At precisely 8 PM, Alex drove into the parking lot of their favorite hangout spot, a rooftop lounge, LasVix.
Once he parked the car and turned off the ignition, he let down the sun visor mirror to check his face. Of course, he was a man well aware of his own vanity, but there was nothing wrong in that, or was there?
An indulgent smirk framed his face as he winked at his reflection before getting out of the car. He was very confident that he was going to be the first amongst the three of them to arrive there, despite the fact that Kyle had been the one to fix the meeting for 8 PM. Tardiness has never been his forte.
Ambling down the car park and towards the building, he entertained the idea of harmlessly flirting with any available lady of his taste before the others joined him... Or maybe not, he thought, reminding himself that Genny was joining them tonight.
Rather than going through the trouble of flattering a girl out of her panties and whispering some lines from sonnets and poems to have a few hours of pleasure, he would simply wait on Genny. And what was the odd that he'd meet a girl with typical grandeur and allure like Genny up in the lounge? Maybe, none?
A shadow of a smile flitted around his lips as he thought of her, Genevieve Reynolds. She was an attractive and sophisticated young woman. She was beautiful and hardworking with a stubborn streak. Perhaps that was one reason she was their friend—her stubbornness and doggedness.
There were times when he thought of her as one of the guys, but he was always quick to remind himself that he never had a romp under the sheet with his guys. She was sexually attractive, satisfying in bed, and often an excellent company to have around.
Straightforward and mutually-beneficial arrangements with no full-time commitment, or rather no commitment whatsoever, were the kind of engagement he indulged. And having a no strings attached relationship was so easy with her because she shared his sentiment about relationships and marriage. She had even been the one to suggest the arrangement. Thus they had both settled into a nice friend with benefits kind of relationship. The last he wanted was a lady hounding him about his opinions as she pranced around on her heels. And with Genny, there was no exclusivity.
They were never overtly affectionate towards each other, so he had no idea if Kyle was aware of their private affair, and since it had never come up in their discussion, he didn't see any need to raise it either.
Alex ignored the not-so-subtle attempts of some ladies to catch his attention as he walked into the building and headed for the elevator that would take him to the rooftop lounge.
Once he stepped out of the elevator, he was surprised to see Kyle already seated in their corner and nursing a glass of cocktail, "This announcement must be very important for you to have gotten here before me," Alex joked as he joined his friend. They both shook hands as he sat down.
"What's up?" Alex asked curiously.
"Genny is not here yet. I won't say anything until she gets here," Kyle said as he signaled to a waiter to serve Alex. The waiter didn't need to stop over at the table to ask any questions since they were regulars, and it wasn't the first time he would have been serving them for almost five years.
"Why? What's the big deal? It's eight, and she is late," Alex asked impatiently.
"That's a nice rhyme! Eight and late," Kyle pointed out jocularly, and Alex had no choice but to laugh.
"Be patient. You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, tell me about your baby. Any news about your baby mama being pregnant yet?" Kyle asked, and Alex glared at him, not finding the need to talk about his surrogate.
"She is not my baby mama. She is just a surrogate mother," Alex corrected, and Kyle scoffed.
"Last time I checked, that's not the dictionary meaning of a surrogate. Your baby is going to have half her DNA. That makes her your baby mama," Kyle insisted, and they both paused when the waiter came with a glass of mojito for Alex.
"I'm paying her generously for that DNA. That means I've bought it, and it's mine. The baby, whether male or female, is wholly mine, and the surrogate is nothing but an employee to me," Alex insisted stubbornly. The last thing he needed in his life was any form of direct or indirect emotional entanglement, and definitely not one with a stranger and his child. This was strictly a business deal, and he'd see it no other way.
"And what do you think would happen if this 'employee' of yours chooses to run off with the baby and decides she doesn't need your money anymore?" Kyle asked with a smirk.
"She wouldn't dare. Besides, I'm sure she must have done it out of desperation. You said it yourself, after all, that she's rough. I'm sure she is in no position to want to keep a baby whose father she doesn't even know," Alex said confidently.
"So back to my question. Is she pregnant yet?" Kyle asked, just as Genny joined them.
"Who is pregnant?" Genny asked, and both guys stood up to welcome her.
As always, she was appealing to the eyes. She was donned in a sexy red spaghetti strap V-neck dress that clung to her curves and stopped slightly above her knees. It revealed her curvy figure. She looked like everything that would sizzle a man's blood. Both men looked her over appreciatively, but her gaze was solely fixed on Alex.
"You look beautiful as always," Kyle said as he embraced her and kissed her cheek.
"Thanks, love. You don't look bad yourself," she said, breaking her gaze away from Alex to look at Kyle with a fond smile.
"You're late as always," Alex said, and she grinned at him as she embraced him and pressed her red painted lips to both sides of his cheeks.
"Had to look my best as always," she said, pulling away and plonking herself between both guys, "So what were you both talking about? Who is pregnant?" She asked curiously as she looked from Alex to Kyle while Kyle glanced at Alex since it wasn't his place to tell Genny about it.
"Nobody is pregnant." He dismissed. "Now that she is here, can you tell us why you called for this meeting?" Alex asked hopefully.
"She barely just arrived. She is yet to have a drink. What's the rush?" Kyle asked before looking at Genny, "You're having the usual, right? I already asked them to get it ready. I hope you don't mind?" He asked, and Genny grinned at him.
"Of course, I don't mind," she assured him.
Kyle smiled back before signaling to the waiter once again to get Genny her drink, "So how has work been?" He asked, looking at Genny.
"You know how it is. Demanding but satisfying," she said with an easy smile, and she went on to give a little detail about some clients she met earlier in the day.
"What about you, Alex? It's been a while since I last saw you. Been busy, have you?" She asked, and Alex shrugged.
"Yeah. Been pretty busy. Now that the drink is here and we are done with the small talk, can you tell us why you called us, Kyle?" Alex asked as the waiter gently placed the glass of Pina colada in front of Genny.
Alex couldn't tell why Kyle was hesitating in spurting out this so 'big' announcement he had invited them for. He wasn't being impatient, but even if he was, it was clearly because of Genny. By the looks of her, the way her lids kept fluttering as she stole sideways glances at him, he could tell that he was headed for his condo rather than his house after their meeting.
Genny turned to Kyle and silently urged him to spill with a curious arch of her brows.
They watched as he adjusted himself and cleared his throat as he put his glass down, "I'm leaving." He announced.