Sorry for the delay with this installment, I was experiencing a nasty bit of writer's block with deciding what direction I wanted this story to go in. With a change of attitude, however, I managed to get past it and push out this chapter. Needless to say, I'm pleased with the outcome. I made up and airline due to the fact that not all airlines have the same policies, so please, no one look up Zinc airlines, it doesn't exist. Anyway, this one's a little longer, I hope you all enjoy!
-Celestial Child.
C H A P T E R T H R E E
L e i l a
Leila felt infuriated. She finally made some progress with Antonio, though not much, and got him to agree to meet up with her at Simon's Bar and Grill. Simon's was a place they both loved to go when they were dating. True to his asshole character, Antonio made their phone conversation as difficult as possible, replying with short, monosyllabic answers for much of the conversation.
"Antonio, I've been trying to get in touch with you for four days now. Don't you think you should have at least called me back?"
"Yeah." He said simply.
Leila grumbled.
"Okay... so why didn't you?" She asked, as if she were speaking to a toddler.
"Busy." He replied.
"You were too busy to give me an explanation for throwing me out?" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah." Antonio muttered.
Leila sat perched on the edge of the large comfortable guest bed, rolling her eyes at the sheer stubbornness of him. Though she hated to admit it, she should have listened to Nisey and stayed far away from Antonio Juarez in the first place.
"Okay, fine. I guess I'll do most of the talking." She breathed heavily, "I was thinking that you and I could meet up and chat for a little bit. Maybe at Simon's? I had some news I wanted to tell you before... well before all of this, and I think you'd be interested in what I have to say." She held her breath waiting for another short answer from Antonio, and was both surprised and relieved when he gave her a full two sentences.
"That should be fine. When do you want to meet up?"
"Tonight around nine? I have some things I have to do before I can meet up with you, but I don't think this should wait any longer." Leila persisted.
They confirmed their plans for the evening and after they hung up, Leila went grocery shopping and stopped back at Denise's house to put them away, all before heading to the bar and grill.
She was nervous to say the least, and although she should have been fire-spitting mad, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive about telling Antonio the news about the baby. She didn't know what to expect when she told him about their little bun in the oven. Leila's hands flew protectively to her stomach as she fretted over his response. Like herself, Antonio was sometimes incredibly crude and an asshole, and she knew that if he didn't like the news she had to deliver, he would say some pretty harsh stuff. But she was serious about this baby, and she didn't know if she was making it up, but she could already feel her maternal instinct kick in.
She had a soft smile on her face, imagining a future of her nursing and taking care of her baby, when a motion at the door caught her attention. She smiled brightly at seeing Antonio walk in. She had to admit that he looked good, even after all of this shit he put her through, he still had the ability to steal her attention with his sexiness.
He wore black slacks and a burnt orange dress shirt with the top two buttons undone. On his right arm, he wore the golden Rolex she had gotten him for his last birthday, and on his face were a pair of dark shades. Once he stepped into the dimly lit bar, he removed the shades and looked around for her.
She decided to observe him from afar a little more before alerting him of her whereabouts. He was a very beautiful man. He had curly dark brown hair that was short cropped on his head and a closely shaved beard. His hazel eyes were framed by beautiful long eyelashes. If he were smiling, she would have been able to see those straight pearly whites he had too. Her eyes zeroed in on Antonio's full heart shaped mouth and she sighed. She once loved kissing those lips of his. Leila reminisced about all the times those lips brought her pleasure. Those had been very good times. Leila smiled smugly to herself. Antonio was a reminder that she had never had a boyfriend that wasn't attractive. Though in the end, their personalities were always a little questionable, she couldn't help but be a little prideful in knowing her man was the usually the most attractive one in the room.
Antonio was beginning to look a little frustrated, so Leila stood and waved her hand. He caught the movement, and hurriedly made his way to the table.
He sat heavily in the seat across from Leila, and looked down at his watch impatiently before giving her his undivided attention.
"Okay. I'm here." He said, sucking his teeth and placing his interlaced fingers on the table.
Leila smiled softly at him, trying not to let his foul mood affect her. This was happy news.
"It's nice to see you too Antonio. How are you?" She said sweetly.
"Just dandy," he replied sarcastically, "Can we hurry this up? Cindy and I have somewhere to be after this. She's waiting in the car for me." He mentioned casually, craning his neck around to find a server.
Leila had to swallow the initial shock she was feeling.
'Who the fuck is Cindy?'
She thought bitterly.
"Cindy?" She managed to ask, just as a cute blonde server came around and cheerfully asked for their drink orders.
"Hi, what can I get you folks?" The server asked, a large and pleasant smile on his face. He was oblivious to the growing tension at the table.
"Yeah, bring me a Crown Royal and a coke." Antonio said, avoiding eye contact with him. Whenever Antonio went out, he never made eye contact with the servers. It was a part of some weird power trip he was perpetually on that Leila always felt annoyed by.
The waiter, however, seemed unfazed by his behavior.
"Sure, and you?" he asked, turning to Leila.
"I would just like some water." Leila replied with a smile.
Antonio scoffed.
"YOU are just getting water? But you drink like a fish, Princess." He said, using that endearing nickname he had once used for her as an insult now.
The waiter picked up on the negative tension finally, said his bit about being back ASAP, and left them all alone in a hurry. Antonio looked expectantly at her and tried again.
"We gonna talk or what?" He asked with attitude.
She let out a strange chuckle.
"I don't really know where to begin." Leila said.
"Really? I thought you would for sure have your spiel down by now. Hasn't it been enough time?" He asked, a smug look on his face.
Leila narrowed her eyes, and couldn't control the snarky comment that escaped her lips.
"I don't know why you're giving me all that fucking attitude Tony, you threw my shit outside, not the other way around."
"You and I were done long before that, Princess." Antonio spat back.
