Nerd Girl (12 page)

“Oh, my girls look so lovely,” she says, resting her hands over her mouth, “your young men are very lucky to have such beautiful girls on their arm.” She kisses each of us on the cheek and runs out of the room to get her camera.

“They better know how lucky they are,” Layla says, elbowing me in the ribs.

“I’m sure they do, Layla, I’m sure they do.” I close my closet door and see a sensual looking young woman staring back at me in the mirror. My hair looks amazing, my dress is spectacular, and my makeup is flawless. Grabbing the shoe box, I take out my shoes and place them on the floor so I can step into them. These shoes are killer. They give me a few inches more in height and make my legs look like they never end. Layla decided on a pair of strappy, black pumps instead of her signature Docs. Smart move on her part, the Docs wouldn’t go with the dress. At least the pumps make her look a little taller so she won’t be so tiny compared to Riven’s large frame. GG comes back with her camera, Clyde following close behind. She starts snapping pictures of Layla and me, even when we’re not posing for her. GG just loves candid shots.

“Ugh, Clyde, you better not drool on my dress.” Layla scolds Clyde as he tries to sniff her. They’re relationship is strained and they tolerate one another because they both love me. Clyde just gives her a deep woof,
saying, “would I do that?” Layla shoos him my direction. Clyde comes over and rubs his head on my leg, so I lean down and grasp his sweet face in my palms and kiss him between his eyes. I get a face lick for my kiss, and Layla flips out.

“Jenks, I spent all day making you look drop dead gorgeous and you let that mongrel destroy my work.” She claps her hands on her hips and starts tapping her foot. “Not only will you smell like a dog, but I also have to patch up what Pupperoni over there licked off.” Clyde quickly turns around on her insult and swats her with his tail. Never a good sign. Clyde is sensitive. “Ouch, keep it up, Clyde and I’ll stop bringing you treats.” GG helps to usher Clyde out of my room and he sits on the other side of the door pawing at it, whining to be let back in.

“Clyde, go sit with Ben, this is girl time,” GG yells. She spends the next ten minutes fussing over me and Layla. Fluffing my hair, straitening our dresses, spritzing us with perfume and just gushing over the two of us like a grandma should. The doorbell rings and I swear GG just about jumps out of her skin. She’s so excited for us. Clyde starts howling and I can hear him rush to the door followed by Pops telling him to settle down. Good Luck with that Pops, you know Clyde never listens.

“I guess that’s your young men come to pick you up. I’m so happy for you both, have a great time.” GG quickly kisses both of us on the cheek and proceeds us out of my room and down stairs.

I can hear voices coming from the living room and as I turn the corner, I see Derrick and Riven standing next to each other talking to Pops. Clyde, at Derrick’s feet, is getting his ears scratched. Derrick looks so damn handsome in his black tuxedo. His vest is a light champagne color, chosen to match my dress and he went with an elegant champagne print tie instead of the traditional bow tie. His hair is gelled to perfection, I think my heart just skipped a beat, he’s that gorgeous and he’s my date tonight. This moment is almost surreal, like a dream come true. Riven is outfitted in a black tux as well only his vest and tie are all black. His longish hair is wet, making messy waves, but still looks fantastic. The black on black makes his deep blue eyes stand out. If he weren’t such a goof, I’d think he were hot. Riven, who wasn't engaged in conversation, spotted us first. His face cracked into a beautiful smile and his eyes widened to almost saucer size. Derrick was busy talking to Pops about something and Riven started elbowing him in the ribs to get his attention. Casting Riven a threatening look and rubbing his side, Derrick finally looks up and sees me standing there. With a predatory look in his whiskey colored eyes, Derrick strides over, looking me up and down. He appears to be just as in awe of me as I am of him. I guess from the captivated look on his face, he approves of Layla’s hard work.

“Have I died and gone to heaven?” He asks, giving me another once over and zeroing in on my lips. “I must have because you look like an angel.” With that, he takes me in his arms, right here in front of our friends, my grandparents, and my dog and lights up my world with a kiss. He hasn’t even acknowledged Layla yet.

“Derrick, you haven’t even said hello to Layla yet.” I manage to get the words out in between kisses.

“Hello, Layla,” He says without looking at her and continuing to kiss me. Riven laughs at us and saunters up to Layla giving her a tight hug and a kiss on her forehead.

“Hey, sweet cheeks, don’t you look fine this evening. It’s ok, you don’t have to return the compliment, I already know I look fan-freaking-tastic.” There goes that ego. I’m sure Layla will have a witty comeback for Riven’s comment.

