Crystals Read Free Page B

this
time, now seems like the perfect time to let him chase you.”
    “You can play all
the games you like. I intend to get my man,” Fern replied without looking in
her direction.
    She followed
Fern’s gaze. Dizzy was no closer to them than he’d been two hours earlier.
There was no getting away from it, the man was gorgeous. He was six-feet, dark
complexioned with a hard muscular body. He had a bald head and his clean-shaven
face had been pulling admiring glances all night. She saw the way he kept
throwing furtive glances her cousin’s way, but for some reason, he never
approached her.
    “He knows you’re
here. Come outside with me for five minutes. He’s not going anywhere,” she
pleaded in another attempt to help her cousin get some perspective where Dizzy
was concerned. Fern was watching the man like a lovesick puppy. While Crystal
felt a little embarrassed on her behalf, she also admired her determination.
    “I already said
no. If you want to be single all your life, that’s fine with me. I intend to be
married in the next two years, and Dizzy’s my future husband.”
    Throughout her
off-handed insult and declaration of intent, Fern kept her eyes glued on the
muscular man. Crystal was sure he knew they were talking about him because he
wore a look of such self-satisfaction, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.
    “What kind of
stupid name is Dizzy anyway?”
    “Why don’t you go
outside and cool down; and while you’re on your way out there, take a look
around. Maybe your fussy backside will see at least one man you like!”
    Crystal shook her
head as she walked away. Dizzy wasn’t the first man her cousin had set her
sights on, so she’d heard it all before. How they were so close amazed her.
They looked enough alike to be mistaken for sisters as their mothers were, but
their perspective on life was completely different.
    They were both
five-five. While others referred to Fern as beautiful, Crystal fell just short
of the mark. They both had a dark brown complexion with big, brown slanted
eyes, and slightly turned up noses. On Fern, that type of nose looked cute, on
Crystal, it gave the impression of being aloof. Their lips were full and more
often than not, etched in a smile, which added a seductive nature to their
expression.
    Crystal, always a
late bloomer was still waiting for her hips to fill out and her chest to
develop. But she knew what she had, was all she was going to get. Thank
goodness she had good legs.
    Walking through
the crowded club she tuned out the suggestive comments that followed in her
wake. Passing a speaker that boomed music that literally shook the floor, she
scarcely managed to escape without perforated eardrums.
    Moments later,
with the back of her hand stamped for reentry to the club, she stood outside in
the blissfully cool night air.
    The club, Hi-Low ,
was situated on a side road in the West End of London, just off Oxford Street,
an area well known for its nightlife. Through the milling crowd and late night
revelers, one establishment in particular, caught her attention.
    The sign above the
door read, Curves . Mainly groups of men came and went in various states
of inebriation. Two women stood outside wearing long dresses and
gravity-defying platform shoes; smoking cigarettes and chatting. The club was
obviously a strip joint and curiosity got the better of her. Following the
cobblestoned path, Crystal headed towards the club.
    On her walk toward Curves , the women disappeared inside. The two men standing guard
remained outside. One, an enormous black man who wore his hair in a high-top
cut, reminiscent of the eighties looked strong enough to be good at his job.
The other guard a white man did not. He was tall at around six feet. He had
dark hair and the thickest eyebrows she had ever seen. But to Crystal he looked
way too skinny to be guarding anyone’s door.
    Both the guards’
gazes followed her every step. Never one to back down when her curiosity was
piqued, she