Lilac: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

“Stop playing, girl. You know I like it when you do that.”

Smiling, I was just getting to the good part of my dream when my eyes drifted open for some reason.

I jumped and screamed like a bitch at the sight of Houston standing over me with no expression whatsoever.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted at him. I’d even startled Rich awake. Weirded the hell out, I clutched the covers to my chest. I couldn’t tell if Houston had been about to stab me or rape me. Rich creeped us both out plenty whenever he had trouble sleeping. Thankfully, it’s been a while since he had an episode.

I’d been a sphincter’s hair from having a wet dream, and strangely, I was okay with that—as long as Braxton was playing a starring role.

“You were talking in your sleep,” Houston announced.

“So you decided to stand over me like you’re Michael fucking Myers?”

“Fuck you. I was coming to wake you up.” Looking like he could barely restrain himself, he took a deep breath and exhaled. “Braxton’s gone.”

Glancing out the window with the curtains drawn since we were so high up, I saw that the sun wasn’t even up yet.

Sucking my teeth, I rolled onto my stomach. Braxton was like a frat boy, keeping late hours and sleeping until noon. No way she was awake yet. I don’t care how mad she was.

It’s too early for this shit.

“She’s sleeping. I’m sleeping. Now leave us both the hell alone,” I mumbled with a face full of pillow.

“Check your phone.” It was all he said before he left the room.

Ignoring him, I concentrated on picking up where my dream had left off. A moment later, I rolled my eyes when I heard Rich grabbing his phone from the nightstand. I was starting to drift off again when I heard his sheets rustling as he got out of bed.

If she’s really gone, I’m going to wring her neck.

“Get up,” Jericho ordered, confirming my worst fears. “Houston wasn’t fucking kidding. Check your texts.”

Heart pounding, I frantically searched the sheets. The last time I recalled having it was before I fell asleep texting her. Not a single message had been delivered since she’d blocked my number. It only gave me the courage to pour my heart out and let loose my anger since I knew she’d never see them.

By the time I found my goddamn phone, Rich had already thrown on a white T-shirt and sneakers since he’d worn basketball shorts to bed. When I finally saw the texts, my reaction was different than Houston and Rich’s.

I smiled.

I loved the balls on this kid.

She wasn’t predictable or needy like Houston and Rich preferred in that order. She made us play the games we liked her way.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I shook my head at the responses Houston and Rich had sent, telling her to bring her ass back. Underneath my excitement, I admit I was pissed too. It wasn’t even five in the morning yet, and she was out there in a strange city alone and in the dark. Not to mention she no longer had the luxury of obscurity. If someone recognized her, who knows what they would do.

The upside to overthinking everything is that you’re smarter than the people who don’t think at all. I knew nothing I said would make her obey. The only way to ensure no one got to her first was to find her as quickly as possible, so I’d play.

We could get our pound of flesh after we found her.

I’d never gotten dressed so quickly in my life. I’d also never stepped foot in public looking quite so disheveled. It was a first for me and yet another reason to return the favor to Brax when I got my hands on hers. I’d take my time unraveling her.

I had my shoes on and met my friends at the door just as they were storming through it.

Ten minutes later, we’d reached the park.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” Rich griped as he stared at the last photo Braxton had sent. She’d been giving us “clues” for which direction to head once I assured her that we were up for the hunt.

I shook my head as I smiled to myself.

She’d really lured us into the city to chase her unruly ass at five in the goddamn morning.

“It’s clearly an arch,” I snapped back. “What else could it be?”

I really wasn’t a morning person.

“But where is it?” Rich questioned, unbothered by my crankiness. He only had his mind on finding Brax.

“How would I know?” I tossed my head toward Houston. “He’s the map.”

Currently, we were standing in front of the Alice in Wonderland statue as the smell of horse shit clung to the air.

I wasn’t an outdoors person either.

And we only had ten minutes tops left to find her.

“There’s something called a Ramble Arch half a mile from here, but she won’t be there. She’s already gone.”

“She hasn’t sent us another clue,” Rich pointed out.

Houston shook his head. “The clues are only meant to point us in her direction. She’s not going to wait around for us to catch up.”

“She had maybe a twenty-minute head start,” I surmised out loud. “How far could she walk in that amount of time?”

The three of us huddled around Houston’s phone as we stared at the map of Central Park. After only a few seconds of trying to guess, I felt more of my patience slipping. “This is pointless. We won’t know for sure which direction she’s gone until she sends another clue.”

Just then, Houston’s phone chimed with another text from Braxton. I hurriedly tapped the banner before it could disappear from the top of his phone.

It was a picture of her standing against the railing of what must have been a bridge. It was still dark, but I could just make out the still water in the lake behind her and the leaves from the trees reflecting on the surface.

“That has to be here,” Houston said, pointing at something called the Bow Bridge.

“There are two directions she could go once she crosses it. I say we haul ass and cut her off here,” I suggested, pointing at Bethesda Terrace.

She was probably expecting us to be off our game and actually retrace her steps. By the time we caught up, even though we were faster, it would be well after sunrise.

Who knows if or when Braxton would give us another shot. I shuddered to think of what other trial she’d feel the unneccssary need to put us through.

“And if she heads in the other direction?” Rich questioned.

“One, it’s why I said we should haul ass. Two, she won’t. She wants us to find her.”

Neither of them wasted time trying to argue. Pocketing his phone, Houston took off for Bethesda Terrace with Rich and I hot on his heels.