GLIDED DECEPTION

CHAPTER 2 AVERY'S POV

The angry voices downstairs belonged to Lindsey's mum and Lindsey, but mostly her mum. The woman was a force and she hated my guts, well good thing I didn't have to like her, clearly even Lindsey did not. After dinner the previous evening, Lindsey had left me her room, saying I'd take the couch in the living room when my neck was good for it. I knew her and I knew she'd sleep there for eight months if I was here for eight. Thank goodness I wouldn't.

The argument had started sometime last night after I went to bed, I could hear them stomp and yell and slam doors. It must have ended sometime and this morning they were at it again.

Soon, I could hear loud footstep up the stairs and towards me, I rolled over and sat up. Speak of the devil.

"You will not believe her guts! Damn!" She swore heatedly and muttered something under her breathe.

"What did she do this time?" I asked, they always made an amusing tale. "She's telling me to find a man, a man? Avery you know I got a man, right?" She asked and opened the venetian blinds.

"You do, you're still with punk?" I asked, I could remember one of her boyfriend's from three months ago when we face-timed one night.

"No, not him, I told you I'd met Martinez and we were good, now she wants him gone, like it's her place, I pay the bills around here and she can't be bossing me around and tryna sell me off to some rich old dude, I'm not ready for that, if I want me an old rich dude, let me make the pick." She hissed and plopped on the sofa by the window, flipped open her laptop and began to school through, still mumbling words.

I could remember her telling me of Martinez, but as a guy from the club she'd gone home with, not a boyfriend. I didn't want to state that, I'm sure she'd forgotten what she told me about him.

"Why are staring at me like my mama goes? Huh?" She asked and I burst out laughing. "What, I'm not staring at you."

"You are, and you look like you're dying to give me a lecture," she said, almost daringly. "Nope, I have nothing to tell you, it's your place and your rules and__" hissing, she said "Cut the crap, just say it already." I laughed and then I told her, "You kinda told Mr Martinez was a drink half Asian you went home with a couple months back, you're an item now?"

"Well, he's half Asian alright, and yes we met at the club but the we find love in the club don't we? I mean everybody does," she said and rolled her eyes, then she muttered something about emails and spam and closed the laptop before standing up to go to the mirror. Her blonde hair was perfect, no doubt dyed a few days ago.

"I really like Martinez, we hit off too, the s*x is good, I mean he makes me flow like the fountains everytime, what's there not to like." She said and moved her hips with a wink.

I laughed, it was refreshing to see Lindsey think like that, something I would never do.

"So, your mum don't approve?" I asked, it was pointless, of course she wouldn't, the woman was controlling like that, at least she tried to be, Lindsey didn't buy it.

"She doesn't have to, she just had to go back to Ohio and let me be, it's my life, everything she comes here she makes me leave my man, first it was Ray and then Timmy and now this? I'm not doing it anymore, she has to go." She decided, her hands akimbo. I agreed with her, not that her choice of men were any reasonable but then, she was fine, happy and in love no matter how short-lived and she always seemed eager for the next relationship, who was I to stop that. She was happy and to me that was all that mattered.

"Wasn't she just here for a conference?" I asked, she'd told me that about two months ago. "You get it? From a week to two and then boom, two months and she is still here tryna fix my life and get me a decent job, like I want any of it." She hissed again and went to the wardrobe to take out something, she decided on a jean shorts and yellow tank top that shaped all her curves out.

"She wants what is best for you" I said, "Yeah, same thing with your mother isn't it? Look, at the end of the day, nobody knows what is best for you but yourself, I'm not a kid, I'm 27 for f**k sake and I'm going to make my own decisions, good or bad." She decided, with a finality to her tone.

"I'm late for work, I had Minny open up but I have to drop by and see if she needs any help," she said as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and rubbed on some lipstick, mascara and blush. And she was ready.

"Why don't I come help out?" I offered. She looked at me and then shook her head. "Why?" I asked, "First, you just got back from a trip and you need your rest...and if you feel all rested up then what you should do is send out those application and see if something comes up soon, you have no business in a cafe, I told you that." She stated, folding her hands and looking at me.

"First, I've applied in over a dozen places and I'm beginning to feel like a mail fraud, plus, I can't sit at home all day waiting for a reply, I'll go coco."

She reasoned it for seconds and then shrugged, "It's a Sunday and the crowd is less but I guess I could use a hand," she said and grabbed her handbag. I smiled and went to my suitcase to find something. I hadn't unpacked, o had no intentions to, I was still waiting for leasing agent to call me that the apartment was ready. It was really close to the cafe and Lindsey and I liked the place.

At just mid morning, maybe 10:20am, I'd missed twelve calls from my mum and three more from her work line. The best I had done was send her a text that I was fine and with Lindsey for the time. Well, that didn't stop her from calling me four more times before she replied the text. It turned out that she was trying to pay me into coming home the previous day with that text, it had scared me and I couldn't trust her anymore, I was glad it was all a ruse though and she was fine.

"What to grab something?" Lindsey asked as she sat on the side booth and crossed her legs. "Yeah, where's the Starbucks here?" I asked, I was in the mood for a burger and some salty fries.

"I know a good place, it's not Starbucks." She said she got off the boot went to whisper something to Minny, a tiny brunette with pixie cut and a shy smile, then she grabbed her keys and we got into the car.

"How's the apartment thing going?" She asked, "The agent hasn't been taking his calls, he answered his email last night that he had two places to show me, I don't want to see it, I liked the first." I said.

Lindsey looked at him like I was insane, "Darling I don't think that's how apartment hunting goes, you've got to see as much as you can before you make a good choice, it's just like finding yourself a good man, you've got to keep trying them out, who knows, maybe one day you're lucky and get both the good f**k and good job, a deal made by the angels." She laughed and winked at me.

"Yeah, how's that working for you?" I replied, c*****g a brown her way. "Oh it's working darling, at least I have a man, doesn't matter how broke he is, he's got the other thing that can keep a woman, I can't say the same thing about you honey, you're as dry as a spinster down there." She teased and laughed so hard I could see her eyes tear up.

"Yeah funny," I said dryly and looked out the window. "Come on, don't be like that, you started it." She said with a pout and then burst out laughing again. Yeah, it was really funny, I was single since college and with no luck with men, good or bad, in fact, I was almost certain dating wasn't for me.

"Maybe we should go out tonight, get a drink and put you out there, what do you think?" She asked, looking my way as she pulled into the parking lot.

I was dumbfounded, I wasn't ready to be with a man, not yet, only the thought of Vincent still have me nightmares and made me look over my shoulder, 'what if he's here? What if he's out of prison and looking for me?' I thought inwardly and began to scan the area, trepidation coming over me.