“We want Freedom to sing.” Teeyana, the girl that Freedom used to mess around with before me, pursed her bow-shaped lips. She was a pretty and popular girl, then, and a high-powered attorney and badass now. Her green dress hugged every curve and dip, stopping right below her muscled thighs. “Freedom said he would be down as long as you were.”
“Why are you asking me? He doesn’t need my permission,” I retorted, unable to hide my annoyance that Freedom still talked to herandthat he wanted to sing. Lord knows if I heard his voice, my resolve would be completely destroyed. I’d managed to avoid listening to his music all these years because I didn’t want to be helplessly and hopelessly in love forever.
“He said that he didn’t want to disrupt the program, and if you were okay with it, then he would sing one song.” She squealed. “Why didn’t you prepare us and tell us that he would be here? We could’ve had him raise money for the school or something.”
“He surprised us all.” I managed a weak smile.
Lori edged past me. “Can you stop blocking the door so she can get out of here?”
Someone from the back agreed. “Yes, I really have to use it.”
The small crowd tittered and allowed the jumpy woman to walk through the bathroom door.
“Hey, Jamaica needs to run a quick errand. I can take it from here.” Lori squeezed my hand.
Eternally grateful for my best friend, I conceded, “Tell Freedom he can perform until his heart’s content.” I excused myself. “I really do have to run, y’all. I’ll be back in a few.”
I hurried through the small lobby of the banquet hall and out the door without anyone stopping me. I nodded at a few of my classmates who would soon have the biggest surprise. Upon approaching my SUV, I clicked the door knob, and it didn’t open.
“Shit,” I yelled. My keys and cell phone were inside my purse at the reception table. I would be forced to go back in and hope that somehow, I could get in and out again undetected. More importantly, I wouldn’t run into Freedom again. Once in fifteen years was enough to last a lifetime.
A few more cars drove into the parking lot. From here, I could see that these people weren’t my classmates. Of course,news spread that one of the hottest singers had made a surprise appearance at a random hall in Dallas. I wouldn’t be surprised if Freedom didn’t post it himself.
Leaving, at least right now, wasn’t an option. I couldn’t leave Lori alone with uninvited guests. I walked back in and found one of the security guards. “Um…there are people outside who aren’t a part of our class, and I suspect there’ll be more. We need crowd control. Can you get more of your people to get here?”
“On short notice?” he raised his brows.
“It’s Freedom Cade.”
He grinned. “You’re right. Let me make a few phone calls. You’ll owe double for the two additional men on short notice. Is that okay?”
“Yep.” I gestured behind me. “Freedom is paying for it. Triple their pay, including yours and the other guy.”
Screams and yells grew louder. We both looked toward the open double doors.
“He’s about to perform,” I explained.
The guard’s stern face broke into a smile. “A free concert?”
“Yes, and I need you to stand in front of the door and keep people from coming in unless they show you a reunion ticket.” His smile disappeared, and I suggested, “Maybe you can take turns with the other guards so you can see him sing.”
He picked up his walkie-talkie. “Hey, need you up front, we have a situation.” The guard nodded in response to whatever his coworker said and walked away. “I know. It’s why we have a situation. Jamaica said we can take turns seeing the concert.”
My nerves ached in my stomach as I walked to the now-empty registration table that Lori and another classmate had abandoned to see Freedom. Not that I blamed anyone. If he didn’t break my heart, I would be inside excited to see him perform, too. Freedom was an award-winning hip-hop country star who had sold out concerts whenever he did tour.
Why couldn’t he be just a former classmate of mine who’d done well so that I could enjoy the night I’d planned for the last six months like everyone else? This was supposed to be a fun time for our class, and I wouldn’t be a part of it. Dejectedly, I picked up my purse from the box underneath the table.
“Oak Valley.” He growled in the mic, and the women screamed their appreciation along with my fast-beating heart. “It’s been a long time, and y’all still look fucking good.”
More yells and squeals.
“Take off your shirt,” A woman yelled.
Freedom was known to perform shirtless, wearing only jeans and his guitar, adding to the allure of his natural charisma and looks. He’d been named one ofPeople’s Magazine's Sexiest Mentwice.
Not that I was checking.
“I didn’t come here tonight to perform. I don’t have my guitar. I wasn’t even sure that I was coming until the last minute. I didn’t exactly leave here on the best of terms.”
