People cheered, bottles sparked up across the club, and I glanced toward the source of the noise. That was when I saw the man of the night.
He was sitting back in the center of the VIP area like he didn’t owe anybody anything. He had on some designer shades in the dark, and black leather on his body like it was carved for him. A thick chain rested over his chest. He had big aura, a dangerous aura… The kind of aura men didn’t have unless they really lived the life niggas pretended about in songs.
He lifted his glass after the shoutout, just a small nod to the crowd, nothing extra. It was obvious that he was a man who didn’t have to do the most because the most was already happening around him.
And I felt something low in my stomach when I saw that.
“Echo, girl, you good?” Nola asked.
“He fine as hell,” Dream whispered, following my stare.
I didn’t say anything. I just watched him.
I watched the way he leaned back, watched how the lights hit his jewelry, watched his hands and the way his fingers wrapped around his glass like he didn’t even need to try to look sexy.
I’d been in rooms with men who had money, power, status, all that, but something about this nigga was different. He wasn’t looking around to see who was watching him. He wasn’t trying to be loud or flashy. He just existed, and the energy bent around him.
A man like that didn’t need to be introduced. You just felt him.
Before I could think twice, or even talk myself out of it, I started walking toward his section. My girls peeled off behind me like they already knew what I was doing.
I walked right to him and slid into the spot next to him like I was already his was girl. He turned his head just enough to look at me, his lips parted a little, but his expression unreadable behind those shades.
He didn’t speak first. He didn’t smile and didn’t rush to greet me.
He just looked at me like I was interesting but not surprising, like women sat next to him every night and he still hadn’t seen one worth reacting to.
And that made me want him even more…
“I’m Echo,” I said, letting my voice drop into that slow, sweet tone I used when I chose somebody instead of them choosing me.
He took a sip of his drink, didn’t break eye contact, then nodded once. “Kay’Lo.”
His voice slid right down my spine.
I smiled and crossed my legs, letting my heel brush his ankle on purpose. “Happy birthday, Kay’Lo.”
He hummed a cool “thank you”, nothing extra, then looked away like he had the right to dismiss me. And maybe he did, but I wasn’t going anywhere.
While he talked to another nigga across the table, I glanced around and noticed a slim girl with soft curls sitting close to a fine man with a beard thick enough to grab. They looked good together, but the girl kept cutting her eyes at me like I was messing with her personal space. I didn’t know who she was or why she was pressed, but I wasn’t about to be bothered. I wasn’t fighting in a club I looked too good to be thrown out of.
I pushed my hair back slowly, letting the glitter on my chest glow under the lights. I licked my lips, pretending not to see her watching me.
I turned my attention right back to Kay’Lo.
He finally looked at me again, and he smirked.
Just a little…
Just enough to let me know he felt my energy, even if he wasn’t ready to show it yet.
And right then, I decided something.
I was going to be in his bed before the night ended.
He just didn’t know it yet…
DRAHMA TOWN
