Grip Trilogy Box Set - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,163

of sympathy for her. How could I not after what Grip just with- stood? Knowing at such an early age, Jade was violated by one who was supposed to protect her. When I think of all these things, I see Grip finding it in his heart to write a song like “Bruise” as a miracle.

“Here’s another plate.” Ms. James rearranges the place setting by Jade to accommodate me. “Amir, grab that other chair out of the kitchen.”

He jumps up to do her bidding but offers me a reassuring smile on his way. I look at the chair beside Jade, unsure if I should take it or let Grip have it and wait for the one Amir is bringing.

“We don’t bite.” Jade nods her head to the empty seat, her lips twisting derisively. “Sit down.”

I offer her a small smile, which she doesn’t bother returning. I take a deep breath, sit, and try to relax my shoulders.

“Good to see you again, Bristol,” Shondra says, her smile warm and genuine.

“You, too.” I’m so grateful for even that small kindness. “How have you been?”

“Good.” Shondra sips from the glass of iced tea at her elbow. “Kids crazy as ever, but good. Still talking about Grip coming to see them a few weeks ago.”

“It was fun.” Grip leans back and drapes an arm across the back of my seat. I sit up right away, leaving plenty of space between his arm and my back.

“Well, fix your plates.” Ms. James gestures to the table crowded with enough food to feed ten more people. “Nobody serving you here, Marlon. You know how to get your own.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His grin comes easy, and where I’m strung tight, he’s as relaxed as I’ve ever seen him. There’s a comfort, an ease, to him like I’ve never seen.

He’s home.

He stands, stretching to scoop generous portions of everything. I’m about to do the same when he picks up the plate in front of me and replaces it with the full one.

“Here ya go,” he says softly, his smile down at me intimate and affectionate.

He served me.

Oh, God. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it feels deliberate. He’s expressing something. He’s telling them all, without saying a word, that I’m special to him. I glance around the table, noting the smirk on Amir’s lips, his eyes teasing me. The speculating surprise in Shondra’s glance. The narrow-eyed resentment coming off Jade beside me like a radioactive wave. The disappointment on his mother’s face before she stows it away.

“Thanks.” I muster a smile for him. “You didn’t have to.”

“No problem.” Grip metes out his own portions, sits in the extra seat, and turns his attention to the people still watching us closely. “So, catch me up. What’s been going on?”

His question seems to crack the wall of tension some, and everyone eats and laughs and talks. I dig into the food. I’ve never tasted any vegetable like collard greens. I’m tempted to scoop up what’s left with my fingers and turn up the plate to slurp the juices. Everything tastes so good, and I don’t care if the greens are collard, kale, or Crayola, I want seconds.

They talk about people I don’t know and things I don’t quite grasp. I never watched Martin, so when they reminisce about a particularly funny episode, I smile and try to follow. Even without context, it’s hilarious the way Jade tells it. I find myself laughing along.

“What you laughing at, Bristol?” The laughter drains from her face. “Have you ever even seen Martin?”

Busted.

“Um, no.” I bite the inside of my jaw. “It just sounded funny the way you were telling it.”

She rolls her eyes and sucks her teeth.

“Don’t start, Jade.” Grip’s voice holds an unmistakable, quiet warning.

“What?” Jade grabs the Raiders cap off the table and shoves it on her head, leaning back in her seat. “Just didn’t seem like her kind of show.”

The sound of forks and knives scraping over the plates is magnified in the deep pool of silence following the exchange. It’s because of me. Everyone is uncomfortable because I’m here, but I have no idea how to fix it. I’m just a girl having dinner with her boyfriend, as desperate for his mother to like me as you’d expect.

“You missed a great party, Jade,” Amir finally says while serving himself another helping of everything. “Grip’s release party, I mean.”

“Girl, it was incredible.” Ms. James beams with pride, her eyes set on her son.

“Yeah, sorry I couldn’t make it.” Jade doesn’t sound sorry