Lessons Learned

by Earl Sewell

  “Boy, let me read you for a minute. You may have put on some muscle and you may have gotten taller, but those aren’t the things that make you a man. Mentally, you’re not ready for what you want to do. Physically, you may be but being romantic with a girl takes more than just a hard body. Girls can get very complicated, emotional and vindictive if they feel that your only reason for wanting to be with them is to put their legs up on your shoulders. And I know for a fact that that’s all you want to do right now. You don’t care about pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, emotional attachment or long-term commitments. You just want to get the goodies and move on to the next girl, and then the next girl and however many more you think you’ll need to bed before you feel like you’re a man.”

  “Grandma.” I wanted to stop her. I hated the fact that she knew my intentions so well. Hearing someone tell you the truth about yourself isn’t easy to listen to. “I’ll go to breakfast with you and Keysha, okay?” I said.

  “And you’re going to be with us afterward while we run a few errands. I’ve already told your mother and father that you’ll be with us all day today,” she said before turning to exit my room.

  Oh, what a raw deal! I thought to myself. I love Grandmother Katie but she’s going too far. I’ve spent a lot of my own money over the past few weeks setting everything up for this day. I’ve spent money taking Sabrina out to the movies and out for pizza. I’ve stopped hanging around my football friends just so that I could be with her, and I’ve been walking an extra two miles home in the cold every day for the last few weeks. She can’t ruin this day for me! I won’t let her! I sent Sabrina a text message telling her that I’d be there and I couldn’t wait to see her.

  A short while later I came downstairs with nothing but a bad attitude because what I’d planned to do for myself on my special day didn’t count anymore. They were trying to control me. I sat down on the sofa in the family room and watched TV. I was watching Mariah Carey videos and the only thing I could think about was touching Sabrina’s body especially if she came to the front door wearing nothing but a T-shirt and her panties like she said she would. The more I sat and thought about having to go to breakfast with Grandmother Katie and Keysha, the more aggravated I became.

  “What’s wrong with you? Why do you have that sour look on your face?” My mother, Barbara, had just entered the room.

  “No reason,” I uttered.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, a little concerned.

  “I’m cool,” I said as the next video came on.

  “Well, happy birthday,” she said as she walked over to me and handed me an envelope with a birthday card in it. “You’re growing up so quickly,” she said as she reached down and kissed me on the forehead.

  “Thanks,” I said as I opened up the envelope. There were two one-hundred-dollar bills in it.

  “Happy birthday, Mike,” said my Dad as he came into the room. “You’re officially fifteen years old today. I remember when I was your age,” he said, and I thought, Oh God. Not another one of his boring teenage stories. “My favorite song was ‘Ladies Night’ by Kool and the Gang. I was the coolest homeboy in my neighborhood because I had all of the latest GQ fashions. I had a real rep back then. I was the Philip Michael Thomas of our subdivision and my buddy was Don Johnson.”

  “Who are they?” I asked.

  “What? You don’t know who they are? Oh my God, how could you not know who they are?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of them? Were they a singing group or something?”

  “No. They were the stars of a TV show called Miami Vice. They revolutionized men’s fashion back in the day.”

  “They couldn’t have revolutionized it too much because their fashion didn’t survive.” I said jokingly. “But I have heard of Miami Vice. Jamie Foxx was in that movie last summer,” I said.

  “That movie didn’t give the show any justice. When you get the chance, YouTube Miami Vice and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I’m telling you. When I was your age I was sharp and a stylish dresser.” I rolled my eyes a bit because I knew that my dad was a total nerd. But if he wanted to fool himself I wasn’t going to interrupt his trip down memory lane.

  “Anyway, enough about that. This is your day and I hope that you enjoy it,” he said.

  “I will,” I said.

  My mom and dad eventually left for work. A short while later Grandmother Katie, Keysha and I went to the House of Pancakes for breakfast. I wanted to eat as quickly as possible and get back so that I could rush to Sabrina’s house. By 10:30 a.m. I was done with my food and tired of being with Keysha and Grandmother Katie who both seemed to be taking their time eating.

  “Did you stop to chew your food?” Keysha asked. “You pretty much inhaled an entire stack of pancakes.”

  “I’m good. Y’all need to hurry up,” I said impatiently.

  Grandmother Katie glanced over at me. “I will not be rushed by you, Mike. I’m going to take my sweet old time and enjoy my food.”

  I wanted to growl at her but I knew better than to do that.

  “He’s been acting very strange lately,” Keysha said to Grandmother Katie.

  “Nobody has even said anything to you, Keysha!” I snapped at her.

  “Who are you hollering at?” she barked back at me.

  “You.”

  “Both of you stop it before I do. Mike, you’re out of order. Get yourself together, young man, before I do.” I could tell that Grandmother Katie had just about enough of my attitude but I had enough of hers. At that moment my cell phone began to vibrate.

  “I’m going to the bathroom,” I said as I got up and walked away. I looked at my cell phone and saw that Sabrina had sent me a text message that read Everyone is gone. Where R U?

  “Damn!” I hissed to myself. I wanted to be with her and not stuck at this stupid restaurant with my Grandmother and Keysha. I sent her a text back that said I will be there soon.

  “He’s just going through a thing right now but he’ll get over it,” I heard Grandmother Katie say as I returned to the table. I’d decided to take a different approach to get them to hurry up. I decided that I’d sit, be quiet and tune them completely out. I wouldn’t engage in any type of conversation except to answer any questions that they asked. So I sat and glared out the window at the traffic passing by. Forty-five minutes later we were finally leaving.

