On my way out, I found Azmir in the hall, presumably waiting for me. Could he not have given me a minute? I could see he was talking to a woman, but her back was towards me. After a few more treads forward, the back of the woman’s hair grew familiar. Oh, no! It was Dawn Taylor.
Does this chick stalk him? Why is she always popping up? We were outside of the main room of the lounge and the music was muffled, making words inaudible without screaming over the music. People were moving about the area, either exiting out of the building or going into the main lounge area. I was at an angle that Azmir couldn’t see me and neither could Dawn with her back to me.
Eventually, I was close enough to hear her say, “I didn’t see you at the concert. Did you make it? I reserved a seat for you.” My body froze in place.
Azmir replied, “I was there. I had seats on hold already.”
“Oh, I’d been trying to reach out to you to make sure you knew. I’m glad you at least made it to the after party. I have a few people I want you to meet. I was hoping we can do that and then go grab a drink and chat a bit. I haven’t really heard from you since Connecticut,” Dawn paused, awaiting lead from Azmir. When she didn’t get any she continued, “We should really sort that situation out.”
Her tone made my skin crawl. She was still pursuing him. Were those her calls that he was ignoring during dinner? I didn’t know what to do.
“Dawn, I told you then it never happened. There’s nothing to discuss. It’s never been my practice to shit where I eat. Let’s just keep it professional.” Azmir weakly tried warding her off.
“I understand but…” she sounded frustrated by her thoughts. “Azmir, I can’t…I know I’ve been a bit aggressive and it’s not something that I do with men, but with you it…it’s like the more I see you the more I want to be around you. I thought at first it was simple attraction, but the more I get to know you and the more I learn about you…your reputation, it’s like...” Her voice trailed off. She was at an emotional impasse. “I don’t want to compromise business, but if I had a choice between the two—”
Azmir cut her off. “Dawn, I’m not here alone.”
“Who are you with?” Without giving him a moment to respond, she asked, “Rayna?” Dawn sounded as if she desperately wanted him to say no.
“Yes. Dawn, perhaps if another time, but right now…” It was Azmir’s turn to be at a loss for words.
“Is it serious?” she asked forlorn. “I mean, tell me what I’m up against here.” Oh, my! She IS forceful!
“Roommate type of serious.” Azmir’s were like a jab in the stomach. I could no longer breath from the blow. There was a pause as Dawn decoded his encrypted words.
“Are you two exclusive?” She was desperately grasping at straws of hope.
“I have to go. I need to find her.” Azmir turned to leave.
I did an about face myself and headed back into the ladies’ room and into a stall to try to catch my breath and fight the harboring tears. After some time, I heard the door open and some chatter that caught my attention.
“Are you okay? What’s the matter?” I didn’t hear a response.
“Don’t cry, baby. What the hell is wrong? Was it something he said? Oh, no! You were so excited to see him tonight. No…no…don’t cry,” came from the same voice.
I figured the other party was too distraught to speak. It seemed as though I wasn’t the only one with drama going on here. At least this person had a shoulder to cry on. That led my thoughts to my loss of Michelle.
That’s it. I need get out of here before I breakdown publicly.