They haven’t spotted us.
“Let’s take the rear,” Akara suggests.
“No,” I say, surprising myself. “I should talk to Will.”
Banks and Akara both whip their heads back to me. Their confusion mounting. Akara touches his earpiece, trying to keep eye contact but he can’t. He’s watching our surroundings with Banks. “Why now? I thought you let it go, Sul.”
“I still regret not speaking up last time, and I have to tell him how I feel. I may not get another chance, Kits.”
Missed opportunities are the fucking worst. I’m going back to Philly soon, and the likelihood I’ll run into Will again is slim. Especially since I’m prepared to hide out in the penthouse for most of my pregnancy.
I remember how we’ve all been told to not engage with the Rochesters. Bodyguards, most especially. And I don’t want to get them in trouble at work. “Can’t you guys just tell Wylie and Greer it was my idea? That I fucking demanded it?”
“No way in hell,” Banks says. “We’re not throwing you under the bus, mermaid.”
“Kits?”
He’s considering.
I cross my arms, then notice how Will laughs to his brother. They’re unaware I’m watching, but if I go over there, I’m doing what Charlie—the most confrontational family member—didn’t even get to do at the hotel bar.
Speak face-to-face with a Rochester.
Nerves spike my pulse.
“You’re scared?” Banks asks, seeing my breath catch.
“Maybe I am,” I admit. “But I’d rather confront him, nerves and all, than know that I never used my voice.”
Banks is all-in. “I’ll have your six.”
“We’ll have your six,” Akara amends.
Banks cracks a smile.
Correction, they’re all-in.
I’m smiling with them.
“I’m right behind you,” Banks says.
“I’ll be in front.” Akara already starts to lead.
“Boob and ass coverage is back,” I joke, and even if I can’t see, I can feel their smiles widening. With extra confidence at my toes and heels, I walk forward.
My heart pounds in my ears as we close-in on the Rochesters. As soon as they see us approach, they quiet like we’re the incoming storm.
The raging fire inside me has sputtered into hot embers. Able to be lit, but I’m not wielding a bat. I’m not coming in swinging.
Six months have passed, and the biggest swim final of my life is tonight. I’m just here to talk now.
Quickly, they realize my bodyguards are not a fortified wall barring me from them. They’re letting me pass, and the Rochesters tense like I might deck Will.
Lucky for them, I still want to be a lover, not a fighter.
I don’t want to use my fists.
“Will,” I say fast, before he can utter a fucking thing. “Can we talk?”
Wesley pipes in first, “We have nothing to say to you.” He blows out a puff of smoke from his vaping pen. “Sulli the Slut.”
Akara is the one who takes a threatening step forward. Banks grabs his arm. They’re here as bodyguards, but I’m sure they’d rather punch Wesley’s lights out as my boyfriends.
My eyes are on Will.
My ex.
He winces a little, and his face reddens in…embarrassment?
Wesley doesn’t notice. He’s fixated on Akara and Banks. “One assault charge will tip this legal battle in our favor, so if you want to hit me, do it.” He opens his arms wide.
Will walks forward. “We can talk.” He drills a disapproving look into his brother. Wesley drops his arms and rolls his eyes. Winnifred ignores them both as she scrolls on her phone.
“This way,” Will says.
Akara follows closest to Will, and Banks still tails me. We leave Wesley and Winnifred behind at the park bench, and soon, Will brings me to an abandoned snow cone cart near the stadium’s fire exit.
No one is really loitering.
It’s pretty private, and I think about how Will was always good at that. Finding private places, knowing I hated being so public with my life.
Hate might be the wrong sentiment.
I didn’t hate it as much as I was scared.
I was so fucking terrified of the attention, mayhem, and spotlight that I burn under now, and for the first time in a while, I let myself be proud.
I did what I thought I couldn’t do.
I’m still standing.
And for as nice as Will was to me, he’s not someone I ever wanted to brave the world with.
Since my final is tonight, I want to be quick. Akara and Banks block me from view. Backs turned a little, knowing I need to do this on my own.
My throat dries, but I manage words this time. “What you did to my family was fucking horrible, Will.”
He stares down at his cognac loafers. He says a fuck load of nothing.
My heart breaks. “You were my first boyfriend, you remember.” I shift my weight.
He barely lifts his gaze.
“My first kiss,” I push on with hurt burning my lungs. “I trusted you when I barely trusted a soul outside my family. And what’s worse is that…you fucking knew all of that. You knew I cherished my privacy. And you still did this to me. I can’t figure out why.”