Chapter 3
three
. . .
The knocking blended into the dull pounding behind my eyes.
At first, I thought it was leftover noise from the music still ringing in my ears.
When it didn’t stop, I forced one eye open and stared at the ceiling, trying to gather myself before moving.
The air conditioner breathed quietly against the early morning heat.
The air felt cold against my bare legs, and my mouth was so dry it almost hurt to swallow.
I slowly pushed myself upright out of my bed, my head lagging behind the rest of me. I still wasn’t ready to be up yet.
Treasure was draped halfway across me with one arm thrown over my waist. Her lashes were still perfectly in place, which felt unfair considering the state I was in.
Tara was in the living room, curled up on the futon under my throw blanket.
Her wig was somewhat shifted and her phone still glowed faintly in her hand as if she had fallen asleep mid-scroll.
The knocking came again, harder this time.
I reached for my phone on the night stand and squinted against the brightness of the screen.
I noticed the time first—10:17 a.m. We’d gotten in at 3:30 a.m., then talked until about 4:30.
It was certainly too early to be up now.
Next, I noticed all of the notifications, while the knocking continued in the background.
I had seven missed calls from Damien, and three texts. And I only assumed that was him knocking at the door as I read the text messages. Suddenly, I heard him rattling the knob, opening and closing the door once he realized the chain was on it. One final notification popped up on my phone.
Mr. Producer:
I wanna see you.
Damn, I wanted to see him too, and that part probably should’ve bothered me more than it did. My throat felt even drier as the knocking came again. Treasure shifted against me and groaned.
“Who is it?”
“Probably Damien,” I said, standing.
“Get rid of that bum.”
I laughed, coughing from the dryness in my throat. Hurriedly, I crossed the hardwood floor barefoot as the coldness sent me into shock. I slid the chain loose and opened the door just enough to see him.
“Dang, who is that?” Tara asked.
“Don’t wake up now. I don’t know how you slept through all this noise.” I teased her.
“Well, I’m not sleeping now.” She complained. Tara’s eyes opened immediately. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked toward the door probably aware this morning wasn’t going to be peaceful.
Damien stood there holding a helium balloon that bumped gently against the doorframe and a teddy bear tucked awkwardly under his arm. He looked like he hadn’t slept much either.
“There you are,” he said, stepping inside before I could decide how I wanted to respond.
“What’s up?”
“Good morning. Came by to give you your gift and maybe cook you your favorite omelet?”
“Oh. Well, Treasure’s in my bed sleeping, and you see Tara, so.”
“What’s up, Tara? Y’all had a sleepover or something?” He asked, looking at me after Tara waved to him.
“Or something.” I shrugged. “So yeah, we’ll probably just order something.”
He stood awkwardly, swaying side to side with his hands in his pocket. He kept looking over my shoulder, for what, I wasn’t sure. I walked away towards the kitchen, unable to handle the dryness any further.
“You’ve been blowing my phone up, Damien. What’s up? I’m tired, and I want to get back in bed.” I said evenly.
“I was worried,” he replied quickly, irritation crept into his voice now that he realized he had an audience. “You ain’t answer me all night.”
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and twisted the cap off, drinking half of. He glanced toward Tara again, then towards my bedroom. He probably was expecting Treasure to come out and get on his ass. I pulled out a jar of pickles, retrieved one, then sucked on it before finally responding.
“I didn’t answer you? Was this before or after we were supposed to meet for my birthday?”
“Baby-”
“I was out.” I cut him off.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I see that.”
He set the balloon beside the couch and placed the teddy bear on the coffee table. Tara stood and stretched slowly, pretending she wasn’t paying attention. I knew she felt awkward, which is why she was making her way out of our space.
“I texted you,” Damien said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Called, too. I didn’t know what you had going on.”
I leaned against the counter, letting the cool granite press into my back. “You had something going on though,” I taunted him. “Something more important than my birthday, right?”
He exhaled slowly, annoyance clearly tugging at him. The man had the nerve to be aggravated that he messed up. Craziness.
“Sibley, I told you the tournaments have been running later. We are in the finals. I couldn’t just walk out.”
“True.” I falsely agreed with him.
