Page 50 of Until Nalia

“Night, baby.” I step into her space, wrap my hand around her jaw, dip my chin down, and brush my mouth across hers. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

“Saturday,” she agrees, softly lifting her eyes to mine. Fuck, it’s hard to let her go, but I force myself to release her jaw and head down the steps. When I get to my Jeep, I look back towards the front door and watch her wave before she steps back, closing the door.

Getting into my Jeep, I don’t even bother trying to wipe the smile off my face.

Fourteen

NALIA

With the hot August sun warming my skin, I watch my nephew, Nash, and Zuri zoom around my parents’ pool on the motorized pool floats with built-in water guns my mom bought from some online shop. You can’t even hear the sound of Harmony’s little ones who are laughing and splashing in the small kiddy pool Dad filled with water for the girls, or the music playing from the outdoor speakers Dad has around the pool over the sound of their laughter.

Smiling as Nash and Zuri scream in terror when my dad begins to spray them with cold water from the hose, I hear Kim, my brother Sage’s wife, who is lying on the lounger next to mine, laugh, and my mom, on the opposite side of me, me giggle.

“We should have Dad set up the outdoor movie screen and have a movie night tonight,” Mom says, and I point my sunglasses her way.

“That sounds fun, but Nalia can’t since she has a date,” Harmony, who’s sitting on the opposite side of Mom, says, and I feel my mom’s gaze warm the side of my face when I turn my attention back to the pool.

I should have guessed that Harmony wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth closed about my plans with Logan, especially since it only took her two minutes to share the news with the girls’ group chat, along with a picture of Logan that she apparently took while she was at the baseball game with me, before all hell broke loose. Not creepy at all.

“You have a date?” Mom asks, and I inwardly sigh before I turn my sunglasses her way.

“It’s not a date, I’m going with a friend who happens to be a guy to watch one of his friends perform downtown.”

“Don’t let her lie to you, Mom. She’s had multiple meals with this guy, and they’ve been spending lots of time together,” Harmony tells her, and I hear Kim laugh.

“Who is he?” Mom asks with more than a hint of curiosity in her tone.

“I have a picture,” Harmony says quickly passing mom her phone. “He owns Rafe Motors, is a single dad with two kids, and is obviously hot.”

“Is he who took you and Zuri to the hospital?” Mom questions while studying his photo.

“He is. He also saw Nalia run off in the middle of the game and didn’t hesitate to run after her to make sure that she was okay.” It’s a good thing I don’t want to have this conversation, or I might be annoyed that Harmony is speaking for me.

“He’s very handsome.” Mom looks up at me with a grin then passes Harmony back her phone. “You didn’t tell me that you were seeing him.”

“Zuri and his son are friends, so we’ve spent some time together. I wouldn’t say we are dating.”

“Yeah, and I wasn’t dating Harlen when he was coming over to my house every night,” Harmony mutters.

“Whatever,” I mutter back.

Mom laughs then asks, “What happened with that guy back in Colorado?”

“The one that told her that they should keep things fluid.” I can’t see it because Harmony is wearing sunglasses, but I know from her tone alone she’s rolling her eyes. “Yeah, that’s been over.”

“Fluid?” Mom’s nose scrunches. “What does that mean?”

“I think that means that you are in an open relationship where you can date other people,” Kim tells her, and once more, I feel like an idiot for not knowing that definition myself.

“He told you that he wanted an open relationship?” Mom whispers in horror.

“Who’s in an open relationship?” Dad asks, joining the conversation,

Great.

“No one is in an open relationship,” Harmony tells him, then unhelpfully adds. “Nalia is seeing someone new, but the guy she was dating in Colorado told her that they should keep things fluid before she moved home.”

“Why the fuck would he tell you that?” Dad asks, looking at me.