No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology by Elizabeth Knox (black authors fiction TXT) 📕

Mario raised his hands in the air, indicating surrender. “Alright, alright. I know when to back off. She’s your territory, man. It’s okay.”

Sterling raised the glass to his lips and took another swig before dropping it back onto the counter. “Actually, she’s Phil’s but I don’t want to talk about him tonight.”

“Why do you put up with that guy?” Mario asked.

“I have no other choice. I have to support her decisions regardless of what my opinion is. I already told her what I think about him but the choice is ultimately hers. All I can do is be there for her.”

Sean waggled his eyebrows. “Like tonight.”

Sterling shook his head and guffawed. “Not like that.” He pulled his phone out after it chimed and raised it in the air in front of him. Scanning the words across the screen, his mouth curved up into a generous smile before he slid the phone back into his pocket.

“Aah!” the guys kidded. Sean pointed at Sterling. “You got some good news, huh?”

Sterling grabbed his drink. “Alright, cut it out. Let’s play some pool. Loser buys a round of drinks.”

Mario whooped as he followed Sterling toward the back of the room. “You said it, bro. You’re going to end up paying.”

They each grabbed a cue stick and edged around an empty table toward a far corner of the room. Abby’s text message lingered in his mind as he waited for his turn.

Me too. I’ll be over as soon as I can. I’ll bring malted milk balls and ice cream.

Malted milk balls and strawberry ice cream were a favorite memory from his childhood. His mother, rest her soul, introduced him to the delicious combination although his father, over the years, never acquired the taste for it. Instead, Marvin grabbed a pint of pistachio ice cream from the freezer section of the grocery store while the two of them indulged in their favorite concoction.

After introducing Abby to the one of a kind dessert combination, Abby learned to love it almost immediately and about as much as Sterling did. Any opportunity thereafter, Abby got to spoil him, she’d bring over his favorite mix to cheer him up and reminisce over their simpler, younger days. Granted, they weren’t old but they agreed things were easier back when their parents took care of them and all they had to do was worry about having fun and tackling their shared nemesis: schoolwork.

The more time he spent with Abby, the more he craved her presence. If he had it his way, she’d never leave his childhood home ever again. They’d share malted milk balls and strawberry ice cream for the rest of their lives with her nestled within Sterling’s strong arms and Sterling, blissfully happy. Sterling smiled, his mind lost in pleasant images of the two of them together, when someone snapped their fingers in front of his eyes. He shook his head to clear it, attempting to do the same with the temporary mind fog obscuring his whereabouts in favor of a more pleasurable future.

He stepped up to the table and leaned over it, cue stick pointing at the white ball in front of him and intentionally ignoring his friends’ questions regarding what planet he’d been on several seconds ago. When it came to Abby, he didn’t care what others thought. As long as she remained happy with him, that was all that mattered.

Playing through several games, taking turns with Sean as the second player for the game, he broke free and headed for the bathroom. At the sink, he washed his hands when the door opened and he thought he spotted a familiar face. Glancing away from the mirror in front of him, Sterling ducked his head in the opposite direction from the male striding through the door currently in deep conversation with another fellow. Swiping at several paper towels stuck in the holder, he quickly wiped his hands across the crinkled mess and balled it up, disposing of it before he slid his foot across a metal tab at the bottom of the door and swung it open to freedom. He waited in a nook outside of the door, partially hidden in the dim lighting, to determine if the male he saw ended up being the same one he could’ve sworn he spotted.

Within a few minutes, the familiar male stepped out, followed by his companion. They stood off to one side as Sterling observed them.

Mr. Familiar slipped an object out of his pocket. He tapped words across the screen and then placed it back. He then grinned at the guy next to him.

The stranger spoke to Mr. Familiar. “Your secretary’s hot.”

“Yeah, she’s even better in bed.” Mr. Familiar’s response caused Sterling to frown. If Mr. Familiar was who Sterling thought he was . . . Sterling’s fingers curled into fists. Still, Sterling had to be certain. He couldn’t report hearsay or gossip without evidence; therefore, he focused his hearing solely on their conversation and strove to block out as much excess background noise as possible.

“Man, you get to lie between those sexy thighs at night and tap into her pussy, whenever you want? How can it get any better? That’s got to be pure heaven in there, man. Pure heaven.”

Mr. Familiar smiled wide. His pearly white teeth sparkled in the dim lighting. “I know.”

Sterling held back an inhuman growl. Whoever Mr. Familiar was, he certainly had an inflated ego. Boasting about his sexual conquests as if they meant no more to him than taking a leak to relieve himself had Sterling’s stomach rolling and him, gritting his teeth to prevent from blurting out obscenities at him for his lack of decency.

The stranger shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it, man. You have all these women on the side and none of them know it.”

Mr. Familiar laughed. “We got to get back to the table or the girls will wonder where we are.”

Sterling’s eyebrows furrowed while worry lines