Page 89 of Take It Till You Make It
“Hello?” I repeat. I take a step forward just as the chair spins toward us. I shake my head, sure I’ve fallen into some waking dream fugue state. “Glory?”
Grinning from ear to ear, she unfolds her legs from their crisscrossed position and hops out of the chair. “Surprise!”
Other people wander out from other rooms, but I only have eyes for my best friend. I run to her and throw my arms around her. “Are you real?”
We stand in the embrace, rocking back and forth, talking over one another.
Glory is saying, “I just got in. My flight was delayed. I was so worried I wouldn’t get here on time.”
While I’m babbling, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re here. No wonder you haven’t been answering my texts today. You were traveling.”
Then Glory is yammering, “It was all Crispin’s idea. He got my contact info from your mom. I deleted his first text, thinking it was a scammer. Then he called. Oh, my goodness,” Glory fans herself. “I’d recognize that sultry voice anywhere.”
And I’m remarking, “I can’t believe you kept this secret! You can’t keep a secret to save your life.”
Glory holds me at arm’s length, looking miserable. “It was sooooo hard not saying something. I almost spilled the beans a million times. To tell you what I was going to wear to the party, to tell you about my new 'do.” She places her hands above her shoulders, palms up to show off her perky new haircut.
“I love it. But why couldn’t you tell me about that?”
She laughs. “I was afraid I’d tell you why I got it! I can’t meet Crispin Moore with small-town hair. Oh my gosh. And Chandra Miracle! And apparently Sally Garza. Who I love already. I’ve been rubbing elbows.”
I finally look around the room to see all the people she mentioned grinning at me. As soon as I make eye contact, people step forward to wish me a happy birthday. Mom slides in to hug Glory. Crispin stands back while I say hello to everyone. There are so many more people here than I expected.
“Oh my gosh, thank you for coming!” I say as I hold my arms out to hug Crispin’s family and Angel all at once. We rock back and forth in an awkward group hug that makes my heart burst with happiness.
“Belly, this is my nephew! I swear this is the best day of his life.” Terrell introduces us, and when I give the boy a hug, I think he’s going to combust from embarrassment.
I see Chandra and Mom locked in a fierce embrace and take a moment to marvel over that unexpected and surprising friendship. It breaks my heart in a good way that Mom is learning to move on and has found a new friend to help her.
“Your friend practically accosted me,” Best boy - Eduardo jokes when he steps up to perform a complicated high-five sequence that I spectacularly fail at.
“Oh, if I’d known she was coming, I would have totally warned you. She’s had a thing for you since she saw your interview.”
He eyes her critically across the room, as she and Grimilda discuss her outfit, and I think he likes what he sees. He should. Glory looks positively glorious in her orange retro flight attendant dress and white patent leather go-go boots. Her new bob, with what I’m guessing are low lights to add depth to her already dark hair, is stunning.
It seems to take forever for me to greet everyone. Finally, Crispin steps up, hands in the pockets of his shorts, polo stretching across his chest to make my mouth water, and a pleased look on his face. “The girl of the hour.”
I want to plaster my lips against his, but I have no idea if there is an etiquette for kissing in front of co-workers. Instead, I fold my hands together behind my back to keep them from running over the muscles outlined under his shirt. Is it possible he’s become more mouthwatering overnight? “Only because you made me so.”
We grin at each other as we stand as close as we can without actually touching. It was strange scrolling my social media in the makeup chair Thursday morning to find a picture of us with the caption speculating why we might be stepping out of a fancy restaurant together on “his co-star’s” birthday. My hair was blowing in front of my face, so you have to know it’s me to recognize me, but the post still officially announces our relationship to the world. From here on out, I’ll be the only one in those pictures I find of him while getting my hair done.
We’ve remained professional and have our lips and hands to ourselves the last couple of days at work, so being with him now in his super posh penthouse apartment and not touching him is pure torture. My head is tilted back as far as it can go so that I can gaze at his perfect face.
“Are there rules about what kind of PDA we can display in front of our co-workers?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I just didn’t want to assume you were ready to make this public.”
“You mean more public than the tabloids?” I joke.
“Well, that was just us walking down some stairs. It wasn’t us lip-locked in front of a room of people we work with.”
I’m happy to hear his mind is as obsessed with kissing as mine is. He demonstrates fast reaction times when, without warning, I leap, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Somehow, his hands are out of his pockets to catch me before I slide down, and he laughs as he staggers to keep his balance.
“Let’s go all in,” I whisper, just before I press my lips to his. Feeling his velvet lips moving against mine is like I’m finally getting a cold glass of water after a night in the desert. I feel like I can breathe again. Think again. Be present at my own party.
There are cheers around us, and I hear Terrell say, “It’s about time.” This can’t be a surprise to the people here. Even if they didn’t see the tabloids the other day, he’s throwing me a birthday party. Regular co-workers don’t do that, right? But I still soak in their joy at seeing us kiss.
Crispin gives me one last quick peck before letting me slide to the ground again. “Thirsty? Hungry? We’ve got all your favorites.” He grabs my hand and saunters toward the kitchen where I see people in white coats busy at work. Oh my gosh, he got a caterer. That’s way more than necessary.
