She kissed him again, this time on his forehead. “You’re too smart to act stupid. You’re not like those other guys,” she said. “I’ve got to go. Text me when you make it home, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hendrix said, smiling charmingly as he bit his bottom lip.

Hendrix exited and walked around the hood of the car before opening Bella’s passenger door. She stepped out.

“I’ma make you happy one day, Boog,” Hendrix said.

The stars in Bella’s eyes shone brighter than the ones in the night sky. He wrapped his arms around Bella’s waist as hers fastened around his neck.

“I hate when you have to leave,” she said, resting her head on his chest. “I hate every single second between the time you leave and the time you come back.”

“Quit counting the seconds, Boog. Sometimes I might have to be gone. Sometimes you might have to be gone. We gon’ get back, though. Every time,” Hendrix reassured.

“How do you know?” Bella asked.

“Cuz what we got is real, Boog. Ain’t no faking about it. No matter how much time pass, no matter how far you go with school or traveling the world or whatever. I know I might not always be able to keep up, cuz your shot ain’t gon’ always be my shot, but whenever you slow down, whenever you come back, we gon’ get right back,” Henny promised.

“What if we lose touch one day?” Bella asked.

Henny didn’t answer right away because the idea pained him. “We got to make a promise. If we ever go more than two years without talking, we got to meet on New Year’s Eve.”

“Two years!” Bella protested, yelling as she pulled her head back. “Why would we go two years without speaking, Henny?”

“I’m just saying shit happens,” Henny explained.

“Not to us. I can’t see that,” Bella whispered.

“But if it does, Boog. On New Year’s Eve, we got to meet. On the football field at your high school. That’s my word; I’ma show up for you every year until you feel like showing up too.”

He held up his pinkie, a ritual he had gotten from her, an action she had been taught by her father … a symbol more binding than any contract.

“I pinkie swear,” she said.

“A’ight, let me bounce before yo’ daddy wake up,” Henny said, smirking.

Bella reluctantly let go, and her heart ached as she watched him get in his car. He had never turned his car off. He didn’t want the sound of an engine starting to alert Ethic or Alani of his presence. She waved as she watched him pull around the circular driveway. Bella typed the code to the gate into her phone to let him out. Dismay filled her when she saw the red-and-blue lights pull in front of him and block him in.