Page 48 of When You Dance
“Hello,” she said with a slight nod of her head.
“What’s up, lil mama,” Seneca said. “Arrow ought to be coming too.”
“I didn’t expect to see y’all here.”
“She invited everybody Sunday, and I ain’t finna turn down no free food. We gon’ head to Pour after this. Y’all coming?” Seneca asked.
“I guess so. I didn’t know.” Turning to Sandrene, I asked, “You wanna go? Pour 09 is like a club but sports bar all in one. Live DJ, dancing, drinks… just a vibe.”
“You had me at dancing,” she said, then winked.
Ali and Seneca both turned their heads. I could imagine why. They didn’t want to be disrespectful and scan her body. I would hate to check one of my boys, but I knew this could be a possibility being that they’d seen her naked, especially with as fine as she was. I pulled her close and kissed her lips. I wanted to grip her ass, because it was on display in this tight ass red dress she wore. It stopped a little below her knees and was spaghetti strapped. She was so fucking fine. I knew I would stay into it with somebody if I got mad that they were looking.
Turning back to them, I said, “I guess we’re going then.”
Just as we were about to go inside, Arrow joined us. He slapped hands with everyone, then smiled at Sandrene. “I’m Arrow.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard about you. Nice to meet you.”
“And lawd have we heard about you. I’m glad you gave this dude a chance. He was fiending for real over a woman he had never even spoken to,” Arrow responded.
She smiled as she glanced at me. “How could I resist this sexy man for too long?”
“Aww, hell no. Time to go inside,” Ali said.
We all laughed because that was the first words he’d spoken. I wasn’t sure why he was so quiet, but I was sure Seneca and Arrow knew. I’d been out of pocket since Sandrene and I had been spending time together. My weekends were dedicated to her. We didn’t really get to hang out long after DJ’s wedding, because I’d jetted. Whatever was going on, I would try to find out before I left. I was completely out of the loop.
When the fellas walked in ahead of us, I noticed Sandrene’s smile fade somewhat. Leaning over to her ear, I kissed it. “Naw, don’t let that beautiful smile fade, baby. Let everybody see how happy we are.”
She stared up at me, then slid her hand through my beard, something I didn’t let many women do. “Jamel, don’t tempt me. Your mother is here.”
I chuckled and pulled her close. It seemed we were the last to arrive. As I looked around, I saw Isaiah, Shy, Chad, and Dylan seated with their women at a round table. Alexz, Axton, DJ, Vozz, Rondo, Yolanda, Mama, and Pop were at another table. I went to Durrell to congratulate him. He’d graduated with a degree in computer science. I gave him the card Sandrene and I picked up on the way, then introduced the two of them.
As I glanced around, I saw YoYo’s eyes on us. I would have to introduce them, or it would seem like something was going on. I couldn’t have my mama catching no hints. I hated that I let Sandrene talk me into coming to this shit. As we walked away, I said, “It’s your fault we about to have this awkward ass moment. I wanted to avoid this shit altogether.”
“Nigga, it’s your fault for sleeping with your mama’s best friend. Wouldn’t even be no situation had it not been for that.”
I slowly shook my head because I felt a headache coming on. When we got to the table, I spoke to everyone, then began introducing Sandrene to them. Yolanda had Rondo here with her, so she should have been good. I slapped his hand then kissed her cheek as she smiled. I could see Sandrene about to blow a gasket, although she was talking to Alexz. Yolanda wanted to stir the fucking pot though. “How you been, Jamel? You skipped out on us last weekend.”
“Yeah. I spent it with my baby.”
Yolanda reddened slightly. She was gon’ get us caught. Rondo had already picked up on it and had a slight frown on his face. Thankfully, Mama was too busy talking to Pop to notice. I walked away and gently pulled Sandrene away from Alexz. “You rude as hell, Jamel! That’s a’ight though. I got something for your ass later!” Alexz yelled.
When we got to the table with my Berotte brothers, they all stood. “Damn. Is everybody tall?”
“Yep, except Alexz. The women are all somewhat short.”
As I was introducing her to everybody, that fucking song came on. “The Nasty Song” was blaring from the speakers, and all the Nupes went to the floor. I thought about buying my way into the fraternity since I went to a trade school, but I was tight with my money sometimes. I supposed frat life wasn’t really that important to me. Dylan and Shy made their way to the floor, along with Durrell. Chad rolled his eyes. He was such a damn hater.
Sandrene’s eyes were glued to the floor as several men joined them. There were a few older men that joined them as well. She was mesmerized by them for some reason, or at least their stroll. I always thought their moves were smooth too, which was why I wanted to be one. Shit, I was sick of school though. Once I abandoned the four-year degree plan at Lamar University after one semester and went to a trade school, that was out of sight, out of mind.
When they took it to the floor, the crowd of women cheered, including Sandrene. “I’ve never seen one of these in person. It’s so sexy.”
I rolled my eyes as Shy started ticking as he rolled his shoulders, showing off. He was good at that. “Is that one of your brothers?”
“Mm hmm.”
She glanced at me, and I smiled at her. When the song was over, they made their way back to the table, so I continued introducing her. The women all stood to greet her, and when I introduced her to Shy and Dylan, she said, “That show was amazing.”
