Eli POV; [earlier than the last chap]
"Man, I can't wait to see your new crib." Justice's voice rang through my phone speakers.
I was holding it right to my ear with my shoulder while I pulled my suitcase off the rotating belt.
"You and me both. The decorator said it was nice, though." I responded, attempting to shrug while keeping my phone in the same position.
My best friend kept talking as I maneuvered through the crowd. Still, I had enough time to send a few winks to the appraising eyes of the women around me.
"It's about time you came home." My focus shifted back to the conversation at hand while I waited for my Uber.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I got delayed and couldn't make it to the engagement party. I got your gift in my hand right now." I lied smoothly when I knew the gift was somewhere at the bottom of my luggage.
Justice knew it too, but he let me slide with the occasional fib. It was natural since we'd grown up on them.
It was like the usual claims of being right down the street or around the corner when really you'd probably be waiting another ten minutes. Everyone knew it wasn't true, but it wasn't hurting anyone.
"Mhmm. Whatever, man." He laughed on the other end.
"Tell him Divine was there." Hyacinthe's voice filtered through, slightly far away but close enough I could hear.
As always, Hyacinthe wasn't too far away from Justice. They had their own sort of gravity, and it showed.
"Hey, sis." I teased to put off talking about Divine.
It was easier to use lighthearted humor than call attention to the brown woman that had my mind under lock and key. I'd tried to forget her throughout the years, but she never stayed gone long.
I knew coming back would mean seeing her again. Except, I wasn't sure if either of us would be happy with what we saw.
"Hey, Eli." Hyacinthe greeted.
"Cinthe wants me to tell you Divine was at the engagement party." Justice said before a smack sound rang out. "Ow, woman!" He laughed.
"You weren't supposed to say I said it."
I smiled as I listened to their bickering while I slid into the Uber. Even when they were arguing like kids, you could tell they were head over heels in love with each other.
I didn't even bother teasing Justice that he was whipped. Partly because I wanted to be equally obsessed with somebody, but also because he took it as a compliment and stuck his head further up Hyacinthe's ass.
Neither of them had shame for loving so loudly and completely. It was basically a miracle that they weren't the type to overdo it with PDA.
But damn, I was happy for them.
We were getting closer to that age of settling down, which is mostly why I decided it was time to come back.
My work had taken me to plenty of beautiful places, and I'd been abroad for just over three years now. Which meant I got to immerse myself in a new cultures and advance my career.
It also meant that I missed holidays and birthdays and even cookouts. And I loved cookouts.
The money was good, but there just wasn't a price I could put on home. So, the timing just seemed right when Justice told me he was finally going to propose and that he'd need a best man.
Luckily, work was accommodating and everything just fell into place.
"Well, she is Hyacinthe's best friend and the maid of honor. She's supposed to be there." I responded, rolling my eyes.
"You're my best man, and you weren't there." Justice replied.
I couldn't stop the full-body cringe at the light disappointment in his tone.
Justice and I have been best friends practically as soon as we came out the womb. We'd seen each other at our bests and at our worsts. Shit, I'm one of the few people that remembered when Justice was going through the awkward stage of growing out his locs.
But years of being away was definitely taking a toll. I didn't even need his chastisement for missing the engagement party because I felt like an asshole already, and I'm sure he knew it too.
Which is why he didn't add on to his statement, and Hyacinthe jumped in to change the subject.
"Well, she's still single, and you both need a date to the wedding." She teased.
"Is a date a requirement?" I groaned, rubbing a head across my face before raking it through my beard.
It was silent for a beat before they replied in unison,
"Yes."
"For fuck's sake." I complained. "I'm just moving back, who could possibly be my date?"
"Well, the wedding isn't for a few months. Maybe try a dating app." Hyacinthe offered, an almost secretive tone to her voice.
"Yeah. Try that one that's made to be deleted or whatever. Hinge, I think." Justice piggybacked with the same tone to his voice, and I massaged my temples.
They were definitely up to something with that suggestion, not that I was completely against the idea. Justice had connected with Hyacinthe on Tinder, so online dating couldn't be that bad.
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Online dating was that bad.
Between navigating catfishes and which dating app was used for what... because some dating apps were for fucking and some were actually for dating, I was regretting my choices. There was even a dating app to match people by their kinks, and I try not to kink shame but goddamn.
I even thought I'd get a little peace of mind on Christian Mingle, but there was a whole new realm of sinners on there.
So, I'd deleted pretty much every single one of them off my phone due to trial and error, and the only one left was Hinge. Which meant it was my last option before I gave up and was forced to admit defeat.
Plus, the thought of having to slide into one of my old flings' DMs was haunting me at night since I learned a long time ago that spinning the block was an occupational hazard. If you were crazy the first time, you're damn sure gone be crazy on the second time.
With a sigh, I went through the process of setting up yet another account.
It was awkward responding to a prompt that didn't make me sound corny as fuck, and I wondered why I was even going through with this.
I could meet women organically. Shit, I practically did it every day.
So instead of swiping through my options right when my account went through, I set my phone down and went to go get dressed. It was late enough that bars and clubs would have a decent amount of people, which meant a decent amount of options.
"You can't fuck this up." I told myself in the mirror as I sprayed some cologne.
With the help of my 6'3" frame and a fresh fade, I was handsome by the world's standards. My skin was a deep brown that I was only a few shades off from being a true black, and my teeth shone in contrast. Add in my stud earring, and eyes followed me most places I went.
But pretty only gets you so far.
Damn, I needed a drink more than I thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~
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