After a few weeks with Elmer helping his financials, he saw a difference. That and charging proper fees for his services. A few of his faithful customers complained, but he still was giving them deals they could not beat. He was able to hire an additional part-time employee and hopefully have him start full-time soon.

And not having to stress over another kid was great as well.

"Yo! My man! I finally made it down!"

He looked up to see Jared walking into his office.

"Hey, what's up," he said, giving him a hand dap. "I called you a few weeks ago to get those things."

"My bad. Some issues with yo...I mean, where is the stuff?"

"In my car. Give me a minute, we can head out there," Hook said, finishing up an order he was working on. "Sit man. What you been up to?"

"Hook, first of all, let me apologize again for my drunken state and my crazy jibbering about yo-"

"Naw, save it," Hook said with a grin. "I ain't drinking with yo ass ever again."

"Haha! So we cool?"

"Yeah, man."

"So because you dumped my girl, are we still cool?"

Hook sat back in his seat, rubbed his head. "It's whatever."

"You miss her?"

"We not gonna talk about her," he said and stood up. "I'm sure she's moved the fuck on with that old ass dude, so Imma move the hell on."

"Really? You think she wants that man?"

"She saying the man name in her sleep, what you want me to think?" Hook pitched his voice up high like a girl, "Mmm, Russsellll! Yesss, Russell! What the fuck you think that was?"

Jared busts out laughing at him.

"That shit ain't funny!"

"Okay, but..." Jared controlled his laughing. "She didn't tell me all that."

"Of course she didn't."

They headed out of the shop as Jared started looking all around at the men at work on cars. He shook his head at him. Did gay men check out other men all the time? They made it to his car and he popped the trunk.

"But really, how is she?"

"You just said you did not want to talk about her. And my bestie already mad at me for talking to you now, so I ain't saying shit about her, my mouth is closed," Jared said, imaginarily zipping his lips, locking them, and throwing away the keys.

"I can ask about her. I still care."

"Then call her!" Jared was looking past him and smiling.

"Not going to happen. It just wasn't working for me. Look at my lil shop, look at her place. We're at two different points in our lives. I ain't saying it's a bad thing she got money, just I'm not the type of guy to live off my woman like that."

Jared was not listening to him, he was busy watching something behind him.

"Jared! Dude, are you listening to me?"

"Huh? What? You said you miss Angel and want some money like that and-"

"Man!" Hook pushed him out the way. "Get the box. You tripping."

Jared grabbed the box out of the trunk. "Yo Hook, who's the big guy working on the truck?"

Hook shook his head. He was not trying to tell the dude who to crush on, but his place of business was not the place. He turned to see who he was talking about. His new employee Marvin. He did not know the guy well, but he did not sense that he was gay.

"This isn't a pick-up spot for you."

"For real Hook, he's cute!"

"Look, I just said-"

"Least introduce me. He was checking me out too. I have a feeling."

"A feeling? You're going to hit on a possibly straight guy and you're not afraid?"

"Of what? He either is or he isn't. But we tend to know about each other. Tell him I need help with my car or something."

"Then wouldn't I just look at it?"

"Hook! Help a brotha out!"

He was not down for hooking two dudes up, but then he realized, whatever they did had nothing to do with him. If there was a fine shorty he saw and Jared could hook that up, he hoped he would hook it up. Damn, his name was annoying himself. Now he was the hook up for dates?

He motioned Marvin, who was already watching them, over as they headed to Jared's black Lexus LC convertible. That car cost more than twice his yearly salary. And small as fuck! Marvin was a big guy, bigger than him. About six-seven, had at least fifty pounds over him, and was all muscle. He was medium brown and wore a full long beard, and his hair cut low. He wondered if Jared was right about him.

"Hey boss, you need some help," he said, then grabbed the box from Jared. "Let me help with that."

Jared blushed. Jared was right!

"Yo Marvin, this my man Jared. Look at his ride, ain't it a beaut!"

"Yo, it's nice. You got room for this big box in there?"

Jared shrugged, still blushing and now acting shy. Yeah, that was a good damn question. The box could not fit in that lil ass trunk and there was no back seat."

"Jared, my man, I told you I had a big ass box, you really think we gonna fit that in yo ride?"

"Uh...whatever, just trash it. Angel doesn't care," Jared said.

He was not going to trash all of Angel's things, no matter how he felt about her.

"Naw, we can fit it in there. Pop the trunk," Marvin said.

