Revolving Doors

by Perri Forrest

  A guy approached and while I was hoping that he was only there to place an order from the bartender, somehow I knew different. I immediately detected his eyes on me.

  Damn, please don’t let him ruin this, I thought.

  I was engaged in a pre-meditated master plan, but sure enough, not a minute passed before he stationed his ass on the stool that separated me from Mr. Debonair.

  “Hey, Miss Lady…How are you?”

  Shit, here we go.

  Barely turning to look at him as to not lose sight of my mark, I offered a casual response.

  “I’m good. Thank you.”

  I purposely neglected reciprocating because I felt that doing so would have given him false hope, and even worse…keep him talking.

  I had no interest in knowing how he was doing, and I refused to let him wreck my plans with his cheap Men’s Warehouse special.

  Apparently he got the hint, because no sooner than I’d given him my half-assed response, the seat was once again available.

  “That wasn’t very nice,” a voice next to me said.

  Without turning in his direction, I knew it was Mr. Debonair fully insinuated in my conversation. What I didn’t know was that he had moved seats and was sitting in the previously vacant spot.

  I coyly responded, “Whatever do you mean?”

  “That poor guy really wanted to conversate with you and you shot him down something fierce.”

  I wanted to tell him that conversate wasn’t a word, but left it alone.

  “Fierce? You sure? The music is pretty loud so you must’ve been listening pretty intently to capture that.”

  “Well, you are right next to me so it’s not too hard to hear, just like I heard you flirting with the bartender about your blue drink,” he laughed.

  “Ohhh boy. First of all…” I giggled, “…there was no flirting with the bartender, thank you very much. Just trying to get my point articulated. Second, as far as the poor guy, it wasn’t that bad. He’s a big boy. There are plenty of pretty women in here tonight; he’ll just continue to make his rounds until he finds one that is interested. One that’s more compatible with him than me.”

  “And can I ask why you weren’t interested?”

  “Of course you can.”

  “Okay…so why?”

  He was watching me, with nice brown eyes awaiting my response.

  I brought the glass to my lips for the final sip of my blue mixture. I could still hear Kelli in my head telling me, “Don’t leave your drink unattended.”

  After I placed the empty glass on the bar, I turned to Mr. Debonair, rose from my stool and whispered in his ear, “I said you could ask. But…that didn’t mean I would answer it.”

  I didn’t stick around to see the look of surprise on his face.

  Activity on the dance floor had picked up when Busta Rhymes’ Touch It remix blasted from the speakers, so I moved where the action was.

  I wasn’t going to subject myself to third degree questioning by a guy who decided he wanted to play a game of catch me if you can. No sir, catch me…if you can.

  Yeah, he was cute, but stranger interrogation…not so much. He had decided that he would rather inquire about the next man, versus putting his own bid in for my attention.

  So, I decided to see what he was made of once the opportunity had been removed. Something told me he would realize his error and make an attempt to correct it. Why wouldn’t he? I looked amazing I made sure of that.

  I’d stamped a seal of approval on my own package prior to leaving the house.

  My dark, curly locks fell nicely in place. My short red dress hugged my frame in all the right places: cleavage, waist, hips, and butt. Red stilettos that further accentuated my toned legs, and diamond hoop earrings I treated myself to on Valentine’s Day.

  I danced alone and in my own zone. When I was at one with a beat, nothing stopped me.

  When a guy approached to dance, I welcomed him in. I liked that he was bold enough to do so. I moved in closer to his body and grinded against him as we danced. He was a good dancer, so it was a groove that I effortlessly fell into.

  “My name is Geoff!” He said yelling into my ear. He wore expensive cologne, but the mixture of cigar smoke and brandy, ruined it.

  Yuck!

  I hadn’t planned on having a dance floor discussion. I only wanted to dance. I wasn’t too interested in Mr. Geoff breathing more of his mixture of nastiness into my face.

  “Damn baby, you are one bad chick! I can’t even lie…The way you sway those hips, got me mesmerized!”

  I offered him a smile and nothing more. I’d already spotted Mr. Debonair migrate from the bar to the semi-crowded VIP section. He stood behind red ropes, overtly gawking.

  Eyes that wide deserved a show.

  I pulled Geoff closer and with one arm around his waist, I gyrated seductively into his body. Intermittently, I dropped down to the floor and back up, my body doing a wave dance into his, heavy on the hip movements.

  I admit it was seductive. That was the intent. And while it wasn’t for Geoff, I noticed he was enjoying himself…a little too much.

  Toward the end of the song, I backed into him allowing him to hold onto my waist as we moved to the beat.

  I moved my body down to the floor, and as I came back up, so did Geoff’s manhood.

  Uh-oh…

  The time had come to pull back. In my effort to put on a show for Mr. Debonair, I neglected to realize what the consequences could be.

  Why the hell was he even getting a boner from dancing in the first place?

  I stopped dancing and tugged at his shoulder so he would move his head down to where I could whisper in his ear.

  “It was nice dancing with you, Geoff. Have a good night.”

  “Uh…Is it cool to get your number?” he yelled.

