by Jemma Bell
The basketball courts have been turned into a wonderland. The DJ booth is set up towards the far wall with a plexiglas dance floor in front of it. The dance floor has color changing lights underneath, giving the area a club feel. There are two bars set up, one in each corner of the room, scattered lounge areas, and cocktail tables spread out here and there. White gloved servers circulate the room, carrying silver platters of champagne or delicious hors d’oeuvres. Randomly placed LED screens flash pictures of Derrick’s book covers, along with some of the promotional shots for Fitnexx. You would never know this room is actually a basketball court. This whole night is about Derrick and Fitnexx. It’s his time to celebrate and I couldn’t be prouder of him. The pumping club beat comes to an end and a slower song starts flowing through the speakers.
“Want to dance, baby?” Not waiting for my answer he pulls me into the middle of the dance floor and we start swaying to the music. Layla and Riven are off to the side and other couples sporadically joining us. “This party is unreal, I can’t believe it’s all for me and Fitnexx.”
“You have a lot to be proud of, Derrick. You’ve worked hard to get here and deserve everything that’s happening.”
“I’m glad you’re here to share it with me. My lucky star.” Placing a lingering kiss on my lips, we just enjoy each other and the atmosphere.
“Derrick, Derrick, there you are, precious. I simply must introduce you to some important people.” Mitzi says tapping him on the shoulder and ruining our moment. “You’ll have plenty of time to spend with Amy later. We need to work the room right now. Come, come,” She orders him with a snap of her fingers.
“I do have to make the rounds, baby. It will only take a half hour, max. Go find Riven and Layla, I’ll join you soon.”
“Oh, I understand, go. See you soon.” Derrick quickly kisses me on the cheek and disappears into the crowd with Mitzi. I walk off the dance floor and grab a few hors d’oeuvres to snack on. Layla and Riven keep me company while I wait for Derrick. Occasionally I can spot him in the crowd talking to various people and laughing. Mitzi is never too far behind. Riven takes turns dancing with me and Layla to kill some time and he keeps us entertained with his raunchy sense of humor. He is a funny guy. I haven’t laughed this much in weeks. I should feel like a third wheel with them, but surprisingly I don’t. Riven considers himself lucky to have the “two hottest chicks at the party” on his arm.
“Can I get anyone a refill?” Riven asks. We’ve been enjoying the expensive champagne all night. Derrick’s half hour has turned into two hours and it’s starting to bother me.
“I’ll take another, please.”
“I’m on it, be back in a few.” Riven leaves to get my drink.
“Hey, Jenks, give me five minutes to hit the bathroom and I’ll come right back.” Layla looks at me sympathetically and I nod, sending her on her way.
“I can handle myself for five, go on.” I know Riven will be back soon with a fresh drink for me. I need all the liquid courage I can get.
From where I’m standing, I can see the party in full swing and I spot Derrick surrounded by a bunch of guys in suits. I call them that, because I have yet to be introduced to anyone. After interrupting our first and only dance, Mitzi has kept Derrick doing the rounds and meeting people. I’d just slow him down and these people are here for him, so I let her do her thing. Hey, if it helps Derrick further his career or give him job security, I’m all for it. Most of the women here, I notice, give him more than just a passing glance, and I’ve seen him fend off no less than three aggressive ladies. I’ve never thought of myself as the jealous type, but when I see them rub his ass or biceps and give him the fuck me eyes, I want to yank their hair out. I’m still trying to figure out why he wanted me to come this evening. I got all dressed up for him, I wore makeup for him, and I put on heels for him. To look good for him. What am I getting out of this besides the cold shoulder? I guess I’m thinking so hard and feeling sorry for myself that I don’t hear her approach. Those clicking heels, alone, should have alerted me to the threat heading my way.
“So, are you having a good time?” She sneers at me. I just turn my head to glance at her and then scan the crowd again, looking for one of my friends. I don’t want to be alone with Mitzi. She doesn’t scare me, she just annoys me.
“Sure Mitzi, I’m having a fabulous time.” My reply is full of sarcasm. “Can’t tell you the last time I had so much fun.” She just laughs and raises her full champagne flute to her lips taking a delicate sip.
