Page 32 of Miles Apart
She moves to walk away, but I hold her wrist. “You’re not someone who jumps to claim a man the way you did. I’m here, and I got this suit on.” I lift her chin and stare down at her. “Let me help you.”
“I’ll handle it myself.” She jerks away.
“Now it makes sense.”
“What does?” An arched brow lifts.
“Why you and Justice are so tight. You’re both stubborn as hell.”
“Says the guy who won’t take no for an answer.”
“Aye, don’t say that shit so loud.” I scoff. “My mama and GG raised me right. I’d never push up on a woman like that; I was trying to help. Since you don’t need it”—I step back—“do you. Lover Boy has been looking over here since we stepped onto the dance floor. Have fun explaining this to him and whoever else.”
“Wait!” Emma’s hand clamps around my bicep. “This is stupid.” She sighs and looks away. “Just for tonight.” She studies my face. “We’ll keep this up until dinner is over, then we’ll pretend I didn’t say you were my man. This changes nothing.”
“Don’t spare my feelings. I ain’t losing sleep over you.” Her ass is still frolicking through my dreams, but she doesn’t need to know that. Emmaandher attitude can go if she keeps this up.
“Good.”
“Good.” I pull her back into my middle on instinct. My hands twitch to explore the soft lines of her back. Holding Emma brings me a strange satisfaction, one I push away. “So, what’s the deal?”
“It’s an election year, which means I get calls to show up to campaign events so my family looks like the united front we’re not. I dodge most of them thanks to fashion weeks, but the ones I do attend are…rough.”
“How so?”
Awkward laughter ripples through the air. “Don’t worry, you’ll have a front-row seat.” Emma pats my chest at the sound of the dinner bell. “Time to meet the family.”
I never cared enough about a woman to meet her family, and I’ll send a prayer of thanks up I dodged ever doing it for real. Whowantsto sit through this shit?
Emma’s parents only speak to her whenever cameras roll around. They’re so caught up in shaking hands and small talk about who’s here that they completely iced her out.
Carter has been in full peacock mode since we sat down, pointing out who he knows like we give a damn. For her sake, I hope Em never fucked with him. He’s a clown and a bitch, stealing glances from the other side of the table like he’ll say out loud what’s playing out on his face.
Between us are Emma’s cousin, Blair, and her mother, Lily. The former hasn’t stopped humping me with her eyes, and the latter was already two sheets to the wind before she plopped into her chair.
I nod to the server when my dinner plate touches my charger but quickly regret it. There’s not an ounce of seasoning on this shit.
“Here.” Emma slips a container into my hands under the table.
I cough to hide a laugh once I peep the label. “I know you didn’t just pull out some Lawry’s from your bag.”
“Never leave home without it,” Emma says with a smile. “You’d think expensive dinners came with better food.”
I brush off the urge to taste her smile by removing the Lawry’s top and going to work on this bland-ass chicken. Her laughter is the first trace of happiness on her face all night.
“As white as this shit is, I might need to douse this chicken like them high school kids did them aliens.”
Emma covers a snort and reaches for the seasoning. “The Facultyis a good movie. I saw it in theaters when it came out.” She shakes her head. “I was alone while my father met with another senator. That movie had me signing up for chemistry class just in case.”
We stare at each other before bursting into laughter.
“You watch horror movies?” I dig into my chicken breast, thankful for the spices from my childhood clinging to my tastebuds.
“Yeah. Not the new stuff, but I love the classics. I have aFriday the 13thmovie marathon at home.”
“No shit.” Em at home with slasher flicks, of all things, seems counter to what I know of her, but it’s dope. Also. “What you know about Lawry’s?”
Her lip quirks. “Justice’s parents use it. I picked up on a few things when I’d go over for dinner, which was more time than I spent at home.”
