Roman stood over six feet tall. He had long dark hair, a trimmed goatee, sparkling eyes that alternated between a blue and silver color, and smooth almond skin. He had a full sleeve, in addition to other tattoos that were on his chiseled physique.
He worked as a tattoo artist and owned his own successful tattoo studio that many celebrities often frequented. He was also a minor drug dealer but only sold marijuana because in his words, it came from Mother Earth. It was a surprise to no one that Roman also owned a marijuana dispensary.
He was the bad boy answer to Sydney's good girl persona. They fit together perfectly like peanut butter and jelly. They were also completely different like oil and water. She preferred staying home and getting her fill of Netflix. He preferred going out on the town and getting into whatever mischief he could find, which often meant Sydney posting his bail. She would love to say that he made her get drunk in public and almost starting a fight with other girls but it would be a boldface lie. Roman never forced her to do anything she didn't want to do.
Instead, he fed her demons like the great devil he was.
In return, Sydney could honestly say Roman was probably the worst boyfriend she's ever had. She lost track the number of times he'd cheated on her and found out the hard way the last time via an exam at her gynecologist's office. Despite having a nice healthy stash of money, Roman never took Sydney out anywhere. In fact, she recalled the one time he did take her out was their first date. Every other time, she footed the bill, like the fool she was.
She knew why she did it. It was the same reason why many women put up with good-for-nothing men – the sex. Roman could put it down and turn Sydney out in zero to four seconds. His tongue was the reasons why minstrels sang songs of love. His shaft was the reason why she almost broke into a praise dance every time he stripped down. Her bedroom wall still had marks from when the headboard banged hard against it. She knew her neighbors hated when he came over and were very grateful when they finally broke up.
Now the good-for-two-things-but-horrible-at-everything-else ex was back in her face and for a very short time, in her life. At least she could be polite and make some conversation with him. "I'm surprised to see you here," her voice remained calm and steady, though her heart was breakdancing.
"I'm here to pick up a friend for the weekend. He's going to help me out at the studio for a bit and we're just going to paint the town red," he flashed his brilliant smile and his tongue briefly wet his lips. "How are you doing, baby girl?"
Sydney silently groaned at her nickname. Because she was the baby of the family, it was something everyone called her, including her friends and now Dean. The way Roman said it, however, was like pouring warm honey on a biscuit. "I'm doing well," she cleared her throat, hoping to relieve lustful thoughts about him at the same time. He's my ex for a reason. He's my ex for a reason.
"You know I'm just sitting over here like I'm chopped liver because apparently that's what I look like." Sarah butted in.
Roman's smile morphed into a muted grin as he stepped back and paid attention to Sarah. He never cared for her when he dated Sydney and only put up with her because she was his girl's best friend. When he insulted Sarah one time, she threatened to call the cops on his dispensary and he laughed in her face. It wasn't until the police showed up the next day with a search warrant, accusing Roman of making terrorist threats, that he realized how much bite Sarah really had behind her bark.
The dislike they had for each other was very much mutual. "Sarah."
"Devil," she greeted. She moved Sydney aside and stood face-to-face with her nemesis. "They finally let your out of county, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk. A mind is a terrible thing to waste."
"Sarah, I don't want any problems," Roman warned, "I just want to talk to Syd for a little bit."
"Sydney is busy picking up her boyfriend," Sarah commented. Sydney rushed over and tried to hush up her best friend but it was to no avail. Hurricane Sarah was in effect. "Yeah, I said it. Her B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D fuck you."
Roman raised an eyebrow at the announcement. "Is that true, baby girl?" He asked her why he kept his eyes on Sarah.
"Yes," Sydney quietly replied. Sarah elbowed her, signaling to Sydney to speak up. "Yes."
"He's a very lucky man," Roman replied. "Any man who has you as a girlfriend is very lucky as I was."
"Of course you were," Sarah smirked, "who else would bail you out?"
"Anyway, we need to be going now." Sydney intervened and pulled Sarah away. "I'll see you later."
"Baby girl," Roman called after her, "if you ever need new ink, just let me know."
Sydney briefly remembered the time Roman tattoo the inside of her hip with an S&R intricately shaped to form a heart. She was grateful that her middle name was Rose and it was easy to cover up. "Uh-huh."
"There's my girl," Dean rushed over to his girlfriend and picked her up, briefly twirling her around. He set her down and kissed her, sweeping his lips across hers before he devoured her more. After a few moments, he finally pulled back. His blue eyes twinkled with delight. "I missed you so much, baby girl."
Hearing Dean call her by her nickname effectively wiped off Roman's long-standing hold on her and Sydney felt her shoulders relax. She lost herself in her boyfriend's embrace and looked forward to spending the next several days with him. "I missed you, baby."
"Hey," Dean pulled back, "I want you to talk to me if you ever have a problem, all right? I don't want us to fight over things I said, supposedly did, whatever without us talking about it. You mean too much to me to let go."
"I promise," Sydney smiled. "I'm sorry for the other night. I just didn't know what to think."
"And I'll handle Renee later, I promise." Dean cupped her face, "I just want these next few days to be just about us and only us."
"I promise." She kissed him again.
"So damn, do I smell bad?" Sarah lifted her arms and smelled her pits. She glanced down at her wardrobe of jeans and a simple T-shirt. "Do I look like a hobo? Is this the Ignore the Sexy Brunette Standing a Few Feet Away night?"
Dean pulled back again and smiled at Sarah. "You must be Sarah."
Sarah lifted her arms. "The one and only, Mr. Big D."
Sydney's eyes widened and her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. "Sarah!"
"What? I called him Big D, which is what he is." Sarah winked as she craned her neck up to look at Dean. With Sarah being just a little over five and a half feet, she really did have to look up. "You're like, what? Six foot something of goodness? Two-hundred something pounds of chiseled steel and rock-hard deliciousness?"
"Something like that," Dean laughed. He reached into his pockets and pulled out two tickets. "As promised."
"Ah, my man, my man." Sarah slapped the tickets together and stuffed them in her purse. "Come on, kids. We have dinner to get to before I let you two fuck like bunnies."
"Sure thing, let's go. I'm starving." Dean picked up his duffel bag and grabbed Sydney's hand.
"So Big D," Sarah began, "you have any single buddies? I ain't looking for a relationship. I just need someone to come into town and blow my back out every once in a while, that's all."
As Sarah and Dean made small talk, Sydney looked behind her. She hoped Roman had left and went about his business. A blast from the past was meant to be just that – short, powerful, and fast. It was supposed to be gone as soon as it arrived.
Instead, she locked eyes with him as he gave her a cunning smile and winked at her. He'd witnessed the entire reunion between her and Dean and seemingly gave his approval. Sydney knew Roman too well; his approval meant as much as the status of her jeans pockets – absolutely nothing.
She softly sighed and refocused her attention to her boyfriend and his mini-vacation before he headed back to L.A. Everything was going to be perfect, wonderful, and no worries. They were going to have plenty of sex, food, wine, and great times.
Of course, Sydney also knew, this was not going to end well.