Watercolors: Ellison Brothers

by Vera Roberts

  Love. It was a funny emotion. Sometimes people would forget how they feel about someone until they’re hastily reminded about them in a harsh way. Aaliyah wondered if she would ever stop loving Ocean Ellison.

  As she and Katrina watched the news covering her, Aaliyah wondered if what she was feeling was similar to other women who date famous and powerful men. It was one thing if she was completely anonymous but she was well known in the tattooing industry.

  She wondered if she was going to get an uptick in business because of her association with Ocean. Was there really no such thing as bad publicity?

  “I have three pieces to do today.” Aaliyah said over a cup of chai tea sweetened with just a smidgen of blue agave. “And then, I have yoga but I might skip today’s session and go home and do it there.” She took a sip. “And then I’ll finally turn off every piece of Internet and chill until my meeting with the network tomorrow.”

  Katrina smiled at her boss. She was a younger black woman, with long hair, and a bright personality. Her role in the shop was to handle all of Aaliyah’s business affairs. They sometimes talked about men, sex, and spilled plenty of tea between them.

  The fact Aaliyah was unusually quiet meant something was amiss. Aaliyah was locally famous and was shouted out in enough hip-hop records where she had a respectable following online. She was a judge once in a tattoo competition show, where fans revered her for giving solid advice and not being harsh on the competitors like her fellow judges.

  She never partied. There were no pictures of her popping bottles. One never heard of her getting into any fights. When people filmed at her shop, she was respectful and kind. Everyone had nothing but praise for her.

  Now Aaliyah was the top story in the world of social media, where news is delivered before confirmation of the truth was given. People dissected her tattoos, her background, and wondered aloud how an Ellison ended up with her.

  It was clear the newfound attention did not sit well with Aaliyah. It was one thing to have her own reality show on VH-1, where numerous other Z-list black-famous people have shows; it was a different ball game when she was the front and center news story at CNN every hour, with people talking about wedding bells when Aaliyah still wasn’t sure if she wanted to be with Ocean.

  “Did you want to talk about it?” Katrina asked.

  Aaliyah slowly shook her head. “It’s best that I don’t. I’m not sure where it’s going and I don’t want to comment on something unless I know where I stand with him.”

  “I thought it was pretty clear,” Katrina giggled, “I mean, that was some kiss!”

  “It was,” Aaliyah couldn’t help the big smile that curved her lips. “But a kiss is just that. We didn’t have sex. We’re not dating. We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend.”

  “So what are you?” Katrina asked. “Clearly, he’s feeling you.”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m supposed to see him next month and maybe that’ll clear some things up.” Aaliyah shrugged. She was still unsure as to the why Ocean wanted her to fly to D.C. She wasn’t going to complain, however, since it was his dime.

  “So, should I start calling you Aaliyah Ellison?” Katrina teased. “It does have a nice ring to it.”

  Aaliyah’s smile quickly faded away. She’d practiced saying Aaliyah Ellison for weeks as she shopped for bridal gowns and researched event planners. The memory still burned a deep hole in her heart. “No.” Aaliyah stood up and took another sip of tea. “I’m still very much Aaliyah Smith until the right man tells me to change his name to his. O never did that.”

  “O…O…O…” Katrina pondered aloud until her eyeballs grew wide. “Wait a minute…O…that’s Ocean Ellison? That’s the guy you kept talking about who broke your heart and was the king of fuckboys of all fuckboys?”

  Aaliyah didn’t realize how harsh she was in describing Ocean. Then again, she couldn’t feel too bad. He did deserve her scathing criticism and then some. “That’s the one.”

  “Wow,” Katrina shook her head, “and you two dated for how long?”

  “Six months,” Aaliyah bristled. It was the most amazing six months of her life in hindsight. He introduced her to exquisite art museums and explained the history of certain pieces. She introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and explained why Iron Maiden was one of the best metal bands in ever.

  They made love like long-lost lovers. They fucked like they both had sex addictions. They comforted each other as if they were afraid to go to sleep at night.

  They were soul mates in every way until he broke her heart in the worst way. “Six months and several moons ago.” She clarified.

