Page 25 of The Heart of a Capricorn
A minute passed by the time she opened the door.
“Shit.” My gaze cruised every curve on her body. “I thought this dress was something the other day when you put this on, but this one.” I shook my head and bit my lip. “This one might just be my favorite. Baby, it’s something about this orange that makes me not want to show you off. At the same time, I needto let everyone else know that ain’t nobody fucking with you.” I grabbed her hand and made her do a slow spin.
When she faced me again, I noticed her rosy cheeks as she smiled. “Tank, stop.” She playfully tapped my chest.
I grabbed her wrist and held her hand against me. “You feel how fast my heart is beating? That’s because of you, and you calling me Tank will get you fucked. I’m trying to take you on a little date, Lyric, but you making it hard.” I adjusted myself. “Hard as hell.” My gaze devoured her beauty.
She wore one of the dresses I told her to get in every color from the boutique. The gold heels she had on made her ass sit up, and legs look damn good. Her hair was in a bun at the top of her head, but she left a few strands of hair loose in the front and the back. In her hand was a small gold bag. In her ears were gold earrings and multiple gold bracelets on both wrists.
I pulled her to me and hugged her. She smelled so good. My mouth watered like it did whenever my mom pulled a fresh apple pie out of the oven. I anticipated being able to taste her before the night was over.
“You talking about me, but you look at you.” She took a step back and looked me up and down. She nodded. “The ladies are going to break their necks when you walk in.”
“Baby, they can break them all they want. My eyes are for you only.”
“I hear you. I’m ready.”
I wanted to respond to what she said, but I knew Lyric was about action. I could tell her what I wanted all day long, but if I didn’t show it, it wouldn’t mean shit.
“Let’s roll then.”
I put my arm out for her to loop hers through it. She made sure the room door was closed and locked, then we walked to the elevator.
We made small talk while we waited for the elevator. Mainly talking about how our day went. I couldn’t tell her about my potential assignment yet, because I didn’t want to alarm her prematurely. Not every tip we got was accurate. Sometimes people just liked to start rumors, and it would spread like a wildfire. I would tell her about it if or when it was necessary.
“What kind of party is it?” Lyric asked as we entered the elevator.
“You’ll see.”
It didn’t take long for us to reach the lobby and walk toward the ballroom where the party was held.
“Signs of love.” Lyric read the sign that was near the entrance. She turned toward me and asked, “What does that mean?”
I shrugged because I really had no idea. “Let’s find out.”
We entered the ballroom, holding hands. Stars covered the ceiling. Multiple tables were spread around the room. Some had black tablecloths, others had white. Gold, white, and black balloon arches were against the back wall. The further we got inside, the more I noticed the different zodiac sign posters on the wall. Even the cupcakes had each zodiac sign on the tops of them.
“This is different,” Lyric said once we found an empty table.
I pulled out a chair for her to sit.
“It is. It’s pretty cool.” I glanced around the room to see if I spotted anyone familiar. I didn’t, even though it wouldn’t have made a difference if I did. My attention would be on Lyric only.
A woman stood at the front of the room and tapped on the microphone. Silence fell over the room as she removed the mic from the stand and walked a little closer to the crowd. “Welcome to the first annual signs of love party. My partner, Becky, and I are heavily into astrology, so we decided to share our love with you all.” She spread her arms out in a sweeping motion. I’myour host, Marissa.” She pointed to the left of her and said, “And this is Becky.” Becky gave a quick wave as Marissa turned back toward us. “We are going to eat, play some games, and there may be some prizes involved. Have fun, and we hope by the time you guys leave, you’ll have a new love for astrology.”
Everyone clapped when she returned the mic to the stand.
“Did you know there would be games and prizes?” Lyric asked as she leaned forward. There were four other people at our table.
“I had no idea what it was. I happened to see the sign earlier, but that was it. You cool with this?”
I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. It wouldn’t matter to me if we left the party or not, as long as we got to spend time together.
“Absolutely. You know I don’t mind a little competition. I’m trying to see what the prizes are.”
Before I could respond, Marissa was at the mic again.
“We’ll start off with a couple of games, then we’ll serve dinner. You can work in teams of two. Are you guys ready?” The crowd clapped and cheered. “Okay, the first person to answer the question correctly will get dinner for two at Taurus, right here in the Ferguson.” More cheers and claps echoed through the room. “There are buzzers at each table, so grab them because that’s the only way you will be called on.”
