Chapter 13
Charly
Ipoured a half ounce of simple syrup into the mixing glass, three-quarters of an ounce into the whiskey glass for the whiskey sour, and the same amount for the daiquiri, and then a half ounce for the margarita.
I listened as my customer in front of me chatted about whether she should break up with her boyfriend, and giggled when her best friend told her to keep him around to stay in his pockets while she screwed his best friend.
What I didn’t say was that she’d better watch out, because her best friend might be screwing her man if she could dish out that advice so easily. I’d seen that and so much worse than that working at the bar.
I poured lime juice into the glasses for the daiquiri and margarita, and then I poured some lemon juice into the glass for the whiskey sour.
“What do you think, Charly? Should she keep her man and fuck his best friend on the side?”
“Why would she do that?” I asked as I poured two dashes of angostura bitters into the old-fashioned and the whiskey sour.
“Because he’s cheating on her,” the best friend answered.
“We haven’t found out who yet, but I did find the receipts for several hotel rooms over the last few months, lingerie, flowers, restaurants he’s never taken me to, and sex toys.”
“And you’re sure that some of those items weren’t for you?” I asked.
“Trust me, I’d know. This has been going on for a while now, and I haven’t seen any of this stuff,” the woman declared.
I poured bourbon for the old-fashioned and the whiskey sour before grabbing the tequila for the margarita, and then some Cointreau.
“Have you tried confronting him with the receipts and asking him about it?”
She shrugged and replied, “I know he’ll lie. He’s a lying ass. He’s gonna probably say something like that was for his boy’s girl, and he let him use his card, or some of that stuff was for his mama. He won’t keep it real.”
“Sounds like you’ve got choices to make,” I stated.
“See!” the best friend exclaimed.
I added two ounces of white rum to the daiquiri. I added some ice to the old-fashioned and then added ice to the others before I began to stir or shake accordingly.
“Listen, I’m not telling you to mess with both of them.
I’m saying that you have decisions to make, and you need to understand that no matter what the decision is, it comes with consequences.
Messing with your man and his best friend can turn deadly for everyone involved, I’m not gon’ lie.
Now, I know bestie has your best interest at heart, but right now, y’all are both a little tipsy,” I stated, pinching my thumb and index fingers together.
“So right now might not be the best time to make serious decisions like that. I say sleep on it and decide if you’re gonna stay with your man or leave his ass and find someone new.
Either way, his best friend shouldn’t be an option.
That’s just my two cents, and y’all didn’t even have to pay me for it,” I declared as I passed their drinks to them and served my other customers.
“I’m gonna pay you for your two cents, sis. ’Cause it was damn sure worth it and then some. This heffa ’bout to get everybody killed.” The woman slurred as she placed a twenty-dollar bill on the bar top.
I pulled the money toward me and smiled. “Thanks, sis,” I replied and winked. The best friend twisted her lips and drank her cocktail before she slid off her barstool and started dancing.
The advice that I had given the woman resounded in my head as I thought about my own situation.
I should’ve been seeking advice before I so eagerly jumped into bed with Dom, but I hadn’t.
I didn’t want anyone to tell me that it was wrong or that I shouldn’t do it, because it was what I wanted to do.
I would double down on that shit, too, because I was satisfied with my decision.
I wasn’t sure when, but I would put my big girl panties on and face the music.
I already knew that Ramon would give me hell when he found out about it, but I wasn’t worried.
I only prayed that Dom’s family didn’t turn on him because of our decision.
I knew that I needed to tell my family first before we told his. I needed to know that I had their support before confronting Dom’s family. Knowing that someone had our backs would make it easier to face the firing squad that was his family.
I thought about that the rest of the night as I finished my shift.
I grabbed my things from the locker room and headed out of the club.
My back ached, and my feet were tired as I made it to the parking lot.
Frost had a policy in place that we were to be escorted to our cars, but the club was jumping tonight, and the security team was busy all over the place.
I was sleepy and didn’t feel like waiting for a member of the security team to be free. It was two in the morning, but I didn’t have far to walk to get to my car. The staff parking lot was in the rear of the club.
I was almost at my car when I felt a hand on my shoulder, jerking me around. My heart leapt to my throat, and I cursed myself for leaving my gun in the car and not having my knife ready. It was buried deep in my purse.
“It’s time you brought your ass home, Charly.”
“Ramon! What are you doing here?” I asked as my heart tried to regulate back to its regular rhythm once my eyes rested on him.
“The question is, when are you going to stop playing these games?”
I tried jerking away from him, but he only tightened his grip on me.
“Your house isn’t my home, and I’m not playing games, Ramon.
You got out of hand with putting your hands on me, and I always knew that it was only going to escalate from there.
I’m not staying around until you put me in a body bag. It’s over between us.”
“Charlyse, you’re being unreasonable. We’ve put too much time into this for you to just walk away over a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding, Ramon? You’ve lost your damn mind! Not taking the ground turkey out for dinner because you thought we were eating out is a misunderstanding. You placing your hands on me and beating my ass because you thought I was screwing your brother is not a misunderstanding.”
He laughed and gripped my chin tightly before he pressed his nose against mine.
“Your li’l ass ran to his house to escape.
I’m not stupid. I’ve seen your car parked outside his apartment.
This little inappropriate friendship y’all had all these years is over.