  Shaking my head I answered, “I’m sorry! I’m not really interested in pursuing anything right now! Just coming out of something serious!” I lied.

  He followed up with another comment, but by that time having said all that I needed to say I left him where he stood and headed toward the exit. I was tapped for the night, and I’d managed to dance my drink off so I felt confident enough to drive home.

  ~*~*~

  I was next in line for the valet and when it was my turn, I surrendered my ticket…with instruction.

  It wasn’t too long after I got outside that I saw Mr. Debonair approaching.

  “Excuse me Lady in Red,” he leaned in to say over the noise from the forming crowd, and the bustle of the oncoming cars.

  I looked over feigning surprise and stared him in his eyes.

  “Yes?”

  I didn’t know if it was the surrounding noise, but he stood there frozen as though he hadn’t heard me acknowledge him.

  “Yes…” I repeated. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m sorry. Excuse me. A bit distracted, he cleared his throat and continued, “…by your beauty.”

  I was confused by his bizarre behavior. He was the same person inside, who had tried to question me like we were on an episode of Law and Order, but there he stood awestruck and at a loss for words. I didn’t know how to interpret that.

  “Distracted by my beauty? Really? Thank you…I guess.”

  “I know that sounds lame, so please scratch that…although it is very true. I was distracted.”

  I smiled at his shyness. It was a surprising characteristic…if it was genuine. It seemed to contrast so much from the guy who a short time before wanted to challenge me on something that was none of his business.

  “Are you okay now? You need a moment?” I joked.

  “I’m good!” He laughed. “But thanks for your concern.”

  “No problem. I care about my fellow man, you know?”

  “I can’t tell, with the way you left that poor guy standing on the dance floor wondering what he did wrong.”

  “Whoa! Are you gonna call me out on every guy I didn’t show attention to? Or are you gonna focus more
on why you’re getting the attention they didn’t?”

  “You’re right. I apologize.”

  As soon as the words exited his mouth, I regretted taking that stance with him and backtracked.

  “I’m sorry. That’s not a nice way to talk to someone trying to befriend you. That is what you’re doing, right?”

  “Yes…I am trying to befriend you,” he confirmed flashing a beautiful smile. “And please, no apology is necessary. I was overstepping, being too inquisitive, but it’s because you’re interesting to me.”

  His statement caused me to blush.

  “How is that? I’m curious.”

  “Well for one, I see this huge streak of independence in you. You came to a nightclub by yourself. I don’t see women doing that. For two, you’re spicy!”

  I laughed out loud at the spicy reference. If only he knew.

  “Is there a three?” I asked him.

  “For three, you moved like a vixen on that dance floor. Do you dance professionally?”

  “Wait…when you say professionally, does that include a pole?” I joked.

  “I mean, if it does, I don’t judge!”

  “No! There’s no pole. I do dance though…mostly samba, but yes.”

  “Well, it looks good on you.”

  “Thank you…again,” I smiled. The compliments just keep coming. I’m independent, spicy, and a vixen! Tell me more!”

  Seemed valet listened closely when I instructed them to, “take a few extra minutes before bringing my car…” and it was a good thing because I was able to get acquainted, and enjoy a nice conversation, with my new friend.

  “Since you turned out to be so nice…” I continued, “I’m going to answer your question from earlier. I honestly didn’t care about leaving that guy on the dance floor.” Then I looked down briefly to keep from laughing. “I think he had plans for me that I had no intentions on approving.”

  “Do I even want to know?” he inquired.

  “You know your kind so I’m sure you can figure it out.”

  “My kind…trust me, I’m of a different breed.”

  “Okay then. I’ll give you that. Sorry for pre-judging and putting you into a category.”

  “Apology accepted…if we can exchange phone numbers, and possibly get to know each other.”

  And finally!

  “Oh…the man’s a negotiator!” I extended my hand to him. “How about we start with names first. Mine is Gabriella.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my car approaching.

  Dammit.

  “I’m extremely pleased to meet you, Gabriella.” We locked eyes as he took my hand in his. “My name is Robert.” He reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and retrieved a business card holder and took out one of its contents. “Can I give you this and hope to hear from you? I’d love to take you to lunch, dinner, movie, wherever.”

  I accepted the card from his hand and gave it a once over.

  “Of course, Robert. I’ll give you a call later on today, if that’s okay.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Cool. Well, this is me right here,” I said pointing at my vehicle as it pulled up curbside.

  “Intrigue, huh?” he yelled after me, as I was walking to my car.

  I turned and smiled at him with a slight look of confusion.

  “I’m sorry?”

  He pointed downward toward my plates.

  “Oh!” I finally caught on, “You mean the ‘NTRIGUE’!”

  I sometimes forgot that I had personalized license plates on my car. I was impressed that he paid attention to detail.

  I tipped the valet as he held my car door open, and focused my attention back on Robert for his response.

  “Yes…intrigue,” he responded, walking closer. “Sounds mysterious,” he expressed, winking at me. “Drive safe, Gabriella.”

  “Thank you, Robert…I will.”

  CHAPTER 28

  ~*~*~

  I knew Robert would come in search of me. It was why I told the valet to delay bringing my car around for a few minutes.

