One #2
After I left Sierra and Stephen's house I was too pissed to go home so I went to the next best place. My favorite bar, Ace’s.
I loved this bar. Ace was like that friend you hung out with in passing but didn’t really know.
We’d been around each other plenty of times over the years because of Kel, but I couldn’t tell you shit about that man outside of the obvious.
His name was Ace Davis. He owned my favorite bar. And he was fine as fuck. Oh and he and my ex had been best friends since they were kids. That was about it.
I’d spent so many nights at Ace’s getting drunk after my breakup with Kel that the bartenders knew my usual and put my order in without asking.
A round of lemon drop flights and a ten-piece hot lemon pepper wet, all flats, extra crispy, with fries.
And one thing about Ace’s? The food and drinks never missed.
I popped another wing into my mouth before reaching for the second lemon drop in front of me. Four days. I had four damn days to find a nigga willing to get on a plane with me and spend seven days in Cancún.
The problem wasn’t finding somebody willing to go. I was a beautiful woman offering a free stay at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. I could probably stand outside with a cardboard sign and have applications by midnight.
The problem was finding somebody I actually wanted there. I didn’t want some random nigga. Seven days was a long time to be stuck with somebody you didn’t really like or know. I needed somebody single, fine, and funny enough that I wouldn’t get tired of talking to him by day three.
He also had to be independent enough that he wouldn’t come home thinking we were going to be anything because we shared a hotel room. And, if I was being completely honest, the dick needed to be good enough that I wouldn’t mind spending seven days getting my guts rearranged.
I might as well enjoy the vacation. I picked up another lemon drop and tossed it back. “Okay,” I mumbled to myself. “Who we got?”
I unlocked my phone. My contacts were empty. It wasn't because I didn’t know any men. I knew plenty. I just didn’t know many I wanted to voluntarily take out of the country. I scrolled until I landed on the first possibility.
There was Undre. He was fine, single, had a good job, nice body, and the dick was decent. It wasn't go to Mexico with him decent but it was okay. Dre had one major problem. That nigga talked too fucking much. He would have everybody at Sierra’s wedding knowing too damn much.
I thought about Chris. But I quickly changed my mind. The sex was good, but Chris had called me his future wife after our third date. And that was why we hadn’t even made it to a fourth. The nigga was insane.
Next, there was Jalen. Jalen had potential.
Fine as hell. Six-two. Beard. No kids. Owned his own house.
We had hooked up a few times after Kel and I broke up, and as far as I knew, he was still single.
Last time I saw him, he’d asked to borrow two hundred dollars until payday.
You know what nope. Nevermind I whispered.
"That nigga would embarrass me in the airport because he wouldn't be able to afford his bags... "
“Talking to yourself now?”
I looked up at Bri, one of the bartenders. “Mind your business Bri.”
She chuckled as she grabbed my empty glasses. “I’m just making sure you good.”
“I’m fantastic.”
“You’re sitting here scrolling through your contacts saying nope out loud.”
“I’m conducting research.”
“Oh. What kind of research?”
“Dick research.” She froze. And then we both started laughing.
"I know that's right," she said giggling while walking away. I went back to my phone. This was going to be harder than I thought.
Maybe Sierra was right. Maybe I didn’t need a date for her wedding. I could go to Cancún by myself, look good as fuck, drink margaritas, celebrate my best friend, and ignore Markel and Tiana the entire week.
That was the mature thing to do. I reached for another lemon drop. Fuck maturity. I wanted a date. A good one. I wanted a man who looked good enough beside me that nobody would even think to ask whether I cared about Markel. Petty? Maybe. Did I give a damn? Not even a little bit.
“Bri.” The bartender looked over. “Get me another round.”
“You sure?”
I frowned. “Why are you asking me that today?”
“Because you’re drinking them like juice today.”
“I mean lemon drops basically are juice.”
“No, they aren't.”
“Another round, please.”
She stared at me for a second before reaching for the shaker. I smiled and went back to my phone. By the time the next flight appeared, I’d eliminated damn near every man I’d slept with in the last two years. Which was humbling. Maybe I needed to make better choices.
That would have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I had a problem to solve. I glanced around the bar, maybe the answer wasn’t already in my phone. Ace’s wasn’t a club. That was one of the reasons I liked it. It had that grown vibe. Low lighting, good music, and great food.
And tonight, there were men everywhere. I slowly turned on my stool. Okay, maybe one of these niggas could work. There was a man at the end of the bar in a suit. He was fine. He had a bald head but he was fine until I seen the wedding-ring tan line.
I kept looking until I noticed a man sitting alone in a booth. He was cute then he stood up. Yikes. Five-six on a good day. I turned right back around. Because he was a big hell no for me. There was no way I could take a man to the wedding who would be shorter than me.
“Kema.”
I ignored whoever called my name.
“Kema.”
I tried to continue ignoring them but I felt a hand touch my wrist in front of me. The person slid my newest lemon drop away. My head snapped up. “What the fuck?”
“That’s enough.”
I knew that voice. I slowly looked to my right to find Ace Davis. He was on the other side of the bar staring at me. And for some reason, I forgot what the hell I was about to say. Maybe because I had never really looked at Ace before.
Not like this. I mean I’d seen him plenty of times.
At cookouts. Birthday parties. And even random nights when Kel dragged me somewhere I didn’t want to go.
He was always just Ace. Kel’s homeboy. The one with the bar.
The quiet one who always seemed to know what was going on even when he wasn’t saying much.
But tonight? Maybe it was the drinks. Because that man was fine as hell.
I was a pretty tall woman at five-seven but Ace easily towered over me.
He was brown skin with locs that were normally pulled away from his face.
He had the prettiest brown eyes and I wasn't sure if it was the liquor but they were intoxicating.
He had on a plain black t-shirt that fit his broad shoulders perfectly, exposing his tattooed arms.His watch definitely cost more than my first car. And his face... His face made me understand why half the women in this bar suddenly forgot how to act whenever he walked past.
This liquor had me ready to risk it all just for a chance to sit on his face. I quickly shook my head and blinked to clear those thoughts from my mind. Sleeping with my ex's best friend was not a good idea. Ace lifted an eyebrow. “You good?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you’ve been sitting over here for the last hour talking to yourself.”
“I was not talking to myself.”
“Who were you talking to, Kema?”
The way he said my name made my pussy jump a little bit. Okay I was definitely tipsy. I looked down at my phone. “My roster.”
His mouth twitched. “Your roster?”
“Yes.”
“Since when you got a roster?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Trust me. I'm not just making conversation.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Can you give me my drink back.”
“No.”
“Ace," I whined hoping it work and I could get my drink back to finish drowning my sorrows.
“Kema.”