"Could you at least pretend to be happy? You came because you're my best friend and because I need you." Tamara said, on sighting Franklin.
There's only very little Brenda wouldn't do for Tamara, and she knows it.
"I'm here for just one hour, then I'm gone." Brenda said, giving Tamara a hard long stare. "Got it?"
"Yes!" Tamara said, grinning as she kissed Brenda's cheek.
"Good." Brenda said, looking at the time on her phone.
On getting to the bar, Tamara dragged Brenda as they walked up to Franklin to say hello.
After the pleasantries, Tamara let go of Brenda who went to get a drink for herself.
"If I'm going to be here, I could as well loosen up." she thought.
The basketball players at this school seem to live by two rules: Play hard on the court and then party even harder.
Taking a swig of her drink, Brenda looked towards Tamara. She arched her brow as Franklin pulled her in for a kiss.
Brenda rolled her eyes. Trying to look anywhere but at them, she let her eyes wander until they collided with his blue-dreamy eyes.
"Son of a bitch!" she cursed under her breath.
*****
Alfredo Mackenzie— Brenda's nightmare.
Coming here Brenda had planned on avoiding three people but she just made eye contact with one of them. Alfredo was the last person she wanted to run into.
"What the fuck is he looking at?" she gave him a scowl and he smirks at her.
If only he knew how much that annoyed her— maybe he knew. She couldn't help but notice how his dimples pop out each time he does that— maybe he does it on purpose.
Alfredo had a bottle of wine in his hand with three girls sitting around him on the only couch in the room. He crooked a finger at her, gesturing to her to come sit on his lap.
"Is he serious?" she thought. Touching her head with her index finger in circular motion, "are you crazy?" she mouthed.
He smirked again and untangled himself from the ladies. Making his way towards her, Brenda regretted ever going to the party. She's not sure how she'll last for the remaining forty five minutes.
Tamara was still hitched with Franklin and It looked like Brenda's on her own. This was precisely why she didn't want to come here in the first place. Damn Tee and her puppy eyes. Thinking fast about what to do next, Brenda spun back around but it was too late. He's there, standing before her in all his masculine goodness and glory.
Her eyes lingered on his broad chest which was barely covered by the sleeveless shirt he was wearing, exposing his biceps at the same time. How she can admire Alfredo despite hating him and his guts, annoyed Brenda extremely.
"Williams, you made it!" he exclaimed, drawing her into a hug as her body stiffened.
"Yep," she drawled, squirming out of his hold and hoping that one word was enough to convey her unhappiness.
Alfredo glanced at Franklin and Tamara and shook his head. "I knew those two had the hots for each other."
Brenda laughed knowing Alfredo was right but she quickly stopped herself.
Intensely looking at her, Alfredo folded his thick arms over his broad chest. His shirt stretched so much that she was surprised it didn't rip.
"I need to get away from him," she thought. All I can think about is this thick broad chest in front of me and how they'd feel."
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, breaking her thoughts.
"Okay, I need a drink." she said, making her way to the bar.
Brenda doesn't like the way Alfredo made her feel. There's this unwanted back and forth of tension and attraction that constantly flares between them. She's not sure what to make of it so it was just easier to avoid him and hope it goes away.
"Where are my manners?" Alfredo said, following her closely. "Let's get you something to drink."
"No, that's okay. Your presence is needed over there." Brenda said, pointing to the three ladies he'd left on the couch. "You wouldn't want to disappoint them, now would you?"
"Williams," he said, chuckling. "There's plenty of me to go round, don't you think?" he added with a smirk plastered to his face.
With two long steps, he covered the little bit of distance between them. He placed his hand possessively around her shoulders and dragged her through the crowd who made way as he passed. Because Alfredo was tall and huge, people scurried off his way.
It took less than a minute before they got to the bar. Brenda knew that she should probably say thank you since if she was alone she wouldn't have made it in that short time. But she bit back the words— no, he didn't deserve it even though it was the polite thing to do.
Rather than look at Alfredo, Brenda focused on the bar that has been set up at the far side of the room. Every possible kind of liquor has been set out on the counter and she couldn't make a choice.
"Williams!" Alfredo yelled over the buzzing music. "Come on, pick your poison." He smirked, his eyes beaming with excitement. "How about we start off with some shots? I'll go first." he added.
"In your dreams," Brenda retorted.
"You need to loosen up, Williams." Alfredo said as he broke into bouts of laughter.
*****
This wasn't Brenda's scene so she didn't want to let her guard down.
She glanced skeptically at the assortment of alcohol. Being a light head, she tries to avoid alcohol in public.
"I'll just have a bottle of beer."
"One beer coming right up." Alfredo said, signaling the bartender who gave him a nod in response. Even though there were a ton of people waiting in line, he filled a tumbler and passed it to Alfredo.
"Your drink, my lady." Alfredo said as he handed the drink to Brenda with a bow.
Brenda rolled her eyes. "Thanks." she said, taking a sip.
As she was looking around while taking her second sip, her eyes fell on the second person she wanted to avoid— Victor Simons. Instead of taking a small sip, Brenda gulped down the whole drink. Before she could tear her eyes away, their gazes collided.
"Oh, great!" she muttered under her breath.
"What's wrong Williams?" Alfredo asked as he shot her a confused look.
"Nothing." She said, feeling agitated.
It was too late to hide as Victor had already seen her. She shifted from one foot to the other thinking of what to do.
Alfredo followed Brenda's eyes around the room until it landed on Victor.
"Motherfucker!" he muttered under his breath in much the same tone as Brenda.
Brenda could feel Victor's gaze on her. Before she knew it, she could smell him right behind her. Brenda turned to face him and with a smirk, he said, "Well isn't it the great, Brenda Williams."
His gaze moved from her lips down to her chest where it lingered unabashedly. Brenda felt humiliated but instead of squirming, she stood her ground.
"I will be damned if I let him win." She thought.
*****
"What just happened?" Brenda whispered.
"I just punched Collins in the face," Alfredo says calmly. "You're welcome," he added.
"Oh crap!" Brenda muttered under her breath as Alfredo dragged her upstairs.
Locking the door behind her, "Why did you have to do that?" Brenda screamed at him.
Coming to her senses, she tugged her fingers free of his. Does he have any idea what he's just done?
Alfredo stared at her like she's crazy. "He was talking trash about you, Williams."
His brows were raised. "What was I supposed to do? Just stand there like a pussy and let him do it?" He scowls. "Hell no!"
Both of Brenda's hands fly to her temples. She massaged the sides of her head gently as if that would push back the growing ache she felt inside.