“Where’s your dad?”
“He’s probably getting dressed.” Frankie shrugged her shoulders and handed me a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit. I noticed she tried to give me the best-looking pancakes. I smiled a little and pulled her in for a squeeze.
“This looks so good! You did an amazing job, Frankie.”
“Thanks. I know the pancakes are ugly but…”
“Girl…please shut up. I make ugly pancakes all the time. You’re hung up on the wrong thing.”
“I know it’s stupid but it’s bothering me. Like…pancakes are the simplest things to make and I can’t figure out how to perfect them. I’m letting you know, if you hear me down here making pancakes at midnight, I’m trying to get them perfect.” Her brows were scrunched together and her nose crinkled with a determined frown.
I knew that look…
I stared at Frankie for an extra beat then sat down with my plate. She kept glancing toward the doorway with expectation in her brown eyes. Finally, I asked what she was waiting for.
“I’m trying not to call Daddy down here. I want him to walk in and see the plate of food but he’s taking so damn long to get dressed.” She sat beside me and fidgeted in her seat. She didn’t want to touch her food until Evander sat with us. “You can eat, Xari. I’m just being extra.” She rested her chin on her fist and pushed her lips out.
I popped a few pieces of fruit in my mouth while I scrolled my phone then I groaned. “I didn’t plug my phone in last night.” I showed her my red battery bar and she eyed me sympathetically. “I’ll be right back, okay?” She nodded then started scrolling on her phone.
I dashed upstairs and went straight to Evander’s room. I knocked then turned the knob and walked in. “Xari, what the hell?” He frowned at me.
My lips parted, ready to speak but my brain was locked onto Evander’s sculpted granite muscles hiding beneath the white undershirt molded to his pectorals.
He was partially dressed. His button-up shirt hung open, showing me pieces of the tattoos on his chest. I was beyond curious about what other artwork he had. So curious that my palms itched to slide across his golden skin.
The navy blue pants he wore hugged his strong legs just enough to let me know he didn’t miss leg day. His belt was simple, black, and understated but I knew it was expensive by the stitching. Right then it didn’t even matter how much the belt cost, it was the way Evander wore it. It was the way he wore everything.
My mouth went dry as I stared at the pristine white shirt hanging open and the way his body flexed with each movement. He snapped his fingers at me, earning him an immediate frown.
I found my words real quick.
“Don’t snap at me,” I fussed. I looked behind me and realized his door was open. I pushed it closed so Frankie couldn’t hear me. The house was big enough but I was being cautious.
“Why the hell did you just walk into my room?”
“Because Frankie is downstairs refusing to eat until you come to the table. She’s super nervous about her pancakes and I wanted you to hurry your ass up before everything got cold and she pretends it’s fine that you didn’t sit and eat what she made.”
Frankie had a habit of brushing things off that hurt her feelings. I watched her do it with her mother every day she was late picking her up from school and I watched her do it with Evander when he was too busy to look at something she was showing him or when he had to dart out on father-daughter time to answer a call. She was almost a master at it. I saw through it every time though. Usually, I didn’t call her out on it but I couldn’t stand to see that disappointed look on her face again. It fucked me up inside.
Evander’s face turned solemn and he nodded. “Thank you for coming to grab me. I did get caught up in a phone call before I started getting dressed but…”
“It’s cool.” I took a few steps toward him like I always did when we were alone for a second too long. I reached out and brushed something off his undershirt, letting my fingers slide over the cotton sheathed muscle.
Damn, he was solid.
His eyes dropped to my hand then he lifted them to mine.
Heat.
Flames.
Whatever sort of too hot feeling it was, swept over me and danced in the inches between us. He had to feel that shit. It was almost palpable.
I swallowed back the knot of desire in my throat and said, “You had something right there.” Being close to him like that, I could smell his cologne, his deodorant, the coffee he drank earlier.
“Did I? This undershirt is new. What exactly did I have on it, Miss Lucas?”
My thighs hummed when he called me by my last name.
“I don’t know. I just…brushed it off for you.”
The moment surrounding us felt familiar. It felt like the day in the foyer when we were centimeters away from kissing. The air was thick and the energy was suggestive.
“What would I ever do without you, Miss Lucas?” Sarcasm dripped from the cocky smirk quirking the corners of his full lips up.
He knew I wanted him and he was flaunting it right in my face.
Was it bad that I didn’t even care?
He was fine as hell. He could flaunt it if he wanted to. I wasn’t mad at all.
“You keep calling Miss Lucas. Am I misbehaving?” I looked up at him then bit my bottom lip. He wasn’t the only one who knew how to
