(Narrating)
Melodramatic music sets the mood when she turned on his stereo. Audrey nodded her head singing lyrics to a song. She saunters towards him in her red heels parading around Damon who's sitting in a chair.
" 'Cause you're my religion, you're how I'm living, when all my friends say I should take some space. Well, I can't envision, that for a minute. When I'm down on my knees, you're how I pray," she mouthed rubbing her thumb under Damon's chin. He looks up at her with no emotion his eyes. It looked like she was watching eyes without a face.
She took the dress off the hanger. Damon halfway buttoned up his blouse. He rested on one arm, his legs spread wide open, and his expression, amused. He knew she'd look good in it. She knew he'd be watching so she wanted to give him a show. Audrey stood in front of him. She stepped into the flowing red gown that exposed her backside.
Damon's mind went off track. His eyes were glued to her butt. He missed every detail when she spoke a few words. Caught in a daze, he was too busy thinking about what went wrong between him and Audrey.
She was his first love. He thought they would be married by now. It's been six years. The chemistry was destroyed long ago but he still hangs on to the relationship because he believes there's still hope that one day Audrey will become her old self again.
He doesn't know where her vicious attitude came from but he feels like it's his fault why she behaves the way she does.
But he isn't alright because this relationship is poison. He's no longer sane. Everyone constantly reminds him to leave if he's not happy, but sometimes even though he knows she's not good for him, he'll always have a spot in his heart for her.
"Love, help me zip this up please." She said holding her busts. Damon slithered his hands down her sides and gave her a kiss on the neck.
"You look so sexy." He whispers into her ears while he zips up the dress. She blushed, pushing her hair behind her ears. Damon looks at her through the glass and smiled at her.
He hugged her from behind as she wrapped her hands around his. They stared at each other through the mirror then broke it off with a laugh.
"I need to curl my hair." She says demurely.
"What happened to us Dre?" Asked Damon with his head buried in the crook of her neck.
She turned to him. She cupped his face and looked him in the eyes.
"I wish I knew baby, I wish I knew." She kissed him on the cheeks parting ways with him. She quickly dashed to the bathroom holding the corners of her dress.
He stood there with his hands in his pockets looking at Audrey curl her hair.
It was only a matter of time that he realized he's still in love with the workaholic, jet black haired beauty he met six years ago.
_______
The sky is dark blue and haunting.
The scenery looked familiar. There was a line outside the hotel they arrived at. Paparazzi was everywhere. Nothing made an event more blissful than a few cameras and reporters.
They reached inside the lobby. They place was decorated in marble and gold. It captured your attention. The atmosphere smelled like a mixture of air freshener and perfume.
Damon was distracted by the muffin tray by the entrance. His stomach roared in hunger.They passed through the lobby as Audrey said hello to some of her friends.
Damon said hello too, surprised at the guests she knew. Most of them were old looking. They're probably thirty or forty something years old. He'd thought she'd have younger ones her age and gossip about people right under their noses.
All he heard were a chorus of words amongst the strangers around him.
"Damon, act normal." She said guiding him towards the drinks. She picked one up for him and told him to take as many as he wants.
"Audrey." Said a man walking with a fast pace. He was fixing his tie. By the time he had reached her he was looking at his watch. Damon rolled his eyes when the man began to grip Audrey. He had assumed this was one of Audrey's 'boyfriends'.
Damon wasn't all about his appearance but this guy was nothing compared to him. He looked out of place. He looked tacky. His hair is a mess. His suit was a bright orange and his shoes matched. Damon couldn't believe what the man was wearing. He resembled a clown.
He pulls back from the hug and ogles Damon. The man's smile slowly faded when he noticed Damon was not giving one back.
"George!" He stated hoping Damon would shake his name for the sake of peace.
Damon curved the side of his mouth.
"This is Damon. He's my..." for the first time Audrey didn't know what to call him. She knew they weren't on goods terms. She still calls him baby even after they fight. But this time she choked, she could not say it in front of George. " he's my date for the night." She rubbed her palms and looked away from George's eyes ashamed of what she claimed him to be.
"Yeah, just her date," Damon added.
"Okay, well that's, wonderful," George said watching Damon take a sip out of his glass of champagne.
George and Audrey started talking about everything else other than what he bothers to listen to.
"I'll be back." Damon nodded and continued to drink his champagne as if it were a glass of water.
He noticed eyes staring at him like he committed a crime. He recognized a few faces from television shows. He even spotted popular musician John Mayer speaking to a few publicists and paparazzi taking snaps of his elegant attire.
