Chapter 14
amelia
“So we’re all in agreement – this is the one, right?” I asked as I surveyed myself in the mirror once more.
“I stepped away from the screen, but the yellow midi is the only real option,” Kae called out.
When I peeked at my own screen, sure enough, Claire’s face was visible, but Kae wasn’t.
“She’s wearing the yellow one,” Claire confirmed for Kae, giving me approving nod. “Calvin is going to choke on his tongue when he sees you – in a good way.”
I grinned, turning back to the mirror.
This was the sixth dress I’d pulled from my closet, from a section of dresses I’d never worn.
Apparently I’d just been collecting them, waiting for a date night with Hunter that never came because he trended toward busy or wanting to do things I had zero interest in.
I’d been determined not to buy anything new, even though Calvin had offered to cover it.
He’d actually offered to pay for anything I wanted – beauty services, shoes, jewelry, dress, whatever I needed to feel good for tonight.
Too bad all my maintenance appointments had been a few days before.
And again – I had a closet full of things I’d never gotten to wear, so it was more fun for me to not spend the money.
Though… the ease with which he’d offered was endearing.
But hell… what wasn’t endearing about Calvin at this point?
“Not you looking like a nervous teenager headed out for a first date,” Kae laughed. When I looked back, she’d returned to the screen, with a facial treatment mask on now.
I sucked my teeth. “Not y’all insisting on seeing me off like proud parents.”
“Oh I’m definitely proud, personally,” Claire spoke up. “A chance to meet Sierra Ward on a first date, a month after a breakup? This is the way.”
“It’s not a date,” I corrected. “I’m doing Calvin a favor, because he did me a favor.”
“That doesn’t make it not a date.” Kae grinned. “And that dress makes it absolutely a date.”
I smirked at myself in the mirror.
The square neckline toed the line of too much cleavage, and the fit was right on the border of slutty.
My back was fully covered though, and the “midi” length brought it past my knees – classy.
A simple, tasteful strappy heel, no jewelry to distract from my pretty ass skin, natural mane pulled into a little updo with a few curls hanging down…
Yeah.
Yeah.
I looked good.
“So how far are y’all taking the favor,” Kae asked. “Do y’all have a story planned for how y’all met?”
“Oooh,” Claire chimed in. “Cause you know people are going to be nosy.”
“We decided some honesty is the best policy,” I explained, moving over to my dresser for perfume. “With me coming off the breakup with Hunter, we can’t lie that we’ve “been together” longer than we have.”
“Good point – if this goes around social media, you’d get labeled and cheater,” Kae agreed.
“Trollop.”
“Whore.”
“Jezebel.”
“I get it,” I laughed, stopping their back and forth. “And, yeah, exactly. So we’re going to lean into it being… like a new discovery, you know?”
“Oh so you’re just telling the truth,” Claire quipped.
I sucked my teeth. “No, because the truth is that we’re friends, and that’s all.”
“Girl you not tired of that lie yet?”
“Lie is crazy, wow,” I laughed, stepping through a final mist of my favorite perfume. It was a small batch, indie release from Tempest at Wax Poetic – her spin on her own favorite perfume. I had it in candle form already, and used those often, but the perfume was limited, and therefore… coveted.
Special occasions only.
Like this date.
Damn.
I didn’t get a chance to process my realization or respond to my friends’ teasing – a knock sounded at the door. Immediately, I realized I couldn’t hear Calvin’s – respectfully leveled -- music through the wall anymore, which meant he was done getting ready.
And at the door to pick me up.
“Girl, your face,” Claire cackled, scaring me for a moment until Kae laughed too.
“What?!” I asked, confused as I checked myself in the mirror. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Kae giggled. “I’ve just never seen anybody light up like you just did when that nigga knocked on the door.”
“Okay fuck off!” I laughed. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Bitch call me tonight, the fuck?” Kae fussed. “You think you too grown to check in when you get home?”
“It’ll probably be tomorrow when gets home,” Claire guessed. “And she’s probably planning to spend the night with Calvin and his dick anyway.”
The knock sounded again, a little firmer this time.
“Y’all make me sick – I’ll check in, okay?” I promised, and they nodded.
“Okay my baby, have fun!”
“Yesss, have the best time!”
“I will! Love y’all, bye!”
Once the call was ended, I stood there for a moment, just to catch my breath before I grabbed my clutch and headed for the door.
Where I took another breath.
It’s not a date.
It’s not a date.
It’s not a – damn.
I opened the door to find Calvin poised to knock again, looking way, way, better than expected.
Criminally fine, actually, in all black, diamond crusted chain around his neck, and a fresh lineup.
And he smelled good.
“Well goddamn,” was the first thing off his lips, and he looked away from me, shaking his head.
“What?!” I asked, alarmed, but he just shook his head again, taking a step back.
“Man… just bring your fine ass on before we don’t even go to this shit,” he said, already heading down the hall.
Oh.
Yeah.
I looked good.
Laughing, I locked my door and then caught up to him – which didn’t take much, because he’d stopped to wait for me, with his hand extended.
I looked at it.
Looked at him.
Accepted his hand.
Is this a fucking date?
His hand was warm, secure around mine as he led me to the elevator and punched the button.
It had been moving even slower than usual lately, so as we listened to it rumble down from a higher floor, Calvin had plenty of time to turn and give me a slow perusal that made me finally understand the term “hot in the ass” like my Mama used to say.
There was definitely some heat going on down there.
The elevator chimed.
The door crawled open.
And… there Hunter was.
Fuuuuck.
Every moment of realization was clear on his face – me being there. Me being there, with Calvin. Me being there, with Calvin, wearing that dress.
Calvin put a hand at the small of my back, ushering me into the steel box with my ex.
