The next time Eve visited, it was almost a year and a half later. However, in that year and a half, a lot had happened for everyone—Eve, Vince, Eric and everyone else.
First of all, Eve had a cookbook published. It included all of the recipes she had cooked for them over the years. It was becoming a great success and she was on her way to big things. She was already almost a Food Network star. Her book was featured on it, and she starred and costarred in several holiday specials, and big events specials like the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Fourth of July, Halloween and others. The viewers definitely loved her. She was on her way.
Also, she had opened up her own restaurant.
She had been working on her restaurant ever since she left culinary school. She had the menu all planned out, the decorations and inside of the restaurant, the name, the venue and everything else. When it opened in New York, the classy French and Mediterranean restaurant was everything that Eve had ever hoped and dreamed about.
They don't know how she did it, but she did. Soon, her sophisticated restaurant on 57th Street was a big spot for celebrities, business men, debutants and other rich people alike. It was currently one of the most talked about things in Manhattan.
The restaurant was beautiful. The outside of it wasn't too out of the ordinary, and looked like every other restaurant on the street. The impressive red veranda outside said in cursive letters The Big City Lounge.
The inside was very impressive. The waiting area had a big crystal chandelier. There were three dining areas. They all had different shapes and sizes of tables in their areas and chandeliers all over. This gave the restaurant a cozy, inviting and comfortable feel, yet at the same time a very elegant, tasteful and refined feel to it.
There were chic, elegant French and Mediterranean decorations. Eve was able to blend the two cultures to create the right kind of dining area, the right kind of food and the right kind of restaurant. The restaurant was formal, yet welcoming.
The menu was a mix of Mediterranean and French food. Eve had learned mostly about these two types of cuisine in culinary school, so she put what she knew on the menus. There was mostly vegetable and sea food dominant meals—Mediterranean food. Eve had also used Italian cooking, Spanish cooking, Greek cooking, Turkish cooking and of course French cooking to add a bit of meat. The food was rich, refined and well-made. People loved it.
Eve had become a big success by the time she visited the guys next. She had three weeks off for the first time since the restaurant had opened four months ago. She jumped at the chance to see the guys. She hadn't talked to any of them in what had seemed like forever. But from what she had heard, since her last visit in 2003, Vince had finished filming Head On and become a big star. Eric had told her that they were now trying to get a movie called Queens Boulevard.
She surprised them at their house on the day she arrived. She showed up on the doorstep, bags in hand. She hadn't told any of them that she was going or that she even had a day off. She had bought the plane ticket herself, rented a nice BMW and drove over there.
When Eric opened the door, she was enveloped in a bear hug. Three bear hugs and a big kiss on the cheek later, she sat down.
The guys surveyed her. She looked classy in black skinny pants and a yellow silk button up top, along with a skinny red belt and black peep-toe heels, and gold jewelry from Bulgari. Honestly, she looked like she just stepped off of an Ann Taylor photo shoot.
"Jesus, you look swanky." Turtle commented and sat down beside her. She took off her designer sunglasses from on top of her head and put them in her designer purse. She laughed and smiled at Turtle.
"Well, I've run into a bit of money." She said bashfully.
"We have yet to eat at your fancy French restaurant." Eric said, "Next time we go to New York, we definitely will."
"And when will that be?" she asked coyly.
"Hopefully a few months." Eric told her, "If we get the movie we want, then we'll be going to New York."
She smiled, "Well good luck. I hope you make it."
Vince sat on her other side and put his arm around her shoulders. "Now that you've scored big, it's time for me to score big."
"You've already scored big." She said.
"I really want QB." Vince said into her ear, "More than anything else."
Eve smiled but simply requested, "Let's not get into a big talk about hopes and dreams right now."
"What do you want to talk about?" Turtle asked, handing her a beer, which she didn't open.
She shrugged and Eric said, "How about your new apartment?"
"Right!" she said excitedly, "I got this new apartment. It's great! I can see the tops of skyscrapers from my kitchen window… Of course, that means that if the elevator ever breaks, I'm completely fucked, but as of right now, it's working."
"You jinxed it." Drama said, knowing her weakness to jinxes.
"Fuck, you're right…" she muttered, wrapping her knuckles on the wooden coffee table. "But anyways, it's gorgeous. Everything is white—the walls, the furniture, the floors, everything. And there are a lot of windows, so there's so much natural light. And I'm paying like, three thousand dollars a month for a one bedroom. That's almost as much as I paid for that crappy studio apartment in SoHo."
"Well we can see it if we go to New York." Vince said, "I'm excited."
"Me too." She agreed, "You haven't seen the restaurant, have you?"
"Helped pay for it," Eric muttered, getting another beer.
She nodded, "Which I am immensely grateful for, big brother. But you guys haven't tasted the food, seen the inside or sat at the bar. I walk in and think Jesus, thank you so much, Lord, for making my dream come true!"
