My day started with a phone call from my mother.
"Hello child how you do?" She asked.
"I'm fine ma," I responded.
"How is school?"
I paused, wondering how to answer this question so I don't seem ungrateful. "Good so far, I'm doing what needs to be done to get the required grades."
"Good, good." I could just imagine her nodding in agreement.
"So that's it anything else you want to tell me?"
"Nothing else ma just school work. You know I am antisocial."
"Baby, I know I always advise you to take this school thing seriously but you need to go out and have fun, you hear?"
"Mommy I'm alright me say."
"I didn't say you weren't. Go out, have fun with friends and even get a little boyfriend who you can introduce me to by the time Thanksgiving comes."
"Ma, please stop, I have to go to class now."
"Alright baby, have a good day love you," she said chuckling lightly.
"Love you too have a good day at work."
She hung up after sending a long kissy sound through the phone. I shook my head before picking up my bag and heading to my literature class.
~
"You okay? You seem off," Jada said.
"No, I'm good. It's just that my mom called this morning asking about how things are going. Can you believe my 40 year old mother is telling me to go outside? I really need to get a life."
"Hmm, you should've said something to me before if you're looking for some fun."
"Oh yeah, and where do you suppose I find this fun?"
"There's a party tonight, if you didn't notice it's Friday and there's a party keeps every week in college."
"I was studying when that was happening." Jada gives me a disgusted look and I laugh.
"Come out tonight, I'll come for you and you'll experience a real college party."
"Okay I will," I answer just before my lecturer begins talking signaling the end of our conversation.
~~~
I was dressed and now anxiously packing all my essentials in my purse before I sit on my bed scrolling through my phone and waiting for Jada to call me.
As soon as she did, I put my phone in my bag and went out front to meet her.
"You look great girl," she says and I beam proudly.
"Thank you, you look great too."
"Thanks, let's go though before it gets more crowded and we can't get in."
We arrived at the party and Jada leads me to where the drinks were.
"Girl take this jacket off and lemme go hang it up."
I shrug my jacket off and hand it to her then she's gone to wherever to hang it up along with her own.
The music diffuses to every corner of the house, I can hardly hear my thoughts through the thumping bass of the hip hop song.
"Okay lemme get you something easy to start off the night," Jada spoke.
"I really can't handle alcohol."
"Like I don't know this already, you're shaking like a leaf, girl calm down."
"I can't, I'm nervous," I admit.
"The liquor will get rid of that just take a sip."
I took a sip of the fruity drink and I immediately feel better.
"Come drink up, because the next stop is the dance floor," she says before throwing back her last of three shots.
As soon as I finished up my drink she led me to the dance floor where we swayed our hips and danced on each other to the beat.
In due time the rest of Jada's friends showed up and that's when the party really began for us.
"Follow me to the bathroom please?" asks Jada then I held onto her hand so I don't lose her and let her lead us there.
We were coming back from the bathroom, Jada had gone ahead somehow when I felt someone smack my ass. I turned my head so swiftly to see who it was.
"I just wanna get to know you in a bedroom upstairs girl," he says and his friends start laughing.
I roll my eyes and open my mouth about to snap back before a familiar voice speaks.
Elijah grabbed the guy by his collar, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Huh Kyle?"
Kyle is terrified and so am I. I think Elijah notices because he tosses him aside carelessly.
When he faces forward his eyes deflect on what I'm wearing and his eyebrows raise in concern and surprise to see me here.
He scans me from head to toe before he quickly brings his eyes back up to meet mine.
"Alyssa? What are you doing here?" He interrogates.
"Well I was walking on about my business when this damn fool just slapped my ass," I explained.
Elijah glares at the guy, obviously angry.
Kyle's dutch courage simmers down as I see him cower in what appears to be fear.
"Get him out of here, before I do something I won't regret," Elijah tells his friends and they obey immediately pulling Kyle away from us.
Seeing I had no reason to stay here. I make a step to walk off but Elijah gently grabs my wrist and turns me towards him.
"You never answered my question Alyssa-Marie."
"Just Alyssa, I already told you that."
"Alyssa, tell me," he demands.
"I'm here with a friend," I admitted.
His eyebrow scrunches, "And is that friend a male?"
"Wow, you're all up in my business. But, if you must know I'm here with my girlfriend. And who are you here with?" I asked.
"I'm not here with anyone. I was just passing through to show my support. You wanna leave with me? I haven't had anything to drink as I said I just stopped by."
"Yeah sure, but I have to get my jacket," I explained pointing back to where it was.
"Come with me, I'll get it," he says and walks off and I follow in step.
I pull my phone out and a shoot a text to Jada to let her know that I'm leaving and with who.
He helped me put my jacket on then he lead me through the cluster of sweaty bodies by touching the small of my back.
As we settled in his car, he turned on the heater and the radio before looking over at me.
"You look really beautiful tonight even if I don't agree with the length of your dress."
I cocked my head to the side and squinted my eyes about that length comment.
"Thank you, I'm choosing to ignore the rest of your statement," I replied sweetly and he smiles and takes one of his hands off the steering wheel to start the car.
He unawarely brushed my thigh triggering a shiver all over my body.
"Where are we going?"
"I know this restaurant, they make really good food."
"But I don't have enough money on me to pay for."
"Alyssa, shut up. This is a date and I was raised in a household where a man is thought to provide. When you're with me I'll pay for you," he says.
"Whatever," I smiled and we drove in comfortable silence up until we arrived at the restaurant.
We sit and eat and slip right back into conversation.
Laughing and talking about things I've never talked about with other men before.
God he's so nice and handsome and intelligent and he's making me like him so much.
Maybe Amanda was right he's so good with his words that I might end up giving in to him sooner than I thought.
________________________________________