Chapter 2
Calvin
“You two seriously have nothing?” I glance between my two closest friends, who are supposed to be helping me come up with a plan. Instead, they’re glancing around the bar, apparently hoping the answers would land in their laps.
Mario, who is a hotshot shit-talker lawyer, holds up a single finger, closing his eyes while he rests two fingers against his temple. “I’m thinking.”
“Any chance we could speed that up? I’m supposed to get on a plane in less than a week.” As I sip on my water, I can feel the frustration mulling over in my core. I would have much rather been sipping on a glass of bourbon, but besides the fact that I am driving a rental, I never drink if I am getting behind the wheel anyway.
“Don’t go,” Jo?o - more commonly known as Jay to us - states plainly joining the conversation, leaning back against the booth as he eats some of the complimentary peanuts out of his hand.
“I’m a groomsman, Jay. I have to go.”
“But they are her friends, not yours.”
Herbeing my ex-girlfriend, Violet, who - up until two months ago - I was living with. The girl I had dated for just over three years before she reached into my chest and ripped my heart out. Okay, I’ll admit, that’s a bit dramatic, but it did hurt. While I was planning a proposal, she was working out a way to break up with me. To say I was blindsided would be an understatement and my refusal to accept it had sent me down a rabbit hole.
A part of me still believes that there is still some hope for us, but no one else seemed to echo that sentiment. I shook my head. “That’s not true. I was friends with Kenneth before he started dating Britney.”
“Ugh, Kenneth.” Mario scoffs. “Hate that guy.”
“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear.”
“Because he’s a pompous dick.”
Jay snaps his fingers, turning our attention towards him. “Now is not the time gentlemen, we have a very important task at hand.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
As he points at me, he decides to ignore my question. “Since you insist on going-”
“Because I have to.” I interrupt.
“-then you can’t go to that wedding alone. I don’t trust that you’re not going to get caught up in Violet’s web again.”
“But what’s so bad about that?” I argue, not understanding how they refuse to see how great she is.
Pre-breakup, of course.
Mario rolls his eyes. “How much time do you have?” I kick him under the table. “Hey! There’s no need for violence, Rhodes. You know we’re right.”
Groaning, I drop my head in my hands. Twelve years of friendship with Mario doesn’t help that I still hate when he is right and he makes sure to mention it. Especially now, he knows that he’s right and is being smug about it.
When I was with Violet, I had become completely consumed by her life in every way while compromising on my own. Everything had taken a backseat when I was with her - including my friendships with both of them.
It’s a good thing they aren’t the kind of people to hold grudges - they prefer to tell you exactly what they think, Mario more than Jay, but sometimes he joins in. I can now admit that apparently it’s difficult for me to find the flaws in the person that I am dating. Sometimes people on the outside can see when something isn’t quite right and that is the case with Violet and I. But with my rose-tinted glasses on, all the red flags were barely pink.
I loved her.
I still do.
And knowing I am going to have to see her at this wedding is sending my usually manageable anxiety into a frenzy. Years and years of finding ways to cope with my anxiety have finally brought me to a place where I am the one in control of the anxiousness and not the other way around.
That was until right now.
How can I face the woman I was going to propose to? I had my eye on a ring and everything. What a fuck up. Violet leaving me threw a real spanner in the works of my life.
This is temporary.
This is the lie that I tell myself in an attempt to not have to feel everything that is below the surface. I turn to what I can control—my career. Somehow, I managed to master a sense of numbness that came from focusing all my energy on my projects at hand. As a quantity surveyor, I have more than enough to keep me busy. And since I have my eye on the promotion to Senior Project Manager, I am not going to let that pass. This is the position I have been eyeing for years but have never had the opportunity to pursue, until now.
Violet had encouraged me to go for it. A higher position meant a larger salary with more benefits and a fancy career label she could throw around to brag. I had to make sure I was in the right position to take care of her. She needed me to be that man for her, and I was adamant to see that through.
