Damn this nigga is fine, she thought and subconsciously tucked her freshly flat-ironed hair behind her ear.
She too was wearing a white flowing dress to match her best friend that her body looked great in. When his eyes lay on her, he began to smile from ear to ear.
“Hey,” she said when she reached him.
“I know who you are,” he said, grabbing a cup with juice in it and handing it to her. “I don’t expect you to remember me, though; you were way too popping back in high school.”
“High school?” she asked and tried to study his face. All she saw was “fine,” but nothing that she remembered.
“Yeah, that was a long time ago, though, so no worries.”
“No, no,” she shook her head and flashed a charming smile. “Tell me your name. I don’t want to be rude.”
“Stevelle Lawson, I used to kick it with Kent and them back in the day.”
“Stevelle,” she said, cocking her head trying to remember. “Stevelle . . . Stevelle . . . Stevelle! Oh my God!”
She grinned because suddenly she did remember who he was. Back then, he was just a skinny, tall kid, though. Like he said, he wasn’t somebody that she would give a second glance at then. But now? She would love to give him a go.
“You were just a skinny kid back then; I see you got your weight up!”
“Stop it!” he said, grinning at her joke. “I see you’re still as beautiful as you were back then.”
The way he was looking at her made her face get hot, and she started to play with the cup he’d just handed her. She hadn’t let a man get close enough to her to make her feel the way he was in ages.
“Thank you,” was all she could think of to say.
“You’re welcome. Shit, I’m surprised you really remember a nigga, being the kingpin’s daughter and all.”
At the mention of her father’s name, the smile instantly wiped from her face. She looked at the ground and tried to mentally shut the doors that he’d just opened.
“My bad,” he said, seeing her demeanor change. “I ain’t mean to—”
“No, it’s OK,” she put her hand up. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to him. When I heard it, it fucked me up. He always showed love to the streets. They were never the same without him.”
“Yeah,” Tia stared sadly at her cup for a second. “He was a real good man. He didn’t deserve that. Anyway, what have you been up to?”
Stevelle gave her a sly smile. “I have a few business ventures.”
“Oh, I know what that means!” The smile was back on Tiara’s face as she laughed at his words. “You a street pharmacist, huh?”
“Nah,” Stevelle said, shaking his head, but, of course, Tiara didn’t believe him.
The two spent the rest of the baby shower sipping virgin strawberry daiquiris and dancing until it was time to clean up and go home. They exchanged numbers when she walked him to his car. He was about to get into his all-white BMW 328i when he suddenly turned back to her.
“I don’t see a point in driving off, and then calling you to ask you something that I can do right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m tryna see you later. You got me smiling and stuff. I haven’t had this much fun with a girl in a long time. Can I pick you up in a few hours?”
Tiara’s answer was the smile that spread on her face. She nodded her head. “Here,” she said, pulling her phone back out and sent him a text. “I’ll send you my address. I would ask you where you’re taking me, but I’d rather just let you surprise me.”
“A’ight, shorty.” He checked his phone to make sure he got her message. “I’ll see you later then.”
He got in his car and drove off, leaving Tiara to walk back in the building smiling to herself. After what Doctor Pierce had done to her, she never thought she’d be able to look at another man the same. Yet, the way Stevelle looked at her, she didn’t get one bad vibe from him. It had been awhile, and she knew it was time for her to finally get back out there on the dating scene.
She returned inside of the building, and the first thing she saw was Elaya still smiling from ear to ear. She watched her friend fall effortlessly into her husband’s arms and couldn’t help the pang that came suddenly in her stomach. The happiness that Stevelle had given her was short lived because right then, she couldn’t help but feel as if she was missing something. Like there was an emptiness eating away at her heart. As she stared at her friend dancing, she could tell that she was at peace; however, she herself was feeling a void. She hadn’t made peace with her past, but she was OK with moving forward with her future. Along with being part owner of A&E, an organization to help battered women and victims of sexual assault, Tiara had gotten a full-time job doing customer service for a phone company. She also had put herself up in her own one-bedroom apartment. She refused to beg her mother’s people for help. She wasn’t ready to face them yet, and she wouldn’t be able to face them for years to come. It was her mother who had signed her off to Doctor Pierce in the first place because she couldn’t bear looking at Tiara’s face anymore. She wouldn’t be trusting her for a while. She broke her eyes away from the dancing couple and finished packing up everything they’d brought with them and put it all into Clarence’s SUV. Before she
