Page 2 of Girl, We Go Together
“You look nice in this muthafuckas.” His eye contact caused me to turn away bashfully. “What were you about to drink?” he added as he walked closer to me.
My stomach started to knot up at him being in such close proximity. Nervously, I tucked some of my hair behind my ear. That gave me a chance to get a whiff of his scent, and it sure did smell good as hell. It lingered in the air, and that only came from expensive fragrances. Designer smells.
“I was drinking Don and lemonade.”
“T’asia… give me a bottle of Don. The big one.”
The bartender hurried and handed him the bottle. If I had doubts about him being the owner, the bartender's swift movement quickly dispelled that judgment.
“Where are you in here? I know you ain’t come by yaself,” he asked as he handed the bottle to me.
I quickly grabbed it from him before he changed his mind while tiptoeing to look across the room. As soon as I went up on my toes, he laughed.
“A nigga might have to put you on my shoulders or something,” he said with confidence.
He had to be joking because lifting my two-hundred-and-fifty-pound frame seemed easier said than done. But then again, his stature looked like he bench pressed about my weight. Instantly, I thought about him holding me up on his shoulders while indulging in my goods. It had been a while since I had the Mario coins knocked out of my love box, and looking up at the eye candy didn’t help curb the nagging feeling of possibly breaking my celibacy.
Making the decision to be celibate didn’t come easy, but it was something that I had done for my own peace of mind. After ending things with Lamont, I realized that a lot of men out here only had fantasies of being with a big girl in the bedroom. I hadn’t come across any man who was looking to take me seriously. After numerous situationships turned booty calls, I hung my coochie up. But looking at the man before me had me ready to take that thang out the closet and dust that muthafucka off.
I shook my head of my naughty thoughts and squinted to look for my friends. That’s when I saw that Zynea was in the middle of the dance floor, still slow grinding with a dude. Our two other friends from college came out with us tonight as well. After graduating from Cornell University, we all stayed close and celebrated together when we could. The night belonged to Zynea because we were celebrating her signing her contract to become a Brooklynette. It had been a while since I had something in my life to celebrate. I had graduated a year prior with my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, and shortly after, I passed the NAVLE with flying colors. The only problem I was having now was actually finding a job.
I still had a little money left behind after using my mother’s life Insurance policy to pay for her funeral and put me through school. I was staying in her old apartment. Our apartment. The place she had moved into during my sophomore year of high school. And over the years, it had become an expense that I couldn’t keep up with. If I didn’t find a job quickly, I was going to run out of money. While I was away at school, I would sublease or Airbnb the place. But when I didn’t have someone else to be financially responsible for the apartment, I had to dig into my savings and cover the costs myself. The lump sum was quickly diminishing, and without finding some money soon, I was bound to go broke.
“Follow me,” I said before walking off.
He kept close behind me as I made my way back to my girls.
“Y’all not in a section?” he asked when I made it to a corner where our bags were occupying the chairs.
“No,” I answered.
A section would have been nice, but we decided as a group collectively to save some money. When we invaded my girls' space, all three of them had their eyes trained on me and who I had brought into our circle.
“Ladies, welcome to Obsessions. I’m Orion, the owner,” he took the lead and spoke.
Orion.I finally had a name to match that handsome face of his. Zynea used the back of her hand to wipe the light coat of sweat that had formed on her forehead.
“I’m Zy, that’s Brandi, that short one sitting down is Ali,” Zynea looked at me and then smiled, “and I see you already know?—”
Boom Boom Boom
I dropped the Don Julio bottle, and my body hit the floor right behind it as I ducked for cover. As pandemonium filled the club, I couldn’t focus on voices. I tried to look around for my girls, but my sight was blurry.
“Ahhhh,” I screamed when my calf felt like someone had set fire to it.
“Oh my God, Cayla, you’re hit!” I heard Zynea frantically scream.
“No, the fuck I’m not.”
I looked down and saw blood squirting out of my leg and onto my strappy heels.
“Shittttt,” I gritted, “my shoes! My fucking leg!”
It was like once I noticed my injury, that's when all the pain hit me.
“Damn, pretty, that’s going to leave a scar.”
Orion came into my sight and then held his hand down on my wound. His piercing eyes were fixed on something going on across the room.
