Chapter 1 #3
“I’m Eve,” I half-lied. Eve was part of my name, so it wasn’t an awful fib.
Lyric’s sniggering nearly caused me to break the seriousness of my gaze, but I remained straight-faced as I accepted his hand in mine.
The softness of his skin reminded me of my own.
Except he was darker and aged a bit more.
Looking at his handsome face, I’d give him about seven or eight years my senior. So, approximately thirty-eight.
“Nice to meet you. Mind if I buy you a drink?”
“Only if it doesn’t come with your company. As much as I’d love to hang another time, tonight is special to my friend and me. I’m not looking for a third wheel, tonight,” I explained, happily speaking up for myself for once.
Those days of not saying exactly what was on my mind, setting clear boundaries, and telling them what I wanted when it came to a man were over.
Dewayne had ruined me for the rest of them.
From day one, I wanted to be as assertive as my thoughts and heart required to save myself from heartache and pain in the end.
“That’s cool. I’m not trying to stop your shine, love. I just wanted to make sure we connected before either of us got on our level. But since we’re cutting straight to the chase, do you mind if we keep in contact?”
“I don’t,” I admitted, admiring him from my chair.
The dark denim and tee to match were suiting. The clear glasses with the gold rim revealed the truth. They were part of his attire. He didn’t need them to see. They were cute, in general and on his face.
“Then lock your number in, and I’ll leave you two ladies to your fun,” he told me as he handed me his phone.
“I’m Ever, by the way,” I folded, unable to keep the lie going.
I didn’t have it in me to do so. Lyric would clown me for it later, but I could stand the heat. Lying had always been hard for me, which is why I preferred not to if I could help it. Even harmless lies got my panties in a bunch.
“Damn, you hit me with the fake name.” Cedric chuckled as he dropped his head to count the money he’d pulled from his pocket.
“Kind of, but I mean, my name does have Eve in it.”
I shrugged while returning his phone. Simultaneously, he was handing me two crisp hundred-dollar bills. I wasn’t sure why, so I looked to him for an explanation.
“Tonight is on me. If you guys need more, just holler at me. I’m in the section near the bar. You can’t miss me.”
When I looked in the direction where he was pointing, I nodded.
He was right. I couldn’t miss him. He was in the section that wrapped around the corner.
It was the largest of the few the lounge offered.
Lyric and I had only grabbed a small booth for seventy-five.
Anyone that wasn’t in a booth or section were left to stand in the free space throughout the lounge.
There was a lot of it, leaving it spacious without feeling overcrowded.
“You don’t have—" I started but felt Lyric kick me underneath the table. “Thank you, Cedric.”
“No problem, Ever.”
He left our booth without more being said. I didn’t even care to look in Lyric’s direction because I knew she was wearing a dirty little smirk. After staring ahead and the smile bursting from my seams, I snapped my neck in her direction.
“What?” I knew she was staring at me.
“Okaaaaaay! I see you!” she chanted. “Just make sure you never turn down a man’s offer to give you free money while you’re in front of me.”
“Coming from a relationship where a man controlled you with this very thing…” I held up the money for emphasis before continuing. “You’re pretty hesitant to accept it, knowing how much pain and time it cost you.”
Lyric didn’t respond. She simply nodded her head to let me know she understood.
Dewayne had used my lack of finances and his abundance of cash to keep me gagged and bound to our relationship.
It was the sole reason I’d stayed as long as I had.
I didn’t have anything. Barely a dime to my name.
He only gave me enough money to pay bills, and he knew how much each of them cost. Whenever anything more was needed in our home, he made me use his debit card.
In a full year, I’d only been able to save four hundred dollars and that was not from his pockets.
It was from birthday gifts that I’d returned and small amounts of cash that fell from birthday cards for the girls’ birthdays.
Technically, not even that money was mine.
It was theirs. We didn’t want for anything, but Dewayne never gave a red cent extra when paying.
The night continued without flaw. My two-drink limit was increased substantially, being the reason I handed the waitress the two hundred dollars with wobbly hands when it was time to pay our tab. Three drinks, two shots, and a hookah, which neither me nor Lyric had ever smoked in our lives.
Cedric had sent it over shortly after our food arrived after first offering marijuana to smoke. We politely declined but accepted the hookah after the waitress demonstrated how it was to be used.
“We don’t need any change,” I told her.
“It’s literally more than two hundred dollars, Ever. Ain’t no change.” Lyric laughed hysterically.
Trying to catch my breath, I zeroed in on the ticket and realized the tab was two hundred and twenty-four dollars.
Not only was there not any change, but I hadn’t given her enough.
My eyes darted around the lounge in search of Cedric, but his handsome face had disappeared from the section he’d been in all night.
“He told me he’ll handle the rest,” the waitress informed me as she placed a hand on my shoulder to calm my racing heart.
Sighing with relief, I looked at her and nodded. “Thanks. Make sure that he tips you well.”
“He will,” she stated as a matter of fact, letting me know she knew something about Cedric that I didn’t.
“You ready?” Lyric asked, still sniggering.
“I’m ready. Are you sober enough to drive?”
“When I get behind the wheel, I’m about as sober as sober gets. I don’t play with my life. I can’t. My brothers would kill me again if I killed myself and broke their hearts like that.”
Hearing Lyric mention her brothers made my heart warm.
She was the youngest of her siblings and though she hardly talked about them, I knew she loved them and vice versa.
As I thought more about their closeness, I realized why I’d never heard anything about her oldest brother.
He wasn’t around so there wasn’t anything to say about him.
“And, my babies wouldn’t let me rest in peace, so get us to the room safely!”
My phone displayed four missed calls from a blocked number once I tapped the screen to see what time it was.
Dewayne had yet to get the point and was still trying to figure out where I’d gone with the girls.
I made a mental note to change my cell number as soon as I got the chance.
I had yet to, but I would. I’d had the same number for so many years, it would be hard letting it go, but I knew it was necessary.
“We were supposed to be back by two,” I reminded Lyric. “It’s almost four in the morning, Lyric.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” she responded with a shrug as we got situated in her truck.
“It does,” I agreed, resting my head on the passenger seat.