Love Undefeated (Unexpected #5)

by Anne Leigh

  Given that I had a few days where work was light, I’d been able to take her to a pop concert. Not my cup of tea but it was fun. Claire was able to get us last-minute tickets which were exorbitantly priced, but Nales’ expression the whole night, of awe and happiness, was more than worth it. When we got home, she couldn’t wait to show me her gratitude which Big X clearly appreciated.

  “Sir, would you like to order?” the tall blonde waitress asked. The first time she’d asked, I was on my phone asking Nales what she wanted for dinner. The lady in front of me was probably wondering if I was here to take advantage of the free bread. Damned good bread, but the brown basket remained full because I got caught up in memory lane.

  “Sure,” I said without looking at the menu. Claire was usually the one who picked up my order, but today I’d actually had the chance to sit a few blocks away from the office to grab lunch. “I’d like the roast beef sandwich on rye, double the meat, spare the mustard and mayo, add ketchup and everything else.”

  She nodded her head and hurried off.

  Lunch hour at Biscuitz was busy.

  What I ordered could take up to thirty minutes with the fast growing crowd waiting to get in.

  I looked around and saw guys in suits and ties, busy flipping through their phones or working on their computers.

  Guys like me.

  The few couples seated were busy on their phones too.

  What happened to normal conversations?

  These days most of my communication with Nales was through texts or when possible, Facetime.

  When we were physically together, we put our phones away unless we were still working.

  My relationship wasn’t with my electronic gadget.

  It was with a live, breathing, beautiful woman who I got to touch and make love to.

  Phones were just phones. Inanimate objects that enabled you to connect, but the real connection was between my girl and me.

  Ping. Ping.

  Nalee: How about Italian?

  Nalee took awhile responding. She must’ve been in another meeting.

  I texted back, “K”

  Nalee: Alright. See you later.

  I sent a thumbs up emoji.

  I sat back on the metal chair, turning to my side, admiring the view. People going in and out of buildings. Cars parking on the street. The scent of the baked goods wafting in from Crummy Cakes a few feet away. I would grab half a dozen of their pistachio and raspberry tarts for Nales before I went back to work.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the waitress approaching, my order piled high on her hand along with two other plates. It took special skills to balance those large ceramics.

  “Roast beef on rye, no mustard or mayo, ketchup and everything else,” she stated while gently placing my plate in front of me. “Will you be needing anything else?”

  I put my hands together, checking the delicious sandwich which made my stomach lightly growl. “Nope. I’m all good. Thanks, Kelly.”

  She was new, but I caught the name on her badge before she left to punch in my order earlier.

  Smiling at me with tired blue eyes, she said “You’re welcome.” Her voice softening, she explained, “It’s the lunch hour rush. Sorry if I was abrupt earlier.”

  I raised my hands. “Hey, I’m good. Is today your first day?” Over time I’d become familiar with the regular waiters and waitresses in this joint.

  “My third.”

  “You’ll get the hang of it. Don’t worry. You’re doing great.” Sometimes people just needed a little boost, a drop of pep talk could be the only bright spot in their busy day.

  She smiled again. “Thank you. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  I nodded and she left to serve the other orders.

  I took a large bite of the sandwich and sighed. Damn, that was good.

  The mozzarella and American cheese melted on the rye was the glue that held this masterpiece. I continued to devour my food and only paused a few times to drink water.

  In less than five minutes, my plate was clean.

  Grabbing my wallet, I took a twenty out and checked my phone. I didn’t carry cash with me all the time, but I already knew how busy this place got, so when I caught a glimpse of Kelly’s retreating back and took stock of the two other servers who were barely taking in the orders, I figured leaving the twenty for an eleven dollar and fifty cents bill was enough to cover my food.

  Kelly saw me standing up, but I pointed the bill on the table and waved a hand.

  She got the signal and waved.

  I had to weave in and out of the close spaces between the tables to get out.