  Katrina knew enough about Aaliyah to know when she was smitten with a man. Most men fell under the ‘Netflix and Chill’ category. Aaliyah spoke more about dick appointments than she did about getting serious with any of them.

  She had good reason to be cautious – most men wanted to be associated with her for the homie hookup of getting a free tattoo (only bonafide, certified relatives received that honor). The others just wanted to bang her and claimed they did so. Aaliyah always made it a point to let a man know that she fucked him, never the other way around.

  Now Aaliyah acted in a way that told Katrina Ocean was in a category by himself. Aaliyah could make all of the snide comments she wanted but it was clear as the nose on her face, she was still in love with Ocean.

  Katrina believed that fact bothered Aaliyah more than Ocean’s reappearance. “But you still carry a torch for him, yes?”

  “No!” Aaliyah bristled. Liar. “I don’t have any feelings for that man whatsoever.” Liar. “Besides, it was just a kiss and that’s it. He’ll be seen with a new woman soon and this will be fake news.” Pants on fire.

  “Uh-huh.” Katrina didn’t want to risk getting fired so she went along with whatever hogwash her boss said. “Well, I hope to meet him one day. He seems like a great guy with good character.”

  “He’s a senator.” Aaliyah replied. “They’re great actors in the public. It’s what they do behind closed doors that’s the issue.”

  “Okay,” Katrina swiped through her boss’s playlist and found exactly what she was looking for – the eponymous “Fuck You” playlist. It contained nothing but angry and bitter songs of the hard and fast variety. She quickly turned it on and heard Janet Jackson’s soothing coos as “Son of a Gun” played in the overhead speakers. “Let’s get this out of the way because I don’t want to hear you bitching about Mr. O for the rest of the day.”

  Katrina knew Aaliyah almost better than herself at times. “Let’s do this.”

  ~~~~~~

  “Senator Ellison! Senator Ellison! Who was that lady you were caught kissing?”

  “Senator Ellison! Are you going to be married any time soon?”

  “Senator Ellison! What are your thoughts on the illegal immigration holding centers?”

  Ocean Ellison stopped and turned around to answer the only question that was worth answering. “I think today’s version of concentration camps are repulsive and disgusting. This is not what America is about. When immigrants flee their nations and come over here, they’re not taking anyone’s job nor are they rapists, murderers, or lazy workers. Some of the best and finest people who served in our military were first-generation immigrants. These people sacrifice their livelihood just to give their children a better life. I think that is something everyone can relate to, no matter what side of the immigration debate you’re on. That is all I’ll be saying on this for now. Thank you.” Ocean was ushered into his office and closed the door behind him.

  “Well,” Justin sat down at Ocean’s desk, “that wasn’t too bad.”

  “It’s not bad because no one cares about me.” Ocean sat behind his mahogany desk. “I’m not the target. Liyah is.”

  “And how is Ms. Aaliyah?” Justin asked. “How is she doing with the newfound attention?”

  “She can’t decide if she loves me or hates me.” Ocean replied. “She wants to stay angry but she’s afraid if she does, i
t’ll take away whatever power it gave her.”

  “Well, you did motivate her to start the tattoo shop.” Justin replied. “So, there’s that.”

  Ocean bristled at the notion. Oh, he motivated her by starting the tattoo shop all right – by giving her the worst heartache. “She would’ve started one on her own. I didn’t help her with that.” Ocean replied.

  “But you did give her motivation indirectly,” Justin countered. “She had many reasons to prove to anyone she could make it on her own without anyone’s help.”

  “And I love that about her but she’s always been like that.” Aaliyah was wowed by Ocean’s background but she was always more interested in him. She couldn’t care less what he drove or why he worked long hours at the hospital and student health clinic.

  All she wanted to know was if he was going to be available to blow her back out on any given night. Ocean had to calm his erection down before he stood up again. “That hasn’t changed a bit.”

  “You still going out with Ximena tonight?” Justin asked as he handed over the dossier faxed over by Ocean’s mother, Starr. “Your mother doesn’t seem to be that impressed by her.”

  Ocean opened the folder and read the scathing cover sheet attached to it:

  You’re better off watching paint dry while getting kicked in the balls.

  Love you,

  Mom.

  “Well, what can I say?” He flipped the page. “Mother knows best.”

  “And your father wants the association with Ricardo for what reason?” Justin questioned.

  Ocean softly shook his head as he read over Ximena’s file. She was a plain looking woman with an average body. That wasn’t the problem. True to form, she was a waste of space. She was a social justice warrior behind the keyboard but there was no documentation of her donating her time, money, or anything else to said causes she championed about.

  Even Stevie Wonder could see Ximena was an opportunist. “Latinos are going to become the majority in a few years. He wants to get in before it’ll be too late. This is purely political. He doesn’t give a damn if I hate her or if we don’t work out. Ricardo needs a favor from my father, and my father was more than happy to oblige at the expense of my happiness and time.” Ocean tossed the dossier aside.

  “And Aaliyah?” Justin dared to ask. “What does she think about you going out with Ximena tonight?”

  “She doesn’t know.” Ocean replied and Justin’s eyebrows rose. “She says she doesn’t care what I do and she’s made it very clear we’re not dating. We’ll find out tonight if she really means that or if she’s playing a game and hope I’ll go along with it.”

  “My man,” Justin shook his head, “you’re playing with fire, bro. You know how the Montezes get down. You’ll be all over the society pages and IG blogs in a heartbeat. Ricardo has been trying to get in with the Senate and Congress for years. Lobbying is the best he can do but he actually needs an ear who can lead to other ears.”

  “And I’m that dumb asshole courtesy of our parents.” Ocean rolled his eyes. “Even if I sleep with Ximena, it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t even want to fuck her, to be honest. There’s only one woman I want to fuck and she’s currently in Atlanta paying me dust.”

  “Oh, she’ll pay you more attention after this stunt,” Justin chuckled.

  “It’ll take the heat off Aaliyah at the risk of me being labeled as a playboy.” Ocean shrugged. He was used to the press stalking his every move with the Midwestern housewives clamoring over the blonde women he was seen with in past years.

  Since the pictures of him and Aaliyah came out, Black Twitter labeled him as “Senator Bae,” with commentators joking Ocean traded in Friends for Living Single. “We’ll see how she reacts when the pictures come out. She might be done with me for good at that point.”

  “Or…” Justin rubbed his goatee. “…you might gave her motivation to work on things with you.”

