Page 96 of Addicted

“Indie?”

I froze. That voice. I knew that voice. I turned slowly, and my stomach dropped.

Ryan.

He was standing next to our table, looking at me with a confused expression.

Ryan was fine with light brown skin, standing about six feet tall, with a nice build and a clean fade. We’d been fucking casually before everything went down with Stone. Nothing serious. Just sex when we both needed it. But I hadn’t seen or talked to him in months.

“Ryan,” I said, my voice tight. “Hey.”

“Hey?” He frowned. “That’s all you got to say? Where the fuck you been, baby? I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks.”

I could feel Aurora tense beside me. Could feel Troy’s eyes on us from his table. This was bad. Really bad.

“I’ve been... busy,” I said vaguely. “Just dealing with some family stuff.”

Ryan’s frown deepened. “Family stuff? For months? You couldn’t call or text?”

“I lost my phone,” I lied.

“So, get a new one and hit me up,” Ryan said, stepping closer. “I miss you, ma. When you coming through?”

“I’m not,” I said quickly. “I’m... I’m seeing someone now.”

Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. “Seeing someone? Since when?”

“Since a while ago,” I said. “Look, Ryan, it was good seeing you, but I’m having lunch with my friend right now, so—”

“Who is he?” Ryan interrupted. “Do I know him?”

“No,” I said firmly. “And it doesn’t matter. I’m with him now, so we can’t do this anymore.”

Ryan stared at me for a long moment. Then he sighed. “Aight. I respect that.”

Relief flooded through me.

“Thanks,” I said.

Ryan leaned down and kissed me on the cheek before I could stop him.

“Take care of yourself, Indie,” he said. Then he walked away.

I sat there, frozen, my heart pounding.

Aurora leaned over. “Girl, Stone is gonna tear your ass up when he finds out about that.”

I closed my eyes. “I know.”

Because Troy had definitely seen the whole thing, andI knewhe was gonna report it back to Stone.

I was fucked.

I tried to push the Ryan encounter out of my mind and enjoy the rest of the day with Aurora.

We finished lunch, then did some light shopping. Hit up a few stores, bought some cute clothes and accessories. Stone had given me thick bands of cash before we left, and I made sure to spoil Aurora.

By the time we were done, it was late afternoon. Javion and Troy drove us back to Aurora’s apartment, and I walked her up to her door.