I shrugged. “If the moment calls for it.” I accepted the blunt then placed it between my lips. It was hard, trying to ignore the weight of his gaze. I felt him studying me from head to toe, but his facial expression remained neutral, so I wasn’t even sure if he saw anything he liked, not that I should’ve cared. I came back home to get away from romantic fantasies and fairy tales. The reminder had me hitting the blunt harder than intended.
“Got damn, ma. You stressed or something?”
I giggled. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Feeling a little bold because of the liquor buzzing through my veins, I glanced up at him and flirted. “Why? You got something to help me out?”
I couldn’t help but follow the trail of his tongue as it eased over his lips. “I might know a trick or two that could help. Depends on what’s got you stressed out though.” I felt myself about to fall right for his trap when he kept talking. “Aw, shit. My mama about to show her ass tonight.” He chuckled, and I realized he was talking about the song blasting from the speakers. It was Rick James’ “Give it to Me, Baby.” “I hope youlike to party. These people don’t know how to go home. They will dance until the roosters crow,” he said to me with a smirk.
“I know how to hang.”
“I hope so.”
I took another pull from the blunt, then handed it back. “Guess I’ll see you on the dance floor.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” he said, mocking me. Even still, his eyes tracked me like prey.
I couldn’t help but laugh before I made my way back inside. I fought against the urge to glance back over my shoulder, so instead, I put a little extra sway in my hips. If he was going to be watching me, I might as well put on a show.
I walked right into an entrance tunnel for Ms. Paulette. Somehow, I managed to squeeze my way to the front, so I saw the full entrance. The song switched to Rick James’ “Super Freak” before the lights spotlighted the door. Everyone screamed “Surprise!” as the doors came open, and Katana’s twin was left standing there in shock.
There were tears in her eyes as she registered what her children managed to put together for her. I was such an empath that I could feel her love and appreciation. I felt a tingle down my spine and couldn’t resist the urge to look back this time. I found Ketai leaning casually against the wall. There was a genuine smile on his face as he watched his mother dance her way down the aisle like the superstar she was.
He must’ve felt my eyes on him because his gaze slowly turned to me. I dropped my eyes quickly and pretended I was focused on the floor decal. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard his voice in my ear a few seconds later.
“Looking for me, beautiful?” he questioned in a teasing manner.
I couldn’t hide my blush or my smile. “Yeah, making sure you aren’t missing the party.”
He came to stand beside me and began stroking his goatee. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” His cologne invaded my personal space as a mixture of oud and weed. Glancing down at me, he motioned his arm toward the dance floor. “Get out there.”
“I will when you do.”
He shocked me when he held his hand out for me. An electric shock went through my body when my palm landed in his, but before he could pull me onto the floor, his mother came over and forced him to dance with her.
“Save a dance for me,” he said, then winked before he got yanked too far away to be heard over the thumping speakers.
I caught myself from melting right on the spot. Walking over to the bar, I got another shot of tequila, hoping it would make me forget about the handsome man who had the kind of smile that’d convince you to feed him grapes on command. Coming back to the States was about focusing on me, not falling victim to another man’s charm.
When I felt I had control of my feelings, I made my way to the dance floor and got lost in the music. They were playing all the oldies but goodies. I was having the time of my life, like this was my actual family and not like I was a random woman who rsvp’d online for what was supposed to be a private party.
The entire time I was dancing, I felt the weight of his eyes. It was easy to ignore when his sister and mother both wouldn’t allow me to take a break from dancing. He wasn’t lying when he warned me that they liked to party. All the women seemed to gravitate toward me, and I found myself in the gossip circle as if I belonged there.
I was only able to escape when I went to use the restroom. When I came out, my steps halted when I saw Ketai leaning against the wall as if he were waiting for me. I tried to convince myself that wasn’t the reason he was out here, though, because then the fantasizing would begin.
“What happened to my dance?” I teased him playfully.
The corner of his mouth lifted subtly. “I was too busy enjoying the show, and I changed my mind. I’ll only dance with you if it’s only us.”
“Why is that? You trying to get me all alone?”
It was as if my body had a mind of its own because I erased a little more of the distance between us. Waves of heat rolled between us, creating the kind of friction that could surely start a fire. I didn’t know what it was about this man that made me want to fuck around and find out if I’d get burned or not. With my track record with men, it was inevitable, yet and still, I was drawn to that spark in him, the one that could ruin what was left of my sanity.
“Yeah, I am,” he stated boldly. “I’m selfish like that.” He lifted from the wall and pressed his chest into mine. I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eyes. I couldn’t label what I saw flickering in the depths of his brown eyes, but I knew it hypnotized me. His raspy voice punted me even further from reality.
“Should I be scared?”
A panty-dropping smile appeared on his face. “If you don’t want a toe-cracking orgasm, then yeah, . . . you should be very scared.”
My mind was warning me not to fall for the trap, while my body knew we’d already reached the point of no return. How did the saying go? The quickest way to get over one man was to get under another one? Yeah, well, with Ketai standing in front of me, looking and smelling so good, I was overly going under him to forget everything that’d gone wrong in my love life.
