Page 80 of Session 33

I didn’t respond to that. I didn’t know how to. Instead, I turned the tables on him. “What about you and Naomi? I’ve always thought you two had a little thing for each other.”

That shut him up. He shot me a sharp look but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned over in bed, his back to me.

I got into bed after a quick shower, my back to him. I thought I’d be able to sleep, but the tension in the room was suffocating. After two hours of tossing and turning, listening to Cassius breathing all heavy. Mad in his sleep. I gave up. I slipped out of bed as quietly as I could and headed downstairs.

When I reached the kitchen, Silas was already there, leaning against the counter, a slice of pie in his hand. He was shirtless, and his tattoos seemed to gleam under the soft kitchen light.

“I caught you,” I said, trying to sound casual, when I really wanted to run away. “Naomi said that pie was for tomorrow. You’re hardheaded.”

He smirked, popping another bite into his mouth. “I’ll just blame it on Cassius. You know she’s still salty with him.”

I crossed my arms, watching him. There was something about the way he looked at me, like he could see straight through me, that made my skin prickle.

“What’s up?” he asked, his voice light but his eyes serious.

I hesitated for a second before stepping closer. “What was that earlier?” I finally asked.

His grin widened as he set the pie down on the counter. He turned toward me, his full attention locked on. “Just something I had to get off my chest,” he said casually.

“Just something you had to get off your chest?” I repeated, my voice rising slightly. “You kissed me, Silas.”

“And you kissed me back,” he said, stepping closer, his voice dropping lower. “So, what does that mean?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t know what it meant. I wasn’t even sure how I felt about it.

He smirked again, that same cocky smirk that always made me roll my eyes. “Relax, Angel. It’s not that deep. We don’t have to make this a thing. It’s out of our system now.”

I watched him reach into the fridge and pull out the pie, cutting it neatly and handing me the slice on a paper towel. “Here,” he said, his voice lighter now, like we hadn’t just been talking about the most confusing moment of my day. “Eat some pie. Everything’s fine.”

I hesitated for a moment, then took the pie from him, my fingers brushing against his, the tingled. What did that mean? I took a small bite, the sweetness melting on my tongue.

“MMM…”I moaned.

“See?” he said, leaning back against the counter, his grin widening. “Good isn’t it.”

I nodded slowly, still not sure how to feel about anything, but for the moment, I let it go. I’d deal with it later. For now, I ate the pie.

Chapter sixty nine

My eyes scanned over everything laid out across the counter. Eggs scrambled just right—fluffy, golden, with a sprinkle of cheese melting into them. Bacon, crisp but not too crisp, piled high on a platter. Grits, creamy and smooth, with butter melting and salt, not sugar because sugar on grits was nasty. The pancakes were stacked in neat towers.

I took a deep breath, trying to convince myself this was enough to make the day better. It had to be. I’d been up all night, pouring all my energy into this breakfast. Trying to block out my thoughts.

Last night was still lingering in my head, flashing in pieces every time I stopped moving. The kiss. The heat. The way my body felt. How doing something I knew I shouldn’t felt good. Too good. And now, the guilt was twisting and turning in my gut like it was trying to punish me.

Naomi was the first to reach the kitchen, snatching me from my thoughts, giving me a sleepy grin. “Damn, Angel. You’re trying to make us fat before the hike.”

Jonas came next, followed by Charmaine, who was rubbing her eyes. “Bacon is the best alarm clock ever.”

Silas strolled in, shirtless, with a cocky smile. He didn’t even try to look embarrassed as he winked at me. “Good morning, baby mama,” he teased.

I had to look away before my cheeks gave me away, my dimples were damn near caving in my face. How was I going to keep myself from falling apart?

Cassius came down last, his hair damp from a shower, dressed in a plain white T-shirt and basketball shorts. He shot me a quick glance. There was something in his eyes, but it was gone before I could read it. He knew I had lied last night when he asked me about the kiss. He could read me too well. The fact that he hadn’t called me on it was scary.

Everyone started piling food onto their plates, talking over each other about the upcoming hike and cracking jokes. WhenFreak Meby Silk started playing on the radio, everyone broke out singing:"Let me lick you up and down…"It was off-key and loud, but for a moment, it felt like everything was back to normal. Like I hadn’t kissed my son’s father’s best friend.

I cut my eyes at Silas, but he was staring at Charmaine’s cleavage, not a bit guilty, while I was dying inside. Cassius was watching me. I could feels it. I dropped my gaze to my plate.