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Laughing, he stood and took my hand, leading me out toward the seating area beside the pool. We settled opposite each other, his long legs extended, mine crisscrossed, fuck that bad knees comment.

“Truth or dare?” he asked.

“Truth.”

“Scary ass.”

I scoffed. “Already? I just sat down!”

“When did you first realize you wanted me?”

My mouth fell open. “Damn! That’s your first question?”

“Yep.”

I should have lied. For some reason, I couldn’t. “I knew I was attracted to you the first year.”

His smug expression disappeared. “The first year?”

“Don't get excited.”

“Too late.”

I sighed. “We were working late on that big acquisition deal. You came out of your office with your tie off and your sleeves rolled up. I had brought you food because you’d forgotten to eat.”

“I remember.”

“You told me, ‘See, this why I can’t let your ass leave me.’”

He watched me closely. “And?”

I looked away. “I wondered what you’d do if I told you I didn’t want to leave.”

“Why didn’t you say it?”

“You were in the final throes of your Bria- Zoë drama. No way was I getting caught up in that. And I liked… still like my job, Saadiq. I didn’t want to lose that.”

The silence that followed made my cheeks feel warmer than the night air. My complexion couldn’t hide the red, but we could damn sure ignore it.

“My turn,” I said quickly. “When did you first want me?”

“So, I guess I’m choosing Truth, huh?” he asked.

I just waited expectantly.

This man looked straight at me and said, “Your interview.”

I kissed my teeth. “You lying.”

“Nah. You walked in wearing that little navy suit and some crazy high red-bottoms, crossed them thick-ass legs, and told me the salary I offered was insulting.”

“Saadiq. It was.”

He shot me the same look he had back then. “You had one year’s experience, Apple.”

“And was halfway into a master’s degree!” I snapped.

Saadiq shook his head. “See? Same damn attitude.”