Love Delivered (9 page)

We met a few of her friends here. As soon as we bypassed the long line to get into the club, we were ushered into V.I.P. It was odd because most of the section was curtained off. Tynisha inquired about it right away. I observed as she requested the manager. We were given flutes of champagne before we could even sit on the plush white leather couch. Karen sat at my right and I could tell she was taken by the charged atmosphere, too.

“Hey, Zoey!” I heard shouted over the blaring music from the left of me. I turned to find a model-like ebony woman with bare shiny legs. “You may not remember me because we didn’t get a chance to formally meet at lil’ Jordan’s christening. I’m Cherry, Tony Wroten’s fiancée. Princeton, huhn?”

Her smile was luminous. How she knew so much about me and had been to such a personal affair of my family’s without me knowing her, struck me. Nonetheless, I returned her beam and shook her hand.

“Thanks, Cherry. It’s a pleasure to formally meet you as well.”

“That Jordan is absolutely adorable. We saw him at a game a few months ago. We can see why his dad is so smitten with him! He’s a jewel,” Cherry continued gushing.

Hmmmm…

JR had been to a game and without my knowledge. Not that it mattered; his father was allowed to take him to work. It was just weird that I didn’t know and Jordan had experienced a side of Stenton’s life that I hadn’t. It didn’t matter that Stenton and I were not together, I still desired to support him.
Okay…yeah
, maybe because I’d learned how often Erika and her family attended Stenton’s games and that made me question my lack of desire to go myself.
But, dang!
My little guy had gone and not me.

Though I’d accepted his decision to move on, and with Erika, I was still very much in love with Stenton. I didn’t tell him, and I tried not to do things to show him. In all honesty, I hadn’t decided on what to do about my prevalent and tarrying feelings for him; emotions that augmented exponentially with each expression of love he paid Jordan. The strong sentiments of hurt and betrayal I felt every time I saw a picture of him and Erika hugging or kissing in public
. Yeah…I saw those, too
. Although I didn’t obsess over them like I could, thanks to Jordan’s demands and school, I was very much aware.

“Yeah,” I answered Cherry and the woman seated to the left of her who leaned into our exchange. Their fixation was a little weird, but flattering, I’d guessed. “He’s a show stealer. Thanks!”

Then I heard Tynisha’s brassiness to the right of me, capturing my attention.

“I had my assistant call in the reservation. I never requested veiled seating. I’d never even heard of that damn term until now,” I was able to make out between the loud music and Tynisha’s Caribbean accent shouting.

The man in a dark suit inclined towards her, appearing to try to explain himself. Tynisha’s body language wasn’t very accommodating to his pleading one initially, but the more he spoke, almost into her ear, the more relaxed her state became. I caught when she turned and threw a glance in my direction, and then nodded her head in assent to his explanation. My attention then went to the tray of shots that was placed near my person for the taking. I glanced down the bench to the right of me to see that everyone had one and I was next. With little hesitation, I took a glass. When I took a gander back over to where Tynisha was, I noticed she was approaching me with a better facial formation.

“All right now! We ‘bout to do one shot for each year of college Mascot did in school! Let’s get this bitch started!” Tynisha went for the last shot glass from the tray then regarded me circumspectly, her naturally slanted eyes squinted even more. “Please tell me you wasn’t one of those damn seven year-
ers
. I don’t think I can handle more than five of these,” she shouted over to me.

I shook my head amusedly. “Only four and a half, baby!” my shout was smug. I was proud of myself.

I finished Princeton!

We clanked glasses as much as we could, considering there were six of us women, all in tiny and tight dresses with high heels. Tynisha pulled me from my seat and over to the non-veiled portion of the section where we could see the crowd below. We danced and took pictures for fun. I couldn’t believe how close we’d grown; Tynisha and I were as polar as they came. She lived her life in front of the cameras for the world who actually took interest in her life. I wanted to change the world, but with my ingenuity, not my image. I gave her credit for keeping the cameras away when we were together, though I felt Stenton had a hand in that stark omission in Tynisha’s entourage.

