Moments of Clarity (4 page)

A warm sensation coursed through her body and filtered down to her abdomen. Feeling surprised and a little shaken, she squirmed under his piercing stare. Trying to break the spell, she signaled to a vendor walking by with a tray of beverages. She turned to Tiara. “Do you want a drink?”

“Sure, why not?” Tiara began to reach into her pocketbook and Sasha stopped her by placing her hand on hers. “This is on me. It's the least I can do. I would never have been able to afford to sit here.”

“These seats aren't for sale anyhow. They're reserved for special people.”

“Then I guess we are really are the stars we pretended to be to that teenager outside.” She turned to the vendor hovering at her side. “I'll take two beers.”

Handing one to Tiara she said, “I wish I hadn't drunk that champagne earlier. I don't like to mix my liquor.”

“Don't worry about it. Calvin will look out for you if you get tipsy.”

“I think that he's done enough for me as it is.” Sasha took a swig from the beer. Over the rim she looked to see if Sexton was still watching her, but he had sat down on the bench with his teammates and was listening to what the coach was saying.

From tip-off, the teams battled for every basket. Every time one of the Knicks made a basket the fans screamed and threw confetti. The tempo of the music was upbeat, and Sasha and Tiara moved in their seats with music that they liked.

At the half, Sasha turned to Tiara and asked with an overly casual tone, “Do you think that Sexton is going to play tonight?”

“I don't know. He's not a starter because he's one of the newer players, but I think that he does get some playing time.”

“I'm going to the ladies' room before the line gets too long.”

“You go ahead. I'll wait here.”

“I shouldn't have had that second beer. Good thing that I'm not driving.”

As Sasha stood at the sink washing her hands she suddenly felt the hairs on her neck stand up. The mirror reflected Pandora standing behind her. The look on Pandora's face was so malevolent that Sasha's body tensed up though she returned her stare.

After what seemed an eternity of silence, Sasha calmly reached for a paper towel and dried her hands. Instead of walking over to the large garbage can where Pandora stood, she balled the paper towel she had used and aimed at the can. She hit her mark and without looking back, she confidently strolled out of the restroom.

When she returned to her seat she said to Tiara, “Guess what?”

“What?”

“I just ran into Pandora in the ladies' room.”

“You've got to be kidding.” Tiara's eyes widened in surprise. “What happened?”

“I think that she was trying to intimidate me. When I looked up she was standing behind me staring me down.”

“That chick is a real hood rat. She needs to be apologizing instead of trying to front.”

Sasha agreed. “I know. But she really doesn't have anything to say or she would have. I mean, it was just like I was in high school again,” she scoffed, throwing up her hands in mock horror. “Trying to look so threatening that I'm supposed to be scared or something.”

“That's what they call selling wolf tickets.” Tiara snorted in disgust. “You missed the halftime show, and it also was kind of interesting.”

“Oh, yeah? That's unusual. I usually find them kind of dull.”

“Not this time. The cheerleaders were out on the floor doing their thing and one fell. She got up in a hurry and continued her dance, but it was some kind of funny.”

“I'd be so embarrassed. It's not like it's worth it or anything. I heard that these girls don't make any real money. The pay is something like one hundred dollars a game.”

“You're kidding. Why would you bust your butt for chump change like that?”

“Well, I guess for the exposure. They do get seen by millions of people and get on television. They probably all want to be a model, actress, or a singer.”

“A bunch of Paula and Jennifer knock-offs,” Tiara laughed. “And if that doesn't work out they can always get pregnant by one of the players. If he doesn't want to marry her, she can put child support on him. You can't be a cheerleader forever. You need to have a plan B.”

“I think that would be an awful way to live, totally dependent on a man. That's not the life for me.”

“Me, either,” Tiara agreed.

Their attention was drawn to a commotion where the cheerleaders were sitting. Sasha at first assumed that a fan had become unruly because the security guards were in the midst of the small group of people. Then they dispersed the group and a guard led one of the cheerleaders out of the arena. Another cheerleader and guard soon followed.

Sasha and Tiara gave each other speculative looks.

“What in the world do you think is going on?”

Tiara replied, “I don't know. But one of those cheerleaders being led out of here is the one that fell.”

“I'm dying to know what happened.”

Tiara pretended to admonish her. “You are too nosy, girl.”

“Don't even try it. You know that you want to know as much as I do.”

Tiara laughed good-naturedly. “I sure do. I'm going to text Calvin and see if he knows what's going on.” Tiara pulled out her cell phone and they watched Calvin. When he pulled the phone out of his pocket, he read the message, looked over at them, and then texted back, “The Asian cheerleader tripped that other girl on purpose. They're fighting over Sexton and he doesn't want either of them.”

