have my number,” I flirted, lifting my glass to my lips.
“And I look forward to using it,” he returned, extending his hand.
I placed my hand in his and he shook it gently.
“It was very nice to meet you, Zola.”
“And it was very nice to meet you, too.”
Turning on my heel, I sauntered away, back in the direction of my friends.
As I approached them, the music faded, and a big voice belted out over the crowd. Everyone stopped, but I grabbed Kia’s arm and jumped up and down.
“Hello, ladies and gentlemen,” India greeted everyone from the stage. “My name is India Davis and I’m here to celebrate Zola Patterson! Anyone else here for that same reason?”
The crowd cheered and I beamed.
“Zola,” India scanned the crowd until she saw me. “There she is! Hi gorgeous!”
I waved and blew kisses at her.
“I met Zola through my man. She’s one of his best friends and has become a dear friend of mine as well. During our first meeting, she asked me for permission to publish the story of how me and my guy met. Let’s just say that was a meeting I’ll never forget! Things got hot quickly during Juneteenth,” she giggled. “If you want to know what happens, you’ll have to pick up Zola’s book”—she got closer to the mic— “on sale now and available for purchase up front.”
I laughed. She’s so good with the promotion!
“I’m not going to tell how I met Trenton. But I’m going to sing a couple of songs for you to let you know how I feel about him.”
Without further ado, she started singing a soulful love song that made me want to fall in love. After three songs, she waved goodbye to thunderous applause.
“If Trenton doesn’t get his shit together and marry her ass, I will,” Byron quipped, causing me to laugh.
The DJ started playing an up-tempo song and Byron looked at me. “I’ve seen the way you’ve been eyeing me all night, Zola,” he started, gesticulating with his hands. “You over there looking like a sexy bride in all that white.” He hit his chest. “Well your groom is right here, baby girl. Your groom is right here.”
“Why are you so ridiculous?” I asked him, amusement riddling my voice.
“Damn Zola!” He threw his hands in the air dramatically. “You’re just laughing in my face?”
“Stop making me laugh,” I told him as he shook his head in mock disgust.
“That’s low. You don’t want to give me a shot, but you’re okay going to the bar with that dude wearing the spandex suit? Really?”
The laugh that erupted out of me was so loud that it caught the attention of people around us.
“His suit wasn’t that tight, shut up,” I cackled. “It was fitted!”
“Nah, that shit just didn’t fit.”
Tears were in my eyes. “Stop! It was fitted.”
“It was fitted for someone smaller!”
I laughed so hard, I had to pee. “I’ll be back,” I told him as I giggled my way through the crowd.
I did my business, fixed my eye makeup, and then exited the restroom. I started to make my way to VIP to check on my mom and see if she had some lotion when I heard someone calling my name.
In a throng of people wearing black, I stood out in my white. Usually that wouldn’t bother me, but since I wanted to sing and dance with my friends, the constant stopping to take pictures was feeling more like work than play.
“Zola,” the voice called out again.
With a forced smile, I turned around to see who it was. My eyes widened and my smile became sincere. “Heaven!”
“Thank you so much for inviting me,” she said loudly. “It’s so much fun! So many cool people here.”
“And you’re one of the cool kids,” I told her with a wink. “Thank you for being here.”
“We’ve been having such a good time. We never get a chance to hang out, so this was perfect.” She looked beyond my head and beckoned someone over.
“Who is we?” I wondered, hoping it was a clue to how I helped her relationship.
“My brother,” she said, just as the man stepped into my eyeline. “You actually met him—”
“Saint Anderson,” I uttered. His name tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“Zola Patterson,” Saint returned, eyes burning into me.
Heaven was talking, but I didn’t hear a word she was saying. Those light brown eyes held me hostage and I was having a hard time tearing myself away. My heart was pounding in my chest.
I thought I’d made peace with never seeing him again since he squandered the opportunity to make a move. I’d tried to forget about the way he looked at me and how it felt like he saw right into my soul. I was sure I’d moved on from the intensity of the connection we had since he made it clear he wasn’t interested in pursuing me. I thought I had let go of the indescribable hold he had on me. But as I stared into his eyes, everything I thought I let go came rushing back to the forefront.
I sucked in a shaky breath.
Rule Number Three: When you know, you know.
Zola’s Story Continues Here
The Single Life with Zola Patterson Duet 2
The Single Life Playlist
Music inspires me. The artists mentioned below wrote songs and lyrics that depict the mood of the first part of Zola Patterson’s journey. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to any of these songs, you should purchase them immediately and listen on repeat.
I Do
Cardi B ft SZA
Big Ole Freak
Megan Thee Stallion
DripDemeanor
Missy Elliott ft Sum1
Bob
Yung Baby Tate
PRBLMS
6LACK
Sex Talk
Megan Thee Stallion
Bad-Remix
Wale ft Rihanna
Company
Tinashe
Body Party
Ciara
Body Party
Ciara
All Night
Bree Runway
Darkness and Light
John Legend ft Brittany Howard
Hot Holiday Hookups
Zola Patterson gathered information from her friends to write her collection of stories. If you want to know what she wrote, check out the following hot holiday hookups.
Slow News Day
(A Groundhog Day Hot Holiday Hookup)
Fool In Love
(An April Fool’s Day Hot Holiday Hookup)
The Delay
(A Juneteenth Hot Holiday Hookup)
Acknowledgments
The Single Life’s Zola Patterson (a veteran in the dating game) is the opposite of Disasters in Dating’s Desiree Johnson (a newbie in the dating game). Zola owns her life, her sexuality, and her career. She lives in her truth and is unapologetic in how that makes others feel. She is self-aware and mindful of how her actions could affect others, but she doesn’t live her life for the acceptance of anyone else. She is genuinely happy, successful and thriving. Ultimately Zola’s essence and perspective because that is what I want for myself and for everyone else.
To my family and friends who have loved and supported me, thank you. I am blessed to have you in my life. I love you all to the moon and back.
Amy Queau—thank you for creating my beautiful covers time and time again.
Virginia Carey—thank you for your editing and your feedback.
Michelle Lynn—thank you for being you and for using your formatting skills. I appreciate you so much.
Kumiko Lei—thank you for being my assistant and friend. Always.
Authors, bloggers, readers, thank you. You have changed my life with your love and support. It truly means so much to me. I am floored when I hear people say that they know me and love me and/or my work. I am honored when I read reviews that get it—my stories, my characters, my point, my message. The knowledge that I’ve moved people with my words is huge to me. I don’t take it for granted. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I can’t begin to explain how much it means to me to be able to write and publish my novels and to have you take the time to read them. Sending you all hugs and love.
Danielle Allen Collection
The Single Life with Zola Patterson
(Zola Duet 1)
The Single Life with Zola Patterson
(Zola Duet 2)
Truth or Dare
Trouble's What You're In
Annabelle and Lee
V is for Villainous (The Women of V Part One)
V is for Vicious (The Women of V Part Two)
V is for Vengeful (The Women of V Part Three)
The Art of Being Love
Tell-Tale
Cuffing Season
Sweatpants Season
Broken Clocks
Disasters in Dating
Brink of Disaster: That One
Brink of Disaster: This One
The Art of Being
Nevermore
The One
After The One
Work Song
Heartache
Heartfelt
Love Discovered in New York
Autumn and Summer
Back to Life
Back to Reality
Back to December
Hot Holiday Hookup Novellas
Slow News Day (A Groundhog Day Hot Holiday Hookup)
Fool In Love (An April Fool’s Day Hot Holiday Hookup)
The Delay (A Juneteenth Hot Holiday Hookup)