“I know. I know.” She giggles and pulls her locs back from her face, knotting them at the crown of her head. “I’m just excited to see you connecting with someone.” Her smile falters and she licks her lips. “Someone available, I mean.”

“All right. Now you’re vague-booking me.” I give her a wry look. “You weren’t this passive-aggressive in eighth grade. Say what you have to say, Janet.”

She glances around the living room where some people are still talking, but most are packing up and making their way to the door. She tips her head to the kitchen. “Come help me for a sec.”

We walk into the kitchen, which is miraculously empty. She starts putting away covered dishes.

“I know you and Ezra used to have a very special friendship,” she says after a few moments. She leans against the counter and gives me a level look. “But you have to be careful.”

“Careful?” I ask, propping my hip on her island. “How so?”

“You know how so, Kimba. Ezra grew up to be pretty impressive.”

He always impressed me.

“I mean,” she continues, “fine as hell now, obviously. Tall, handsome. The whole thing, and smart as all get-out. And he has a huge heart. Lots of people at school get caught up in how kind he is to them, and I tell them what I’m about to tell you.”

“Which is?”

“He’s not available,” she says flatly, firmly. “Aiko is my friend, and I know they love each other very much. They have a son together. Please be careful. You don’t want to destroy that.”

“It’s been a long time since you and I knew each other, Mona, but I assure you, I didn’t grow up to be a homewrecker.”

“I know,” she says, her eyes wide. “But he has a wife—”

“They’re not married.” I have no idea what prompted me to say that, but I instantly know I shouldn’t have.

Mona’s expression hardens, her glace sharpens. “They may as well be. They’ve been together nearly a decade. Noah’s the center of Ezra’s world. You shouldn’t jeopardize that and you for damn sure should not be holding his hand.”

She’s right. You rarely see a car wreck coming. It happens suddenly, unexpectedly, before you can avoid it.

She’s telling me if I continue down this road, I’ll crash. She’s telling me to slow down. To pull off to the shoulder and let the storm pass.

I could lie to myself and pretend it’s just me, that I’m the only one wrestling with this temptation, but that’s a lie. Ezra has been watching me all night. I feel his eyes on me every time he’s near, and I just want to look back. If I’m not careful, I’ll set us on a collision course that could ruin everything.