by Teneka Woods
“What? No. My sister misplaced my phone. An accident? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, a blowout. I hit a pot hole in the street. Please tell your sister I am so sorry.”
Nate was already headed back inside before he said, “Tell me where you are and I’m on my way.” When she told him where she was, he ended the call and said to Sunny, “Give me your keys, sis. Tora had a flat. I need to go and help her out.”
“What?”
Kaneesa sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “How fitting. A damsel in distress.”
Shaking his head bitterly, Nate said, “Kaneesa, please worry about yourself tonight. Don’t you have something you could be doing instead of bothering me?”
“You are the problem,” she sneered. “We’re supposed to be taking pictures with the guests right now, but because you decided to hire somebody from God-knows-where with an unreliable car we—”
“I’ll keep your phone with me, Sunny, so I can be in touch with Tora,” Nate said, completely ignoring Kaneesa.
“You can’t take my phone,” Sunny replied. “I need it in case Levi calls me.”
He didn’t argue and handed over her phone before hastily making an exit for the elevator.
Tora was parked on the side of the road, her emergency lights flashing. Nate pulled up behind her and got out. He inspected all four of the tires before approaching the driver’s side window.
“I am so sorry, Nate,” she apologized again. “Did you tell your sister?”
“It’s fine,” he waved her off. “Accidents happen.”
“I called roadside assistance again and they told me wait times are longer than usual today.”
“That is a pretty big hole,” he said, glancing back towards the street. “I hope the city comes and fixes it soon before it ruins a lot more cars. A pot hole like that can do some serious damage to your front end. I’m surprised you didn’t see it.”
She looked away from him and towards the windshield as if she was embarrassed.
“Do you have a jack? I can change the tire for you.”
“Nope. I don’t.” She shrugged. “But hopefully they will be here soon.”
Nate couldn’t help staring at her lovely face. The earring dangling from her ear brought his attention to her long and slender neck. “You know all of this could’ve been avoided had you just got in the truck with me?”
She looked at him. “With the way this day is going my luck probably would’ve been much worse. I think this is a sign.”
He chuckled despite the blow to his feelings. “Are you trying to say I’m bad luck? That hurt.” He thought he saw an inkling of a smile curve her lips, but she said nothing. “I’ll check in my sister’s car to see if she has a jack kit in there,” he said.
Sunny’s trunk was full of junk. Most of it belonged to Levi: a gym bag, several pairs of scuffed and smelly tennis shoes, dirty clothes, loose paper documents, restaurant take-out bags, empty soda cans, a half-full liter of orange juice.
Nate shook his head in disgust and closed the trunk. “She doesn’t have one, either,” he said to Tora.
“It’s fine. Thanks for wanting to help. All I can do is wait.” She sighed. “I’m sure your sister is pissed with me right now.”
“I doubt it. She’s more concerned about her fiancé. He hadn’t even shown up yet by the time I left the party.” Nate walked around to the passenger side and got in. “I hope you don’t mind, but I don’t wanna get hit,” he said, closing the door.
She picked up her cell phone and began to thumb through it.
After several minutes of sitting in silence, Nate cleared his throat. “So… Tora… how long have you been in photography?”
She continued typing a text message before finally looking up at him. “About five years professionally, but I’ve always loved taking pictures since my parents bought my first camera when I was in high school.”
“Oh okay. So it was your parents who turned you on to it? That’s cool. I’m always interested in how people end up in their occupational fields.”
“I think my parents had run out of ideas on what to buy me for my birthday and decided I might like a camera. It wasn’t something I asked for. But I ended up falling in love and took it with me everywhere I went.”
“Well… you’re very good at it from what I can tell. I get so many compliments on my website.”
There was no mistaking the pride that glowed on her face now.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “I hope your sister will feel the same way about my work. If only I can hurry up and get there.” She checked the rearview mirror, looking out for roadside assistance.
Nate said, “Believe me. It’s cool. We have the rest of the night to take pictures.” He reached up and touched the lanyard hanging from the mirror. “You like the Steelers?”
“That’s my team!” she answered proudly.
“What? How can you be a Texan and not represent the Cowboys?” he asked, giving her a sideways look.
With an index finger in the air, she said, “First of all, I’m not a Texan, and second of all, the Cowboys ain’t all that. What have they done in the past decade?”
“What do you mean ‘what have they done’? They’re not called America’s team for nothing.”
She looked at him smugly. “But who has the most championship rings?”
Nate chuckled. “Only by one.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s still one greater than your little Cowboys.”
He wished to lean over and squeeze her tight before planting a kiss on her sassy mouth. “You said you’re not a Texan, so… where are you from?”
“Pittsburgh.”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“Yep,” she nodded. “Born and raised.”
“You could’ve fooled me. I wouldn’t’ve guessed you were from there. So what brought you to Texas? You have family here?”
“Nope. No family. I just wanted to be somewhere with warmer weather.”
“Gotcha.”
