It is taking all of my self control to force myself to stand here and smile politely at the small group of people huddled around me. Now, a normal girl would probably freak out at the fact that she is standing in the same circle as Shaq and his ex wife Shaunie, Doug Christie and his crazy wife Jackie, Kobe Bryant and his wife, and a few others, but me? All I want to do is get as far away from them as possible.
The wives are giving me predatory glares as they tightly clutch onto the arms of their husbands while the men all talk to one another. For some crazy reason, they think that I want their men. Ha! I don't even want the one standing next to me running his mouth about how 'skilled' he is.
No, the man I want is across the room with the woman I can't stand, letting her press her voluptuous curves into his body. I swallow hard as my eyes follow Desiree's glittery manicured nails as they trail down Klay's muscular chest, down to his toned stomach and start to head for right below his bel-
"Right, Logan?"
Tearing my eyes away from the heartbreaking scene in front of me, I turn my attention onto Nick, who is smirking down at me smugly. "Huh?"
His large hand moves down to cup my ass, and I tense when he gives it a squeeze. "You think I'm skilled, don't you?"
Clutching onto my small purse even tighter, I try to remain in control as I move his hand off of my ass. "You are?"
"Yeah, on the court and," he pauses as he leans down and stage whispers in my ear for everyone to hear, "in the bedroom."
Hearing the whistles from the men and the chuckles from their dates, I grit my teeth as I take a step away from him. "Well, I haven't seen your skills on the court because you always ride the bench, and as for the ones in the bedroom, well...thirty seconds isn't much of a performance."
Nick's mouth drops open in shock as the small group around us erupts into fits of laughter, and I can't help the small smug grin that forms on my lips. Finally, I get to make him feel like the ass that he is.
He growls low in his throat before pulling me in close to him. "She's funny, really funny."
Deciding that now is my chance to get away from him, I pat him on the shoulder before smiling at everyone. "You know I don't joke, Nicky, especially not about something as important as this. You know that's why it was only one time."
The group around us just laughs harder, and I can sense Nick's embarassment rising to new levels. Maybe tonight won't be so bad after all.
"Or maybe it's because Klay wanted a real woman who he didn't have to chase down all the time."
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach and tears form in my eyes as the laughter around us dies down, and when I look up at him, Nick is smirking coldly at me, amusement in his eyes.
"That's why he's got the beautiful Desiree Deligave hanging all over him tonight instead of you, right? Cause' he decided you weren't worth it anymore? Well he's right, you aren't," Nick continues before snagging a flute of champagne from a nearby waiter and downing it.
"Damn, bro." "That's so mean, Nick, come on." "Poor thing."
The people around us comment, and despite the fact that I wish I could just disappear right now, I hold my head up high and keep my tears at bay.
"If I'm not worth chasing after then tell me why you're my date tonight? If I'm not worth chasing after, tell me why you got into a fight with Klay?"
Nick's mouth gapes open and shut like a fish out of water for a few seconds as I stand there waiting for him to give me an answer, but nothing comes out.
"Exactly," I say, before shaking my head at him, "that's why you're always going to be riding the bench. The only skill you have is being a complete asshole."
When everyone erupts into laughter, I know that I've won. Nick's hand shoots out to grab my arm, and I wince at how tight his grip is as he pulls me in close to him. "You little-..."
He stops as soon as his eyes glance up over my head, and my heart pounds loudly against my chest as I wait to see what he'll do next. I really don't want him to hit me. If he does, then I guess we'll both be in the papers because I am going to attack him with everything I have.
Surprisingly, he lets me go and turns away from me. Completely stunned, I turn around to see what gave him a change of heart.
A lone tear trails down my cheek as I see Klay standing across the room large room with a death glare on his face, and it isn't until his eyes meet mine that they soften. Even after everything, he still...
Swallowing hard, I know that I need to get out of here. Excusing myself, I quickly begin to squeeze my way through the large crowd. There are so many people here tonight that I can't tell which way anything is. All I know is that I need to find the exit as fast as possible.
Finally pushing my way out of the sea of people, I groan when I find myself right in front of the bar.
And smack dab in front of Ava and Shaun having a drinking contest.
"Chuh chug chug chug chug!" The people around them are saying as the two of them hurry to down the dark liquid in their glasses. I don't even bat an eyelash when Ava finishes first, a huge grin on her face.
"Lo Lo!" She yells loudly as soon as she spots me, and I internally groan. Tonight just keeps getting worse and worse.
I stumble when she latches onto me like a leech, and it takes all of my power to support her. She's my size, but the girl is so heavy when she's drunk. "Drink with us! I'm spinning!"
"You mean winning?" I correct her as I push her back onto her seat, and I can't help but be in shock when Shaun wraps an arm around her and pulls her close.