“Damn!” Tiara said. “He has cheerleaders fighting over him in public. He must be a keeper!” She jokingly moved her body suggestively on the bench.

Sasha stared at the back of Sexton's head. He had never even looked in the direction of the cheerleaders. His head was tilted towards the scoreboard which showed that the game was tied.

Sexton said at breakfast that he was all that!
“He must be good,” she murmured quietly to herself.

The third quarter was even more exciting than the first two. Each team had two technical fouls from the referees for questioning calls and the Knicks were ahead by only one point. When there was less than a minute left, Sasha and Tiara stood with the rest of the crowd as a point guard for the Knicks dribbled down the court. As he went up for the lay-up, two basketball players from the other team rushed him and he went down.

A gasp went up from the crowd as the referees blew their whistles. The two women saw Calvin and the coaches rush to the basketball court and crowd around the down player. Sasha held her breath, knowing that the longer the player was down, the more serious his condition was. After a minute or two a stretcher was wheeled out and the injured player lifted and placed on the gurney. Calvin followed as it was quickly wheeled off the court.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Sexton pulled off his hoodie and joined his other team members at the foul line. He made two baskets to deafening noise from the crowd. Tension was high between the two teams, and they became even more aggressive against each other. Sasha felt mesmerized as she watched Sexton. He ran from one end of the court to the other and dribbled and passed, doing whatever was needed to score.

Tapping Tiara on the arm she exclaimed, “Did you see that? Sexton's ambidextrous!”

Tiara nodded her head, smiling at the lilt in Sasha's voice and her enthusiastic expression when she commented on Sexton's basketball skills. Tiara looked at the scoreboard and said, “There is only room for one more play if they don't go into overtime.”

“I hope they can prevent them from scoring,” Sasha said, mentally crossing her fingers.

Just then the point guard from the other team looked at the clock and hurled the ball towards the basket. The ball bounced off the rim and three Knicks clamored for it. Sexton took possession of the ball and began a leisurely trot down towards the Knicks basket. In the remaining seconds, the crowed stood to their feet. Just before the buzzer went off, Sexton hurled the ball towards the basket. The ball dropped neatly into the basket and the Knicks won. The fans went wild and danced to the Knicks' theme song as if every person in the arena was a champion. As the music blared and the fans filed out of the stands, Sexton separated himself from the crowd and stood alone in the middle of the basketball court. For the second time that evening, their eyes locked, and this time Sexton gave her a slow wink.

Chapter 4

They stood outside the arena at the V.I.P. entrance. The night air had cooled considerably and Sasha shivered slightly.

Tiara noticed and said, “I'm going to text message Calvin. His plans may have changed because of that injured player.”

Just then, Calvin emerged from the side door. “Ready, ladies?” he asked before heading towards the white Lexus that was parked at the curb in front of them.

Sasha sat quietly in the back seat listening to Tiara and Calvin.

“Honestly, when I first met Peter he rarely had to travel,” she complained. “Now it seems as if he's gone all of the time. He said that he was going to be only gone three days, and it's turned into five. If I had known this, I wouldn't have quit teaching.”

“I don't know why you quit in the first place. You always loved your job.”

“Peter talked me into it. It takes a lot to keep a household running smoothly and as a teacher I was overworked and underpaid.”

Calvin frowned. “I know that, sis, but now you seem bored. Maybe you should go back to work, at least part-time.”

“I would have to substitute until I got my certificate renewed. That's not even teaching. It's just babysitting. Ninety-five dollars a day isn't much for combat pay.”

“How long would it take for you to get your certificate reinstated? Calvin asked.

“I need three hundred hours.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “Maybe I'll pick up those hours so that I can go back to work part-time.”

“That would be good for you, Tiara. That way you would have your own money and still have enough free time to make sure everything at home goes smoothly.”

“I have my own money,” she corrected him with a slight attitude. “Peter's money is my money.”

“I know that, Tiara, but you still have to account to him for the money that you do spend,” he replied without rancor. “No one should be completely dependent on another for financial stability.”

“I do think that teaching half a day is the perfect solution,” Tiara said, ignoring Calvin's remark. “I'll talk to Peter about it.”

Calvin pulled up to a small building. Two men who looked like sentinels flanked a wooden door. Seeing the limos, luxury cars, and sport utility vehicles parked out in front, Sasha knew this must be the secret hang-out.

Calvin turned off the ignition and announced, “We're here.”

“It doesn't look very crowded,” Tiara said doubtfully.

“Looks can be very deceiving. This place is so exclusive they don't even have the name on the door. If you're allowed to be here, you know where it is. People walk by and don't even realize that it is a nightclub. Some actors come here in order to unwind. If they do something outrageous and it hits the paper, the owners move hell and high water to find out who the leak was and that person is politely asked not to return.”

