by Rebecca Lynn
“What? I happen to give great love advice,” Mike pouted adorably, especially coming from a man his size. “I don’t know what you’re smirking at, pretty boy,” Mike said, looking at Luke. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be dancing around my sister like a pussy.”
“Do you want to keep your balls, Mikey?” Luke asked, then turned to Emily. “Em, you didn’t want kids, did you?”
Emily was still laughing, enjoying the banter that only good friends could get away with. “I would like at least one child, so maybe leave me one ball?”
“When Drew gets here, you need to completely ignore him. Trust me. Em never showed me a smidge of interest and it made me nuts. Now,” he clarified, “we all know she wanted to jump my bones, but at least she made me work for it. For a little while, at least.”
“Mike. Stop. Drew is bringing Katrina. He’s dating her. He’s happy with her. And since when did we all start talking about my love life? You girls can’t keep your mouths shut?” she groused and glared at all of her girlfriends.
They shrugged unabashedly.
“He’s totally still interested in you. This thing with Katrina won’t last, Tiff,” Ayanna said.
“I’m not sure about that. They’ve been friends for a long time,” Tiffany responded.
“Yes, the key word is friends. So, here’s the plan,” Mike continued.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You are not giving me a plan, Mike. There is no plan. Don’t you dare do anything when he gets here.”
“You forget that we see him every Friday with the mentoring program, Tiff. We boys talk about manly things all the time. And I have never once heard him talk about this girl, yet he’s forever dropping your name into conversations. Doesn’t he, bro?” Mike asked, looking over at Luke.
“Don’t bring me into this,” Luke said, giving Mike a look. “If my sister isn’t interested in him anymore, then I’m not going to push him on her.”
“I didn’t say,” Tiffany started, then stopped. Luke kept going.
“I love the guy, don’t get me wrong. Besides, Tiff’s got this Todd guy now, whom we’ll be vetting shortly,” he said pointedly. “And Em, I’m holding you personally responsible for turning this idiot into an even bigger pussy than he was before you came onto the scene,” he said, waving his thumb toward Mike.
“He can’t help himself,” Emily said.
“Leave him alone,” Ryann chuckled. “He’s in love and he just wants to spread it around.”
“Luke, you won’t need to take his balls. He’s already lost them,” Jem snickered. “Hey Mikey, Ry keeps her tampons in the cabinet under the sink if you ever need any.”
Mike shot him the bird, and with a wide smile on his face, said, “You mean if I need to shove one up your ass?”
“Please. I’d like to see you try. You get your ass kicked regularly by your girlfriend,” Jem said, then just as quickly turned to Emily. “That was a joke, Em. A horrible, sexist joke. Don’t hurt me.”
Jonathan, the eternal introvert who loved to sit back and enjoy the entertainment at these gatherings, finally spoke up. “You guys just never know when to shut your fahckin’ pie holes,” his Boston accent coming out. “Emmie, be gentle with Jem,” he said to his cousin. “He’s getting married in a few months.”
“I’ll protect you, baby,” Ryann said, curling her arm around Jem’s waist and pulling him close. Jeremy wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her, but continued looking at Emily warily.
“Alright, boys. I think you’ve said enough and if any of you want to have sex tonight, then I think it’s time to move off this topic,” Em said dryly.
“Hey. I haven’t said a word,” Jon said.
“I know. That’s because you’re the only smart man here,” Ayanna said, sitting on his lap, while Mike walked over to Emily.
“I wanna tear your clothes off right now. You’re so fuckin’ hot when you get all authoritative,” Mike murmured as he dipped Emily and kissed her dramatically. “You won’t deny me later,” he stated.
Tiffany sighed out a chuckle.
“So,” Mike continued, unruffled by anything as usual, while he held a slightly flustered Emily. The man was seriously the most positive and fun loving guy one could ever meet. He’d been like that for as long as she’d known him. “Like I said, you need to play it cool, Tiff. In fact, it’s good that Todd isn’t here yet. You want Drew to see you alone, as a single woman. That way, he can envision –”
The doorbell rang and everyone stopped talking at once. Mike’s eyes lit up, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. He rubbed his hands together as Tiffany’s stomach flip flopped.