Ava giggles like a school girl. "Yes, that! Come on! Drink and be cherry!"
Sighing, I rub my temples. "You mean merry?"
Ava waves me off sloppily as she motions for more drinks. "Shhhh!"
Shaking my head, I duck back into the mass of people as I try to seek out the exit, which I am now guessing is across the room. I really wish this place wasn't so big, it makes it impossible to find anything...
A large body knocks into mine, and I wobble on my heels as I try to stay upright, but to no avail. Closing my eyes, I brace myself for impact on the hard cold marble floor...
...only to feel a strong arm wrap around my waist.
Slowly, I open my eyes to find myself staring into my favorite pair of dark brown eyes, and my breath is instantly taken away.
"Klay," I choke out, my entire body shaking because of how near he is to me. It feels like it has been so long since we have been this close.
He rights me without saying a word, and before I can open my mouth to thank him, the most annoying voice sounds through. "Ugh! You're always around! You're like a freaking fly that I can't kill!"
Taking a few deep breaths, I try to remain calm as I focus my attention on Desiree. She looks every bit the spoiled model she is as she stands before me dressed in a hot pink form fitting dress with matching jeweled stilettos. She also happens to look like the bay areas biggest slut.
Not wanting to be around her any longer than I have to, I turn on my heel and begin to make my way out...
...only to freeze as soon as I hear a loud 'rip'.
My eyes widen as I feel a cool breeze hit my skin where it isn't supposed to, and I silently pray that this isn't happening right now.
Desiree's loud cackle floats through the air, and dread fills me immediately. "So your dress is as cheap as you! Good to know!"
A few other laughs can be heard, but I don't focus on them as I quickly rush through people and make my way to the bathroom, silent tears pouring down my cheeks.
Thankfully once I walk inside, it is seemingly empty, save for the sound of someone puking their guts up in the far stall. Inspecting myself in the mirror, I sniffle quietly as I lift the torn fabric in the back. This dress wasn't designed for any bit of skin to be showing, yet thanks to Desiree, it now shows my bare back and the top of my ass. Wonderful.
Wiping my tears away, it's then that I decide that I'll just walk home. At this point, anything is better than staying here. Ayesha thought that tonight would make Klay jealous, but instead it is just making me into a bigger idiot than I already am.
The far stall door opens, and I brace myself for the laughing mockery the occupant is going to make of me, but I'm surprised when instead of a gorgeous basketball wife, a very green and frazzled looking Ava stumbles out to the sink.
"Ava?" I ask, as I wipe away my tears. It's only been about five minutes since I've seen her, and she definitely didn't look like that when I left.
She groans as she sticks her head in the sink. "Shaun...sucks..."
Sighing, I make my way over to her and rub her back as she heaves and cries into the sink. "What happened?"
"I...outdrank him... that... wimp...," she chokes out, and before I can ask more, she pushes me away and stumbles back into the stall, and I wince as I hear her puking everything up once more.
Yeah, it's definitely time to go home.
Wiping my eyes, I walk out of the bathroom to make a call for a taxi, but as soon as I open the door and step out, Klay is standing there with a worried look on his face.
Freezing in my tracks, I stand there staring at him like a moron. No matter how much I want to force myself to tell him that I'm fine, that he can go back to his date, I can't...
...because I miss him like crazy.
His eyes harden as he takes in my appearance, and I quickly look away to avoid the intensity of his gaze. "Are you okay?"
Unable to speak, I nod my head stiffly.
Silence fills the space between us, and I pray that he will just walk away soon so he won't see me fall apart in front of him.
When I feel heavy fabric draped over me, my eyes widen, and tears well up in my eyes as Klay pulls his suit jacket tighter around me. Closing my eyes to keep the tears from falling, I bite my lip gently.
"Let's go," he says, and my head shoots up to look at him. His eyes are soft as he takes in my appearance, and I can't help the flutter that lights in my heart at his words.
"I can't," I say, shaking my head and taking a step away from him.
He grits his teeth and balls his hands up into fists. "You're not going home with him."
My heart soars in my chest, and before I can reply, the door opens behind me and I tumble forwards and into Klay when a dead weight lands against me.
"Shaun...gonna...kill...him..." Ava mumbles against my shoulder as she begins to fall to the ground. Thankfully, Klay uses his quick reflexes to catch her, and he looks at me questioningly as he holds Ava in his arms.
Shaking my head sadly, I shrug. I truthfully don't know the story behind that one.
Shifting her weight in his arms, he stares down at me intently. "Let's go."
My heart beats loudly against my chest. "But this is a big event for you, and -..."
He doesn't let me finish as he begins walking down the hallway towards an empty exit with a whimpering Ava in his arms. "There's more important things than this."
Not allowing my heart to get its hopes up, I pull his suit jacket tighter around me as I hurry to follow him out.