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“There you are, muffin. I've been looking for you everywhere.” A woman slurred behind us. “I wanna go home, baby.” His jaw clenched several times though he never looked away, like he was thinking about what to do next. I made the first move by snapping out
of the trance his eyes held me in.
I broke free from his arms and stepped back to see a pretty blonde looking unbelievably gorgeous in a tight red dress leaning against the wall. The same one I’d seen in the club before, sitting at the table with everyone and hanging on to H’s arm. Even in her drunken state, she could easily be posing in a magazine advertisement for the designer of that dress she was wearing. I’d forgotten all about her and from the look on H’s face, so did he.
“I wanna go home.” She slurred again with a pout as she tried to push away from the wall, only the tip back against it again. Her gaze finally landed on me as she lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow while trying to understand the scene before her. I decided it was time for me to leave before I ended up in a brawl with drunken Barbie right there in the hallway. I rushed into the bathroom but to my surprise H followed me inside.
“Get out!” I shouted and glared at him incredulously.
“Why are you running from me? What the hell is going on?” He demanded as he stepped into my personal space forcing me backward until I was against the vanity.
“Get out!” I repeated a second time, with venom dripping from my voice.
“Why?”
“Your girlfriend is waiting.”
“My girlfriend? Who? Tara? She’s Rich Boy’s sister. We’re… friends.” He winced at the description as soon as he spoke it, I knew what he meant by “friends.”
“I don't give a shit what y'all choose to call it. Now, will you please leave?” H opened his mouth to speak at the same time Donnie came flying into the ladies’ room.
“What the hell is going on? Whoa! H? What are you doing in here?” Donnie asked while glancing between the two of us, trying to figure out what was happening. Then suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. “H,” his voice was stern. “I need you to get out of here, man. Now.”
H took a reluctant step before looking at me one last time.
“You have it all wrong, Annie.”
I watched him turn his back and leave. All I could do was stand there and consider what he'd said. What did I have wrong? He was with that girl, wasn't he?
On the drive home, I wondered if I had just watched my latest mistake walk away. When I fell asleep that night, I closed my eyes and wished with my whole heart to be wrong.
****
The next day I called Elizabeth to come and sit with the boys while I searched for a new place to work. There were too many reasons to count why I couldn't go back to the Jumpstart. The main and most important one was Hal. Even if Tara wasn't his girlfriend, he had something going on with her. It was obvious the time we'd spent together and the kiss we shared wasn't enough for him to cancel plans with other women. He didn't owe me anything and I was well aware of that.
A month ago I might have been okay with the situation but that had changed. I couldn't afford to make any more mistakes. I'd been given a second chance to do things the right way and I wasn't going to waste it. The next man I let into my bed will have to want to be my husband. Not someone looking for a good time. No, he has to be looking to spend a lifetime with me.
Chapter Fourteen
Two months later...
“Good night, y'all!” I called as I turned the lock to the front doors of McCray's Market.
“Night, Annie.” Two checkout girls who'd worked the late shift with me called back as we parted ways in the parking lot. McCray's was the place I'd been working for the past couple of months. It was a small, high-end grocery store in a fancy part of town. Not my ideal way to earn a living but the pay was decent. I got to spend time with the boys in the mornings since Elizabeth had early classes. We arranged for her to come over in the afternoons so I could work, and on nights where I scheduled a singing gig to supplement my modest paycheck.
I hadn’t been working at McCray's long before an opening for assistant manager became available. The owner liked the way I handled the customers and motivated the rest of the staff, so he offered me the position. I happily accepted it, because it meant more pay.
Money was always tight but I had what I needed to get by. My boys were happy which meant I was happy. Well, almost.
I cranked up my car and started the drive back home with a mixture of excitement and dread.
Hal would be there. He was usually the one to bring Elizabeth back and forth to my house. He had tried to talk to me several times since that night in the bathroom but I wasn’t ready to listen. I needed to create distance and clear my head of men. I had my kids to focus on and that had to be my priority.
That still did not stop him. A week after our cleaning closet encounter, both boys had been running fevers. Elizabeth and I were taking turns caring for them while I went to work. After a couple of days I’d made a late night decision to go to the doctor, and Hal showed up at my door ready to help. I was a relieved mess as I threw my arms around him. I never even asked him to come, he was just there. As if he knew that I needed him. Sometimes being a single mother was hard and having another person there to share some of the load made all the difference.
“I’m not the bad guy you think I am, Annie.” He said quietly as we sat beside each other in the emergency room waiting area, each of us cradling a sick child.
“I know.” I whispered, not able to think of anyone else I would rather have there with me. “I’m glad you’re here, Hal.”
