The gala was being held across town at The Regent, so it took us almost thirty minutes to get there. Once we arrived, Malik parked in front of the door, and I could see the people and the cameras lined up.
“Calm down,” Titan said as he squeezed my hand. “Just follow my lead and you’ll be okay. Aight?”
“Okay.” I nodded.
Malik opened the back door, and Titan got out first and the crowd was already going crazy, calling his name and snapping away. He extended his hand and helped me out. When I was at my full height, he brushed a piece of hair out of my face before placing his hand on the small of my back and escorted me inside the building with Malik leading the way.
“Titan, is this your girlfriend?”
“Titan, can you tell us who the lady is?”
“Is she an escort?”
The reporters were firing off question after question, but when someone mentioned escort, he stalled in his tracks.
“Aye, who asked that dumb shit?” He snapped.
A short, blonde woman pointed at the guy next to her.
“Aye, check it. I’ain never paid for a bitch or for pussy but make that the last time you say some dumb shit like that out your mouth about that one. She’ll be the reason why you go back to writing Dear Abby letters in the local newspaper.”
The reporter nodded quickly, and Titan turned around and addressed me.
“You good?”
I nodded.
He seemed pleased with my answer and continued with Malik leading us inside of the building.
The event was being held in the ballroom, and everything was decorated so beautifully in black and gold. From the look of things, there was a lot of money in this room, and I felt out of place. The first server I saw with a tray of drinks, I grabbed one.
“I see Lani gave you some pointers,” he chuckled.
I simpered as I took a drink of my champagne.
I noticed his teammates, Miles and Ja’Kobe, were here, as well as Trey Waters of The Generals. We headed in their direction, and he introduced me to Mile’s wife and to Trey.
“Damn, Sam. How you let your girl outshine you,” Tatum joked.
“The same way Ava makes your ugly ass look good,” he joked before turning to me. “Bae, you remember these niggas, but unfortunately this is that nigga’s wife, Ava.” He pointed at Miles’ wife. I caught him calling me ‘bae’, but I was in character, so I didn’t let the initial shock show.
“Hey, I’m Cadence, but you can call me Cady,” I introduced myself.
“Nice to meet you, Cady. It’s nice to see this one finally settle down,” Ava countered and looked over at Titan and smirked.
“I guess he got tired of the trash.” I smirked.
He glanced at me and winked.
“I still can’t believe he finally got your ass. All that chasing he was doing,” Ja’Kobe chimed in.
“I’d worry about Neveah putting your ass in a full Nelson when she sees pictures of you in some fly shit and you didn’t bring her,” Titan laughed.
Ja’Kobe waved him off, and they continued another conversation. It was a few people here from Channel 8 and 4, along with Urban Spill and The Cannon Report. I knew eventually they would make their way over to Titan and question him about our relationship.
“You good, Tink?” he asked, pulling me close.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just never been to anything this extravagant before,” I admitted.
