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“No, I’m fine. I just got hot all of a sudden. I don’t know why, but I’ve been having hot flashes lately.” That part isn’t a lie. A hot flash runs through me every time Mom demands I produce my made-up man, and this time she’s demanding him within three weeks. “I think I should go lay down,” I say and look at Aunt Carla. “If I leave, will you be able to drop Mom off back at home?”
“You’re leaving?” Mom asks with a surprised expression.
“Yes, I’m going to go lay down.”
“I will be glad to drop you off when the reception is over, Skyler. Let her go lay down. She looks like she’s stressed to the max,” Aunt Carla tells Mom. “And you, Stalia. Don’t be letting anything stress you out. You’re too young for that. I’m going to call you later.”
“Okay, thanks Aunt Carla,” I say, standing up and grabbing my purse before heading to the door without looking at my mother’s reaction. To satisfy her, I need a dark and sexy Prince Charming by Christmas day. Problem is, there is no prince in sight. Hell, I don’t even have a potential frog.
I walk out of the building doing my best to keep my head up so no one will ask me if something is wrong with me. I smile at a few family members and wave, but I reach the door without any family members stopping me. I exhale a deep breath and lean against the wall near the exit.
“Lord, what am I going to do? Please tell me what I should do,” I plead with God, the universe, mother nature, all listening ears to help me with my dilemma.
When I inhale, a full
breath of Versace Eros takes over my senses. I love the smell of that cologne. One of the coaches at Clark wears it, and it does something to me every time I inhale it.
A tall and dark man is standing in front of the door with one hand on the knob. He’s wearing a light blue suit tailored to fit his tight body, and trust me, it is hitting him in all the right places. The pants are fitted just enough to show that he needs extra room in his midsection. Don’t ask why my eyes drifted there. Moving back to safer parts of him, I notice his white shirt and red and blue tie are crisp. A white cashmere wool scarf drapes his neck. I try not to stare at him too long, but it’s not every day I stumble across a man so fine and so well dressed. This man matches all the details I’ve been drawing up in my mind for my fake boyfriend.
He licks his lips and asks, “Are you okay, beautiful?”
I look around to see who he could be speaking to, and no one else is out there. “Are you talking to me?” I ask.
“Yeah. You’re the only beautiful one out here, right?” he remarks, tilting his head down at an angle so he can see over what have to be a pair of Prada shades for men. He has impeccable taste.
I smile. “I guess I am. Are you here for the wedding?”
I am seconds away from pointing to the entrance he needs to go through to meet up with the rest of my family, so that I can end the torture of standing there awkwardly looking into his eyes.
He cuts me off. “Is that your nice way of blowing me off? You can do much better than that.”
“Huh? No, I’m not, uh— I was just going to help you find the reception.”
“Trust me, I know that move.” He laughs. “It’s the ‘that way’ brush a sucker off move. You can’t pull that on me, beautiful.”
Busted, I smile again. “I just have a lot on my mind. Sorry.”
“Listen, I made you smile twice, so my job is done. No need to be sorry.” He starts to walk in, but turns back toward me. “Will I see you inside?”
“Maybe,” I say.
“I hope so,” he says before turning to walk inside until he disappears from my sight.
I want to drag him back outside and ask him to be my fake boyfriend. He perfectly fits the description I’ve given my mother. It’s almost like I have created the man I wanted, and he walked right up to me and introduced himself. I think about going inside and making a play for it, but Mom is in there. I have told her too much to go inside and start flirting with a random man that looks like the one I told her about.
Damn. The feeling of panic starts again. I run to my car as fast as my heels will take me. Trying to fight back the urge to cry, I crank up my car and pull out of the parking lot into traffic. I don’t have a choice but to come clean to Mom. I only told her I had a man so she could be happy, but her false happiness is making me ill. I hate that I walked myself into this jam.
Chapter Two
Omega
Have You Seen Her?
December 14, 2019
The week of finals is always hell. I’ve been so busy this week that this is the first free moment I’ve had since Keith’s wedding. I hadn’t even planned to attend his reception, since I had papers to grade, but Keith and I go way back. I had to give him my blessings on his special day. Meeting the beautiful woman standing by the doorway made my decision worth it. Tingles run down my spine just thinking about how I turned her sadness into a smile. I still want to do much more for her. I don’t know why, but I scan the club looking for her. I guess a part of me hopes she’s here. The temperature of the crowd is hype. Music is vibing hard, and people are having a great time.
Elite is a new spot on the Atlanta scene; it’s owned by some cat from my hometown. Whenever I get the chance to support someone from Lafayette, Alabama, I’m in there, no questions. After reading the press release earlier today, I knew I had to stop through.