For a moment, Damon was starstruck. He always wondered what would it be like meeting him. He felt nothing. He wasn't excited to see him. All he knew was that somehow, he ended up here, accidentally sharing the same oxygen with John. That's all he thought, nothing else.
Non-motivated to start a conversation with strangers around him he took a few steps closer to the table near the entrance.
"Coach Grey?" A voiced called for him.
He turned back looking at the woman in front of him. She was skinny in a baby soft pink satin dress that hugged her somewhat curvy figure.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Damon said easing at brow at the gorgeous blonde.
"I'm Patricia." She placed her palm on her chest.
"Hello. . . Patricia?"
"I know you don't know me but I know you." Damon jumped to the thought of another woman studying his identity.
"You do?" She nodded smiling with enjoyment. He briefly closed his eyes and pretended this was a dream. Driven by the way she seemed overjoyed, he brushed himself closer to her so that they can exchange each others body heat.
"Yes, you coach my son," she said. Damon was silenced.
"Oh really? What's his name?" he asks.
"Zion Abrahams."
From then on, Damon remembered the little boy's image vividly. He remembered Zion shooting the ball in the last ten seconds of the game a few semesters ago. It was the game to see. It was Vikings vs. Warriors. Zion made it possible for his team, the Vikings, to win. Damon was surprised at the young sport. He had no idea Zion would jump out of his shell and become one of the star players on the team.
Brought back to reality when a waiter accidently bumped Damon, he puts on a smile.
Patricia looked into his eyes with sudden amusement. She wasn't expecting her son's coach to take so much pride in her, yet alone, all up in her personal space.
She giggled at him. He was too busy admiring her aura. He was taken over by her presence. It made him forget the environment surrounding him. For once he wasn't distracted by Audrey. He had all the time in the world to himself now.
" Oh yeah, he's the one who scored before the buzzer," he said. "Now I remember. He's a good player. Before he was a safe player you know, he didn't really take his skills to the next level until that night. He's really open with the guys a lot now. They all want to work with him. He's very cooperative and good at what he does. He should never stop." he persuaded the middle-aged woman.
"Yeah, he get's that from a lot of his peers." they both agreed and ended it off with a few side glances.
"So, what brings you here?" he asked solemnly.
"I work here."
"Had a feeling!" Their conversation was stopped by a woman who appeared in front of a microphone stand. The woman belligerently adjusts the mic as it created a deafening sound through the speakers.
"Excuse me, everyone," the woman taps the mic and smiles at the audience. "I'm sorry to distrupt, but I'd like to say a few thank you's and welcomes to the gala tonight. It's been a pleasure taking the time to create such a wonderful event. But before I carry on, I'd like to invite Mr. John Mayer to the stage tonight." The audience went nuts. The woman, shorter than John, pulls him in for a hug and shows him directions to the center stage.
The woman bowed her head down. She looked young too. Probably thirty-years-old with. She has straight black hair that falls all the way down to her back. She wore a navy blue blazer over her white buttoned-up blouse and a skirt to match.
John looked at the audience and waited for them to simmer down. Immediately, the people were silenced.
As he began talking, Damon was turned off. He didn't like the way everything was set-up. It looked like John was forced to come in order to give the press something to talk about.
"Yes, thank you, Irina." He blew a kiss to her.
Focused on what he had to say, Damon's arm was grabbed by someone other than Patricia standing by him. He looked at Audrey pressing her body on his sides.
"Are you having a good time baby?" she whispers looking into his eyes. Damon nodded at the thought. Gala's aren't his thing, but for Audrey, he'd take part in it.
"Splendid!" he replies.
"It was very nice meeting you," Patricia said looking at both he and Audrey. In her mind, it was time for her to excuse herself. Audrey grimaced and gripped Damon's arm tighter. "I'll see you around. Thank you," she smiles at them shyly. Damon waved his pinky at her. Audrey looked at him from the side.
"Who was that?"
"Zion's mom." he smiles.
"Who's Zion?"
"Oh, uh, one of my players on the basketball team. Apparently, his mom works here. Huh, who knew." He finished his champagne taking a huge gulp of it.
"Come with me to say hi to John."
Damon put his glass down and wiped his mouth.
"As in John Mayer? The guy up there?" he started getting nervous.
"Yes, who else?"
"Dre, let him be."
"I didn't come to this gala for a wine and dine, I came here to enjoy myself and so will you." He had forgotten how much she had a thing for John. She had every album of his and her favorite always played when she'd clean. It was the only thing she could play in their first apartment together. He'd watch her dance and sing along to the music while it played. She's his biggest fan.
But that's when things were good. It was a time when they enjoyed each others well being.
"I swear, you're obsessed." he said.