“We are gonna break some hearts tonight, honey,” she says.

“Hopefully not mine.”

I spin around at Chris’ voice. He walks in, his eyes dragging over me from head to toe.

“Jesus.”

“You like?”

“I can’t let you leave the house like that without me.”

“Oh, really?”

He wraps his arms around my waist as I raise a defiant brow at him.

“Can’t have anybody looking at my woman.”

I pull away, guilt racking my body. “Can’t stop people from looking, Christopher,” I tell him.

“Get out, Chris, before I tell Mom. You’re not going to ruin our night.”

“Fine, fine.” He kisses my neck and then strokes my hair. “Have fun, and call me if you need anything.”

“We won’t,” Chrissy says.

“Whatever, sis. Take care of my girl.”

“Boy, ‘bye! She’s my bitch tonight. You’ll be lucky if you get her back once she’s had a taste of me.”

“Gross.”

Chrissy sticks her tongue out at him and I burst out laughing.

“Come on, Ray.”

I grab my leather jacket and we head downstairs. Chris drops us off at Chiquita’s in his dad’s car, kissing my cheek before I get out.

“Call me when y’all are ready.”

“‘Kay.”

We walk in to the sound of nineties hip-hop – Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up,” the clean version. Better yet, let me say, the edited version. Chrissy is bouncing like she’s ready to hit the dance floor. A few guys whistle as we walk by and Chrissy wiggles her fingers at them. We’re shown to a table and immediately start people watching as we look through the menu.

“There are some hot guys here,” Chrissy says, eyeing a group of men in a corner.

“I thought tonight was about us girls?”

“Hey, you have two. I’m just playing catch-up.”

“Whatever.”

“Raven, I know you like him and all, but…”

“But what?”

“Don’t you think he’s a little old for you?” she asks, quickly getting serious on me.

“His age doesn’t matter to me. Besides, you know what they say – a new broom sweeps clean, but an old broom knows every corner.”

I wink at her and she throws her head back, laughing.

“So, he’ll be sweeping your corners?”

“Chrissy, I wish I could explain to you how I feel when he touches me.”

“Fireworks?”

“Frickin’ Fourth of July and New Year’s rolled into one.”

Her eyes widen and she loses her smile. She holds my stare and nods in understanding. I’m so glad I can talk to her about this without judgment.

“I got you.”

She squeezes my fingers and brightens up once more.

“Enough of that. No more deep stuff. We came here to eat and shake our asses, right?”

“Right,” I say with a smile.

“Good.”

We listen and sing along as the DJ plays some more Cash Money hits, Ruff Ryders, No Limit, Biggie, Pac, and a whole lot more.

“You were right. The DJ is really good.”

“I know, right?”

We jam our way through chips and salsa and some empanadas before the music changes. It’s as if the DJ is playing especially for me. He slows it down and plays Sam Smith’s “Leave Your Lover”. Chrissy’s eyes meet mine and she shrugs. Then he plays “Stay With Me” and “Like I Can.”

“Is this a sign?” I ask. The lyrics of each song are hitting way too close to home.

“Don’t concentrate on that. How’s your Churrasco?”

“Good. How’s your Mahi Mahi?”

“Here, try it.”

She extends her fork to me and I do the same, offering her a bite of my steak.

“It’s good,” I tell her.

“Mm hmm.”

My phone vibrates on the table and I look down to see a text from Gage. He tried his best to hide it, but I could tell he was disappointed when I called him earlier to cancel our plans.

G: Having fun without me?

R: So far…eating right now.

“Which one is it?”

“Gage.”

“What did he say?”

“Just wanted to know if we’re having fun.”

“That’s nice.”

G: Don’t worry about the bill. I got you.

Chrissy must have seen the confused look on my face. “What is it?” she asks.

“He says he’s taking care of our bill.”

“Shit. If I’d known, I would have gotten the lobster.”

We laugh and she raises her glass for a toast. I tap mine against hers.

“To not worrying about our bill,” she says, giggling.

I send him a quick thank you before Chrissy starts jumping up and down in her seat. The music has changed and the DJ is now playing Gusttavo Lima’s “Balada”.

“I love this song! Let’s dance,” she squeals.

We throw off our jackets and she grabs my hand, pulling me to the dance floor. Here we go.

CHAPTER 16 ***Gage***

I’ve been watching her since the moment she walked in. Of course, she doesn’t know I’m here, but I couldn’t stay away. I had to see her. Ron and Booker are with me. Ron’s already figured me out, but Booker is clueless. They’re having a good time, though.

When she told me about her little girls’ night out, I was disappointed. But then I decided to stop being a pussy and let her have some fun. And then I thought about all the fuckers who would be here hitting on her, so here I am in full pussy/stalker mode.

They remove their jackets and head to the dance floor. My soldier immediately stands at attention. Legs, thighs, breasts…I don’t know where to focus.

“Damn, Chrissy got hot.”

For once, I take my eyes off Raven and look to her friend. Ron’s right. There must be something in the fucking water these days. I adjust myself as they start to dance, shaking their asses and grinding on each other. Fuck, my girl can move. She rolls her hips, slowing down and speeding up to match the beat. I sure hope she’ll utilize these skills in the bedroom.

Ron and Booker both sit up and lean forward, watching the show. I’m about to go upside both their heads when I realize that it’s not just them. All the fuckers with a dick are staring at her. Well, both of them, but Chrissy’s not mine, Raven is. I clench my teeth and restrain myself. She’s not doing anything wrong, and I don’t want to ruin her night.

A few guys try to dance with them, but the girls brush them off. That is, until Ron walks over there and whispers in Chrissy’s ear. She looks to Raven who waves them off. She turns to head back to the table and bumps right into him, the boyfriend. I grab the arms of my chair to stop myself from going over there. They exchange a few words and then he pulls her into his arms. They begin to dance but it looks more like vertical fucking to me. With each step, my anger rises. He pushes her against the wall and basically starts humping her. I lose my shit. The chair topples over as I bolt to my feet and march right over there.

I grab her arm and pull her away from him roughly. Her eyes widen in surprise.

“Gage! What are you doing here?”

“What the fuck are you doing?” I demand.

“Hey! Get your hands off my girl!” the boyfriend shouts.

Ron and Booker show up and restrain the little fucker before I snap on him. I drag her behind me and head for the exit at the back. I hear the boy shouting, but all I can think is that I need to get her out of here. She struggles against me, trying to pull out of my grasp.

“Stop!” I say through clenched teeth.

She stops struggling but I still have to drag her along. I push through the door and look around to make sure we’re alone. Satisfied, I push her against the wall, trapping her with my body. “What the fuck was that?”

“I could ask you the same thing! How could you embarrass me like that in front of all those people?”

“Embarrass you? You were practically fucking him in front of everyone!”

“It’s not fucking. It’s called the Bachata.”

“I give zero fucks what it’s called! This is your supposed girls’ night?”

“He wasn’t supposed to be here. He just showed up. Like someone else, I see.”