13-Bar Talk

**Daveed's POV**

I shook their hands and sealed the deal. There's no way I'm going to let her win this race. There's no way she could even beat me in a race anyway because I've been a runner for most of my life and I also went to college on a Cross Country scholarship.
"Why don't you run in college? Shouldn't you have gotten a scholarship or something?" I asked Saviera. This is only my second year teaching, but I would know if she was on an athletic team.
"I actually did run for the first two years, I just didn't want to run for the school anymore. The coach and I didn't really get along and I refuse to go around that pervert if I don't have to. " She said. I always thought coach Rhett was a weirdo, so it's no surprise that she says he's a pervert. It makes my blood boil to think that she had to stop doing what she loved because a coach made her feel so uncomfortable and unsafe.
"Did he do something to you? I can teach him a lesson." My fists are balled up, ready to kill the guy.
"Not to me directly, but to most of the women on the team, yes. He would walk into the locker room when the showers turned on because he knew we would be naked. And there was one time when I saw him with a female student and he was up in her face against a wall. She looked terrified, so of course I went up to him, cussed him out and pulled her away from him. He knows I'm not the kind of woman he can intimidate or harass. I'd beat his ass." She responded.
"Something needs to be done about him. Why hasn't he been fired or reported?" I'm going to see what I can do to get him fired. I know I'm fairly new still, but surely this won't be accepted by the higher-ups.
"He's been reported numerous times. I'm not sure what connections he has or why he never gets in trouble, but something doesn't add up." Zuri chimed in.
I'm glad she wasn't harmed, even though it still isn't right. "I'm glad you removed yourself from that abuse, but I'm pissed that you had to sacrifice something so big just to stay safe."
"Women do it all the time. It's so common and normal for us that we usually just ignore it or try our best to avoid it. Most of the time, nothing is done to fix the problem or it's not taken seriously. Why even bother, ya know?" It's easy to ignore an issue that doesn't affect you. Sure, men can be victims as well, but it is way less common and they're usually more capable of defending themselves.
"I'm going to see what I can do. I can't do nothing now that I know what's going on." I say.
"Be careful. You could end up putting your job at risk if you don't tread lightly. Like I said, coach Rhett has connections and I'm not sure how strong those connections can be." Zuri warned.
Our food finally arrived after about twenty minutes. It's packed in here, so I can understand why it took a while. We put an end to that conversation and ate in a comfortable silence. Within ten minutes, Saviera seriously smashed all of her wings and most of the fried pickles. Zuri still has the other half of her chicken wrap and I already ate my quesadilla. Mozzarella sticks sounds great too, so I asked for some when Jane came to check on us and asked for another beer. Saviera and Zuri got a large margarita to share and it looks delicious. At this point, I think we've all sobered up for the most part. We never were really drunk anyway, just feelin' ourselves.
"Let me taste this margarita. That looks fire." Zuri slides it over to me and I take a sip. The pineapple, coconut, and orange flavors really stick out and it's delicious.
"Wow that is great! It looks like you're sharing it with me too." I say and take another drink.
"And you're going to give me a mozzarella stick." Saviera says. I laugh because I can't believe she can fit anything else into her stomach.
"Please don't stuff yourself too full. I don't want to get puked on in the Uber." I say.
"I'm not even full." She responded with an eye roll.
"Well in that case, I'll let you have two." I decided to be generous.

**Zuri's POV**

Tonight has been so much fun. The fact that the three of us can sit here together as if we've been friends for years gives me a good feeling about the plan. Daveed is sexy and intelligent and kind. If Sav and I weren't a couple, I would most definitely go for him. I think Sav and I need this experience with a man because we have no idea what we're missing out on. At least when it's done, no one can say that we're only together because we're all we've ever had. We're going to be such great moms and live in a big, beautiful house to raise our family in.
"Earth to Zuri." I hear Sav say and I see she has her hand waving in my face.
I realize I've been zoned out for a minute, "Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About what?" Daveed asked.
"About life and the future. I'm to the point where the alcohol is making me emotional and lovey dovey. Don't mind me." I say with a short laugh.
Sav takes my hand, gives it a gentle squeeze and says, "The future is bright." She turns her attention to Daveed and says, "Zuri and I are going to get married and have a baby. She also just decided to go back to school and become a dentist because the one she works for is retiring in the next ten years, so he's leaving the office to her. We've had a lot on our minds the last week."
"Oh wow. Yeah that is a lot to take in for sure. When's the wedding? And are you adopting?" Daveed asked.
"We haven't planned out the details for the wedding yet or even got the engagement rings yet. And no to adopting. I'm going to get pregnant so that we can have a more personal experience with our baby." I say.
"Well, congratulations to you two. I expect an invitation to the wedding and once you get pregnant, send me a link to your baby registry." He responded.
"Of course you'll be invited to the wedding. I'll need you to be the flower girl." Sav said and we all started laughing. I just imagined Daveed in a pretty little dress, throwing flower petles at the guests instead of throwing them up the aisle.
"This is genius! Please be our flower girl!" I begged.
Daveed looked at us like we were crazy and said, "Yeah I'll be the flower man as long as I don't have to wear a dress. No more calling me flower girl." He's giving us a stern look.
"That sucks the fun right out of it." Sav mumbled.
"I think it's still fun and reasonable. You guys ready to head out? My feet are killing me and I'm exhausted." I say.
"Yeah I'm ready too. I'll order the Uber and ride with ya'll to make sure you get home safely." Daveed said.