Her cell phone pinged, stealing her attention away from him. He stared out of the window as she carried on a conversation via text message. He wondered who she was chatting with. Was it the boyfriend she won’t admit she has? The man behind the reason she won’t go out with him?
She set her phone down after a while and sighed heavily. “I did not expect it to take this long. What could be the hold-up?”
“It’s Saturday night. I can imagine it would be busy. Or it could be your insurance company. Are you sure you have a good one?”
“Excuse you?” she cut her eyes at him.
Nate laughed. “I’m just joking.”
“My insurance is great, thank you very much.”
“So… when can I take you out for lunch, Tora?” He intentionally threw the question out there to catch her off guard.
She tossed her head back and rolled her eyes. “Oh, god. Not again.”
“You have no choice now that I’m right here in front of you. If the answer is no, I need to know why. Specific answers only. None of this ‘because I said so’ craziness, either.”
“You are very demanding,” she said.
“I don’t think I am. Just want to take a cute lady out and hopefully get to know more about her.” Nate caught the blush on her face before she turned to look out of the window. “Was that your man you were talking to?” he asked.
“Okay, now you’re just being nosy.”
“I’m not sure why it’s so hard for you to just come out and tell the truth. Is it one of those situations where you two are still together, but not really together?”
She stared at him a moment before she said, “It’s nobody.”
“Okay. Well… now that that’s understood, the least you can do is have lunch with me. I won’t be inconsiderate and ask for a discount off tonight’s services. A simple lunch will suffice. To use your term.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Nate, are you seriously resorting to coercion now?”
He chuckled.<
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“If anything, your sister is the one I’m indebted to, not you.”
Nate shook his head and raked a hand over his locks. “I swear I’ve never had to work this hard.”
“My guess is you’re used to getting every woman you want. Which doesn’t surprise me.”
“No. That’s not what I’m saying.” He wondered if he was wasting his time. If maybe he should just accept that she held no interest in him and he should move on.
But he couldn’t do it.
Never in his life had he met a woman with such sex appeal. And he wasn’t ashamed to admit his infatuation was purely physical since there was nothing else he could base it on. The women of his past were the strait-laced types. Women like his mother and sister who projected modesty in their style and dress. There was absolutely nothing wrong with modesty he believed, but he also admired a woman who was comfortable in her body and had no reservations about showing a little skin. The tattoo and nose ring Tora wore let him know she was a wholly different type of woman—something he’d never experienced. It didn’t even bother him that she had a few inches over him in height, either. To him, looking up to her was to look up into the face of a goddess.
“Finally,” she huffed.
Nate looked over his shoulder to see roadside assistance had arrived. “You’re not off the hook,” he said, touching her forearm. “I want my answer by the end of the night.”
She laughed and exited the jeep.
TWENTY
He was doing it on purpose. Every time she turned around he was staring right at her from across the room. And he was easy to spot because, while all the other men in attendance sported their dark suit jackets, Nate had shed his and walked about in only the suit bottoms and crisp shirt. The clothing fit him as if they were tailor-made exclusively to showcase a lean and fit body such as his without being too tight.
Tora wandered over to a corner, keeping an eye out for another perfect photo opportunity. She’d apologized profusely to Nate’s sister when they arrived and got right to work in attempt to make up for the lost time. The guests were eating now and listening to the jazzy tunes put forth by the live band. She had to pretend Nate didn’t have an affect on her, so she focused her attention elsewhere: at the tables where light conversation and laughter were punctuated by the clinking of silverware against glass plates, at the servers working diligently to refill champagne flutes and water goblets, the redhead that had winked and smiled at her on more than one occasion, down at her shoes as he appeared to be headed her way now.
He came to stand beside her against the wall. “You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking,” he said.
“What’s that?” Tora asked without looking at him.
“That this is the most boring engagement party in the world. What kinda bullshit is this?”
Tora laughed out loud but quickly covered her mouth.
“This isn’t a party at all. More like a banquet. Where’s the music? Where’s the dancing? Everybody’s just sitting around.”
“Well… everyone’s eating right now,” she said. “Maybe they’ll have energy to dance afterwards.”
“With that crap they’re playing?” He gestured towards the front of the room where the band was perched on a low platform. “We need some real music. The kind that gets people moving. Ass-shaking music.”
Tora pursed her lips.
He held up his hand. “I’m Travis by the way.”
“Tora,” she said, taking his hand. He was a handsome one despite the scruffy hair and beard, with a pair of eyes so light she couldn’t determine if they were blue or gray.
“T-N-T,” he chuckled.
“Huh?”
“Our initials. T and T. So you know if we come together it’ll be dynamite.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really?”
“I’ve been watching you all night.”
She only smiled before glancing back across the room. Nate was looking right at her. “How do you know Nate’s sister?” she asked him.
“Oh… Sunny and Nate? I’ve known those two since high school. We grew up down the street from each other. Great friends.”