“Derrick is working the room this evening and making connections that will help us further his career along.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see her give me the once over from my toes to my hair. “This is everything we’ve been working for, for so long.”
“Us? We? I realize you’re his agent, Mitzi, and you’ve been around since the beginning, but isn’t that your job. Aren’t you paid to make sure he succeeds?”
“Oh, it’s much more than that, sweetie,” she squints her glacial blue eyes at me and throws her hair back over her shoulder, “anything that has to do with Derrick is personal for me, very personal, if you catch my meaning.” She gives me a hard look, so I decide it’s now or never. He’s my boyfriend; he chose, me not her, and she needs to get over it.
“It may be personal for you, Mitzi, but I’m not so sure Derrick returns that sentiment. Would he have asked me to come tonight if he didn’t want me on his arm?” She faces off with me and continues trying to make me feel inferior to herself.
“You silly, little bitch. Once this ridiculous fascination with you is over, I’ll be waiting for him. He always comes back to me and he’ll be back in my bed where he belongs.” On that last insult, she takes her full flute of champagne and spills it down the front of my dress. I can feel the icy liquid teeming down the front of my skin. Soaking my under garments and pouring out the bottom of my dress, puddling on the floor, making it look like I just wet my pants. “See, I told you, champagne isn’t your color.” I’m speechless and mortified. The shock of the cold liquid and the fact that she did something so nasty has me so shaken, I can’t speak.
“Amy, I’d like you meet Brett…” Derrick cuts himself off when he sees me standing there in my puddle. The guy, “Brett” just looks at me like I’m something icky he might have stepped in. “Amy, what happened?” Derrick at least looks concerned, and his eyes bounce back and forth between me and Mitzi.
“Oh, this clumsy girl has obviously had too much to drink and tripped in her shoes, spilling her drink down the front of her dress.” Mitzi laughs at my expense. “Amy isn’t used to wearing heels; she is quite accident prone you know.” With the worst timing in the world, Riven shows up with the drink he had gone to fetch for me.
“Jenks, what happened?” Riven asks, placing my drink down and clapping his hands on my shoulders. His warmth thaws my cold skin and his concern comforts me. “Let me go get Layla, she’ll help you get cleaned up.”
“No need, Riven. I’ll take Amy to the locker room and take care of her. I think the party is over for Amy, Derrick.” Cara butts in, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, steering me towards the locker rooms. Peeking over Cara’s shoulder, I see Derrick speaking to Brett, and Mitzi laughing at something that was said. Derrick looks concerned about me but is halted from following by Mitzi’s hand on his arm. Riven just looks like he wants to punch some sense into Derrick and pluck out every one of Mitzi’s eyebrow hairs one by one. I just want to cry. This night was supposed to be fun and like a dream come true. Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare.
“Amy, tell me what happened,” Cara says encouraging me to confide in her. “Sweetie, I know you can be clumsy sometimes, but this is ridiculous. Did Mitzi have something to do with this?” We push through the locker room doors and I finally burst into tears. My humiliation knows no bounds. Cara simply hugs me tight and lets me cry. In between sobs, I manage to tell her what happened and what Mitzi said to me. “That cunt.” She shrieks. With a loud slam of
the locker room door, Layla comes crashing in.
“My sentiments exactly, Cara,” Layla agrees and joins us in a group hug, “Jenks, this is the final straw. I’m going to beat the snot out of that stuck up bitch.” She flexes her fists and cracks her knuckles, getting ready to pound Mitzi into a pulp.
“Layla, no! Not right now.” I sniffle and wipe my runny nose with a tissue Cara hands me. “I don’t want to embarrass Derrick any more than he has been tonight.” I plead with her.
“Embarrass Derrick? Jenks, that gutless wonder has disregarded you all night and his demon agent/ former fuck buddy has abused and humiliated you.” Layla looks ready for war; her blue eyes are on fire and her nostrils are flaring. “If you’re not going to crack her in her arrogant face, I’m going to do it.” Layla turns to leave but is stopped by Cara.
