Page 74 of The Phyre that Burns

“He’s been blowing your phone up all week, so I’m sure you’ll get a call soon after you unblock him. Are you still mad?”

“No. I’m more pissed than anything. It bothers me that he lets Kavia trigger him so much.”

“Phoenix said he blames her for tearing y’all apart and hasn’t forgiven her.”

“That’s obvious, and from what I’ve seen, she does and says things intentionally to set him off. I don’t like that she has so much power over him.”

“Yeah, that’s not good, but let’s not waste our energy discussing that ho. Do you know what you want to say to him?”

“Not really. I guess it depends on what he says.”

“Yeah. Follow his lead. I know I said we should stop talking about her, but I feel like hopping on a flight just to beat Kavia’s ass.”

“Oh my God. When I see her again, I may not be able to restrain myself. That pop in the mouth clearly wasn’t enough to make her shut the fuck up and stop spreading false information.”

“She needs a good old-fashioned ass whupping delivered straight from the south side of Chicago. That will teach her ass not to speak on things she knows nothing about.”

“Oh shit. He’s calling.”

“I told you it wouldn’t be long. Call me back.”

“Okay.” Our call ended, and I answered Phyre’s call. “Hello.”

“Sweetness, you answered.”

“I heard you wanted to talk.”

“I want to apologize, but I’d rather do it in person.”

“I’m not coming to you, and I don’t want you to know where I am.”

“Can we meet somewhere?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll send you the address.”

“Okay.”

The call ended, and shortly after, an address came through. I copied and pasted it into the rideshare app, and a car would arrive in five minutes. I was dressed very simply in jeans and a long-sleeved graphic T-shirt. After slipping on my gym shoes and grabbing my phone and purse, I headed to the lobby.

My ride arrived as soon as I stepped outside, and it took about twenty minutes to get to the restaurant. As I exited the vehicle, I received a text from Phyre, letting me know he’d arrived and was waiting at the door.

I approached the building and saw him looking at his phone. He looked up before I reached him, and we made eye contact. When he smiled, I couldn’t help but do so as well.

“Thank you for not standing me up,” he said.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Can I have a hug?”

The thought of being in his arms again made me weak, and I needed every ounce of strength I had to get through this conversation.

“I’m not really fucking with you right now. Maybe later.”

He looked disappointed but nodded and opened the restaurant door. Once we were both inside, we were immediately escorted to a booth in the back corner. The server arrived quickly, giving us her spiel, taking our drink order, and leaving us to peruse the menu.

“I haven’t eaten much today, so I’m starving,” I said.