“Sure stud muffin, you’ll be the bell of the ball. What’s with all the black anyway, you going to a funeral later?” Layla arches her eye brow and cocks out her hip. “You look like an undertaker in all that black, ever heard of color? Color is good.” Riven just stands there with his mouth hanging open. Finally, he snaps out of his stupor and gives as good as he just got.

“Oh, baby, you’ve got room to talk. Are you going for the Pepe Le Pew look this evening? Nice stripe in your hair, by the way. In case you’ve missed it, you’re wearing all black, too.” Derrick and I pull apart to watch the back and forth between our two friends. They playfully insult each other a few more times and that’s when I hear the toilet flush and someone wearing high heels come clicking down the hallway. All the people in my world that matter are in this room, so who the heck could that be. Mitzi comes strutting into the room on designer heels, wearing a stunning red dress. That is so not the dress she bought when we went shopping. This dress looks like a one of a kind couture dress and she looks like a movie star. Hair perfect, makeup perfect, and just the perfect selection of jewelry to adorn her long neck. I’m shocked for a few reasons. The first is the dress; the second is why she is here with us?

“Oh, Amy, don’t you look charming, I simply adore that dress on you.” Mitzi gushes a little too much and her smile is just a little to fake.

“Get all the lipstick off your teeth, Mitz?” Riven asks bringing up a sore spot for Mitzi and making Layla laugh right in her face. “It’s called lipstick, I don’t know why you feel the need to color your teeth.” Mitzi just shoots Riven the stink eye and shakes her head at him. He just laughs at her.

“Thank you, Mitzi, I don’t recognize that dress. I thought you chose a classic black dress for the party.”

“A girl can never have too many little, black dresses. I just added that one to my collection and had a well-known designer friend of mine create this for me. Isn’t it fantastic?” Mitzi strikes a pose and does a twirl around, showing the plunging back. It is a gorgeous dress and she looks like someone’s trophy.

“You look great Mitzi.” I’m not feeding into her vanity any more than necessary.

“Yeah, Mitzi, you look fantastic,” Derrick agrees. Mitzi looks at him with hooded eyes and gives a flirty smile. Derrick just gives her a sheepish grin and starts talking to Riven. GG and Pops introduce themselves to Mitzi and converse with her for a bit. Clyde just sits at my feet, staring at her. I know he’s protecting me from her in his way. Everyone talks for a while longer and then Evening Gown Barbie claps her hands together, alerting us that party hour is almost upon us and we need to make haste. Otherwise we’ll be late. Make haste? Who the hell talks like that? She ushers everyone out of the house and into the waiting black limo. Layla and Riven slide in first, and then me, Derrick, and finally Mitzi.

It’s a short ride to the gym from my house; Mitzi completely monopolizes the conversation. She tells Derrick who he simply must talk to and mingle with. Derrick nods his head, agreeing to work the room, but tells her, he wants to enjoy himself as well. I’d like to know why Mitzi felt the need to ride over with us. Couldn’t she have given him this pep talk earlier in the day or yesterday? Derrick just looks at me with an apologetic expression and holds me closer to his side. Layla sits across from me, looking out the window, biting her bottom lip. My guess is, so she doesn’t rip Mitzi a new one. I also note, her and Riven, holding hands. Good for them, I’m glad they’re seeing each other. Layla needs a good guy in her life.

As the limo pulls up to the front entrance of the gym, I notice a multitude of photographers standing around outside the lobby. There’s also two rotating signal lights spinning around, drawing the attention of anyone within a few a mile radius. As the chauffeur opens the door helping Mitzi out, I’m blinded by flashes of light from the many cameras waiting to snap a picture of Derrick as he exits. We all file out and I glance over to see Mitzi posing for the paparazzi with Derrick. I’d almost think he forgot I was here if not for Riven, tapping him on the shoulder and gesturing in my direction. Glancing back and catching my wounded expression, Derrick looks apologetic. He didn’t forget about me, he just overlooked me for a minute. Leaving Mitzi to her preening, he joins me once again. Layla just rolls her aggravated eyes.

“I’m sorry, sweets. The photographers wanted a few shots of me with my agent. It’s for publicity, you understand, right?” Taking my hand and staring pleadingly into my eyes, Derrick wills me to understand. I do, I just don’t want to be left out in the cold, feeling like a fool.

“Sure, I understand. It’s required and all that.” I reply

“Well, I sure as hell don’t. That was a real dick move, Derrick,” Layla fires off at him.

“Layla, don’t, its fine,” I argue.

“No, it’s not, Jenks; you’re his date tonight not, that preening peacock over there.” She snarls, pointing to Mitzi. “He just left your ass hanging there to get his picture taken. Not cool, Derrick, really not cool.”