Now, I said that’s enough of that shit, and it’s time to come home before I start thinking you’re fucking him for real. ”
“Let me go!” I shouted and tried to pull away again.
“I’m not doing shit! I swear you’re not about to make a fool out of me with my brother. You’re coming home. Your ass ain’t coming out again until you learn how to behave.”
He snatched my arm, and in my struggle to get away, I fell.
That didn’t stop Ramon. He grabbed me from the ground and lifted me over his shoulder as he stormed across the parking lot to where his car was parked a few feet away from mine.
I kicked, beat him in his back, and screamed, knowing that no one could hear me in the parking lot.
The club was packed, and the music was loud.
I prayed that someone in the customer parking lot on the other side of the building might hear me, but that was futile.
“Let me go!” The closer we got to his car, the more I knew that I was in trouble. I wasn’t sure what Ramon’s crazy ass might do to me or how I might escape. The only thing that I knew was that I could not get into his car with him.
The rumble that I heard sounded like thunder, but I knew that it wasn’t.
I prayed with all my might that the sound was coming in my direction.
Just as he fumbled with his key to unlock his doors, I bit him in the back.
That only served to anger him as he jumped and screamed, “Ouch! What the hell is wrong with you? You think I’m about to lose you to my brother?
I love you, Charly, and you’re going to work this shit out with me. ”
“There’s nothing to work out, Ramon,” I cried out as he released me. I turned to run away, but he grabbed me back and pinned me against his car.
“Please don’t leave me, Char. I know that what I did was fucked up, and I’ve got a drinking problem. I swear, baby, I’ll get help. Just give me another chance, please.”
The rumbling came to a stop. “No, Ramon. We never should have been together to begin with. I’m sorry if you felt like I used you.
Maybe I did. I’ve been thinking about that a lot since I’ve been gone.
I think that we used each other. For that, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to compound the mistake by returning to you. ”
His gaze swung away from me, and I already knew who he was looking at. I turned my gaze to see Dominic storming toward us.
“Everything good?” he asked with a snarl and a mug on his face as he stared his brother down.
“Yes, Dom. Everything’s good.”
“What part of stay the fuck away from her don’t you get, big bro?”
Ramon dragged his hand down his face and shook his head. “Feel however you want, Dom, but I spent two years of my life with this girl when you weren’t here.”
“Because I was sitting down for your bitch ass.”
“Don’t matter. I held her down when you couldn’t.”
“That’s the story you wanna run with, nigga?”
Ramon shrugged. “It’s the story that’s true.”
Dominic shoved his brother. “Nah, you took advantage of her, put ya muthafuckin’ hands on her, and became the biggest threat to her survival when ya ass was supposed to be protecting her!” he shouted, shoving Ramon again.
“Nobody asked your ass to take that charge for me!” Ramon shouted as spit flew from his mouth.
Dominic’s eyes narrowed, and I could see the hurt and anger there. “All right, guys, that’s enough. Let’s chill out for the night. Maybe you two can talk about this when you’re not both upset,” I stated, jumping between them.
The pressure of testosterone in the air felt like the pressure that settles over the Earth before a furious storm. “Please,” I pleaded, staring into Dominic’s eyes. Getting through to him was my only hope because Ramon had never listened to or respected me like that.
Dominic’s chest rose and fell heavily as he continued staring at his brother. “I swear if I didn’t love your dumb ass, I’d fuck you up right here!” Dominic swore.
Ramon scoffed. “Fuck y’all. Neither one of you is worth shit,” he declared, turning and walking back to the driver’s door.
I placed my hands in the center of Dominic’s chest. “Please, baby. Just calm down for the night.”
For the first time since he arrived, he looked at me, and then he pulled me into his arms and held me.
“What did he want with you?”
“He wanted me to come back home. He said that he knew I’d been at your place because he’d been by there and seen my car there.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Just that things were over between him and me. He said that he thought I might be fucking you. But I didn’t confirm or deny that statement. I didn’t acknowledge it at all because I thought it might make matters worse.”
“Yeah,” he grumbled hoarsely.
I pulled back and stared up into Dominic’s angry brown glare. “Hey,” I stated softly, gripping his face in my hands. I turned his head so that he could meet my gaze. “Please don’t think that I’m trying to deny you or that I’m ashamed of you.”
“I don’t think that, Char.”
“What do you think?”
“That I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to crush you, baby girl. And I’m just as capable of doing that as my brother is.”
“You have never put your hands on me in your life, Dominic.”
“And I never plan to do it. That’s not shit that you have to worry about.”
“Then how could you possibly hurt me?”
He gazed down at me. “By not being the man you thought that I was, or the man that you need me to be.”
“I simply want you to be the man you are. You have nothing to prove to me, baby. I have known you almost all our lives,” I stated with a nervous giggle. “I know the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I love them all.”
“Shiidd, ain’t nothing ugly about me. I’m a sexy muthafucka,” he joked with a sad smile.
I smiled, grateful that he felt good enough to tease me. “That you are indeed.”
“I love you, Charly. I love you with my whole muthafuckin’ heart and chest, girl.”
“I know that you do.”
“Just want you to be good and to be happy. And I want to make sure that I’m the one making you feel that way. I don’t want this bullshit to tear us down or wear us down. All I want is to protect you and to protect what we have and what we’re building.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I whispered with my head against his chest. “Everything will be fine.” I prayed that I was right.