Angel in the Courtyard [Book 2]

Chapter 46 - Arisa

The movie finished earlier than expected. I told mom I was going to meet a friend in the neighborhood afterwords, stated it actually, so that it didn't sound like I was asking for permission. Mom said it was fine as long as I didn't sleep over at anybody's place tonight. That made me laugh. As if I would spend the night with my ex-boyfriend after losing my virginity to Khaleel Abdul. Mom didn't know what she was insinuating but the thought still made me cringe. The drama that would cause. I wanted to do whatever I could to avoid it. I went out of my way to make sure Khaleel was okay with me rendezvousing with Loyal too.

'I trust you,' the delinquent messaged. 'Do what you think is right but is it cool if you tell me what goes down?'

'I will," I wrote back.

I felt like there was something he wasn't telling me but I didn't want to press for answers. The whole group dynamic was complicated and Khaleel wasn't the passive aggressive type. If he really didn't want me meeting with my ex, he would tag along just to make sure nothing happened. I trusted his judgement, just as he trusted mine. I had to be content with that.

I ran to the intersection Loyal talked about after seeing mom off. To my surprise, he was already waiting there for me. I hadn't seen him in months and my heart was very aware of it. It wasn't shaken up or anything, it was just conditioning itself to not get carried away with conversation, especially small talk that might showcase my nerves. Khaleel said Loyal didn't know about our involvement, which meant I had to make sure I didn't accidentally expose us. I didn't enjoy lying and I knew how much Loyal hated it, but Khaleel said he was making a judgment call.

"Hey," I said, getting him to turn around.

"Hi," he replied.

My chest clamped up. Why on earth did Loyal have to be so incredibly handsome? With a single look, he was able to remind me why I fell for him. No sane girl could meet this boy and not crumble under his stare. "Have you been waiting long?" I asked, stuffing my hands into my jacket pocket. "It's a little chilly tonight."

"Not at all," he answered. "How was the movie?"

I nodded. "Good. I laughed a lot throughout. You should go watch it, it's called Starry Sky. That waffle-eating girl from Netflix is in it. I forget her name."

Loyal's expression didn't waver. Crap. This was exactly the kind of small talk I wanted to avoid. He could probably sense my anxiety from where he was standing. The human-lie-detector was not one for beating around the bush. "Anyways," I drawled. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about Tomasia," Loyal said simply. "I need to ask you for a favour."

"I'm listening..."

He took a slow breath and gently kicked a pebble near his foot. It was almost as if he couldn't look me in the eye while asking. "I need you to join her presidential campaign," he said. "Not to help her win or anything, but to have her back while I figure out who exposed her relationship with Zander."

"Big favour," I said.

Loyal flashed his eyes at me. "Can you do it?"

"By having her back you mean protect her from the vultures?"

"Yes."

I nodded. "Khaleel knew you were going to ask me this, didn't he?"

"Probably."

I kept nodding. "It explains why he was okay with us meeting up."

That caught Loyal's attention. "He knows we're talking?"

"Sure he does."

There was a short pause. I felt like Loyal was trying to read through my intentions again; it wasn't a feeling I particularly enjoyed. "Are you two dating?" he asked.

Oh crap. What was I supposed to say? If I lied, he would be able to tell. If I told the truth, it might crush him. What could I say to get out of this uncomfortable situation? Wording. It was all about wording. I had to make sure I didn't give away the whole truth, only parts of it, enough to satisfy him and end the conversation.

"There's no label to it," I said.

Loyal's lips curved into a smile. "You're not going to deny it though?"

"What is there to deny? If you're asking me how I feel about your friend, I'll admit that I've come to really care about him."

His gaze was paralyzing. "Will you join the campaign or not?" he asked, changing the subject.

Double crap. He could definitely see through my attempt to not lie. I guess some things never changed. Loyal would always be good at owning other people's truth, even if they didn't want him to.

"Sure. I'll join."