Free Accidentally Yours by Bettye Griffin Page B

sidelines. “This is a great tune.”
    She had to agree. The deejay favored what was generally referred to as classic R&B, music that had been at the top of the charts about twenty years before, but sounded as good to her ears and her sense of rhythm at thirty -four as it had at fourteen. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. The crowd around them became thick, but their space wasn’t reduced. The nice thing about having an event in a banquet room at a hotel or country club was that there was plenty of room in the center of the floor, unlike nightclubs with a hundred or more people trying to squeeze on parquet dance floors measuring perhaps twelve-by-twelve feet.
    Zack was a wonderful dancer whose moves seemed effortless. Vivian found herself working hard to keep up with him. She had been moving conservatively while dancing previously, conscious of her outfit . Certain moves, while perfectly appropriate in a T-shirt and jeans, one just didn’t make when all gussied up. Ordering a beer was one of them, even though a cold beer was a great thirst quencher. Getting down on the dance floor was another. She wanted her movements to be smooth, not jerky.
    “ Had enough?” Zack asked after about ten minutes.
    She nodded and began to lead the way out of the dancers surrounding them. They had barely made it to the sidelines when, with her peripheral vision, she saw a flash of red zoom in toward Zack.
    “Zack, I’ve been waiting for you to dance with me all night. Let’s do it now.”
    Vivian turned sharply to see who this interloper was. The woman ’s dress was belted at the waist and the skirt had a scalloped hemline. Curiously, the bodice was long-sleeved on one side and cut into a halter style on the other, giving it an oddly asymmetrical look. In spite of three-inch red pumps she barely stood five-four, but she was perfectly proportioned. She took hold of his arm, and, for such a petite woman, demonstrated remarkable strength pulling him back into the crowd.
    It all happened so quickly that Vivian was left alone. Her mouth dropped open in shock, and she quickly shut it. What had happened just now?
    She quickly realized she couldn’t just stand there like an abandoned child, so she moved forward, toward the sidelines. She heard someone call her name. A look in the direction of the voice revealed that it was Bernard.
    “ I want to introduce you to my buddy,” he said, gesturing to a balding brown-skinned man. “Vivian St. James, this is Terry Terrell.”
    “ Terry Terrell?” she repeated uncertainly as she shook his hand.
    “ My real first name is something I keep secret from my own mother,” Terry said with a smile.
    She returned the smile. “I’ll bet you don’t tell her how old you are, either.”
    The three of them laughed, and Bernard asked if she wanted another drink.
    “I’d love one,” Vivian replied without hesitation. She decided Zack was a lost cause. She resolved to simply enjoy the evening and Bernard’s company.
    She walked with them over to the bar. Glenda was leaving it, a fresh drink in her hand. Her eyes met Vivian ’s in obvious confusion, and Vivian knew she was trying to figure out how she had gone from dancing with Zack to talking with Bernard once more.
    “ Oh, there you are,” Vivian said. She introduced Glenda to both Bernard and Terry, and noticed that Terry immediately perked up. From the terrified look in Glenda’s eyes, Vivian knew she had noticed, too. What with his receding hairline, prominent teeth, and slightly rounded belly, Terry was not exactly their idea of what their Mr. Rights would look like.
    Vivian watched helplessly as Terry struck up a conversation with her friend. “Are you a member of NBP?” he asked her.
    Bernard turned to Vivian. “It looks like those two are hitting it off.”
    “ Well, actually, Glenda is seeing someone. She came tonight as a favor to me. None of my other girlfriends could make it, and I didn’t want to come