"No means no." I said as hotly and as firmly as I could. He snapped his head back as if I had slapped him across the face.
"Fine. Then let the fat boy take you home," he cried and turned away from me. "Next time my sister wants to fix me up with someone. I'll tell her to think twice. Go call your sister. Delores," he told her. "I should have listened to you and taken her out. This one's jailbait anyway."
All the girls laughed. I glared back at them and then turned away.
"Hey," Buzzy said leaning over to whisper in my ear. "You ever want to go out with a real man, call me. I'm in the Yellow pages under Real Man."
He laughed and they all walked up the aisle, leaving me sitting by myself at the table. I was sure everyone around us was staring at me. Whenever I lifted my eyes from the table and turned. I met someone else's. I felt so stupid and frightened, very much an adolescent drowning in the world of adult quicksand. But I didn't move.
"What happened?" Balwin rushed over to ask me as soon as they all had left the club.
I told him quickly.
"How could he just leave you like this?"
I didn't reply. I stared at the table, my whole body still trembling. I felt his hand touch my shoulder gently.
"Hey, don't worry, Ice. I got my mother to give me the car tonight. I'll take you home," he said. "Do you want to go home?"
I nodded.
"I heard you say you haven't eaten. How about we stop for some pizza on the way? I'm hungry too. I'm always hungry," he confessed.
"Okay," I said. I would have agreed to anything to get out of here.
But as I rose to walk out the door with Balwin. I thought about Mama.
She was surely going to hate me.
4 Allies
I decided not to tell Mama. Both she and Daddy were watching television when I arrived. I tried to be very quiet about it, but the moment I opened the door. Mama was up and in the living room doorway.
"Where's Shawn?" she asked looking past me. "Didn't he escort you to the door?"
I shook my head.
"Doesn't surprise me." Daddy called from the living room,
"And that doesn't surprise me," Mama shot back. She threw a suspicious glance at me and said. "Well, come in and tell us how it was."
"Fine," I said.
"Fine? That's it? Fine?" Daddy looked up at me.
"I heard he took you to the Kit-Kat. They got Barry Jones playing there. right?"
I nodded.
"See, Lena, you didn't want to go there when I asked you to go last month, and here Ice goes and has a good time. Talented combo. What did they do?"
"Ellington, some Benny Goodman, a good Miles Davis," I recited, Daddy's eyes lit up.
"Oh, that you can talk about in detail, but when I ask you a question. I get 'fine.' What's all this talk about the music? What about Shawn Carter?"
"What do you expect her to tell you about him after only one time?" Daddy asked.
Mama shook her head at him and turned to me. "Did you have a good time with him?"