After quite a bit of thought, I decided to take Jasmine's offer and go to the club tonight. I need something to take my mind off work and this is the perfect thing. I step out of the shower feeling good and I dry off before moisturizing my skin with some cocoa butter. I slip my robe on before walking into my closet where I rummage through my clothes looking for something to wear. I end up picking up a brown latex dress and some nude block heels. I choose the blonde wig that I recently purchased and I start curling it.

Ever since my ex made fun of me for trying a colored wig because he said women with darker skin couldn't wear colored wigs, I stopped. You may be wondering why I stayed with him for a year when he insulted me well here's the truth. I never got much attention from guys in my early twenties so when he gave me the attention I had never gotten, I quickly fell for him.

He knew what to say to make me stay and I even acted blind when I could see that he was gaslighting me. But now I've reached a point where I won't let what someone says put me down because I now see how beautiful my melanin is. You probably detest Matthieu already and I don't blame you because of what I've shared with you but I've moved past it and I'm focusing on more important things in my life.

I do a 'natural' makeup look and go bold on my lips by adding red matte lipstick. I add the finishing touches to my look before standing in front of the mirror and smiling at the woman I'm seeing. This is the confident woman I had missed seeing and I'm so glad she is slowly but surely coming back.

My phone dings letting me know that I have a text and it's Jasmine letting me know that she is waiting for me downstairs. I grab my clutch and head downstairs where I find Jasmine sticking her head out of the taxi window. With the way she is acting, I can already tell it is going to be a wild night. The drive to the club is about thirty minutes and we don't stand in line which is surprising considering how hard it is to get into the hottest club in the city but Jasmine's connections do us a favor.

She leads us to our section and we find the other girls already waiting for us. I pour myself vodka with cranberry juice because it's my go to drink whenever I want to turn up. I sip on my drink as I dance to the music and the vibe in the club is electric despite the guys that try to get into our section. This is the most fun I have had in a while and I'm glad I can let my hair down tonight.

Her boyfriend and his friends join us sometime during the night and I see someone I didn't think I was going to see anytime soon. Standing in front of me is the hunk from the cafe dressed in a black tshirt, black jeans and some sneakers. His outfit is simple yet he looks so good. The look he has on his face lets me know he is probably thinking what I'm thinking—how did we end up at the same place again? Jasmine gestures for me to walk over to where she is standing with the mystery guy.

"This is my boyfriends friend that I was telling you about earlier." she says. On our way to the club Jasmine gave me a heads up that she had invited one of his friends out so we could meet and possibly hit it off. Jasmine has been trying to matchmake for a while now and it never seems to work out but this could be different.

"Hey." I say shyly.

"It's you again." mystery guy responds.

"You know each other?" Jasmine questions.

"We met at a cafe." I add.

"Oh he's the guy that you met. The one that..." Jasmine trails and I give her that look to shut her up before she embarrasses me more than she already has.

"Well let me leave you." Jasmine adds before walking away.

"What did she want to tell me before you gave her that look?" He asks

"Nothing. I just told her that you made me fall." I lie.

"Again, I apologize about that."

"It's okay."

"I didn't get to properly introduce myself the first time we met. I'm Kofi and you are?" he says putting his hand out so I can shake it.

"I'm Thembisa and it's nice to see you again"

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl"

"Thank you"

"You look absolutely beautiful tonight. I really like the blonde hair"

"Thank you! It seems like you're still trying to work your charm on me."

"I won't stop trying until it works."

"Well you're going to spend a lifetime trying."

"I don't mind."

"How come I have never seen you around before?"

"I typically don't go out much and when I do, it's with the boys"

"I guess we're alike. This isn't my usual scene but I decided to come out tonight so I could have some fun with the girls and hopefully find myself someone to go home with."

"With me around you won't need to find anyone else." Kofi adds with a smug look.

"Be careful, that head may become too big for this club."

"I don't mean to come off as being cocky but when I want someone, I go hard."

"Well I'm not that easy to get."

"I don't mind waiting, you're worth it." he says and the sincerity in his eyes lets me know that he isn't playing any games.

"Well...lets join everyone else."

The night goes on and the alcohol in my system seems to spike my confidence. As I'm dancing in our section, I look back and I find Kofi staring at me with his eyes low. He looks at me like nothing else in the club matters and it makes me feel good. I walk towards him and I lean towards his ear and ask him if he would like to dance with me. He agrees and he gets up before I lead him to the dance floor.

Work by Rihanna blasts in the club and immediately makes me start grinding on him. He matches my rhythm and it feels so good to have his warm body on mine. He keeps his head buried in my neck and it causes sparks all over my body. This man is so sexy and I know dancing with him like this has me getting daggers from other women in the club but I could care less.

Dancehall starts blasting in the club and it brings out a different side to me. My hands go on my knees as I whine on his body and when I look back at him, I find him biting his lip with a thin layer of perspiration on his forehead. I can feel a bulge in his pnats and honey, he is blessed. Once the song is over we walk through the crowd that had formed around us and we go back to our section. I ask the girls come with me to the ladies room so we can talk about what just transpired between me and Kofi plus I want to touch up my makeup.

"Thembisa the way you and that guy were grinding on each other made me a little jealous."

"I actually surprised myself tonight. I didn't think I had it in me to dance on him like that."

"I'm proud of you for coming out of your shell but I also want to talk about chemistry you have with that man."

"I know. I felt that chemistry when we first met and I thought it was my imagination but tonight proved otherwise."

"Wait you've met before?" Pearl asks.

"Yes, this is our second time meeting."

"Where did you guys first meet?" Pearl further questions.