“If that's the case, are you sure that Sasha and I can get in?” Tiara looked doubtful.

“Of course you can. You're with me.”

Sasha brought up the rear behind Calvin and Tiara and nodded at the doorman as he stepped aside and allowed them to enter.

She looked around in amazement when she stood inside. The outside was nondescript but the inside was opulent. On one side there were leather couches designed for two people, and in front of each there was a small cocktail table. Nearby lamps provided subdued lighting. In the middle of the room, women and men sat at high chairs at a long bar. Other people clustered in groups of two or three and still others sat alone nursing a drink and swaying to the music.

Even though the club wasn't brightly lit, Sasha recognized an up-and-coming star who the tabloids had reported was doing a stint in rehab. She unconsciously shook her head. The flushed look on his face said he had already had too much to drink, yet he was ordering another round.

“Would you ladies like to sit down over there?”

“Sure!” they replied in unison.

Calvin led them over to an area with booths. Once they were seated, Tiara pointed to the black plaque that had the number sixty-nine painted in red on it.

“What does that number mean?” Tiara asked drolly. “Besides the obvious?”

“That's our extension. If someone in the club wants to hook up with someone sitting here in the booth, all they have to do is dial that number and our phone will ring. This place is the hook-up of all hook-ups,” he laughed.

“Then why in the world did you pick this booth? I'm sure Freud could come up with a psychiatric interpretation of that,” Sasha teased.

“Actually I didn't think about it. There's an empty booth over there with the number three on it. Do you want to move to that one?”

Sasha and Tiara laughed.

“No, thanks. We don't do threesomes.” she said as she slid into the booth, “I guess anybody can make any of these booths have an underlying message if they want to.”

“Where are your teammates?” Sasha asked, sounding a little too casual.

With perfect timing, Sexton entered the nightclub. Closely following him was a cheerleader who had been at the game. Sexton quickly surveyed the room and, once he spied them, he bent down and whispered something into the girl's ear. She stood there for a second and then, with a frustrated look, stomped out of the club in an obvious huff.

Sasha gave Sexton the once-over. He was wearing a pair of charcoal gray pants paired with a black short-sleeved mock collar black shirt. Her eyes wandered to the black leather loafers with tassels he was wearing. A waitress walked over to him and she saw a flash of his white teeth as he talked to her.

He approached their table and grinned at them. Standing in front of their booth he said, “I notice that no one is drinking. Is this going to be a dry night?” He lifted one eyebrow quizzically.

Sexton slid into the booth next to her and when his knee touched hers, a feeling of excitement shot through her. She felt herself squirming from Sexton's proximity. When she looked up she saw the knowing look on Tiara's face and tried to calm her desire.

“No way it's a dry night,” Calvin denied. “We had just gotten seated when you got here.”

“Good. I told the waitress to bring me some Don Pérignon. I know champagne's not the latest popular drink, but I like it.”

“So do I,” Tiara beamed. “It reminds me of my wedding.”

“Is that all you think about, Tiara?” Calvin's tone was caustic. “You did have a life before you became Peter's wife.”

“I know that,” she said tersely. “Don't hate me because I found my soul mate.”

Sexton interceded before Calvin could answer. “Do you believe in soul mates, Sasha?”

“I don't know.” She shrugged her shoulders. “He may be out there, but I haven't met him yet.”

“How do you know?” Sexton countered.

“Well, if someone is your soul mate, aren't you supposed to know the minute you meet him?”

“I don't think that you would necessarily know your soul mate the minute you met him, but you probably would when you really got to know him.”

Just then the waitress showed up with two bottles of champagne and glasses. She popped the cork on one and Sexton reached into his pocket. Sasha couldn't see the amount of money he slipped her, but she practically danced away from the table.

“Congratulations on winning the game. You were great!” Tiara complimented him.

He nodded his head in her direction. “Thank you.”

“I noticed that you're ambidextrous. Do you get that from your parents?” Sasha asked as she sipped from her glass.

“I don't know,” Sexton responded, “I was adopted.”

A thick silence descended on the table. “Now, everyone, don't get all quiet on me. You don't have to feel sorry for me. The best people in the world raised me. They took a truculent seven-year-old out of foster care and gave him a good life. I doubt if I would be where I am today if it were not for them. My parents taught me that everything happens for a reason.”

“It's good that you're so well adjusted,” Sasha responded with admiration in her voice. ‘I hear so many horror stories about the foster care system that I cringe anytime I hear that someone has been through it.”

“It wasn't all fun and games, but I made the best of it.” The finality in his tone indicated that he was through discussing his time in foster care system.

