too. As much as I wanted to talk, I gave him space with our silence. When we made it to my place, he showered and changed into a wife beater and some black sweats that he had at my place. We often took turns spending the night at each other’s home, so I already had everything he needed here.
Nathan went over to my bar in the dining room then made his way into the living room and sat next to me. He handed me a glass, and after taking a sip, I learned that it was Hennessy. All of my main rooms were decorated in blue, and right now, that was working against me. I felt just as blue as my surroundings. I didn’t know if he was about to tell me he wanted nothing to do with me or what. All I could do was anxiously wait for him to say something.Anything.
He was thick as hell—at least two hundred and twenty-five pounds. But he was tall, so it was proportioned nicely. I loved how muscular he was. That combined with the tattoos on his arms and chest were a sight to behold. Nathan’s hair was cut into a box fade, and he had a little hair on his face that he’d gotten trimmed earlier. He didn’t rock a full beard, but he always kept a small amount of hair on his face. Nathan had soft under turned brown eyes that didn’t really match the hardness of his persona, and I think that was my favorite part of him.
“Are you upset with me?” I asked, unable to take the silence anymore. I looked over at him, eyes lowering to his Adam’s apple as he gulped his liquor. “I missed you.”
“You lied on me, Piper. After everything we’ve been through, after everything I’ve done for you. You were about to send me up the road for life.”
My head hung in shame as my whole heart burned.
“But I fixed it, Nate. And I’m so sorry for evenconsideringlying for him knowing what that would do to you. I guess I’d convinced myself that I could keep you out of jail and still keep my father, but I realized if I have to choose between the two of you… I choose you. I’m sorry I didn’t make that choice immediately, but I chose you, Nathan.”
“Why?”
I frowned, confused by his question.
“Why what?”
“Why did you choose me?” I didn’t reply right away, so he continued. “For as long as I’ve known you, all you’ve talked about is earning your father’s love. It didn’t matter how much I told you it didn’t work that way, you insisted on doing whatever you had to do to make him love you and be proud of you. Why did you finally go against him for me?”
I placed my glass on my customized blue coffee table and took his free hand into mine. “You’re gonna laugh at me but try to hold it in until I’m done.”
Already, Nathan smiled and nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
“I went for a walk up the trail trying to clear my mind. I was feeling low about everything which wasn’t making sense. When my father first told me his plan, I felt like I could make the most of it by being with Tyreek, but the closer it got to time for us to meet, the worse I felt. So when I got back home, I went on this random chat site. You know I don’t have friends like that and you’re the only person I really trust to discuss personal matters with, but I couldn’t talk to you because it concerned you. So I basically went into this relationship forum, used a fake name, and told them my dilemma.”
He chuckled. “You didwhat?”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is, I asked them what to do if you had to choose between gaining your father’s love and someone really close to you. One of them said if I haven’t gotten my father’s love after thirty years, I’ll never get it, and the other one asked me something that changed my perspective. She asked me if my father was even capable of loving me. She told me to read that bible chapter where it describes love and to put his name in it. I think it’s first Corinthians four through seven or some shit like that. Anyway, I put his name in, and none of that fit him.” I paused and looked away. “Then I put your name in, and it did.” His hand cupped my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “I couldn’t deny in that moment that you loved me more than my father ever had, and instead of fighting for him to love me, I made up in my mind to be grateful for the love that I already have in you.” I growled when I felt my eyes get watery, making him laugh again. “I chose you because I love you, Nathan, and I know that you love me too.”
“Do you know that I’m in love with you?”
My heart dropped as I struggled to process his words. “You’re in love with me?” I repeated. Nathan nodded as he set his glass on the coffee table. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want to compete with him in your heart and life. I felt like you wouldn’t be able to cling to any man the way you were supposed to because of him, so I settled for being your friend. But I’ve always been in love with you, Piper, that’s why I’ve handled you the way I do.”
“This is… all I’ve ever wanted,” I confessed, warmth filling my body from happiness. “I always said if you were to love me in that way, life would be perfect. You know me, flaws and all, and you accept me as I am. But I just… never thought you saw me in that way.”
“Well, I do. And I hope that you can completely free yourself of your father so you can see you the way I see you too.”
I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and connecting my lips with his. Cupping his cheek, I melted against him as he spread my lips with his tongue and deepened our kiss. My phone vibrated and it startled me so much I jumped as I pulled myself away from him. The only reason I reached for it was because there was a chance it was my father. I looked, and sure enough, it was.
