Chapter 12

12

F iona

At the last minute, I decided to meet Elias at the restaurant instead of having him meet me. Regardless of how I felt about Elias, I wasn’t so blinded by infatuation that I forgot where I came from. That I forgot who my parents were and how they felt about marriage. To them, marriage was a means to further develop the wealth that would slide down our bloodline. I’d been raised to be a wife and mother… a wife and mother to a certain kind of man.

Regardless of how Daddy pined over Elias when it came to business, that would be different when I presented him as my man. My goal was to get close to Elias and convince Daddy that he was the right pick for me, but that was going to take some time.

When I parked at the beach, my nerves rattled even more. This was the moment I’d been waiting on for years, and it was finally here. There was no doubt in my mind that Elias and I would get along well. If Mommy didn’t teach me anything else, she taught me how to feed off a man. As long as he wasn’t an undercover narcissist or asshole, I’d be able to mirror his vibe.

Elias told me to text him when I arrived, so I did. A few minutes later, he made his way out to my Lexus. I watched as he walked to my door. He looked so damn good in his charcoal gray suit with a black T-shirt underneath. Silver and platinum jewelry made his dark, rich skin pop even more. It looked like he had a fresh haircut, and my pussy salivated wanting to suck him in.

“Good evening, pretty girl.” He spoke as he opened the door.

I allowed him to help me get out of the car, and as he eyed my frame, his eyes lowered as he licked his lips. I took special care in getting ready tonight. My outfit for the evening was a two-piece crop top and skirt set. It was a red shade that was slightly darker than my hair. Based on the low groan that escaped him, it was safe to say he liked what he saw.

“You look amazing, Fi.”

I giggled quietly as he closed the door. “Thank you, Elias. You look handsome, but that’s nothing new.”

We shared a brief hug, then he led me to the restaurant. As it was with The View restaurant, we had to use an elevator to get to the top floor of Mera’s Soul Food & Speakeasy . We stopped at the lower level since we were a little early for our reservation. Elias asked me if I was okay with that since we hadn’t originally discussed going to the bar. We were early because he didn’t have to come and pick me up, so I didn’t mind stopping by the bar.

It had the typical speakeasy vibe—very dark lighting, limited seating, and a small space. I loved that there was a small stage to the left for karaoke. Since it was under the restaurant and meant solely for drinking and karaoke, the menu only offered pizza. This was the first speakeasy I’d gone to that had karaoke, but I was sure it was a cool vibe.

There were only five tables and all of them were packed except two. One open seat was at the bar, and Elias told me I could sit there if the people who had the table didn’t want to share. I was cool with that, and it also gave him brownie points for being a gentleman. I’d been with men in the past who expected me to stand in a crowded space just because they couldn’t sit.

He held my hand and led me through the small yet cozy space.

“Excuse me,” he said, getting the attention of the ladies who sat at the table.

When they turned, two laughed while the other’s eyes widened at the sight of Elias. She smiled as her eyes slowly trailed over to me.

“What’s up, cuz?” one of the women asked Elias with a syrupy grin.

“Wassup, Felicity? I should have known y’all would come through for opening day.”

“Yeah, it’s a vibe,” the other girl sitting next to her said. “We probably won’t go up to the restaurant today because it’s packed with reservations, but the pizzas we’ve seen have been looking good.”

The one whose eyes were locked with Elias’s still hadn’t spoken yet.

“I was looking at that oxtail joint. If I get that, I’ll probably wanna smoke and crash afterward,” Felicity said.

“Introduce us to your date, E,” the beautiful woman that he’d been unable to take his eyes off directed.

“Oh yeah.” Elias released a nervous chuckle as he pulled me closer to his side. “Felicity, Tamar, this is Fiona.” He shifted me so I was more in front of him when he directed his attention back to the bombshell beauty. “Mandy, this is Fiona.” Elias looked down at me. “Fiona, this is Amanda, my—”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Amanda said, interrupting him and extending her hand for me to shake.

“You as well. You’re absolutely gorgeous.”

She bashfully smiled as our hands dropped. “Thank you, love. You’re so damn pretty too.” She cupped my cheek in a way that made chills cover my skin. “I love your features, and those freckles are so cute. I bet Elias can’t keep his hands off you.”

He shifted uncomfortably as his hand gripped my waist. “We were about to see if we could sit here, but I’ll just let her sit at the bar until our table upstairs is ready.”

“Oh no, y’all can sit here,” Amanda offered. “We can scoot over a bit.”

When she stood, I cursed under my breath. Her body was natural and curvy as hell. Elias looked her frame over as he licked his lips, and I couldn’t even blame him. I was confident in who I was, what I had to offer, and how I looked, so it never fazed me when a man looked at and appreciated another woman’s beauty. We all were different, but there wasn’t a woman on this earth that would make me feel she was better than me.

“You look beautiful, Mandy. Damn. You looking for baby daddy number two tonight?”

With a low chuckle, Amanda scooted her chair more to the right, and her girls did the same, allowing space for us to pull the two empty chairs back and sit down.

“I might be,” she answered, shooting a wink my way that somehow made me comfortable with their exchange.

“I’m about to grab some drinks,” Elias said against my ear. “What do you want? Wine?”

“Oh no, babe. Whiskey. Jameson if they have it.”

He chuckled and stood. “Forgot you were half Irish. I got you.”

His hand gripped my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. I liked that he was affectionate toward me in front of these women. It was clear Amanda was an ex. Though I had no details on how deep their bond went yet, the signs were there.

“So…how long have you and E been dating?” Tamar asked.

“That’s not our business,” Amanda said, offering me a warm smile.

