Page 24 of The Friend Zone
“Guys, I’m fine. Like I always say, Omar and I are just friends.”
He stopped to talk to someone below, the lights went down on the current act, and the emcee appeared and explained T-Murder would soon come on stage.
Dana’s phone beeped, and she saw a message from Sheldon.
Sheldon: Sorry! Car trouble. Damn thing died on me on the highway and my phone was dead too. Bad fucking night. Can’t make it.
She swallowed her disappointment.
Dana: No worries. Are you OK?
Sheldon: Yes. Call you tomorrow?
Dana: OK.
“He’s not coming,” she told her friends.
Tamika pouted and Layla gave her a sympathetic look.
“We don’t need him to have a good time,” Layla said.
They went to sit together on the sofa, and when Omar brought her drink, Dana gratefully accepted the tall glass. Omar and Jay went off to the side to talk, and Dana resigned herself to being dateless for the rest of the night.
Finally, T-Murder came out on stage, and when the beat dropped to introduce one of his biggest hits, the crowd went wild.
Tamika threw up her hands and let out a whoop. “Yasssss! You ladies want to dance?” Her shoulders shimmied as her gaze swung between Dana and Layla.
Not in the mood, Dana shook her head.
Layla jumped up and so did Tamika.
“Come on,” Layla said, extending her hand to Dana.
“You two go ahead. I’ll sit here and watch.”
After more cajoling with the same result, they finally gave up and went back to the railing and started dancing. After a few minutes, their fiancés joined them, and Jay and his wife did too.
Omar strolled over and settled into the empty space on the sofa beside Dana. “Where’s your man?”
“He’s not coming. Car trouble.” She took a sip of her tea.
“He’s missing out.” His gaze dropped to her feet, and his jaw tightened. “I like your shoes. They’re sexy.”
He noticed! His gaze met hers, and heat brushed Dana’s cheeks and neck. Thank goodness for her dark complexion. If she were a fairer skinned woman like Layla, she would be red for sure.
“Thank you,” she murmured, rubbing a sweaty palm on her thigh. “You’re popular tonight.”
“Me?”
“Don’t be falsely modest. I saw you collecting numbers down there.” Her heart hurt a little as the words left her lips.
“I’m a friendly guy,” he said, all sly and slick, his voice dropping as he gave her one of his sideways glances. He set down his drink and stood up. “Come on, let’s dance.”
“Youwant to dance?” Dana teased, anticipation fluttering in her chest.
He chuckled and extended his hand. “I don’t do this often, so enjoy it while you can.”
Her feet would hate her in these heels, but she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to dance with Omar.
