Pride

Chapter Nine

Ketara Greene

"Never mind if I'm just showin' off, I was just frontin'..."

-Pharell; Frontin'

I was in my own world in that party with Broderick. I was dancing with him and the mood was everything. I couldn't remember the last time I had fun at a party but I had to say, I wasn't upset.

When Gabrielle first approached Shakyra and I with invites I'd been shocked. Gabrielle had never been mean to me but I hadn't even thought I'd been on the radar of an invite. She was a senior and with a different crowd. For her to give her stamp of approval was everything. She didn't just invite anybody to her shindigs. I was happy to be approached.

I was happy that I'd gone, too. At first, I let anxiety take me over when Shakyra had snapped me out of it. It was an amazing thing. Even with all the changes I'd undergone and even with the way people accepted me now, I still had hesitations. I somewhat couldn't believe my life at press time. I was being looked at as an it girl. I was definitely one to chase after. One of the most popular boys in school was my boyfriend and his attentions being solely on me was a huge turn on. My best friends were awesome and the school year looked like it could go nowhere but up, despite other people that tried to make the opposite true in my life.

"Kiki, we have to go. If you let fear take over, you'll let everybody win each and every time." was what Shakyra had said when I told her I had a change of heart.

Something inside of me made me feel as if I still didn't belong. That at some point all of it would be taken away.

I had to meditate as I showered. I had to meditate as I refreshed my twist-out. I had to meditate as I did my makeup. By the time Broderick showed up, I was feeling calmer. When he saw me and expressed his appreciation, I was all but glowing.

I was shocked at all who was in attendance and was thankful that fights hadn't popped off. For all of her talk, I knew Davida wasn't really trying to step to my friend. DeMarcus, who was a better contender, hadn't started anything with Jay and I was happy about that as well. It gave me a semblance of peace. More than likely everybody was behaving for Gabrielle's sake. She did go through a lot of trouble to throw her party and it was nice.

The lady herself had danced through the crowd, encouraging everybody to make sure they took a moment to grab some drinks-non-alcoholic of course-and finger foods. It was at that moment that Broderick took my hand and led me that way. I was giggling in the wake of us immediately changing course for food.

I saw Shakyra in my excitement and ran to my friend. We took selfies with each other and a couple with our boyfriends who were nearby. We took full body shots and laughed when our boyfriends had gotten tired of us and stood off to the side to chat.

I decided I'd nibble on something while Shakyra and I were still there. I turned around, reaching for a baby carrot when I felt a hand on my backside. I turned, fury on my tongue but it was extinguished at the sight of Louis standing there, looking afraid.

"Listen, Ketara..."

"Are you out of your damn mind?"

The truth was, I wasn't as upset as I was putting out there. As a matter of fact, when my eyes connected to Louis, I felt the automatic reactions I've been having upon seeing him as of late. Beside myself, I looked him up and down. His white button down, tucked into some slacks was simple but it was sexy. I knew his shock was real but it didn't take away from the ruggedness that I saw there. Even for being a spoiled, rich boy, there was something about him. What, I couldn't tell you. I was aching for him in a way that I didn't ache for my own boyfriend.