Most of the girls, at some point in time, came over to congratulate and introduce themselves to me. Tynisha played hostess and explained who they were and what position their boyfriends, fiancés, or husbands played, if that was their connection. Most of them were connected to the 76’ers and a couple were friends of Tynisha from another part of the industry. Before I knew it, the tray came around again and we did another round of shots.

Karen joined me in dancing while Tynisha went down on the floor to mingle with camera men in tow. We laughed endlessly at Karen’s lack of dance skills, not that I had so much myself. I was able to look as though I knew what I was doing. Truthfully, it didn’t matter if we’d be good candidates for Beyoncé’s dance troop, we were having a blast, getting wasted and acting our age. We’d both become mothers— and Karen a wife—so prematurely that we didn’t get to experience this high-paced and carefree type of diversion.

A few of the other girls eventually made a cypher with us, and we accepted the third round of shots and found ourselves giggling at our equally tipsy states after downing them.

“We’re almost done and I’m glad!” Karen shouted in my ear. “Y’all gon’ have to carry me out of here tonight!”

I tossed my head back and laughed at her slurring of words. She looked great in her fuchsia mini. Tynisha advised the makeup artist on the colors on her eyelids and lips to bring out the motif. I was grateful that I didn’t have to check Tynisha for taking out her lingering distaste of Angela on poor Karen. Tynisha still hated my cousin’s guts, and I prayed for my cousin to stop hating mine. How ironic.

As I swayed my hips to the pace of the beat, feeling nice and warm thanks to the alcohol, I felt big hot hands encircle my waist. Moving slower than usual because of my inebriation, I drew my head over my shoulder, but before I could completely fix my neck, his stubbled cheek rubbed the side of my face, prickling my skin.

I heard him sing coltishly, “Somebody’s having a good time celebrating. I haven’t seen you gyrate like this in a minute.” Only his baritone, words, sentiment and, abrupt lush scent, could cause each of my nerve endings to tickle and a shiver to swarm my entire posterior. Trying to fight my tremble in his arms—arms I’d missed so muc
h—
I nodded my head. My eyelids fluttered shut and when I opened them, I noticed first Cherry, looking directly at me and then Karen’s eyes filled with…something. I had to gain a hold of myself. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Zo,” he growled in my ear.

At that, I turned in his embrace and reached up to enclose on his neck. Right away, I noticed the glint in Stenton’s slanted eyes under his black fedora. His smile was unguarded and his posture inclined to me, something I hadn’t experienced in what felt like forever. We hadn’t been intimate since Christmas, but his expressions were never of sheer joy like this one. Stenton seemed more than happy…exultant perhaps. It loosened my expression, too. I let it all hang to share that moment with him.

“You look…proud,” I shouted in his ear, trying to speak over the music.

Stenton lowered himself into me as he took me in by the small of my back. “I’m fucking ecstatic. My best friend…number one lady is a Princeton alumnus.” He pulled up from my ear to observe my regard.

My cheeks had begun to smart from the mile long smile plastered on my face.

“I knew you were happy for me, but you weren’t this...celebratory at the graduation or earlier at the BBQ,” I indirectly inquired.  

He returned to my ear. “That’s because we were around the holy people, and Michael. Here, I can be
almost
as over-the-top as I want.” Then his eyes returned to mine again. That’s when I saw a flicker of…more than pleasant words being expressed. I understood the satyr-like coquetry in his words.

I didn’t want to pay too much thought to that possibility, but was happy to have him with me. It felt right. I knew he had other obligations—

“Aren’t you supposed to be in California tonight?” That reminder almost interrupted my welcomed buzz and tipped off my stalking of his girlfriend. He said earlier his flight was scheduled for this afternoon.

Stenton didn’t answer right away with his mouth, yet his eyes held more of an explanation than his words could ever give. He deliberately missed Erika’s event to be here…with me.

“I’m not done celebrating. I pushed back my flight to a redeye.”

