Chapter 22
Karter turned her attention to Eva, who was flirting, unsuccessfully it seemed, with her nail technician.
It was Tuesday, which meant Purgatory was closed.
So, Ilia had asked the two of them for a girls’ day.
Karter didn’t mind and decided she needed to get out of the house and spend time with her friends.
She’d been spending a lot of time with Creed, which wasn’t a bad thing.
However, she knew they needed breaks from one another as well.
She turned her attention to Ilia to see if she was witnessing what she was, because the man honestly seemed uncomfortable. She found Ilia leaning back in her seat, looking behind Karter at Eva.
“Eva, leave that man alone,” Ilia instructed.
“I’m just complimenting him,” Eva countered.
“You’re just traumatizing him,” Ilia informed her. “Leave him alone.”
Karter turned her attention to Eva to see her pouting, and she couldn’t help but laugh a bit.
She’d seen her do it several times at work, and that usually garnered her larger tips from the older male clientele.
However, she hadn’t seen her do it outside of work.
They hung out now and then, usually when Ilia asked them both.
Ilia made friends easily. So, when Eva started at the bar seven months ago, she and Ilia had become fast friends, and Karter supposed herself by proxy.
When Karter’s technician finished her nails, she sipped the mimosa brought to her while they were getting their toes done. Ilia’s nails were done a few minutes later, and they waited for Eva, who probably would have been finished already if she hadn’t been flirting.
Once they were all done, they paid for the services they had received and exited the building, heading to Ilia’s car. It was a little after one-thirty, and they were going to have lunch before doing a little shopping.
“Where are we going for lunch?” Eva questioned, leaning up between the front seats.
“If I get a ticket, you’re paying for it,” Ilia said as she made a left.
“You can choose, Eva,” Karter told the other woman as she sat back.
“Can we go to Chili’s?” Eva questioned.
“Yeah, we can,” Ilia responded, stopping at a traffic light.
They traveled to the restaurant, listening to music, and Ilia purposely sang along off-key. Karter couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh.
When they pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, it wasn’t overly crowded, but Karter hadn’t expected it to be for a Tuesday afternoon.
They sat at a table in the bar area, and she picked up the happy hour menu.
Several of their appetizers were priced for happy hour, and Karter figured she’d get a couple of those along with a drink or two.
Once they’d placed their orders, going ahead and ordering their food with their drinks, Ilia broke the silence that had been over the table before the server came.
“I was thinking after we went shopping, I could stop by both of your apartments, you could grab some clothes, and we could have a sleepover at my place if you wanted,” Ilia suggested.
“Oohh, an adult sleepover,” Eva started, wiggling her eyebrows. “That sounds like fun.”
Karter and Ilia both laughed. “What about you, Karter?” Ilia then questioned. “Or did you have plans with Ravage tonight?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have plans with him tonight. A sleepover sounds like fun.”
“Great, we can watch movies and order some pizza, or we could go to a club,” Ilia responded.
“I haven’t been to a club in a hot second. Mainly because I’m working most weekends,” Eva replied.
“I know I suggested it, but what clubs are open on a Tuesday night?” Ilia asked.
“I’m sure we can find one,” Eva responded. “If not, I guess there’s going to be a club in your living room.”
The three women made small talk while they waited for their drinks and food.
Once they had both, Ilia reached across the table, sticking her fork into one of the boneless wings on Karter’s plate.
Karter lifted a brow at her friend, and Ilia just smiled at her before popping the chicken into her mouth.
In retaliation, Karter reached over and forked some of the loaded fries Ilia had on her plate and added them to her own.
“So, that chick was back at the club again,” Ilia broke the silence that had settled a few minutes later. “What’s her name, Dennis?”
“It’s Denise,” Karter responded.
“Mm, same thing,” Ilia countered. “Anyway, she was back the other night, but she didn’t stay long.”
“You’re talking about the one that sits at the end of the bar and just looks around? The one that came in to talk about Ravage carrying her beer?” Eva asked.
“Yeah, that’s her,” Karter responded, taking a drink of her margarita.
“Well, is he going to?”
Ilia shook her head, responding, “Probably not.”
“I’m not sure,” Karter spoke at the same time.
“You know he isn’t especially after her upsetting you.”
“What. What happened?” Eva inquired.
Karter told her the gist of what had gone on. She’d left out much of the first time she was introduced to Denise, only telling her bits about the night they talked.
“This woman really sat here and said calling him by his last name made her uncomfortable. She would have had to explain to me how that shit made sense to her,” Eva stated, popping a cheese bite into her mouth after Karter had finished. “Why is she still coming to the bar?”
“It is a bar,” Karter informed, as if the other woman didn’t know. “She might come to have a drink.” Though Karter was sure Denise was more so trying to change Creed’s mind about him not carrying her beer in the bar.
“She had better make sure that’s all she wants,” Ilia said before changing the subject to the upcoming Labor Day.
Since they were always closed for the holiday.
Creed would always invite everyone over to his house for a barbecue.
He’d given everyone the invitation on Saturday for the following week.
Ilia wasn’t sure what she wanted to bring, and Karter told her anything would be fine.
Everyone would bring something. So she knew they would have plenty of food.
Once they finished eating and each had a second drink, they paid the bill and left the restaurant. Heading to the mall for some retail therapy.