  ~~~~~

  Aaliyah’s workday went by as quickly as it started. Her clients were respectful and didn’t ask any questions about her and Ocean. Not that Aaliyah would’ve given them any details. She was in that awkward ‘What are we?’ stage that she loathed in high school and college with previous boyfriends.

  Ocean was not her boyfriend. But he wasn’t quite just an ex. He was…something else.

  She shrugged off the emotions. She was scheduled to see Ocean within the upcoming month. They would go out to dinner, maybe catch a show somewhere, and then Aaliyah would go back to her room and Ocean would go back to his condo.

  They could be complete professionals and adults about whatever was going on. No shade, no angry, scathing Twitter messages or nasty posts alluding to one another. A pure, platonic relationship.

  Even Aaliyah couldn’t buy that.

  Sexual tension crackled between them whenever they were together. She could still remember how soft and warm his lips felt on hers. The way he stared at her as he cupped her breasts when she stood naked in front of him. Aaliyah was wise enough to know sex alone didn’t make a relationship. Love, trust, and honor were other big factors in that and Aaliyah wasn’t sure how much Ocean had of each.

  She had to be realistic. Was she ever going to be Aaliyah Ellison? Was she simply fulfilling a need within Ocean until someone more appropriate came along? If that was all he wanted, why would he tease her with the possibility over again? She didn’t need the publicity for her new show that bad.

  By the time Aaliyah was done with her clients, the press had dissipated and went away once they realized there wasn’t a news story and she wasn’t about to give one. She had to go home and think about what she really wanted to do with her life.

  How was she going to handle a reality show and newfound association with Ocean?

  As Aaliyah stepped outside of Watercolors with the awaiting AMG Mercedes, all worries slipped away. She walked up to the driver, who had the backseat passenger door opened for her. “I’m Aaliyah Smith. You are?”

