A Classic Alpha for Christmas

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

  “I’ve never seen you act like this about someone and especially someone you don’t know. You don’t even know her name.”

  “I’m not going to lie. When I saw her, my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. I just need to get some more time with her. I want to get to know her.” At that very moment, Santerían whips into Elite’s parking lot and puts the car in park. I look at him, confused. “Why are we here though? I thought we were going to get drinks.”

  “We’re going to the bar. Since I missed the opening last night, I came to check the place out.”

  “Oh, so I have to come two nights in a row because you were too busy being pussy whipped last night? Come on, man. I’ve seen enough of this club,” I say, having flashbacks of the fiasco last night.

  “We’ll just stay a little while, Omega.”

  I get out of the car and slam the door shut. “A few minutes and then I’m out.”

  Walking to the building, I notice a sign on the door that says, “Speed Date Night begins at 6:30 p.m.” I remember the DJ mentioning speed dating as I was leaving out last night. I look down at my watch, and it’s now 6:22.

  “Yo, Teer. I’m not trying to be a part of this speed date thing. Let’s go somewhere else.”

  “We don’t have to do that. That’s a separate event. The bar is open too,” he sounds sure of himself as he pushes the door open and enters.

  “You sure, man? Looks like that’s all they have going on in here,” I say as I follow him inside.

  “Come on, Omega. Since when you start being scared of your shadow.”

  “I ain’t scared of shit. I just don’t want to play a game that leads me to sit in front of someone I would never date.” As soon as I say that, she looks up from the paper in her hand. I’m one hundred percent sure it’s her when her intense eyes meet mine. My body starts tingling immediately. She drives me crazy on sight.

  I never thought the tables could turn so quickly. I can look at a woman who is feeling me and tell her it’s not going to work because we’re simply not in tune with each other. Yet, this woman has me ready to go all the way in, and I don’t even know her name.

  I now know who I will spend the Christmas holidays with—the girl who’s looking over the entire speed date scene as if she’s over it until her eyes land on me.

  “Ex that,” I say to Santerían. “I’m down for a round of speed dating.” I walk over to the hostess posted up in front of the lounge area.

  “Hi, are you here for speed dating?” she greets me with a smile.

  “Yes. Is this where I sign up?”

  “Yes, sir. We’re starting in about five minutes. Here’s a registration card and your Heart Match cards. The game leader will explain the directions in just a minute.”

  I turn to walk into the room and Santerían stops me. “Are you serious right now?” he asks.

  I take the papers from the hostess. “I’ll be back,” is my answer.

  “Well, I’m going to hang out at the bar,” he says, looking confused as I walk into the room.

  “Cool,” I toss over my shoulder. I have one mission, and that is to get next to the beauty who has invaded my thoughts for a week, especially since seeing her here last night.

  Within five minutes, I’m registered and sitting down on the side of the room with the men. The hostess closes off the lounge area.

  Several of the women look my way and smile sheepishly. One bold woman winks and runs her tongue over her lips. However, I only have eyes for one woman in the room, the one who now refuses to look my way.

  Chapter Five

  Astalia

  Speed Date Night

  I breathe in deeply and rub my palms down the dress I’m wearing. It clings to every curve I have and even some curves I don’t want it to cling to. I’ve painted my nails orange to closely match the tangerine-colored dress. My jet black hair contrasts beautifully with the vibrant color, and it is pulled up into a bunch in the middle of my head with spiral curls hanging. The golden tear-drop earrings and matching necklace set I’m wearing stand out and shine. I feel beautiful as I walk through the door with Jayne who is equally beautiful. She’s wearing a black midriff dress, black strappy heels, and her straight light brown hair is down, stopping at her shoulders.

  Jayne walks over and hugs a tall and husky white man who is dressed in black slacks, blue button-up shirt, and a pair of expensive loafers. “Jeb, this is my cousin, Astalia. Astalia, this is Jeb, Tameka’s husband,” she introduces me.

  “So, you’re the owner of this elite establishment,” I say, smiling as Jeb turns to look at me.

  “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, and thank you for coming out,” he says, nodding.

  “Nice to meet you too,” I respond.

  “We’re here for the speed dating, so we can find a man,” Jayne says in an upbeat tone.

  Jeb’s attention quickly goes back to Jayne. “You’re here for date night?” he asks Jayne, and a weird look covers his face as if he’s trying to read Jayne.

  “Is Tameka here?” Jayne asks, not answering his question.

  “No, she left about an hour ago, heading home. Have you talked to Xander today? He’s been call—”

  “No. I haven’t.” Jayne cuts him off. “I’ve been hanging out with my cousin all day, and now, we’re here to mix and mingle. We’re going to go on in and get seated. The game starts at 6:30, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” he says slowly. “Right now, they’re handing out the Heart Match cards. But Jayne, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Jayne’s lips draw in slightly. “Sure, I’ll be right back, Stalia.” She walks toward the bar behind Jeb, folds her arms, and they look like they are having an intense conversation.

