Page 12 of Intentional Foul
The beat dropped, and it took a few seconds for the crowd to respond. Jhae, Chasity, and Marquise all moved their bodies to the hard baseline. Another round of drinks appeared at the table and the women tossed them back. Marquise’s eyes found something more appealing, and he flirted. Chasity followed his line of vision but rolled her eyes. She moved closer to Jhae, putting distance between her and Marquise.
“Heyyyy,” Anthony mouthed as I read his lips.
They greeted each other, and he put his eyes on Chasity,don’t do it. Anthony pointed to Marquise and both he and Chasity shook their heads no. Jhae hid her laughter as Marquise cleared the way for her friend to exit. She waved as she headed toward her own demise.
As time passed, Jhae’s dancing increased, and she closed the proximity between us. After she threw back her third shot of tequila, I knew it sealed the deal. With two fingers, she motioned for me to lean down.
“Malcolm, lighten up. It’s okay to dance,” she said with alcohol ridden breath.
I smirked, but she frowned before she raised my arm, placing it around her shoulders.
“Marquise, take our picture,” she yelled.
She snuggled up next to me and raised the peace sign. Marquise leaned over the table in laughter after he snapped the picture with his phone. If she wasn’t intoxicated, this could have been a beautiful moment between us, but it’s tainted. She would not remember tonight after she woke with a hangover.
“Let’s go,” I whispered in her ear.
She gave me saddened eyes and then tilted her head over to Marquise.
My brother leaned back, cackling at the face she made. I wanted out of this club. It was hot and several people were musty.
“Why? Is it too noisy?” she questioned.
I shook my head yes, and she captured my mouth between her hands.
“Okay, let’s book it,” she giggled.
I slid out of the booth first, and Jhae inched toward me as the DJ switched to a new song.
“Aye, Aye, Aye. This is my jam,” Jhae yelled and waved her hands in the air.
Marquise couldn’t hold himself together as he stretched across the table. Jhae had given him a year’s worth of ammo to tease her with once she sobers. I stood with one foot on the booth and watched Jhae’s off rhythm dancing. Reaching for a waving elbow, I tugged her toward me.
“Oops,” she said, breaking into a hard laugh.
With coaching, I managed to get her out of the booth. I guided her out of the club and through the crowd. After three stops to dance, we were able to get outside. Our driver’s timing was perfect, leaving people no room to take pictures. Once inside the SUV, I maneuvered across the black leather seats next to Jhae. She immediately wrapped my arm around her shoulders, snuggling up next to me. If she wasn’t drunk, I would have been turned on.
“Driver, take us back to the hotel,” I said.
“Waiiiiittt!” Jhae yelled, followed by a drunken giggle.
She grabbed my face with her pink, sharp, pointy nails and pulled it down. “I’m not ready to go home. Boring. Hellooooo. Malcolm, I’ll help you loosen up. Driver, take us to a chapel,” she said.
“Awww shit...” Marquise said from the seat behind me.
“It’s okay, Malcolm, those marriages are fake anyway,” she said as she moved my face from side to side.
“Driver, to the chapellllll!” she said.
I hesitated as the driver turned to me for instruction. Marquise leaned forward, whispering in my ear. “Bro, what you gon’ do? You getting married tonight or what? I mean, this could be your way of locking her down. Y’all can have a proper wedding later.”
The driver stared back at me through the rearview mirror, awaiting my decision.
“Malcolm, we don’t have all day, or is it night?” Jhae said as she giggled into my chest.
Thoughts of how this could give me the leverage to move us past this family friend category plagued me.
“If you want the girl, bro. You have to do something drastic. I mean, you can get it annulled if things don’t work out. What would Pops do?” Marquise asked.
