“Yes, girl, this is Kier Stone! He’s only one of the hottest producers of our time. Like how do you not know STONE?!” She shouted again. “Can I please get a short video with you? Not onlybecause I’m a fan, but because this will be good for my celebrity vlog site.”
“Yeah, that’s cool,” he smiled. Treasure immediately took out her phone and started talking to her camera and moving around in a circle to show off our section and Kier. He flirted with the camera while his guys made themselves comfortable. Once the camera stopped rolling, Kier walked over to me and whispered in my ear. “You gon save me a dance?”
“Maybe.” I smiled as he kissed my hand. I watched him walk away, bracing myself for the influx of questions that would come from Treasure and Tara.
“Like, this is insane! You know he doesn't come outside, right?! Like it’s extremely rare to see him anywhere! Where did you meet him?!” Treasure raved.
“We met at the gas station earlier. He put air in my tires.”
“Mind fuckin blown, girl! What a chance encounter. You get all the good niggas. But not Damien—he ain’t shit.” She scoffed, while I laughed.
“And speaking of Damien, does he know that you let somebody buy you bottles and give you birthday gifts?”
“Do you see Damien here, Tara? I didn’t think so.” I replied, refusing to give her the chance to ruin my moment. “Don’t piss me off, okay?”
“Whatever.”
With the nonstop bottles flowing and extra attention from the DJ, I felt like a celebrity. We spent the rest of the night dancing and enjoying the perks of being ‘Kier Stone’s’ special guests. The music blared over the speakers, and Treasure made herself comfortable with Kier’s friends. Treasure easily made friends. She was fun and flirty but always respectful to herself. People often looked at her as ‘one of the homies’, which in this case was working in my favor. She made me more comfortable, especially when Kier called for me to join him at the DJ booth.
The crowd cheered as if they knew who I was. He encouraged them to sing happy birthday to me while I blushed and tried to hide behind him. I wasn’t shy, but I didn’t like too much attention on me either. Unfortunately, I was on display, and there was no outrunning it. The DJ invited me to spin on his turntables, and when I switched to a popular song, the crowd went crazy again.
“This is insane!” I yelled over the speakers.
“I know, right?” Kier responded, leading me back to the VIP area with an army of men around him.
When we arrived back into the section, the noise of the club felt distant for a second. Treasure was laughing too loud at something one of his friends said, Tara was pretending she wasn’t studying every move I made, and Kier’s attention stayed on me.
He leaned back and stretched his arm along the couch behind me. I didn’t know him well, but Kier seemed respectful. If he was this big celebrity like Treasure claimed he was, he didn’t function like it. He could have had a slew of women surrounding him, but instead, he played me close. He could have had his hands on me because he was ‘that nigga’, but he never touched me. Actions like that spoke to his character, which intrigued me more.
I started paying attention to how people navigated around him. Nobody stepped into his space without saying something first. His friends let him lead without making it obvious. And while his entourage indulged in the scene before them, Kier wasn’t doing anything extra. He sat relaxed, enjoying it all while enjoying me as well.
“Are you always this quiet?” He asked.
“I talk when I need to.”
“What a shame. I’d love to hear more of your voice.”
“Oh really? Do you flirt with all the girls like this, or am I special?”
“Put your number in my phone and find out,” he said, holding it out to me.
I looked at the phone, then at him. This is where me faking like I was bold had gotten me. “You sure?” I asked softly.
“Very sure.”
I took the phone and typed my number in slowly. I hesitated, because if I gave him my number, I knew he’d probably want to see me again. If I put in a fake number, he’d probably call it on the spot and I’d look dumb for lying. I just went ahead and entered it and handed him back his phone. He glanced at the screen, then back at me.
“Good,” he said as he sent a text to my phone. “Lock me in.”
The rest of the night kind of took on a life of its own. Treasure and I were everywhere, dancing and laughing with drinks in our hands. I wasn’t even a drinker like that, but I was truly enjoying myself. At some point, Kier pulled me in and wished me a happy birthday and a goodnight. He said he’d call me, but I didn’t think too much about it. I was well past tipsy, and if he did call, I’d probably be hungover and miss it anyway. I knew I’d had too much, but I didn’t care enough to stop it. It was my birthday, and I was celebratingme.
three
. . .
The knocking blendedinto the dull pounding behind my eyes. At first, I thought it was leftover noise from the music still ringing in my ears. When it didn’t stop, I forced one eye open and stared at the ceiling, trying to gather myself before moving. The air conditioner breathed quietly against the early morning heat. The air felt cold against my bare legs, and my mouth was so dry it almost hurt to swallow. I slowly pushed myself upright out of my bed, my head lagging behind the rest of me. I still wasn’t ready to be up yet.
Treasure was draped halfway across me with one arm thrown over my waist. Her lashes were still perfectly in place, which felt unfair considering the state I was in. Tara was in the living room, curled up on the futon under my throw blanket. Her wig was somewhat shifted and her phone still glowed faintly in her hand as if she had fallen asleep mid-scroll.