“How is that player they had to take out on the stretcher?” Tiara turned to Calvin.

“Anthony's going to be fine. He'll be back in the next game. He got an elbow to the eye and was temporarily blinded, but he's already feeling better,” Calvin answered with certainty.

“He'd say that he feels better even if he didn't,” Sexton added a little sarcastically as he refilled their glasses with champagne.

“You don't want him to be hurt so that you can play, do you?” Sasha admonished him before she stopped to think that it wasn't her place.

“Of course not,” Sexton replied, not at all offended. “But I've been on the team for more than a year. I would like a little more playing time.”

“Well, you're certainly good enough. I would have thought that you would be starting,” Tiara complimented.

“That was the bait promised to me when I joined the team, but all the while I knew that it might not be happening right away.”

“Did you play for another team?” Sasha asked in surprise.

“I played ball overseas for a couple of years.”

“Oh, I didn't know that,” Tiara said. “But then, why would I? I hate to admit it, but I'm not a big sports fan so I don't know all the background to basketball and its athletes.”

Their attention was drawn to the fanfare on the other side of the room as other members of the team made their presence known.

Sasha recognized Anthony as the injured player because he had a patch over one eye.

He walked over to their table and he and Sexton shook hands. “Thanks for taking over for me. If it wasn't for you we might not have won.”

Sexton responded graciously, “Thanks, man.”

Anthony looked at the women at the table and said, “You ladies are some fine looking women.” He laughed and looked at Sexton. “Hey, you should encourage them to try out for our cheerleading squad since it seems that we're going to have two openings.”

“Is that the verdict?” Calvin asked.

“I guess so. I overheard the coaches talking, and they said that maybe we should try out some more girls. Any suggestions, Sexton?”

“Don't even go there. I had nothing to do with that drama,” Sexton answered. “Rosemary and I dated over a year ago, and the only time that I've even had a conversation with Monique was last week when I gave her a ride home because her car was in the shop.”

“Sure, man, whatever you say.” Anthony looked over his shoulder. “I'm parched, so I guess I'll make my way to the bar.”

Sexton watched Anthony's retreat with a not-too-pleased look. “His mouth is probably parched from running it too much. I wonder what made him think that I had something to do with that mess?”

“Then why did you come here with that other cheerleader?” The minute Sasha spoke the words she wished that she could retract them. She sounded like a jealous fishwife.

“We met at the door on the way in. That's all. And by the way, thank you for noticing. That makes my night.”

She felt uncomfortable that she hadn't been able to conceal her awareness for someone she had previously pretended a disinterest in. She averted her eyes from the smirks of Tiara and Calvin and took a sip of champagne. In her haste to distract the others, she inadvertently picked up Sexton's and drained it.

He said teasingly, “That was mine, but I don't mind.”

“Oh no, I'm sorry.” Feeling even more mortified, she said, “Let me get you another glass from the waitress.”

“I wouldn't hear of it.” Sexton lifted the empty glass and put his lips on the rim at the exact spot where Sasha's lipstick had left a print.

Trying to help her friend out, Tiara asked, “Don't people dance in here? And where is the deejay booth?”

Calvin pointed. “See those stairs? There's another floor upstairs and that's where the majority of the dancing takes place.”

“I certainly like the music that has been playing so far.” Rhythm and blues, combined with the sounds of Motown from the sixties, seventies, and eighties, had been playing since they had arrived.

Tiara turned to her brother when she heard the next song. “I love the theme from
Soul Train
. Let's go, Calvin.” She ordered Sasha and Sexton, “You guys, come on.”

Upstairs there was a huge dance floor, and Sasha was surprised to see so many twenty-somethings trying to outdo each other as they jammed to the oldies but goodies.

As Sexton danced in the crowd he towered above many of the other males. Sasha was not surprised to see that Sexton could hold a beat on the dance floor because so far it appeared as if he did everything well. He was not the flamboyant dancer that Calvin was, twirling and snapping his fingers, but he was smooth and obviously comfortable on the floor.

At the end of the song, the deejay slowed the tempo and she recognized the baritone voice of Barry White.

Sexton held out his hand to her in order to draw her closer. She placed hers into his and felt herself folded into his arms. He held her tight as they danced sinuously. As they danced, she was vaguely aware of Tiara and Calvin leaving the dance floor.

“Did you ever get a chance to meet him?” he whispered in her ear.

“Who?” she whispered softly as she settled into the security of Sexton's arms.

“Barry, before he left us way too early.”

“Of course not,” she answered, startled by the question. “What would ever make you think that I did?” Sasha's voice was so clouded with desire it sounded unfamiliar to her.