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Even though we rarely held conversations at work, everybody knew about her boyfriend Logan. He was all she ever talked about—rather, bragged about—in the break room.
“Logan’s out of town for the weekend. He went to Durham. Asshole! I’m so pissed at him. I told him about this concert weeks ago but he made plans to go hang out with some of his immature friends anyway.”
“I see.” I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling. Surely there had to be one other person in the entire city of Atlanta Darnetta could get to go with her. “Darnetta, I’m exhausted. I had a lot of errands to run today. Maybe we can go out some other time.”
“Aw, Jon, please don’t do this to me,” Darnetta whined into the phone. “I realize this is short notice, girl, but I guarantee you’ll have a good time. Funky music. Free buffet. Fine-ass men.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Now I definitely wasn’t going.
“Jon, I’m telling you to take a chance and do the damn town with me. What’s the problem? Do I stink or something?”
We both giggled.
“Darnetta, it’s not you. Really, it isn’t. I just don’t like going out. Especially to clubs. I don’t even recall the last time I’ve been in one.”
“Well, things need to change then. How old are you?”
“Twenty-four. Why?”
“I’ve never heard of a single, twenty-four-year-old woman that doesn’t enjoy going out. You have a man, right?”
Now why did she have to go there? I could never tell her the truth. She could never identify with the fact that I’d never really had a boyfriend. No one would.
“No, no man. I’m kind of between men at present. You know how it is.”
“I’m feeling you. That’s why this is a great opportunity to meet someone new. There will be a ton of bachelors there tonight, just waiting on a sexy sister like you to grace their presence.”
Me, sexy? Who was she trying to fool?
“Darnetta, I appreciate the offer. I can’t believe you thought of me, but I really just can’t make it. Sorry.”
Darnetta sighed into the phone. I could tell she was disgusted. “Fine, Jon. I’m going to let you off the hook this time, but there’s one condition.”
“A condition?” I asked, still trying to reorganize my papers and dry the damp ones off.
“Yeah, the next time I ask you to hang out with me, no matter where it is or when, you have to agree right this second that you’ll go.”
“Um, I can’t really say if—”
“Jon, I mean it. Agree to go with me next time or I’m going to be highly offended and get an emotional complex thinking I really do stink or something.”
I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I agreed. “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“I’ll hang out with you the next time you ask.”
Darnetta giggled. “All right. Now we’re getting somewhere. Well, I better run and get ready for the evening. Even though I’ve got a man, I’m still trying to be fly as hell when I step up in that bitch. I still have to wash my hair so I’m going to get started.”
“Have a good time, Darnetta.”
“Oh, I will. You can believe that.”
We discussed work for another few minutes before hanging up. Darnetta said that if I changed my mind, I could call back within a couple hours. But that would never happen. There was no way I was going to a club with a bunch of strange men around. They made me nervous.
I ate my dinner and watched some cable. I was completely drained by ten. I took a hot shower, threw on some pajamas, and climbed into my bed with the latest D. V. Bernard novel, The Last Dream Before Dawn. The brother is a powerful writer but I didn’t make it through ten pages before I passed out.
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