Chapter 4
Dyani
I took a step back and nodded as the mover set my new couch down. I tilted my head one way then the other.
“Can you move it a little bit more to the right?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
I watched them shift it and nodded.
“It looks great. Thank you!” I clapped and bounced on the balls of my feet.
I was getting more excited with each piece of furniture and box being moved into my place.
I couldn’t wait to officially be on my own.
As much as I enjoyed the time I was spending with Darryl, being in my own apartment for the first time in my entire life was exciting and I was looking forward to having my own space and decorating.
I moved boxes to their respective rooms while the movers headed back downstairs to get the other couch and the rest of my bedroom set.
I let them get all the large furniture inside while I grabbed the little things like lamps and storage sets. Then I gave them water and a nice tip when they finished.
As soon as they left, I got to work unpacking boxes in the bathroom and kitchen before collapsing onto my new couch to check my phone.
I hadn’t gotten connected to an art agency in the area just yet but I’d been able to find independent work for a few people looking for specific art pieces.
Thankfully, my old connections in the art space still fucked with me so I wasn’t really struggling to find what I was looking for, or at least leads that could get me to what I was looking for.
Illiana was one of the people I’d linked up with through business and she had actually relocated to Diamond Falls only two years prior. I reached out to her the night I decided I would be staying and she’d gotten back to me the same night.
We’d been texting back and forth sporadically ever since.
I checked my emails first, responded to the few I had, then went to my text messages. I danced slightly in my seat when I saw that she had, in fact, responded to me and let me know she had a client trying to sell a piece on my wish list.
I responded to her text and she called me almost immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hey! Sorry to just call you randomly but they’re somewhat in a rush, so let me know what price they’re looking for and the timeline they’re hoping to have everything taken care of by.”
“Alright. Let me call you right back.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up with Illiana and quickly called my client to set everything up and lock in a date, time, and price for money to swap hands and art to be validated and handed over.
When Illiana and I finished calling each other and our clients back and forth, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me.
I let out a long exhale.
“Thank you for putting a rush on all of this,” she said.
“Of course. Thank you for thinking of me to even get this deal done. I’m not about to be on the streets or anything tomorrow but I’m not going to lie. I’m thankful for the money in my pocket.”
“And you deserve every cent,” she assured me. “How are you liking Diamond Falls so far anyway?”
“It’s hard to tell,” I admitted. “I haven’t done much except hang out with my brother, furniture shop, and try to get a feel for the art scene out here.”
“Seriously?” Illiana scoffed. “I feel like we should correct that.”
“Sure. When?”
“An hour?”
“What?” I giggled.
“We just closed a deal and we should celebrate. I know this nice bar in town. It isn’t super dressy or anything but it’s not trashy either. They have live music and really good food if we plan on getting real drunk instead of just toasting some wine.”
“I’m just moving into my apartment and there are boxes everywhere. I really shouldn’t be going out and getting crazy tonight.”
“Nobody said anything about getting crazy,” Illiana argued. “It’ll just be two friends catching up over celebratory wine or champagne. Consider it me welcoming you to town. It’ll be fun.”
I looked around at my scattered boxes and sighed.
“I’m not trying to get drunk, Illiana.” I made that clear.
“And that’s fine. So, I’ll see you in an hour, right?”
I exhaled.
“Yeah. You’ll see me in an hour. Just send me the address.”
“Alright. Great. I’ll see you then.”
Illiana hung up and I tossed my phone on the couch beside me. I let my head fall backward and took a few deep breaths before forcing myself up and quickly getting ready to meet up with Illiana.
I took another drink from my wine glass and let out an obnoxious laugh that I just knew was a tell-tale sign I was feeling the alcohol I’d drank. I had more than I thought I would.
Illiana reached over and smacked my arm as she joined me in my loud laugh.
“I’m so glad you got me to come out,” I said for what had to be the fifth time at least.
I was aware of what I was saying but for some reason I felt like I couldn’t stop the words from just falling out of my mouth.
I was one of those drunk people. I yapped when liquor got in my system and it didn’t even matter about what or to who.
Word vomit was real. The worst part was that I was aware of everything I was saying and there was a good chance I’d remember it in the morning.
I just couldn’t filter my thoughts fast enough to stop the words from spewing out.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come out,” Illiana said, just as happily.
