She winked at me. “Say less.” Picking up the wing, she discreetly sucked the meat off the bone. After placing it on her plate, she demurely dabbed at her lips with a napkin.
“Me next,” Erickson whispered to her.
All of us laughed.
He looked genuinely surprised. “Y’all heard that?”
“You ain’t never been good at whispering,” Lamar joked, before telling me a story about one of their many shenanigans. “The more alcohol in his system, the louder he becomes.”
Tara lifted her finger in the air. “Can confirm.” After our amusement died down, she looked at me and gave me a cunning smile. “So, I know you two met at a sports bar. But what’s the story? What was your first impression of Lamar?”
I wiped my mouth after taking my last bite. “I’d had a rough day and just needed to clear my mind, so I was sitting at the bar, watching the game. And he sits down and just starts talking. He engaged me in conversation, and the more we talked, the better I felt. His energy is just so genuine and calming. As he talked, I saw how passionate and intelligent and funny he is. Obviously, he’s handsome. But it was how he made me comfortable enough to open up to him in a way that I never have before that really drew me to him.” I turned to face Lamar even though I was still talking to Tara. “He has felt like a safe space from the moment I met him.”
Lamar reached over and stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers. Swallowing hard, he pulled his hand back and nodded. He didn’t say anything with his words, but his eyes were speaking to me.
“Awwww,” Tara squealed. “I love that!”
“Well, he called me the next day going on and on and on about you,” Erickson informed me.
Ripping his eyes from mine, Lamar erupted into the biggest grin. “E, come on now.”
Intrigued, I focused on his best friend. “Oh really?” I leaned forward a bit. “What did he say?”
Putting his glass to his lips, he finished his dark liquor. “Honestly, he said all the same stuff you just said about him. But what stuck out to me was that this man doesn’tevercall me to tell me about a woman.” He pointed at me. “But with you, it was different.”
I glanced over at Lamar. “Really?”
“Really,” Erickson answered for him. “And the way he talked about you in Dubai, I had no choice but to make sure you were added to the guest list.”
Lamar looked at me, and a small smile played on his lips.
He’s inviting me to the wedding?!I bit my bottom lip and nodded.And I accept.
“I think what Erickson is getting at is that I’ve been a big fan of yours from the beginning,” Lamar said, reaching over to me. When I put my hand in his, he continued. “Still am.”
“You got my boy’s nose wide open,” Erickson pointed out, almost giddily. “I love to see it!”
Lamar chuckled, but he didn’t deny it. “So, did y’all ever figure out what you were doing with the house?” He turned to me. “They were renting out a house, and their renters had to be evicted.”
“I’ll let Erickson give you the update,” Tara said, sliding her chair back. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room. Jazmyn, you want to come with?”
“Yeah,” I answered, pushing away from the table.
Before I could even stand, Lamar was up with one hand on my chair and the other hand extended for me to take. I smiled as he helped me out of my seat.
“Thank you,” I murmured, enjoying the closeness of Lamar as I eased by him.
Tara giggled as I joined her, and we made our way to the restroom.
“Erickson and Lamar are like brothers,” Tara said as we turned the corner.
“I can tell. Lamar always speaks so highly of him. Of both of you really.”
“I’ve known Lamar for years. He’s also like a brother to me after all this time.” She opened the door of the bathroom, and we both walked in. “He’s such a good man. The type of man you want the love of your life to be best friends with because you know he’s a good influence. So, as his big sister, I want him to be happy.” Stopping at the sink, she pulled a lipstick out of her bag. “He’s excelling in his dream career. He’s doing well financially.” She stared at me through the reflection in the mirror. “And for the first time ever, he’s with someone who’s good for him and he’s good for.”
“First time? What do you mean?” I asked carefully, not trying to jump to conclusions.
“Did he ever tell you about Milan?”
