Page 47 of True Sight (Nat. 20, #4)

CONRAD

T hings between us changed after the nightmare I had at his house last week.

Part of me was worried that it would freak him out or cause him to pull away, but it only brought us closer.

It was as if we had advanced through another level of a game and each time we did, we only grew closer.

We texted one another daily and if we weren’t able to see one another, we would call one another in the brief pauses of our day.

He was getting busier with the opening of the studio just around the corner and I was busy working on all the tech the studio needed as well as new projects that I took on in between his work.

With him leaving for London next week and it being Thanksgiving, we plan to hide away for the weekend and spend as much time together as we can before he leaves and I can’t wait.

As I hop up the front steps of Kolbi’s Charleston single, I feel my phone go off in my back pocket.

Hello love, I know you’re with the guys tonight but I wanted to let you know I’m thinking about you.

I’m at the studio now with Alex learning some new choreo we plan on doing for our holiday themed classes.

If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll show you some of the sexier ones this weekend Have fun tonight

The message is accompanied by a photo of him and Alex cozied up together, looking sweaty from rehearsals, flashing peace signs at the camera.

I’ve yet to meet Alex but I know how much of a friend she’s been to Henry since he moved here.

From what he’s told me about her, she and Bailey would give one another a run for their money.

The thought of my two worlds colliding makes me hesitate and consider what that might be like.

To have the guys and their girls finally learn and get to know my guy.

My guy .

The way my heart so naturally claims him as mine makes me smile to myself.

“What the fuck is wrong with your face?” A familiar yet annoying voice pulls me from my thoughts. Without realizing it, I’ve made my way down the front hallway of the house and I’m standing in the doorway like a robot that’s short circuiting.

“My face? What the fuck is wrong with your face?” I throw back at Malcolm with a scowl.

“ My face ?” he cries back. “I’m not the one standing in the doorway like a complete idiot. It’s your face you should be worried about.”

“My face is?—”

“Children, please .” Kolbi groans and rolls his eyes like a worn down mother who hasn’t gotten any alone time.

“Yeah guys, chill. The ‘your face is uglier’ jokes are cute but don’t you think we’re a little old for them?” Hank comments from his seat.

“I would make a dead mom joke but those have been banned,” I mutter under my breath, tossing my phone down on the table and heading to the fridge for a beer.

“Yes they have, and for good reason,” Bailey’s voice cuts through the room, scowling at me from the kitchen island. “No one’s inner child is going to be healed if y’all keep making morbid jokes.”

“Bailey, please. I’m paying someone to heal my inner child and she tells me that humor is a natural way to cope. Didn’t you know? Trauma makes you funny.” I unscrew the cap of my beer and tip it to her before taking a sip.

“Who’s this therapist? I wanna meet her,” she demands, looking at me incredulously.

“Not in your lifetime.” I scowl back and cross my arms. We hold one another’s glare until Malcolm grabs our attention again.

“Connie boy, you have a new text.” His hand reaches for my abandoned phone and reads the screen. His face screws up into a cocky expression before glancing up at me. “Who’s ‘Sweets?’”

My heart nearly falls out of my ass and I close the gap between us in two long strides, reaching for the phone. Being a semi-professional boxer works in his favor as he swerves under my extended arm to deflect me.

“Malcolm, give me my phone.” I try to keep my voice flat as we squabble but I struggle to get a good hold on him.

“Come on, Connie, just tell us who it is. You’ve been so secretive lately, don’t you think you’ve hidden long enough?

” His voice is playful but the way my body is reacting to being found out is anything but.

My heart is pounding so loud I can hear it in my ears and it feels like if my chest gets any tighter it’ll explode.

“Don’t be an ass, Malcolm. Give me my phone, please,” I nearly beg.

I finally get a hold on his collar just as Ophelia and Magnolia walk in from the living room.

My arm is extended out, holding onto his shirt in a death grip and my phone is in his opposite hand extended away from me.

Kolbi and Hank are sitting at the table, watching us play cat and mouse as Bailey stands behind Hank trying not to laugh.

The two girls look at us with rounded eyes and the whole thing feels like a still shot from a movie.

Malcolm freezes when Ophelia gives him a disapproving look and I’ve never been more thankful my friend is as pussywhipped as he is than I am right now.

“Come on, Connie, tell the class who you’re texting.

” He eggs me on and flicks a brow at me.

I can tell how much he’s enjoying our little dance by the way his smirk twitches on one side.

Holding onto him, I look around the room and notice that every single person in it is staring at me.

My breath falters as I come up with a plan.

“You promise to give me my phone back if I tell you?” I look at him out of the corner of my eye and tighten my fingers around the fabric of his shirt.

