She laughs. “Yeah right. The way that big man looks at you, sweetheart, you are more than friends. He adores you. I might even say that he is in love with you.”
I snort. “Out of all the years I have known Mason, he has never spoken those words. He sees me as a friend that he trusts and has known for a long time. He doesn’t have to hide who he is from me. If he loved me, he would have never done what he did.”
Khalani sighs. “You know what. I think you are right. He had more than a year and he moved on. He knows you slept with someone else, and he didn’t declare his love for you. Like you said, he just wants to have you there but never claim you like he should. Honestly, he doesn’t deserve you, Lucy. As for Alex, I love Alex like a brother, but he doesn’t deserve you either.”
After we leave the house, I decide to go in a different car and drive the twenty-minute drive to the east of Hillside. Opening the garage like a candy store. The lights turn on when it senses our movements.
“What car are we going to take?” Khalani asks.
Walking over to the secured lockbox, I enter the code and it opens with a click. My fingers slide over the different sets of keys and I’m feeling reckless. I know I can’t take any of Aiden’s cars because he tracks them, and it will trigger a signal to his phone. My eyes scan my father’s cars. He doesn’t mind if I use his. My father is a bad boy at heart and I look at his matte black Aston Martin Superleggera Tag Heuer edition.
“Are you sure, Lucy?”
“Let’s go.”
I fire the massive engine of the car and the roar of the engine makes me smile. I open the convertible top and Khalani grins like we just broke into a safe.
We head toward the East and the car purrs like a cat down the road. The wind whipping our hair in the cool night. Khalani connects her phone and plays “Regardless” by Raye & Rudimental. The dance beat setting the mood for the drive.
When we arrive, members of the Kings are hanging out outside, smoking and drinking. The car roars down the street, the expensive light illuminating the house in a soft blue glow. Khalani’s remix of “Roll in Peace” by Kodak Black and XXXTENTACION playing loud through the speakers when I park.
“Damn, ese,” Hector says, elbowing Jose. “Yo, Lucy. Nice wheels,” Jose says, nodding his head.
“Thanks,” I say, heading inside after locking up the car. When I look back, I notice the front license plate has a symbol of a devil on it. Figures my father would put that on his car.
Walking up the walkway leading to the house, I notice Smiley sitting on the front porch with a girl on his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she is whispering something in his ear.
He looks up and his eyes move from the girl to me and then back to her. He moves to stand, causing the girl to slide off his lap, but I raise a hand. “You don’t have to stop on my account,” I say, giving him a look that has him freezing in place.
He walks up to me, and I take a step back. Khalani moves to go inside to meet up with Linda when I give her a nod.
He tries to touch my arm, but I move out of his grasp like I’m avoiding being burned. “Hey, I—”
He stops when I move quickly toward the front door. “Hey, Smiley. I came to see Linda. I’m sorry to have interrupted your moment.” I nudge my chin toward the girl sitting with a stank face like I popped her magic bubble.
I move around him and address her. “It’s OK. He’s all yours.”
My gaze meets his and his expression looks torn. I give him a wink. “Make sure you wrap it.”
I was prepared to walk in on him sooner or later and I played out all the scenarios and I found that this was the best way to deal with it. My instincts were right about my fling with Alex. It was just that, a fling. No different than having meaningless sex. He could write my name down in his imaginary book for all I care. My womanly pride stings, but I’ll get over it. Khalani probably knew about it because of Linda. They just figured there was nothing serious between Alex and me but I still feel like I was left out and the last to find out.
When I walk into Linda’s room, two sets of eyes belonging to Khalani and Linda look at me with sympathy.
“I know you two knew about it and felt bad. You could have told me. It wasn’t like we were dating or anything.”
“You are saying that because you have been hanging out with Mase, but Alex could have told you so that it wouldn’t be awkward when you saw each other.”
“Why didn’t you guys say anything to me? You could have said something.”
“I’m sorry, Lucy. We didn’t think and I thought maybe if he saw you that he would explain before he—”
“Fucked someone else,” I interrupt Linda.
“We all have been there and there is really no way to tell you something like that.”
“Okay. I get it.”
I know Linda went through this with Ramon. Khalani said he cheated on her and then she forgave him because he was sorry. She was on and off with her brother, but he was everything to her. He took care of her, and she loved him fiercely. Khalani went through it with Aiden, but she had Leo. He was there for her, and Aiden quickly came to his senses.