“It’s fine,” I answered. “We’ve known each other platonically for years, but this is our first date.”

“Aww, that’s cute,” Felicity replied. There was something about her that was familiar.

“I’m sorry, but you have a very familiar face. Are we friends on social media or something?”

Felicity’s smile mirrored Amanda’s, giving me the chance to see how similar their features were. She called Elias cuz. Was that because she was Amanda’s cousin, and they were married at one point?

“Probably not, but you may be familiar with me because I founded a social club here. We have dinners biweekly for women of color across the city.”

“Yes, that’s it!” I beamed. “The waiting period to join is insane, which shows how amazing of a club it is. I think the last time I checked, it was two years out. I wouldn’t have been able to join anyway because I’m under thirty-three.”

“I appreciate that so much,” Felicity said sincerely, gripping my hand on top of the table. “I’ve gotten lots of queries about lowering the age requirement, and I won’t, but I have been considering starting a second club for women in their twenties.”

“I don’t blame you for keeping them separate. I’m sure it makes for easier bonds and conversations dining with women similar to your age.”

“A lot of times,” Tamar said.

“Sometimes the age closeness means less in comparison to life experiences,” Amanda added. “But cuzzo does a great job keeping us in line and ensuring we all have a good, safe time.”

“Aight, Fi,” Elias said, setting a green tea shot and a second shot of just whiskey in front of me. After setting a brown shot of something where he sat, he went back to the bar and returned with three drinks for the other ladies. They all cooed at his gesture, and I thought it was cute too. Tamar and Felicity had strawberry lemon drops, but it appeared Amanda was a tequila sipping girl. He’d gotten her two fingers of Clase Azul along with a tequila Collins.

We sipped our drinks for a while before our table was ready. Before we left, Elias told them he put their drinks on his tab and to get whatever they liked before closing it out. We said our goodbyes then headed to the restaurant on the elevator. His demeanor was relaxed and chill. When our eyes locked, he gave me a sexy smile and wink before tugging me closer by my hand.

“You good?” he checked as the elevator dinged, signaling we’d made it to the second floor.

“I’m great. Are you?”

Elias chuckled with a nod. “Yeah, I am. That started a little awkward for me, but it worked out.”

As we made our way toward the hostess, he held my hand. Elias let her know what name our reservation was under, and she led us to a table by the window, giving us a decent view of the ocean.

“Do you know what’s above us?” I asked as he pulled my seat out.

“The third level is for private parties,” the hostess replied, setting our menus down. “And above that is the rooftop bar. You can go up there freely when it’s open. Only the third floor is locked.”

“Thank you,” I replied, picking up my menu.

She let us know our waiter would be over soon before leaving.

“So…just to get it out the way,” Elias started, “Amanda is the mother of my son. Felicity is her cousin, and Tamar is her best friend.”

With a smile, I nodded as I crossed my legs. “I figured she was your ex-wife or something. Thanks for letting me know.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for being cool.”

“Always. So it’s safe to say you two are in a healthy place?”

“Yeah, that’s my girl. If we continue with this, you’ll never have to worry about baby mama drama or no shit like that. Amanda is cool.”

“Good to know.”

Our waiter arrived and took our drink and appetizer orders. After he left, I asked, “So was she your last relationship? If so, when and why did it end?”

Elias relaxed further in his seat after taking off his suit jacket. My mouth watered at the sight of his muscular, tattooed arms.

“I had one relationship after her, but it didn’t last long enough to call it one. Amanda and I broke up five years ago. It ended because we were in different places and wanted different things.” He shrugged and looked away, making me believe there was more to the story that he didn’t want to share. I was cool with that for now. “What about you?”

I shared with him details about my last relationship, and our conversation continued to flow organically. After our appetizers arrived, he asked me, “How old are you? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Twenty-four, but I’ll be twenty-five in December.”

“Damn, you’re still a fucking baby.”

The frown he wore made me laugh as I lifted my drink to my lips. “Don’t say it like that. I’m very mature for my age, Elias.”

“I hope so. I’m thirty-five and over ten years older than you. That doesn’t bother you?”

My head shook. “I prefer dating older men.”

“I hear you, but I don’t want to feel like I’m grooming you. If I feel like you don’t have enough relationship experience to be with me, I don’t know, Fi.”

“That’s fair. I can honestly say I’ve dated a lot, and what I haven’t learned from dating, I learned from my parents. Since sixteen, I’ve been prepared for marriage and motherhood. If you give us a chance, you’ll see I don’t need to be groomed, but I am a woman who has no problem submitting and being cultivated by the right man.”

I could tell he was impressed by my answer. We continued to talk and get to know each other. Elias was surprised that at my age, I was ready for babies and marriage. I watched as his eyes lit up while he talked about his son and desire for more children.

“Why didn’t you have more with Amanda?” I asked.

“No lie, I would have, but it just didn’t work out that way. She’s an amazing mother, and I’m honored to have a little person roaming this earth that’s half of her. It was just us that we couldn’t get right, you know? But let’s get off that.” He opened his palm on top of the table, and I placed my hand inside. “Tonight is about us.”

It was, and we made the most of it. After our amazing meal, we went up to the rooftop for more drinks. Then, we walked the beach and talked a bit more. He was so easy to talk to, and it further confirmed I’d made the right choice by positioning myself to be pursued by him.

When we decided to end our time together, Elias walked me to my car, where he gave me the sweetest kiss before telling me to let him know when I made it home. The whole time I drove, I couldn’t wipe away the smile that was on my face. Whatever it took, I was going to have to convince Daddy to approve of us being together.