Talia: You still over there pretending to be social?
I looked toward the kitchen. Mama and Ciara were still going back and forth about whether smoked pork or turkey was better in the greens. Family noise. Familiar walls. Real life all around me.
And still, my whole body had tilted toward Talia off one little story and a bare knee in a frame.
I typed back slower this time.
Me: Enjoying my family like a good son. It’s disgusting.
Talia: Aww. Look at you with values.
Me: Don’t do that.
Talia: Fine. Enjoy your people. I’ll be here trying not to miss you.
I swallowed hard and stared at her words long enough for Ciara to step into the den and clock my whole face.
“You leaving early?”
I looked at the time.
Maybe it was already written all over me, because Ciara smiled before I answered.
“Go ahead,” she said quietly, keeping her voice low like Pops wasn’t half asleep in the den with the TV still talking to itself. “You already halfway gone.”
I stood and slipped the phone into my pocket.
“I need you to tell this mystery woman something for me,” Ciara said.
“No.”
She laughed. “Drive safe, Romeo.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me.”
I said goodbye in layers. Ari wrapped herself around my leg for a hug. Ciara walked me toward the door still grinning like she had personally solved a mystery. Mama looked up from the sink when I kissed her cheek and gave me one long look before she said, “Don’t get foolish.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Night had cooled some by the time I stepped outside. I stood beside my SUV with my keys in one hand and my phone in the other, looking down at Talia’s last message.
I’ll be here trying not to miss you.
I smiled, slow and helpless and already in trouble.
Then I called her.
She picked up on the second ring, but there was a small pause before she spoke. Just enough silence for me to hear her breathing and know I was not the only one caught up in this thing.
“Hey.”
Her voice came low through the phone, warm and close, like the word had been waiting on me.
“Hey.”
I got in the car and started the engine, still smiling like a fool in love. “You still at home?”