“Layla, I’m okay. Derrick is the man of the hour and has to do this to promote the product and himself as a spokesman. Calm down, please.” I beg. Taking a deep huff of breath, she finally relents.

“You’re right, Layla; Amy is my date tonight. I can’t promise it won’t happen again, but I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t.” Derrick leans down to kiss my forehead and whispers lovingly in my ear. “I’m sorry, baby.” I nod my head in response and we all head into the building. The lobby is decked out in beautiful arrangements of black, red, and white roses. Very elegant. As I take in all the people coming and going, most of them are dressed as formally as us. The men turned out in tuxedos, or expensive suits, and the ladies are parading around in elegant cocktail dresses. I’ve never been to a black tie affair before. Doing my best not to stumble in my ridiculously high heels, I hold on to Derrick just a little bit tighter. I can hear the music pumping out of the sound system and as we get closer to the courts, it gets louder.

The basketball courts have been turned into a wonderland. The DJ booth is set up towards the far wall with a plexiglas dance floor in front of it. The dance floor has color changing lights underneath, giving the area a club feel. There are two bars set up, one in each corner of the room, scattered lounge areas, and cocktail tables spread out here and there. White gloved servers circulate the room, carrying silver platters of champagne or delicious hors d’oeuvres. Randomly placed LED screens flash pictures of Derrick’s book covers, along with some of the promotional shots for Fitnexx. You would never know this room is actually a basketball court. This whole night is about Derrick and Fitnexx. It’s his time to celebrate and I couldn’t be prouder of him. The pumping club beat comes to an end and a slower song starts flowing through the speakers.

“Want to dance, baby?” Not waiting for my answer he pulls me into the middle of the dance floor and we start swaying to the music. Layla and Riven are off to the side and other couples sporadically joining us. “This party is unreal, I can’t believe it’s all for me and Fitnexx.”

“You have a lot to be proud of, Derrick. You’ve worked hard to get here and deserve everything that’s happening.”

“I’m glad you’re here to share it with me. My lucky star.” Placing a lingering kiss on my lips, we just enjoy each other and the atmosphere.

“Derrick, Derrick, there you are, precious. I simply must introduce you to some important people.” Mitzi says tapping him on the shoulder and ruining our moment. “You’ll have plenty of time to spend with Amy later. We need to work the room right now. Come, come,” She orders him with a snap of her fingers.

“I do have to make the rounds, baby. It will only take a half hour, max. Go find Riven and Layla, I’ll join you soon.”

“Oh, I understand, go. See you soon.” Derrick quickly kisses me on the cheek and disappears into the crowd with Mitzi. I walk off the dance floor and grab a few hors d’oeuvres to snack on. Layla and Riven keep me company while I wait for Derrick. Occasionally I can spot him in the crowd talking to various people and laughing. Mitzi is never too far behind. Riven takes turns dancing with me and Layla to kill some time and he keeps us entertained with his raunchy sense of humor. He is a funny guy. I haven’t laughed this much in weeks. I should feel like a third wheel with them, but surprisingly I don’t. Riven considers himself lucky to have the “two hottest chicks at the party” on his arm.

“Can I get anyone a refill?” Riven asks. We’ve been enjoying the expensive champagne all night. Derrick’s half hour has turned into two hours and it’s starting to bother me.

“I’ll take another, please.”

“I’m on it, be back in a few.” Riven leaves to get my drink.

“Hey, Jenks, give me five minutes to hit the bathroom and I’ll come right back.” Layla looks at me sympathetically and I nod, sending her on her way.

“I can handle myself for five, go on.” I know Riven will be back soon with a fresh drink for me. I need all the liquid courage I can get.

From where I’m standing, I can see the party in full swing and I spot Derrick surrounded by a bunch of guys in suits. I call them that, because I have yet to be introduced to anyone. After interrupting our first and only dance, Mitzi has kept Derrick doing the rounds and meeting people. I’d just slow him down and these people are here for him, so I let her do her thing. Hey, if it helps Derrick further his career or give him job security, I’m all for it. Most of the women here, I notice, give him more than just a passing glance, and I’ve seen him fend off no less than three aggressive ladies. I’ve never thought of myself as the jealous type, but when I see them rub his ass or biceps and give him the fuck me eyes, I want to yank their hair out. I’m still trying to figure out why he wanted me to come this evening. I got all dressed up for him, I wore makeup for him, and I put on heels for him. To look good for him. What am I getting out of this besides the cold shoulder? I guess I’m thinking so hard and feeling sorry for myself that I don’t hear her approach. Those clicking heels, alone, should have alerted me to the threat heading my way.