  I wonder what they’re discussing until a chipper-looking woman walks over to me and asks, “Are you here for date night?”

  “Yes, I am,” I say, smiling at her. “I guess it’s obvious since I’m dressed like I’m about to be put on display, huh?”

  She laughs. “No, you’re fine. Everyone dresses up for these events. Well, at least those who are serious about finding someone.” She hands me five dating scorecards that read Heart Match at the top. She explains there is space enough to rate two men on each card. I’m to hold the cards until the end to see who I’m most compatible with. Then, I’ll turn them in, and they will rate them and determine my “Heart Match” from tonight’s event, then email it to me along with my match’s contact information. The hostess also hands me a registration form she wants me to fill out and return to her before the event begins.

  Wow. This is like filling out an application to get a man. I can’t believe people actually do this, but more importantly, I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I look around the room. There are only eight men, and five of them are white. The three black men are so far off from the description I gave Mom that it would be pointless for me to waste time writing what I want on this form.

  “Come on, girl. Let’s fill this out,” Jayne says, returning from the bar with Jeb, pulling me by the arm toward the lounge area, which has been transformed into the speed date room.

  “Uh, I think we should go,” I tell her. “I’m not feeling it anymore.”

  Her eyes scan the room. “Come on, these men look good, and they look like they have some money!”

  “How do you look like you have some money? Most people who look like it spent all of their money on the look.”

  “Stalia, I see why you’re single. You out here quoting Uncle James. You should have let your hair down so you can relax.”

  “Whatever.” I look at the men seated on one side of the room. None of them are my type. “I am relaxed. I’m just not feeling this.”

  Jayne ignores me and starts filling out her form.

  “What was that about with Jeb anyway? Every time you mentioned finding a man tonight, he looked uncomfortable. Then, you two looked like you were in a deep conversation at the bar, and who is Xander?” I inquire.

  “Uh, Xander is m
y ‘little situation,’ but I’m not worried about him right now.” Her eyes survey the room. “Xander is where he wants to be, and it’s not here with me. So, while I’m here in the company of a roomful of men looking for love, I’m single and ready to mingle.”

  “It’s okay. I tell you everything, but be that way,” I tease her.

  “Right now, I’m really trying to figure it out, so there is nothing to report.”

  “Well, whether you’re ready to admit it or not, I can tell you like him a lot.”

  “It doesn’t matter how I feel; he’s just a friend.”

  “You may only be friends, but it’s deep for you, so be aware of how you feel and don’t play yourself.”

  “Stalia, you’re reading too much into this. Xander and I are just two grown-ass people who are still playing video games and talking about what we want out of life. Now, as far as this speed date night, I’m here to find a man to take care of my needs,” she says, but there is something hidden in her words. She is playing down the way she feels for Xander. I’m not sure if she believes she wants to find another man, or if she’s just saying something out of spite.

  “Uh-huh. I’ll drop it for now.” I sit quietly, looking at Jayne. She can say what she wants, but her “little situation” is much bigger than she admits.

  Eventually, the hostess comes back by and stops at our table. “Are you ladies finished filling out the registration form?” she asks.

  “Done!” Jayne excitedly hands her paper to her.

  “Doing it now.”

  I start filling in my name and contact information, along with my ideal mate’s profile—black male between the height of six feet and six feet four, dark-smooth skin, muscular arms and thighs, washboard abs, college professor, nice car, nice house, no kids, outgoing, funny, witty, short haircut, preferably with dark silky waves, dimpled cheeks, well endowed…and the list goes on. My descriptive profile boxes me into a distinct part of the population that’s probably unrealistic for me to connect with in the unreasonable amount of time I have left to find him. I’m screwed.

  At least, that’s what I think until he walks right through the club’s doors and his eyes land on mine. He stares at me the same way he did when I first met him, as if he’s looking at someone he adores. At Rena’s reception, I had been too distraught to notice this man fits the description of everything I told mom about my phantom boyfriend. He’s everything I want and need right now. I just have to figure out a way to end up with him before tonight is over.

  Chapter Six

  Omega

  I’ll Be There

  The woman in front of me is a pretty blond who smiles at me ever so often. I smile back, but I have no intention of connecting with her tonight. My only objective is to get in front of the woman sitting beside the blond.

  “Mind if we change seats?” I ask the guy sitting next to me.

  “Sure,” he says and happily stands so he can slide in front of the blond. This switch lands me right where I want to be.

  The game leader announces, “Okay, everyone, you have five minutes with each person, and then you will hear a buzzer. The men will get up and move to the woman sitting to their right at that time. Make the best out of your five minutes with the person you’re with, and make sure to check your Heart Match cards.”

  I glance at the nameless beauty whose essence alone pulled me into this room. Her curly hair is pulled up into the center of her head, and rings of curls fall into her lightly made up maple-colored oval face. Her natural beauty glows remarkably. And, she’s thick. With her shapely, shimmering thighs and big hips, she definitely has something to hold onto. Her heels snap shut with a diamond-like clamp at her ankle, showcasing her feet as if she were a runway model. Everything about her is beauty personified. I just want to eat her up, starting with her luscious lips.

