Free Can't Let Go - A Contemporary BWWM Romance by Shayla Harris Page A

me,” he said. “A guy at work owed me a favor.”

 
    “How
nice,” I said. I wondered if he did it because he wanted to spend more time
with me.

 
    “Do
you like college basketball?” he asked.

 
    “Um,
it’s okay,” I said. So that’s what it was about. He wanted to watch basketball
games all weekend. I dared not tell him that I loathed sports. I’d never really
gotten into them, and watching them on T.V. was pure torture to me.

 
    The
only times I’d ever enjoyed watching sports was when I had to accompany my
parents to one of Preston or Alston’s games. I could get into it when I knew
the players. I probably couldn’t name a single current college athlete to save
my life.

 
    “It’s
okay if you don’t,” he said with a chuckle. He was particularly perceptive that
day.

 
    I
sat, bored out of my mind, and tried my hardest to pay attention to the game.
My mind would wander every so often, and I couldn’t help but think about what
Antoine and Ayla were doing that Saturday.

 
    When
I dated Antoine, Saturdays were spent either hiking or riding our bikes or
laying around in our sweats reading good books. We were inseparable, and he was
always up for whatever. He wasn’t a sports nut, so our activities never had to
revolve around which games were on. I missed that.

 
    “So
do you see Ayla Giovanni much?” I asked without thinking. I couldn’t help
myself. They were at the forefront of my mind in that moment and knowing that
they were neighbors, the question didn’t seem too out of line.

 
    “What?”
he said as he paused the game and turned towards me. He was probably confused
as hell.

 
    “Living
right across from her,” I said. “She’s practically famous.”

 
    He
scrunched his face and shifted a bit in his seat. My question clearly made him
uncomfortable and I didn’t understand why.

 
    “I
guess I see her sometimes,” he said. “Why?”

 
    “I
just think it’s cool that you live by her,” I said. Good bluff, I told myself.
“I watch her on the news all the time to see what she’s wearing.”

 
    He
laughed. He probably thought I was a typical girl.

 
    “Do
you ever talk to her or anything?” I asked.

 
    I
could tell he wanted to get back to his game. I felt like I was annoying him.

 
    “Um,
just casually I guess,” he said. He raised his remote and started the game back
up.

 
    “I
just found out that my boss is her stepmom,” I said.

 
    “Julianne
is your boss?” he asked as he turned towards me.

 
    I
furrowed my brows. “How do you know Julianne?”

 
    “Oh,”
he said as he stalled a bit. “Um.”

 
    He
picked up the remote and paused the game again. He was totally trying to buy
time.

 
    “I
helped them move some things when she first moved in,” he said. “I met her
family then. Her stepmom was really nice and brought me dinner. I guess I just
remember her from that.”

 
    “Oh,
okay,” I said. It made sense, but I wasn’t so sure I was buying what he was
trying to sell. If he hadn’t acted so weird about it, it might have been more
believable.

 
    He
resumed his game and fast forwarded through the
commercials, and I’d decided to officially end all talk about Ayla Giovanni for
the time being. I never expected to get that sort of a weird reaction from him,
and now it was going to bother me.

 
    “Hey,”
I said. “I have a favor to ask of you. And you can say no. It’s not a huge
deal.”

 
    “Okay,
sure,” he said, though his eyes remained glued to the game.

 
    “I
have this stupid little work party coming up,” I said. “It’s like an awards
banquet. Attendance is mandatory, but there’s awesome catering and free drinks.
Would you maybe want to go with me?”

 
    He
turned towards me and smiled. “Sure, why not.”

 
    “Really?”
I was shocked that it was that simple with him. He didn’t even have to give it
a second thought.

 
    “You
had me at free food and