Chapter 11
Trina
I hadn't been clubbing in a long time. The last time I got all dolled up like this was probably at a funeral. I wasn't sure what to wear, but I opted for a pair of stretch jean leggings, a navy cropped jacket, and a white tank. I could barely walk in the high-heeled pumps I had on, but they made my whole fit look sexier. My layered hair was swooped a bit to the left, and I accessorized with red and silver jewelry. I never liked to wear a lot of makeup, so all I did was gloss my lips and spread my lashes with mascara. My brows were already arched, and after several dashes of sweet perfume, I was ready to go.
I told Kayla that I would meet her at a jazz/R&B joint that was on Washington Avenue. Some of the other artists at the studio mentioned the place, but I hadn't ever been there before. To my surprise, it was nice. The crowd was thirty and older, and the loud music spilling through the speakers had many of people there up on their feet. I couldn't really see, but the spinning white lights from up above gave off some light. The club was decorated with purple, black, yellow, and silver. I always appreciated a colorful atmosphere, and the many colorful paintings on the wall impressed me. So did the humungous dance floor, where people from all races were dancing.
Kayla was supposed to be there at nine, but I didn't see her yet. That was until I looked over at a booth and spotted her sitting next to a white man who was all smiles. She saw me and waved her hand. I walked over to the table and the man sitting next to her stood up.
“You must be Kayla's friend, Trina,” he said, yelling over the loud music.
“Yes, I am. And you are?”
“Chris. I saw Kayla when she came through the door and was like, wow. She damn near knocked me off my feet.”
Kayla was all smiles. I was too, especially since Chris wasn't all that bad looking. Unfortunately, though, I knew my friend all too well. She wanted black dick, and would never settle for anything less.
“Now that Trina is here,” Chris said to Kayla, “would you like to dance?”
“Sure.” Kayla scooted out of the booth and made her way to the dance floor with Chris.
I eased into the booth and looked around at the drinks on the table. I could tell Kayla and Chris had been getting it in. She must've gotten here earlier than I'd thought. There was also a bottle of wine on the table, sitting in an ice bucket. I took it upon myself to pour some. Minutes later, an older black man with a slanted, mack-daddy hat on eased into the booth with me.
“I bet you a hundred dollars that you're going to turn me down,” he said then sucked his teeth. “If so, please give me a Band-Aid, because I just scraped my knee from falling head over heels for you.”
How weak was that?
I thought
. Really?
But I had to admit, it was funny. “No, I don't have a Band-Aid nor do I have a hundred dollars. But I assure you that I'm like a Rubik's Cube: The more you play with me, the harder I get.”
The nice-looking older man slapped his leg and laughed. “I figured you had a good sense of humor. And something told me to come over here and offer to buy you a drink.”
I looked at the drinks on the table. “You know what, I'm good. But maybe if you stop by later, we can dance or something. By the way, what's your name again?”
“Chance. If you take a chance on me, you just may get real lucky.”
I winked at him. “Okay, I got it. And thanks again for the sideshow. It's been real.”
Chance said he would be back later to dance. As soon as he walked away, I looked for Kayla and Chris on the dance floor. Needless to say, it was hilarious. Kayla was a great dancer, but Chris was all over the place. He was doing some mess that James Brown would do. Had his jacket pulled back and was moving his feet so fast that he was about to trip. I cracked up, and you best believe that after one dance, Kayla called it quits. I saw her say something to him, and then she headed back to the table alone.
Dressed in a white, wide-legged jumpsuit, Kayla eased into the booth with me. She was such a classy chick. I couldn't touch her style if I tried.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I'm talking about the way he was dancing. Girl, he was all over the place.”
“Yeah, he was. But he is . . . nice.”
“Maybe so, but not nice enough for you to date, right?”
Kayla sipped from the glass in front of her then shrugged. “I might. Not sure yet.”
I pursed my lips. “Don't even try to sell that mess to me. You know good and doggone well that a white man could never get it.”
