Page 21 of Somebody Else Will

I gave her a tight smile. “I hope she eventually sees what the two of you see. She’s such a beautiful woman. I only know a little about her personally, but I can clearly see that she’s hardheaded.” I slowly shook my head as they chuckled. “Thanks, ladies.”

They nodded, and Jamia said, “No problem.”

I made my way back to my seat and watched my mama cut up on the dance floor to “Kiss” by Prince. That woman loved the hell out of Prince, especially his older music from the eighties. I chuckled as Destiny appeared at my side, pulling me to the dance floor too. We ended up next to my mama. She smiled big at us as we awkwardly tried to dance to the song. I’d neverdanced to an old school song. I would just simply chill and enjoy it.

When the song ended and the deejay spun an Anthony Hamilton cut, I went to my seat and watched them enjoy themselves. I glanced back where Jamia and Jerzey were seated to see Denishia had rejoined them. My eyebrows lifted. I just knew she was going to spend the rest of the night in that dressing room. I stood and made my way to her. She smiled slightly and stood from her seat as I approached.

“I’m sorry I disrupted the party.”

I grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor just as the deejay slowed it down. “Rain” by SWV was playing through the speakers. I pulled Denishia close and could feel her body tremble. “Don’t be nervous. We’re just dancing, right?”

She nodded and looked around the room. When she turned back to me, she brought her hands to my shoulders as I pulled her closer to me by her hips. She exhaled, then lay against me and circled her arms around my neck. I leaned over slightly and said in her ear, “No matter what’s going on, you will always be a priority.”

She didn’t respond verbally. We just continued swaying to the music. I could see my mama smiling at us in my peripheral, and I also saw cameras flashing. I didn’t care who knew I was feeling her, but I could imagine that she probably didn’t want to deal with the media attention right now if it were to get out. I just wished I could carry this load for her.

When the song ended, I saw my mama headed in our direction. I grabbed Denishia’s hand and said, “My mother is headed in our direction. I’m sure she wants to tell you how beautiful the flowers are.”

Denishia smiled tightly. “Okay.”

“Miss Boswell, thank you so much. The flowers are beyond beautiful. You did an amazing job. I’ll be sure to pass your namearound to everyone I know that may need your services. Do you service the Houston area for simple bouquets?”

“Thank you. Yes, ma’am, I do. My delivery fee is just higher.”

“Okay, baby. Thank you again. Enjoy the rest of the party. Aye!”

I laughed at my mama. Her song “Party” by Beyoncé had come on. She used to wear that shit out. Denishia chuckled as my mama high stepped her way to the dance floor. I slowly shook my head as I led Denishia to where I was seated. I wanted to pull her down on my lap to soothe her pain away. Hopefully, she would still allow me in her space once the party was over. We had another hour or so before it would be time to shut everything down. I was ready for it to be over so I could comfort her as much as possible.

This was the first time I wanted to put another woman before my mama. I missed an audition because of this party, and now I was wanting to leave it to be there for Denishia. This was crazy as hell. That alone let me know that whatever this was between us was worth exploring, and I could only hope Denishia felt the same way.

Ezekiel’s speechto his mother had succeeded in sinking me even further. Those were words I wished I could have said to my mother. She knew what she meant to me, but I’d give anything to be able to tell her again. Besides my grandmother, I was all alone in this world. My dad had disappeared years ago. He and my mother were married, but they’d lived together for years before they took the leap.

They split up when I was around two, but my last time seeing him was when I was four or five. I hadn’t grieved his absence in a while, but since losing my mama, I thought about him too. Seeing Ezekiel’s family didn’t help things, especially when they took pictures. They looked so close and happy.

After loading the last bit of decorations on to the van, we left to head to the hotel. Ezekiel had been busy with Jackie, making sure everything was wrapped up. I didn’t interrupt him to tellhim I was leaving, but it wasn’t like he didn’t know where I was staying or my phone number to call me.

The ride back to the hotel was quiet, and I knew that was because no one knew what to say to make me feel better. I didn’t need them to say a word though. Nothing they could say would make me feel any better. It would probably make me feel worse. Death stung. It severed bonds. Those bonds could never be replaced. I just had to learn to move on and accept that it was time. God needed her more than I did.

By the time we got to the hotel, before I could get out of the van, my grandmother grabbed my hand. She didn’t say a word. She only closed her eyes and eventually took a deep breath. I wanted to believe she was praying. I knew this was just as hard for her as it was for me. However, I needed to draw from her strength at this moment. I was blessed to still have her. I nodded slightly as she stared at me.

We got out of the van and headed to the hotel entrance. I was somewhat tired, so hopefully, it wouldn’t take me long to fall asleep. Memories of the way Ezekiel consoled me flooded my mind. The way he held me as we swayed to “Rain” softened my core. He stared into my eyes nearly the entire song as if they were saying all the things he wanted to say. Knowing he felt as strongly as he did about me did nothing for my emotions.

As we waited for the elevator, I closed my eyes and thought of the lyrics. My self-control was hanging on by a thread concerning him. Like they said in the song,Sometimes it’s soft as a misty rain, that gently touches my soul. It cools the fire that burns in me, and I simply lose control.Maybe I should just let his love shower me. Although I knew love wasn’t part of our dynamic yet, his tenderness tonight felt like I thought love should feel.

Once we were on the elevator, Jerzey broke the silence and said, “Denishia, you and Ezekiel looked amazing together. I hope you plan to talk to him again.”

I gave her a slight smile. “Hopefully.”

That was all I gave her. I very much planned to talk to him again, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. People were known to let you down, and in my experiences, men were the worst. Ezekiel seemed so perfect, but they all did in the beginning, when they were trying to lock you down. I had to keep my eyes open and keep my wall on standby. I’d let it down this weekend, and I knew that had a lot to do with the loss of my mother, but I would snatch that shit right back up so quick, he would walk face-first into it.

After getting into our suite, I immediately started getting undressed. I’d made my desires known to Ezekiel. I told him that I was open to spending more alone time with him. It was already close to eleven o’clock. If I didn’t hear from him by midnight, hopefully he would call in the morning. When we left, all the tables had been broken down, and the crew was cleaning up. I saw them placing the flowers and bouquets in a separate location. I wasn’t sure what they would do with all of them, but I was happy to see they weren’t throwing them away.

By the time I got into some sweats and a T-shirt, my cell phone was vibrating on the nightstand. When I saw Ezekiel’s name, I smiled slightly. “That must be him,” Jamia said. “Get yo’ man, sis.”

I chuckled and slowly shook my head then answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, gorgeous. Can I see you tonight?”

“Hey. Sure. I have on sweats and a T-shirt. Do I need to put on something more presentable?”

---