Page 19 of The Noisemaker

“Okay Gold Dress!” she exclaimed, beaming at me. “You are working this whole look! When I said I wanted to do Black Hollywood Masquerade Ball”—she gestured to me— “this is exactly what I had in mind.”

“Thank you! This is a great event you put together,” I told her. “Everything looks amazing.Youlook amazing!”

She posed a little and then tossed her ponytail back and forth. “My philosophy is to always go into the new year looking your best. If you start the year looking good, you’ll look good all year.” She gestured around us. “I think everyone here has that covered.”

I looked at the hundreds of people milling around, dancing, having fun. “Absolutely,” I agreed.

When I looked back at her, she was grinning. “I cannot get over how good you look!” she squealed. “The dress, the mask, the hair—ohmigod the hair! With your hair like that, you look like royalty. You legit look like a goddess. Absolutely perfect for tonight.” She clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited!” She looked at Braxton who had grabbed her arm. “What?”

“Calm down,” he told her, giving her a look and then a quick kiss. “You’re real hype right now.”

She kissed him back and then shook him off. “New Year’s Eve is always filled with so much excitement, so much hope and promise. The energy is palpable.” She held her hand up. “You can feel it.”

“Yes you can.”

“Oh! Sylvia is right there,” she gasped. “I’ve been trying to catch her for the last hour. It was good seeing you, Desmond. And Aria, it’s so nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard so much about you!”

I’d never heard of her a day in my life.

I prayed my expression didn’t give that away.

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you, too!” I tried to match her enthusiasm so that she didn’t notice that I had no idea who she was before our meeting a few minutes prior.

But it was unlikely she noticed since she walked away, cutting through the crowd like a blade.

“I told them about you when I picked up the tickets this morning,” Desmond explained before turning to his frat brother. “Brax, is that Marco DJing?”

“Nah, but it looks just like him, doesn’t it?”

They talked for a few more minutes, another frat brother joining the conversation. Desmond held me close and included me in the conversation the whole time. I laughed along with them and added my two cents. But just before they went their separate ways, I found myself gazing up at my man in complete infatuation.

I’m so in love with this man.

I was intrigued by his opinions, impressed by his intellect, amused by his humor, and drawn to his energy. It had been a long time since I’d seen him in his element.

“Are you okay?” he asked, turning toward me.

“Yes.” I put my hands on his chest and slid my way to his neck. “I was just thinking about how nice it is to see you like this.”

“Dressed up?”

“Extroverted.” I bit my lip and gave him a look. “But dressed up is nice, too.”

Laughing and enjoying our time together, we danced to four or five songs in a row. Our bodies moved in sync as we grooved to the music. When a sexy song came on, I found myself grinding my ass against him as if I wanted to reenact the lyrics.

He leaned down. “You better stop,” he whispered in my ear.

Even though I felt his reason, I still gave him a look over my shoulder. “Why?” I asked innocently.

He gripped my hips and narrowed his eyes. “You play too much. You know why.”

I turned in his arms, creating enough space between us to glance down at his crotch where his semi-hard dick was hidden. “And if I don’t?”

He yanked me forward and scooped me up in his arms. Before I could register what was happening, he had me off the ground.

“Des!” I squealed giddily.

He held me so we were eye-to-eye, and he kissed me. Then he slid my body down his so I could feel all of him. “You play too much but I can play too.”

---