Читать книгу Finally, You And Me - Lisa Jackson Harrison - Страница 12

Alexa had sprung for a new outfit for the rehearsal dinner. She wore a black velvet dress with long sleeves and long skirt. The most attractive feature of the dress was the back, which temptingly dipped to the small of her back. She completed the outfit with a pair of black pumps with rhinestone straps. She twisted her hair up in the back, bringing attention to her dramatic eye makeup.

Alexa stepped from her room in time to see Maya sashaying down the hall, looking equally nice in a silver-gray cocktail dress with spaghetti straps and slim-fitting skirt, silver sandals and a matching sheer wrap.

“You go, girl, with your bad self!”

“No,” Maya replied with a shake of her head. “You are the one.”

“Does it look okay?” Alexa asked, smoothing her palms on the sides of her skirt. Her question was for more reasons than one.

“It looks real nice.” Maya replied and spun around to show off her attire. “What about me?”

It was apparent that Maya had an eye for fashion. Everything she owned, including her casual wear, looked great on her size-six figure. She always managed to find really nice articles of clothing in out-of-the-way boutiques and tonight was no exception.

“Bryant better watch out. He may want the honeymoon tonight!”

Maya smiled and draped the wrap over her shoulders in a dramatic fashion. “Remember, you always have to keep them on their toes.” Maya dropped her advice with a mischievous giggle. They stepped into the hall bathroom and headed straight for the mirror. They both fingered their hair into position and simultaneously stopped what they were doing to step back and admire their reflections.

Maya reached out and placed her hand on Alexa’s shoulder. “Hey, I want to apologize for my comments the other day,” she began.

“Oh, forget it,” Alexa replied with a wave of her hand. She was hurt by Maya’s observation, but she had to admit that she had gone somewhat overboard with her tirade.

“No, it is none of my business. I talked to Bryant about it and he gave me a new perspective. I’m sorry for trying to act as if something was there between you two. What you and Darius had is over and it’s time that I stop hoping for some sort of reconciliation because it is apparent that both of you have buried the past and I promise that I will, too.”

Alexa’s eyebrow rose at Maya’s comment, but she avoided responding. That wasn’t what she had gathered from Darius’s conversation the other day. However, he must have told Bryant otherwise since they last saw one another. And, although she wasn’t expecting anything from him, it hurt to hear it.

“I promise not to get into your business like that anymore,” Maya continued as she began applying some mascara to her eyelashes.

“Thanks, girl. I just want to be here for you without any distractions,” she sighed deeply. “And like you said, the past is in the past. I don’t want to stir up old memories. Let’s just focus on the New Year.”

Maya turned to Alexa and stretched out her arms as a peace offering. “Friends?”

Alexa nodded with a smile. “Always.”

The two leaned in and exchanged hugs.

The rehearsal went very well. After running through the entire ceremony a second time, Bryant and Maya were satisfied that things would fly without a hitch. While at the church, Alexa kept her attention focused on serving Maya. She didn’t want to even be left alone in Darius’s presence. It was hard not to engage in the bantering with the men along with the other women. The men were trying their best to agitate the women who received them good-naturedly.

Alexa stayed to the side, playing with the girls. On occasion, she’d glance over at the group to find Darius’s eyes on her. When this happened, she would quickly turn away, not acknowledging him.

So she sighed with relief that Maya had the foresight to not seat her near Darius at the rehearsal dinner. It would have definitely been a task if she had to avoid him in close proximity. As they took their seats, she immediately struck up a conversation with the young man seated beside her named Chris.

Chris was a student at the nearby college majoring in prelaw. He was a fraternity brother to both Bryant and Darius. So, most of his conversation was about the fraternity and Alexa tried to appear interested by asking questions.

Again when she broke eye contact with Chris to take a break from his ramblings, she’d find Darius watching. Instead of looking away like he had all day after being caught staring, he continued to challenge her by keeping his eyes set. After a while, Alexa got tired of being intimidated by his looking and accepted the challenge, but when she looked into those dark eyes, she quivered.