  “I’m Julio Rodriguez,” the driver introduced himself. He was a Puerto Rican man with a light complexion and light eyes to match. “I’m your driver and bodyguard, Ms. Smith.”

  Julio looked like he was a minor bodybuilder with broad, wide shoulders and a muscular frame. He was bigger than Ocean and Aaliyah quickly realized that was the point. If Julio was around, no one was about to try anything on Aaliyah. “How long are you supposed to protect me?”

  “Until Senator Ellison says not to,” he replied, “his personal money is paying for my services and not the taxpayers.”

  Aaliyah didn’t have to ask why Julio shared that tidbit. She was also pretty sure that news would also make its way to the press in some form or another by the end of the night. “Okay.” She gave a soft smile. “Are you going to pick me up from my home tomorrow morning?”

  “Yes and where ever you need to go. I’m at your service 24/7.” Julio stated with a nod.

  “Well, I don’t want that because you need sleep.” Aaliyah stated. “We’ll work something out. I don’t want you to put your life in danger.”

  “I’m under Senator Ellison’s orders, Miss.” Julio repeated. “Am I taking you home?”

  Aaliyah blinked at the information. At first, she was annoyed, and then she realized how much she liked it. “Yes.”

  ~~~~~

  Ximena was everything Ocean thought she would be – passionate about justice and equality, said all of the right things, and was well versed in every topic as if she was a personal encyclopedia. She appeared to be the perfect woman on his arm.

  Ocean was terribly bored with her.

  Her answers were spectacularly rehearsed. She had the perfect counter to any argument. She giggled at his lame-ass jokes full of corn and she made sure to show plenty of teeth. She would’ve been the perfect Miss America contestant.

  He didn’t want to spend his night talking about whatever policy was in place. He couldn’t have given two flying fucks to the wind about what the opposition party was doing. He d
idn’t want to give more thought about DACA, illegal immigrants, gay rights, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, and whatever else was going on in the world when he just wanted to enjoy a symphony.

  And yet, that’s all Ximena wanted to talk about. She put on a smile in front of the cameras and waved to all of the right people. When they were seated, she was quiet and tried to snuggle against him and Ocean allowed it for the sake of not making a scene.

  He also knew it was the last time he would ever interact with her.

  She was okay looking and Ocean couldn’t take that away from her. But she was incredibly drab and Ocean knew it was about to be one long-ass night if he didn’t try to make her entertaining.

  They took the standard photos in front of the opera house and made sure all of the important people saw them. They then took their seats in the front row and Ocean conversed with other guests while Ximena checked her makeup.

  “Ocean,” a smiling Senator Jay Edwards approached him with his wife, Jessica. They were branded as America’s favorite couple with endless comparisons to the Kennedys and Camelot. “Pleasure to see you here.”

  “Jay,” Ocean shook the older man’s hand and kissed his wife’s cheek. “Pleasure to see you and Jessica here tonight.”

  Jay glanced down at Ximena, who stood up next to Ocean. “And you brought a guest.” He smiled. “This is…?”

  “Ximena Montez, daughter of Ricardo Montez.” She introduced herself before Ocean had a chance to. “And you are Senator Jay Edwards, Republican out of Orange County, California.”

  “I see the lady has done her research.” Jay nodded down to her. “Lovely. I hope you are enjoying your evening thus far. I need to borrow Ocean for a moment.” He grabbed Ocean by his elbow and led him to a private corner. “So, you’re going to explain to me why Lupe and not Lupita is here tonight?” Jay asked.

  Ocean didn’t want to acknowledge Jay’s racist remark. “I think we both know why Ximena is here instead of Aaliyah.”

  “Your father likes to insert himself into shit that doesn’t concern him. He will be a problem in the future. If you want another term, she won’t work.” Jay glanced behind him to see his wife engaged in a conversation with Ximena. His wife was a natural charmer. “Your approval rating shot through the roof on the pics of you and Aaliyah. Black men will vote for you again in the next election because of your daddy and they love Soul. Black women will vote for you because you just proved you’re about Black Lives Matter in the sheets as well. You need to keep that momentum.”