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"Yeah."

"So, what’s the problem?"

I hesitated.

"I don’t know," I muttered.

“What’s her name, the other one?” he asked looking over at me. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face thinkingabout the young girl who had been occupying my mind lately. Even as I laid next to Gianna earlier after we’d fucked for hours,shewas on my mind.

"Serenity… she different, Pop. I wasn’t looking for this, but I can’t stop thinking about her."

Pop hummed, taking another sip before speaking.

"You looking for permission or advice?"

I scoffed. "I don’t know. Both?"

Pop let out a deep sigh, placing his glass down.

"Listen, son. Life don’t move in straight lines. And you ain’t meant to make everybody happy." I stayed quiet, letting his words sink in. "You can’t make decisions based on obligation. You can’t let guilt keep you from going after what you really want."

I clenched my jaw, glancing down at my phone. Before he had come out, I had been staring at her graduation picture. I was grateful that she felt comfortable enough to me to share this moment with her. She was something else, something I wasn’t expecting, something entirely different from what I was used to.

"You scared to let go of what’s comfortable," Pop continued, watching me. "But what’s comfortable don’t always mean it’s right." I swallowed, nodding slowly. "Your mama might have her ideas about what she wants for you, but this is your life. You hear me?"

I nodded again, words seemingly escaping me as I took in his words. Until finally he finished by saying;

"Follow your heart, Creed. And don’t waste time. That’s the one thing you can’t get back."

That night, as I laid in bed, Gianna’s messages unread, my phone buzzed.

Serenity’s name lit up my screen.

Serenity B: Hey big head, you up?

I exhaled, shaking my head. Yeah, I was up. And I knew—no matter how much I tried to fight it—she was about to consume my thoughts.

5

SERENITY

The warm California air wrapped around me as I let out a loud laugh, gripping Iman’s arm as we ran toward the next ride. The flashing carnival lights painted the sky in streaks of neon pink, blue, and yellow, the sound of laughter, games, and music filling the air.

"Come on, Ren! You scared?" Iman teased, tugging me toward the towering Ferris wheel.

"Boy, please," I scoffed, rolling my eyes but letting him lead the way. "I just need a second to recover from that damn spinning ride you forced me on."

"You was the one talking shit," he smirked, lacing our fingers together.

I glanced down at our intertwined hands, my heart squeezing just a little.

We had been out for hours, hopping from ride to ride, stuffing our faces with fried food and cotton candy, acting like we didn’t have a single worry in the world. And for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were us again. No tension. No distance. Just Iman and Serenity, the way it had always been.

So why did I still feel like something was wrong?

I had caught him spacing out all night, a far-off look in his deep brown eyes, like his mind was somewhere else.

I could have asked him. Could have pushed him to tell me what was on his mind. But I didn’t. Because I knew. And I didn’t want to ruin this, not when this was the first time in a little minute when we were having fun and just being us. So instead, I leaned into him as we settled into our seat on the Ferris wheel, resting my head on his shoulder.