“I didn’t say shit. I just got undressed and went to work on that ass.”
While the poker game continued, I thought back to the night before me and Angelique got married. After rehearsal, me Tee drove to Chris’s house. Since we had the bachelor’s party the week before, I thought the three of us would just get drunk and pass out. They had other plans for my night. When we got to the house, Tee honked the horn before he got out the car. “What’s that, some kind of signal?” I asked.
“Yeah, man. We got a little surprise for you, Zack.”
“What’s that?” I asked as we approached the house.
Tee stopped in his tracks and waved for me to come closer. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you. Besides, you’re gonna die tomorrow, anyway.” We laughed our way toward the door. Tee rang the bell.
Chris swung the door open. “. . . Took y’all so long?”
I held up the blunt and Tee held up the Martel.
“I didn’t even have to ask.”
Tee handed him the bottle. “Then why did you?” I said and handed him the blunt.
“What’d y’all do, stop and get high on the way?”
“You know Tee drives slow when he smokes,” I replied, looking around the room. “So what’s the big surprise?”
“Sit down and relax, Zack. You aren’t getting married until four o’clock tomorrow. Unless you got someplace to go,” Chris said, and then he handed me a champagne glass.
“That’s right, Zack. This is your last night as a single man. So as long we have you dressed and sober by then, relax and enjoy the night,” Tavarus said, while he filled everyone’s glass with Moet.
“So like, Zack, is there anything or anybody, for that matter, you wanna do on your last night?”
I thought about it for a second or two, and spit out the first person that came to mind: “Carolyn Nelson. I damn sure wouldn’t mine fuckin’ her fine ass. But other than that, I’ll be cool just hangin’ out here with you guys.”
“Don’t worry, Zack. We’re gonna make this a night you ain’t ever gonna forget.” Chris held up his glass. “Good luck, Zack. I hope it all turns out good for you and Angelique.” Each of us turned up the glass and Chris quickly refilled them.
“Both of you are good people. You deserve to be happy,” Tavarus said.
Chris held up his glass. “I’m sure Tavarus already asked whether you’re sure about this, so I won’t even go there. You’re a good brother, one of the only good brothers I know.” We drank to that; the glasses were refilled and another bottle Moet was popped.
“You got you a good girl, take care of her. There aren’t many like her.”
“We’ve fooled around long enough,” Chris said, pouring the last of the Martel in my glass. “We all kicked in and got something we knew you’d appreciate. It’s in the bedroom. I hope it fits, Zack.”
“Y’all didn’t buy me a sweater, did you?” I asked on the way to the bedroom.
“No! It cost us a hell of a lot more than some damn sweater!” Tavarus yelled.
“Shut up, Tavarus,” Chris said. As I entered the bedroom, I heard Chris say, “Let Zack enjoy it.” I walked in the dimly lit room and stopped when I heard a female’s voice. “Hey, Zack.”
I leaned forward and tipped my head to one side. “Carolyn?” I couldn’t believe my eyes. There before me seated on the bed was Carolyn Nelson. I looked at her and then started for the door, thinking I’d walked in the wrong room. But I stopped and turned around. “What are you doin’ here?” I asked her as I approached the bed.
Carolyn got up from the bed and walked toward me. “I’m your surprise,” she said stopping in front of me. “Surprise.”
“What do you mean, ‘you’re my surprise’?” A
number of things crossed my mind in that second. She kissed me on the cheek as she passed by me on her way toward the bathroom. “I had something planned but you took so long gettin’ here,” she said, walking away from me wearing Chris’s Miami Dolphin sweatshirt and little else, if anything. “What were y’all doin’ out there anyway?”
“Congrats, you know. We drained two bottles of Moet.”
“Well, come with me,” Carolyn said, and went into the bathroom.
The bathroom was lit with candles and the Jacuzzi-style bathtub was filled. Carolyn had found a bottle of Lagerfeld and poured some in, so the water had a scent. She stuck her foot in to test the temperature. “It’s a little cold,” she said, turning on the hot water. I looked at Carolyn; she smiled at me and put her arms around my neck. “I want you to understand something: this is the only time this will ever happen between us.”