Page 16 of In a Perfect World

“Whoa, calm down,” I told her as steadily as I could.“Just...calm down.You don’t need to get more lost than you already are.”

“I can’t be here,” she said, her voice a bit breathless.“I need...I need to get back.”

“Do you know how to get back on your own?”I asked.

Her dark eyes widened again.“Are you insane?You can’t walk me back home.”

“No,” I agreed.“But I can walk you back to the cherry blossom tree.”

If possible, her eyes grew wider.“What?You can’t...you can’t be seen with me.Do you...oh, my God, do you have any idea how much trouble you’d get into?”

That stopped me short.

I looked at her, and I couldn’t ignore how that made me feel.She hadn’t said thatshecouldn’t be seen with me.She hadn’t said thatshe’dget in trouble for being with me.She’d said thatI’dbe the one to get in trouble for being seen with her, and she sounded genuinely upset by the possibility.

I cocked my head a bit as I asked, “What about you?You’d get in just as much trouble.”

There went her eyes again.“What planet do you live on?As the man, everyone knows that you’d get into more trouble than I would.Not to mention that being who you are brings a whole other destructive element to this situation.Do you realize how many people would love to spin the narrative on this just to make your family look bad?Your father can’t be Alvin Booker without having made some enemies over the years, and I’m not trying to be the reason for anything bad that might touch your family.”

“While I appreciate you looking out for my family’s good name, I also can’t just let you wander around here alone,” I told her, that feeling in my chest pressing down harder.“I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you out here.”

“Because I’d be able to forgive myself if you got arrested or slandered because I got stupidly lost?”she shot back.“I’d rather get lost than ruin someone’s life for no reason.”

After a moment, I asked, “What’s your name?”

Her eyes narrowed a bit, but she answered anyway.“Triana.Triana Medina.”

“Okay, Triana Medina, this is what’s going to happen,” I told her.“We’re going to walk along the creek until we come up to the cherry blossom tree, then you will return to your side of the border while I remain on my side, and then we’re going to pretend like this never happened.Okay?”

“What about your brothers?”she asked, nibbling at her lower lip.

“They’ll be fine,” I assured her.“They’re drunk and having a good time, so they won’t notice me missing for a bit.”

She shook her head again.“I can’t...I can’t ask you to do this.You need to go back to your brothers and friend, and just let me...I can find my own way back.”

This time, I was the one shaking my head.“That’s not going to happen, baby.”

I watched her let out a shaky breath, and when she started walking, I walked with her, neither of us saying a motherfucking word.