Читать книгу The Company We Keep - Mary Monroe - Страница 12

Teri latched onto Nicole’s arm and guided her to a long table in the center of the living room. There was something on that table for everybody, from crispy, golden fried chicken wings and fried okra to bite-size quiche and caviar. Teri and Nicole ignored the feast on the table. But they each snatched a flute of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray.

“What was up with that?” Nicole wanted to know, an amused look on her face.

“What do you mean?” Teri took a long swallow of her champagne, then wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

“You know damn well what I mean, girl. That was Harrison Starr. He was looking and acting like he wanted to lick you up one side and down the other,” Nicole said with a leer and a hand on her hip. She wanted to do that “neck rolling” thing that black women had made so famous. But she didn’t because judging from all the gum chewing, blond-weave-wearing, loud-talking, scantily dressed sistahs already on the scene, the ghetto was being represented enough tonight.

Teri didn’t respond for a few moments. But a mysterious smile crossed her face. Her mind was on the thought of Harrison’s tongue on her body.

“Well?” Nicole yelled, jabbing the side of Teri’s arm.

“Well what?” The smile was still on Teri’s face as she adjusted the shawl on her shoulders and drank some more champagne.

“What’s up with you and Harrison? Tell me all the details,” Nicole demanded.

“It’s a long story,” Teri said with a mysterious look on her face. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Harrison’s eyes were still on her. She smiled at him but quickly returned her attention to Nicole.

“I like long stories. I’ve seen Roots eight times,” Nicole told her. “Start talking.”

“Well, like I said, it is a long story. But I will give you the short version. It’s, uh, all history now, but Harrison and I were very close once upon a time. It lasted only a few weeks. That was about six months ago.”

Nicole stared at Teri for a few seconds. “Hmm. With those powerful-looking thighs, I bet he had your ass flipping and flopping all over the damn bed,” she said with lust on her face.

Teri gave Nicole an exasperated look. “We enjoyed a lot of other things, too.”

“I bet you did,” Nicole added with a wink and an obscene gesture with her tongue. “If I remember correctly, you were walking mighty bowlegged around that time.”

“Girl, you are hopeless,” Teri insisted with a sharp wave of her hand. “There was more to our relationship than my body.”

“Tell me about it. Your body was just one of the props. Now I know why I stumbled across all those sex toys in your condo in the cabinet beneath the sink in your bathroom…about six months ago.”

Teri glared at Nicole. “Why you nosy heifer,” she snarled. “Now I know why you looked at me with such a bug’s eye and a shark’s grin.” She was used to Nicole’s loose attitude when it came to talking about sex. And it pleased her to know that she was one of the few people that Nicole felt comfortable enough with to talk the way she did. “Anyway, Harrison and I enjoyed each other’s company. We parted on fairly good terms and I’d like to keep it that way. It was a good business move.”

“A good move in what way? Other than the obvious, what else can he do for you now? Even I can tell that he’s happy to see you up in here tonight. Either that or that big bulge on the side of his thigh is one big-ass gun.” Nicole fanned her face with a napkin and sipped her drink. “And while we are on the subject, I’m beginning to feel a little horny myself around all this testosterone.”

Teri gave her friend an exasperated look. “Now don’t you even go there. Like I said, remaining somewhat friendly with him was a good business move. And not just for me, but for everybody at Eclectic Records.”

“Well, that everybody includes me and unless you tell me, I don’t have a damn clue what a good business move it was for you to stay on good terms with Harrison Starr.” Nicole was talking trash, but she was also serious. The solemn expression on her face told Teri that.

“For your information, he is the lead DJ at one of the few radio stations that will play our music cuts frequently. As a matter of fact, every hour on the hour. They are one of our strongest support systems. That’s a relationship I can’t afford to lose.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I guess that is as good a reason as any for you to keep him happy.”

Nicole and Teri blended into the crowd, smiling and air kissing a few people they knew. Another one of the more interesting guests was a wildly popular basketball player named Dwight Davis. Teri had not expected to see him at the party, and when she did, she stumbled. She was glad that Nicole didn’t notice her reaction. She was not in the mood to tell her that she and Dwight also had a “history” and that he was also in her slush pile.

The fact was that she and Dwight had had a brief but very hot affair before Harrison entered the picture. But unlike her situation with Harrison, a relationship that was only on an extended pause (she’d realized that as soon as she saw him tonight), the intimate part of her association with Dwight was over as far as she was concerned.

There he stood, just a few feet away from her, gnawing on a chicken wing with his eyes closed. If he didn’t look countrified and ghetto, she didn’t know what did. A large gold hoop earring dangled from his left earlobe. He was the only person present who had on a jean outfit. With his long sexy legs and high firm ass, he couldn’t have looked sexier if he’d been naked.

Nicole noticed Teri fanning her face with some folded papers she’d removed from her purse. “Are you ok? Don’t you think you should eat something before you finish that drink?” Nicole asked. “I don’t care how expensive that shit is, you shouldn’t drink too much of it on an empty stomach.”

“I guess I could use some of that quiche,” Teri decided, moving back toward the table. She looked at the document in her hand. “Let me find Rahim so I can give him this damn contract before I forget.” It took Teri several minutes to track Rahim down. And it took her another ten minutes to convince him to take the contract and put it in a safe place for the time being.

“Girl, stop thinking about work and get loose,” Rahim told her. “Get out there and have some fun.” He handed the contract to a nearby assistant and dismissed Teri with a slap on her ass. She started to walk back to the buffet table, but she stopped when she saw that that was where Dwight was. She pretended to be admiring the artwork on the walls and the other décor until Dwight had moved away.

Harrison’s presence, and that little chat she’d just had with him, had been enough for her. Despite her “I’m going to make you work to get me back” attitude with Harrison, the longer she remained in the same house with that luscious man, the more she realized she wanted him back sooner rather than later.

Teri could feel herself beginning to weaken, especially in the knees. There was some hot, tingling, throbbing, moist activity going on between her thighs. The champagne had contributed a lot to her meltdown, but it also helped her feel less inhibited. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Because now that Dwight had been added to the brew, she knew that if something happened between her and Harrison tonight, or between her and Dwight, she wouldn’t be responsible.