“Good choice. What a fun idea.” Zoriyah clapped her hands several times with joy.
“Zoriyah. I’m only doing this for Savvy. I’m not interested and she tricked me into this mess.” Olivia glared at Savvy. “I don’t want either one of you to start trying to play matchmaker. If anything, Savvy needs to water the grass in her own yard.”
Zoriyah leaned into the conversation. “Olivia, Savvy has a good point. You are a beautiful woman and you deserve to have a good man for a change. When are you going to branch out and start dating again?”
“Who me? Did the two of you forget the fact I’m still married? Both of y’all need to go somewhere with this mess. I ain’t got time for dating or even an interest,” Olivia snorted. “After dealing with Malcolm, the last thing I need is another relationship any time soon.”
“I disagree, Olivia. Perhaps if the right guy comes along, you’ll have a renewed outlook on love,” Savvy encouraged.
“Love, shmlove. Fairytale dreams full of hills, dales, and orbs. Not for me,” Olivia stated in a poetic flow.
“You’re too funny. We’re not talking about Shakespeare,” Savvy explained. “Just get in some good, deep-soul, make-you-wanna-holla kind of love.”
All three of them let out heart-filled laughs. “Woo girl. Lord knows it’s been a minute since I’ve hollered. I may need something to get this constant kink out of my body.” Olivia rubbed her lower back.
“You know, stress relief is fundamental to our well-being,” Zoriyah snickered.
“Right,” Savvy chimed in.
“All I need is a good, deep-tissue massage from a licensed masseuse. I’ll get tension relief and it’ll make me holler if they go deep enough into my back. Thank you very much,” Olivia said.
“Girl, you’re making my stomach hurt from all of this laughing. I better go greet the guests who have arrived. A bottle of wine and four glasses will be coming out to you. I’ll let Pharrell and Durbin know where you two are sitting. Have fun and I love y’all.” Zoriyah gave them hugs again and scurried away.
Olivia and Savvy settled into their seats. “Olivia, you are too much. Did you even look at the guys I’m talking about? You couldn’t have. If you did, you’d have to agree they are F-I-N-E.”
“No, Savvy. I didn’t pay them any attention and I don’t plan to. Leave me alone.” Olivia shook her finger at Savvy.
“Don’t turn around now. They’re walking toward us.” Savvy checked out the man leading the way. “Girl. There’s not a wrinkle in his clothing. Everything he has on fits him like it is custom-made.”
“Oh, boy. I’m mad at you. I can’t believe I let you do this.”
“All I’ll say is, wow. The one in front is chocolate brown and looks good enough to eat. He is one of God’s masterpieces. Chiseled to perfection.”
“Well, I’m not into dark-skinned men anyway.”
“Olivia. You need to be quiet with that nonsense.”
“I’m speaking my truth. I have enough black skin for the two of us.”
Savvy lowered her voice. “Will you stop it, please? They’re behind you.”
Before Olivia could turn around, a silky, baritone voice began to speak. “Hello, ladies.” His eyes rested on Savvy and soothed her with a wave of gentleness. “Zoriyah sent us to your table. Melanindoubledate.com?”
Savvy’s heart skipped a beat after hearing his luscious, seductive like velvet, Barry White voice. “Yes. That would be us,” Savvy responded. She picked up a paper napkin to fan herself.
Olivia glanced in disinterest at the men standing in front of their table. She examined her fingernails and showed a lackadaisical attitude toward the conversation.
“I’m Pharrell Montague. It’s spelled the same way as the R&B singer.” He extended a hand to Savvy to introduce himself. Warmth and a tingling sensation traveled through her when they touched in a shake.
“What a unique name. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Savvy and this is my friend, Olivia.” She hesitated to let go of his hand and slid from his as slow as possible. Savvy tried her best not to stare into his mesmerizing eyes. His cologne filled her nostrils in a good way over the food. She had visions of nuzzling her nose into his neck.
Olivia raised her eyes from the table. She didn’t offer to shake his extended hand. “Hi, Pharrell.”
Savvy frowned at Olivia to signal she needed to get rid of her bad attitude.
Pharrell laughed in a sexy masculine way before dropping his hand. “I’m sorry if we interrupted your conversation.” He turned around to introduce his friend standing behind him. “This is Durbin.”
Durbin’s lanky frame was a height people loved on a basketball court. His skin color reminded her of desert sand. A curly, light-brown afro framed his freckled face. Square, black-rimmed glasses, like the movie director Spike Lee wears at times, sat on his nose. Cute in a nerdy kind of way that Savvy figured would be perfect for Olivia.
“Hello, ladies. How are you both doing tonight?” Durbin asked.
“Great. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Savvy and this is Olivia.”
Olivia nodded her head with her lips twisted into a bored expression to acknowledge Durbin.
“I see you ladies don’t have anything to drink yet. How about I order a bottle of wine for us all to enjoy?” Pharrell offered.
Savvy swiped the side of her mouth to ensure she didn’t drool on herself. She couldn’t help thinking about how she would love to enjoy him. Her cheeks warmed in a blush. She lowered her eyes to her lap in embarrassment to keep him from reading her mind. “Well, sure…”, she began.
Olivia cut her off. “We have a bottle of white wine coming out. We are good. Thank you.”
Savvy shot her another look to scold her.
“Okay. No problem. I only wanted to make the offer. Tell you what. We’ll go to the bar to order an assortment of appetizers. It’ll be quicker than waiting on the server since it’s crowded in here,” Pharrell suggested.
“Food would be lovely. They have a great selection to choose