Kayla laughed and placed her finger over her lips. “Shhh, don't tell nobody. You already know that I love the brothas.”
“Yes, I do.”
We sat for a long while, enjoying each other's company, laughing and drinking. I danced, Kayla danced, and then we sang “Happy Birthday” with the people next to us who were there celebrating. I was tipsy as ever, and as the night went on, I was very flirtatious. I had just finished dancing with Chance, before plopping down in the booth and picking up another drink.
Kayla had a glassy film covering her eyes. She looked at me with a straw close to her lips. “I think you'd better slow it down,” she whispered. “Somebody here is keeping a very close eye on you.”
Regardless of who it was, I sipped from the glass of Patrón and whispered back at Kayla. “Who?”
“I'm not saying. If you look around, maybe you will see him.”
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the room. Didn't see anyone I knew, nor did I notice anyone paying attention to me. “I repeat, who?”
“Look over by the bar. At the very end, there are three men standing together. One is a dark chocolate, and he is a sight for drunken eyes. He's rocking jeans, a V-neck shirt that's hugging those muscles and showing those colorful tattoos. I swear you'd better straighten up and get to him, before some of these other chicks do. Trust me when I say they're on it!”
I snapped my head to look over at the bar and squinted. Sure enough, there was Keith, Bryson, and one of his other friends. I hurried to duck in the booth.
“Damn,” I said, pounding my leg. “I need to get out of here. Doooo, do not want him to see me. I wonder what he's doing here anyway.”
Kayla leaned in closer to me. “Don't be mad at me, but see, you have a best friend who tends to poke her nose where it doesn't belong sometimes. I kind of reached out to him earlier and told him that we'd be here. I kind of felt likeâ”
I pulled my head back and held up one finger. “Uh, no. We don't go there, Miss Thing, and you were sooooo wrong for that. I could cuss you out right now for interfering, but I do not want to embarrass the hell out of us right now.”
“Well, if you're going to do it, hurry up because we're about to have some visitors.”
My eyes shot up, and Keith, Bryson, and their friend were heading our way. He looked so spectacular that my pussy started to get overly excited before I did. I crossed my legs and turned my head, just so I didn't have to look at him.
“Hello, ladies,” Bryson said to both of us. “Y'all got a lot of room in this booth. Mind if we squeeze in, especially since there aren't many open seats?”
“Of course,” Kayla said, scooting closer to me.
Bryson moved in next to her and their friend sat next to him. Keith sat on my other side, but his back faced me. He sat with his elbows on his knees, watching the crowds of people dancing. I guess his intentions were to ignore me.
“Kayla, right?” Bryson said to her. “You were the one at the hospital, correct?”
“Yes, I was.”
“I remember. I told my knucklehead brother over there to hook me up. I was disappointed to hear that you were married.”
Kayla blushed. She was happy to reply, “Not anymore.”
Bryson licked his lips and moved closer. I quickly spoke up. “Where's Evelyn, Bryson? I spoke to her the other day, and she mentioned that you'd just left her apartment.”
He tried to fire back. “I don't keep tabs on Evelyn. The fact that I was at her apartment doesn't mean anything. I'm here right now, in the presence of a beautiful woman who excited me from the very first time that I saw her.”
I kept my mouth shut and let Kayla handle Bryson. He was such a dog, and even though Keith had his issues, they were the total opposite.
“Evelyn?” Kayla said, pretending to be surprised. “You've been dating Evelyn?”
“Nah, I wouldn't exactly say that we're dating. Just chilling and conversing from time to time. Stuff like that; nothing real serious.”
“Well, any man who enjoys her conversation definitely wouldn't appreciate mine. Personally, I think she's a tramp, and any penis that has ever been inside of her will never get inside of me.”
Surprise, surprise. I didn't know my best friend could be so blunt. Bryson's eyes bugged, Keith turned around to look at Kayla, and the other dude halted his conversation with the chick in the booth beside us to turn around.
