Page 45 of In a Perfect World

“If the worst happens and...and this is made public, then I’d do my best to minimize their exposure,” I told him.“I mean, they really don’t know anything, which is the truth.”

“You’re going to hate me, but I need to ask anyway,” he said.

“Okay, ask away.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that she might blame the Black man if you guys get caught?”

“No,” I answered, and if there was one thing that I was certain of, it was that.“When we first met, her biggest concern was for me.She was worried that I’d get in trouble for her getting lost, and that’s what drew me to her to begin with.She hadn’t viewed me as a threat because of the color of my skin, and if there’s one thing that I know in my heart, it’s that she’d never throw me to the wolves to save herself.”

“Okay,” he finally relented.“But can you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Text me as much as you can while you’re...you’re ‘camping’,” he answered.“Just let me know that everything’s okay until you guys come back on Monday.”

“I can do that,” I said, grinning.“That’s one thing that I can definitely do.”

“So, when are you guys supposed to leave?”

“Tomorrow morning,” I answered.“Before the sun comes up.”

Winston shook his head again.“Jesus Christ.”

“It’ll be okay, Winston,” I said again.“I promise you that I know what I’m doing.”

“Famous last words,” he chuckled, though the sound held no humor.

I stood up, and when he stood up with me, we gave each other one of those man hugs before I left his house, on my way to start packing for our ‘getaway’.

Now, did I feel bad that I was leading Triana on?Yes.I knew that she was going to be terribly disappointed when things didn’t work out, but there was no avoiding that.As for our relationship, I didn’t see why we couldn’t continue like before until I submitted the paperwork to be with her.Yeah, we’d have to move to Blooming Heights, but I was okay with that as long as Triana was with me.

Truth be told, if we approached this as a military couple, it would probably help us get through the lonely times.Yeah, deployed servicemen eventually came home, but that’s what our time at the creek would be for us.I was willing to put in the work if she was, and if she was willing to run off to Mexico with me, then there was no doubt that Triana was willing to do whatever it took to be together.

When I finally got home, I called Dallas, then gave him some story about going camping for the weekend, and like the asshole that he was, he just warned me not to get eaten by a bear, and family really was everything.

Chapter 23