SHORT STORY: If Only You Knew - PART 8

Shon

“Come on guys. Time for bed.” Shon ushered her children into bed.

I must say that today has been a great day. My best friend is on the same island with me for the holidays. What are the odds of that happening? Me, James, and the kids had a ball dolphin watching and relaxing on the beach. I even saw James tear up when he confessed how much he loved me at dinner tonight. I am so excited that he is going to start making time to help plan our wedding. If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up. Once the kids fell asleep, I jumped in the shower and let the sounds of Avery Sunshine take me away. They must put something extra in the waters on the island because my skin was still smooth and glistening when I got out. I felt so relaxed after my shower. I allowed James a little bit more time at the bar because nagging him to come to bed. I mean, we were on an island away from everyone we knew. How much trouble could he possibly get in? I found myself dozing off while thinking about the perfect colors for our wedding. Blue and white? Red and black? Ivory and Silver?

The numbers on the clock read 1:06am. I had only dozed off for about twenty minutes, but it seemed like two hours. I looked to my left and James wasn’t in bed. Where the hell could he be? I checked my phone to make sure I didn’t have any missed calls from him. Nothing. I’m guessing he’s still at the bar, but one thing I know and two things for sure, his ass should have been in bed with me by now. I tried to call his phone but it was going straight to voicemail. I jumped out of bed and threw on some kick around pants and a tank top then checked on the kids to make sure they were still sleep. When I opened the door, my angels were sound asleep. Well, more like bad asses, but you know how that goes. I locked the suite door and headed towards the bar where James told me he would be.

One the way to the elevator, I ran into Samantha. I didn’t say anything at the time, but I found it odd as hell that my best friend hadn’t mentioned Samantha before. We don’t ever keep secrets and if it was someone else that she was hanging with, I’m always the first to know and vice versa. I’mma let it go for now, but trust and believe I will ask about this “friend” later. I don’t know what it is about Samantha, but she screams trouble to me. I hope I’m over thinking things. Only time will tell.

“Hey sha.” Samantha greeted me.

“Hey sha.” I chuckled a bit trying to imitate her Louisiana accent.

“Where you headed to?” Samantha investigated.

“To get my drunk ass man from the bar.” I replied while shaking my head.

“Where you headed to night crawler?” I continued.

“I’m headed to get a drink before the bar closes. I’ll walk with you.” Samantha smiled.

We hopped on the elevator and headed down to the lobby. The elevator was moving at a slow ass pace. It took us almost ten minutes just to get down ten floors. During that time Samantha talked my head off but I didn’t really pay her ass any attention. There was a bar on both ends of the hotel so when we got to the lobby, we headed to the left. After scoping around in there I assumed that James must have at the other bar so we headed to the right. When I walked in, there he was looking a hot ass mess. To be honest, he looked like had just ran a marathon from the exhaustion in his demeanor as well as the beads of sweat on his forehead.

“Hey ya’ll”. Samantha swung her hair back and put her hand on her hips.

James and Laila greeted back, “hey.”

“It’s one o’clock in the fuckin morning. What are you still doing at the bar James? And what are you doing here with him Laila?”

They both tried to speak at once and I couldn’t understand a damn thing they were saying. Laila stopped and allowed James to continue speaking.

“Baby, chill out. We’re on an island. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve gotten away from the hustle and bustle of work. I can’t enjoy a night of drinking? Tomorrow will be all about you and the kids.” James slurred his words.

“And I just got back to the bar. I was entering a gentleman caller.” Laila didn’t exactly lie.

We all started laughing. Knowing how Laila got down sometimes, I wouldn’t put it passed her. Hell, if I was single on this gorgeous ass island, I might be out thotting a little bit too. Relieved that I found James exactly where he said he would be, we all decided to take a couple shots together before turning in for the night. All seemed to be going well, until I looked down and realized that James’s zipped was open and the tip of his head looked wet.