“Thanks, Stenton,” I hoped he didn’t hear the cry I swallowed.

“Thank
you
for persevering. I’m so proud of you, Zo. Not that I ever doubted you, but you’ve once again inspired me. The night belongs to you,” he professed as his arms unraveled from my waist, leaving me feeling bereft. His touch and words sent me adrift that instantly. That quickly, I’d gotten caught up in Stenton’s all-consuming presence. “Which round are we on?” he yelled over my head to no one in particular.

“The last one!” I pivoted and saw Tynisha in Alton’s embrace.

“Where’s the waiter? We need to get this last one in for the graduate! Make sure she never forgets this celebration.”

“Yeeeeeah, bitches!” Alton screamed. “My girl, Zoey, gon’ run for fucking President of the U.S. and get us them reparations we was promised after all!”

The section went up in laughter. Soon the tray went around again and Stenton grabbed two shots for us.

“To my smart as fuck baby mother! It’s her time to take on the world…and I’m scared as shit to see it all go down!” He shouted with his glass feet above my head and his left arm over my shoulder. “Zoey Barrett for president!”

“Zoey Barrett for president!” The group parroted.

It meant a lot to hear those words of affirmation from Stenton and Alton.
Did they really think that highly of me?
My heart nearly exploded from the pride I felt. It was so much that I didn’t blink at the baby mother reference that I typically found myself repulsed by.

Stenton gestured with his chin for me to toss back the shot, to which I obliged. I don’t think I’d ever drank so much, but my happiness superseded caution. I just wanted to live in the moment for once, and I did. Stenton got rid of my glass and his. I couldn’t believe when he took me at the waist and danced with me. I’d seen him move before, but no more than a two-step. He held me close as we swayed from side to side. Being so close to him brought back familiarity of intimacy, but I fought myself to remember Stenton and I were no longer partners in that manner. He was with someone else, and I was…well, a horny, unemployed, single graduate.

When his scent and proximity became too much for my now drunken state, I excused myself for the bathroom just to break our embrace. I could no longer deal with my hands being limited to his waist. While it felt good to feel his abdomen pressed into my chest, I could have easily gone south and felt his hard glutes up on the dance floor. I was drunk and recognized it. It was time to break before he reminded me that all I was feeling when he was against me now belonged to another woman.

When I returned, there was a cocktail and bottled water waiting for me next to Karen, who was engaged in a conversation with one of Tynisha’s friends. She noticed me taking my seat.

“Stenton ordered that for you,” she informed then went back to her conversation.

I combed the area and found him sitting, his long legs spread with a tumbler in his hand. He appeared more subdued than earlier when we danced. His eyes were stapled to me, like a ravenous predator. Suddenly, I so badly wanted to play the prey. I went to the water first and couldn’t miss his nod of approval.

“Girl, I see you got the piss runs, too,” Tynisha pushed out while sitting next to me.

“Huhn?”

“I saw you come running into the bathroom when I was coming out. You didn’t even see me.”

I hadn’t seen her, and didn’t exactly have a full bladder.

“Oh, yeah.” I glanced over her shoulder. “Where’s Alton?”

“He’s downstairs taking pictures and spreading the word about his documentary.”

“Oh. I thought he didn’t want the fanfare, hence the curtain.”

“Nah. That’s for StentRo. He prefers privacy. I’m surprised he came out tonight. When I heard he was coming, I damn near spit out my drink. That man is so damn happy about your graduation, Mascot. He wanted to see your entire ensemble before buying it. Can you believe that shit? He turned down two concepts before approving this one!” She shook her head then pulled her phone from her purse.

He picked out my clothes?
I chanced a glance over at Stenton who was now talking with another gentleman who arrived with him and Alton. What was his angle? Why was he here for me? Once again, I was thrown askew by this frustrating man!

“Tynisha,” I called over to her, being sure to get close enough to not have to shout too much. “Isn’t Erika’s makeup launch tonight? Why isn’t he there?”