The simplicity of that answer seemed to confuse him. “I came by first thing this morning,” he added quickly. “Before I head back. I didn’t sleep much, and I wanted to see you.”
“That’s fine,” I said, taking another sip of water.
His eyes searched my face, maybe looking for anger, tears or hell, any sign that the situation had shaken me. I gave him none of it, because the shock of his carelessness with me had worn off.
“Where did you go last night?” He asked finally.
“It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t with you.”
Damien swallowed. “I know I messed up. I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. We can do dinner later. Just us. I’ll handle everything.”
Dinner later, I laughed in my mind. That was just as cheesy as this teddy bear and balloon. I glanced toward the living room where my phone still rested on the coffee table.
“I have plans today,” I said gently.
“With who?”
“I’m still celebrating my birthday, Damien. Whoever that includes is who it includes.”
He stood there as embarrassment hovered over him now that my girls were fully awake and moving around. Treasure said nothing, and neither did Tara, but they did watch.
“Aight,” he muttered. “Call me.”
“Have a good day,” I replied, shutting the door behind him, securing the chain on it again.
“Girl.” Treasure sighed, sitting on the couch. “Damien got some nerve. He love basketball more than you, and he ain’t shy about it.”
I joined her and picked up my phone. Kier’s message was still there.
Mr. Producer:
I wanna see you.
I stared at the screen for a moment, then showed Treasure as Tara made her way into the bathroom.
“Look, girl!”
She gasped, taking my phone from me. She mouthed, “Is this Stone?”
I nodded, and she replied to his text before I could take my phone back from her.
Me:
Okay, tell me when?
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Later that evening, I was dressed, staring at myself in the mirror.
This was my third time changing, because nothing seemed cute enough or appropriate.
I was on pins and needles, anticipating seeing Kier again.
The only thing easing my anxiety was knowing Treasure was coming with me.
He told me to bring her if she wanted content.
I thought that was so thoughtful. I told her I didn’t know where we were going, but of course she was on board; she was more excited than me.
“Are you really still in the mirror, Sibley?” She asked, walking into my room and plopping down on my bed.
“Yeah, nothing feels quite right.”
“You look fine, girl, stop it.”
“He’s sending a car for us. I can’t show up looking broke.”
“A car for us, Sibley? Stop playing!”
“I’m not,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “So, you see why I’m nervous?”
“No, actually I don’t. I’m Star struck, so I get why I’m nervous.
But clearly, you know nothing about him.
In your mind, he should be looked at as a regular man that is blessed to have the opportunity to be in your space.
You’re gorgeous, you can dress, and clearly, he doesn’t care about your appearance considering you were in biker shorts or something when y’all met.
Stop all of this and be my fun bestie today, please. ”
“Yeah, yeah.” I smiled, giving myself a final once-over.
I kept it clean and simple, not wanting to do too much.I wore a coral lace corset top beneath a mint tailored blazer, paired with distressed high-waisted denim shorts that showed just enough leg to make a statement.
Coral lace-up heels wrapped around my ankles, while gold jewelry and a designer crossbody bag completed the look.
It was polished, feminine, and hopefully appropriate enough for where we were going..
After all, he said dress comfortably, not for the Met Gala.
The black SUV was idling when we stepped outside. The driver stepped out smoothly, opening the back door for us. The leather seats were cool against my legs. The air inside was crisp and faintly scented with vanilla, which lowkey gave me a headache. Treasure had started filming.
“Okay y’all, so apparently we’re headed to a private location.” She whispered into her camera.
I leaned back, watching the city pass by.
My reflection stared back at me in the tinted window.
I didn’t look nervous, but I felt that way.
Kier and I had a brief, chance encounter.
We kicked it so hard at the nightclub, and he wasn’t on no disrespectful time.
It was a vibe. And every moment since, he’d been on my mind, and I didn’t know why.
The drive to the location was about 35 minutes.
It was certain parts of the city you just didn’t go in, and this expensive-ass suburb was one of them.
So much so, I was in awe when we pulled up.
The gates to the mansion rolled open slowly, revealing a wide stone driveway.
The bass blared into my ears before the car even stopped.
The driver walked us into the home and led us straight to the back that opened to the backyard, where the music got louder.