Deborah Mello - In the Light of Love

Leila grabbed Talisa’s hand and pushed it upward, waving the bid paddle in the air.

“I have five hundred dollars, do I hear six?”

“What are you doing?” Talisa said under her breath.

“Winning you that doctor. You can’t get him if you don’t bid,” Leila hissed back.

“I don’t have that kind of money, Leila.”

“Well, I do, so don’t worry about it.”

Talisa was prepped to give her friend a tongue-lashing when the emcee gestured in her direction.

“I have six hundred dollars. Will you give me seven? Do I hear seven?”

“Seven!” a tall, redheaded woman called out from the other side of the stage.

Talisa’s eyes widened in disbelief as Leila pushed her hand up again. “Eight,” her friend called out from behind her.

The room erupted in noise. Jericho grinned excitedly in her direction.

“Eight hundred dollars. I have eight hundred dollars for a day with Dr. Jericho Becton. Do I hear nine? Someone give me nine. I have eight hundred. Eight hundred going once…eight hundred going twice…”

“One thousand dollars,” a voice sang out from the back of the room and every head turned to see from where it had come. Women were rising from their seats to catch a glimpse of the woman who’d offered one thousand dollars for time with the beautiful black man who stood before them, an expression of surprise painted across his face.

Talisa watched as the woman made her way closer to the center of the room, her gold-trimmed bid paddle raised high in the air. She was exceptionally tall, a long-legged blonde with pale green eyes and skin the color of whole milk. Before Talisa realized what she was doing, her own paddle was sky-high, her bid rolling off her tongue. “Two thousand dollars.”

Behind her Leila laughed. “That a way. Go get your man, girlfriend.”

Talisa could feel a sudden wave of embarrassment drop over her. She glanced from Jericho, to the other woman who was eyeing her with obvious annoyance, to her best friend, and back again. Jericho was nodding his head in her direction, a wistful expression gracing his face. The room had gone quiet as everyone watching waited to see what the two women would do.

The auctioneer was waving his gaze anxiously from one to the other. “Do I hear two thousand, five hundred?” he asked, his excitement spilling past his words.

The blond woman nodded, lifting her bid mask high into the air. “Twenty-five hundred,” she answered, her voice loud and clear.

Leila poked Talisa in the back, hissing into her ear. “Do not let that woman get your man, Talisa. Bid!” she commanded, her breath hot against her best friend’s neck. “I’ve got you covered. Go ahead and bid!”

Talisa’s voice was much less assured as she rose to her feet, waving in the auctioneer’s direction. “Three thousand.”

Jericho beamed, the glaze in his eyes fueled by Talisa’s obvious interest. He pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his silk slacks, the easy gesture meant to hide his obvious nervousness. As he leaned his weight back against one hip, the motion made his six-foot-six stature appear comfortable, the pose accentuating the lines of his firm body. It caused every woman in the room to gasp and Talisa suddenly found herself fighting for oxygen. Jericho’s gaze was still locked with hers, his stare piercing right through her heart and when he smiled, the sweet bending of his lips calmed her and Talisa felt herself smiling back.

“Twenty thousand dollars,” the blonde called out, tossing Talisa a look that dared her to top so generous an offer. The sudden silence in the room was deafening as all eyes turned to see what she intended to do. The moment was surreal as Talisa’s gaze moved from Jericho’s face to her opponent’s and back again. Talisa blew air past her full lips as if she’d been punched in the stomach, clearly deflated by the turn of events. She dropped her paddle against the table and shook her head as the auctioneer turned to see if she would counter. She suddenly found herself fighting a rush of tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

“Twenty thousand dollars once…twice…twenty thousand dollars three times…sold to lucky number six-seventy-four!” The man slammed his gavel against the wooden podium top. The women cheered, fueled by the excitement they’d all just witnessed. Through glazed eyes, Talisa watched as her opponent turned to give her a quick nod. Clearly defeated, Talisa smiled a faint smile and shrugged her shoulders, gesturing half a salute in the woman’s direction. The blonde turned, sweeping her long hair over her shoulders and gave Jericho a quick wink before heading in the direction of the checkout counter. On the center of the stage, Jericho stood stunned, his eyes still locked on Talisa’s face, the line of his smile pulling toward the floor in a deep frown.

“Can you believe she paid twenty thousand dollars for the man?” Mya exclaimed as they rode home, the bright lights of the hotel dimming in the distance behind them.

Talisa shook her head, then changed the subject, not wanting to be reminded yet again of her loss. “What I can’t believe is that you bid on an evening with that anchorman and that you won.”

“The way those women were acting I consider myself lucky. For only five hundred dollars my date was a bargain.”

“Your date is going to be a nightmare. The man is an ass.”

Mya rolled her eyes. “Don’t hate.”

Talisa shook her head at her friend. “Why am I dropping you off at Kenny’s house?” she asked, pulling her car onto Interstate 285. “I would think you’d want to go home to bask in the light of Charles Barrow on the eleven o’clock news.”

“Kenny misses me. He called today and invited me to come hang out with him.”

Talisa laughed. “I forgot. It’s the first of the month. Kenny paying the rent this time?”

Mya laughed with her. “He better. I do not intend to endure bad sex for absolutely nothing. Besides, the last time I broke up with him, he didn’t send me anything. He needs to make up for that.”

“Just because he’s sent you a check the last four times you cut him off doesn’t mean he’s going to keep doing it. The man may have grown a backbone.”

“When that happens I will definitely be through with him. Until then, I plan to bait him along just enough to keep my checkbook out of the red. The relationship works for us. Don’t hate the player, just hate the game.”

“Personally, I think he’s gay. He’s just not ready to admit it.”

“That’s his problem. My bills are mine. If he can’t fix anything or keep my car tuned up, then he needs to just keep coming up off the cash. Then he and I will be just fine.”

“So what about your anchorman?”

“What about him? I’ll play him just like I play all the others. I’m sure he’ll be useful for something.”

Talisa laughed. “I know this is ugly to say, and Lord forgive me for it, but that’s one man I think will deserve any game you run on him and then some.” She pulled her car onto a tree-lined street, large old oaks adorned with Spanish moss cascading overhead. At the fifth house on the left, she pulled into the driveway and shifted the engine into Park. “Stay safe, Mya. Please. I don’t have time to be worrying about you.”

Her friend smiled. “Don’t worry about me, girlfriend. I’m going to be just fine. You need to worry about yourself. When’s the last time you had a man? High school or junior high?”

“It hasn’t been that bad.”

“It might as well be. I suggest you spend more time hanging out with me and less time down at that foundation. You need to devote more time to you and having yourself a good time. Life is too short and that do-gooder stuff you keep doing isn’t going to keep you warm at night.”