  Just a few steps away from Biscuitz, I heard someone say my name. “Xavier.”

  I stopped and swiveled my neck to the right. Nope, wrong way, everyone was busy talking or on their phone.

  Before I could check my left, a hand tapped my left shoulder.

  “Hey, man. I thought it was you.” The guy I knew from college spoke.

  He was dressed up like me and everyone else.

  Gone were the days of aloha shirts and board shorts.

  I chuckled and stepped to the side. “I’d know it was you, you ugly beast.”

  He wasn’t a beast in size, but he played Quantum for twenty hours straight, with minimal trips to the bathroom and food, just powered by booze. College life. College fun.

  My phone buzzed. It was Claire, alerting me of my meeting.

  “Hey, Devon, let’s catch up.” I shook his hand. It’s been a while since I last saw him. My memory was vague, but it was probably at grad night.

  He nodded and said, “Yeah. Drinks?”

  “Sure. Six thirty?” I rattled off my number and he stored it in his phone.

  We’d lost touch after college.

  “Cool if I bring my girl?” I asked, maybe Nales and I could just have Italian tomorrow. Devon’s a cool guy and it would be fun to catch up on old times.

  A strange look passed his face.

  Another second passed before he said, “Sure. Bring her.”

  “Later, man,” I smiled before I sprinted towards my office.

  I didn’t want Claire to suffer from cold sweats and clammy hands. She had before, when I was thirty minutes late to a very important meeting.

  Nales would like Devon.

  It was nice to have another friend in the city.

  By the time I got to Hayden’s Pub it was hopping; the booze was flowing from the tap, and ladies and gents were happy for the hour.

  I spotted Devon right away.

  He was the lonely guy leaning over the bar without a phone in his hand.

  I guess I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like selfies.

  Tapping on his back, I said, “Hey, how’s it going?”

  He angled his head while signaling the bartender. “Hey, man. It’s going good. Been a long time. Has it been over three years?”

  “Jeez, you’re that old?” Chuckling, I removed my navy suit jacket and plopped it on the back of the bar stool.

  “Speak for yourself, asshole. I’d still beat you in beer pong.”

  Now he was baiting me. “Punk, you couldn’t beat me if you tried.” I was the official King and Master of Beer Pong. I reigned for two years. I lost the other two to John.

  The bartender finally approached our seats. Hayden’s needed two to man the area during the busiest times of the day.

  “Sorry guys, my partner’s on break.” He raised a hand to the two ladies sitting on the far right end, letting them know that they were on his radar.

  “Just a Bud for me,” I replied. I needed to go light. I was driving home tonight.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I grabbed it and saw Nalee’s text, “On my way.”

  Texting back, “Okay” and I gently placed it facedown on the table.

  She was taking Uber to get here.

  Devon rattled off a bunch of appetizer orders and the bartender took off.

  “How’s work?” he star
ted. I didn’t know what he majored in for college. We belonged in the same frat and he was one of the good ones. There were frat members who were just there for the women and the booze and social connections. Devon actually helped me take the new recruits under our wings.

  “Eh, busy. As always. Nothing new,” I said, rapping my thumbs on the solid wood. “I’m actually working with Dad now.”

  “Oh yeah? Hold up, doesn’t your dad own an accounting firm?” His eyes glazed over the three flat screens on top of the bar area. A basketball game was showing on one, another was hockey, and the furthest right, Sports Channel news.

  “Yeah. My old man needs my help so…” I put my palms up to gesture. “I still design on the side but not for work.” Computer design was my art. One day I would work in that field again. “Maybe I’ll start something up on my own once my dad’s business is handled.”

  He looked like he was going to say something and stopped. Then, “As much as it sucks for me to say this, you’re great at what you do.”

  Huh?

  “Are you crushing on me, man? It’s really flattering but someone’s already got dibs on me.”

  “You’re an ass.” He smiled, setting his glass down. “What I meant was that all the shit you did in college, for our frat, they were pretty good.”

