Chapter 2 Freakum Dress - Eva Monroe
“Get sexy and be ready for me to pick you up in two hours. Love you. Bye.”
Laughing out loud, I could see her still staring at her phone in disbelief. Tara was more than likely going off on me in her head now, but I knew she would be thanking me later.
Tara was the type of person who was always there when you needed her, and I was going to be there for her regardless of the facade she wore to appear like she was okay.
How could you give a man twelve years of marriage, including two beautiful kids, and be okay when he decided to stick his little bitty penis inside another woman? You don’t.
If nothing else, I wanted my best friend to get out of the house and live her best life. We were far from old, and although we were both mothers, we had a right to be social and live a little bit. We both worked hard, and we deserved to play hard too.
Just like Tara, I was kid free for the weekend because it was my sons’ father’s weekend to get the boys.
Trevor and I didn’t work out as lovers, but when it came to our sons, Egypt and Tyger, we managed to have the whole co-parenting thing together.
Our sons, who were eight and five years old respectively, were two of the reasons we shared for getting out of the bed in the morning.
There was no baby mama and baby daddy drama involved.
I even liked his live-in girlfriend, Vivian.
I appreciated Trevor and the man he was because he was consistent with our sons, and together we were raising two little men who were bound to make us proud.
More or less, we made the whole blended family thing look easy.
Pulling into my driveway, I let the garage up using my opener, pulled in, and shut the car off while letting it back down.
Call me paranoid, but I didn’t want to be a casualty of carbon monoxide poisoning. I always made sure to shut off my car before the garage was fully down, and I waited until the garage was down to get out of the car.
Strutting into the house, the first thing I did was step out of my red bottoms. As a paralegal at Gray’s Law Firm, Shamar Gray, the head honcho in charge, expected us to look the part every time we stepped into the office even if it was a Saturday.
I was used to my feet being confined, but the long day I had encountered warranted several foot massages, and sadly I wasn’t walking into my house to a man awaiting me with a bottle of warm coconut oil, anticipating the moment he got to rub me down from head to toe.
I did my best to be content in my singleness, but I would be lying if I said the softer side of me didn’t long to be in a relationship with a man who catered to me, who I could cater to in return.
Even with my desire for a man’s touch, I wasn’t going to let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry have access to me.
When I made choices regarding my dating life, I kept my sons in mind.
If I didn’t want my son to mimic a man’s behavior, he wasn’t worth my time.
In my opinion, it didn’t get any simpler than that.
When I initially called Tara, I was picking up my food order from Noni’s Soul Food Restaurant, and though the fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens were bound to have me in a food coma, I wasn’t going to allow myself to go there.
Instead of sitting at my kitchen bar with a bottle of Stella Rosa and savoring my food, I opened the container, grabbed a chicken leg, pulled a paper towel from the kitchen roll, and headed in the direction of my bedroom.
I needed to shower and then get dressed. Knowing how I was when I prepared to step out, I knew I would more than likely change three to four times before leaving my house to pick up Tara.
By the time I finished getting ready, I had thirty minutes to spare, and since I lived close to twenty minutes from my best friend, I knew I could benefit by leaving sooner rather than later.
I felt as if I made the perfect decision for the night’s attire, opting for a black and sheer bodysuit and a pair of black thigh high boots to stay on my simple yet grown and sexy frequency.
Although fall was just barely on the horizon, it was a little frigid in North Brooke Port, and I refused to allow the wind and its chill to knock me off my game.
I wasn’t going out with the intention of catching a man, but if I so happened to catch his attention and he happened to be bold enough to speak, I would entertain him if he seemed to be worth my time.
Walking out of my house in the same manner I walked in, I smiled as I pulled out of my driveway.
I may not have had the relationship I wanted, but I was doing damn good with my life by providing a life to Egypt and Tyger my parents only dreamed of providing for me and my sisters. If nothing else, I was proud of me.
We moved into our five-bedroom, four-bathroom house almost three years ago, and the spacious floor plan and large backyard with a decent view of the port were just a few things my little family loved about our home.
I had my mini sanctuary, and the boys each had a bedroom, although most nights Tyger ended up on the bottom bunk in Egypt’s room.
We had a guest bedroom, and I had a home office.
Twenty minutes and an energetic yet ratchet playlist later, I was pulling onto Tara’s driveway, preparing to exit my vehicle and use my emergency key to gain access. In true best friend fashion, we both had a key to each other’s house in case of an emergency and as well for the sake of convenience.
Strutting in her house, my heels melodically tapped against the white and black marble tiles which decorated the foyer and extended walkway of her home.
I was disappointed in how modest Tara was with her request during her divorce from her asshole of an ex-husband, but I was proud for her at least requesting to keep their lavish port front house. Her house was the perfect vacation house, and she was blessed to call it her home.
The custom luxury of her home definitely highlighted the fact she was previously linked to one of the best architects out of North Brooke Port.
