Chapter Four
I stood in front of the full length mirror, spinning from side to side. I thought I had changed my top at least ten times, and I still wasn’t satisfied this was the right one. I flopped down on the bed and threw myself backward with a loud groan.
A snicker from the doorway had me laughing in return. I looked up to find Maria standing there, holding Rhett. “Your momma’s having a little breakdown, buddy. This is called a clothing crisis, and when your girlfriend has one later in life, you just need to remember one thing.” She paused and looked at me, smiling. “She is beautiful, and no matter what she wears that will never change.” Maria winked before turning with my boy to walk back toward the living room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
“Baby what’s taking so long? We’re gonna be late.”
I stepped from the bedroom and looked up to meet Blake’s gorgeous green eyes staring at me. That damn smile made my knees weak. He took a step toward me and placed his hands on my hips. “Why the long face, beautiful girl?”
“Nothing fits me anymore. I feel like a beached whale, and my ass is huge.”
I felt his hands slip around my hips as he cupped my butt. He leaned in and placed a sweet kiss against my lips. “You’re gorgeous, Kori. There isn’t a thing about you that could be considered huge. Your body is amazing, and every day you only get more beautiful.”
“You’re just biased.”
He let his head fall back and chuckled deeply. “Oh, baby, I may be biased, but it’s true. I love you so much, sweet girl. You look perfect, baby…you always do.”
I sat up from the bed with a newfound confidence. It was funny how my memories of Blake still had the ability to make me feel beautiful. I pulled myself together and finished getting ready.
When I emerged from the bedroom I had to laugh. I found my best friend crawling around on the kitchen floor, barking like a dog, as Rhett watched her from his bouncer. She would randomly stop and bark these yappy little barks. The moment she began to shake her ass, appearing to wag her imaginary tail, I lost it. I was hunched over in the hallway, holding my ribs, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Shut up…I’d do anything for this little guy. If it means crawling around on the floor looking like an escaped patient from the nearest mental facility, so be it. It’s worth every second if I get to see him smile and hear that sweet little giggle.”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks, clearing my throat. “Tell me about it, his smile looks more and more like his daddy’s every day. That smile right there, it keeps me going.” I kissed his slobbery cheek, and he grabbed a fist full of my hair in return.
“Let’s get you to Granny’s house, she’s already called twice. I think she’s going through Rhett withdrawal.”
***
We pulled up to the old bar at the edge of town, and the familiarity of the place flowed over me. I remembered my daddy playing poker here on Saturday nights when I was young. The nights he would call Momma to come and pick him up, after he had one too many with the boys. I also remembered skinning my knee on the parking lot after my daddy told me to wait in the truck. All he had to do was run in to grab his poker chips. Of course I didn’t listen, but I blamed it on the cute little kitten. I chased him under the shed on the side of the building. The moment I heard my daddy’s voice, I ran for the truck, only to fall to my knees as I tripped over my own feet. When my knees hit the ground, my left one connected with a piece of glass. I still had the nasty scar to remind me I should have just listened.
“Are you ready?”
I watched as Maria opened the door of her Jeep and climbed out. I took one last deep breath and let it out slowly. “Let’s do this,” I whispered to myself before stepping out of the Jeep to follow her inside.
I smiled at the country music filling the bar, thinking about how Blake would be scrunching up his nose. He always said every damn country song was the same…someone broke your heart, now drink another beer. Our taste in music was one of the only things we used against each other. He preferred the loud screeching music that sounded like someone was strangling a cat.
I followed Maria to the bar and sat down on the stool next to her. Across the bar a familiar voice said, “This night just got a whole lot better.” I didn’t even look up, but the voice struck me deep in my stomach, and I squeezed my eyes firmly, counting to ten. When I looked up into a set of familiar deep brown eyes, my heart raced.
“Hi, Kori.”
My gaze shot to Maria and I glared. The sneaky bitch just made her way on to my shit list. She knew exactly what she was doing. The funny thing was she refused to meet my gaze. No, she sure as hell wasn’t being obvious or anything.
“What can I get ya to drink?” I turned back to face Reed, refusing to react.
“Well, looks like this just became a vodka kind of night.” I caught Maria’s movement from my right side. I swung my head quickly, looking in her direction. “You’re in trouble.” Her only response was to shrug. “Uh uh, no way. Your ass knows exactly what I’m talking about.” I stood up from the bar and walked away, hollering over my shoulder. “You can buy my drinks and bring ’em to me. I’m going to find a table away from him.”
I heard Reed’s deep chuckle behind me. Damn if it didn’t still give me the chills. I despised its effect, and the fact he looked even better than I remembered only made me angrier.
This night went south real fast. Maria and I were gonna be having a little catfight in the middle of the bar. I was sure she planned this.