“Come on, Glimmy. Shots await us!” Kyomi sang.
They pulled her toward the bar, and Glimmer glanced behind her at Gideon. He smiled and nodded to let her know it was all good. His height allowed him the advantage to see her no matter where she went, and if they ventured inside, they’d better bet his ass would too. He couldn’t let her out of his sight, so really, she had nothing to worry about.
He watched as they went to the bar, and Haze slid up next to him. “Nigga, you sprung.”
Gideon simply shrugged. His words were no surprise, and he wasn’t even sure they were a lie. He definitely felt something heavy for Glimmer, and he got the sense that she felt the same for him.
“When you gonna settle down and find you a queen?” Gideon asked as he kept his eyes on Glimmer.
Haze finessed the hairs on his chin as he looked around the patio. Loud music blared, and women littered the place. Gideon saw them eying the Vicious Kings like vultures.
“Maybe I’ll find her here tonight,” Haze responded as he watched a tall woman with ass for days walk by him.
Haze normally didn’t pay women too much mind, other than for some pussy. He wasn’t the type to settle down, and they both knew it, but Gideon hoped one day that would change. Though Gideon had never been in a serious relationship, he always yearned for one. And shit, now he was a married man. It was crazy how God mapped that out.
His eyes found Glimmer again, while Haze followed behind the big booty woman, leaving Gideon alone. He was content standing back and watching Glimmer have a good time. Pup’s young ass, who wasn’t even old enough to drink, walked by him and handed him a shot.
“Take one down wit’ me, big dawg,” Pup said.
Gideon took the shot glass with brown liquid. “How yo’ young ass even get this shit?”
Pup held his shot up at a woman sitting at the bar. She batted her eyes at him, and he nodded. Gideon chuckled. Pup was a damn mess who loved older women.
“Shorty over there got them for me. Bottoms up.” Pup took his shot and waited for Gideon to take his before he took the glass from him and walked away.
Gideon’s eyes found Glimmer again. She smiled before she tossed back a shot. He loved seeing her like this. Carefree was how he always wanted her to be.
Finding a seat, Gideon watched the party around him as he listened to the Vicious Kings turn the party up. He joked with his family and laughed at their shenanigans, all while enjoying his view of Glimmer.
After a couple of hours, Gideon stood to stretch his long ass limbs when a woman he’d noticed eying him since he got there approached.
“Hey, handsome.” She ran a finger down his forearm. “You’re with the Vicious Kings, ain’t you? I seen you here before.”
Gideon was surprised by her bold nature. He wasn’t exactly approachable, and he normally didn’t have to worry about women trying to talk to him. It wasn’t that he wasn’t handsome. It was that he looked mean as hell when he rested his face. It was only when he chose to smile and speak that people realized they could sit down and have a beer with him and shoot the breeze.
He didn’t even have time to respond. He looked up and noticed Glimmer marching toward him with fire in her eyes. He didn’t mean to, but he smirked. It seemed as though he wasn’t the only one keeping an eye on someone special that night. Glimmer must have been keeping just as close of an eye on him.
Glimmer couldn’t believehow much fun she was having. She was a few shots in and feeling good. Liquor had never really been her thing, so when she did drink, she was a lightweight.
Kyomi flung her arms around Glimmer’s neck and rocked back and forth. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
Glimmer giggled. Kyomi was naturally emotional, but drunk Kyomi was on another level. The girl had been holding back happy tears since her first shot.
Glimmer hugged her back. “I’m happy too. Really happy.”
She whispered the last part because she realized at that moment just how happy she was. She spoke to her dad every day, and their relationship was stronger than ever. She hadn’t talked to her mom, which bothered her sometimes, but she alsofelt a sense of peace she’d never had before. Best of all, Trick had completely disappeared. She was no longer controlled by anyone else, and she didn’t have to live in fear or in hiding. Not only that, but she also had her friends back. Life was damn good.
When they pulled apart, Kyomi shouted at Ivy to get them another round of shots.
“Girl, we ’bout to be to’ up,” Tiki said with a giggle.
“That’s the plan,” Kyomi sang as she threw her arms around Deja. Glimmer guessed it was Deja’s turn for Kyomi’s emotions.
Glimmer smiled as she looked around the patio. She had yet to go inside and wasn’t even sure she would. The vibe outside was perfect for her.
Like always, her eyes landed on Gideon, but instead of smiling this time with feelings of warmth, a scowl immediately covered her face.
Some pretty light-skinned woman stood in Gideon’s face. Her smile told Glimmer all she needed to know. The bitch was flirting with him. Glimmer sat back and watched for a second. The woman had big curly hair and a bangin’ body. She couldn’t even deny her beauty, which instantly made her insecure. What she and Gideon had was so complicated. Yes, they were married, but they never really set rules for their marriage. Her mind drifted to all of Gideon’s vows. She never had a reason to wonder if he meant those vows, but right now, she couldn’t help but to question them.
