“No, no, no chica. Pretty women never pay for dinner.” She looked around the restaurant before spotting someone. “I’ll be right back.” Jenny got up, and we watched as she swished her slim hips across the restaurant toward Trevor.
“When the hell did you start a whore reformation program?” Stacy asked, leaning her elbows on the table and glaring at me. “This is not the damn Salvation Army or Alcoholics Anonymous or some other shit like that. If this corny bitch says one more thing I don’t like, I swear I will rip a rib from her bony ass chest and stab her in the neck with it.”
I sighed and looked from Stacy to Crystal. They were both sporting the same questioning look.
“You guys cut it out. Jenny’s not that bad. I need you to be at least amiable to her. Remember, I have to see her at work.” Crystal gave me a look that screamed ‘that’s not my damn problem.’
“Okay, I promise never to invite her to any more of our get-togethers. She doesn’t have a lot of female friends.” Their expressions still hadn’t changed.
“Okay, fuck it; she’s getting on my nerves too.” I rarely curse, so they knew I was pissed.
I looked up in time to see Jenny walking over with Trevor. Jenny sat down and took a big gulp of her drink; emptying the glass. Trevor stood next to her with his hand on her chair back.
“How was everything, ladies?”
“It was great.” we all said in unison.
“I’m glad you liked it. Well, I hope you all come back and see us again real soon. Don’t worry about the tab, dinner is on the house tonight. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” He smiled at us and then turned toward, Jenny. “Give me a call later.”
We all looked at Jenny expecting an explanation, but she only replied, “Like I said, you gotta use what you got.”
We left the restaurant and walked down the strip. Almost every other bar we went to Jenny got us in with no cover and free drinks all night. She knew quite a few of the bouncers and club promoters. We went to three different places before finally settling on Whiskey North. The crowd was a great mixture of young professionals with some older adults and a few people in their very early twenties.
The music was on point. The DJ mixed new school with hip-hop, and old school rap; giving everybody a little bit of something to groove to. I had gotten a few more drinks in me and was pretty sure I was drunk. Stacy, Crystal, and I had made our way to the dance floor, and we were having a ball.
Jenny had disappeared with some guy she claimed to know. I made her promise to check in with us if she decided to leave. I was thankful Jenny wanted to go and do her own thing, but we did come together. I wanted to make sure everyone reached home safely. However, I also planned on enjoying my night. I had my two girls with me, and the liquor had me feeling all types of loose.
CHAPTER 18
SEAN
I was about to go ballistic. I needed to tattoo a sign on my forehead in big bold letters that read: TAKEN AND NOT INTERESTED.
I was out with Brent, Jackson, and Ian, and no matter how many times I turned women away, they just kept coming back. I had to tell the bartender to not bring me any more drinks that other women purchased. We had been sitting at the bar for about an hour, and in that time span, I already had four different women offer to buy me a drink and five more who weren’t bold enough to ask but bought it anyways and had the bartender bring it over to me. He sent back four of the five drinks because Ian refused to give back the last one.
They guys laughed their asses off when Jackson suggested they pimp me out for the night so they wouldn’t have to buy any drinks.
Besides the annoyance of having these women harass me, I was glad to be out with the guys. Jackson’s wife was out of town visiting her family and Ian had taken a mini-vacation from his practice. He was fortunate to have his own business and made his own hours.
We started drinking pretty early in the evening while playing pool at Brent’s house. So, by the time we reached the strip downtown, we were more than a little buzzed. None of us wanted to be the designated driver, so we hired a taxi to take us downtown.
Brent knew one of the servers at the bar we were currently at. He had been trying to get rid of her for the last three weeks. Like classic Brent behavior, it was easy for him to pick her up, but now he had to work extra hard just to get rid of her.
I warned him not to hook up with her after he told me how overly attentive she had been to him the first couple times he came in to have a drink. She was apparently not the type of girl he could hook up with one time without repercussions. I had enough experience with those kinds of women and could see the signs with this one.
But as usual, Brent didn’t listen. Hence the reason we were now sitting at the bar watching the girl fawn all over him, and he was desperately trying to break it to her he wasn’t interested, anymore. At some point during the night he followed her to the back so they could talk.
“Sean, buddy, you don’t look like you’re having any fun,” Ian said, punching me playfully on the shoulder. I winced at the impact of Ian’s blow, rubbing the sore spot. He packed quite a punch and was the type of guy you wanted on your side in case a fight broke out.
“No. I’m good. I had other plans this weekend.” Ian looked at me, confused. “Don’t get me wrong. I love hanging with the guys, but I had plans to spend the weekend with my girl before I went out of town to the expo,” I said, clarifying my earlier statement.
“I get it, man.” Ian chuckled. “So, looks to me like you’re serious about this girl.”
“Very serious,” I said assuredly.
“Wow. Like I’m planning on making you my main girl serious or spend the rest of my life with you serious?” Ian asked.
“Man, you know Sean doesn’t do serious,” Jackson chimed in.
“He does now,” Brent came out of nowhere and answered before I could respond. He looked back in the direction he came from and shook his head. “Let’s get the hell out of here before this crazy girl tries to get me to take her home. She’s in the back checking her schedule to see when she’s off, next so we could plan a real date. I told her your wife was going to have a baby, and we were all rushing out to take you to the hospital.”
