Page 2 of Enforcer's Obsession
It felt like everyone’s eyes were on me, even though I knew that wasn’t entirely true. Forcing air into my tight lungs, I focused on the room in front of me, cataloging every detail. It was warm and lively, with most of the tables and booths taken up. The bar was done up in dark woods and matching chairs. Polished gold-colored light fixtures offered enough light to create a relaxed atmosphere, and despite the place being a bar, it didn’t smell like one.
The acrid but floral smell of cigar smoke was prevalent, and the memories made my gut clench.
I reminded myself thathewas not here and this was not my childhood kitchen.
“Hope! Back here!”
The moment felt like slow motion, my friend’s shrill greeting piercing the boisterous noise in the room, making everyone’s attention split between us.
I hunched my shoulders, and shuffled between the tables toward my friend in the back. I kept my eyes glued to the floor as I walked, and didn’t see a single scratch, scuff, or mark.
Yet another indication that I should have beenanywherebut here.
Off-brand clogs that had seen better days, jeans that were almost but not quite threadbare and sporting stains I’d never be able to get rid of, a turtleneck, a pale blue scrub shirt, and my honey-brown braids pulled up in a messy bun.
Except for the braids, which were fresh—and had color due to Molly’s insistence—I looked every bit the dog groomer and aspiring vet tech that I was.
As I walked toward Molly’s voice, I glanced out of the corner of my eye, relieved that people had seemed to lose interest and were no longer gawking at me.
That moment’s relief freed me to look around at the other patrons.
Most of the men were dressed in suits, some with jackets buttoned, others down to their undershirts. The women were equally well dressed with full makeup, clearly wearing clothes worth more than my entire wardrobe.
With each second that passed, I felt more conspicuous and more out of place.
At least until Molly stood up and hugged me.
The embrace was quick, but it grounded me.
I was grounded further when I looked up into Molly’s smiling face.
“I thought you were going to be the second person to ditch me today,” she said, her friendly brown eyes sparkling, a bright smile on her face.
I couldn’t help but smile back.
It had been that way with Molly since I had met her four years ago at the animal shelter.
It was my first day there, and I had been so nervous I couldn’t stop fidgeting. It had been Molly’s first day, too, but she’d been my opposite. She smiled at me conspiratorially, and then leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“Don’t worry,” she’d said, “we’re going to do fine.”
And when she’d smiled at me, she’d looked so sure of herself, I couldn’t help but smile back.
At that moment, our friendship had been born.
“I, for one, would never ditch you,” I said, my voice soft, barely audible, though Molly didn’t seem to have any trouble hearing me over the din of the bar.
“That’s because you’re a genius, and that asshole boyfriend of mine—correction ex-boyfriend—is a moron,” she said.
She giggled, then gestured at the small table next to her where her red pleather handbag stood on a round table.
“You look amazing,” I said as I sat down.
And she did.
She definitely fit in here.
Her ankle-length skirt draped her long legs perfectly, and she wore a crop top that highlighted what she called her “exquisite rack.” Molly being Molly, gave no care that the shirt also exposed her soft stomach and the smattering of stretch marks on her brown skin.