Finally, when she couldn’t stand it any longer, Alexa excused herself. She was glad that there was no one else in the restroom as she entered. Standing before the mirror, she reached into her purse and retrieved a tube of lipstick. When she held her hand before her face to apply the color, she frowned at the sight of her hand trembling. She couldn’t believe Darius was acting up like he was. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? It was bad enough that both of them had to be within each other’s presence. He didn’t have to make it worse with his silly games.

With a sigh, she rolled down the tube and tossed it into her purse. She didn’t feel like going back into the dining room. What she wanted to do was get tomorrow over with and be on the first flight back to Denver.

She wasn’t going to get caught up in Darius’s control games which were sure to continue throughout the course of the evening. Rather than go back and endure his intense stares and smirks, Alexa detoured to the coatroom. The attendant handed over her coat with a gold-toothed smile and had the nerve to ask for her telephone number. She rolled her eyes in response and abruptly turned away.

The night air was chilly and instantly bit her face causing her to shiver despite the warm coverings she wore. Thank goodness there was a cabdriver waiting out front reading a newspaper. Alexa rapped on the passenger window with her knuckle. The East Indian man peered at her over the rim of his glasses and lowered the window a couple of inches.

“Are you on duty?” she asked. She shifted her weight from side to side to keep her blood circulating.

“Depends, where to?” he asked.

Alexa swore that if there had been another cab waiting, she would have told him to kiss her butt and move on. She hated when cabdrivers, especially the foreign ones, acted like all black passengers were potential thieves or prostitutes.

“Southfield,” she gritted through her teeth.

“In that case, I’m open for business,” he said with a smile as if trying to make up for his ignorance.

Alexa opened the door, slipped inside and quickly rambled off the address.

“Wow, are you an entertainer or something?” he asked, obviously familiar with the neighborhood where her friends lived.

“Yes, something like that,” she wryly replied. Then so that he wouldn’t ask any further questions, she turned her head and gazed out of the window. It was like déjà vu, she thought to herself, driving away in the night, escaping the same man who haunted her thoughts in the present.

As the cab exited onto the expressway, Alexa contrived a story in her head that she was sick and didn’t want to interrupt Maya during dinner just to tell her so. The plan was to get back to the house and relax a moment before packing. Then following the wedding, she was out of there.

Darius tried to concentrate on what Bryant was saying about their business venture, but his thoughts were on Alexa. From where he sat, it appeared as if the young Will Smith look-alike was talking her ear off. He almost wanted to rush over and free her from the boring conversation that she endured, but he didn’t. Alexa hadn’t given him much thought all evening. What attention she did give him was short-lived and then she ended up easing out of the room

Bryant could detect that Darius was preoccupied. When he did not respond to his comment about not showing up at his own wedding, Bryant knew that Darius wasn’t paying attention.

“Damn man, what’s with you?” Bryant asked, rapping his knuckles on the table in an attempt to get his attention.

Darius turned to Bryant with a sheepish grin like a child who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Whassup?”

“I don’t know—you tell me? I’ve been trying to talk to you about the business and you’ve been spacing me off.”

Darius eased back in his chair and tossed his napkin on the table. “Now, you know this isn’t the time or the place to be discussing business,” he reprimanded his cousin. “You’re supposed to be talking about wedding bells and stuff.”

Bryant laughed and his eyes traveled over to where Maya sat chatting away with her mother and aunts. “I already got the bride in more ways than one. All of this was May’s idea. She said she always wished she had that big wedding. I told her it didn’t make a difference to me, because I love her as much now as I did then. But you know women always trying to come up with ways to spend some money.”

Darius laughed. “Don’t give me that crap, man. I know you are just as down as Maya.” Darius sat up in his seat and held a fork to his ear like a telephone imitating Bryant’s call. “Hey, brother, you got to come to Detroit for New Year’s. Maya and I are renewing our vows!”

Bryant burst out laughing and playfully punched Darius.

“Mind your manners, boys!” Maya called from her place at the end of the long table.

Darius watched as the two exchanged loving glances. A blind man could see that the connection between the two of them was tight and he envied that closeness. This feeling seemed to invade his thoughts more often than not in the last year. His eyes traveled from Maya and across the room where he last saw Alexa seated. All that remained was an empty chair and a lipstick-stained wineglass. He quickly scanned the room for her, but did not see her anywhere.