  I knew he was interested. I scoped him as soon as I walked into the club. He wasn’t the only one. I scoped a few, but he was by far the nicest looking of the bunch.

  He watched as my hand was being stamped, and was still watching when I walked in, but he turned his gaze when I looked directly at him so that he wouldn’t be caught staring.

  Once I took my place on the barstool, it reached a point where we were both stealing glances.

  I got the sense that he was close to making his move when the guy with the cheap suit insinuated himself into the mix.

  I figured he would seize the opportunity to approach once the coast was clear again, but I sure as hell hadn’t anticipated that when he did, it would be to ask about the other guy.

  I was disappointed, and slightly turned off when he did that, but my attitude changed when I saw him taking notice of me from VIP. That was when I decided to allow him the opportunity to redeem himself, and it worked out nicely.

  I was drawn to him because of the mystique that surrounded him. I liked a man with an air of mystery. It let me know he wasn’t an ordinary guy.

  Aside from that, he was fine as hell from what I could see.

  I couldn’t tell how tall he was until he was standing in front of me outside the club but all the other features were in clear view before that time.

  He stood somewhere between 5’11 to 6’1. He shared the same chocolate hue as Morris Chestnut and Blair Underwood, and was very nicely tailored. And oohh…that velvet blazer he was wearing…I’d always loved those on a man. There was something about them that I found hopelessly sexy.

  Although he wasn’t that good at it, I liked that he tried to be a low-key observer. I had made him early on during his surveillance efforts.

  Adding to his points was the fact that he sized me up before making his move. He waited to see if I was his type of chick, and I found appreciation in that. He didn’t just allow the pretty looks to lure him in.

  I didn’t know where things could venture to with him, but I did know that it was past the time for me to open myself up to some sort of companionship and he had promise.

  ~*~*~

  When I made it home the first thing on my mind was getting freshly showered, but first, per her request, I texted Kelli to let her know I’d made it in the house. She responded: “I thought you would call! But I’m glad you made it. Love you!”

  Calling her was never in the plans. She would have kept me on the phone for the rest of the morning wanting details…especially, if her friend had already left.

  Dancing up against a sweaty and obviously, horny guy whose name I had managed to forget, made me want to scrub my body under some steamy hot water, and that was just what I did.

  After I emerged from the shower I slid into a sole garment – my silk chemise. I turned the knob on the wall slightly to dim the ceiling light in my room, settled across my bed, aimed the remote toward my stereo system, and unleashed the sounds of my All Male R&B playlist.

  On the nightstand lay my cell phone, beside my cell phone, the business card of one Robert L. Johnson, Jr.

  With my house phone in hand, I blocked my number from appearing on his caller ID, dialed and rested my head against the headboard as the ringing sounded in my ear.

  On the second ring, he answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, can I speak to Robert, please?”

  “Speaking…” he stated, cautiously.

  “Hey Robert, it’s Gabriella…from earlier. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  There was a pause on the other end.

  “Ahh…Gabriella.” There was surprise in his voice. “No. You didn’t catch me at a bad time. But I did almost allow the call to go to voicemail.”

  “Because it’s blocked, right? I know. I just---”

  “It’s okay. I understand. What matters is that you called at all. I was hoping to hear from you, but I certainly did
n’t expect to hear from you this soon.”

  “Oh, my mistake. I can call you later,” I kidded.

  “No…No…No! It’s a pleasant surprise. How are you?”

  “I’m good. Thanks for asking.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m great. Especially now, that you’re on the other end of my phone. Glad to know you made it home safely.”

  “Awww, how sweet are you?”

  “I’m a lot sweet.”

  “Really? And I say that was a lot suggestive and that Robert ain’t as shy as he tried to portray, I’m thinking.”

  “I consider myself shy. But I also consider myself smart enough to know that being shy wouldn’t have gotten me on the phone with the beautiful Gabriella. That was why I had to find my voice quickly outside earlier.”

  “Hmm, I kinda like compliments. And while we’re there, you ain’t too bad looking yourself, mister.”

  We engaged in a bit more small talk before I asked, “So…Robert…have you left Allure yet?”

  “I did. Left shortly after NTRIGUE pulled away from the scene.”

  “Ha! You’re too cute. I guess you really do like my plates, huh?”

  “That’s affirmative. I do like your plates. But I like the plates’ owner more,” he flirted.

  “Oh, wow…is Mr. Robert L. Johnson, Jr. flirting with me?”

  “He is flirting with you. Is he scaring you away?”

  “Not at all. I don’t scare easily. Kinda takes a lot.”

  “My type of woman,” he remarked.

  “Am I, now? That sounds promising.”

  I grew restless with the back and forth flirting and decided that since I knew what I wanted, I would move right into it.

  “Tell me this, Robert…What are you about to get into?”

  “Well, I hadn’t made any---”

  “Would you be open to coming to visit me?”

  “Ahem…” He cleared his throat as if something had accidentally travelled down the wrong pipe.

  “Robert…you there? You alright?”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear to release a giggle he couldn’t hear. I found it adorable that he allowed himself, deliberate or not, to be vulnerable in the moment.