Page 61 of The Enemy

As I showered, I tried to think. What the hell would I do now? There was no way I could go back to pretend like I didn’t give two shits what Lourdes did. Wasn’t that the whole reason I went away in the first place? I had one taste of her, and I lost all sense of self-control. After we got out of that elevator, I had to run to security and pay the guard on duty money to keep quiet about what he might have seen and have the tape erased.

Had I stayed, I wouldn’t have been satisfied with a kiss in the dark and my fingers up her skirt. So, I ran, and look what it got me.

When I got out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and called Lou.

It went straight to voicemail.

“Fuck,” I cursed.

I hated feeling out of control and desperate. Everything in my life was carefully calculated because desperation led to mistakes. I sat on the edge of the bed and started replying to texts that needed my attention. Wesley, Richard, and Tatum had all texted me.

Wesley: When can I drop the act? You know how I feel about being fake.

Me: Soon. Everything is going well.

I opened Richard’s messages next.

Richard: Let me know if you have any issues. How is Lou handling it?

Me: Everything is going according to plan. Don’t worry about Lou, I can take care of her.

There was something fucked up about the sick satisfaction I got from telling that to her father. If he knew just how well I took care of her, he would disown me on the spot. Hell, maybe I should do it. It might just be the wake-up call he needed to tell Gerald to fuck off.

Lastly, I opened Tate’s text.

Tatum: It took three long years, and I can’t believe we pulled it off, bro. Thank you for believing me and helping me get the upper hand on my dad. He didn’t believe in me, but you did.

I rolled my eyes and didn’t bother with a reply.

Fuck him.

I was about to close my phone, and I noticed an itinerary from the company jet.

“Motherfucker,” I cursed as I threw the phone across the bed.

Lou fucking left.

NINETEEN

LOURDES

Sometimes,all we have left is to move on. It doesn’t matter how badly we want something because if fate has other plans, it will never happen—and falling for my stepbrother is in the never category.

My eyes were red-rimmed as I sat alone in the jet. I bet I looked like a hot mess. My head was the definition of sex hair. I ran away, and I didn’t even have time to shower. Neo’s dried cum was still on my inner thighs.

I looked down the hall to where the bedroom was with a shower attached, but I didn’t have the energy in me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and silently cried at how stupid I’d been.

Out of everyone I could ever fall for, I had to go and pick a boy with a cold heart and a cruel laugh. Now, for the rest of my life, I had to pretend like he didn’t mean anything to me.

I pulled my head up and rested it against the windowpane. Times like this were when I wished I had my mami. When she passed away, I believed she went up to heaven and she watched over me, but right now, being higher than the clouds, I still didn’t feel closer to her. She still felt as far away as she did the day she died.

When I shifted in my seat, I winced. I’d never had sex like I had early this morning. Hell, calling it sex fell flat. I didn’t have a chance to look, but I knew I carried Neo’s marks on my body. I wish that would have been all he marked, but when I ran away I knew I left a piece of me with him. Maybe it was the same piece he carried since high school, or maybe I left more, but I knew that I hadn’t been whole in a long time.

“Idiota,”I mumbled to myself as angry tears threatened to spill.

Neo deserved a standing ovation because he had played me for a fool. This whole weekend I had given him the benefit of the doubt, only to have it thrown back in my face.

Peace. That’s what I felt when I woke up wrapped in Neo’s arm. I was starting to think he was the one who liked to cuddle because the way he held me was firm…strong…intentional. When I pulled away because I had to pee so fucking bad, he didn’t wake.

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