"Is that all that's going on with you?" Eric asked, "The restaurant, the book, the apartment…"
"I got rid of my old Civic and got a Lamborghini." She smiled widely.
They started at this, "You got a Lamborghini?" Turtle asked disbelievingly.
She shrugged, "Technically I didn't get myself a Lamborghini, my… My boyfriend did."
"You have a boyfriend?" Eric asked defensively, and immediately began to fire off questions, "What's his name? What does he do? How long have you been dating? How did you meet? Does he treat you right? Do you love him?"
She sighed, "His name is Benjamin Powell." She said, "He goes by Ben though. He's a lawyer—works at Wall Street. He makes a ton of money from it. He's rich—has three yachts. Fourteen cars, seven vacation houses, a menagerie full of animals, twelve chefs in his mansion—none of which, he says, are as good as me. But he likes sweet talking me. It's charming…"
"When did you start seeing him?" Eric asked.
Eve replied, "Well we met about six months ago after I published my book. It was at a benefit. He complimented my stuffed peppers. Asked me on a date, and after a few, I started seeing him. Two months later, we're really serious, and he's buying be stuff, and I'm loving him."
"So you are in love him?" Eric asked, worried for her sister. He didn't want to see her hurt.
She shrugged, "I said I'm loving him. I didn't say I was in love with him."
"Eric's always interested in the emotions in your heart." Drama said, "Your heart specifically."
"I don't wanna see you get hurt, Eve."
"I know. And I appreciate it." She smiled.
"I'm glad you're happy." Eric said. He kissed her cheek.
"Thanks, Eric." She said. No one noticed Vince sitting next to her, his fists clenched and his face set in a stony glare at the wall.
"We should go out later tonight." Turtle suggested to everyone, "Celebrate."
"I could use some shots of Patron." Eve smiled.
"Me too," Vince said stiffly. Eve glanced at him and noted his stoic composure, but didn't say anything like "What's with the stick up your ass?" or "Chill the fuck out, Vince." like she really wanted to.
When they got to the club, they loosened up. Eve had changed into a pretty showy silver dress and very high pumps. She did her hair and makeup more to make herself ready to party.
They all took a couple shots first, and then Eve dragged Vince onto the dance floor. Eve, being the lightweight she was, was already a pit tipsy and it was up to Vince to keep her just tipsy and not drunk.
"C'mon, dance with me, Vinnie!" she smiled and took his hand. He let her lead him onto the dance floor. He let her grind against him. He let her lead his hands to her hips. And he felt damn awful for it, he really did. But it was hard to say no.
"Don't you have a boyfriend?" was out of his mouth before he could stop it.
"Hey, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
They were face to face now… Well, he was still a head taller than her. She was short, even in heels. But she was looking up at him, her eyes boring into his. "Right?"
He smiled. He had waited too long for this. "Right…" he whispered. He leaned into her and their lips almost met before Turtle pulled Vince away.
"I'd say it's time for me to have a dance with her, right, Vin?" Turtle asked. He sounded strict, as if he was hinting to something. He leaned over and said to Vince lowly, "Yo, E wants to talk to you."
Vince nodded and walked as Turtle led Eve away. They were dancing playfully, but not as sexily as he had been with her. Turtle walked her to the bar a moment later for a glass of water.
Vince went over to where Eric was sitting, his lips pursed. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"What?" Vince asked, although he knew very well what Eric meant.
"Don't fucking play dumb. Vin, that's my sister. You promised."
"What do you mean I promised?"
Eric sighed, "The last time she visited, you promised not to do anything with her."
"That was from her last visit. I didn't know it still applied."
"Well let me make this clear, Vin," Eric downed the rest of his drink, "It will always apply. Forever, until the end of eternity. You can't even try anything with her in the afterlife, okay?"
Vince sighed, going over the pros and cons of this in his head… Okay, so saving his friendship with Eric outweighed great sex. "Okay…" Vince said, "I'm sorry, E. I didn't know."
"Well not only that, but she has a fucking boyfriend. What the fuck is wrong with you to dance like that with your best friend's sister when she has a boyfriend."
"A boyfriend hasn't stopped me with any girl before." Vince said, "And I already apologized. I just wasn't thinking."
"And I accept your apology. You looked like a real asshole out there though, even to Drama and Turtle. You were being a prick."
"I didn't know I was. I'm sorry." He said sincerely. He was always sincere. But you know now he really wanted to fuck Eve. It was almost too tempting.
"Don't fucking do it again. Get a different piece of ass besides my sister."
"You shouldn't talk about her like that."
"I know…" Eric sighed, "Go find another girl. Don't hit on my sister again."
Vince almost said that she wanted it too… What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? She came onto him just as much. But he didn't say that. He walked away and found a hot blonde, and that night, he fucked her. And fortunately, he wasn't thinking of Eve while he was doing it.