Chapter 2 A Group In A Group

• The limousine pulled up in front of a giant grey building. I was closest to the window, so I rolled it down to stare in awe. There was no way anything here was affordable.
• Someone opened the door before I could recover. I grabbed my purse and stepped out. Becca exited through the other door. Her arm hung around my shoulders as she came to stand beside me. Her sequin dress stopped below her knee. The air was a bit chilly, but she was dressed summer style.
• “Alright, girls,” Becca murmured when Fumi stopped beside her. She threw her other arm around our friend’s shoulders, nudging three of us forward. “Let’s get shopping.”
• Her excitement was contagious. They were only tagging along, and I might end up with a dent in my account balance, but I couldn’t help giggling. A man pulled the door open for us. None of them appeared fazed by that. Younger Beth wouldn’t have batted an eye, but the older me, that had to take on more responsibilities than I bargained for, always did.
• The place was warm, almost like we had stepped into another dimension. The dimension of the rich and shiny. I rubbed my palms against my work dress, my eyes bulging as I took in the wristwatches on display. I told Becca something durable and affordable, maybe with fancy leather. Leather wristwatches would cost less.
• A lady walked over to us, but Becca shooed her. We continued further into the store. At the corner were stairs leading somewhere else, probably to more expensive jewelry pieces. Becca led the way to a display glass and pointed at one made of complete silver. Ian would shit his pants. Thirty was a significant age, and I wanted to go all out this time.
• The lady behind the glass placed it on top. My fingertips moved over the stones on the inside of the wristwatch. I didn’t need to ask for the price. I just knew it cost a fortune.
• “How much?” Becca asked.
• Fumi had walked off to inspect the place, probably to select something for Dave. Fumi Davies, socialite, and trophy wife. She didn’t like to be called that to her face, but we all knew what it was. Her husband was away more time than he was at home. Hence, she was constantly spending all her time with us and living vicariously through Becca.
• The attendant removed the wristwatch from its box and placed it on her palm. Who asked her to do that?
• “Ten grand.”
• I choked. Literally. Becca hit my back a few times. I forced air into my burning lungs. It was my fault for trusting Becca with this.
• Fumi waddled back to us. Her V-cut dress revealed more cleavage than I felt was appropriate for a married woman. She was the shortest in the group but carried herself like the tallest, maybe because she was in terms of finances and boobs. I had great boobs, but Fumi had the greatest rack.
• “See something you like?” she asked.
• “No, I don’t like this one,” I murmured.
• The attendant’s face fell. I cared more about my wallet than her feelings. Buying it would set me back. Becca and Fumi shared a glance.
• “You could check upstairs. There are better designs there,” the attendant offered.
• She had to mean more expensive brands. My friends didn’t seem to get that memo. They slid an arm around my elbow and nearly dragged me towards the staircase.
• “I’m not looking for anything over the top,” I said, my eyes fleeting to the art décor on the wall above the staircase. “Something nice.”
• “We think Ian’s going to propose. Even if he won’t, the gift might motivate him to do so,” Becca murmured. Ever since she attained the engaged status, the pressure for me to join the club had worsened. “We could even get married on the same day, Beth. Please.”
• Her outdoor wedding was fixed for the second weekend of January; next year. The thought of sharing my big day with her scared me. She would draw all the attention to her, not like I would mind. I preferred being left alone, except it was Ian doing the talking or my kid sister, Lynn. Those two, I could tolerate.
• Fumi placed a hand on the railing, and we stopped. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, okay? But he asked about your ring size. That’s huge.” My lips puckered, and my heart raced faster. He did? We discussed our future a lot, but I tried not to act too forward. “I—no, we think this could be it, Beth. Your engagement party. Spend the fucking money, girl. See it as a pre-engagement gift to him.”
• “What did you get Dave after he proposed?” I asked, turning my head to Becca so she knew the question was also directed at her.
• “A trip to the Bahamas,” Fumi replied.
• “I gave him the best fucking night of his life,” Becca supplied with a wink. I believed her. “Mike still talks about it to this day.”
• “Noted,” I said, relenting. “Maybe we can get something a bit higher. Maybe five grand?”
• “I could chip in,” Fumi volunteered.
• “Me too,” Becca added.
• Arguing with both of them was pointless. If they were sure Ian would propose and they wanted to spend their money, I would be damned if I said no. Plus, Ian was obsessed with growing his wristwatch collection. What better way to celebrate his thirtieth birthday than with a proposal to his long-term girlfriend? I almost squealed at the thought.
• “Okay.”
• They clapped, too excited at the thought of spending money on things that didn’t benefit them. As we bundled upstairs, the tension left my joints. We were on the top floor when a phone vibrated against my hip.
