Page 40 of Blind Spot
I poured lime juice into the glasses for the daiquiri and margarita, and then I poured some lemon juice into the glass for the whiskey sour.
“What do you think, Charly? Should she keep her man and fuck his best friend on the side?”
“Why would she do that?” I asked as I poured two dashes of angostura bitters into the old-fashioned and the whiskey sour.
“Because he’s cheating on her,” the best friend answered.
“We haven’t found outwhoyet, but I did find the receipts for several hotel rooms over the last few months, lingerie, flowers, restaurants he’s never taken me to, and sex toys.”
“And you’re sure that some of those items weren’t for you?” I asked.
“Trust me, I’d know. This has been going on for a while now, and I haven’t seen any of this stuff,” the woman declared.
I poured bourbon for the old-fashioned and the whiskey sour before grabbing the tequila for the margarita, and then some Cointreau.
“Have you tried confronting him with the receipts and asking him about it?”
She shrugged and replied, “I know he’ll lie. He’s a lying ass. He’s gonna probably say something like that was for his boy’s girl, and he let him use his card, or some of that stuff was for his mama. He won’t keep it real.”
“Sounds like you’ve got choices to make,” I stated.
“See!” the best friend exclaimed.
I added two ounces of white rum to the daiquiri. I added some ice to the old-fashioned and then added ice to the others before I began to stir or shake accordingly.
“Listen, I’m not telling you to mess with both of them. I’m saying that you have decisions to make, and you need to understand that no matter what the decision is, it comes with consequences. Messing with your man and his best friend can turn deadly for everyone involved, I’m not gon’ lie. Now, I know bestie has your best interest at heart, but right now, y’all are both a little tipsy,” I stated, pinching my thumb and index fingers together. “So right now might not be the best time to make serious decisions like that. I say sleep on it and decide if you’re gonna stay with your man or leave his ass and find someone new. Either way, his best friend shouldn’t be an option. That’s just my two cents, and y’all didn’t even have to pay me for it,”I declared as I passed their drinks to them and served my other customers.
“I’m gonna pay you for your two cents, sis. ’Cause it was damn sure worth it and then some. This heffa ’bout to get everybody killed.” The woman slurred as she placed a twenty-dollar bill on the bar top.
I pulled the money toward me and smiled. “Thanks, sis,” I replied and winked. The best friend twisted her lips and drank her cocktail before she slid off her barstool and started dancing.
The advice that I had given the woman resounded in my head as I thought about my own situation. I should’ve been seeking advice before I so eagerly jumped into bed with Dom, but I hadn’t. I didn’t want anyone to tell me that it was wrong or that I shouldn’t do it, because it was what I wanted to do.
I would double down on that shit, too, because I was satisfied with my decision. I wasn’t sure when, but I would put my big girl panties on and face the music. I already knew that Ramon would give me hell when he found out about it, but I wasn’t worried. I only prayed that Dom’s family didn’t turn on him because of our decision.
I knew that I needed to tell my family first before we told his. I needed to know that I had their support before confronting Dom’s family. Knowing that someone had our backs would make it easier to face the firing squad that was his family.
I thought about that the rest of the night as I finished my shift. I grabbed my things from the locker room and headed out of the club. My back ached, and my feet were tired as I made it to the parking lot. Frost had a policy in place that we were to be escorted to our cars, but the club was jumping tonight, and the security team was busy all over the place.
I was sleepy and didn’t feel like waiting for a member of the security team to be free. It was two in the morning, but I didn’thave far to walk to get to my car. The staff parking lot was in the rear of the club.
I was almost at my car when I felt a hand on my shoulder, jerking me around. My heart leapt to my throat, and I cursed myself for leaving my gun in the car and not having my knife ready. It was buried deep in my purse.
“It’s time you brought your ass home, Charly.”
“Ramon! What are you doing here?” I asked as my heart tried to regulate back to its regular rhythm once my eyes rested on him.
“The question is, when are you going to stop playing these games?”
I tried jerking away from him, but he only tightened his grip on me. “Your house isn’t my home, and I’m not playing games, Ramon. You got out of hand with putting your hands on me, and I always knew that it was only going to escalate from there. I’m not staying around until you put me in a body bag. It’s over between us.”
“Charlyse, you’re being unreasonable. We’ve put too much time into this for you to just walk away over a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding, Ramon? You’ve lost your damn mind! Not taking the ground turkey out for dinner because you thought we were eating out is a misunderstanding. You placing your hands on me and beating my ass because you thought I was screwing your brother is not a misunderstanding.”
He laughed and gripped my chin tightly before he pressed his nose against mine. “Your li’l ass ran to his house to escape. I’m not stupid. I’ve seen your car parked outside his apartment. This little inappropriate friendship y’all had all these years is over. Now, I said that’s enough of that shit, and it’s time to come home before I start thinking you’re fucking him for real.”
“Let me go!” I shouted and tried to pull away again.
