Page 64 of See No Evil

“He ain’t the best father, but he’s tryin’ harder, baby. Sometimes, we mean well when we make certain promises, but it takes something soul crushing every now and again to remind us why they’re so important to keep in the first place…”

Chapter Nineteen

Seviche A LatinRestaurant was a posh, sophisticated spot on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky. English, Axel, Melanie, and a host of other friends gathered around for a well-deserved get-together. A nice evening of food and fellowship.

Desiree had gone for a taupe wrap dress as the outfit for this evening, and had decided to have her hair flat ironed and layered—something she hadn’t treated herself to in months. She sat between Legend and his sister, laughing her behind off as they sipped wines, imported beers, and listened to hoity-toity music versus the ‘Lemonade,’ song by Gucci Mane her man had blasted at high volume in his truck on their way over to the eatery.

“I like the vibe in here,” she whispered in Legend’s ear. “This is niiiice!”

“Yeah, baby,” he said, then continued talking to Axel, who was sitting across the table with his lovely wife, English.

Legend was dripping in diamonds and white attire. White diamond earrings. White diamond necklace. White diamond pinky ring. White jacket. White tie. White button-down shirt. White dress slacks. White Yates Oxfords. Something about it looked amazing on him, and he smelled so damn good, she could just gobble him up.

He snapped his fingers, and another bottle of wine was brought to the table. Just as it was being poured, English andAxel announced English would not be drinking that night. She’d just found out that she was pregnant with her second child.

A toast was made on behalf of the new baby coming into the world, and for some reason, Desiree felt so excited about the announcement, as if she were the one with child. Their group became rowdy with laughing and carrying on in the sophisticated restaurant, but thankfully they were in their own little remote section in the back, and they’d ordered enough wine, appetizers, and entrées to keep the owner happy.

Desiree was the new girl on the block. She’d met Axel and English a couple of times before, but hadn’t spent a lot of time with them. She felt out of the loop at times when the men spoke about things that happened when they were younger, in places she’d never heard of. This gave her time to scope everyone out.

English was so pretty, well-spoken and poised. She was one of those brainy chicks who looked like she should be on a mystery sitcom as the lead detective. Axel looked like a rocker with his long, dark blond hair and black leather attire. Like Legend, he was sexy without trying, and had a ruggedness about him that probably appealed to many. He appeared down-to-earth, despite the fact he now owned several properties, and ran a thriving bioremediation cleaning business.

Then there was Caspian, a journalist for some big news outlet, who’d flown into town from Georgia to join his friends. He was a cutie, handsome indeed, and looked like the proverbial boy next door. He had extraordinary light blue eyes with pupils that appeared a bit dilated, and was definitely the quietest of the three friends.

Regardless of his inobtrusive demeanor, though, something about him got under her skin. He came off as a bit secretive, perhaps even peculiar, and she’d caught him several times looking around the table at everyone—more in observation mode, than a sharing one. His voice was rich and low, and he’dnursed a glass of bourbon for most of the night. He also sat alone. No girlfriend, boyfriend, or wife in sight.

Axel picked up his glass and bumped his fork against it, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I wanna propose another toast. I just landed a big ass contract from an insurance company! Woohoo!!!” Everyone began to clap, and the wine started flowing once again.

Melanie leaned in closer to her and said, “You look so pretty tonight, Desiree. It’s nice to see you again!”

“Thank you. It’s nice to see you, too! You also look pretty, as always.”

Melanie was the physical female version of Legend, as far as she was concerned. Same eye shape, though her eyes were a different color, same nose, same lips, but her hair was a lighter shade than Legend’s, and she bore no freckles. With model, exotic looks, tall and thin, Melanie dressed nicely, and wore strong perfume. She smelled a bit like weed, too, but that was okay. The woman was friendly. Funny. A little ratchet. Smart.

What she liked most about her though was her brash and silly personality—like her brother’s. She was surprised to find that she and English were close as could be. Their personalities seemed totally opposite, but sometimes, these friendships worked.

Melanie burst out laughing at a joke Axel told, a pretty sound bellowing from the gut. Legend had spoken enough of his sister and mother to make her feel as if she practically knew them already. Thankfully, after waiting for quite a while, the dinner entrées arrived. Legend got to his feet, which stupefied her, and helped the servers load everything onto the table.

“Let me help you, man. Yeah, I got this…”

As much as we’re payin’ for this food, he needs to sit his ass on down.

But she kept quiet and let her man do his thing. They were dome-covered plates, much to her surprise, positioned at each place setting. The food was being presented differently from the way it had looked online. In fact, Legend had gotten a special invitation to cook at this very restaurant, as part of his internship, a couple of weeks ago, and he’d said nothing about any such presentations for the Caribbean, Mexican, and seafood fare.

She reached for one of the steel cloches before her to take a peek, but Legend swatted her hand away.

“Ouch!” It stung like hell. At times, the man didn’t seem to know his own strength.Especially in bed…She was surprised she could even walk after the previous weekend’s session.He tore my ass up.And then she smiled as the seedy thoughts flooded her mind. The burning sensation in her hand, however, snatched her right back out of the perverted memories. She shook her limb, a bit unnerved, angry, and wanting to hit him back. Since they were in mixed company, she held back, but she definitely was going to bring this shit up to him later. After the wait staff left, Legend remained standing.

“I cooked some of the food y’all will be eating tonight. I hope you enjoy it.”

The room lit up with applause once again. Desiree slowly brought her hands together and clapped, though she was right confused.

But he ain’t leave my house early. In fact, we were eight minutes late. When would he have had time to cook today? This ain’t Red Lobster. This expensive shit is cooked to order, and it’s fresh. Why is Legend over here lyin’ to these people?! He has lost his mind tonight.

She sighed, crossed her arms, and refused to play along. A slight sheen of sweat accumulated along his hairline as he rearranged the dishes.

It ain’t even hot in here. I hope he put on deodorant. He not about to be stinkin’ like a wild boar, and folks think that shit is me!

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