Page 12 of When You Dance
I smiled because she said that every year for my birthday. Although I wasn’t having parties anymore, she always made me a cake and sang Happy Birthday to me. Every year I made a wish, but this one was different.Don’t let me pass up on a love that’s meant for me. Help me to do whatever I need to do to attain it.I blew out the candles as everyone cheered again.
“A’ight, that’s enough. Cut the cake!” Chad said as Alexz pushed him.
My mama chuckled as she put the cake down and came straight to me for her hug. I held her to me tightly as I said, “Thank you, Mama. That cake looks good.”
“Always the best for you. I know you’re thirty now, but you’re still my baby.”
I released her from my embrace, but before she could walk away, she said, “Something is going on with you. Sheldon and I were talking about it last night. We can both see something about you is changing. I think it’s probably a good change, because I’m liking what I see.”
I grabbed her hand and led her outside. My mama always gave me the best advice. Once the door closed and I’d brought her to a picnic table, I turned to her as her concerned eyes bore into mine. “Somethingischanging. I know you’re gonna roll your eyes when I say this, but I want you to know I’m serious. This isn’t a joke.”
She nodded, but I could clearly see the confusion in her facial expression. She wore a slight frown, and her head was tilted. I chuckled for a second, then said, “This woman has caught my attention, but there are so many barriers that I wonder if it’s a genuine interest or just my lust overpowering my good sense. She’s a stripper on the weekends, and she hides her face with a masquerade mask. Lap dances are out of the question and so are private dances. I’ve been going to see her nearly every weekend for the past six months, and I’ve only been with one woman since seeing her.”
My mama’s eyebrows were lifted, and her lips were parted. She looked stunned into silence. We sat there quietly for nearly a minute before she said, “Well, I mean, there’s only one way to find out if it’s lust or if it’s a genuine interest and that’s to spend time with her outside of the strip club.”
“I know. She gave me a private dance for my birthday, and I asked her. She declined. I guess I read too much into her giving me a private dance. I thought Arrow had set that up, and he said he didn’t. He said someone at the club approached him about making sure I was in attendance. Knowing that lets me know that she did that because she wanted to. She didn’t get paid for that. Also, she wouldn’t speak English to me, but I figured out that she understood everything I said to her.”
“Is she black?”
“Yes. She has rich, dark chocolate skin. She looks like a doll. Honestly, she looks too classy to even be in a strip club… like her moral standards are too high for what she does. I really don’t know how to explain it. She looks like royalty.”
“Hmm. That’s something. I don’t know how you’re going to get her to talk to you. Maybe you can send flowers to the club and put your name and phone number on the card. It’s strange that you have an interest in her, especially since you can’t fully see what she looks like. Have you had any interaction with her before last night?”
I shook my head then rubbed my hand down my face. “Part of me wants to move on, because I know I wouldn’t be able to effectively date a stripper. Just knowing that other people are seeing her intimate parts drives me insane now and she isn’t even mine. I done tricked off so much money to her. It’s like I’m addicted to her. Maybe addiction is in my blood, no matter what the drug is.”
My mama grabbed my hand and squeezed it, causing me to look up at her. “You aren’t your father. Okay?”
I nodded as she continued. “I would never judge someone’s character simply by their profession, but if you can’t handle what she does, maybe you need to take a loss on this one if it bothers you that much. You can’t expect her to change to be what you want her to be. Either accept her the way things are or move on. If she chooses to stop on her own, that would be something different, but you can’t demand it. She doesn’t know you.”
“I think in a way shedoesknow me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have done what she did for free last night.”
I couldn’t get out of my mind how much she’d orgasmed on me… twice. Maybe I would do what my mama said to do. I’d send flowers with my number and maybe she would call me… and speak English. “You’re in a tough position, baby, but how about you just enjoy your birthday party today with the family.”
“Yeah. Come on,” I said as I stood and helped her to her feet as well.
As we made our way to the door, DJ was coming out of it. “I just wanted to check on y’all. Mel, you better come get some of this cake before it’s gone. Chad’s greedy ass is working on his second slice and got his sights set on a third.”
“That big ass nigga better not eat all my cake or we gon’ have a problem.”
When we got inside, I made a beeline to my strawberry cake and wrapped what was left up to take with me. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where you goin’ with the cake?” Chad asked while standing to his feet.
“I’m takingmycake home. Greedy ass nigga. Everybody should have gotten some by now. Look at my baby Riena with icing all over her face. So I know y’all good. Pop, you got a piece?”
“I did, Mel. Happy birthday again, son.”
“The rest of y’all don’t matter.”
I chuckled as they all started talking at once. I knew they would get this cake out of my grasp before I could leave. Going back to the countertop with it, I cut my mama a piece, then grabbed a fork to eat the rest. After Mama got her piece, there was only the equivalent of three slices left of a two-tier cake. As I ate, my cell rang. When I saw it was my boss, I slightly rolled my eyes. “What’s up, Tony?”
“Your trip is canceled. Your recertification didn’t process.”
I frowned hard. “Why the hell not?”
“A couple of places that were highlighted for you to sign got overlooked. You have to go back in and sign so they can reprocess the paperwork.”
“Now they fucking with my money. A’ight.”
Although it was partially my fault, I knew that it was the lady’s fault for not double checking everything before sending it through. I couldn’t remember her name. Maybe I’d distracted her by flirting… had her feathers ruffled. Tomorrow, I would be on something different because that shit had cost me almost four grand.
