A Wife for Stephen (2 page)

“Excuse me, we lost our back
stage passes, but Stephen
is expecting my friend Celeste here. She’s his fiancé.”
Hearing what Jenny just said, Celeste couldn’t help but turn
an extremely shocked face towards Jenny and glare at her.
Jenny just smiles prettily up at the security guard and
pretends not to notice Celeste’s shocked expression. If it
weren’t for the elbow that Jenny gives Celeste in her side,
Celeste would not have even known that Jenny
did
notice.

“No problem, ladies. Right this
way,” the security guard
states while stepping to the side of the curtain and pulling it
back so that Celeste and Jenny can get through easier. “Just
head straight up the hall. Their dressing room is the last
door on the left.”

Now, Celeste cannot help but to look at the security
guard with an expression of bewilderment. If a pretty face,
adorned with
a
smile
and batting eyelashes,
and a
cockamamie story as unoriginal as the one Jenny just told,
is all it takes to gain access to
Class One
, they might as
well do away with security guards all together, thinks
Celeste as they are ushered through the curtain.

“Man, could you believe that guy?” asks Jenny when
they are half-way down the hall they were told leads to
Class One’s
dressing room. “I never actually expected him
to fall for that.”

“
Wait,” exclaims Celeste, stopping abruptly, “You don’t
actually mean to go knock on their dressing room door, do
you? I mean, what are you going to say. ‘Hi, I’m Jenny,
and this is Stephen’s fiancé, Celeste?’”

“No,” said Jenny turning around to face Celeste. “As far
as they know we actually have backstage passes. They
don’t have to know what line we used to get back here.
Look, Celeste,” continued Jenny on a sigh of frustration,
“We’ve come this far. It would be a shame to turn back
now. Come on,” urged Jenny taking Celeste’s hand with a
placating smile one would use along with a cookie to bribe
a four-yearold who is refusing to clean his room, “I’ll do
all the talking.”

“Oh, I just bet you will,” Celeste says. “That’s exactly
what I’m afraid of,” she mumbles to Jenny’s back as they
resume their walk towards
Class One’s
dressing room. By
the time Jenny and Celeste reach their destination, Celeste
is so nervous that the palms of her hands are clammy. She
stands there quietly while Jenny knocks on the door, and
they wait for it to be answered.

As Celeste turns to run, she hears the door creak open.
“Hello there, ladies,” she hears that all too familiar voice
that has kept her company on so many lonely nights via her
CD
player. “Won’t you please come in?”

“Of course we will,” Celeste hea
rs Jenny say as she is
turned to
face the door by the hand Jenny places on
Celeste’s shoulder.

All right, she’s
here now. So play it cool and don’t
blow it,
Stephen chides himself. Man, thought Stephen, she
is even more beautiful up close, looking the picture of
elegance as she stands in front of him clothed in a navy blue
silk skirt with matching jacket. Her black pumps match her
handbag.

But why does she look so frightened? He was expecting
her to be smiling at having made it backstage so easily.
Stepping to the side, Stephen holds out his hand to invite
Celeste and Jenny into the dressing room.

As they enter, the other two members of
Class One
stand to their feet and come towards them with extended
hands in an offering of a handshake. This has got to be a
dream, thought Celeste.

Or maybe it isn’t and they are
simply being polite to us
because they want a little something in return. No, thought
Celeste. Don’t be so quick to always assume the worst of
everyone.
Besides,
their
music
speaks
of
a
deeper
commitment than just casual sex and one night stands.
Nonetheless, Celeste will not allow herself to get confused
on mushy sentiment. She knows they would dang sure take
anything that her or Jenny would offer. Men were just that
way. Celeste had learned that factoid courtesy of her ex
fiancé Tyrone and his new bride Paula.

“Hi,” Mario is the first to
speak, standing in front of
Jenny and taking her hand into his and pulling it to his lips
to place a kiss lightly across her delicate hand. “My name is
Mario Scott. It is a pleasure to meet you,” he continues in
his sexy baritone voice.