She nodded. “Ah, okay. So you’re from the River Oaks area, too?”
“Yep,” he answered with an emphasis on the ‘p’. He turned to look at her. “But I came over not only to introduce myself, but also ask if you would be willing to hook up with me sometime?”
“Not this one. You can forget that.”
Both Tora and Travis looked up to find Nate who seemed to appear out of thin air.
Travis grinned and slapped his arm around Nate’s shoulder. “Dude… I’m enjoying the party. It’s real laid-back.”
Tora looked at Travis quizzically.
Nate said, “I’m glad you are, but why don’t you go and mingle with the other ladies? She’s here on business, and she’s not the woman you wanna mess with. Trust me.” Then he held a hand in front of his mouth to speak something into Travis’s ear.
Travis removed his arm from Nate’s shoulder and looked at Tora before shaking his head and walking off.
“Umm… what did you tell him?” she asked Nate.
He chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about him for the rest of the night that’s for sure.”
“Why? What did you say?”
He chuckled some more.
“Are you cock-blocking?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Call it what you want, but I’m not having it.”
“Having what?”
“You going out with him. Not in this lifetime.”
She chuckled. “If my memory serves me correctly I am a grown woman with my own mind and right to choose whatever the hell I want to do.”
“He’s not it. I mean… he’s a cool dude, got a bit of a drinking problem, but… no.”
“How do I know you’re not just saying things to put him down? He said y’all were good friends.”
“That’s not what you need.”
Tora was amused by his not-so-subtle efforts to claim her. She’d lost count the number of times he’d voiced something of the sort throughout the day.
Suddenly, the music ceased and everyone’s attention went to the center of the room where Victoria stood with a mic in her hand. She cleared her throat before raising it to her mouth. “I just want to take a few minutes of your time and say a few things before you all start trickling out of here. I know it’s late and you want to get your babies home and put them to bed. And a few of you are ready to get in bed yourselves. I’m at the age where my mind and body begins to shut down around eight o’clock, so I understand.”
Handclaps and laughter flowed through the room.
“It’s a wonder I’m still standing here at this hour,” she continued. “But I just want to say thank you for coming out to celebrate this occasion with my daughter. It’s been a long time coming, but we all are excited—her father and I especially—to finally see her start on the marriage journey. It’s unfortunate my son-in-law couldn’t be here so you all could meet him—the ones that don’t know him, but a family emergency held him up….”
“That’s some shit,” Nate said under his breath, surprising Tora.
“But I am wishing Sunny and Levi a long and happy life together,” Victoria said. “Her father and I have been married for thirty-five years and are still very much in love as we were on the day we married—”
More applause and sharp whistles echoed around the ballroom.
Tora watched Victoria turn towards the table where her daughter sat.
“Sunny, marriage takes compassion and patience and understanding and sacrifices and the devotion to do what it takes to keep the love going strong. I pray you have the type of relationship you witnessed between your father and me and that the two of you are happy for the rest of your days together. I love you and I’m so very proud of the hardworking, upstanding lady you’ve become.”
Victoria had to wait for the ovation to subside before she spoke again. �
�Sunny, would you like to come up here and say something to the guests?”
Sunny dabbed at the tears falling from her eyes and shook her head no.
Victoria chuckled and turned back to the audience. “Well… she’s a little choked up right now, so I won’t pressure her to speak. She also thanks you for coming and wish you all will be attending the wedding in the next couple months. Invitations will be going out soon.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “Well, I hope you all are enjoying the party. Mr. Walker and I don’t intend to leave until the last person is gone, so please don’t feel obligated to rush out of here if you’d like to stay awhile and listen to the band and have a few more glasses of champagne. There’s plenty of food left, too, so please… help yourselves. Oh! While I’m at it, I also want to thank the people who came to my aid and allowed me to put this together on such short notice. The Ballroom…”
“Are you ready to go?” Nate asked Tora.
She looked at him. “What? I can’t leave until your sister leaves. You heard your mom say they’ll be here for a while.”
“You don’t have to stay until the very end. You’ve done your part.”
“Nate, I can’t do that. Especially since I showed up late in the first place.”
“Well, I’m ready to go, and I need a ride home. Be right back,” he said, and walked off.
Tora jutted her lip and blew some air. She was ready to go as well. Her stomach was practically turning in on itself she was so hungry. And the heels she wore had stopped being comfortable about an hour ago. But she was committed to her client and wouldn’t leave.
She watched Nate walk over to his sister’s table and whisper something in her ear, then he approached their father.
“Let’s go,” he said when he returned.
“Nate, are you sure your sister is okay with this?”
“We wouldn’t be leaving if she wasn’t.” He grabbed her bag and led her out a side exit door at the rear of the ballroom.
They were headed towards the elevator banks in the corridor when Kaneesa called out from behind. “Excuse me! Nate, I know you’re not leaving before the party is over.”
They turned around. Kaneesa was looking directly at Tora although she’d addressed Nate.
