They both start hysterically laughing.
“I take it Owens has said nice things about me?”
“Not even close. And why the hell do you call her Owens? Her momma named her Ursula. It’s a beautiful name. She’s not some player on your team. She’s a woman with a name and she’s my sister!”
The two of them high five each other.
“That’s right!”
The bar starts playing Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom” and all of a sudden Owens breaks out in song. I’ve never heard her sing a note in her life.
“This is my mom’s song, Monica!”
“Philadelphia freedom shine on me. I love you. Shine a light …”
All I can do is watch. I take a seat on one of the wooden bar stools and listen to them sing the remainder of the song. They’re horrible. Hitting flat notes. Totally off tempo. But I’ve never seen Owens look happier. And when I look around the bar, I can tell that a lot of other men see what I am seeing right now.
The light.
The glow.
That incandescent thing that some women simply have without even trying.
The shine that draws men toward them like a beacon.
I see a man at the end of the bar gathering the courage to approach. He’s young. Scraggly beard. A hunger in his eyes. I stare him down until he understands.
Stay away.
Stay very fucking far away.
Another song comes on. This time it’s Elton John’s “Benny and The Jets.”
Oh, hell no. I can’t listen to another note. Light or no light.
“Okay, girls, it’s time to call it a night.”
I scoop her around the waist.
“Say good night, Owens.”
“Good nnnight, Owens,” she slurs back.
Chapter Nineteen
COOP
“Noooo … It’s way too early, Mr. Barnes.”
Owens holds onto the sides of my shirt to keep her balance as I walk her back to the table to pay the tab and get the hell out of here. I like her tucked under me like this. She fits perfectly.
“Ewww, gross. No wonder he calls you Owens. It’s because you call him Mr. Barnes. What’s wrong with you two? You both act like you’re Nana’s age.”
“She just started that mister nonsense,” I say defending myself.
“Are you seeing Ariana Grande?”
The sister may be even drunker than Owens.