His smirk grows and he runs a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. “I promise.”

I swallow hard and wait for a beat to let the tension in the room grow a little bit more. I need them to think I’m nervous to tell them who I’m texting in order to really sell it. Glancing around at my friends one more time for good measure, I blurt out the only name I know is safe.

“It’s Margaret.”

“I knew it!” Malcolm cheers and starts to laugh maniacally. He spins around and slaps my phone to my chest which prompts me to release his shirt.

“Pony up, fuckers, you both owe me money.” He points a finger at Kolbi and Hank who roll their eyes and groan in perfect synchrony that only lifelong friends can achieve.

“Wait, you assholes made a bet about this?” I scoff at them, quickly sliding my phone into my back pocket for safekeeping.

“Wait, what’s going on about Margaret?” Magnolia chirps, looking at all of us completely confused.

“Seems our boy Connie here is sleeping with your bestie,” Malcolm sings, counting the cash my friends have just given him.

“You what ?” she cries out, her jaw nearly hitting the floor. “That lying, little…I’m going to kill her.”

When she stomps away and comes back with her phone, I know I have to loop Margaret in quickly so she doesn’t give me away.

“I have to shit my pants,” I announce loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention and distracting them for a few extra seconds.

“Then go take care of business, brother, you know where the bathroom is.” Kolbi gives me his perfected ‘ What the fuck is wrong with you? ’ face and points towards the bathroom down the hall.

I hurry down the hallway and pull out my phone to text her, hopefully faster than Magnolia can.

Cover for me.

What the hell are you talking about?

Just cover for me, PLEASE .

When she doesn’t text me back, I wonder if I have gotten to her in time. After a few moments, a new message from her comes in.

You’re so fucking dead for this.

Thank you, thank you. I owe you big time.

Oh Mills, you owe me more than big time. I just saw a stunning pair of Jimmy Choos at Nordstrom the other day, I’ll send you a link. I’m a size six.

I roll my eyes and flush the toilet to sell the whole ‘shitting my pants’ bit before walking back into the dining room where everyone is waiting for me.

“So you’ve been together how long ?” Magnolia stresses into the phone. Shit, I didn’t know she called Margaret to talk to her about this. Could my friends be any more dramatic?

“Mmhmm, and you didn’t think you could tell your best friend any of this?” Magnolia’s eyes are like daggers when she throws them at me.

“Good job bagging Margaret, dude,” Malcolm jests next to me. “I didn’t realize you and Kolbi loved the throw around factor so much.”

“The throw around—” I start to ask.

“Malcolm, don’t be gross or you’re sleeping on the couch for the rest of the week. And give Conrad the money you just earned. Making bets on your friends’ relationships isn’t cool and you know that,” Ophelia demands, crossing her arms in front of her chest and waits.

He looks at her, face hung in disbelief and then rolls his eyes. “At one point I had a manhood, but now my little fox has it between her teeth and refuses to let go.” He slaps the cash into my hand and walks over to her, draping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.

“Good boy,” she praises him, lips tipping up into a smirk.

“We will talk about this later, missy,” Magnolia hisses into her phone before dramatically pressing a button and presumably ending the call with Margaret. My phone buzzes in my hand and I glance down to read it.

Jimmy Choos and Manolos. Clear your schedule Mills, we’re going shopping on Friday.

I push out a breath knowing that while I may have lied to my friends, I at least bought myself more time in telling them what’s really going on. Sure, I’ll have to drop way more money on shoes than I ever want to but I owe it to Margaret for covering my ass like this.

“Alright, is our Wednesday night showtime over? Perfect, because I have an announcement to make.” Bailey claps her hands together, pulling the group attention to her.

“Next week, Soldier and I would like to formally invite all of you over to our place for Thanksgiving. We will cook and provide everything you’d want to eat, we just ask that you all come and have a good time.

” She smiles at all of us as Hank brings his hand to the small of her back.

“B, I love that idea,” Ophelia replies.

“Me too. I’ve always wanted to have a friendsgiving but never had enough friends to do it. Now I do,” Magnolia adds, turning a slight shade of pink.

“We might not look it but we’re more than friends, we’re family,” Kolbi states, glancing between all of us with steady eyes. Always the parental figure of the group he is.

“Can Ms. Ruthie come?” Magnolia asks quickly.

“Of course she can. Everyone is welcome to bring the important people in their lives. Including their secret girlfriends.” Bailey looks directly at me and winks. If only she knew that the most important person in my life will be four thousand miles away.

Unable to come up with any resemblance of a real answer, I just look at her with a pained smile. The thought of pretend dating Margaret on paper is one thing but having to do it in front of all of our friends is another.

I’m so going bankrupt on Friday.