Page 16 of Arris, Jayme & Dyani
“Thank you for putting a rush on all of this,” she said.
“Of course. Thank you for thinking of me to even get this deal done. I’m not about to be on the streets or anything tomorrow but I’m not going to lie. I’m thankful for the money in my pocket.”
“And you deserve every cent,” she assured me. “How are you liking Diamond Falls so far anyway?”
“It’s hard to tell,” I admitted. “I haven’t done much except hang out with my brother, furniture shop, and try to get a feel for the art scene out here.”
“Seriously?” Illiana scoffed. “I feel like we should correct that.”
“Sure. When?”
“An hour?”
“What?” I giggled.
“We just closed a deal and we should celebrate. I know this nice bar in town. It isn’t super dressy or anything but it’s not trashy either. They have live music and really good food if we plan on getting real drunk instead of just toasting some wine.”
“I’m just moving into my apartment and there are boxes everywhere. I really shouldn’t be going out and getting crazy tonight.”
“Nobody said anything about getting crazy,” Illiana argued. “It’ll just be two friends catching up over celebratory wine or champagne. Consider it me welcoming you to town. It’ll be fun.”
I looked around at my scattered boxes and sighed.
“I’m not trying to get drunk, Illiana.” I made that clear.
“And that’s fine. So, I’ll see you in an hour, right?”
I exhaled.
“Yeah. You’ll see me in an hour. Just send me the address.”
“Alright. Great. I’ll see you then.”
Illiana hung up and I tossed my phone on the couch beside me. I let my head fall backward and took a few deep breathsbefore forcing myself up and quickly getting ready to meet up with Illiana.
I tookanother drink from my wine glass and let out an obnoxious laugh that I just knew was a tell-tale sign I was feeling the alcohol I’d drank. I had more than I thought I would.
Illiana reached over and smacked my arm as she joined me in my loud laugh.
“I’m so glad you got me to come out,” I said for what had to be the fifth time at least.
I was aware of what I was saying but for some reason I felt like I couldn’t stop the words from just falling out of my mouth. I was one ofthosedrunk people. I yapped when liquor got in my system and it didn’t even matter about what or to who. Word vomit was real. The worst part was that I was aware of everything I was saying and there was a good chance I’d remember it in the morning. I just couldn’t filter my thoughts fast enough to stop the words from spewing out.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come out,” Illiana said, just as happily.
We smiled at each other in an alcohol-induced euphoria for several moments before my phone started ringing. I glanced at the screen. It was Darryl. I flipped it face down and took the rest of my wine down in one large gulp.
“You don’t want to get that?” Illiana asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all.”
The ringing stopped. Then it started again less than a minute later. I muted my phone but didn’t answer. As soon as Darryl heard my voice, he’d know I was drunk. While I didn’t have tohide anything from him because I was grown, I wasn’t ready to deal with the hundred questions he’d ask.
“Are you sure?” Illiana laughed.
“I’m positive. It’s just my brother.” I shrugged. “And whew, speaking of my brother. He has this one friend, and girl, he is so damn fine it’s insane. I’m not even kidding.”
“Ohhhh.” Illiana sat up in her seat and leaned forward. “Do you have a picture or social media or something?”
