Page 106 of Perfect Rhythm

“Well, bring him. Your grandfather and I haven’t done a double date in years.”

Feeling bile creep up my throat. “A double date? No. We’re not?—”

“We would love to,” Shade said while grabbing my hand. He looked at me and squeezed me gently. “But it won’t be a double date. You know? Boundaries and all.”

Nani rolled her eyes, letting out a loud huff. “Okay, fine. Call it whatever you want. Just meet us there in twenty minutes.”

“Twenty minutes?” I said. “I still have to get ready.”

“Girl, please. Go throw on some sweats and bring your butt on. We’re not going anywhere fancy.”

“Still...I don’t want to go out looking a mess. You know someone is always popping up and taking pictures of me.”

“And you look good every time,” Shade said. “You couldn’t take a bad photo even if you tried.”

I smiled, my cheeks burning as I tried to look in every direction but his.

“See,” Nani blurted, “that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Look at that smile.”

Rolling my eyes, I waved her off. “We’ll see you in thirty minutes.”

“I’ll be dead from starvation by then.”

“It’s just ten more minutes.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Trace held the door open, and they walked out of my apartment.

“She’s a fun character.” Shade chuckled.

“Mmhmm, and you’re about to see just how fun she truly is at this little lunch. She’s about to embarrass the hell out of me.”

“Really?” His arms circled me from behind, holding me close like he hadn’t in forever, his breath warm against my neck. “Exactly what have you been saying about me?”

“Way more than I should have, apparently.”

“Damn, it’s like that?”

“Look, I may be playing this whole friendship card when I’m with you, but nothing’s off limits when I’m with her. I tell my Nani everything. But she was never supposed to meet you, so this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Sounds like I’m in for a treat then.”

“You sure are.” I sighed before forcing myself out of his arms and walking to my bedroom.

The walls I’d carefully built around my heart were no match for Nani. Talking to her about Shade was one thing, but letting her see us together? That was a whole different game. She already felt like there was something special between us. Now that she’d seen it for herself, she wasn’t going to let up until she got the result she wanted.

42

SHADE

“I heard you showed your ass again,” I said, leaning forward in my seat beside Mecca.

After having to raincheck lunch with Nyx and her grandparents because Jassi called about a flat tire, Mecca hit me up asking to meet up at the studio. I wasn’t in the mood to hang around while he did all the extra shit he liked to do while he was creating, but I showed up anyway. Mostly because I wanted to see if I could talk him into finally chilling the fuck out with Skye.

“Damn, you heard about that shit, huh?” He scratched his head before taking a pull from his blunt.

“Who the fuck didn’t? Man, you need to chill. That shit ain’t cool. You’re embarrassing yourself, and most importantly, you’re only widening the divide between you and Skye. Do you really think any of the bullshit you’re doing is going to win her back?”