Tara should have and could have taken him for everything he had because of his infidelity and their lack of prenuptial agreement.
Why she chose to take the high road, I would never know.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that if I would have been in her shoes, I would have dragged him all around the courtroom and wouldn’t have left until I had everything, including the shirt he walked in the courthouse wearing.
“T, where are you at?” I yelled, making a beeline to her kitchen to grab a bottle of water from her refrigerator.
“I’m in my room!” Tara hollered back in return.
When I arrived in her room, I found her in the exact predicament that I expected to find her in, where she was pacing her closet in nothing more than her bra and panties.
“Is this what we’re doing tonight?” I teased, pointing to her exposed body.
“We both know that I’m not leaving my house like this . I don’t have anything to wear, so go without me, and I’ll raincheck on a girls’ night out.”
I watched her intently as she scrunched up her lightly made-up face in the shape of a pout, and I still wasn’t swayed enough to let her stay in the house like she wanted to.
“Like hell you will take a raincheck. You have a closet full of clothes,” I disputed, pointing around the space which was easily the size of the average bedroom.
Motioning for her to take a seat on the chaise lounge in the corner of her closet, I began to rummage through the various racks to find something befitting for the birthday celebration we were going to.
“What about this?” I questioned more to myself than to Tara, who I had already made a ‘yes’ decision for.
“No, that’s too much,” she objected, viciously shaking her head from side to side.
“Then it’s perfect. Now, go put it on so we can leave.”
Her face twisted up as I proudly held up my choice for her, showcasing the internal battle she was engaged in regarding agreeing with me.
Taking the initiative, I lightly pushed the dress into her possession and turned to go find her a pair of shoes to match from her shoe closet which was previously Jason’s walk-in closet.
Keeping in mind that I was already walking a very thin line with Tara regarding my outfit selection for her, I chose to keep her shoe selection casual instead of going for the six-inch heels calling my name as if they were begging me to make her wear them out of the house.
“Oh, hot mama!” I called out as soon as I walked back into her closet.
The gray bandage dress had her cleavage calling out for attention and solicitation like a companion-wanted advertisement in the classified section in North Brooke Port Times Newspaper.
“I can’t wear this. This isn’t me.”
“Yes, you can, and you will,” I asserted, handing her the black strappy heels in my hand. “Besides, if it wasn’t you, why was it even in your closet?”
“That’s beside the point,” she chastised.
“Eva, look at my hips. They look too wide in this, and my cleavage is out.” Displeasure was evident in her voice, and it was comical, primarily because Tara was the type of person to volunteer for a root canal if it would mean not being forced out of her comfort zone.
“Your dress is giving exactly what it’s supposed to give, and that’s body.
People pay for the hips you are sashaying around with, and don’t get me started on your melons, which the president of the itty-bitty titty committee would gladly embrace,” I teased, pointing to myself and the B-cup sized cleavage I only had because I breastfed two greedy babies.
Instead of continuing her failing trope of fighting me on it, Tara laughed and finally put on her shoes, and when she was finished, we walked out of the house all smiles, ready for our night.
Thankfully, it took us little to no time to get to Club Déjà Vu where the birthday party was being held.
“Eva… Eva Jacobs! Is that you?” a vaguely familiar voice called out as we prepared ourselves to get in the VIP line with the other patrons.
Though the voice sounded reminiscent of one belonging to an old high school associate, I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high until my eyes were able to confirm my suspicion.
Mentally preparing myself to graciously spin around on my heels to put a face to the intriguing voice, I was ready to do my best to act as if I didn’t know he would be at his cousin’s birthday party which was taking place at his brother’s nightclub.
“Zeke Simmons?” I stated in a questioning tone as if I was unsure of his identity while drinking in all his honey-hued glory.
Zeke was the type of man who defined what fine was.
From his freshly twisted dreads which were neatly styled into a manbun, to his perfect sun-kissed skin, chiseled facial features, piercing hazel eyes, tall stature, broad shoulders, and his overall debonair aura, Zeke was a walking fantasy, and he knew it.
“Damn, girl. You still look good enough to eat,” he complimented as he fully stepped into my space, grabbing my hand as if he was claiming me for the night, which I wasn’t completely against.
“Hey, Tarana. It’s been a long time,” he greeted, giving her a side hug.
Tara accepted the hug while looking at me through love blind eyes. I loved how much she wanted love for me, but she was alone in the sentiment. While I longed for love, I’d accepted the fact of never obtaining love aside from the love of my sons, my family, and my small host of friends.
Ironically, I wanted Tara to experience genuine love more than I wanted it for myself. She was such an amazing person and if nothing else, she deserved the love she effortlessly distributed out to the people she came in contact with.
“Y’all, follow me inside. I can’t have y’all waiting outside like you’re regular,” Zeke spoke, pulling me in the direction of the entrance. “Especially you,” he added, low enough for only me to hear.
Following him into the club, I didn’t ask any questions. It was nice to have a man lead me for once, and if only for the night, I was going to enjoy it.