What He's Been Missing by Grace Octavia

Author:Grace Octavia [Octavia, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, African American, General, Contemporary Women, Fiction
ISBN: 9780758279415
Google: OCt1JgvnUlwC
Amazon: 0758265395
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2012-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

The pier was alive at sunset. A crowd of tourists had gathered around a small street corner band. They were dancing and marching, tossing dollars into the open instrument cases as the music took hold of their souls, blessing them with freedom for a little while. The best of New Orleans was always in the street. Most people called it a party town, but that wasn’t what it was about. It was a place to be yourself. To forget your trouble and pain. To be a toddler again. A human spirit in a wasting vessel unfettered by what was expected and accepted. The tools to get you there were dance and liquor and music and magic.

I walked around the crowd looking for Ian, but I couldn’t find him.

I kept passing the same homeless lady rattling coins in the same old tin cup.

“Hey! You’re here.”

I turned to see Ian about to tap me on the shoulder.

“Of course. I came right away,” I said.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you guys. I was just thinking about some things and I wanted to see you. Kind of like to talk to you.”

“It’s no problem. You’re fine. Krista’s quite capable of handling everything else.”

“I know. That’s why I was wondering why you didn’t go out with the other girls.”

“Not exactly my cup of tea. And I’m sure Scarlet wasn’t too upset I stayed behind. She probably didn’t want me peeking over her shoulder all night.”

“True. Well, the invitation is still open. You can come kick it with me and the fellas if you want.”

“Really?” I squinted my eyes at him and laughed.

“OK, maybe not,” Ian admitted.

“Yeah, my presence alone would kind of ruin the entire concept of it being a bachelor party. For some reason the men find it hard to objectify women when women they know are around.”

Ian took my hand and we walked to the back of the crowd where there were a few benches and it was less noisy.

“So this is it. My last night of freedom,” Ian said, pointing out a bench for us to sit on. “Tomorrow, I’ll be someone’s husband.”

“Woo-hoo. “I shook an imaginary pompon in my hand and sat down beside him.

“And it’s funny because with all this future talk going on, all I can think about is my past.”

“What about it?”

“Just old times. About us.”

“What?” I asked. “What about us?”

“I don’t know. My mom was kind of getting into my head at the rehearsal. All that talk about you and me making the perfect couple.”

“She was just saying that to be mean to Scarlet.”

“I know, but that didn’t make it false,” Ian said. “You ever wonder why we didn’t ever get together?”

“Yeah. All the time.”

“We’re just alike—you and me. When I’m with you, it’s like I’m all alone.”

“Um . . . is that supposed to be a compliment?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“Yes, crazy. I mean, like I don’t have to work to be around you. I’m just chilling. I know what you need. You know what I need.

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