Jared popped the trunk and Marvin squished the box down, probably wrinkling all Angel's things, but at least he got it in there. Marvin closed the trunk and smiled at Jared.

"You want my number?"

Well damn! He was going to walk away. He was not needed in this conversation. Jared could hook himself up. He told him he would catch him later then walked back inside to the shop to help his guys.

He wondered if that situation would work out. It was obvious Jared made lots of money and with his flashy sports car, he liked to spend it. Marvin was a part-time mechanic. He was twenty-three, fresh out of Ranken Technical College, made even less money than him. That would be a lopsided relationship, or did it even matter with two guys? Maybe Jared didn't care to always foot the bill.

Maybe Angel didn't care.

He let out a frustrated sigh and cleared his thoughts of her and focused on his work. It had been a month. He should be over her.

Best way to get over someone was to find someone new he told himself.

He needed to get out of the house and do something that weekend. Davion and his crew wanted to hang out at the strip club, Bottoms Up, on the IL side, but how was he supposed to meet a respectable woman there? So he called up his cousin, who of course was doing nothing, and they went to the little salsa bar Club Viva in Central West End. He was not much of a dancer, but there would be plenty of ladies that wanted to dance, so he knew he could do just enough to keep a lady happy.

"Salsa? Cuz, what I look like trying to do all that Mexican shit? I'm Black!" Zo said as he drove them to the club.

"Something different man. You need to get out of the house sometimes and have some fun. You're young, live it up."

"You just trying to find another chick to lay up with. Don't try and make this about me. But okay, if you need to make yourself feel good. You know all them women in there see yo ass they gonna want some of yo pretty ass."

He chuckled at him. "I'm a'ight. Cuz, don't downplay yourself just because you ain't refused a meal a day in yo life and your favorite exercise is a cross between a lunge and a crunch...lunch!"

"You stupid!" Zo said and laughed. "But hey, there's some truth in that. You lucky I don't get offended."

They made it to Club Viva and it was popping. It was a diverse group for the club and he liked that. It was better than hanging at a strip club. They went to the bar and ordered drinks and then looked around. Salsa music was playing but there were few people on the dance floor. Many people were just sitting at the tables in the back area. He and Zo found some spots to stand on the side and observe, play it cool.

"Let's see who gets the ladies going crazy first," Zo said.

"Is that even fair?"

"Just don't show the ladies your dimples, maybe I'll have a shot."

There were more women than men, and the men there were not guys like he would hang with. Probably more Jared style...not that he was saying they were gay, they just carried themselves like they were professional, about their business. He dressed nice, put on nice cologne, cleanly shaved his head, so he had a chance to score. He scoped out the ladies, sitting in groups and talking amongst themselves. He was not a shy guy, so if he saw a woman that attracted him, he was not afraid to approach her if she was with a group.

"There are some hot ladies in here, I have to admit, but if they want to dance, I'm out."

"Man, this is a dance club, you gotta dance."

"If she wanta bump and grind on me, I'll let her, but all I'm doing is the one-two step."

He grinned and shook his head at his cousin. Before he gained so much weight from being lazy, he played football in high school and went to many dances, and danced his butt off. His cousin was too young to just work, come home and sit on his ass.

Then a woman approached them.

"Hi guys. Would either one of you want to dance?"

Really cute and sexy, and thick with it. She looked like Jennifer Hudson before she lost all the weight, and he thought she was cute before. She wasn't short, but not tall, average height, hair in a short pixie cut, make-up perfect, fake eyelashes, but they weren't overly long and big like some women liked to wear them, and she wore a fitted red dress that showed she was confident with her curves. He liked that.

"Now why would you come over here and just say either," Hook said to her, with a grin. "How can we choose?"

"Man!" Zo grabbed the woman's hand. "I'll dance with you."

"Good, I was hoping to dance with you anyway," she said, walking off with him.

What just happened? His cousin was getting play over him? He wasn't shocked by it, his cousin was not ugly despite all his jokes, he was just a big boy. Watching him take thicky thick girl to the dance floor and moving like he knew what he was doing, shocked him. That boy knew what he was doing. All this time he was complaining, but he was dancing better than a lot of people on the dancefloor.

He finished his drink and went to the bar to order another one.

"All alone?" a woman came up and asked.

He grinned, immediately liking what he saw. Tonight he was going to get lucky after all.

A/N: So Hook is moving on and Jared found someone new. I know a lot of my readers are disappointed but this is life, some relationships don't make it to the happily ever after.

Oh, but this ain't the end yet!