Into the Darkness

“I thought Nikki already wore those as earrings,” I sarcastically answered.

“OHHHHH SNAP!” Eric cheered.

“Sorry man, but he has a point. Why the fuck are you so whipped anyway?” Elijah joked.

“Dude, my wife’s hot! She’s my baby-momma plus she’s as kinky as shit in the bedroom. There was this one time—” Nikki came up behind him and pinched his ear like a naughty first grader.

“What were you saying about me?” she huffed.

“Uh nothing…that you are beautiful…a great mother and a gentle person.”

Eric almost spat out his sangria. I hid my laughter behind the wine glass I was holding. Elijah tried his best to keep a straight face but he was failing miserably.

“I’ll deal with you later,” she answered in a commanding tone. Rocky’s eyes lit up; damn, he was right about the kinky shit.

“OK, I’m outty you guys,” Eric chirped. “My friend texted me and turns out Tyler Beckford was seen at a club. I’m just waiting to find out where.” He continued texting on his cell, faster than the speed of light. Seriously, young folk and social media these days. I knew Tyler was at the club. I ran into him last week and he asked me if he could bring a few girls with him. The more the merrier, I said. If he was there, paparazzi would be there which meant more publicity for the club.

“After Dark. He’ll be there in about an hour in the VIP area. Tell them your name. I’ll put you on this list.” I took out my cell and texted Antonio who was head of security tonight.

“Lex, I love you to infinity and beyond. Oh em gee!”

“Just don’t hug me and get all Brokeback Mountain on me.”

“As much as I would love to, Charlie would chop my wang off. And I quote: ‘He is mine, so all those fucking women and men better back off.’”

I’ll admit hearing those words fed my ego. Calling me hers, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Except for her to actually say it to my face when she wasn’t drunk or in the middle of an impending orgasm. Eric said goodbye and thanked me again, going in for the hug anyway.

Charlotte and Adriana came back to the table. It made me smile that she looked happy. Or maybe the word I was looking for was relaxed. She wasn’t uptight like she usually was.

“You ready to go, babe?” Adriana asked Elijah.

“Ready when you are, princess,” Elijah murmured.

“Dude, I ain’t the only one without balls!” Rocky chuckled.

“What can I say? I’m the luckiest guy alive…with no balls.” Elijah laughed.

Adriana snuggled by his side and said goodbye to everyone. Then she quickly pulled me aside. “Are you OK, Lex?”

“Yes I am, worry wart. Please take Elijah home and do whatever it is you young kids do these days.”

“Well, actually we were thinking—”

“Adriana, it’s an expression. I don’t want to know.”

She hugged me tight. “I love you big brother.”

“Love you too, lil’ sis.”

She may have been a royal pain in my ass but I couldn’t have asked for a better sister. I didn’t know how I would function without her sometimes. She also came to the rescue whenever I needed her and she was the only one who would put up with all my shit.

“Charlie, you wanna come home with us?” Nikki asked.

“Uh, no thanks. You kinky fuckers will kill my buzz.”

“I’ll take you home,” I offered.

“I think she’s safer with us,” Nikki argued.