“Hi, my name is Jenny Harris,” Sensing that Celeste is
too stunned to utter a word, Jenny continues, “and this is
my friend Celeste Brooks.”

“Hello there, Celeste,” Stephen takes h
is opportunity to
join in the introductions. Reaching out to take Celeste’s
hand and kiss it, he notices that her fingertips are cold.
That does not last. Instantly a flame sparks from their touch
and he feels her fingers melt into the curve of his palm. This
is exactly how he imagined it would be when he met his
future wife. “My name is Stephen Haule. How do you do?”
he inquires.

“Um...
Fine. My name is Celeste Brooks.” Way to go
Celeste. You haven’t even been here one minute, and you
are already embarrassing yourself. “We really enjoyed your
performance,” Celeste continues nervously, searching for
something to
say while
she
withdraws
her
hand from
Stephen’s fiery touch.

That was always Celeste’s
problem around men. She
always wanted to say something so that she could join in
the conversation and fit in, but whenever she tried to be
witty, she always ended up saying something incredibly
stupid. The only affect her comments had were to make her
wish she hadn’t opened her mouth and stuck her foot in it.

Now, Celeste feels faced with a situation she has never
encountered before. Never had the touch of a man caused
her skin to spark and spread like a brush fire on a dry
summer’s day to the rest of her body; she needs to get a
grip on herself. Celeste always prided herself on her ability
to stay in control in even the toughest situation. This guy
probably dates so many women that he can evoke such
emotion from her without actually putting forth any effort.

“All of you were fantastic,” she continues and decides t
o
shut her mouth then and there before she goes too far. The
last thing she wanted to do is to embarrass herself in front
of
Class One
. Undoubtedly, they knew many people, and if
they labeled her as a “stupid girl” she would never live it
down, and she could just kiss her Vice Presidency with
Vines & Robert’s
good-bye
.

“Well, we’re glad you enjoyed yourselves,” comments
Stephen. “Say, Celeste, would you and Jenny like to come
to the after party?” he asks.

“No, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it, I...,” before
she can complete the statement she was going to make,
Celeste feels Jenny step none too gently on her foot.

“What Celeste meant to say is
, of course we would.
They announced it is going to be at the
Four Aces,
but
we’ve never been there, and we don’t have an invitation,”
Jenny amends swiftly.

“Oh, that’s easy,” says Mario who is still standing in
front of Jenny. He turns and walks over to the counter
where he picks up a cellular phone and rapidly punches in a
phone number. After a brief pause he begins speaking into
the mouthpiece. “Hi, Paul, it’s Mario. Listen, I want you to
add two more guests to the
VIP
list for the party tonight.
The names are Jenny Harris and Celeste Brooks.” There is
a slightly longer pause before he adds, “OK. Thanks, Paul.
See you in a bit.”

Jenny and Celeste look to each other. Both ladies are
wearing different expressions. Jenny is beaming from ear to
ear while Celeste is glaring at Jenny and frowning.
Why do
I let you get me into these things
thinks Celeste? Why
aren’t they asking how we got backstage? Or what business
led them to knock on their door? Or better yet, Celeste
wants to ask why were they inviting Celeste and Jenny to
their exclusive after party?

Celeste has never considered herself wise to how things
work in the music industry, but she is smart in the ways of
the world, smart enough to realize that they don’t place
just anybody on the
VIP
list.
So why them
?

The answer came to Celeste
’s mind in a blinding flash.
Mario intends on getting Jenny into bed and Stephen plans
on seducing me. Well, well. They’ve got another thing
coming if they seriously expect us to feel so grateful to
them that we’re willing to sleep with them in order to thank
them. Humph… Well, they’ve got another thing coming.

However, Celeste does
n’t lay all the blame at their feet.
There had to have been more than a few women on whom
this bait and hook routine has managed to work. Enough
that these two men accept it as everyday practice. See the
female you want, show her a bit of the glamorous life you
lead, and then bed them.

Pinning a sweet innocent smile on her face, Celeste
comes up with a plan of her own. She intends to show
them that this is not how to treat a real lady. Celeste
certainly knows that she as well as her best friend, Jenny,
are ladies.

