Page 25 of What I Needed

“Like you have a date or something. You better not be meeting up with your ex.”

“Tuh. You’re funny. I’ll be back in a few hours. Kiss Rivvy for me.”

It was Sunday, and his off day, so he was very intentional about handling everything with Riverlynn and not bothering me. Since I’d been there, my Sundays consisted of hanging around the house, doing my and Riverlynn’s laundry, reading, and watching a little TV.

“Wait. Hold up.” He hopped up and rushed over to me. “You not gon’ tell me where you’re going?”

“Besides practice, do you tell me where you’re going?”

He took my hands in his, something he’d been doing often if the situation permitted.

“That’s fair, but this is different.”

“It’s not different, but if you must know, we’re going to a rooftop party downtown. I need to go before Shakira thinks I changed my mind.”

“Where downtown?”

“River, why are you so interested in my whereabouts all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden. I’m always concerned about your whereabouts, but you never go anywhere, so there’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“River, I have to go. I won’t be out late.”

I slipped my hands from his, and this time, when I headed to the door, he didn’t stop me. He’d been acting different since the incident with Jeremiah at my house, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

He took every opportunity to touch me, whether it was a hand on the small of my back when I was standing at the stove cooking, or a hand on my thigh when we sat on the couch with Riverlynn. Honestly, he didn’t seem to need a reason.

When I was on the road, headed toward the event location, I called Shakira. She answered after the first ring and immediately asked where I was.

“I’m just leaving the house because River decided to ask me twenty questions as I was leaving.”

“Oh really? What did he want to know?”

“If I had a date, where I was going, including the address. He even warned me about going out with Jeremiah.”

“Hmm. It sounds like somebody has a little crush on you.”

“I doubt it, but I’m sure he wants to fuck.”

“I mean, it’s a win-win, but we’ll talk more when we get there. I’m ten minutes away.”

“Okay.”

The call ended, and I thought about River for the rest of my drive. I’d caught him staring at me numerous times, and I was sure he’d caught me doing the same to him. We were definitely attracted to each other, but if we crossed that line, how would that work?

He still needed a nanny, and I still needed a job. Would we just be fuck buddies? Would he still dip off with random women when the mood struck him? If he did, how would I feel about that? Who am I kidding? I’d be pissed.

I tried not to think much into any of it. The truth was, if he didn’t need me to be his nanny, we wouldn’t be on each other’s radars. If I kept that fact at the forefront of my mind, resisting him wouldn’t be a problem.

When I arrived at the event, I found a parking spot, then met Shakira in front of the building where she was waiting.

“Hey, sis! You look cute,” I told her as we embraced.

“So do you. I can see why River was on your ass.”

“Girl, this ain’t even revealing. He just wanted to be annoying.”

We made it to the rooftop, and the party was already in full swing. The crowd looked to be in their twenties and thirties. Free drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and light bites were available until exhausted. Thankfully, we arrived before they were gone, and we were able to indulge.