  “Good?” I raised a brow, “They were more than good. They were outstanding.”

  He threw out an air punch and I met his right hand in the middle with a punch of my own.

  Fist punches were men’s way of showing brotherhood, comparable to women tag teaming to the bathroom which always raised the question why do they do that? Do they need to pee at the same time or what? And they usually announced it too.

  “How about you? What have you been up to? Still working on that degree from Xbox and Nintendo University?” The guy was a master gamer. I wondered if he ever went to class. I was actually surprised to see him walking on grad day. If there was a degree for Gaming, he’d be racking up the highest honor.

  “Unfortunately those degrees aren’t worth shit in the real world, so I’ve managed to snag a job at Briles and Sons.”

  “That’s a big company,” I said, grabbing the beer that the bartender placed in front of me. “You bring the boss coffee and muffins every morning?”

  He laughed. “Fuck, I missed this. Nah, I help the big boss sort out which toilet paper to use – 2 ply or 4 ply.”

  “There’s 4 ply ones?” Wonderment in my voice. “You gotta hook me up.”

  “Will do.” His shoulders still shaking. I could tell that he’d grown up too. We’d been lanky, college kids.

  Now we both looked like we’d grown into some stage of manhood. He didn’t look like he ate ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner anymore. We saved a lot on food so we could pay for all the booze that we had at our parties. Fun times.

  “I manage contracts now and oversee day-to-day operations,” he said while shrugging his shoulders, “We gotta grow up sometime, you know. After college, I got accepted to an internship in Texas. Moved to Chicago to work for Dietz. Did my time there. Paid my dues. And I realized that I’d rather do what I wanna do here in the Bay Area. Nothing beats being close to the murky waters of the Pacific.”

  “I hear ya.” I never left San Francisco, but I’d been to many places around the world. This was home for me. But if Nalee wanted to move somewhere else, I would do so in a heartbeat. More than a place, she was my home. “How’s business then?”

  “It’s been great,” he replied.

  With the truffle fries, boneless spicy chicken wings, and ahi tuna in front of us, I dug in and started eating.

  “I’ve actually met with Shawn and Samuel for drinks last weekend,” he continued talking in the middle of eating the wings.

  “Oh yeah? How’re those fools?” Shawn was a member of the swim team and Samuel was on the school paper. They were nice guys who made our frat officially cool in front of the Board of Regents.

  “They’re good. Shawn’s on the U.S. Team practicing with that Olympian Kieran Stone.” Kieran was Zander’s wife’s BFF so I hung out with him a few times. The dude was intense. He out-carbed everyone at any party. “Samuel’s an editor for an online news magazine. Think New York Times but funnier and catchier and less politics.”

  “Good for them,” I responded. Damn, the ahi was delicious. “Lemme know when you see them again. I wouldn’t mind hanging out.”

  He nodded and continued eating.

  I was just about to pick up a handful of truffle fries when a soft hand wrapped around my right arm.

  “Sorry I’m late. The Uber guy got lost and gave me a tour of the bay,” she explained. She had to stand on her tiptoe to kiss my cheek. My lovely and incredibly short girl.

  “It’s okay, honey.” I gave her a quick kiss. She was all business-like today, black long skirt and a light orange blouse that hung loose but couldn’t hide her bountiful breasts. Sue me if I admired my girlfriend’s attractiveness.

  “I want you to meet my frat brother,” I said, catching a breath at the hazel eyes that stared at me tenderly and a smile that could light me up at my surliest mood.

  “Frat brother?” Her eyebrows lifted to her temple. “Which frat brother?”

  A voice beside me answered, “It’s Devon, Nalee.”

  Nalee?

  Devon knew Nalee?

  An odd look crossed over Nalee’s features. It was a mix of recognition and anxiety.

  “You know each other?” I managed to say. I knew all of Nalee’s friends. And if I didn’t, she told me about them. I didn’t have to know all of them, but that was Nalee. She talked about all of them. Just liked she liked to tell stories of how Hello Kitty changed over time.

