Heartbreak Me by T.L. Smith Page 0,61
up, and she pulls me to her for a hug. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.” I chuckle at her words. “How is Atlas? Treating you right?” She winks. “Tell me… have you slept with him yet?” I blush at her words. “Oh, gosh, you have. So, it’s serious?”
Most of the men I have been with have been serious, and even then, I wait to sleep with them. But Atlas, somehow, he’s different and has managed to crawl between my defenses.
“No, it’s not.”
“Are you letting your freak flag fly?” she says with a smirk.
“Freak flag?” I mumble, hiding my laugh.
Tina winks as the bartender happens to walk over at that exact moment.
“Two more gin and tonics,” Tina orders for us. “Our table should be ready soon. They are busy tonight.” I look over my shoulder and see just that; the place is packed. It’s a popular restaurant in our part of town, which is about twenty or so minutes from the city. But we like living out here.
“So, tell me all about Atlas.”
“Not much to tell, really.” I shrug. “We had sex.”
“That’s it? You just went ‘wham, bam, thank you, ma’am’ and off you went?”
“More like off he went.”
Tina cringes at my words. “Maybe he has commitment issues. All the pretty ones do.”
The bartender coughs at Tina’s comment, then hands us our drinks.
“Oh, you’re pretty too. I bet you have commitment issues, handsome.” He nods, then walks off. “See, the pretty ones are the fucked-up ones. And yours is deadly pretty. You know the type… they will singe you with their prettiness.”
“Is that even a saying?”
“Fucked if I know, but I am making it one.”
“Okay, then.” I smile.
“So, he gave you your job back. Are you going to be bringing that up anytime soon? What happened to the evil bitch and her cohort husband?” I told Tina that Atlas acquired the business and gave me my job back, plus a pay rise. She was as surprised as I was and didn’t ask too many questions at the time. I guess now is the time for the questions.
“I don’t know, and I’m not really sure I care. They not only fucked me over, but everyone who worked there.”
“I told you they were bad. I bet it was a gambling debt because you know, Atlas owns that casino in the city.”
“Probably.” She is right. But that’s not my business to divulge. As long as I have my job, I am happy.
“No man does that for just any woman. So don’t worry about the sex if you’re shit at it.” I hit her arm and shake my head. “He obviously likes your pussy to give you your job, and everyone else’s, back.”
“Maybe.”
“No. No maybes about it.” She picks up her drink and takes a sip. “So, any news on Lucy?”
All Tina knows is I haven’t seen her in a long while, and Atlas was in my life because of her.
“No, still hasn’t reached out or anything.”
“You need to stop enabling her. I know you have tried, but when she is in a pickle, you always recuse her.”
Because I’m all she has.
Or, so I thought.
“I heard she got married. Met her husband, actually,” I tell her, thinking about Benji.
Tina’s eyes pop wide as she openly glares at me. “Well, holy fuck.”
“Yep.”
“What a cunt.”
I chuckle at her words.
Our names are called, as they now have a table for us. The food is amazing, and by the time we leave, I’m well on my way to being tipsy and happy. Very happy, actually. Friends have that effect on you if they’re good ones.
“Theadora…” my name is called.
Tina’s hand clutches my forearm as I look in the direction of where my name just came from.
When I see my sister, I freeze.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Theadora
Lucy stands in front of me, one hand touching her other as she gazes at me. She looks good, not like I was expecting after being held captive. Her hair is dark and shiny, her makeup is flawless, and her clothes are designer.
“Lucy,” I say in disbelief.
Just then, Benji steps up next to her, gripping her waist as she leans into him, touching his chest with one hand.
“You have some nerve,” I tell her. Lucy has the cheek to look down. “No fucking ‘Thank you for saving my ass’? Not even a visit?” My voice is rising the angrier I get. I step up to Lucy and attempt to pull at her arm, trying to walk away so I can talk to her in