Page 12 of Before I Should Leave
“I’m just saying! I ain’t never had no driver offer to sleep nearby in case I needed an emotional support back rub!”
I was trying not to smile but it was hard when she was being exactly who she was. “You need help.”
“I need details! Is he hood-hood with a hidden soft center? I need to know what kinda sex playlist to queue up in my mind.”
“Oh my God,” I muttered, turning away from the terminal crowd so nobody heard her foolishness but me.
“Don’t act brand new. You might fold like airport pretzels because we both know it’s been too long since you had—”
“Goodbye,” I said, cutting her off with a smirk I couldn’t suppress. “I’ll keep you posted if anything changes. Just stay alert for any new emails or updates, okay?”
“Fine. But I’m telling you now, I’m so happy for you!”
I hung up mid-laugh and shook my head, tucking my phone back in my coat pocket just as the doors slid open again. Diesel walked back in like the storm didn’t touch him. He was wet now, but that stride of his was still calm. Smooth. That same focused, unbothered energy in his step. And I swear—for a second—I forgot what I was stressed about.
He stopped in front of me, giving that subtle nod like everything was handled. “Valet’s good. Truck’s covered ‘til mornin’. You ready to check in?”
I nodded, lips still curved from Jonnae’s nonsense, but I swallowed it down. “Yeah.”
“Everything cool?” he asked, reading my face like a damn book.
“Just my assistant being… herself.”
He raised a brow. “She the one that called me fine earlier?”
I smiled. “Unfortunately.”
He chuckled. “She seems invested.”
“She is.”
“She wrong?”
I blinked. “About what?”
He met my eyes. “Me being fine.”
I bit my lip and turned toward the kiosk. “Let’s go check in.”
The hotel was packed, but I expected that much. I signed a few things and got a key card with room number 430 embossed in gold. Diesel didn’t hover or do too much. He just stood a step behind me, still that constant presence, warm and unshaken. It didn’t feel like babysitting. It felt like backup.
We stepped into the elevator, and as the doors closed behind us, the silence hit in a different way. A still kind of quiet. We didn’t say anything right away. Just stood side by side, close, but not touching. The soft ding of the elevator climbing floor by floor felt like a countdown.
I caught him glancing at me. Not in a loud way. Just… watching. And for half a second, I thought about the kiss again.The heat of it. The calm. The way I forgot how much time had passed. The way I still felt it faintly in the curve of my lips if I let my thoughts linger too long.
I blinked and pulled myself back to the present. “Diesel,” I said, clearing my throat softly, “you really don’t have to stay.”
He looked at me like I was speaking another language. “I’m already here.”
“I know, but…” I adjusted my coat, my voice quieter. “I’m not your responsibility. You’ve done more than enough.”
He just shook his head. “It’s not about responsibility. You got caught in some shit tonight, and I had time. That’s it.”
I nodded slowly, but my mouth kept going. “What about your daughter?”
He cracked a grin. “She was just tryna show me some new TikTok dance she learned.”
That made me laugh. “How old is she again?”