“Layla, I agree, Mitzi needs to pay for what she did to Amy, but not tonight. Let’s not make matters worse by starting a brawl at the party.” Layla reluctantly agrees to save her anger and Cara grabs a clean set of workout clothes from her personal locker. “Amy, honey, go take a shower and change into these. When you’re done, Layla can take you home. I’ll have a word with Derrick and he can call you later.” Layla unzips my ruined dress and I close myself in a shower cubicle, washing off my beautiful make-up, destroying my elegant hairdo, and crying my eyes out. Just when things start going right for me and I have a chance at happiness, something always has to happen to crush my hopes. I shut the water off and dry myself with the towel Layla has left for me. Quickly throwing on the shorts and t-shirt Cara gave me, I’m almost ready to leave.
“Feeling a little better, Jenks?” Layla asks, concern written all over her face.
“No, not really, just less sticky.” Quickly, I finger comb my hair into a ponytail. “Layla do you have my purse?” I ask.
“Yeah, right here,” she replies, presenting it to me.
“Thanks.” These contact lenses need to come out and I need to feel more like me. Pinching each one out of my eyes, I toss them in the trash and put on my trusty, tortoise shell glasses. Hey, if I’m going to look like a clumsy nerd, I may as well complete the ensemble with geeky glasses. Shorts, T-shirt, high heels, and glasses. Yep, I’m ready to take on the world. Not! There’s a tapping on the locker room door and Layla answers it to find Riven waiting on the other side. He pokes his head in and sees my bedraggled self.
“Hey, Miss Kitty, let’s get you out of here.” His smile is encouraging, so I return it with a small grin.
“Hey, Riv, can you call us a cab?” Layla asks.
“No need, Cara said we can borrow her car. Head out the back exit and I’ll be waiting for you there.” Oh, thank god I don’t have to parade myself in front of all those people dressed like this. “Jenks, Derrick said he’d call you later and wanted me to remind you of your beads. He means every single one.” Ducking back out the door, he leaves. The freaking beads. Caring, patience, passion, loyalty. Could have fooled me. Derrick should never have abandoned me tonight. I may as well have come here alone, or not at all. I’m grateful for my friends and their help. Tonight is a night I just want to forget. Sure, Derrick, just try and call me later. I’ll decide whether I have the time or desire to even talk to you. Layla gathers my ruined dress and we head out the back exit. Sure enough, there sits Riven waiting for us. We climb in the car and he pulls away from the building and off toward the comfort and security of my home.
***Derrick***
I stand here like a fool while Cara escorts Amy to the locker rooms to get cleaned up. My instinct is to go make sure she’s alright, but I’m halted from following by Mitzi’s hand on my arm. She shoots me a look and shakes her head.
“Did your friend have too much to drink, Derrick? Pretty girl, it’s a shame about her dress,” Brett says, causing Mitzi to laugh. I know Amy is clumsy and ridiculous things seem to happen when she’s around. I’m embarrassed for her and embarrassed by her right now. Just as I was going to introduce her to Brett, I find her standing in a puddle with her dress drenched. Couldn’t she try and be a little more careful this evening? She’s my date and her behavior reflected badly on me. This is a night to impress some important people and my date is a complete catastrophe.
“I’m sure it was an accident; Amy is a tad bit clumsy at times,” I answer his question.
“Oh, Derrick, only a tad? Brett, the poor girl, trips going up stairs and probably walks into walls.” Mitzi titters to Brett and exaggerates Amy’s bungling habits. “Even with her coke bottle glasses, I’m surprised she can drive.” Brett gets a good laugh from Mitzi’s descriptions. Me, I feel like complete shit! Scanning the room to see if Amy’s has come back yet, I notice Riven standing a few feet away. I excuse myself from Brett and Mitzi to go have a chat with my friend. He looks pissed off, and if we weren’t at a party right now, I think he might slug me one. What the hell did I do? I’ve been working the room all night.
“Hey, Riv, what the hell is going on? I thought I asked you to keep an eye on Amy for me.” Ok, so maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say. He looks twice as pissed.
“Yeah, dude, I’ve been watching her. I’ve been watching her all night. A half hour, Derrick, you told her you’d be a half hour.” I think I’m in for that ass whooping in the verbal sense. “That was over two hours ago. Why did you ask her to come if you were going to ignore her all night?