We stepped to the other side of where Hunter was standing… with the woman I’d seen him with at Urban Grind.
Both were staring.
From slightly behind me, Calvin’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me into him with a possessive hand.
His head dropped, lips grazing me on the neck, soft and deceptively possessive.
“You good, baby?” he asked – low enough that it really was a private question, but not so low they couldn’t hear it.
“Yeah,” I answered, closing my eyes as his lips touched my neck again – this time, for a quick, purposeful kiss.
“Good.”
I did not look up.
Didn’t dare.
I could feel Hunter and his new supply looking at me, at us, as the elevator took its’ sweet time delivering us to the ground floor, but I was way too interested in my pedicure to give them my attention.
“Have a good night,” Calvin called after them when the elevator finally opened and they rushed off first.
“Thanks, you too,” the woman replied, polite, as we followed them off.
Hunter just glared as he grabbed her hand to pull her outside.
“That was awkward,” Calvin laughed once they were gone. “What do you think he’s so pissed off about?”
“Kae told me you were his favorite player, so… that, probably,” I explained. “Or, maybe you antagonizing him?”
“When did I do that?”
I sucked my teeth. “Calvin…that kiss? Calling me baby?”
“Oh that? I was just stepping into tonight’s character.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah,” he grinned, grabbing my hand to lead me outside. “Come on baby.”
I didn’t offer any pushback as he directed me to the black-on-black Range Rover I really should’ve already clocked as his, from the moment I noticed it in the apartment lot.
He led me to the passenger side, opened the door for me, helped me in, all that, and a few moments later, we were on our way.
“So, I was thinking,” I said, eyeing him from the passenger seat – one hand on the wheel, the other on my leg, thumb tapping my thigh to the beat of the music.
He was very, very comfortable.
“Oh lord, here we go,” he groaned, making my eyes go wide.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m fucking with you – what’s up?” he asked, shooting me a grin.
I rolled my eyes.
“Anyway,” I said, crossing my arms. “I was thinking… what’s our storyline? Or rather… mine.”
“Huh?”
“What you said about stepping into character – so, I know we decided to just keep it honest about how long we’ve “been together”, which is fine.
But, if I’m playing this role – stepping into character, like you said – I need a persona.
I think that would make everything just kinda flow more naturally. ”
“You could just… be yourself?”
I scoffed. “I’m myself every day, and love her, real bad,” I assured him. “But why not make this fun, and be… somebody else?”
He nodded. “Okay… I think I get it. What’s your options?”
I shimmied in my seat, excited to have him indulging the idea.
“Okay – option one, chaotic gold-digger baddie that’s clearly only with you for a come up.
And you know that, right? But my pussy is just too good, you’re addicted to the drama, and I was down for you when you were in your suspended era. ”
“Suspended era is nuts.”
“But accurate,” I said. “Is that the only thing you heard?”
“Nah – but option one isn’t gonna work. If my team at RSM gets even a whiff of that, Cole and Chloe will have your ass disappeared, and we don’t want that.”
My eyes went wide. “Definitely not. Okay – option two then. I’m a sweet angel baby, and we just fell in love at first sight, and can’t wait to drop this whole career woman thing to have a whole team of kids after you make your comeback from your suspended era.”
“Again with the sus—”
“Actually never mind, I don’t think I could play that role all night without throwing up,” I interrupted.
So, scratch option two. Option three, I’m a no-nonsense, do not mess with my man, ready to throw hands kinda bitch.
Again with the whole you’re addicted to this pussy angle.
And… I don’t know shit about basketball, but I’ll pretend for you…
to support you through your suspended era. ”
“Literally what is it with the “suspended era” thing, what is that??”
“The era where your ass was not welcome on the field!”
“Field?!”
“Pitch, court, whatever!” I laughed. “You couldn’t play for a period of time, also known as an era.”
“Isn’t it a pretty specific period length?”
“Colloquially, no,” I answered with a smirk. “Anyway – I think we’ll go with option three.”
“Do not put your hands on anybody please.”
“So you can fight but I can’t?”
“Amelia…”
“What?!” I laughed. “Seriously – do you really think I need to be told to keep my hands to myself?”
He shrugged. “You’re a little unpredictable, so…”
I fake gasped. “Me?! Excuse you, I am quite reliable and organized and things consistently go exactly as I planned them, for your information.”
“Since when?!”
“Since always!” I countered. “I’ve just been having a difficult four to six weeks!”
“That is both too specific and not specific enough – why the range?”
“Well… I may or may not taken a little spill out of my chair the other day, and bumped my head the tiniest bit—”
“You’re concussed?!”
My mouth dropped open. “No!” I denied.
“The other day… meaning a little while after I left from hanging that chair up?”
I shrugged. “That’s such a subjective frame of reference—”
“I heard you fall, and texted you,” he interrupted, pulling into a parking spot in front of a building in Blackwood. “You acted like you didn’t know what I was talking about!”
“I was really dazed.”
“Amelia!”
“It wasn’t that serious, relax.”
His eyes went wide. “Relax? You just implied memory loss from falling out of that damn chair!”
“So you’re the only one who can tell a joke now?”
He scoffed. “So you’re a comedian?”
“Not a comedian – your comedian,” I grinned. “I’m adding that to the personality for tonight.”
“What the fuck have I done,” he muttered, making me laugh as he climbed out of the car.
A moment later, he was at my door, opening it to help me out…
but not moving to give me any room. “Aye,” he said, from very close to me, hand at my waist. “I’m down with fucking around to pass the time, clowning, all that, okay?
” he said, before putting a finger under my chin, tipping my face up to his.
“But whatever role you’re stepping into… make sure there’s no ambiguity.”
“About what?” I breathed.
Barely.
Calvin stepped back, smirking as he laced our fingers. “About you being mine.”