Rhythm Bay Love

by Patricia A. Bridewell

  Jada laughed. “Please don’t say that. Now that we’re acquainted, I don’t think we’d do that.”

  “No, we wouldn’t. I’m straight now. I can be a little fierce at times, but I’m a gentle lion.” He chewed his bottom lip and glanced at Jada. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

  “No, thank you. I loved the show and the after party. And meeting Frankie Beverly was a treat.”

  Antoine smiled. “I’m glad you had a good time. I can’t believe this is real. I mean, you’re beautiful.” He rubbed his chin. “Uh, I do have a question though. Are you dating the record company exec from Air Mist?”

  Surprised by his question, Jada sighed. “I was. How’d you know?”

  “Mmm…that wasn’t too hard to figure out. I mean, I’ve seen him in your office a few times, and I noticed him talking to you tonight.”

  “Our relationship is over. We went out a few times after we broke up, but I’m not seeing him anymore.”

  Antoine nodded. “When did your relationship end?”

  “A year, maybe a little over that time.”

  “That’s what I wanted to know.” There was excitement in his voice. “It’s no secret that hiding certain personal info in this business is hard. Like who I’m dating. Being in the limelight a lot, I haven’t dated exclusively for a few years.”

  Jada smiled and kept her eyes on him, waiting to see exactly where he was going with this conversation.

  He bit his lower lip again; his eyes on Jada. “I’ll be honest, and this might be too soon, but I have to ask. Lady, I’m smitten with you.” He lifted Jada’s hand and kissed it, interlocking their fingers. “Are you cool with being my lady?”

  She wasn’t too surprised with his question, but her thoughts stopped midstream. They were moving rapidly, and was she ready to commit to another man?

  “If you need time, I understand. I usually move slow when it comes to women. It’s just…I have this gut feeling that we should be together.”

  If she told Antoine the truth, he would probably laugh. Out of all the guys she’d dated, only one became her boyfriend before the three-month trial ended. This brother here… was like a cold glass of lemonade after a long hike in the desert.

  Squeezing his hand, Jada said, “Yes, I’d love to be your lady. And I have that gut feeling, too. It’s not like we just met. It’s cool that we’re learning more about each other. But, uh, we’ll take it slow. No announcements about this right away.”

  “We don’t have to make announcements. Sooner or later, everyone will figure it out. I have another question,” Antoine held both hands up. “Can I kiss you?”

  She smiled and nodded. “You didn’t have to ask.” A breath caught in her throat as he bent down and slipped his arms around her shoulders. His soft lips against hers sent tremors through her body. Kisses on her face, neck, and back to her mouth, and then a moan signaled his enjoyment.

  “Should I stop?” he whispered, touching her cheek with a finger. She pressed her hands to his face. “Don’t you dare,” she said, kissing him back. The thrill of being with this man stimulated every part of her body. What a night.

  Chapter 14

  ANTOINE

  Friday, Three months later

  An echo of the captain’s voice woke Antoine from a short, peaceful snooze. He raised his seat and buckled his seatbelt. Glancing at the empty seat next to his, the seat he’d purchased for Jada, he missed her already. Strange how life could shift quicker than a snap of the finger. Three months had passed since they’d started dating, and he still couldn’t get her on a plane to San Francisco. She canceled the first time, and understandably so since their relationship was so new. That weekend, he’d rescheduled his trip and stayed in L.A. to be with her.

  As the plane glided across the runway, Antoine let out a sigh of relief for a safe landing at the San Francisco International Airport. Not having Jada with him was a huge disappointment. This was the weekend he was supposed to expose his inner soul. He’d reveal parts of his life that he learned to cope with by staying busy and volunteering with Big Brothers.

  Antoine grabbed his iPad case from underneath the seat before opening the overhead bin to remove his duffle bag. He exited the plane and walked through the airport. The minute he reached the curbside, he busted out laughing. That boy is a nut. His friend Ellis was making crazy hand signals like a traffic police. Antoine thought of their longtime friendship that had started in elementary school after their moms met at an open house. They had remained friends throughout their early school years and college. Uber or Lyft were foreign words to his friend, who always insisted on picking him up, even if he called at the last minute.

