The Lying Game

11.

There are two sides to every story.

"William remember that this is your last chance. Do not fucking blow it."

"Okay okay, I won't." I hang up the phone before entering the loud club.

It's crowded like any club on a Friday night. How is this idea supposed to work? There are so many people in the club I don't know how Emani and I are supposed to "find each other". As per Phoenix's instructions, I go sit in the VIP section. It was located where you can see everyone and everyone can see you. I grab a drink that's already sitting at the table and wait.

Waiting takes forever and this seems pointless. I text my girlfriend Sarah to see what she's doing. It breaks my heart that I can't marry her when she's the only one that I want. It's aggravating that the situation had to come to me fake-marrying someone else.

I look at the two pictures Phoenix sent me of this Emani girl. The picture is of us smiling and laughing at each other in our Georgetown sweatshirts. I don't even remember her going to Georgetown. Although I do remember how this photo was taken. The school wanted to update their media platforms and so they selected the tour guides to take student life pictures. I quit tour guides after the first semester because it was too demanding.

I look at Emani and gaze at her ebony clear skin. She has a nice smile and her hair is in a neat bun atop of her head. No recollection of ever seeing the girl in college comes back to me. I scroll to the next picture. It's a screenshot of a New York Times article with her picture. She's not smiling in the picture but her face is plain. One difference in the picture is the purple hair. Great, I'm potentially gonna marry a girl with purple hair.

A different song plays and I hear the collective cheer from all the ladies. The DJ is playing one of the singer Beyonce's song which is causing all the ladies to dance slower and grind on the men. I go back to my phone thinking of Sarah. An internal instinct causes me look up. There is a group of men forming a circle. The look of lust and desire on their faces makes me know that there is a woman in the middle of the circle. I try to get a better look to see who the woman is and if she is all that.

The men part a little bit and the first thing I see is purple hair. My eyes fall back to the picture on my phone. I doubt it's just some coincidence. The woman's body turns and I squint to get a good look at her face. It is Emani. I quickly text Phoenix that I spotted Emani. I put my phone in my pocket and continue to watch her. It's dark so I have to squint to observe her as best I can. She's not a bad dancer at all and the guys obviously can't handle all that she has to offer. Something about watching her dance cause me to smirk.

Her eyes slowly trail around the room before landing on mine. She looks at me long and I keep my expression calm to see what she's going to do next. Her eyes move next to the bouncer guarding the VIP section. The bouncer is pulled away by someone and then Emani sneaks into the VIP section. Her boldness catches me by surprise. She comes closer to me and we never break eye contact. This definitely looks weird from an outside perspective. She catches me off guard again by lowering herself onto my lap. I ask her questions to make sure that this is the right Emani Tolbert.

"I'm tired of talking," She says after gulping down two drinks.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Without thinking, I rub her baby soft smooth legs.

"Yes," She says breathlessly.

This is your last chance William, don't fucking blow it. Phoenix's voice rings in my head.

I already have this girl wrapped around my finger, now I really need to reel her in. I'm improvising this as I go, I move my head closer to the side of her face. My lips barely touching her ears. "Marry Me."

"Yes."

I smile but her eyelids close as falls into my chest. Her falling asleep actually made the plan easier. I pick her up and carry her outside to the paparazzi waiting for us.