“Let the games begin,” Mike beamed.
Jeremy just shook his head and walked into the foyer to answer the door.
Tiffany took a deep breath.
“Alright,” Ryann muttered. “Everyone look natural.” They were all bustling around and acting as if something momentous was about to happen.
“I need a drink,” Tiffany muttered, heading for the kitchen. Janie followed her.
“I’ll get it for you,” Janie chuckled, reaching for a glass and the nearest bottle of wine. “You, just breathe.”
“I’m fine,” she said, lowering her voice. “I am. I’m working through my disappointment over the whole thing, I’m trying this thing with Todd, the Foundation is keeping me busy,” she rattled off one thing at a time, then breathed deeply, calming herself. She peered around the kitchen island toward the living room just as Drew and Katrina walked in.
He was dressed perfectly in dark jeans, leather shoes and a crisp white button down shirt covered by his leather jacket, laughing at something Mike was saying, and being back slapped by the guys. Katrina looked great too, in a maxi dress with a sweater over it. She was smiling but looked like she was forcing it a bit. Tiffany wondered how her mom was doing. She turned back to Janie.
“Okay. I’m good.” She let out a breath as if she was about to walk into the ring. She took two gulps of her wine, smacked her lips and threw her shoulders back, then went out into the fray.
As conversations continued around the room, Drew noticed Tiffany first as she walked toward them, and he gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher. Katrina turned her head, making eye contact with her, and seemed to steel herself with a plastered on look of happiness.
“Hi Tiffany. It’s good to see you again,” Katrina said graciously and put her hand out to shake Tiffany’s. Tiffany shook it and smiled genuinely at her.
“Thanks, Katrina. You too.” Tiffany glanced up at Drew then back at Katrina. “I’m sorry to hear about your mom. How was your trip?”
“Oh. Thank you for asking.” Katrina relaxed a bit. “She’s the same, actually. The chemo isn’t doing much as of yet, so my sister and I are helping her try to find other options.”
“I can’t imagine how hard it must be.”
Katrina smiled softly. “It’s not easy. Especially being so far away. But,” she began then stopped herself. “Anyway, we’re going to enjoy as much of this time with her that we can,” she sighed. “And keep hoping.”
Tiffany touched her arm. “And keep hoping.”
“But enough about that,” Katrina said, obviously wanting to change the subject. “Congratulations to you on the foundation. Are you getting excited?”
“I am. It’s been in the works for a while, so knowing it’s just around the corner is making it more and more real. I’m terrified and thrilled at the same time.”
“I bet.”
Drew had sidled up next to Katrina. “Hey,” he said to Tiffany, giving her an affectionate look.
“Hey,” Tiffany said back, trying to guard herself from the emotions that bombarded her. He leaned over and pulled her in for a hug. Tiffany returned it with her wineglass still in hand, and stepped back as quickly as she could without appearing awkward. “What can we get you two to drink? You want some wine?” she directed to them.
“I’ll take whatever you have there,” Drew said, poin
ting to her glass. “Kat, you want a beer?”
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Katrina, tell me what you do again. You work at the Medical Center?” Ryann interrupted smoothly. “That’s how you and Drew know each other, right?” Ryann included Drew in the conversation, keeping him there as Tiffany turned to leave.
“I’ll be right back,” Tiffany interjected, and walked away to get their drinks.
Ayanna was plating some more appetizers when Tiffany arrived in the kitchen. Ayanna looked up. “Hey, girl. You were right. She’s cute.”
“Yup. And nice.”
“That’s okay. She can be cute and nice and still not make his heart flutter.”
Tiffany sent her a droll look. “You guys are all so confident you know what makes his heart flutter.”
Ayanna shrugged. “I know men.”