  “Hey, Champ.” Ellis shouted the nickname he’d often called Antoine after he made a three-point shot and won a basketball championship for their high school team.

  “Thanks for coming,” Antoine said. They clapped hands and hugged. Antoine placed his duffle bag and computer in the trunk.

  “You know that’s no problem. Glad to see you, bro’.”

  “How’s Sherrie doing?”

  “Sherrie’s better. I don’t know if I told you, we thought she was pregnant last month. False alarm. We’re not pregnant yet, but…” he shook his head. “Still not giving up. I’ve got to keep my chin up on this one. The positive news is I got a promotion.”

  “Sorry to hear about the pregnancy. Congrats on the promotion, man. When do you start?”

  “I started right before you came up last. Forgot to mention it.” He peered over at Antoine. “Bro’ I was out of sync for a minute after that situation with the pregnancy. I’m now a senior quality assurance engineer, and I’m happy. I’d be happier if I was a daddy, though.”

  “Hang in there, dude. It’ll happen one day.” Antoine glanced at his friend, remembering the disappointment in his voice after he’d called and announced Fiona’s unplanned pregnancy. Despite his friends’ attempts to conceive and their physician’s inability to determine reasons why they weren’t successful, they’d been plagued with infertility problems for more than four years. Antoine tugged his earlobe trying to forget about the unborn child Fiona had lost in her second trimester while his best friend yearned for the special gift of a child.

  “You wanna grab some food or go home?” Ellis said.

  “I thought you’d want to get home to Sherrie. Don’t you two normally dine out on Fridays?”

  “I meant I’d take you to get food. It’s 7:45, bro. Me and Sherrie ate. She was off today so she baked some tilapia.”

  “Oh, my bad. I forgot about the time. I’m not hungry, but we can stop at Starbucks.”

  Ellis parked, and they went inside, ordered coffee, and found a table.

  Taking a sip of black coffee, Ellis said, “Tell me what’s new?”

  “Honestly? A lot is new. Number one, I’m in a new relationship.” He grinned, nodding his head. “My girl’s name is Jada.”

  “Whoa, it’s about time,” Ellis said with an excited tone. He pushed his fist out to bump Antoine’s. “Man, I was worried about you after that breakup with Fiona.”

  “Yeah, I went through a lot. But that’s behind me. I’m happy with Jada. We have a lot in common.”

  “Where did you meet?”

  “You won’t believe me,” Antoine smiled and stirred his coffee. “But… it was at the radio station.”

  “Oh. Is she a DJ?”

  “Nope. Remember the woman who gave me a hard time over the logs? The one I thought was out to sabotage me?”

  “What?” Ellis turned his head to the side, “Not the one you said was coo-coo.”

  Antoine broke out in laughter and slapped his leg. “Man, cut it out. I never said that. We had a few disagreements, but that’s over.” He blew into his cup to cool the coffee before taking a sip. “For real, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Rubbing his bald head, Ellis gave Antoine that turned up lip, head nod, and they slapped hands. That was their routine action in college whenev
er one of them first hooked up with a new girlfriend. Ellis raised his brows. “Okay, did you hit it or not?”

  “You had to go there, huh? I’m not saying.”

  “That’s right, I went there. We’re brothers for life, right?”

  A little embarrassed, Antoine shook his head. “Not yet. Jada’s not ready. So, I’m cool with waiting. For a little while, anyway.”

  “How long you two been together?”

  Antoine shifted a blank gaze at his friend. “Now that I’m not disclosing.”

  “Dude. What’s up with you? We always share.” Ellis picked up his cup

  “It’ll be three months this coming Monday.”

  His friend almost choked on a cup of coffee. “What? Who you think you kiddin’? Dawg, you didn’t mention her when you came up before.”

  Antoine looked around Starbucks. “Man, cool it. I don’t want the world knowing my business.” His friend had supported him through ongoing family disputes and with moving past the trauma of Fiona, which nearly wiped him out. But some things in life should be private.