“Sarah isn’t close to giving birth,” Jackson replied stating the obvious.
“I know that, and you know that, but Miss Becky doesn’t. Now act like one of those idiots in a romantic comedy, so this shit looks realistic,” Brent said hurriedly.
He grabbed Jackson’s coat and threw some money on the bar to cover the cost of our drinks. We walked out with Ian and me in front shaking our heads, with Jackson and Brent pulling up the rear with their performance.
“Oh, sweet Jesus, my wife is having a baby!” Jackson threw his hands in the air and turned around in circles like he had the Holy Ghost.
“I’m going to be a daddy!” He yelled at the other patrons.
Some people clapped and called out their congratulations, while others raised their glasses in salute. Jackson grabbed someone’s shot and threw it back before slamming the shot glass on the table. He grabbed Brent by the head and placed a loud smacking kiss on his forehead.
“Come on, buddy. I got to go see my baby... both of my babies!”
Just then Becky came out of the back office, her eyes searching the bar for Brent.
“I got to go. I’ll call you, promise,” Brent said as Jackson pulled him outside.
We walked a few buildings down at a quick pace as if a pack of wild dogs was chasing us; rather than running away from a woman obsessed with Brent.
“You need to get your shit together,” I said, pointing a finger at Brent. “I got better things to do with my night than hide from one of your crazy hook-ups.”
“No, the fuck you don’t,” Brent replied, laughing. “If spending time with a bottle of lube and your right hand is what you had in mind then I highly doubt that shit.”
“It’s my left-hand asshole, and yes it would be better than this shit,” I replied pushing Brent jo
kingly.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m going to enjoy this night. I have a few more hours of freedom away from the wife, and I’m not about to let anything ruin it,” Jackson said. “Let’s find somewhere to watch some sexy women shake their asses.”
All four of us nodded in agreement. The night was young, and we still wanted to enjoy all the sites and scenes of downtown.
“I got just the place,” said Brent.
☙☙MV❧❧
I was the last one to walk through the doors of Whiskey North. I could hear the old school hip-hop thumping through the doors. The DJ was bringing it back as he mixed the old school classic “Shake What Ya Momma Gave Ya” with a new school remix by Lil Jon. The dance floor was packed; people were sitting around the tables, and up in the VIP section. Brent had picked the perfect place.
I walked up to the bar and ordered a round of beers while the guys went to secure a table. Bobbing my head to the music, I slowly felt my tension ease from my limbs. Living in Florida and going to graduate school in Miami had exposed me to a wide range of music. I wasn’t big on bringing attention to myself, but I could hold my own on the dance floor. The week I had was pretty hectic, and I planned on letting loose.
The bartender brought the beers over, and I gripped all four in my large palms and turned around. I was caught off guard when I collided with a petite brunette. It took me a minute, but I finally recognized the woman as Jenny from work.
“Hey, handsome. You need a hand with those?” she asked. Before I could protest, she took two of the beers out of my hand. “Where to?” she asked.
I was sincerely hoping she didn’t plan on sticking around for the remainder of the night. I was just loosening up and seeing her was a definite buzz kill. I walked in front of her to the table that the guys had secured. Sliding into the booth next to Jackson, I placed one of the beers in front of him. Jenny stood by the table and handed Ian and Brent the other two.
“Fellas, this is Jenny. She works at H&G. Jenny, this is Ian, Jackson, and Brent,” I said, making the introductions.
The guys mumbled their hellos. Ian was the only one to show some manners since he was sitting the closest to her.
“How’s it going?” He stretched out his hand to shake Jenny’s.
Brent already knew the story with Jenny. Jackson was too enthralled with watching the women dance in skintight clothes to show her any interest. Whatever the hell was going on with him and Sarah I could tell he needed tonight to escape, even if it was just for a little while.
“It’s better now since I found where all the hot men are hiding.” She leaned over and placed her left hand on my shoulder, squeezing it affectionately. I brushed her hand off my shoulder and adjusted my frame in the seat.
Jenny’s actions confirmed she hadn’t lost interest in me. Over the last three months, I didn’t have many run-ins with her. I got stuck in the elevator with her one morning and felt like I needed a shower after the way she boldly undressed me with her eyes. I made it a point to give her the most disgusted glare I could muster. She apparently wasn’t expecting it and had the decency to look humiliated.
The atmosphere became tense as no one spoke. We took sips of our beers and looked around the club, eyeing the scantily clad women passing by. A few smiled and made eye contact with us. A tally leggy blond sauntered by with her eyes on me. Jenny turned to her and pulled her over to our table.
“Guys, this is Tina.” She waved her hand over the woman’s body like she was auctioning her off. “Tina, this is Sean and his friends. He works with me.”
“Hi, Sean,” Tina replied seductively. She sat down on my lap and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. The move took me completely off guard. “I didn’t know Jenny worked with the model types,” she said laughing at her own joke. The woman was drunk, or at least getting there. “Please don’t tell me that all of you work with her because I might just have to reconsider a career in fashion.”
