Page 131

Ayana

Vuk was laughing again. This time, I was less charmed than the first two instances.

“It’s not funny.” I crossed my arms, still heated from our dinner encounter. “They were so rude. Who does that? It’s not like our tables were that far from each other. Theyhadto know we would hear them.”

“They’re college students. They’re lost in their own world.” Vuk was surprisingly calm. “I told you, I’m used to the stares and whispers. Their insults don’t come close to the worst thing people have said about me.”

“Which is what?” I was too curious not to ask.

He shook his head, the remnants of a smile playing on his lips.

We were walking home from the restaurant since Vuk had left his car at my parents’ house that morning. We’d been Ubering all day. It was a thirty-five-minute trek, but the weather was beautiful, and I needed to cool off.

“I didn’t think you had an insulting bone in your body,” he said. “You’re full of surprises, Ayana Kidane.”

“Only when I’m fired up. It doesn’t happen often. I’m as non-confrontational as they come,” I admitted. But I had my limits.

We made a right onto my parents’ street. A strange tug of sadness pulled at my gut. I wasn’t ready for the night to be over yet. It was the first time I’d felt carefree in ages. Even though we were staying in the same house, and Vuk would be there in the morning, it wouldn’t be the same. Tonight held a special kind of magic.

“That’s weird,” I said when we arrived at the house. The windows were dark, and it was eerily quiet. “They should be home by now.”

An irrational streak of fear raced through me. Had the Brotherhood followed us to D.C.? Were my parents locked up in a dingy basement while Vuk and I had been eating and shopping our way through the city? Or was it something more mundane but equally insidious, like a car accident or mugging gone wrong?

Vuk tensed beside me. I wasn’t the only one whose thoughts were running wild.

I was about to call my mom and check in on her when she texted me with eerily perfect timing. I swear, she had a magical sixth sense.

Mom:I forgot to tell you earlier. Your uncle got us last-minute tickets to the Kennedy Center tonight. Don’t wait up for us.

Mom:I hope you had a good time with Vuk. Remember to lock up before you go to bed.

I breathed a sigh of relief.Thank God.

“Everything okay?” Vuk asked.

“Yep.” I fished my keys out of my bag and opened the door. “My parents are at the Kennedy Center. They won’t be home until late.”

Vuk relaxed. He didn’t say anything else as we stepped into the entryway and removed our shoes.

I wasn’t used to the house being this quiet. My parents didn’t go out often, and the rooms were usually filled with the rumble of my father’s voice or the background noise of the television. The stillness was disconcerting.

Vuk removed his jacket and hung it on the brass tree by the door. I did the same. Our arms grazed, and a tiny electric thrill sparked at the base of my spine.

If he felt the same, I couldn’t tell. The silence seemed to swallow our earlier camaraderie, twisting it into something heavier. More significant.

“Well, this is it,” I said. “I hope you had a good time today and that it wasn’t too, um, terrible. I know my mom kind of forced you to spend the day with me.”

I winced.Great job, Ayana. You really have a way with words.

“It wasn’t…terrible.” Vuk placed an amused emphasis on the end of his sentence. Fire blazed across my face. “It was nice to have a distraction. You’re better company than Sean and my men.”

“I’m flattered.” We walked toward the stairs, our steps falling easily into sync. A teasing edge slid into my voice. “Is that what I am? A distraction?”

“Among other things.”

I stumbled over the edge of a rug. I caught myself before Vuk noticed—hopefully—but the fire spread from my cheeks down to my neck and chest. A thousand velvety flutters disrupted my heartbeat.

Among other things.