  The knowledge that I didn’t know she knew Devon didn’t bother me.

  It was the fact that when I looked over at Devon to ask how he knew my girl, he stared at her like she was the shining light on a gloomy San Francisco day.

  She left my side and went to hug him.

  And a pang.

  An unsettling feeling.

  Hung over my chest.

  Striking me right on my solar plexus.

  I wasn’t familiar with jealousy and its evil twin.

  But right now, right at the very second she let go, his blue eyes lingered on her face for more than two beats.

  The mother of all jealousy bore a child.

  And implanted itself…

  Smack.

  Dab.

  In the middle of my chest.

  Devon engulfed me in a hug. Like Xavier, he wasn’t wearing a suit jacket, so I felt the broad muscles on his chest cocoon me in.

  He was a great guy with a great personality topped off with a great body.

  One lucky woman would have the benefit of calling him hers. It just wasn’t going to be me.

  I had chemistry with Devon. It’s human nature to be attracted to another person, to feel desire towards a hot guy. I read romance books. In the books, the heroine always fell for one guy while the guy had slept with many women before meeting the heroine. During the getting-to-know each other period, the heroine and the hero would only have eyes for each other. How was that possible? There were too many people in the world, how can you be only attracted to one? It didn’t make sense.

  What I do believe is that even if you’re attracted to other people, there’s that one guy who was meant to be yours and you his.

  Mine was burning holes at Devon’s back right now.

  Xavier was pragmatic. He wasn’t the jealous type. We were friends before we were together. If he was jealous, he never showed it.

  But right now, varying gamut of emotions were all over his face. Tense jaw, tight posture, eyes that even in the dim lighting inside the bar were shooting green arrows that could have punctured Devon’s back.

  Giving Devon another quick hug, I said, “So, what brings my two favorite guys together?”

  Devon’s smile got wider while Xavier downed his drink.

  “Rememb
er, gorgeous, I told you we’re frat brothers.” Devon shrugged, the smile not leaving his face. His blue eyes twinkled in mischief, he was baiting Xavier. Devon knew exactly what he was doing.

  Xavier was silent, and if you knew Xavier for a long time, you’d know that the man didn’t do quiet. The last time we went to Hawaii with our friends, we tried meditation with the group, Xavier was booted out from the beginning of Ohm.

  “I remember,” I laughed, he was a cool guy. He made me feel at ease. I haven’t seen him since we gave Briles and Sons the green light to submit the project to the City. I foresaw no issues ahead. But who knew. He called twice last week to ask if Nelson and I were available for lunch, but we were working through lunch so I’d taken a raincheck.

  “Have you guys been waiting long?” I asked. As usual my meeting ran late and I had to rush out to get here, but rush hour beat me to it.

  “Not that long.” Devon rapped a knuckle on the side of his glass, calling the attention of the bartender. “What would you like to have?”

  “Sea Breeze for the lady.” Finally Xavier spoke. You know that thing about being the one? From the start, Xavier was the only one who could take a quick look at me and know just what I needed. The sweet and fruity cocktail was just what my system needed to get me out of work mode.

  Devon quirked a brow and I leaned in towards Xavier’s arm. “Thanks.”

  He tightened his hand on my waist, definitely showing his possessive side. A side that rarely reared its head, but when it did, it came with an extra set of horns.

  “So, how do you two know each other?” Xavier’s hands pointed at Devon then at me. “Because Nales, my dear girlfriend, hasn’t said anything about you.”

  The bartender came back with Devon’s refill and my drink. His brows crinkled before asking, “Where are you sitting, Miss?”

  There was an empty seat beside Devon and also an unoccupied one beside Xavier since I was standing between them.

  I gestured towards the chair beside Xavier and he nodded before handing me my drink. He placed a few napkins between the appetizer plates and put a small empty plate on my side.