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The woman to her credit, was unaffected. “Now you know I’m expecting to hear from you,” she flashed a smile and leaned over just enough to give him a great view of her surgically enhanced cleavage.
This time he smiled up at her, stealing a quick glance at her tits. “You know I don’t take orders from anyone Melody.” Finally he noticed, or remembered she was there. “This is Charla, she owns a business here in town.”
Melodygave her a quick assessing gaze and found her lacking before turning back to Kasim. “How nice.”
“I doubt it,” she answered back, unwilling to go back to letting the beautiful people make her feel less than. She let them talk, no flirt until the leggy Melody could no longer stand in her ridiculous shoes.
“Melody is an old acquaintance,” he explained unnecessarily.
Charla shrugged nonchalantly. “Not my business.” He frowned but she refused to explain what they both knew to be true. He hadn’t introduced her as his girlfriend, lover or significant other and that spoke volumes. They enjoyed the appetizers in uncomfortable silence and conversation had just begun to pick up over their main dishes when another group approached their table. Just fucking great. She drank her wine, hardly moving the rim from her lips while they talked. About nothing really. She’d zoned out until one of the two men asked a question about her.
“Your new flavor of the month Kasim?”
He scoffed—scoffed!—and shook his head. “Charla is a friend and businesswoman who’s brain I’m picking.”
After that she completely ignored all of them, even the busty redhead who’d slipped Kasim her number before flitting off between the men. He turned to her, finally with a smile. “Dessert?”
“No. I’m ready to go home.” And never, ever repeat this evening. Ever. They drove home in silence after his few attempts to start a conversation went nowhere.
“What’s wrong,” he finally got around to asking when he pulled up in front of her place, his tone full of exasperation.
“Nothing. I’m just going to go to bed. I’ll talk to you later,” she told him and closed the door behind her. Waiting until she was on the other side of her door, in her pajamas and under the covers before she let herself cry over things that could never be.
The night had showed her, better than anything else could have, just how ill suited they were for each other.
* * *
Charla was late. Again. Her granny always said she’d be runnin’ late to her own funeral. Being a supportive friend was hard damn work, she thought, remembering those rough teenage years when she would have given anything for a friend like Rabiya. Tonight though, she would have given anything to have a reason to stay home. But since she’d been instrumental in getting her friend’s business off the ground, supporting her tonight on her biggest job so far was essential.
Dressed in a sexy red lace dress that gave her the appearance of nudity with a matching mask, adorned with feathers and jewels for the masquerade ball she was already twenty minutes late getting to, she felt like a fraud. But this is what friends do, she reminded herself as the valet helped her from the car. “Thank you,” she flashed a smile that had the young boy’s face stained a vibrant shade of pink.
“No problem, ma’am.”
She always got a kick out of people calling her ma’am because back in Alabama that was a sign of respect, and in Tambray everyone knew the Montgomery girls weren’t worthy of respect. Here in Colorado though, she was a different woman. One deemed worthy of respect.
“Oh my gosh there you are! I was sure you wouldn’t make it,” Rabiya rushed to her and flung her arms around Charla like she was a lifeline.
“What’s the matter?”
Tears welled in her big brown eyes. “Nothing. Everything. Just nerves and Jax brought some blonde bimbo with mile long legs as his date. And Kasim is being a bear.”
Charla’s heart went out to her friend, so desperately in love with a man who simply didn’t see her. Sound familiar, her inner voice taunted. The difference was that Rabiya wanted Jax to see her. Charla already knew how Kasim felt. How he saw her. “Well your brother is always a bear and Jax, well if he can’t see what’s right in front of him, why would you want such an idiot?”
Rabiya giggled and hugged Charla even tighter. “I’m sorry for blubbering all over you. I’m supposed to be an adult yet here I am acting like a teenager.”
Pulling her towards the lavish ladies’ room, Charla helped her fix her makeup. “Look honey, teenagers don’t have the market cornered on emotions. You’re allowed to have them, but maybe let’s get drunk about it after tonight is over and done with?”
With a shaky smile she nodded. “Sounds good. Thanks Charla, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“For now you don’t have to find out. Now let’s get out there and do this.” As soon as they entered the ballroom several people approached Rabiya with questions so Charla headed to the bar. She would grab a drink, pretend to circulate and in ninety minutes she would be at home, drinking beer by the fire and watching crime documentaries until she fell asleep.
“You look stunning tonight,” a familiar deep voice whispered in her ear, pressing his body into hers.
She spun around and smiled politely, barely suppressing a moan at the tasty treat he made in a tuxedo and black leather mask with peacock feathers. “Thank you masked man, you’re lookin’ mighty fine yourself.”
“Dance with me.” He took her hand, weaving their fingers together as he pulled her through the throngs of partygoers and onto the dance floor.
“You didn’t wait for my answer,” she told him with a pout she didn’t really feel. Two weeks had passed since they’d last been together at dinner and even though it was her decision, she longed to be exactly where she was right now. In his arms. She missed him something fierce but she knew it was for the best, which was why she intended to enjoy this one dance. Any more than that and she might slip up and find herself in his bed again.