I shifted uncomfortably in the seat. I was having flashbacks of times gone by in college. This was precisely how nights out with the guys would be. Some girl would decide she wanted me and by the end of the night without any effort on my part, I would have her face down in the backseat of a car.
Not tonight.
I knew what I had to lose if I decided to step out of line. Yes, my penis had been out of commission for a while; but the only woman that could soothe my aching shaft was Lashawnda Price.
“No, we don’t. Sean’s a childhood friend of ours,” Ian said to Tina.
“I can only imagine the type of fun you guys must have had back then,” Jenny said leaning over with both palms flat on the table exposing her scantily covered breast to the guys’ eyes. She was eye-fucking every man at the table.
“I agree,” said Tina, wiggling her hips on my lap.
I had enough of playing nice guy. I was about to tell her she needed to get up when Jenny pulled out her camera and turned it toward us.
“Say cheese, guys.” Tina leaned in close to me planting a kiss on my cheek. I went to move my face, and her lips slid close to my lips as the camera’s flash went off.
“Aww, you guys look so cute together,” Jenny said while looking at the picture on the camera.
She took a few steps away from the table and held the camera up to take another picture. In the next picture, she bumped Tina off my lap and pushed their cheeks side by side and took another shot.
“Thanks for the memories, guys,” Jenny said, before sliding her camera back into her clutch.
“It was nice meeting you all; especially you,” Tina said, turning to me. “Would you like to take my number? Maybe we could get together later.”
I shook my head no. I couldn’t recall saying two words to her; but here she was practically inviting me for a one-nighter. That had to be all she had in mind because that’s all a girl like that could get from me. Tina shrugged her shoulders with an exaggerated pout.
“Oh well, your loss. See ya later, Jenny.” She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before sauntering off. That little display got all the men’s attention.
“She’s a great girl,” Jenny said to me.
“I bet,” I replied, bringing the beer to my lips.
“You ever sleep with her? How good is she?” Jackson asked Jenny with a sly grin on his face.
Jenny leaned over me to answer Jackson’s question. Her position practically had her lying on my lap.
“She’s very, very, good,” she replied.
She straightened into a standing position; but not before casually letting her breasts brush across my arm.
Brent rolled his eyes in boredom. I could already see that 'asshole' part of his personality was getting ready to make itself known. Luckily a short, light-skinned woman passing by our table caught his attention. He grabbed her by the hand to stop her.
“What’s up, beautiful? You here with your man or you ridin’ solo tonight?” he asked.
The girl looked at him and obviously liked what she saw because she moved closer to him. “I never ride solo. I’m here with my girls.”
“Can I buy you a drink?” Brent asked. We looked at each other and shook our heads. Brent was always the first out of the bunch to find a conquest.
The woman raised her hand, already gripping a plastic cup filled with orange colored liquid. “Sorry. The cutie at the bar already beat you to it,” she said, angling her head toward the bar.
“All the better. You gonna let me get a dance?” he asked sounding very self-assured.
“Can you keep up with this, white boy?” she asked, placing her hands on her very rounded backside. She had what men lovingly referred to as a bookshelf booty. You could stack a whole series of reference books on it—Nothing would fall off.
Her statement caused all us to laugh. It wasn’t the first time we got called out by Black or Hispanic women. It didn’t take long before they were eating their words. The University of Miami is known for the academic programs, but among studen
ts, it was also the place to be for the best parties.
“Sweetheart, I think you got a few misconceptions of what a white man is capable of,” Brent stated emphasizing the point he was far from being a boy.
He tapped Ian on the shoulder indicating for him to move. The rest of us stood up as well. We were here to let loose, and the dance floor was just the place to be. Brent took her drink from her hand and placed it on the table next to his. He took her by the hand and started rocking to the beat of ‘Get Low’ by Lil Jon and the Ying Yang twins.
“Nice seeing you, Jenny.” I took one last swing of my beer. Jenny stood by witnessing Brent’s little display with a nasty scowl on her face.
I walked onto the dance floor, instantly surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women. I looked over and saw Ian and Jackson had also started dancing with some girls. I rocked back on my heels as a short blond came up to me and smiled flirtatiously. She came in front of me and put her hands on my waist and started swaying her hips to the beat.
The DJ took that moment to slow the beat down so that the word low was repeated over and over again. He started mixing in the beat from “Drop it Low” by Ester Dean. The women in the club raised their hands in the air and screamed their enthusiasm for his song choice.
A shrill cry went up in the air as a group of people across from where I was, parted to form a little circle. Being this tall I was able to see three beautiful women swaying seductively to the music. I had to move closer to the crowd to get a better look at the show they were putting on. The DJ dropped the beat on the song, and a deep male voice started chanting: ‘drop it, drop it, drop it low, girl.’
Ester Dean’s voice kicked in, and the three women lined up with the slimmer of the three in the middle. They threw their hands in the air and popped their hips from side to side in unison. It was like watching a music video. They moved their hips in a circle and turned around; following the song’s instructions to ‘move that ass around.’ When the woman farthest away from me made her rotation, I nearly choked on the breath I had just inhaled.
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