Page 56 of Beautiful Noise
“Yeah, everything’s straight.”
“You sure? That didn’t sound pleasant.”
Ezren smirked. “My team’s having trouble with a few of the blogs. I’ve been working to get the posts down but several of them have hidden ownership, making it hard to know who to threaten.”
“Threaten?” I arched my brow and his smile expanded.
“There are two ways to get things done, money and force. I’ll pay if I have to, but only after I legally threaten to ruin their entire lives.”
“You’re threatening people over me?”
He shrugged as if it made perfect sense. Like this was something he did multiple times a day. Hell… maybe he did. “I put you in the middle of the storm. It’s up to me to ensure you not only survive it but come out unharmed.”
“I thought you weren’t good at this?”
“What?”
“Relationship stuff. I’m beginning to think you have a secret girlfriend somewhere you’ve been practicing with. All of this seems far too easy for you.”
“It’s easy because I had the best example possible. He might not be here anymore but I’ll never forget the lessons I was blessed with learning from him. He led by example, and in turn, taught me what being a real man should look like. He loved my mother and showed her everyday how fortunate he felt being her husband.”
His words were sincere, which tugged at my heart. Ezren loved his father and he lost him. I also sensed that in a lot of ways, he hadn’t healed from that loss, which broke my heart.
Dinner was perfect and as promised, Ezren accomplished setting up the entire evening in a way where we managed to go unnoticed. There were no lingering looks from customers or cellphones recording us. After we finished our meal, we were driven to SipLicity where we parked directly in front of the building instead of pulling up in the back, which had me feeling uneasy.
“We’re going in the front?”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to worry. I have everything covered.”
“How? One look at you and people will know exactly who you are.”
“True, which is why I’ll make sure they don’t see my face.” He was already wearing a ball cap that he covered with the hood ofhis sweatshirt. “If we go in the back we’ll have to come out by the kitchen which is in the front next to the stage and guarantees all eyes on us. My guys are already inside. They grabbed us a table near the back in the corner. It’s crowded as fuck in there so it’s not likely anyone will notice if we slip in the front and get tucked away in the corner.”
My pulse was already thumping erratically. My current disposition might not be a big deal to most but having your entire life ripped apart online made me gun shy. I wasn’t fully prepared to deal with being exposed to the world for a second time. At least not tonight. They likely wouldn’t notice me, but they would notice him and by default figure out who I was.
“And what about this?” I reached across the seat and gently yanked at his beard. The soft smooth texture felt like silk on my fingers. “Your brown and auburn beard is a signature look, Ezren. They’ll know it’s you or assume it is and stare long enough to find out.”
“You can hardly see it from under here. I promise we’re good, Ri, but if you don’t want to go inside, we can head back to the hotel.”
The hard look he gave had me exhaling a sigh. “Fine, but if I end up all over the internet again, this time as Sex Worker Kori, I’m suing you and your entire team.”
“What the fuck? How did we land at Sex Worker Kori?”
I shrugged. “I’ve been your cleaning lady in their eyes, the natural progression is sleeping with the help.”
He grinned devilishly slow and it turned my stomach into chaotic waves of longing. “I would definitely pay top dollar to sleep with you, but comparing my girl to a sex worker is a topic I don’t want to broach. We going or not?”
“Yes but I really feel like I’m going to regret this.”
“You are ,but not in the way you think.” He winked, yanked the hood further over his head, shadowing his entire face, then got out.
Ezren rounded the rear of the SUV to let me out and we walked hand in hand to the front where he paid the twenty each cover charge for us to enter. And as promised, we maneuvered through the body to body crowd until we reached a corner in the back. Two men dressed inconspicuously in jeans and tees got up, leaving the space free for us to cohabit, then disappeared into the crowd.
The outer perimeter of the building was situated with worn square tables that had names of patrons carved into them or drawn on the wood with sharpies and paint pens. The rest of the space was standing room only aside from the bar that extended the length of the left side of the building. In the front, there was a stage, elevated a few feet from the concrete floor where a guy was performing a piece. Behind him, the house band was seated. A guitarist, a guy on a keyboard, and a drummer who at the moment were creating a smooth, soulful melody that complemented the performer’s cadence and enthusiasm.
I grinned, feeling at home, at peace. Even if I didn’t feel welcomed in Houston, I surely did here in this small space.
“So fucking worth it.” When I turned, Ezren’s dark eyes were shining with contentment.