My distractions have been working well so far. That was until I received an email asking if we wanted to upgrade our flights before our trip to the Algarve region in Portugal for our mutual friend’s wedding. A wedding that could have easily taken place in New York City - where the couple and most of their friends and family lived - but no.
Kenneth and Britney are rich.
But rich, rich. Rich enough to afford an island, I guess. They refused to have their wedding be like ‘everyone else’s’. Britney’s words, not mine. While the average couple would celebrate one day - their wedding day - that will not be the case for those two. They need an entire week of everyone’s lives to celebrate. To do this they booked out an entire floor of a hotel for all their guests for a week-long celebration leading up to their wedding day.
And since Violet and I are both part of the wedding party, there is no way either of us can bail. A week-long holiday at a gorgeous beach resort in Portugal sounded exciting at first, but now that we are broken up, I can think of a million other things I would rather do than have to attend this wedding and see my ex.
Getting stung by jellyfish is one of them.
Even having my balls waxed sounds better.
Or eat an entire packet of peanuts. Yes, I would prefer an allergic reaction rather than being in the same room as Violet and having to admit to myself that I am hurting.
So, this will be fun.
When we initially got the save the date invitation, Violet insisted that I take two weeks off so we could travel somewhere else before heading to Algarve. With her gone, I have this week off with nothing to do. So when Mario invited me to join him for his 30th birthday celebration, I said yes. Jay is letting me stay with him. He and Mario both gave me shit about ghosting them, but once I acknowledged my mistakes and apologized, our friendships picked up right where they left off.
Thank God.
Feeling a tap against my head, I look up at Mario, a smirk on his face with his hands clasped together. “You need a date.”
“A date?”
“Yes, a date. Are you familiar with that term or am I going to need to spell it out for you?”
I roll my eyes. “Someone is extra dickish today.”
Mario ignores my comment and turns to Jay. “You agree with me, right? He needs a date. Someone that can stop him from falling back into his bad habit of being Violet’s little bitch.”
“Easy there Mario,” Jay says as a wave of fresh annoyance for my most honest friend turns inside of me.
“Am I wrong?” Mario asks, turning back to me. “You disappeared for three years because of her. She snipped your balls right off your body and kept them. Their current location? Still unknown.”
“I understand that you didn’t like Violet, but I loved her, alright?” Shaking my head I continue to explain. “I still do. I can’t help it.”
“And that’s why you need a date. You need someone to keep you in check and make sure you focus on getting through the wedding and coming back in one piece - one Violet-free piece.”
In true Mario fashion, he doesn’t hide his contempt for Violet. I am still trying to figure out exactly what the turning point was for them, but there were times over the years when my friends called me out for the… changes I went through. I had lost myself in our relationship.
Which is why deep down, I know my friends are right and I need to be strong enough to withstand the possibility of falling into her trap again. No matter how much I actually want to.
“And who do you suppose I ask with one-week’s notice?” I bait.
Jay reaches for his drink. “Don’t you have any friends you could ask?”
I gesture between the two of them. “I’ve got you two.”
“Listen, Calvin, I’m flattered, but I can’t take off work,” Mario answers rather smugly.
I roll my eyes as Jay laughs. Our waitress stops at our table and Mario orders another drink before he asks. “Don’t you have any other friends you could ask? You don’t even need to be friends - acquaintances will do.”
I think for a moment only to realize that all my female friends are mutual friends with Violet. Any friends I had before her well, they aren’t options anymore.
Another reminder of how my life became so integrated into hers. I am starting to wonder where my own identity has run off to.
“Hire someone,” Jay offers a suggestion, tossing a few more peanuts into his mouth again. “Like that old movie. The one with the pretty lady or whatever.”
“Pretty Woman?” I glare at him over the rim of my nearly empty glass as I pause. “You know she was a prostitute, right?”
He dusts his hands off against his jeans. “Even better. Get one of those.”
“Knock it off.” This time I kick him under the table, causing a laugh from both of them and some stares from those around us.
As the waitress returns with Mario’s drink, he thanks her before turning back to me. “Cal, we’re your friends and we’re going to help you. You need a date - she’ll keep you in check, while at the same time reminding Violet about all that she’s been missing since she dumped you.”
