“Chile, I suppose. Just remember that I take my payments in all things Coach. How many eligible bachelors will be in attendance, though? I want to consider my options when I select my attire for that night.”
“Don’t have me simultaneously losing my job and spending a night in jail, Sis. I keep telling you that you ain’t old enough to date.”
“Imagine being a cockblocker with hurt feelings because I disobey your baseless attempt at keeping me under your thumb. I’m a grown-ass woman.”
A sly smirk upturns my lips at seeing the deep frown on Asia’s face that accompanies the inflection of her tone while staring daggers at me. Getting Asia riled up doesn’t faze me,because preventing her from being hurt by anyone she chooses to date will always be my goal.
“You seem a little bitter, Sis.”
“You’re aggy. Let me go rescue my niece before I cuss you out in this nice establishment.” Rolling her eyes, Asia walks toward the dance floor, causing me to shout to her retreating back.
“Love you, Lay.”
A smile upturns my lips as I watch Asia walk away, and a low chuckle escapes my mouth when Dad and Ma attempt to prevent her from rescuing Zakiyah. My parents are the blueprint I desire whenever I find a woman worthy of spending forever with. My deepest desire is to find a love that not only complements my life but also enhances it. Hopefully, one day, Zakiyah will be on the sidelines with my wife and me while we celebrate our thirty-plus years of marriage. My only constant prayer is for Big Homie to allow me to show Zakiyah what love between my future wife and me looks like in our home.
A Week Later . . .
I could be cuddling on the couch with Zakiyah, watching reruns ofGood Timesinstead of pretending to like my coworkers. I’m not in the mood to listen to another boring spiel from Adrian about the splendid job we’ve done. Who the hell even uses words like splendid anyway?
“Why are you pouting? It’s not often that you get to let your hair down since Zakiyah snatched your freedom like a thief in the night. I’m ready to turn up, so I’m hoping your employer isn’t cheap. Smile. This is gonna be a good time, especially since you’ll be walking in with the prettiest escort you could have found toaccompany you,” Asia says, cutting off my internal rant about suffering through another stupid work event.
“Don’t make me regret bringing you, and don’t get comfortable, because I doubt that I’ll be here long,” I grumble.
My appearance at this wack party is mandatory, but the length of time I’m present isn’t, so I might have a good two hours in me before Zakiyah has a fake illness that requires me to vacate these premises. Walking through the ballroom doors at the hotel the company uses for functions, my eyes immediately scan the room as I watch my colleagues mingle. The techno music blasting around the area, along with the various people dancing off-key, lets me know that my departure timeframe has now become shorter.
“Oh wow. This is about to be fun. Let me go turn up.” Asia releases my hand before she smiles, then two-steps toward the makeshift dance floor.
Shaking my head, I peruse the room until I make eye contact with my boss, who waves me over. As a policy analyst, I work alone most days, which makes my relationship with my boss controversy-free. The only thing I dread whenever I have to talk to Adrian is his need to discuss meaningless things that hold zero interest for me.
“Good to see you, Zakai. If you need alcoholic beverages, you’ll have to obtain them from the bar, as the corporate representative forgot to arrange someone for the open bar option. However, whatever you indulge in will be taken care of as long as you let the bartender know you’re with our group,” Adrian tells me when I’m two inches in front of him.
Perfect. I can hide out at the bar without having to think of another excuse not to be in this room.
“Gotcha. Let me go grab a drink. I’ll be back.”
My feet can’t get me out of the room fast enough now that I have an alibi to utilize. My reprieve doesn’t even allow me to stoplong enough to tell Asia where I am going, deciding to send her a text when I get to the bar. Twenty minutes later, while indulging in my second glass of brown liquor, my eyes land on a woman whose beauty has me sitting up straighter to take her in. The burgundy satin dress with a deep V provides an enticing glimpse of her full breasts that make my mouth water. The subtlety of her makeup highlights the warmth of her toffee skin as my eyes mentally catalog her beautiful face. Her perfectly arched brows, full cheeks, short pixie cut curls, and mesmerizing almond-shaped eyes have me stuck in a deep absorption of adoration.
All I can do is stare in her direction as a man comes over, taking a seat beside her while the two engage in a conversation I shamelessly eavesdrop on. All seems to be going well until another woman enters the area with a wide smile, heading for the man, causing my forehead to wrinkle when her arms wrap around ole boy. The knowledge of the goofy dude being married to the newcomer has my eyes bulging while I watch the scene before me.
“Happy anniversary, baby,” he says in a shaky voice as his eyes peer over to the woman he’d been talking to before he damn near drags the new woman away.
The beauty he had been talking to looks like she’s on the verge of falling apart as I wonder if maybe their meetup wasn’t by chance. Shaking my head, I finish my drink and make my way over to the woman whose misty eyes call me like a siren.
“Say the word, and I’ll catch that nigga to let him know how much he has you fucked up,” I say when I reach the bombshell.
When her body shifts toward me, and I have her full attention, my chest tightens and releases. I stare into her eyes, and her words cause me to decide the trajectory of her night.
“I think karma will eventually provide the justice I can’t. Besides, I wouldn’t want to see you get into any trouble on mybehalf.”Wait, either I’m hearing a choir of angels or the voice of my future. Be still, my fucking heart.
“If you insist, but how about I help you forget what just happened? No strings attached.”
For countless seconds, all she does is stare into my eyes as if she’s trying to determine my motives or some hidden secret my mouth is incapable of communicating.
“I’m Caziya.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Caziya. I’m Zakai.”
“I’ll take you up on your offer, but only because I could use a distraction and a friend after finding out that my man is in fact someone else’s man.”