“Riv, I didn’t mean to ignore her, the time just got away from me. Was she mad?”
“Derrick, she’s a great girl and was treated like she didn’t matter. I’d say devastated is a better word.” He crosses his arms over his chest and lets me have it. “She wasn’t drunk and I doubt that the accident was her fault. She’s been understanding and supportive of you all night. She didn’t complain once about you abandoning her.”
“But you know how clumsy she is, man, do you think this was her way of getting back at me?” I’d be pissed off if my date ignored me all night.
“No way. That girl cares about you and would never do something like that. You’re a dick for even thinking that.” I see Cara come back out of the locker rooms and both Riven, and I meet her halfway.
“Cara, is she alright? Can I see her?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea right now Derrick, she’s getting cleaned up and Layla is taking her home. She can’t come back out because her dress is ruined.” Cara looks at me with eyes full of aggravation. I can read the disappointment all over her face. “I told Amy I’d tell you to call her later. You can explain your actions to her then if she talks to you, that is.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong, though. Okay, so maybe alienating her all night was an asshole move, but other than that, I’ve been doing my job.” She looked so sexy and elegant tonight, I should have made more of an effort to show her off. I don’t know who to believe about what happened, she is accident prone, so is Mitzi right saying Amy tripped and spilled the drink or did Mitzi have more to do with what happened?
“Leave her alone, Derrick, I think instead of thinking the worst of Amy, you should look for answers elsewhere,” Cara says with a head nod in Mitzi’s direction. I’m so fucking confused right now, I don’t know which way is up. “Go. Do what you have to do and finish the party. It is your shining moment after all. We’ll take care of Amy. Riven? I’m going to go get my car keys. Please make sure Amy gets home.” Cara heads off to her office to retrieve her keys. She looks extremely irritated. But at who?
“Riv, tell her I’ll call her as soon as I can. Oh, and her beads…tell her I mean every single one.”
“You got it, dude, but I’m not so sure that’ll be enough. I’ll do my best.” Riven pats me on the back and heads off to the locker rooms. I know he’ll make sure Amy gets home alright. If I can’t be there for her, Riven is the next best thing. I quickly take out my phone and send her a text message.
Derrick: Baby, I’m not sure what happened tonight, but I’m sorry!! I’ll call you later to explain.
I’m not surprise
d when I get no response back from her. She’s upset. I guess I have an awful lot of groveling to do. Pocketing my silent phone, I return to the party. This is my night and this is what I’ve been working towards for years. I’ve paid my dues; now it’s time to celebrate my hard work. Without Amy here, I feel like I’m missing a limb, hopefully later we can work things out. Hopefully!
Chapter #13
Nerd Girl Problem #113
The perfect ending to a totally craptastic evening, Pops corns and chick flicks.
“Jenks, are you sure you’ll be ok? I can stay with you, I want to stay with you.” Layla’s concerned blue eyes scan my face, looking for the slightest crack in my fake, composed expression.
“Thanks, doll, but I’ll be ok, I promise. I’m just going to cuddle up with Clyde and go to sleep. I’m sure all this will look better in the morning.” I try to reassure her with a small grin and kiss her cheek goodbye. “Riven, make sure Layla gets home.” I remind him.
“You got it, Miss Kitty,” he says beaming me a friendly smile, “get some rest. I’ll talk to Derrick and make sure he calls you later.” I don’t even dare to tell Riven I got a text message from him already. I kiss his cheek as well, grab my ruined dress, and climb out of the back of Cara’s car. After I wave them off, I drag my heavy feet toward the door.
As always, the porch light has been left on for me, putting my key in the lock, I open the door and shuffle inside. Clyde greets me with a happy expression and an over enthusiastic wagging tail. Dropping the dress I fall to my knees and wrap my arms around his beloved neck, rubbing my face in his velvety fur. He smells faintly of corn chips and freshly cut grass. I sniffle into his coat and cry a little bit more. He shakes me off his neck and dives in to lick the tears clean off my face.
“I’m sorry, Clyde, I’ve had a shitty night.” His answer to my statement is a quick ‘woof’ and a bump on my chin. “I understand boy, chin up right?” Another ‘woof.’ Clyde has a way of saying so much without saying anything at all.