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“Boy, goodbye.”

As they sat in silence, Sevyn thought about how it made total sense for her to be drawn to “Maverick”. From the moment they met in middle school, she and Dallas always tended to orbit around one another.

There was a natural lure that kept them in each other’s spaces, despite her attempts to escape it. And believe it, there’d been more than a few times where she’d tried.

Opening her menu, she broke the silence between them.

“What are you doing on a dating app anyway? I thought you and old what’s her face were a thing? The one that liked to throw bricks. What happened to that?”

“You and Pardi coming with all the jokes tonight, huh?”

“What?” Sevyn shrugged sheepishly. “I just asked a question.”

“Sevyn you know damn well how and why that shit ended. Stop playing with me,” Dallas muttered, as their server finally made an appearance. After ordering their entrees, drinks, and handing over their menus, Dallas folded his hands on the table, pinning her beneath his stare. “I lost a bet to Pardi and Kohl, though. That’s how it happened. But, since you’re all in my business. Let’s get on you. What are you doing on somebody’s dating app? Meeting strangers at that.”

Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, Seyvn rolled her eyes. “I wish I could say that I created it because of a bet but the truth is,” she broke off, sighing deeply. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just been lonely around the house lately. And after my grandma and aunties got started on Thanksgiving—”

“Oh, I know they were on yo ass,” Dallas interrupted with a snicker.

With a shake of her head, Sevyn rolled her eyes. “You already know. I was so damn annoyed and ready to go.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Cocking her head to the side, she questioned. “I’m sorry, have you not met my mother? The holiday queen would have lost her mind if one of her kids skipped out on a family function. I happen to like my life, thank you very much.”

“You love the holidays just as much as she does, stop acting like you ain’t her damn child.” Dallas chuckled. “And I’m sure your pops would have stepped in to save you as he always does.”

“Don’t be mad at me ‘cause I’m spoiled, hater.” Sevyn quickly stuck her tongue out at him.

Simpering, Dallas replied, “Can’t be mad at something I contributed to.”

That brought the fiery hue back to her cheeks. “Once upon a time,” she agreed quietly.

“You ever miss it?”

She didn’t need to hear it to know he was talking about the unusual nature of their friendship before things went south between them. They were more than friends but hadn’t been more than friends at the same time. It was a complicated history that Sevyn had no interest in revisiting.

“Dal,” Sevyn’s expression grew serious. “Don’t.”

“It’s just a question.”

“One that’s not in the neutral space where we agreed to keep things,” she pointed out, tapping her nails against the table. “Everything just started to get back to normal. Let’s not ruin it, okay?”

He didn’t respond. And this time, his gaze was so intense that Sevyn could barely withstand it. Those bright brown orbs had her stomach clenching with more than just nervousness. Anxiety hit her full force. For a moment, she contemplated calling it quits and leaving.

Breathing deeply, Sevyn attempted to force herself to relax. She only had to max it through an hour to an hour and a half before she was free.

She could do that. They’d known each other for over half their lives. Dinner with him should have been simple. Should have been. And would have been; had there not been an electrifying friction brewing between her thighs since the moment she’d laid eyes on him.

As badly as Sevyn wanted to blame it on her voluntary bout with abstinence, she knew it was more than that. Dallas could easily possess the key to unlocking a lot of feelings she kept buried. Which was why, no matter how many times he attempted to repair the bridge between them, she refused to let him.