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“Good morning, beautiful,” he said against my lips, before kissing me.
If kissing were a sport, I’d bet money on knocking panties off every woman he kissed. He was confident, sensual and had just the right amount of playfulness. He made my abdomen clench in arousal forgetting that I was sore. I rolled my hips against his lap, pulling a moan from him. “As much as I would like to have you for breakfast, we need to talk,” Vincent said, resting his forehead against my own.
I wanted to roll my eyes and pout like a child, but I thought better of it. He was right. We needed to talk.
“Talking is overrated,” I said, rolling my eyes, getting me a swat on the ass. “I’m kidding, but I know I have to say some things.”
“You don’t have to, but after last night, I think it would be best for you and all of us.” Vincent tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Ok,” I said, as he helped me off him and into the seat next to him. “I thought things were fine…”
My throat constricted with emotion, feeling like I was exposing my dirty laundry to them.
“I lived in an apartment with four other girls because living in the city is too expensive and I didn’t have a car. Scratch that, I couldn’t afford a car,” I said, feeling hot with embarrassment. I looked down at my hands that were clenching the end of the shirt in a death grip. “I guess I should start before that. I dated a man for two years, he…”
My lip trembled, my face grew hotter, and my eyes blurred with tears.
“I thought he was the one, we had talked about our future and when he wanted to start a company, I supported him. We used the house I got from my grandparents as collateral. The company needed more money than he thought so we had to increase the loan and when he needed someone answering the phones and other things, I quit my job to help him. He paid me just enough to cover my bills and pay the loan.”
I took a deep breath, afraid to look up at them.
“He proposed and I really thought I was investing in our future. The company was having a hard time, so I took a second job with Cheryl, so we could cut my pay, but I could still pay my bills. I took a job at the last minute and I came into Denver. At the time, we were living in Colorado Springs at my home there. I had to park far from the venue and on my way there, I saw him with his wife and kids.”
“Fuck.” One of them whispered.
“He walked by me, his eyes widened as he recognized me, but he kept walking. I was in shock that I didn’t do anything and when I finally got home that night, he had taken all of his things.”
I wiped my cheeks, hating that I had cried for that asshole.
“I called and he never answered. A week went by and the number was disconnected. Then I visited the office, and he was forced to speak to me. He acted like an arrogant asshole, acting like what we had for two years was nothing and then the real bomb went off. All the loans were in my name, and he refused to pay me a dime.”
“Son of a bitch,” Vincent growled beside me. “Did you take him to court?”
“Everything was in my name, how do you prove that he used that money for his business or that I gave it to him?” I looked at Vincent. “I spoke with a lawyer and he said my chances were slim and all I would do was incur more debt trying to get this debt cleared.”
“That’s bullshit,” Easton snarled. “How long has it been?”
“It’s been eight months since we broke up,” I said, looking back down at my hands. “But even then, how long am I going to wait for this asshole to pay for it?”
“I can speak to my colleague,” Easton said. “I’m sure we can figure out something.”
I wanted to feel relief, but I still had the rest of my story to tell.
“Well, after I was left with the debt, I put the house up for rent to buy me some time, but I was only able to rent it for the exact cost of the house payment. He also left me with a mountain of credit card debt, and I had my student loans. I’ve had a hard time finding a job that pays decently or that’s not temporary. I couldn’t go to my previous job because they had already filled my position.
So, I thought moving to Denver would give me more opportunities at finding a good paying job. I found an ad for cheap rent, but it was living with four girls. Well, last week one girl took two months of our rent and bolted and we were kicked out. I didn’t want to ask for help because I know I can only rely on myself.”
The room was silent after I finished my story.
“Noemi, I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Easton said right next to me.
I was so lost in thought I didn’t hear him. Trying to be brave, I looked up at him, expecting to see pity in his eyes, but all I saw was anger.
“That son of a bitch deserves to be taken to court and I promise, I will find out everything I can to see what we can do,” he said, cupping my cheeks. “I’m sorry I pushed you, but I just had a gut feeling that you needed help and instead of letting you come to me, I pestered you and that wasn’t right. I’m so fucking sorry, but living in a car was not safe, Noemi.”
“I know, I just couldn’t leave the girls,” I cried, jumping into his arms feeling guilty for everything, but especially for the fact that this entire story was about his best friend, and he deserved the truth.
The sound of a chair sliding on the floor sounded and then I was sandwiched in between them. They each laid their head on my shoulder, giving me the comfort I needed.