• Fumi’s.
• She excused herself as we continued down the hallway. Becca got distracted soon. A door opened, and voices filled the empty hall. Fumi was by the window at the other end, her lips downturned in a frown. Becca typed on her phone, not once looking up.
• “Go in,” Becca said, “we will join you.”
• I walked through the open double doors and smacked right into a wall. The voices ceased, and I stumbled back, almost falling flat on my butt before a strong pair of arms wrapped around my wrist, righting me up. My front pressed to a firm chest, and an unusual load of current exploded through me. I jumped back, this time landing on my butt. The man didn’t try to help. My eyes trailed the shiny black shoes up to the face of the owner, and my breath caught in my throat.
• He quirked a brow, his head cocking to the side. My mouth watered. I drank in the sight of his delicious body, the expensive suit fitted to his frame, and my eyes drifted back up to his lips. He had an earring in one ear. Was that a real diamond? Thick beards covered his jaw, and my fingers curled from the urge to reach up and touch them.
• Wait, what the fuck? I had a boyfriend.
• I shuffled to my feet, my unusual attraction for him turning into anger. What kind of man lets a lady sit on the floor? He could have helped instead of eyeing me like I was some strange creature he didn’t understand.
• “Malik? Come check this.” someone called behind him, and those piercing gray eyes turned away from me. I breathed easily, backing away from him before I did something silly.
• Footsteps pounded behind me, and a sharp whistle cut through my thoughts. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Becca. Looking ahead, I saw what caught her attention—the two handsome young men in front. Becca had dated all sorts in the past, but I doubt Malik, the tall ray of sunshine, was her type. She had only dated a handful of black men.
• Malik was more my type. Wow, I had to slow down. Ian was the love of my life, my type.
• “Is it me, or did the room suddenly grow hot?” Becca whispered into my ear. I cut her a glare, but she wasn’t the only one affected by their presence. Fumi had shaken her hair out of its loose bun. God help me survive this catastrophe with my best friends. “Those wristwatches won’t buy themselves, Beth.”
• The men stepped out of the way before she reached them. Malik’s companion looked as disinterested as his friend in talking to us. He had the same skin tone as Malik and looked very much like the vice-president of the rich fuckboys association. Malik looked like the president with that bad-boy aura and stern frown that constantly drew my eyes to his lips. He wasn’t a snack. He was the whole buffet.
• Once Becca got closer to them, they left for the door. I couldn’t tell what possessed me to look back, but I did. Malik hesitated momentarily at the door, and his eyes flashed a different color for a second. It turned green. I grabbed the wrist of the person closest to me.
• “Did you guys see that?” I asked. Looking down, I saw I was holding onto Fumi’s wrist.
• All three of us were staring at the door now.
• “See those tall, handsome gentlemen?” Becca asked. Before anyone replied, she added, “I did. We should have asked for their numbers.”
• My eyes landed on Fumi’s open chest. When did she pull it down? I tugged the top of the dress to cover the cleavage she was gladly showing off, and she slapped my hand.
• “Stop acting like a prude,” she chided.
• “A prude? You’re married, Fumi.”
• “He’s not here,” she replied dryly.
• “Doesn’t mean a thing.”
• We returned to the main business at hand, noticing for the first time that we weren’t alone. The three attendants hardly looked affected by our interaction. They must have a lot of crazies coming in here all the time.
• “Did you guys see his eyes?” I asked when we were at a glass. This place was bigger and had some watches on the wall shelves.
• The female attendant watched us as we went from one display glass to another without picking out anything. I wasn’t really looking. I trusted Becca’s taste more than mine, and since they were contributing to his gift, I wanted to give them the liberty to go wild.
• “Why look at his eyes when you could look at other places?” Becca said. Fumi snorted, and they shared a high-five. In our group of three, they were their own group of two. A group in a group. “But his body, damn. I need to sign up at whatever gym he frequents.”
• “You’re engaged,” I muttered.
• Did no one here care about protecting their relationship anymore? I was not a prude for worrying about these things. If I wasn’t with Ian, I wanted to believe he wasn’t out there lusting after a hot stranger because looking wasn’t considered cheating.
• “I know that, Beth. You’ve reminded me every chance you got. Being engaged doesn’t stop you from admiring other men.” Maybe. But sometimes, attraction could lead to something else. It was better not to put yourself into certain situations. My fingers tingled at the reminder of that brief contact with Malik. That was so weird. “Anyway, we came here for something. Let’s get to it.”
• “Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. “No more talks about boys. It’s all about wristwatches now.”
• My best friends were behind me, but I didn’t need anyone to tell me they were rolling their eyes as they chorused, “It’s all about wristwatches now.”