Tiffany sighed and poured the drinks. “It’ll be easier when Todd gets here.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s when the real show will start,” Ayanna said as she popped a grape in her mouth, hip checked her, and walked backwards out of the kitchen with the plate, mouthing ‘Just breathe’ to her. That seemed to be the mantra the girls had developed with her.
Pathetic.
She was determined to be happy for the man and with that thought, joined the rest of the party. After dropping off their drinks to them, she fluttered around the room like the social butterfly she knew how to be. She refused to believe it was because of Mike’s earlier words, but she found she was steering clear of Drew and Katrina. She wasn’t exactly ignoring them, but whenever she felt Drew’s eyes on her, she looked at him, gave him an acknowledging smile, and then continued on to the next grouping of friends.
After about a half an hour of making the rounds with the awareness of the couple now starkly on her radar, the doorbell finally rang again and she let out a little sigh of relief. Jeremy went to go answer the door, and she made her way over as well, assuming it would be Todd.
She was right. He came in with his comfortably casual look, looking like some dashing correspondent from a foreign land. He shook hands with Jem, where they exchanged some greetings, then he dropped his messenger bag in the foyer. When he caught her eye, he walked toward her where she stood waiting for him just inside the living room. He smiled and hugged her, then leaned back and kissed her softly but unexpectedly on the lips.
“Hi,” she said, trying not to tense up.
“Hey there. This is a great place,” he said looking around. He turned to Jeremy who had just walked in behind him. “Tiffany tells me you’re Tabitha Lowe’s son.”
“I am,” he nodded proudly. “You know of her work?”
“Absolutely. And you’ll be doing some carpentry classes for the foundation?”
“Yeah. I dabble in it here and there. When my dad was alive, we used to do a lot of woodworking together. It stuck, I guess.”
“The end tables and that chair over there are Jeremy’s,” Tiffany pointed out, directing Todd’s attention toward the living room and the ornately carved pieces of furniture that could easily be found in a medieval period film. Jeremy was extremely talented, and often times made furniture for friends and family, as well as clients. As an art dealer by profession, he was forever on the prowl for certain art pieces. However, when the perfect ‘look’ couldn’t be found for a client, he was often hired to design and create custom works.
“Wow. I’d love to pick your brain about design,” the architect said.
“Any time,” he smiled. “Come on in. What can we get you?”
“A beer would be great.”
Tiffany led him in, pointedly ignoring the feel of Drew’s stare in her direction. Luke, thankfully came over to introduce himself. She left Todd with her brother and went to grab him a beer. Just before she entered the kitchen, she passed Mike who sang under his breath, “It’s gettin’ hot in here, so take off all your clothes...”
“Jackass,” she said with a smile, then glared, giving him a ‘Don’t do anything that’s going to make me kill you’ look.
His big brown eyes twinkled innocently, then he whispered, “Drew was watching when he kissed you, by the way. This is gonna make for some fine entertainment this evening.” Mike giggled with glee.
Tiffany’s body flushed and she kept on walking into the kitchen to grab the beer for Todd. When she turned to leave the room, Drew was at the edge of the island, filling up another glass of wine, nodding at something Mike was saying.
“...to see her all cozy with a guy, finally. She looked happy to see him, didn’t she? You know him at all? Em said he’s a really good architect,” Mike was saying, swigging his beer and waiting for Drew’s response.
Tiffany pressed her lips in annoyance and walked by them, saying to Mike, “I can hear you.”
“Oh,” Mike exclaimed, “I didn’t see you there, Tiff.” He turned to Drew. “I was just asking Drew what he knew about Todd. He looks like he’ll fit in just fine with us, given how kissy he was with you. Don’t you think, Drew?”
Before Drew could respond, she said to Mike, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “Uh, huh. Excuse me. I need to get this beer to Todd.” She made it a point not to look at Drew’s face as she walked back into the living room.
Todd had been led into the room while she was away and everyone was talking with him. Ryann finally said, “I’m going to start setting out dinner. Anyone need a drink refill while I’m in there?”