  “Uh huh. I bet you don’t.”

  “We’re not rushing. You know me. I’m into a woman’s intellect, personal and ethical values.” Antoine wasn’t lying; these things were important. But he also couldn’t wait to make smoking hot love to his woman.

  “Ant, I’m not trying to be funny. Honestly, you’ve been dating that girl three months and ain’t tapped that bud yet?” Ellis lifted his cup in a salute.

  Antoine sipped his coffee. “The answer is no, Mr. Derrick number two. You and my cuz need to stay out my love life. Aren’t you interested in her personality, where she went to college, her hobbies?”

  “No,” Ellis chuckled. “Just joking, Ant. Tell me about her.”

  Dedicated students, both Ellis and Antoine attended UC Berkeley. Their college days were filled with attending classes and studying, but as members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity – Alpha Epsilon Chapter, they also made plenty of time for frat parties and tracking how many fine sisters they could bed. In Antoine’s freshman year, he was a devoted follow the leader rookie. By the second year, relationships had become more meaningful, and he learned to date and treat women with respect.

  He and Ellis talked for another hour, and Antoine told him about Jada and how they’d made peace and grown closer the past three months.

  “Yeah, dude, I was surprised how fast things moved along for us. After our second date, I realized I wanted a relationship with that fine woman.”

  “I’m happy for you, bro. I can tell you really care about her.” He removed a pack of Tic-Tacs from his shirt and popped a few in his mouth. He held the box out to Antoine.

  “No, I’m straight. I won’t be kissing anybody this weekend.” Antoine twisted his mouth and stroked his dreadlocks. “I’m hanging out with Rashad. I’ll pick him up at Big Brothers and take him to his basketball game tomorrow. After that, I’m off to Poet’s Night Out.”

  “Me and Sherrie might check you out at the lounge. And I forgot he played ball. That’s cool that you’re still mentoring him. When does he graduate?”

  “Next year. In fact, he got a scholarship to Prairie View A & M.”

  “All right. So, he’s going to school out of state?”

  “Yeah, he won’t be that far away. I’m proud of him and so is his mom. She was hoping he’d get into an HBCU and stay on campus.”

  “Cool. Now back to Jada…she told you about her family. Did you talk to her about yours?”

  “Man, I will.” Antoine placed his hands on the table. “I don’t have a choice. She poured everything out to me. My obligation is to be upfront.”

  “Better now than later. Man, go on and make her day. Tell her she hooked up with a rich D.J.” Ellis said, laughing.

  “You’re real funny. After I told Fiona, that turned into a serious problem.”

  “Yeah, but glamour girl was a trip.”

  “I know, but I brought it on myself. I gave her everything, but I was out of town too much.”

  “It wasn’t you, and see there? You’re still blaming yourself. You did what any man would’ve done if he’d caught his woman in bed with another man. And of all people, our boy, Kelvin.” Ellis cracked his knuckles. “I’d still be in jail today if she’d been my woman.”

  Antoine leaned back. “Yeah, well, Fiona’s old baggage, and I don’t hang with Kelvin anymore. My life is renewed. I have Jada, and she met Derrick. Eventually I’ll get her up here to meet everybody else.”

  “Awesome. My man Derrick is cool. Say,” Ellis raised his brows. “What happened to that other girl you dated at the station? Kellie or…what’s her name?”

  “Kellie?” Antoine frowned; he snapped his finger. “Oh, you mean Kiley. I never dated her. She attended a few events where I was the MC. Tried to get my attention, but that didn’t happen.”

  Ellis cupped his chin. “And?”

  “Nothing happened.” Antoine watched a super-sized grin overtake Ellis’s face. He lifted his hands in defense. “Let me get this straight. You know I’m thirty-five. Kiley is, I think she said twenty-three. Believe me, I don’t date women that young.”

  And that was a fact, although not all of them.

