and stood maybe an inch shorter. I noticed Stephanie as she put her drink on the table—it was almost empty. The gentleman sat down next to her as he placed his Heineken next to her glass.
The brother in my direction walked up to me and leaned slightly over to my ear as I sat back in my chair. “Hi, you mind if I sit down for a minute or are you with someone?” he asked.
I smiled casually, looking at the chair directly in front of me. “No, that’s fine,” I replied.
He put his beer on the table before moving his chair closer to me, then sat down, looking at me. “Hi—I’m Darryl Cooper, by the way.” He extended his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Darryl, I’m Mya LeVeaux.”
“Mya—I like that name.”
“You do? What’s so special about it?” I asked.
“My great-grandmother’s name is Mya.”
“Oh, really? Then I guess it is special.”
Darryl smiled, showing off his pretty white teeth as he reached for his beer. In the meantime, I glanced over at Stephanie, who was engaged in conversation with her newfound friend.
“So, are you enjoying yourself?” Darryl asked, getting my attention.
“Yeah, so far I’m having a pretty good time.” I could smell a hint of his cologne as he leaned over to talk.
“So what do you do for fun?” he asked.
“Fun? Well, I read a lot. For me that’s fun.”
“What kind of books do you read?”
“They vary, but I’m mostly into romance.”
“Oh, okay.”
“And you?” I asked.
“Well, I’m mostly into the arts.”
“Oh, do you paint?”
“No, not that kind of art, I was referring to martial arts.” He smiled at me.
“Oh, really. When I was a kid I always wanted to take up karate.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not too late.”
“Well, it’s too late for me.” I replied.
He smiled again, then said, “Maybe one day I can get you to change your mind.”
“I doubt it, Darryl. If something goes down now, I’ll just have to call my cousins out here to handle things for me.”
He laughed out loud. “I hear that,” he replied. “So, what kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a schoolteacher.”
“Oh, a schoolteacher. That’s interesting.”
“Why?”
“Well, my first impression of you was something more, like, a lawyer or something corporate.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“No, it was just my impression of you, that’s all,” he continued.
I chuckled. “No, I’m just a little ole schoolteacher.”
I took the last sip of wine from my glass and placed it on the table. Seeing this, Darryl turned and gestured to a waitress walking passed us. “Can I get you another drink?”
“Uh, sure. Thanks,” I replied.
When the waitress made it over to our table, Darryl stood up and handed her my empty glass. “Yes, can I get another—” He looked at me.
“Oh, any white wine is fine, thank you,” I replied.
Darryl pointed at Stephanie, who was still talking. “Would your friend like another drink as well?”
I politely tapped Stephanie on the shoulder and got her attention as she turned around.
“Would you like another drink?”
“Oh, yeah,” she replied, looking up at Darryl smiling.
“What were you drinking?” Darryl asked.
“Oh, I had a Remy XO.”
I braced myself for a response from Darryl about her drink order, but without hesitation he turned toward the waitress and ordered both drinks, along with a beer for himself. Stephanie looked over at me and smiled.
As the waitress walked away, Darryl sat back down, looking into my eyes in silence.
“What?” I asked, confused by his stare.
“Nothing, just looking.”
“So what kind of work do you do?” I asked.
“I’m a pharmaceutical sales rep.”
“Really?”
“Yep,” he replied proudly.
“I can’t see a salesman in you,” I said.
“Oh, really? Then what did you see?”
“I don’t know, but not a salesman.”
The waitress came back with our drinks and placed them on the table. I took a sip of wine as Darryl and I chatted for several more minutes. He chipped away at several topics until finally asking for my number. I thought he was cute and had enough good qualities to warrant a call, so I gave him my cell phone number before he left.
Stephanie couldn’t shake her friend for nothing. She sipped her drink sarcastically in his face, pretty much ignoring most of his conversation. Finally, I got tired of just sitting there alone so I got up and gathered my things.
“Are you about to leave?” Stephanie asked desperately.
“Yeah, I’m going over to check on Tangie.”
“Wait up—I’m going with you.”
I leaned over to her right ear. “What about your friend?” I whispered.
“Who, Carlos? Girl, I ain’t thinking ’bout him. I was just trying to be polite,” she whispered back.
Carlos had a half-embarrassed look on his face as he watched us talk. I grabbed what was left of my wine and stood next to Stephanie. She got up, pushing her chair in as she straightened her blouse. Carlos gently touched Stephanie’s arm, getting her attention. “Can’t you stay for a little while longer? I was just getting a chance to know you,” he said.
“No—besides, I told you I’m in the middle of a relationship.” Carlos’s half-embarrassed look turned to disappointment as he nodded before Stephanie and I walked off.
“So, what’s up with your boy?” Stephanie asked.
“Who, Darryl? He seems nice.”
“Yeah, he’s a keeper,” she continued.
“He’s all right. What about Carlos?”
“What? Please. He was so boring I could barely keep my attention focused on what he was saying. Plus, if I were single, I wouldn’t give him the time of day, because his cheap ass couldn’t even buy me a drink.”
I smiled, turning my head as we continued on to join Tangie. As we turned the corner by the bar, we saw Tangie sitting at a table with some real soul brothers. One wore all red, the other all white, and the third brother had on all green. I had to hide my laughter as we got closer. It looked as though Tangie was really having a good time as she sat there with a drink in hand and several empty glasses in front of her.
“There my girls are,” Tangie said loudly, waving her hand. Stephanie and I smiled as we walked up to the table.
“Fellas, these are my girls. This is Stephanie,” she said, touching Stephanie’s arm. “And over here is Mya.” She pulled me closer