We, Celeste came up with a plan, will just be ourselves,
and when we grow tired and decide we’re ready to go
home, we will do just that.
Alone
.
Celeste and Jenny will
leave the members of
Class One
wondering what went
wrong in their routine.

“Well, I don’t know what to say, Mario.
I guess a thank
you is in order. Thank You,” Celeste says, trying to hide
her hidden agenda. She had taken acting for one semester
while in college and with the class had put on a summer
production of
A Raisin in the Sun
. Celeste had played the
role of Beneatha. That semester, Celeste had discovered
that she is quite the actress. By the time Jenny and herself
depart their company tonight,
Class One
will not know
what hit them, Celeste remarks to herself.

“Well then, I
guess it’s all settled. We will see you at the
after party tonight,” Stephen remarks glancing over his
shoulder to give Mario a look to express his approval of
Mario’s quick thinking. Stephen turns to gaze once again at
Celeste’s beautiful face. This woman is unnerving him.
Never had he met a woman like her before. Although he
had only met Celeste a few minutes ago, he could tell that
she is not the kind of person who allows people to neither
walk over her nor disrespect her in any way. This is the
woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. A
woman with class and style. Presence.

Oh, yeah. Celeste unquestionably has presence, Stephen
thinks to himself. So much, in fact, that he had noticed her
in the crowd as he took his bow. She is going to be the
mother of his children, the woman he will take home to
meet his mother. Stephen has no doubt that his mother will
love her. Celeste is a far cry from the women he usually
met who threw themselves at him, women who had no
respect for themselves nor their bodies.

“And you need directions to
Four
Aces
, correct?”
Stephen asks, trying hard not to let his thoughts choke his
words. He could perform in front of thousands of people at
one time yet he is having trouble asking one woman a
question? But Celeste is not just any woman. She is the
future Mrs. Haule.

“Yes. I don’t even know what city it’s in,” Celeste
answers.
“I have a better idea,” Mario interjects, “Why don’t you
ride with us. I’d be more than happy to have one of the
security guys bring your car to the club.”
Oh,
they are
smooth, Celeste thinks. If she hadn’t
caught on to their game and strategy, she would have been
delighted to accept the offer that Mario is lying on the table
in front of them.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary. We can just meet you
there,” says Celeste.
“Well, Celeste,” Jenny says, looking at Celeste while
tilting her head to the side the way she usually did when she
is trying to include Celeste in one of her wacky plans.
“Since Mario has been kind enough to offer, I see no
reason why we can’t take him up on it.”
“No, Jenny,” Celeste exclaims but then smoothes the
roughness of her tone before continuing, “I certainly don’t
want someone that I don’t know driving my car. You know
how I am.” Looking at Stephen she adds, “It’s no trouble
really. We don’t mind meeting you at the club.” Celeste
feels that it is supremely crucial for Stephen to know that
she is not the kind of woman who can be cosseted or easily
manipulated.
“In that case,” Stephen says while turning his back to
Celeste and reaching for the pen and note pad that sat on
the counter where the cellular phone that Mario used once
laid. “I’ll write down the address and directions. It won’t
take us long to shower and change. The hotel we’re staying
in is not far from the club. How about we meet in the
VIP
lounge in about an hour?” he turns to face Celeste.
“Sounds great,” says Celeste while Stephen approaches
her holding out the sheet of paper on which he has written
the information. Celeste accepts the paper he offers and is
surprised by the look in his eyes as their hands touch. But
Celeste is not in the mood for trying to guess what is going
on in his head, so she quickly dismisses the thought. “Well,
I’ll see you there. Thank you again for the invitation,” she
adds as she turns and reaches for the doorknob.
Celeste stands out in the hall for a few minutes by
herself as she waits for Jenny who was looking devilishly
goo-goo eyed at Mario after he had kissed both of her
hands. Celeste decides that she will tell Jenny what she
suspects is going on when they reach the car. That is if
Jenny can tear herself away from Mario so that they can
get
to the car, thinks Celeste.