Truth or Dare - Danielle Allen Page 0,47

his name on Friday night, the first thing I thought was that you said a lot of things, but Omar’s name was not one of them.”

I laughed.

He bumped my shoulder with his. “Chloe will get over it. It’ll be fine.”

“I feel like our whole group imploded back there.”

“It didn’t. Tisha wanted to follow you, but I told her that I would still go because then it would be two of you for me to worry about. So, she stayed back with Tyler, Maria, and Eli.”

“Were Omar and Corrine figuring their shit out?”

“I left maybe one minute after you. Right after you walked off, Corrine was running toward the resort and Omar looked like he didn’t know if he wanted to go after her or not.” Kingston chuckled to himself. “It’s not funny.”

I stared at the moon. “The idea of our group never being the same bothers me. I wouldn’t ever want to do anything that jeopardizes what we have.”

“Neither would I.”

Again, we were quiet. I felt like there was so much unsaid between us and I didn’t know where to begin.

“You go back to Atlanta tomorrow,” I started.

“And you go back to Virginia,” he returned.

“Are we…?” I didn’t even know what I was asking. “Are we okay?”

Kingston looked me in my eyes. “We’re better than okay.”

I had no idea what that meant. Are we still just friends? Are we doing the long-distance thing? Do I even want to try long-distance? How does the sex change our relationship? Did the sex change our relationship?

I had a series of question I wanted to ask, but I didn’t know the answer to them either. If I were to ask him those questions, it would be reasonable to assume that he would ask me those same questions in return. And I didn’t know the answer to any of them.

“What are you thinking? You have that look on your face.” He mimicked my expression. “What’s going on?”

I averted my eyes. “Nothing.”

“Look at me,” he demanded.

My eyes met his and as he held my gaze, I felt something inside me crack open.

“Truth or dare, Simone.”

Without hesitation, I said, “Truth.”

“What are you thinking?” he repeated.

I started to look away when I felt his hand on my back. His touch was magnetic, forcing me to gravitate to him. “You said this was better than okay and I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what I want it to mean. I’m just so confused.”

He pulled me into him. I rested my head in the crevice of his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t know either. I don’t know what the right move is here. If you were in Atlanta, there would be no doubt in my mind that you and I should see what this is.”

“But because it’s long-distance, you don’t know,” I guessed, nodding in agreement.

“No.”

Surprised, I lifted my head up to look him in the eyes. “What? But you seem hesitant.”

“Yeah, I’m hesitant because it’s long-distance and you don’t know.” He licked his lips. “I don’t mind a long-distance relationship. You do. You always have.”

He was right.

“I mean, yeah but…” I gave him a little frown. “This feels different. I guess because of how close we are already.”

“Do you remember a few years back when I was dealing with Ava and I’d just gotten the food truck profitable?”

I made a face. “Yes, I do remember this other woman you’re bringing up in the middle of me disclosing my feelings to you.”

“Just listen,” he chuckled. His grip on me tightened. “When I told you I liked Ava but not enough to rearrange my life for her, you told me that the woman I needed was someone who understood my lifestyle, but at the same time, I would be willing to make some changes to it for her.” He paused, searching my eyes. “I’d always dealt with women with that advice—your advice—in the back of my mind. But I never felt willing to do that until right now.”

I put my hand to my chest. My heart was racing.

He kissed my shoulder and neck. “And if I felt like long-distance was something you wanted…” He kissed one cheek and then the other. “I would go for it. My schedule is busy. I don’t need a woman mad I’m not home by five-thirty every night. I need a woman who understands me. I need a woman who is my best friend. I need…you.”

“Kingston,” I breathed. All the air left my lungs. Pulling his face toward