Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
He sidled up at the bar and handed the pouch to one of the bartenders, Dale, then ordered a beer. He had exactly ten minutes before he needed to head across the room and start manning the place. Breaks on Saturday nights were scarce. The establishment was just too busy, and too much ruckus happened if one got too comfortable and let their guard down. He drank half the pint, pitched the rest down the sink behind the bar, then made a pit stop to the restroom. Piss-soaked tissue was scattered on the painted green floor, and he kicked a wad of it out of the way as he approached a urinal.
When he was finished relieving himself, he washed his hands and dried them with a paper towel, which he tossed in the overflowing trashcan on the way out to the dancefloor area. He scanned the room and saw two other bouncers making their rounds, guns on their hips and chins up. Slipping his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time, then headed toward the VIP tables. It wasn’t long before another fight broke out, and he and another bouncer escorted three drunk men out the front door, tossing them like garbage onto the sidewalk. Curse words and the all too familiar, “Do you know who I am?!” was hurled in their direction as they turned their backs on the riffraff.
As he came back inside after the altercation, ready to head over to the dancefloor, he noticed a woman sitting at the bar staring down into a glass of red wine. Thick dark brown hair flowed down, obscuring part of her face until she tucked it behind her ear to reveal a sparkling gold and diamond rose-shaped earring. Her lips were glossy and tulip-shaped with a defined Cupid’s bow, and her eyes were large with heavy lids. She was a rich umber complexion, and almost appeared in a trance.
And then, she smiled, revealing a row of snow-white teeth.
The expression was odd. Picturesque. Wretched. She reminded him of the lyrics to a sad love song, words wrapped around a slow beat, clinging to a lulling rhythm. Her smile broke out from the darkness though, like a rainbow after a storm.
His body warmed at the sight.
Where did this woman come from? I don’t remember letting her in here.
Her body was encased in a long, plain black dress, the fabric clinging to curves and lengthy limbs. She nervously swung one of her crossed legs back and forth, her feet clad in white sneakers. Perhaps she’d just gotten off from working somewhere and wanted to kick up her feet for a bit. She appeared to be alone. No one was engaging in conversation with her, and she was singularly focused on her drink. It didn’t seem that she was familiar with the two men chatting to her right, nor the lady on the other side of her who was texting on her phone. This woman with the expressive warm eyes was by herself.
This wasn’t exceptionally strange. Sometimes people arrived solo, possibly after a bad date, or it could be, their friends decided to leave early. But something about her made him want to draw closer, see her from a better vantage point. Something about the way her body bowed forward, and the way her hand gripped the stem of the glass… reminded him of something familiar. When he was about four feet away, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Had his intuition been right? No, it couldn’t be her…
He leaned against the bar and stared at her for a few seconds. Same features…
“…Nadia?”
“Yeah? Who wants to know?” The woman slowly looked up from her wine glass, and their eyes locked like the intertwined fingers of lovers.
She cocked her head to the side, and her lips pursed as if to say, ‘Not another shitty man trying to hit on me.’ And then, her eyes widened, and her full lips parted.
“Ain’t no way… Oh my God!” She cackled. The wrinkles in her forehead smoothed right before his eyes. “Lennox? Is that really you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Damn, it’s been a long time, lady! Come ’ere.” Without a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight. Her strong yet lovely perfume filled his nostrils, and the sweet scent of her hair as it brushed against his nose and lips put him in mind of strawberries and cream. They slowly pulled away from one another, and silence ensued. In this noisy place, for just a second, a mere wink of time, there was nothing but the two of them.
“I thought you lived in Atlanta now. What brings you back here?” he said after clearing his throat.
“Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta.” She rolled her eyes and slumped back down onto the barstool. “Nah, that place didn’t work out.” She turned away and took a sip of her wine.