We smiled at each other in an alcohol-induced euphoria for several moments before my phone started ringing. I glanced at the screen. It was Darryl. I flipped it face down and took the rest of my wine down in one large gulp.
“You don’t want to get that?” Illiana asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all.”
The ringing stopped. Then it started again less than a minute later. I muted my phone but didn’t answer. As soon as Darryl heard my voice, he’d know I was drunk. While I didn’t have to hide anything from him because I was grown, I wasn’t ready to deal with the hundred questions he’d ask.
“Are you sure?” Illiana laughed.
“I’m positive. It’s just my brother.” I shrugged. “And whew, speaking of my brother. He has this one friend, and girl, he is so damn fine it’s insane. I’m not even kidding.”
“Ohhhh.” Illiana sat up in her seat and leaned forward. “Do you have a picture or social media or something?”
I thought about it.
“No?” I shrugged again. “He’s cute though.”
“So, what’s going on? Are you going to…?” She bit her bottom lip and started moving her hips.
I laughed.
“Probably not.”
“Dyani,” she said and gave me a look. “You just said he was fine.”
“He is!” I assured her. “But I don’t need to sleep with every man I think is fine. Plus, he’s one of my brother’s friends and Darryl would lose his mind if he found out I was sleeping with one of his friends, especially this one.”
“Girl, please do not piss me off,” she laughed, ”You do not need Darryl’s permission for a night of fun. What he does not know will not hurt him.”
I pursed my lips and sat back in the booth while I thought about Illiana’s words. I thought Arris was fine from the moment I’d seen him, but hadn’t even thought about sleeping with him until this moment. Now that I was, the thought was a nice one. The man was fine.
“So, you think I should maybe flirt a little?” I asked quietly, or at least as quietly as I could while still tipsy.
“Flirt? Fuck no. I think you should call that man and get some.” She smirked.
“You had a great day. We had nice drinks. Now, you should call that man and let him put you to sleep. Then tomorrow, after y’all wake up in the morning, he can put your new furniture up while you watch.
” She nodded. “Yeah. Go ahead and call him. That’s the plan right there. ”
I giggled but flipped my phone back over. Illiana was right. That sounded like an amazing idea.
I pulled my phone out and went to Arris’s contact. Then a sprinkle of common sense seemed to hit my brain and I set it down.
“I can’t just call that man to hook up.”
“You can.” Illiana hopped up and rounded the table. “Scoot over.” She slipped beside me in the booth. “Call him.”
“I can’t.”
“Call him.”
“I can’t,” I argued.
“Girl.” Illiana reached down, tapped his contact, and pressed the call button.
My mouth fell open when it started to ring. I reached for the phone but Illiana grabbed it and held it to her ear.
“Hang up the phone.” I tried to reach for it but she extended her elbow to block me and switched the phone to her other ear.
“Hello?” she sang. “Hi. Is this Arris? I’m here with Dyani and she wants you to know that she thinks you’re fine as fuck and she wants to bounce on your—”
I cut her off by elbowing her in her side. Hard. She gasped slightly and I reached over, snatched my phone, and put it to my ear.
“Hello?” I cleared my throat.
“What’s up?”
“I didn’t say that,” I blurted.
Arris chucked. “Oh. You didn’t? For real?”
“I just said you were attractive.”
“She said fine as fuck!” Illiana corrected me loudly.
I cleared my throat again. Arris laughed.
“You good?”
“Yeah.” I nodded as if he could see me.
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
“So, you’re just talking about me with your friends now?”
“I uhm…” I paused while I tried to think of something to say. “Illiana is thinking about getting a tattoo!” I blurted. “I was just recommending you.”
“You’ve never seen me tattoo.”
“But I trust you.”
“Yeah, alright.” Arris snickered. “What is she thinking about getting?”
“What are you thinking about getting again, Illiana?” I turned toward her.
She shrugged. I gave her a look. A moment passed, then another. A smile slowly crossed her face.
“A butterfly,” she said. “I was thinking a butterfly on the back of my shoulder. Ask him if he has any openings tonight?”
My mouth opened but I didn’t get a chance to say anything to her or him.
“I can hear her and I can take her if y’all want to do a quick walk-in,” Arris said. “It shouldn’t take too long and I don’t have anything scheduled.”
“Okay. We’ll drop by,” I said simply.
“Alright. I’ll send you the info of the shop I’m at tonight.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
I hung up quickly. Illiana broke into a fit of giggles. I cut my eyes at her.