Severing Ties (Book 2. Ties)

12. Hypnotic

"Luke," Stephanie yelled.

"I said I'm coming!" Lucas yelled back from his room. Stephanie rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch beside me.

Stephanie, Frank, Elie, and I were waiting in Lucas' living room, so we could leave. We were going to go out to dinner for no particular occasion. I even invited Tamonash.

I liked his personality and the fact that he never seemed to be upset. Tamonash had gotten the initiative to contact me by asking for my number from Raven. He had called me to go out one evening, but I was busy that day, so I promised him I would text him when I was available and invite him out.

When possible, my friends and I would go out. The bad thing about going out with them was that if we went to a restaurant, we would always get seated in a booth and the waiter or waitress would have to pull up a chair for me. How sad; the lonely girl at the end of the table. For once in a long time I was not going to be alone.

Since Tamonash was going with us, they would have to give us a bigger table, and I wouldn't feel like an outcast as usual. Problem solved... at least for a day. We all got in Frank's SUV driven by the man who always accompanied him. My family was wealthy, but how wealthy was Frank's family if he had to have a bodyguard at all times?

We arrived at our designated location and went inside. Elie had made reservations a couple of days ago under her name, so we were seated immediately. We settled down and ordered our drinks. I was pretty excited to get some nice mashed potatoes and some good beef. A few minutes after we had arrived, I saw Tamonash through the large glass window situated at the front of the restaurant.

When he walked through the door, I waved at him. He smiled at me in acknowledgement and went to the table we were seated at. I stood up to hug him and receive him. I looked back at my friends, and they were all staring with open mouths. Tamonash scrunched his eyebrows and asked, "did you not tell them I was coming?"

"I told them; I just might have excluded your name," I admitted meekly.

"Do you have any low profile friends besides us?" Stephanie asked incredulously.

I signaled Tamonash to sit across from me in a chair while I answered Stephanie's question. "Er, in Texas..."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Well, it's nice to meet you Tamonash. I'm Stephanie and this is my boyfriend, Lucas." She pointed at Lucas who was sitting beside Tamonash. "That's Frank and this is Elie, Frank's girlfriend." She put her hand on Elie's shoulder. "You don't have a girlfriend, do you," my ever so blunt friend asked Tamonash.

Tamonash squinted his eyes and smiled. "No I do not. If I had a girlfriend, I don't think she would have let me go out with a friend who's a girl. I'm sure you wouldn't agree to let... Lucas, was it...To go out with a girl."

Stephanie stared at Tamonash blankly. "No I would not. Unless that girl has no arms or her name is Mackenzie."

"You would let him hang out with Mackenzie? That's surprising."

"She's my best friend, and I trust her not to be a little slut. Mackenzie is not a bad person." Stephanie answered sharply.

Tamonash continued to smile, and then he directed his gaze at me. "No she's not a bad person."

I did not have time to feel embarrassed because Lucas spoke up. "I'm glad I'm older than you. Geez," he muttered.

Stephanie looked up from the menu she had barely reopened. "Why?" She scowled.

"You're so bossy at such a young age."

Stephanie looked like she was ready to engage in argument when she noticed Lucas' smirk. She bit her bottom lip and rolled her eyes, then she broke into a smile. "Your jokes suck." They laughed together.