Page 19 of Heartless

“All right. It’s time to party,” Marc Jr. announces. “Besides, I had my eyes on a pretty little lady. Reddish brown braids, tiny waist.”

Smirking, I say, “That’s Holly, and you’d better behave with her.”

He winks and follows me back inside.

When I spot my husband chatting it up with some of my staff, I head in his direction.

“Everything good?” he whispers in my ear, looking around for my family.

“Everything is perfect,” I say, tipping up on my toes and kissing his lips.

“Ahh, that’s the kind of love that I want,” Holly says as Trina and Stacey sigh.

“Hi, I’m Marc, Meadow’s brother,” Marc Jr. introduces himself to Holly.

Looking at Onyx, I mouth, “Let’s go,” looking to where my mom is surrounded by my students.

“Are you sure you’re good? I know that we’ve had a rough couple of nights,” he says, indicating his sleeping in the guest bedroom.

“Yes. Let’s party tonight, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“That works for me,” he says, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me to the dance floor.

5 – ONYX

I pull the Porsche into a cobblestone driveway on the other side of town, get out, and hand my keys to the valet driver.

My wife hates this place. She says it’s full of elitist assholes who are all full of shit. Every time she says that, I can’t help but laugh. Even now, a little giggle escapes me as I think about it.

I shouldn’t be here, but it’s far enough from home for me to forget about everything. It’s the perfect place for me right now.

Meadow and I had another argument yesterday. When I told her that I didn’t want to talk about babies, and I just wanted to spend a night with my wife, it erupted. Things got so heated between us that I left the house for an hour just driving around long enough to cool down.

When I returned, she’d locked the bedroom door, and I had to sleep in the guest room. When I woke this morning, not only was our door unlocked, but she was also gone. Tonight, I decided after getting off work I didn’t want to go home.

I passed Shep’s on the way here, and I could have stopped there. I could have slept over at his place tonight, but going there meant being surrounded by his wife and kids. That’s the last thing that I want or need in this mood that I’m in. He would commiserate with me, but that’s the last thing that I want as well.

Everyone, or rather almost everyone in our family, thinks that Shep’s a bad guy, but he’s not. Whorish? Yes, in the past.Not a bad guy, though. Reckless decisions? Sure, but still not a bad person. He’s got a heart of gold, but he doesn’t buy into the entitlement and white privilege my father’s elitist side of the family promotes. He could give a shit about the money or his trust fund. Shep simply wants to live his life according to his rules.

“Welcome to3rdLevel,” the hostess greets.

“Gin and tonic, please,” I tell the bartender after I take my seat.

The mahogany encased, glass bar is serpentine in shape creating sitting groups. It runs the length of the club allowing patrons to sit alone and watch what’s going on in the rest of the lounge or to sit in small, enclosed groups around the bar chatting.

A smoky glass wall holds shelf after shelf of high-end whiskey and liquor. It is an elitist club. Meadow didn’t lie about that. Annual membership starts at fifty grand a year, but people pay for the experience, the anonymity, and the privacy guaranteed by being here.

“Here you are,” the bartender smiles flirtatiously as she sets my drink in front of me before she walks away.

I nurse it before ordering another as I take in all the people who are out tonight. It’s a Friday, and I knew3rdLevelwould be busy. Just enough noise to let me not be alone with my thoughts, but still enough privacy that I don’t have to be pulled into the fray.

I sit on the outside curve of the serpentine shaped bar people watching tonight because I don’t want to sit in a group with any of the people I sometimes mingle with.

I want to be an observer but not completely alone.

By the time I’m on my third drink, someone takes the seat beside me.

“Hello.”

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