Page 51 of When You Dance
“I know she fucking lying.”
“What?”
“Yolanda is upset that I told Rondo about our past. He fucking asked me. I wasn’t going to lie to him. That’s my brother.”
As Jamel explained, Rondo was coming up the stairs. He already had a drink in his hand and went straight to the table with the fellas. I could tell he was a little irritated. He had a frown on his face, and his body didn’t seem as loose as it was when I first met him. I turned my attention back to Mel. “You need to just block her ass.”
“You right. I don’t know why she tripping. She knew what this was.”
He continued on his phone, then turned it to me, showing me he’d blocked her. “Mel, you know exactly why she acting like that. She don’t wanna let go of this massive ass dick. She ain’t got no choice now though. That shit is mine.”
He pulled me close again as he slid his phone back in his pocket. “I like how you claim me, baby. I’m gon’ make you fall in love with me too. You already in love with my dick.”
“Mm hmm. I can’t wait.”
As if watching us, the deejay played “Shake” by Trina. I’d danced to that song before. Jamel bit his lip and stared at me. “What’chu gon’ do with that shit, Obsession?”
“Whatever you want me to do, Bandz.”
He pulled a wad out of his pocket. “I stay prepared. Let me see you shake it.”
“I don’t have a pole, and I’m surely not taking off my clothes, so Obsession is going to be reserved for the bedroom and pole dancing classes. I hope you can handle Sandrene though. She ain’t to be played with either.”
As I danced on him, he gripped my hips then slid his hands dangerously close to the jackpot. “I can handle Sandrene and Obsession. Don’t make me show you. My mama ain’t here, girl.”
I giggled and continued to enjoy time with my man. He was right. He was gonna make me fall in love with him.
* * *
“Mama, you gon’take the pole dancing class with us?”
Mrs. Anissa frowned slightly. “What pole dancing class?”
“When I find a place to do it, Sandrene slash Obsession is going to teach us to pole dance. Axton ain’t gon’ know what the hell hit him after I learn. That’ll just be one more thing in my arsenal to take my man down.”
I slowly shook my head at Alexz’s antics. I was quickly learning that she was the outspoken one of the bunch and the craziest. I was holding Tatum, one of Joyy’s triplets. She was staring at me as I was smiling at her. She was the prettiest little thing. All the kids were gorgeous. Tatum had on a head wrap, and it was just the cutest thing. Joyy was matching her baby girl.
We’d been here for a couple of hours, and I was getting to know everyone really well. They all knew that I had no family here, so they immediately embraced me as their sister and daughter-in-law. Mrs. Anissa said she knew Jamel would never let me go, and I hoped she was right. I didn’t want to be let go. He was perfect for me.
However, I was happy that he made me aware of his past, because if he hadn’t, his family would have put all his business in the street by the way they reacted when he brought me around. He had definitely made me aware that he wasn’t being celibate. I knew I was special though. He’d claimed me as his, took me to meet his family, and embraced who I was in front of them. I thought he would be embarrassed about it, but he surprised me. Him being embarrassed would have put a damper on things and would have had me feeling a way.
“Sandrene, you’re going to teach us to pole dance?” Mrs. Anissa asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oooh! Okay! That sounds fun. I’m gonna have to tell Yolanda. She would love something like that.”
I almost swallowed my damn tongue.Ain’t no fucking way, bruh.There was no way I would teach a class with that woman in it. I knew that Yolanda wouldn’t attend though. She had to be smarter than that. If Rondo knew, she had to know that I did too. I calmed down before she noticed that I was uptight about that. I didn’t want to be the one to expose it if I didn’t have to.
I diverted my attention to the baby as Arrow sat next to me. Not only was he Jamel’s best friend, but he was Alexz’s brother-in-law. “Listen, you gon’ have to hook me up with somebody you cool with. I need to be able to hang out with my boy.”
I giggled. “I’m sorry, Arrow. I don’t have friends like that. I’m a loner. But Jamel can hang with you whenever he wants to. I’m not telling him he can’t.”
He chuckled. “I know, but that nigga don’t wanna be anywhere that you ain’t. So I figured if I had a woman you were cool with, we could double date. I’m not tryna be a third wheel.”
Arrow was sweet. Although Jamel told me that they were a lot alike, I could clearly tell that he was a little more sensitive than Mel. Not in a bad or feminine way, but softer. He was an anesthesiologist, and they typically tried to make patients as comfortable as possible before surgeries. Maybe that was what I was seeing in him. According to Jamel, he was extremely good at what he did, and his bedside manner was something patients always mentioned when they spoke of him.
“I apologize. Maybe whomever you choose will be a friend for me in Houston. It seems I have all the friends I need in Beaumont,” I said as I looked around.