  After one of his MC events, Kiley had asked him to take her home and help her connect a new sound system. At first, he declined, saying it was too late. After thinking it over, he finally agreed. Setting up her sound system shouldn’t take very long. Kiley served him iced tea and lemon cake, and by the time he’d finished setting up the equipment, grogginess had overwhelmed him. A couple of glasses of wine at the event shouldn’t have made him feel that way, and he was nauseous and too dizzy to leave. Thinking he had eaten bad food, he staggered to Kiley’s couch and woke up hours later at 4:13 a.m. Initially, he didn’t even remember falling asleep, but he got up and left. From that day forward, he hadn’t said much to Kiley and refused to do anymore favors or take her home.

  Chapter 15

  ANTOINE

  Saturday

  Waking up in the comfort of his four-bedroom townhouse in Pacific Heights brought on a mellow mood. Antoine loved his townhouse but hated the location. He could walk a few blocks to a plethora of outdoor activities, but rarely did. He opened the sliding glass door, walked out on the sun deck, stretched his arms upward and inhaled. The Bay area lived in his pores. Even when he was away, he’d visualize this moment of peace that freed his spirit and mind. There was nothing more relaxing than a view of the water, bay, marina, San Francisco, and the Twin Peaks hills.

  He walked back into his living room and glanced around at the high ceilings, hardwood floors, and wood burning fireplace. His home was everything most single or married people would cherish.

  Living in an upscale, predominantly white neighborhood was his father’s choice. The clashes he’d had with his father came to mind. Antoine blew out a long breath and thought of his mother. She’d convinced him to accept the gift his father had given to all his kids — their own mortgage-free properties. He desperately wanted to introduce Jada to the other side of his world, but when was the question.

  Antoine sat at the table and opened his briefcase. He spread out his paperwork, browsing through a catalogue of poetry. With his brain fixed on Jada, he smiled. They had talked last night for hours. He missed that fine woman, her voice and everything that related to her. He scribbled a new poem, thinking it was better than the one he’d originally written for tonight. This one is for my lady, and someday I’ll present it to her. He had no intention of hiding his true feelings. Poetry instilled a greater appreciation for love, peace, hope, social justice, and other controversial topics. That’s why he enjoyed spoken word.

  His cell blasted with one of his spoken word poems, “Engulf Love.”

  “Hey, Nikki, what’s up?”

  “Mom’s asking about you. Here. Talk to her.”

  “I’m fine, and how are you doing?” Antoine said to his sister.

  “I’ll talk with you shortly,” she
snapped in her usual irritated voice.

  Before he could answer, his mother said, “How’s my baby boy? I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too, Mom.” Antoine dropped his head. This was always tough, and his sister knew it. He and his younger sister, Joy had all but pleaded with Nikki to notify them in advance before calling. This would give them time to prep for conversations with their mother, who had trouble recalling previous conversations and information.

  “Come soon, please and bring a pound cake.”

  A smile tugged at Antoine’s lips. “I’ll try to remember. Listen, I won’t be in D.C. until Thanksgiving. Okay?”

  “Thanksgiving? Why? You live close by.”

  Rarely at a loss for words, he stroked his head and mulled over how to make his mother understand. “No, Mom. I’m in California, and that’s a long way from where you are. Remember, you live in Washington, D.C. with Nicole.”

  “Who?”

  “Nicole. Nikki, your oldest daughter, your grandchildren’s mother.”

  “Oh, yeah, Nikki. Well…” She paused for a few seconds.

  “Mom?”

  “I hear you.”

  “Do you remember Joy, your youngest daughter?”

  “Joy. Of course, I do. She’s the flight attendant.”

  Antoine pulled his earlobe. “Joy is an attorney.”

  “Okay, Roland. I’m tired.”

  At times, hearing his mother’s weak voice stirred up raw emotions. Conversations with a vibrant, intellectual woman had withered down to senseless, short phrases. He loved his mom but hated talking to her; it felt as though he was talking to a stranger. Every conversation drained a well of energy and hurt so bad.

  “Mom, this is Antoine.”

  “Bye, honey.”

  “Mom. Mom!” He blew out a heavy breath.

  “All right, that’ll satisfy her for another two weeks,” Nikki said sarcastically.