Page 50 of Unlucky You

I felt a kiss on my neck before the presence of his body detached from me. He grabbed my hand and tugged me into his side. “Come on./ I’ll get you in but you have to have a drink with me.”

I paused, slipping my hand from his. “A drink?”

He exposed a dimpled smile. The same dimpled smile that in the past had me handing over pussy to a man whose sole purpose in life was to fuck women and smoke.

“Just a drink, Saniya. You’re not fucking with me like that anymore. I know what it is.”

His mouth was saying one thing but the lustful look in his eyes accompanied by the way they devoured my body contradicted his claim. Regardless, he said he could get me inwhich meant I didn’t have to wait in that damn line so I accepted the offer.

Of a drink.

“Fine, but I mean it, just a drink.”

That dimple surfaced again and his tongue glided over his bottom lip. He extended a hand to me this time, waiting for me to accept. “Yeah man, just a drink. You have my word.”

I slipped my palm against his and followed him through the door. The bouncer acknowledged Neshawn with a toss of his chin. Once we were inside, I did a quick scan of the building. I had been here a handful of times but was always impressed each time.

The main floor was a contrast of crowded yet intimate. People were clustered everywhere but also personally grouped to create their own experience. The sleek black floors shimmered under the dim lighting, creating a shadowy effect near the walls lined with hunter green panels. A soft illumination of smoked glass concealed LED strips.

Multiple bars were strategically placed around the room like the one where we were standing. Each had a polished black marble countertop lined with silver and glowed from the same LED strips on the walls. Hef had invested a lot in making the place aesthetically pleasing and comfortable.

Clusters of plush seating in varying shades of green and low silver tables encircled the spaces that outlined the bar and dance floor on the first level, creating cozy nooks for conversation without obstructing the flow of the room.

I people watched and Neshawn ordered drinks I noticed he didn’t pay for. While he held a conversation with the bartender, I watched him make my drink. I never put anything past anyone.

After we both had our drinks, he turned his back to the bar, looking out over the crowd while I turned sideways on the stool next to where he stood.

“How long you been home?”

“Couple weeks.”

“You look good.”

“I was only inside for a minute. Light work. Not much has changed.” He brushed a hand over his freshly-cut waves.

“Still irresponsible and arrogant as hell. So no, not much has changed.”

He laughed lightly. “Those are my best qualities. The ones that granted me access to your pussy, Tee.”

I rolled my eyes and his smile expanded. “Am I lying?”

No, he wasn’t but I would never admit that. His ego was already inflated.

“You walked right past security and didn’t pay for our drinks…” I tipped my glass toward him. “I’m assuming you know the owner.”

Neshawn smirked and nodded. “Yeah, Hef is my people.”

“What kind of people?”

“He’s family. The cousin I was telling you about.”

“Wait, Hef is your cousin,thatcousin.”

The one he was pushing bricks with but never identified.

“Is he doing both or just this now?”

Neshawn stared at me for a minute as if trying to decide whether or not to answer the question. I could have been asking for the wrong reasons. In the time we were involved, the majority of our relationship was spent during late nights and early mornings in my bed or his. I didn’t ask a lot of questions about what he had going on and neither did he. We both acquired surface details. He sold drugs and was into some other stuff. I was a photographer. He kept that life away from me so what he was into didn’t matter as long as he played his role and I played mine.

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