“My mother was a debutant as well,” Diamond leaned over and whispered, her hand caressing my thigh. “It was always her plan for me. My father made sure to see that through.”
“Are we forcing Tibs into this?” I raised an eyebrow.
“He will be raised a southern gentleman,” she raised one back. “I would have it no other way, Thierry Scarpetta. He will have manners and know which dinner fork to use.”
The lights began to dim, and the hostess began to speak. She was a graduate of Spellman and I knew that gave my wife immense pride. She talked about what it meant for young black women and men to go through this ritual, this dance and to do it with pride. Her speech while thoughtful went on for longer than I would have deemed needed. Others in the crowd seemed to be thinking the same thing because I could see people in front of us at other tables and all around me on their phones.
At some point the presenter wrapped up her speech.
“And without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the best of Atlanta’s society.”
My eyes felt glazed over. I could have gone for a drink and my mind began to wander. This was not how I’d planned to spend my evening. Diamond was going to pay with that pretty little mouth of hers. And that pretty little pussy that resided between her legs. Her hand had still been massaging my thigh in slowly lazy circles when she encountered my hard on.
She turned and looked at me wide eyed.
“Really?” she whispered. “Here and now?”
I gave a lazy shrug, “You wanna take care of it for me?”
“And give the society pages something to whisper about…I think not!”
She turned and snatched her hand away. She was going to pay for that little infraction as well. God, her mouth wrapped around my dick was the only thing I cared about at present, and we still had hours to go.
The presenter from Spellman interrupted my thoughts. The hackles on the back of my neck went up at the sound of his name.
“Now presenting, Miss Claudette Marie West. Daughter of Detective Nathan West and Mrs. Elana West. She is being escorted by Mr. Dillion James, son of the Honorable Judge George James…”
Nathan’s daughter swept out onto the floor in a white dress that Diamond had paid for. She was a tall girl, probably way too tall for her age. In ten years she would have super model good looks but for now she seemed awkward and unsure of her own feet. She revealed that braces were wrapped around her teeth, when she smiled at the boy escorting her.
Nathan didn’t deserve the family he had.
He sure as hell had never deserved Diamond’s time. The fact that they were first cousins made my stomach twitch. As if sensing my thoughts, my wife looked over and tried to smile.
“I’m going to run to the restroom,” she touched my hand.
I simply nodded but didn’t say anything further. I had begun to fume at the thought of having to breath air with Detective Ass Clown. Nathan West was right up there with Alistair. I could have put a bullet between his eyes and never thought twice.
Chapter 25
Diamond
The door to the bathroom slammed open as I was washing my hands. Immediately, I made eye contact with the person entering. My stomach twisted into a knot at the sight of the mayor’s wife. The last time I’d seen her, she’d poured water on my head in a restaurant full of people and hadn’t gotten her ass whooped.
She looked me up and down, and I simply quirked an eye brow.
“Trash,” I heard her mutter.
“Excuse me?” I turned to look at her.
She gave a polite smile and pointed to the overflowing trash can in the corner nearby. “Trash,” she repeated before entering into a stall.
Taking a deep breath, I finished washing my hands under the warm water. When I was done, I turned the sink off, grabbed a paper towel to dry my hands with and headed out. The sound of music was flowing out and I knew the father and daughter dances had started.
Memories of my own father twirling me around the dance floor the night I entered society waltzed in my mind. The dress that I had worn had been silver and full of precious crystals that sparkled under these same lights. My father’s smile had been white as snow, and his eyes had been happier than I’d seen in a long time. He spun me around and told me that the world was mine.
“Diamond?”
My steps had paused with the memory washing over me, but Elana’s voice had snapped me out of it.