"We met at Cassie's not too long ago. He bumped into me and we spoke briefly but that was about it."

"This must be fate then."

"Maybe but I just want to have fun tonight and if he does have interest in me then we'll take it from there."

"What do you mean if he has interest?" Jasmine asks and I shrug.

"Anyone in this club can see how much he is feeling you and I don't blame him because you look like a five course meal." she continues.

"Thank you. Lets get back to our section before Jasmine's man sends a search party for us."

We're walking back to our section when I hear someone calling me. The voice belongs to a man I didn't think I would ever see but I guess fate has other ideas. I turn around and come face to face with my ex, Matthieu. I won't lie, he looks very handsome and his athletic build is showing through his outfit. Matthieu is what you can call the devil in disguise, he may be good looking and charming but he is pure evil. He scans me from head to toe and bites his lip for a moment while I keep a scowl on my face. Before we even start, I can already tell this conversation isn't going to end well.

"Wow, you look amazing mami. How come you never dressed like this when we were together?"

"Matthieu, is this what you stopped me for?"

"I just wanted to catch up. You look good and I guess blondes really do have fun considering how you've been acting all night."

"Are we done here because I need to get back to my company for the night."

"You want to get back to that light skinned boy of yours. He's just trying to have fun tonight then leave you in the morning. I know his type, he doesn't go for your kind." he adds while walking closer to me and I get nervous. Him stepping up to me makes me nervous because I don't know what ideas are brewing in his twisted mind.

"Why don't you let me get a taste of that body you now have?"

"Matthieu please let me go."

"Come on Thembisa. Lets have a little bit of fun. I'm pretty sure I can give you an unforgettable night." he adds and his hold on me tightens.

I start panicking because I know Matthieu has a huge physical advantage over me and screaming may not even help because of how loud the music is. I can smell the alcohol on his breath and it makes me want to hurl. He continues to pull me towards him and I start fighting back and suddenly his body is removed from mine.

"What's going on here?" Kofi asks looking quite pissed off.

"We were just talking."

"If you were just talking, why were your hands on her?"

"Stay out of this buddy, it's none of your business."

"It is my business because she's my girl"

"If she's your girl then why was she all over me?"

"It didn't look like it."

"Why are you being so hostile? We were just catching up. Are you scared she'll leave your yellow ass once I work my charm on her?"

"I'm really trying to keep my hands to myself but you aren't making that easy."

"I'm just saying. The pussy must be good if you're trying fight me."

"Let me go before I do something I'll regret but I want you to know that if you ever put your hands on her we're going to have a problem."

"I don't do well with threats."

"If I was you I would take heed of what I just said because I'm a man of my word." Kofi says before Matthieu leaves.

"Thank you for saving me."

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"It's okay. I don't want to be here anymore."

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asks and I nod.

"Let me go tell Jasmine what's up."

We walk back to our section and Kofi walks over to Jasmine and whispers something to her. She nods before turning to me and giving me a sympathetic smile. Kofi walks back to where I am and we walk out of the club hand in hand. He opens my door and makes sure I'm settled in before he goes to the drivers side. Watching him defend me and take care of me as well as he did, made even more attracted to him. We've met twice yet he already makes me feel safe. He breaks me from my thoughts when he asks for my directions before he starts the car and puts the directions on his gps. We sit in silence with the exception of Bryson Tiller playing until I break the silence.

"You're awfully quiet."

"I thought you'd want some silence."

"I'm okay with talking. I want to thank you again for saving me."

"You're welcome. Seeing him like that brought back some bad memories. I watched my mother get abused by many guys and I vowed to never watch a woman go through that on my watch."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's okay."

"You must be wondering who that was back at the club." I start and he nods.

"Well that's my ex Matthieu. We dated for about a year and it was good until he revealed his true self. He went from telling me I was beautiful to insulting me and flirting with other girls in my face. I should have left the instant his true colors came out but I stayed."

"Why did you stay?"

"He met me when I was insecure and weak minded so he easily manipulated me into thinking I was tripping whenever I brought up the things that were bothering me."

"In other words he was gaslighting you."

"Yes but I've since grown from that. The last time I saw him was the night I found a bra underneath my bed and that was about six months ago."

"Wait he fucked another woman in the house you two shared?"

"It was my house. He was jobless and homeless so I decided to let him live with me until he found a job."

"That's fucked up."

"I know and he had the audacity to blame me for his infidelity because I wasn't giving up the cookie."

"Damn I should have really knocked him out if that's how he treated you."

"It's okay Kofi. We live and we learn."

"People surprise me these days, they choose a good time over a good thing."

"It's sad but I'm still hopeful that I'll find someone that will appreciate me and not take me for granted."

"They may be closer than you think." he tries to mumble but I hear him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Enough about me. Tell me more about you."

"What do you want to know?" he asks.

"Anything." I add and we spend the next couple of minutes learning more about each other. As the conversation is geting more interesting, his gps alerts us that we've arrived at my complex. I would have loved to spend more time with him but I've had a long night and I need to rest.

"Thank you for driving me home."

"You're welcome. I had a good time tonight." Kofi admits.

"Me too. I had a lot of fun with you despite what happened."

"I'm glad. Would you like to hang out some time?" he scratches the back of his head and I find that action cute.

"Sure."

"Can I get your phone number?" he asks and I nod. He hands me his phone and save my number before handing him his phone.

"I should head up now."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you soon."

"Alright but make sure you text me when you get home and try not to get yourself in any trouble."

"For you I'll be on my best behavior." he winks and I smile for what feels like the hundredth time tonight.

"Good night Kofi."

"Good night beautiful."