“Was that who was laying on the doorbell? A delivery guy?” Lyric stepped into my room and asked.
“Yes. Luca sent me this hat and chef’s jacket. I never even mentioned being a cake maker.”
“He’s meticulous, Ever. You didn’t have to. He pays attention to detail and your Instagram says you’re the cake woman. Your profile image is also you and a cake.”
“I guess I’ve just never had a man pay much attention to me,” I admitted with a shrug. “This means so much.”
“As it should, and you deserve it. I saw the little comment he posted under your picture. What’s up with seven? Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Me, too. And, yes. There is something. He invited me on a date and promised to be here by seven.”
“And you didn’t feel the need to scream that when you walked through the door? Honey, we have to get you together.”
“You were working.”
“Ever, I’m an accountant for the Einsenbergs. All of them. From my father to my mother to my brothers. I could’ve stopped if I wanted to.”
“What about your other accounting gig?”
“Two hours of work a day, and I’m literally done. They pay me well but my family pays me better. I can’t give them all of my time like that.”
I’d said the same thing. It was obvious that Lyric was the princess of the family and was compensated well. However, I imagined the bulk of her work was for the company that she’d been working for since I met her. Now, I understood it was her family’s finances that got most of her time. It was as if I learned something new every day about my friend. Long distance friendship Lyric and local Lyric were two different people.
“Okay, that makes sense.”
“Alright, let’s get you to the store. We don’t have long, girl.”
We decided to take my car to the mall with Lyric at the wheel. She drove like a bat out of hell to get us there in under twenty minutes. Luckily, all the stores had mall entrances as well as outdoor entrances, which helped tremendously in our time crunch. We made it to Zara and walked right in from the parking lot.
“We should split up to cover more ground,” I suggested.
“Yeah. If we haven’t found anything in ten minutes, let’s meet at the door that leads us to the mall. We can go by Nordstroms or Forever21.”
“Forever21, but only because it’s so much smaller. I’d rather not have so many options.”
“Okay. I’ll call you to the dressing room if I find anything.”
As planned, we separated and began our searches. I combed through the pieces that were closer to the front while Lyric searched the area near the cash registers. Though I liked a few of the pieces they had to offer, I didn’t love any of them. Nothing stood out to me and nothing seemed good enough for the date night with Luca. Everything was mediocre. I wanted some sassiness going on.
“There you are.” Lyric sighed when she found me at the mall entrance.
“Didn’t find anything either?” I asked.
“Nothing worth taking a second look at. Let’s head to Forever21. I’m sure they have something we can put together really quickly.”
“If it ain’t Lyric motherfucking Einsenberg in the flesh,” a deep rasp blurted in the busy mall.
I looked up to find what was arguably the blackest man I’d ever seen walking in our direction. As much as I wanted to tear my eyes from him and look to Lyric for an explanation, I couldn’t. His midnight black skin and gold teeth that shined as he showcased the dimpled smile was too commanding. I couldn’t help but wonder where all of these men were when I was living in Channing my entire life before moving, searching for some decent material. There was none! Since I’d moved back, I’d run into four men who were breathtaking, two of them being the Einsenberg brothers.
“Ken,” Lyric acknowledged the handsome specimen, opening her arms to embrace him.
“Long fucking time. I just ran into your hoe ass brother earlier. Nigga didn’t plan on telling me he was out, I don’t think,” he fussed. His smile immediately turned into a smug expression as his brows furrowed on his face.
“You know that’s not true. He’s still processing it himself. Eight years is a long time, Ken.”
“Don’t I know,” he replied, combing over Lyric’s body with his eyes. Even in a simple pair of denim and a white cropped top, she was stunning. “That’s how long it’s been since I’ve run into you. Where you been hiding?”
“In the house. Staying out of the way. My ignorant choices led to my brother’s incarceration. I had nothing to be happy about or outside for. I did his time with him if you ask me,”Lyric answered, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She continued to wipe her palms on her pants and fix her top, though nothing was wrong with it. I chuckled inside, knowing the motions she was going through all too well.