“We’ll help,” Janie said, grabbing Ayanna’s hand. “We’ll let you know when we’re all set.”
Eventually, Emily went into the kitchen as well, leaving all of the men with Katrina and Tiffany. The guys got into a discussion about one of the high school boys in the mentoring program and it allowed Tiffany to watch the interactions between Drew and Katrina while the conversation was going on around her. While interjecting her thoughts, she still noted that they didn’t sit next to each other. And it was obvious that Katrina looked a little distracted. The poor woman was probably bored out of her gourd, not knowing anyone or who the guys were talking about.
“Dinner’s ready,” Ryann announced from behind them. They all got up and walked to the island where the buffet was set out. “Luke has something to say, I know, so I’ll let him take it from here.”
“Does everyone have a glass?” Luke asked.
They all made sure they had a drink and he continued, moving over next to Tiffany where he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her in for a brotherly kiss on the temple. He raised his glass and everyone followed suit.
“To my baby sister by three minutes. Those little girls in Harlem don’t even know how blessed they are. But they will.” He looked into Tiffany’s eyes, his own bright with pride. “May they discover, just like we already know, your compassion, your joy for life, your determination, your integrity, your brilliance. And most especially, your love and kindness for those around you. You’re to be commended for what you’re about to embark upon, Tiff. And we’ll be with you every step of the way, though knowing you, I’m pretty sure you’ve got it all under control.” He raised his glass again. “Salud. To Tiffany.”
“To Tiffany,” they all said, smiling and sniffling, some with emotion swimming in their eyes.
She rested her head on her twin’s shoulder. He had always been a phenomenal brother and she was lucky to call him her friend, as well.
“Thanks, you guys,” she said. Then she lifted her head and blinked away her own tears. “I couldn’t do this without you. Your support means the world to me, really. Between Todd’s designs, and Emily’s help with the grants, and all of you for volunteering your time,” she paused. “This foundation isn’t about me. It’s about all of us, our neighborhoods and the kids who are in our communities. It’s about all of us working together, which is what we’re doing. So here’s to you.” She raised her glass and they all drank again. She caught Drew’s eyes, so intently looking at her with a hint of something. It felt like heat, a warm banked fire.
C
onversations began again and everyone spooned into the various entrees, filling their plates and finding seats around the room so they could dig in. Music played in the background and Tiffany looked around at all of her friends. For the first time in her adult life, she was so completely content. It was true that things were still up in the air when it came to the romance department, but she finally felt whole, and good about the direction in which she was moving. She settled into the grouping where Ryann and Jeremy sat, enjoying some good conversation. Several minutes later she got up to get another glass of wine. Janie was in the kitchen.
“Hey,” Janie said, opening another bottle of wine. “So.”
Tiffany smiled a little, knowing that was the precursor for a tumble of thoughts she was about to share.
“Todd seems nice.”
“He is,” Tiffany nodded.
“And he’s definitely touchy feely with you.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Every time she turned around, Todd was touching something...hair, arm, hand.
Janie quirked up a lip. “Katrina seems nice too.”
“She is,” Tiffany said, raising her eyebrows and waiting.
“Just an observation, but she and Drew aren’t very affectionate with each other.”
Three scenes immediately popped into Tiffany’s mind; the kiss on New Year’s, Drew’s touch at the concert when she cried, and those hugs that made her body burn.
“Some people aren’t affectionate,” Tiffany finally said.
“True, but they don’t even look like they’re dating.”
“We’re just used to being all huggy and kissy with each other.”
“Emily wasn’t like that at first, I know, and neither was Jon for that matter. In front of us they were a little more reserved. I mean, they’re really affectionate with Mike and Ayanna now, but at least when they were sniffing around each other or even after they started dating, you could see the heat between them, you know? You knew there was that chemistry because they’d have that look around each other.”
“Where are you going with this? Although I’m pretty sure I know already.”
