Darla grabs my hands and tugs me from Horus’s embrace. I cast a worried look over my shoulder, but he nods in support. He’s watching over me. Oh lordy, the lust on his face as he watches… I’m not twerking harder than the other wives, but his dark gaze promises I’ll be performing this dance for his eyes only later. I shiver in response. My spine curves to lift my hips higher in invitation. Ways to thank my husband for a wild night out with friends, flit across my imagination…
One song turns into three as time flies. DJ Redi does two sets separated by brief breaks where he spends more time flirting with the girls in the front row while connected to his mic than actually resting. Darla, Chelle, Amy, and I rate his cornypickup lines with scores. Our guys take turns rolling their eyes at us and ordering drinks. Horus opens bottles of water for me all night.
“Let’s find the pretty ladies,” DJ Redi says with a wink to the front row. Camera operators with tall, glowing hats disperse into the crowd. The images on the jumbo screens rotate through their feeds with women of all ages waving. The crowd goes wild when a woman no younger than eighty waves a hand curled with arthritis at the camera.
“Smile, beautiful,” Horus whispers in my ear.
A cameraman waves at me from two feet away and I slowly wave back. My vapid smile and glowing eyes stare back at me from the jumbo screens. Chelle leans in on my right and Amy on my left. They jump up and down, waving fast enough to lift off. Happiness bursts in my chest.
It’s my dream… The girl on screen…
“You remembered,” I say to Horus once the feed switches to another camera. “How did you put this together?”
“That’s what guys in love do. I wanted to prove I’ll do what it takes to make you happy—that I’m the guy who can make your dreams into reality.”
“I never doubted,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you, Dr. Mills.”
The music speeds up and our friends launch into the lyrics of the next song, but Horus and I sway slowly. Love for him radiates from me, but I can’t form the words to show my gratitude. I’ve had more firsts tonight than in the previous five years before I met him. My fingers tangle in his hair as I pull him down for a kiss. He takes control as he always does and claims my mouth as his playground.
The crowd erupts.
“Smile, beautiful,” says Horus’s fraternity brothers in falsetto voices, mocking him.
Our red faces break out into laughter on the jumbo screens. With the public watching, I shed my ladylike manners and kiss the daylights out of my husband. He grabs my butt and lifts my legs around his waist to the hooting and cheering of the audience. I want everyone to see that marriage is the best thing to happen to me.
