“Are you okay?” Azmir asked while he thrummed the skin that was exposed in the cut out portion of my dress. His eyes read contrite and whatever anxiety I was feeling had dissipated. I nodded my head and he flashed his coochie creaming smile.
The night ran smoothly. The music was empirical and that was, of course, because we were in likely one of the hottest clubs in NYC.
People started filing in the VIP section and it was interesting to see the various fashions going on, some trends were novel and others were on the more eclectic side, but all were vibrant. Mostly everyone spoke familiarly to Azmir including these two women with strong New York accents.
They both hugged and oooh’ed and ahhhh’ed at his presence, not in a flirtatious manner but a genuine platonic one instead. They sat next to me and spoke over to Azmir. The one girl, Liz, had a short tapered hair cut with spikes on top of her head. It was bold but she pulled it off well, probably because it seemed to have matched her personality. She was a shade above brown, nearly my complexion and her accessories dangled when she spoke.
“I can’t believe my brother is here! I been tryna call you all week, yo! Oh my gawd! I’m so gassed you’re here!”
Liz eventually turned her attention to me as Azmir was waltzed into other conversations.
“So you’re the doctor, right?” Liz asked with a calming smile that begged for me to lower my guards. I was intrigued as to how she knew about me. Before this night Azmir had never made mention of her.
“A physical therapist,” I shouted over the music as she craned her neck into my personal space so that she could hear me.
“Oh, right! I thought you guys are considered doctors.”
“No. Lots of people confuse us. So are you from The City?” I asked trying to get to know her.
“Yeah, I grew up with Divine. Him and my brothers used to hang out as kids all the damn time. Even though he’s moved around we manage to stay tight.”
“Oh, okay. Are your brothers here?” I wanted to make a connection. Azmir knew so many people but only had me around a select few.
“Nah. One lives out there in L.A. with Divine. The other one lives in Atlanta. They’re all still close though.”
He lived in L.A. and I hadn’t met him? I knew she wasn’t being literal when she said with Azmir. I wondered who he was.
Liz continued, “I was just out there for his birthday. He told me about you. I was happy as hell that he got rid of that last girlfriend of his. She was a true bitch…not wanting him going anywhere without her but never wanting to be with his friends—”
Liz was interrupted by the friend who had walked in with her. I soon learned her name was Tionne. “Who y’all talking about?” Tionne screamed over the music as she stretched her body over Liz’s lap to interject herself into our chat.
“Divine’s last girlfriend. I couldn’t stand that bitch. Remember when he brought her to the Garden for Jay’s show? Ughhhhh?” Liz’s thick New York accent could not be missed.
“Yooooo! That bitch was so stuck up,” Tionne exclaimed and made sure to give me direct eye contact when she said, “If you ain’t a celebrity or in the industry she don’t want nothing to do with you. I knew Divine wasn’t happy. I was surprised it lasted as long as it did.” She and Liz exchanged gazes that proved solidarity. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard she cheated on him with that rapper. I can’t front, I was happy as hell she wrote a check for him to dump her prissy ass!”
Liz shot Tionne an admonishing glance. Clearly, she’d spoken too much. My mouth dried. Azmir never told me about Tara cheating on him. I didn’t know what to think.
“What? I’m sure she knew. She his new lady,” Tionne spoke in a guilt-free tone.
Liz wasn’t so confident. Immediately I broke a smile to ensure that it was no big announcement. I wanted to know more.