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?”
Her neck snapped up and her face screwed harshly as she hissed, “Because his damn son’s mother just graduated from college. Girl, everybody knows if Zoey had a damn root canal the same day Erika had a launch of her biggest product, he’d chuck the deuces at that bitch in a heartbeat. Them damn shots done fucked with your ability to reason, Mascot!” Tynisha’s head rocked back and she belted out the biggest laugh.
My eyes instinctively darted over to Stenton who, along with the guy he was speaking to, was looking our way. Panicking, I slammed the bottle of water on the small coffee table in front of me and picked up the cocktail.
“Ty, you’ve had way too many!”
The night progressed and Stenton and I ended up side-by-side again. This time we weren’t touching, which kept my body temperature down and my disposition stable. We were laughing at Alton’s crazy antics and at Tynisha cursing Alton out for his vulgarity. I laid reclined on the couch, entertained by them both until someone asked for the time.
“It’s almost 2:30 in the morning!” Cherry yelped.
“It’s time to go. I have a taping first thing in the morning,” Tynisha announced.
Everyone slowly rose to their feet. Stenton called over to the waiter while pulling out his wallet. Then Karen tapped me.
“You mind coming to the ladies room with me before we head out?”
Out of it, I nodded my head before leading the way. I
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?”
Her neck snapped up and her face screwed harshly as she hissed, “Because his damn son’s mother just graduated from college. Girl, everybody knows if Zoey had a damn root canal the same day Erika had a launch of her biggest product, he’d chuck the deuces at that bitch in a heartbeat. Them damn shots done fucked with your ability to reason, Mascot!” Tynisha’s head rocked back and she belted out the biggest laugh.
My eyes instinctively darted over to Stenton who, along with the guy he was speaking to, was looking our way. Panicking, I slammed the bottle of water on the small coffee table in front of me and picked up the cocktail.
“Ty, you’ve had way too many!”
The night progressed and Stenton and I ended up side-by-side again. This time we weren’t touching, which kept my body temperature down and my disposition stable. We were laughing at Alton’s crazy antics and at Tynisha cursing Alton out for his vulgarity. I laid reclined on the couch, entertained by them both until someone asked for the time.
“It’s almost 2:30 in the morning!” Cherry yelped.
“It’s time to go. I have a taping first thing in the morning,” Tynisha announced.
Everyone slowly rose to their feet. Stenton called over to the waiter while pulling out his wallet. Then Karen tapped me.
“You mind coming to the ladies room with me before we head out?”
Out of it, I nodded my head before leading the way. I
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