Kobie was easy to be around but that was the dangerous part.
He took a step back, looking her over. “You look good.”
“Thank you.” She tried to hold back a smile. Did she like Kobie? No? Yes? Nina was confused.
“I’m glad you came.”
She glanced around. “Congratulations on all of this.”
“Appreciate it.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Now can you at least pretend you’re having a good time for thirty minutes.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How do you know about the thirty minutes?”
“Your mother talks too much.”
“Now that she does…”
He laughed again which made her smile ear to ear and it wasn’t one of those fake polite smiles like she’d grown accustomed to wearing.
Thirty minutes turned into an hour fast, then two, and Nina didn’t notice how swiftly the time flew by. Tomorrow, she would blame it on the tequila and Kobie since he was the culprit.
“You don’t watch football?” he asked after they took a breather in the VIP section.
“I support Black excellence generally,” she responded delicately.
“That’s corporate for no.”
Nina laughed as she took another sip.
Around them, people moved nonstop. Music blasted through the speakers and cameras floated around capturing content for blogs and social pages.
Kobie leaned back casually beside her. “Everybody in here been staring at you all night. Does that bother you?”
Nina raised an eyebrow. “Because I’m gorgeous?”
“Because you’re Nina Marcelle.”
“What does that mean though?”
Kobie pointed to his chest. “To me?”
Nina nodded.
He cleared his throat and stood happily. “Nina Marcelle. Crème de la crème. New York royalty. Fashion IT girl. CEO princess. Certified stepper. A lawyer! The list gets better and better, babe.”
Nina appreciated the hype.
People always made her into an idea before they made her into a person.
“And you just signed the biggest endorsement deal in NFL history,” she shot back.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “But my last name ain’t Marcelle.”
She laughed loudly at that. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Nah.” His eyes lingered on her a little longer now. “You just finally relaxed.”
His comment caught her off guard because he was right.
