Grip Trilogy Box Set - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,15

twist of his lips say otherwise.

“Okay, maybe I was judging her a little bit.” I laugh and am glad when he laughs, too. “She’s a pretty girl, and sometimes they get a bad rap.”

“They?” Grip lifts his thick brows. “Do you not realize how beautiful you are?”

I have no idea how to respond. I’m attractive. I know that. Guys have been hitting on me since middle school.

“Whatever.” I shrug. “I just don’t define myself by my looks. There’s a lot more to me than that.”

“I believe you,” Grip says. “I’m just saying there’s a lot more to Jimmi, too, so maybe you guys have a lot in common. And maybe you should withhold judgment until you know her better. If not altogether.”

I’m quiet while I finish my brownie and think about what he said. He has a point. One I hadn’t considered. I had to leave my Ivy League college to get the most thought-provoking, stimulating conversation I’ve had in ages. Maybe ever. And with a rapper. Jimmi isn’t the only one there’s more to than meets the eye.

4

GRIP

I FIGURED RHYSON’S sister would be attractive. I mean, they’re twins, and he’s one of those guys girls trip all over themselves for. And I knew she went to an Ivy League college, so of course she’s smart. But Bristol is all kinds of things I could not have anticipated or prepared for. Her curiosity, her authenticity, and her honesty hook something in me and draw me closer. I didn’t expect the conversation we had at Mick’s to go where it did. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to wade through the difficult questions of race, and that she gave measured, thoughtful responses and expected the same from me. Those are tough conversations to have with someone you know, much less with someone you just met, but it felt like nothing was off-limits. As if I could give her room to be naïve and she could give me room to be obnoxious. We both gave each other space to be misunderstood, because we really wanted to understand.

I admit only to myself that I’m drawn to her in a way that is dangerous because she’s Rhyson’s sister. Starting something that can’t go anywhere could be awkward down the road. I’m not that guy. Usually I fuck them and then I leave them. That’s it. That’s all. And I can’t do that to Rhyson’s sister.

The string of text messages reminds me there’s a girl I’m trying to leave even now. I’ve been dating Tessa for two months, but we haven’t really talked in the last couple of weeks. She blew my mind the first time we had sex, and her pussy put some kind of hex on me and made me agree to “dating.” Well, that hex has worn off. I told her we probably need to take a break, but she either wasn’t hearing me or was ignoring me. When I tell a girl we need to take a break, that’s code for there’s this other chick I’m feeling so we should cut this off before I do something we’ll both regret. I wish I could just let it fade, but I’m going to have to actually break it off. She keeps hitting me up, so it seems like that conversation will have to happen soon.

I steal a glance across at Bristol, who’s slumped in the passenger seat with her head dropped to an awkward angle while she sleeps. She probably wouldn’t give me the time of day anyway. Rhyson’s so unassuming that you’d never know he comes from deep pockets. Old money and new. He turned his back on that life to emancipate from his parents, but Bristol still occupies that world. A guy like me, driving this piece of shit Jeep, sweeping floors, and doing odd jobs to make ends meet—no way would she check for me. She doesn’t even listen to hip-hop. She probably hasn’t ever dated a Black guy, and I wouldn’t be the exception.

Now me? I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity connoisseur. My dick is not so much color blind, as it loves every color. And I have a rainbow coalition fuck record to prove it. If it’s wet and tight, I don’t really care what color it is.

Crude, I know.

Maybe that’s an issue of race I won’t explore with Bristol. I’m sure she has her limits.

I pull up in front of my apartment complex. I’m kind of glad Bristol’s asleep. Maybe I can