  As soon as the buzzer sounds, I move close to her as if I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life. “Hi, remember me?” I ask with my signature smile, which is half-smile, half cocky expression that displays my confidence.

  “Hello,” she responds with an unreadable expression. Her straight, damn near poker face does not clue me in to what she is thinking. This is so much different than the first time I met her when her feelings were on her sleeve.

  “My name is Omega Johnson.”

  “And, I’m Astalia Morgan.”

  “Astalia, I should start this conversation by letting you know you’re not talking to anyone else tonight,” I tell her. “I’m the man that you’re looking for.”

  “So, I don’t get a hello, how’re you doing, or what’s your name? Just an order not to talk to anyone else and a declaration that you’re all that I need? Possessive much?”

  “Oh, it’s not just that I’m all you need. You’re all I need, as well. And, trust me, I’m going to ask you all of those questions and more, but first and foremost, you should know you don’t need to talk to any other man. We’re the heart match.”

  She inches away from me as if she’s afraid of hearing the truth. “And how do you know that?”

  “I know this because the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one. And now that I have you where I want you, I’m not letting you go.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if I don’t feel the same way?”

  “Do you?”

  “Depends. Do you tell your women what they are to do and when to do it, as well?”

  “No, but when I see something I want, I go for it, and I don’t take no for an answer.”

  “Is this something you do all the time?” she asks.

  “First time speed dating, but I go after what I want every day. For instance, I came here to go to the bar with my friend. I only came to speed dating because I saw you in here.”

  “I’ve done speed dating before, but I didn’t like the experience.”

  “Why?”

  “There wasn’t anyone there I felt compatible with.”

  “How about now? What made you come back tonight?”

  “Um.” She looks around the room at all of the other people who are talking to strangers and hoping to find something in common on which to build a connection. A nervous look enters her eyes before she looks back at me. “Well, to be honest, I— I need a date for a Christmas dinner.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t need a date for Christmas because I’m your date.”

  She laughs. “You’re bossy.”

  “You call it bossy, I call it getting what I want. Since I saw you outside of Keith’s wedding last week, you’ve been on my mind, so I’ll be your date, no problem.” What’s your next desire I can fulfill?

  “It’s not going to be all Christmas carols and eggnog at this dinner,” she says, rubbing her thumb against her fingernails one at a time.

  “Will you be there?”

  She cracks a small smile. “Yes.”

  “That’s all I need.”

  Relief enters her otherwise worried eyes and she smiles wider. “Listen, there’s more I have to tell you.”

  “We have ten days to get to know each other because I have no intention of letting you slip away again.”

  “For the date, you’ll go home with me to meet my mother who believes I have a boyfriend, but I don’t, so I’m looking for a stand-in to take home for Christmas. You fit the description of what I have told her, and—” She looks around at the other men as if she is casing out her options in case I back out. I’m not. I actually see helping her out with this as a unique opportunity to get closer to her. But now, I’m curious.

  “Why does your mother think you have a boyfriend, and why do you feel I can pull off acting as if I’m someone you have already described to her?” I inquire.

  “Long story, but you fit the description of the man I’ve told her about.”

  “What have you told her about this man?” Curiosity has the best of me. I want to know more about
Astalia and the reason her nerves are in a tight bundle every time I see her.

  She pulls at a spiral of her hair and starts twisting it. “She thinks he’s tall, dark, handsome, and that he’s a professor at Clark University. And, she thinks we’ve been together for four months. For now, you can just tell her you’re a professor, and I’ll tell her we broke up after Christmas.”

  My smile grows so big that I know I’m grinning widely. “I actually am a professor in Clark’s engineering department. So, it sounds as if you described me to your mother before you ever met me. I told you this was meant to be.”

  She pushes my shoulder and responds, “Get out of here. No, you’re not.”

  “I really am.” I pull up Clark’s website, go to the engineering department and show her my name and picture on the professor’s page.

  She squeals. “You’re everything I need!”

  “I know,” I say and mean it. Standing up, I reach my hand out to hers. “I told you, you wouldn’t be talking to anyone else today. Let’s go.”

  She takes my hand and stands to her feet. “You might want to talk to some of the other women in here before you make your decision. Meeting my mother is not for the faint at heart.”

  “I came in here to get you. I can handle your mother.” I lead the way out of the speed dating room.

  “Are you guys leaving?” the hostess asks, looking confused.

  “Yes, I found what I was looking for,” I say confidently.

  “Where are you going, Stalia?” one of the women in the speed dating room yells out. She has a shocked look on her face.

  “That’s my cousin,” Astalia says to me before turning to the woman. “We’re going to the bar, Jayne. I’ll be out there when you’re done,” she says as she smiles at me.

  We sit a few seats down from Santerían. He looks away from the game on the TV, nods, and shoots me an approving thumbs up.

  “You want a drink?” I ask.