Ravage chuckled, shaking his head before taking a drink from his beer bottle. He’d come out for drinks with Abe and Clint; he’d realized pretty early on that Clint found great pleasure in picking on Abe. Ravage figured they’d been friends for a while.
“I’m going to hit you with my car when we leave,” Abe threatened.
“Oooh, talk dirty to me,” Clint responded with a wink, and Ravage snorted.
“Ignore him. He has no home training,” Abe said.
“You’re just no fun,” Clint retorted. “Anyway, thanks for coming out and having drinks with us.”
“No problem,” Ravage responded, leaning back in the chair he occupied.
“We enjoyed working with you during the beer contest,” Clint informed him. “Wait, that sounded like I was hitting on you.” He turned his attention to Abe. “How do you make friends as an adult and it doesn’t seem weird?”
“Everything you do is weird,” Abe countered, and Clint sucked his teeth.
“You just hang out,” Ravage supplied before taking another drink of his beer. “Easy as that.”
“See, this is why I’m going to replace you with Ravage,” Clint told Abe, sticking his tongue out.
“Don’t do me any favors,” Abe responded, taking a drink from his glass.
“Anyway,” Clint started, taking his own drink. “So, how long have you and that pretty little thing you brought to the set up with you been dating?”
“Mm, about six months.”
“Really? I was banking on a couple of years at least,” Clint responded.
“We’ve known each other for years.”
“That makes sense,” Abe stated. “There’s a familiarity there that comes with a deeper connection than just dating for a little while.”
“For someone who seems to know so much about relationships, you stay single,” Clint threw out, receiving an elbow.
The three of them talked, joked, and laughed for a couple of hours. It was when Ravage was on his fourth beer, and they’d ordered some food that the subject changed.
“So, we have to be honest. There was a slight ulterior motive for us wanting to have drinks,” Abe stated.
“I’m listening,” Ravage replied.
“Abe and I want to open a bar an hour away, and we wanted to know if you’d consult for us,” Clint spoke. “We’d compensate you, of course.”
“At the moment, we’re working out logistics, startup, and whatnot.”
“Sure,” Ravage responded with a shrug. He didn’t mind consulting and helping them out.
If it hadn’t been for Demetri helping him get his bar up and running and redirecting his energy to something more productive, he wasn’t sure where he would be now.
He’d been an angry teenager, an angry young adult.
So, having the bar calmed him, gave him something to focus on.
It made Ravage want to give back. To help in whatever capacity he could, in the same way he’d been helped.
It was after eleven when they went their separate ways, and Ravage made his way home. He was getting out of his car when voices caught his attention. Mostly, his neighborhood was quiet, aside from the jackass who liked to put his hands on his wife.
As he headed towards his front door, the voices became louder, and Ravage knew they were coming from next door.
He thought he heard a slight scream, and normally, he didn’t get involved in their fights.
However, he heard what sounded like someone getting hit, and he gritted his teeth, heading towards the noise.
He found Jackass, whose name he’d never felt the need to remember, gripping Bev’s arm. She was holding her face, and even from the dim lighting of their porch, he could tell her lip was split.
“Is everything alright over here?” Ravage asked.
“We’re fine,” Jackass responded. “I’m just having a conversation with my wife.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Ravage responded. “Bev, are you okay?” She looked between the two of them, swallowing hard, and Ravage had his answer. “Let her go,” he demanded. “And before you say something to piss me off. I will make you.”
Ravage watched as Jackass sized him up, and he must have decided that it wasn’t worth it. He let Bev go and stomped off to his car, driving off. Honestly, he had wanted him to swing at him so he’d have a reason to beat his ass.
“Thank you,” Bev stated softly.
“You don’t have to put up with him.”
“I know. He came home to find me packing my things. I was going to go to a hotel until I could make my way back home to my parents.”
“You want to stay at my place tonight?” Ravage questioned. “He’ll come back tonight.” He was sure the other man would when he thought Bev was alone and vulnerable again.
“Yes, please.”
He waited for her to grab one of the bags she’d placed in the vehicle before leading her over to his front door.
He unlocked it and led her in. Leading the way to the guest room, pointing out the bathroom beside it.
He told her to make herself at home before leaving so she could have some alone time.
Ravage pulled his phone from his pocket as he went to his bedroom to call Karter.
“Hey, baby,” she answered on the fourth ring. “How were drinks with Abe and Clint?”
“Hey, babe. They were good. How was your girls’ day out?”
“It turned into girls’ night, and we’re having a sleepover at Ilia’s.”
“Well, I won’t keep you from it. I wanted to call and let you know Bev is staying at my place tonight.”
“The neighbor whose husband hits her? Did something happen? Is she okay?”
“I got home a few minutes ago and found them outside. He’d hit her, her lip was busted, and I’m sure he was threatening her.”
“That’s terrible,” Karter said, and Ravage heard her shift. “I hope she’s okay. Being with him is bad for her, but she’ll only leave when she’s ready.”
“I agree with you. For tonight, at least, she’ll be fine. I ran him off, but he’ll come back.” Ravage entered his en suite. “I won’t keep you from your night. I just wanted you to know Bev was here.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
The two of them hung up, and Ravage started the shower. When he got out, he would lock his bedroom door before going to bed. He didn’t see Bev as that type, especially with what she was going through, but he wouldn’t put himself in that position while trying to be helpful.