“Sorry,” Kayla said. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Hell no,” I said, snatching up the glass of alcohol in front of me. “I wouldn't let a fool who been up in that touch me either. And if I ever find out that we've shared the same man, it will be bad news for him.”
“Ladies, let's not talk about Evelyn right now,” Bryson said in a smooth tone. He was eager to change the subject, but Kayla wasn't buying it. Her experience with Cedric left her with a lot of knowledge. It was easy for her to see through the bullshit.
As they talked, I was anxious to move away from Keith.
“Excuse me,” I said to him so he'd move.
He stood and eased his hands into his pockets. Before I could get out of the booth, a mixed-looking chick stepped up to him. “Would you like to dance?” she politely asked.
“Sure,” he replied. “Why not?”
He walked away and so did I. I tried not to keep my eyes on him, but I couldn't help it. I kept seeing him whisper in the chick's ear and they also kept laughing. I also watched Kayla and Bryson. They appeared to be indulged in an interesting conversation. Both of them kept smiling too. I hoped like hell that she didn't go there. That was definitely a bad move, but I trusted that after her experience with Cedric, she wouldn't give Bryson the time of day.
I went to the restroom to use it then staggered my way through the crowd to take a seat at the bar. It was so hot that my jacket was now sticking to my skin. I was very uncomfortable. I removed my jacket and placed it on the back of a chair. I then ordered another drink, but a young man with dreads sat down next to me, offering to pay for it.
“Don't bother,” Keith said reaching over him to place his money on the bar. “I got it.”
The dude looked Keith up and down then glanced at me. I didn't say anything, so he shrugged and walked away. Keith sat in his seat.
“So, you're not going to say anything to me,” he said. “The least you could do is speak.”
“I spoke while we were at the table. You didn't hear me because your back was turned.”
“If you spoke, I would have heard you and replied. But whatever. How's everything going with you?”
“Great. Can't complain.”
“Hmmm, wish I could say the same. I have a lot to complain about, but I guess now isn't the place or time to do it.”
“You're right, it's not. And the thing is, I don't care to listen. Buy that bitch you were dancing with that drink. I'm going home.”
I grabbed my jacket from the chair and walked toward the door. Before leaving, I saw that Kayla was still talking to Bryson. I figured that when I got in the car, I would send her a text to tell her why I had to leave. Being in Keith's presence didn't sit right with me.
I pushed the doors open and left the club. Several people were standing outside smoking and talking. One dude whistled at me, but I didn't bother to turn my head. I kept it moving, until someone came up from behind and snatched my arm.
“Okay,” Keith said, turning me around to face him. “If a fight is what you want, then you're going to get it. If you want for us to stand out here and embarrass our fucking selves, then that's what we'll do. Throw in a few curse words, attack each other, and then go home still mad. Shall I start this or do you want to?”
I waved him off and kept it moving. “Fuck you, Keith. I don't have time.”
He rushed up from behind me again. “Well, that's a start. Fuck you too, and why in the hell were you in there allowing those men to buy you drinks, feel all on you on the dance floor, and pass their numbers to you? I see you haven't wasted no time moving on, and you don't have to tell me again how great your life has been since we parted.”
I sped up the pace to get to my car. “Sounds like you're mad. Good. And it's about time you started to show some interest.”
“So, through your eyes, I show interest by yelling, screaming, cussing, and acting a fool. You are confused, baby. So damn confused about how a relationship should really operate. Maybe you do need to hook up with one of those men in there. They can probably offer you what I can't: drama.”
I tried to upset Keith by agreeing with him. “Maybe so. And I should have hooked up with somebody, because I don't have a man anymore. See, my man is too busy having open condoms in his medicine cabinet, sketching pictures of my friends and inviting them to come over whenever they wish. Personally, I think his dick has been inside of her, but that's just how I feel.”
“Get the hell out of here with that mess. You're just saying that to fuck with me. You want to upset me, just so we can continue to create this scene out here and you can then bring more attention to yourself.”