Getting His Game Back by Gia De Cadenet

Author:Gia De Cadenet [De Cadenet, Gia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2022-01-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Khalil parked in front of her house, unable to tell if she was inside. His eyes still ached from little sleep. Her car wasn’t in the driveway, so he thought to leave the bracelet in her mailbox, but instead of opening his door, he picked up his phone.

“Hey,” Vanessa answered. His body began to hum.

“Hey. I found your bracelet in the shop. Guess it must have fallen off last night.” He plucked it from his cupholder. He’d wanted to put it on, but he’d been afraid to break it, her wrist being so small. “I’ll leave it in your mailbox for you?”

“Oh. You can, but I’m in the garage. You can bring it back here…if you want.”

He gulped, to keep his excitement from altering his voice.

“Sure,” he said. “Be right there.”

The memory of her lips, the softness of her skin, had been a blissful reprieve after the fear of not being able to find Darius’s father. And when they finally had, Khalil had gone home and let those memories engulf him. Now, approaching the garage, his heart was racing. Would she let him touch her again? Should he? The happiness from what had passed between them the previous night had been tempered by his doubts that morning. A line had been crossed between them, and he was worried that he was dragging all his stuff right over it. Even though he’d put in the work with Dr. E, he couldn’t get past the fear that Nia had been right, that a man who couldn’t control his emotions wasn’t really a man at all.

Rolling the beads of her bracelet between his fingers, he approached the open garage, hands in pockets. Vanessa was at a wide, high desk along the back wall, natural light from the large window in front of her, gilding her skin. And so much more of it was visible than he’d ever seen. In flip-flops, short denim shorts, and a black tank, she stole his breath. She looked up from what she was drawing and smiled.

“Hi.”

He smiled back but couldn’t speak, the spark from seeing her lips too strong, now that he knew how they felt.

He stayed just inside the door. She put her pencil down and swiveled her seat to face him.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded. “Rough night.”

“Thanks for texting me after they found him. How’s Darius?”

“Shaken up.”

“Makes sense,” she said, nodding.

Then he wasn’t sure what to say. He shifted his hands in his pockets again, rolling the beads like his feelings.

“You look like you’re worried I’m going to bite,” she said.

He shook his head and joined her at her desk.

“What are you drawing?”

She shrugged. “Different things.”

“Didn’t know you were an artist,” he said. “Thought you only drew to design apps.” The top page was a detail of the large tree outside the window. Underneath, bits of other sketches peeked out.

“I’m not really an artist,” she said. “It’s just something that helps me relax, think through things.”

He watched his thumb glide along the edge of the desk.

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