“Thanks for putting that delicately,” I reply dryly.
“Mario’s right. That’s the most fool-proof plan,” Jay agrees.
“And you two idiots seem to forget the fact that I still don’t have anyone I can ask,” I remind them. “I don’t think asking someone to travel across the world with me for a one-week holiday to attend a wedding is first-date material.”
“Give me twenty-four hours, I bet you I can find you a date.”
I eye Mario, unsure of just how much I want to trust, not only his ability to do this but rather his judgment. Mario is more of an ‘any hole is a goal’ kind of guy and this wedding has a certain.. standard.
God, I sound just like Kenneth. A pompous dick, indeed.
Jay’s phone starts to ring and he reaches for it, swiping and bringing it up to his ear.
“Kita?” I recognize one of the many nicknames he has for his younger sister. I can’t make out the rest of his sentence over the music and chatter.
I’ve been friends with Jay for over a decade, which means that I have had many interactions with his younger sister, Nikita, over the years. That Da Silva daughter is a little firecracker—a confident, outgoing, spontaneous personality, and someone that I can’t stand. We are opposites in every way possible. I am not a big fan of that smart mouth of hers that always says exactly what her mind is thinking, even when she shouldn’t. Whereas I am someone who needs to think about every possible outcome of something that I want to do, Nikita is the kind of person to dive in head first without giving the consequences a second thought. She is far too stubborn and opinionated for my liking. One of our early interactions was when she asked me about the stick up my ass, so let’s just say she’s not my cup of tea. I tolerate her when I have to.
And she didn’t like me either—something she has always made abundantly clear.
“Mana, espera, I can hardly hear you.” I hear Jay say as he stands up, forcing Mario out of the booth to leave, blocking his free ear to try and hear his sister over the hustle and bustle of the crowd. We are heading into late August but every place is still carrying on as if summer has just begun with their happy hour specials starting as early as 2 pm.
“What about your sister?” I ask, trying to go through the list of women that I know will do me a solid for the wedding.
Mario flings a peanut at me. “You know Carolina is married.”
I pick the peanut off my lap and throw it back at him. “Kev wouldn’t mind.”
“Kev isn’t in the business of loaning out his wife,” Mario explains. “Leave it with me. I can guarantee that you’re not going to go to this wedding alone.”
I eye him, unconvinced.
“Trust me, Rhodes.”
I did trust him, but I am also concerned about leaving something as important as this in his hands. It could be a disaster waiting to happen.
Fine, maybe I didn’t really trust him. At least not with this.
I down my water, pretending I am soaking up the spicy kick of peppery spice on my tongue that only my favorite bourbon can give me. Jay returns, reaching over and grabbing his jacket with his cell phone still pressed to his ear.
“Playtime is over boys,” he says before saying something to his sister and ending the call.
Mario lifts his drink to demonstrate. “I’m not done.”
“I thought we were eating here?” I pose it as a question.
Jay slips his jacket on. “We’ll eat at my place. My sister needs help, and since you…” He points towards me, “are the one who drove us here, I’m going to need you to drive us to her.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“Her apartment flooded.”
“Oh, shit.”
Jay pulls out some cash from his back pocket, dropping it on the table, and I follow suit. “Oh shit, indeed.”
Mario remains seated, sipping on his drink, as he gives a quick wave to someone across the bar. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
Jay and I glance in the direction he’s staring in. There is a group of women laughing over their margaritas and one with her eyes fixated on Mario.
I turn back to Mario. “Do you know her?”
He shakes his head as he stands up, keeping his drink in his hand. “No, but I’m about to.”
Jay shakes his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“It’s called having ridiculously good looks, gentlemen.” He places his arms over our shoulders. “Something the two of you, know nothing about.”
I elbow him in the stomach. “Get out of here.”
Mario laughs and makes his way across the room, turning back towards us. “Maybe I’ll find your perfect date here, Rhodes.” With a wink, he spins around and continues on his mission.
“We’ll see,” I say, rolling my eyes, while Jay chuckles as we head out.