Series: The Broken
The camera’s flash and the ooh’s and awes brought a big smile to her face. Her model came back and gave her a cheeky smile and a wink before she disappeared into the dressing room.
Brandi pulled herself together and was ready when they announced her name. She smiled as they introduced her as the creator of the designs everyone loved. She waved and took pictures with multiple models, buyers and investors.
Her smile faltered as her potential customers moved to another room to drink and mingle with the models still wearing her clothes.
She slipped off her shoes to flex her toes as she decided how to make the fastest exit.
“Your feet are hurting.”
No shit, but she bit her tongue. It had to be a well-meaning man.
“Sometimes shoes are not as much fun to wear as they are to look at.” She looked up to stare into Jabari’s eyes. Anything else got stuck in her throat. Why was he here?
He was Quinn’s brother-in-law. That’s how she knew him. Part of her expected him to show up, but he couldn’t have picked a worse time. If it had been a month ago, it would have been game on, but now she’d have to pass.
“Hi.” He made her heart pound fast. She waited a lifetime for the phenomena, too bad he came so late.
“I watched your show. The dresses are modern and chic.”
He was in a t-shirt and jeans. She wanted to laugh, but his face told her to take him seriously.
“Thanks.”
“I studied what came out of Paris this year. Your clothes look better. You have clean lines and used quality material. I think any female would enjoy wearing what you have created.”
She picked up her shoes before carefully walking down the steps of the stage. There was a chair close by, and she sat before she fell.
“You studied?”
“I did. I also looked at what was presented in New York’s fashion week. There was one promising young designer there.”
“I was there.”
“I know, the promising young designer.”
“Thank you.” She designed plus-size clothes, but she occasionally did a line for women considered underweight. Her thinner models loved her for it.
“Are you going to your party?” They both turned to look in the direction of the music and the laughter. She shook her head. “I’m planning to sneak away. Too much noise.”
She tacked the last part on because she didn’t want to seem ungrateful.
He knelt in front of her making her feel small compared to him. Jabari was thick with broad shoulders. His waist could be called trim but only if you measured it against the width of his shoulders. He had the lightest blue eyes. They reminded her of ice, but they still made her breath catch in her throat. His hair was golden, not brown or blonde, and it was just a little longer than his collar. Thoughts of him spread out on a bed, her hands slipping through his hair was one of her many recurring fantasies about him.
She nibbled on her bottom lip while trying to fan herself on the sly. Now that he was close it was getting hotter in here.
“Where should we go?”
“We?” She squeaked, but couldn’t help it. Her ‘we’ days were over. Now it was just her.
“Yes, we.”
She should fight this, but why bother?
“I just want to go home.”
“Have you eaten?”
She shook her head dislodging her braids. He took his hand and smoothed them back until they were behind her ears. An involuntary smile came to her lips.
“May I take you to dinner?”
Her mouth opened and closed not sure how to respond.
“Mekhi said women like to be asked and not told.”
“He’s right. I didn’t drive; my car is in the shop. I took an Uber over.”
“I have enough room for whatever you need to bring with you.”
She nodded and stood still holding her shoes. Put them back on her mind shouted, but she didn’t want to, or maybe she just couldn’t. Her mind shied away from that reasoning as she led him to where her belongings were.
There was a tremor of fear that went down her spine, but it fought with the attraction she felt. It was like meeting the man you know your mother would say stay away from, but life would be boring if you listened.
“You watched the whole show?” Did she sound like she was asking for more praise? She wasn’t. It was just hard to believe that he had been here the whole time, and she had missed him.
“I did. I stayed in the background not wanting to disturb you.”
She nodded but stayed quiet. He thought if she saw him, she would be off her game. He was right, and it was a little humbling. Since she first met him all she could think about was him. The fantasies came hard and fast. He made her want to throw caution to the wind and grab for the gold ring. Commonsense eventually reared its ugly head.
She should have known better there was no ring for her, not even a brass one.
“I’ll carry those.”
How could she have forgotten he was there? “Thanks,” her lips lifted in an automatic smile. It was her first real one since her doctor’s appointment.
“Maybe we should postpone dinner; I'm tired.” She was fighting to keep her eyes open even as she tried to hold her smile in place for him.
“I’ll take you home, that way you can get some rest, and order in.”
He moved across the room and picked up the bags she had been fussing over. She would get the rest of her clothes tomorrow.
“Thanks,” she followed him out of the room her shoes still in her hand. Great, she would have time to eat alone. It was all she did now, eat and stare at the television she refused to turn on. It no longer mattered to her what was happening in the world.
They walked in silence until they came to the doorway. She looked down at the cement and then at her bare feet. The shoes would have to go on.
“Don’t.” His words had her stopping to stare into his eyes. “Leave them off and wait here.”
She nodded and watched him walk off still holding her bags. Tomorrow she would kick ass and defy the world. Today she needed to curl up on her bed and rest.
She watched as a car pulled to a stop, her mouth opened in awe as Jabari got out.
“Please tell me this isn’t your car.”
“It’s mine. Is there a problem with it?” He walked over to her and picked her up making her head spin for a minute as she adjusted to being held in his arms.
“Problem?” She sputtered not sure what to say. He placed her in the passenger seat of a Rolls Royce.
She waited until he got into the driver’s seat. “This is on my bucket list.”
“Bucket list?”
“You know the list of things you want to do before you die. Riding in a Rolls Royce is on mine. I never figured it would happen because of how much they cost.”
She leaned her head back on the rest and stared at the roof of the car. It glittered like they were driving under the stars.
“It’s kind of ironic.”
“What?”
“I’m talking to myself.” She gave a shake of her head. She was drifting more often now. “Have you ever wondered if the universe grants your one last request?”
“No, that would require me to think about my death.”
“Are you one of those macho guys who thinks they will never die?”
He shook his head and turned his ice-blue eyes on her. The depth of grief in them rocked her to her core. He mourned for someone. Would she want to leave behind a legacy of suffering like what she saw in his eyes?
“What if you could never die?”
She stayed silent for a while as she thought about it. Considering the position she found herself in, that should speak to her soul, but it felt a little unsettling. “I’m tempted to say yes to that proposition, but isn’t it just the flip side of dying too early? To live alone in a world where everyone leaves you. I wouldn’t like that.”
He turned his blues to her again. The pain made her soul cry out. Her fingers drifted of their own accord and touched the back of his hand as he shifted gears. The need to comfort him was smothering like a pillow.
“Getting over the deaths around you will never be an easy feat if it is even possible.” One tear slid down her brown cheek. She shed it for both of them because life wasn’t fair.
The silence in the car was heavy reminding her of a thick blanket. She nestled back in her seat; she could get used to being driven around in such luxury. One side of her mouth kicked up in an ironic smile. An image caught her as she tried to close her eyes.
Someone was in front of the car.
“Stop!” It came out as a scream.
The wheels came to a sudden stop. Jabari placed a hand out making sure she didn’t launch towards the windshield, but he stopped the car so smoothly there was no fear of that.
“There was someone on the road in front of the car. Did you see them?”
“There wasn’t anyone there.”
She turned wide brown eyes to him.
“I saw him. He was there. You must have hit him.” Please let me have seen something. Everything had been spinning out of control lately. Sometimes she saw things that weren’t there.
“Stay here.” He got out the car and walked around before he knelt looking underneath. He got back in.
“No one is there.”
“Sorry.” Her hand was over her heart it was racing out of control. She had been convinced someone was there. Her final legacy would be punctuated with the fact that she was crazy.
“Please take me home.” She met ice blue eyes that were bright with worry and wished things could be different.
He nodded and put the car in drive.
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