Page 56 of His Surrender
“Wow, Jay. Calm down.” Remi put his hands up and stepped toward the passenger-side door. “And he didn’t force himself on me. I don’t think it would’ve gotten that far.”
Yeah, and he was in denial. However, I kept my mouth shut on the matter. If living in his fantasy world helped him cope with it, who was I to take that from him?
Once we were in my car, I left the parking lot and turned onto Main Street. The cigar bar was just down the road, so it didn’t take long to get there.
“I’m sorry,” I said, as we walked toward the bar.
“For what?”
“I don’t know.” Cars drove past us as we moved along the sidewalk, the headlights reflecting off storefront windows. “I just got mad that he said that to you. You were wearing that hat the first time I ever saw you.”
“I can’t believe you remembered.” Shock colored his tone. “Ididn’t even remember that.”
I shrugged and moved to the other side of him so that I was on the side with the road. It was out of reflex. He was smaller than me. I opened the door for him, and we entered the bar.
Bianca waved at us from behind the bar. Her gaze flickered between the two of us, and that’s when I realized my hand was at the small of Remi’s back. I didn’t move it. I nodded to her, then looked around for a place to sit. It was crowded that night.
“Remi!” The man with the beard—Johnny—approached and pulled Remi in for a side hug. My hand fell from Remi’s back as they greeted each other. “Glad you could make it, kid.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Remi responded, and the look in his eyes had me curious. He looked so damn happy when talking to Johnny. A stark contrast from when he spoke of his father. “Where’s Big Mike?”
“Over there sweet-talking the ladies,” Johnny answered with a hoarse chuckle, nodding to an African American man about ten feet away who was making an entire table of older women laugh. “As always.”
Remi grabbed my hand without hesitation and led me over to Mike. I was a bit dumbfounded, but okay with it. I liked the feel of his hand in mine. He let go of it once in front of his friend.
“Remi, my boy!” Mike exclaimed, throwing an arm around him. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? Where’s that hat I gave ya? She’s lucky, you know.”
“Hey, Mike.” Remi patted the older man’s back. “Left her at home tonight. Didn’t go with the outfit.”
“Boy, that hat goes with everything. She’s a gem, and you best treat her right.” Mike then looked at me, his round face wrinkling as his smile grew larger. “And who might this handsome fella be? Your new boyfriend? Johnny told me you were crazy about some cool cat who always hung around this place.”
Even with the dim lighting in the bar, I saw Remi’s cheeks darken. “Johnny said all that, did he? Remind me to kick his ass after the show.”
Mike released a hearty laugh and held his hand out to me. “Mike Weems. But you can just call me Mike. None of that mister stuff, ya hear?”
His energy was magnetic, and his joy was contagious. You couldn’t help but smile when around him.
“Jay Foley.” I shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Handsomeandwell mannered.” Mike arched a brow at Remi. “Don’t let this one go, my boy. I feel he’s a keeper.” He thumped his fist on his chest. “Right here, ya hear?”
“We’re just friends,” Remi said in a rush, visibly mortified. He looked at me and mouthedI’m sorry.
Thing was… I didn’t mind it. In a way, I actually liked being called Remi’s man. Which should’ve tossed me into panic mode but didn’t for some reason.
“Just friends, eh?” Mike slung an arm around Remi’s neck. “That’s what I said shortly after I met my first wife. Next thing I knew I was watching that lovely woman walk down the aisle toward me with tears streaming down my cheeks.”
“First wife?” I asked.
He flashed a shit-eating grin. “I got around back in my day, young fella. Had the ladies falling at my feet.”
“Sounds familiar,” Remi muttered, bumping his shoulder to mine.
I snorted a laugh. Was this what it felt like to be happy with someone? I’d never experienced anything quite like it before. In one night, I had gone from denying being on a date to meeting that not-date’s friends and having a damn good time while doing it.
It was amidst that thought when Remi’s eyes met mine, and everything else in the room faded away. I saw only him. And damn if it didn’t send my heart into some kind of fit.
“I gotta get on stage,” Mike said to us, after saying bye to the ladies.
