Infinite Ties

Fatima

The dancing is in full swing when I arrive back at the ballroom. I can't wait to find Zac and tease him about being weird cause of Karen. He has to hear about Danni and Blake sneaking around also.

I spot Rob dancing with heavily pregnant Alicia and I grin, about to make my way to them when Danni appears from nowhere and grabs me by the arm.

“Tima boo, stay with me,” her voice barely concealing the urgency.

“What? You're tired of frolicking and being under Blake?” I giggle. “Girl, I need to go find my man and give him the tea.”

She shakes her head. “It ain't all that. And what the hell is frolicking? Is that some old money term? I thought we should hang out.”

Okay. That is weird.

“I am just going to say hi to Rob and Alicia and then find Zac for one last dance before we head out,” I tell her gently, craning my head around to look for my fiance. “I'm beat and I'm ready to call it a night.”

She tugs at my arm almost as if to draw my attention back to her. “Not yet. I saw Tony and he says he still wants another dance from you.”

“My feet are killing me and I only have the energy for one dance. I should have it with Zac don't you think?” I groan. It's been a long day. I need to get my cheeseburgers.

Besides, I want to patch up with him for earlier. I guess he was stressed about Karen but that is handled.

I catch a flash of a baldy and smile. “Oh, look. There's Tony.”

I watch him stride along the edge of the dance floor, looking grim and determined. “ He doesn't look too happy.”

My brows furrow in surprise when I see him approach Zac who is tossing back a glass of something. Zac turns and glares at his friend and they both seem to exchange pretty serious words.

“What the hell is going on with those two?” I mutter in confusion. Just earlier, they were ribbing at each other good-naturedly.

“Nothing, I'm sure,” Danni insists. “Come on, let's find a seat somewhere in the back.”

I shake my head. “I think I need to go over there and break up the two before they start shoving at each other. They look pretty mad.”

As I start walking towards them, Danni yanks back my hand. “Fatima, no! Please just stay here.”

“Danni, what the fuck is going?” I demand. I have never seen Danni this disorganized. Her eyes were large and anxious. “Something must be up if you are acting so weird. What is it?”

“She's trying to spare you from the painful experience of being introduced to your fiance's lover.”

Karen appears from nowhere and I begin to wonder if she has some spiritual power or something cause she would just slitter anywhere like a damn snake. Smiling haughtily, she continues, “Why don't you take a look at the stunning Connie Sykes? She grew up with Zac in the hood and they were each other's first everything before she got a huge deal and left the hood for modeling. Divorced her first husband and ran her own organic food business. Rumor has it that they were seeing each other about six months ago and were really sneaking around. She's probably here to make it clear as to who owns Zac's heart.”

Zac and Connie? The Connie Sykes. Wow. Zac definitely has a type. Slender and tall. I follow Zac with my eyes as he stalks away from Tony and walks up to the tall, glamorous, breathtaking model. They look so perfect together. Something churns inside me. Like I ate something bad and I quickly realized it was my heart sinking into my stomach and getting eaten by the acids.