Page 46 of Perfect Rhythm

NYX

“Are you sure you’re okay with staying here alone?” I asked Skye as I stood at the edge of my bed. “I don’t have to go to this listening party tonight.”

“Yes, I’m fine, and yes, you do. You’re not about to have my cousin going off and accusing me of sabotaging her listening party.”

“Whatever. She wouldn’t do that.”

Laughing, Skye rolled from one side of the bed to the other and sat up. “Clearly, you don’t know Noni like I do.”

“Well, no, but she knows about Mecca attacking you. I’m sure she understands why you wouldn’t want to be out right now, and why, as your best friend, I should be here to support you.”

“It’s not about that. She doesn’t feel like I should be allowing Mecca to control how I live my life.”

I nodded slowly, understanding where Noni was coming from.

But I also saw Skye’s side of things. It had been four days since Mecca’s attack, and Skye was still trying to make sense of it all.

Going out in public meant she would have to come face to face with questions that she didn’t have the answers to. She wasn’t ready for that.

“I get that,” I said. “But she has to understand that you need time. That was a pretty traumatic experience for you.”

“Yeah, it was, and his ability to hide from the cops for days didn’t make it any better. Until last night, I was literally having nightmares that he was going to show up at any moment and try to kill me.”

With a weighted sigh, I eased down beside her and slipped my arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry you went through that. But at least now, with him locked up, maybe you’ll finally get some rest.”

“Thank God.” She looked at me, eyes quietly closing the door on the Mecca conversation. Tilting her head, she placed her hand on my thigh. “So, what’s your game plan when you pull up with your boo tonight. You know the bloggers are going to lose their minds.”

“First of all, Shade is not my boo. He’s my friend, and I don’t need a game plan to show up anywhere with a friend.”

Groaning, Skye rolled her eyes. “Enough of this shit already. Please give that man what he deserves.”

“Skye, I’m not sleeping with him. That only complicates things.”

“I’m not talking about sleeping with him. I’m talking about your heart. He deserves that shit one hundred percent. Not only has he made sure you were good, but he’s made sure I was good after this Mecca shit. A man who looks out for the people that’s close to the woman he loves is a keeper.”

Frowning, I grabbed a jacket from my closet and slipped it on.

“You’re reaching big time.”

“How am I reaching?”

“You’re out here talking about Shade loving me like that’s a fact. That man doesn’t even really know me. At least not enough to feel something that deep.”

“Bullshit! He knows you in every way that counts. I bet if he walked through the door right now, and I asked him if he loved you, he would say yes.”

“No, he wouldn’t.”

“Yes the fuck he would.”

I froze for a second.

Would he?

I shook my head, refusing to allow Skye to get me all in my feelings. “We’re done with this conversation. Shade understands where I stand with things, and he’s been good about respecting that.”

“Mmhmm, that’s sweet and all, but I call bullshit. You’re the one allowing a man to control your life.”

“What? How?”

“You’ve convinced yourself that Shade is just as bad as Eli, which is crazy as hell since they’re nothing alike.

Shade has your back, and he’s always putting you first. He shows up for you in ways that Eli never could, and most importantly, he’s never lied to you.

He doesn’t want to hurt you, Nyx, and honestly, I don’t think he ever will. ”

I dropped my shoulders and sighed. “But what if he does?”

“He won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do. He’s one of the good ones. I can just feel it.”

I hated to admit it, but Skye was right.

I was allowing Eli to control my relationship with Shade, and it wasn’t fair.

Not to me, and definitely not to Shade. There was so much chemistry between us, and not just sexually.

We had a bond so strong that even when we weren’t together, we found a way to end up together.

I loved having him in my space. I loved hearing the sound of his voice.

“Yo, why the hell is the front door unlocked?” Shade said as he walked into my bedroom.

Laughing, I met him in the doorway and wrapped my arms around him. “Hey, handsome. You smell delicious. What are you wearing?”

“That’s my little secret,” he said before planting a soft kiss on my nose. “And don’t try to change the subject. You know you can’t just be leaving your door unlocked. Not with all the crazy shit that be going on around here.”

“Sorry. That was my fault,” Skye said as she scooted off the bed. “I stepped out to grab something from my car earlier. I guess I forgot to lock it back. Bad habit.”

“Bad habit is right,” he said. “How are you doing? You need anything?”

“I’m good. Your girl has been taking good care of me.”

He cracked a smile, then looked back at me. “My girl, huh?”

I shook my head, making it a point not to say anything either way.

Skye lifted her crossed fingers and flashed a smile on the way out. “Just speaking it into existence.”

Of course, she was.

“Well, damn,” Shade said with a smirk. “Looks like I walked in on an interesting conversation.”

“Actually, you kind of did.”

“Oh yeah? About?”

I placed my hand against his chest. “We can discuss it later. I don’t want us to be late.”

“Late? It’s a listening party, and it’s at my brother’s club. That shit’s going to be going on all night.”

“Yes, but I’m sure your sister and Xandie want to actually hear Noni G’s music.”

“They’ll be alright.”

“No, they won’t. If you wanted to move around on your own time, you should’ve let them ride to the party on their own.”

“Nah, that wasn’t happening.”

“Well, you have to be on time then,” I said, walking around him. “You’re not about to have them mad at me.”

“Fine. But the moment we leave the party, I want to know everything. Don’t leave out a single detail.”

“Trust me, I won’t.”

“I’m serious, Nyx. I’m going to hold you to that shit.”

“Good.” I grabbed my purse and slipped my hand into his. “Promise me you’ll behave tonight.”

He gave me a look. “When do I not behave?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You want the list alphabetically or chronologically?”

“Whatever.” He laughed. “If people don’t want problems, they should watch their mouths.”

“Or you could just keep it cool. You already know these industry parties bring out everybody, including the people you can’t stand.”

He exhaled sharply. “Man, I’m not fucked up about Enzo. We said what we had to say to each other. As long as he stays away from Jassi, we're good.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

We reached the door, but I stopped and turned to face him. “You know you look fine as hell tonight, right?”

He smirked, eyes sweeping over me slowly. “Had to come correct. Can’t be standing next to you looking average.” His gaze lingered. “You're lucky I respect you.”

“Oh yeah? Why is that?”

“Because the shit that’s going through my mind right now is so far from respectful. The way I want to fuck you—” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “You know what? Let’s just go.”

“Nah, go ahead and finish that sentence.”

“Trust me, you really don’t want me to. If I do, it won’t be with words.”

I took a step closer, my voice low. “Then what will you finish it with?”

“You already know the answer to that.”

“But I want you to tell me.”

His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “My tongue.”

Goosebumps spread across my skin, and for a second, I almost said fuck that listening party .

But that wouldn’t have been fair to Jassi.