Page 19 of Somebody Else Will

I was so appreciative of him being professional in front of other people. Going over to him, I maintained my smile and said, “Absolutely. Come on, because I would love to see your initial reaction.”

He smiled at me and bit his bottom lip once the people had passed by us. “Damn, I wanna kiss you. Can I see you in the morning before you leave?”

“We’ll see. It depends on how late I’m out tonight,” I said, then winked.

I wanted to see him tonight. Forget tomorrow. I knew he would have to spend time with his mom and the rest of his family, but after our “date” earlier today, I was anxious to be in his presence again… just him and me.

“Oh yeah? You saying what I think you saying?”

“Mm-hmm.”

We walked to the main area, and his mouth dropped as he scanned the area. The flowers were definitely beautiful, if I had to say so myself. The centerpieces were the best I’d ever done. I smiled as he walked around, admiring my work. The event planner noticed him when she walked through the area, in awe of my work as well. “Mister Wheeler, I take it that you love the floral designs Miss Boswell came up with.”

“Yes. The sketches don’t do it justice. I love your work as well with the other decorations. My mom is going to love this. Thank y’all so much.”

“You’re welcome,” we said in unison.

She smiled as she glanced at me, then left to tend to the caterers. “Thank you, Mister Wheeler, for this opportunity.”

He glanced over at me and gave me a slight smirk as someone entered the area. “Oh my God! This is beautiful!”

When she got closer, I realized it was Mrs. Bridges, his aunt. While she talked to him, I left the area. I still needed to make sure my clothes weren’t wrinkled. Before I could walk into the dressing room, I felt a hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, Ezekiel’s lips landed on mine. His hands had graced my cheeks. As he pulled away, I found myself trying to remember how to breathe.

“Denishia, wow. You did an amazing job, baby. I can’t wait to tell the entire room who is responsible for the gorgeous flowers tonight.”

“Thank you.”

He kissed me again and walked away. My heart was beating rapidly, especially when I saw a woman staring at me like she’d seen the entire thing. I quickly made my way inside to see Jamia and Jerzey doing their makeup at the vanity stations. I smiled at them.

“Thank you, ladies, for your help pulling this off. It looks beautiful out there. Mister Wheeler was in awe.”

“First of all, girl, you know that man was going to love it, simply because you did it. Secondly, how many times do I have to tell you how amazing you are when it comes to the bouquets you put together? I knew you would be amazing at this as well. I’m so proud of you.”

My cheeks heated up as Jerzey said, “And I cosign. That man had hearts in his eyes when he dropped you off earlier.”

I slightly rolled my eyes. They were just getting back from wherever they’d gone when Ezekiel dropped me off. He’d kissed my cheek in front of them, and I had to hear about it the entire time we were working today. Even my grandmother was clowning me, saying she needed a great grandchild to spoil. I could only roll my eyes. They didn’t even know this man. They were simply going off who they perceived him to be from the movies he’d been in.

I went to my garment bag and pulled out my gown. It was beautiful. Rhinestones covered the red fitted gown, and the split came to mid-thigh. I knew I had to wear something classy but sexy at the same time. I wanted Ezekiel to be wowed by more than just the flowers. As if right on cue, my cell phone chimed. I went to it to see a message from Will. Slowly shaking my head, I wondered what the fuck was so important. If he would haveexhibited half of this effort when we were together, we probably still would be.

I opened the text, despite my better judgment, to see him begging me to call him.

Denishia please call me, baby. I miss you so much. I know you’re hurting about Miss Patsy. I just want to be there for you. I love you, and I know you love me too. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m just going crazy right now without you.

There was more, but I didn’t have the energy to read through it. I went to his contact information and blocked him. The high that I was on had dwindled some. My mom’s death wasn’t at the forefront of my mind, but thanks to him, it was now.

“You have always beena source of love, encouragement, and peace. Despite anything you may have been going through, me and Des are your main priorities. We wanted to honor the woman you are tonight and express just how much we love you, Mama. Happy birthday, and I hope you’re enjoying your night.”

There was applause. When it died down, I continued. “The beautiful flowers and their arrangements were done by Happily Ever After Floral Shop in Beaumont, Texas. Denishia Boswell is the owner. She and her staff are here. Ladies, will you stand?”

Denishia stood, but I could clearly tell she was in her feelings. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. However, she looked sexy as hell in the red gown she wore. I almost got caught up as I stared at her. I slightly cleared my throat as they applauded. “The other decorations were handled by our event planner, Jackie Mattison.”

She stood and smiled as she nodded at the crowd. I went on to mention the caterer and the deejay. “Now that I’ve given everyone their just due, Mama, you owe me a dance.”

I nodded at the deejay as my mother stood and smiled big as I approached her. He was going to play “Mama” by August Alsina. Before we could start dancing, I quickly went to the deejay booth. I grabbed the mic and said, “While all the words in the song don’t apply, because my dad was very much involved in my life and still is, the words are true about my mother. I had to put that disclaimer out there.”

The crowd chuckled as I made my way back to my mama. I pulled her in my arms as I watched the tears stream down her cheeks. She was so overwhelmed. She stared up at me and said, “Zeke, this is so beautiful. It was like I planned this myself. The decorations are spot on, and so was the food. Thank you so much, baby.”

“Well, I didn’t do this alone. Aunt Jocelyn, Dad, and Destiny helped out as well. Destiny curated the guest list, and Dad did the menu and other details that he worked with the event planner on.”

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