  “Can you drop me back off at home? I’m not feeling too good,” I said to Grandmother Katie.

  She touched my forehead and the side of my neck. “You’re fine. There is nothing wrong with you. You’re coming with us.”

  “You can’t—” I caught my words before I said something that I’d regret.

  “You have something to say, Mike?” Grandmother Katie asked.

  “No,” I said as I followed them out of the restaurant and toward the car. As soon as I got situated, I received another text message from Sabrina that said I’m waiting. I groaned a little as Grandmother Katie drove off in the direction of the mall. My mind began racing. I needed to get away from them and I didn’t care how I did it or what the consequences were. I was desperate and would do anything to be with Sabrina. After passing up several perfectly fine parking spots, Grandmother Katie finally pulled into one. We got out of the car and walked toward the mall, which seemed to be packed with people searching for after-Christmas sales.

  “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun shopping today,” Keysha squealed.

  “I know. I’m looking forward to spending time with you guys,” Grandmother Katie said with a smile.

  “How long are you guys going to be in here?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Keysha. “A few hours, I guess.”

  “Come on. Mike. Spending an afternoon at the mall with your sister and Grandmother will not kill you,” Grandmother Katie joked. “We’ll stop at some men’s clothing stores while we’re in here.”

  “Look, why don’t you go shopping and I’ll walk around the mall looking at
some stuff?” I offered. “I might even catch a movie while you two do your thing. I really don’t feel like standing around watching you change in and out of clothes. You can call me on my cell phone when you want to reach me.”

  “I don’t know, Mike,” Grandmother Katie said thoughtfully.

  “Oh, let him go,” said Keysha. “I’m tired of him and his attitude. He’s a big boy. He’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, you make sure that you keep your cell phone on and don’t go into that movie theater because they’d make you turn it off,” said Grandmother Katie with a kiss on my cheek.

  “I will,” I said and turned to walk in another direction. If I weren’t in such a hurry I would have paused to give Keysha a hug for providing me with an exit. My plan was to rush back home, grab my bike and go over to Sabrina’s house as quickly as I could. We’d do what we’d planned on doing and then I’d rush back home, drop off my bike and go back to the mall and meet up with Grandmother Katie and Keysha. I knew that it was a wild plan but I could do it. I had a girl waiting to take me to paradise. I didn’t waste any time. As soon as I left the mall, I began running home. By the time I made it to the house, which was a good four miles away from the mall, I got another text from Sabrina that said It’s 1:30 p.m. My parents will be home soon. R U still coming?

  “Yes. I’m on my way,” I said aloud as I rushed into the house and up to my room. I opened my closet door and removed a box from the top shelf. I opened it up and stuffed several condoms that I’d placed there into my pocket. I ran back downstairs, out the door and toward the garage to grab my bike. Then it hit me. My time was short and I needed to get there quicker. Something in the back of my mind said Take the Trans Am. Perfect. Jordan would never know that I’d driven it and I would get to Sabrina much quicker. I sprinted back into the house and grabbed the keys for the car.

  I knew how to drive because from time to time Jordan would take me out on the back roads and let me practice where I wouldn’t hit anything. I fired up the motor, which grumbled and growled. The car had an awful lot of horsepower and it felt good to be in control of it. I put the car in gear and slowly drove out of the garage and down the driveway. Once I got to the end of the driveway I had to wait before I merged into traffic. When I saw an opening, I hit the gas pedal a little hard and the car leaped out into traffic. I quickly gained control of it and sped off down the street toward Sabrina’s house.

  When I arrived at her house, I didn’t pull into the driveway because I didn’t want her to know that I’d taken my father’s car. I parked the car on the street around the corner from her house. I rushed up to her door and rang the bell. It took a moment but Sabrina finally opened the door.

  “Hurry up and get inside before a neighbor sees you,” she said.

  I quickly darted inside. I exhaled once she closed the door. “Finally, I’m here,” I said as I tried to catch my breath.

  “Hey, baby,” Sabrina said as she stepped into my embrace. I was about to kiss her but she backed away from me. “Ew, why are you all sweaty?” she asked.

  “Oh. Sorry about that. I was rushing to get over here,” I said. Sabrina didn’t look happy. “What?” I said defensively. “I’ll go wash up real quick. Will that help?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, where is your bathroom?” I asked.

  “You can use the one that’s upstairs. It’s mine and no one uses it but me,” she said.

  I followed Sabrina up to her bathroom with only one thing on my mind. When we got to the bathroom, I noticed that there was a shower. “We should take a shower together,” I said getting very excited about the idea.

  “No. I can’t risk getting my hair wet.” She handed me a towel. “Clean yourself up and then come out,” she said.

  “Okay,” I said as I closed the bathroom door and freshened up. When I came out I called out Sabrina’s name.

  “I’m in here. In my bedroom.”

  “Oh yeah,” I said aloud as I walked in the direction of her room. She was sitting down on her bed. It was at that moment that I noticed she was fully dressed. She even had on her gym shoes. I hadn’t noticed it when I came in because I was just happy to be there.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” she said as she threaded her fingers together and rested her hands on her lap.

  “Well then, let’s get the party started,” I said and approached her. I gently guided Sabrina downward so that she was resting on her back. I hovered above her, looked into her eyes, smiled and began kissing her. I expected her to wrap her arms around me and be more welcoming but she didn’t. Her arms did not welcome me and her kiss was weak. I ignored her lack of enthusiasm and began to unbutton her shirt. With each button that I unfastened, more skin became exposed and that excited and thrilled me in a way that I just can’t explain. I got her shirt off and exposed her bare skin and black bra. The swell of her breasts and the sexiness of her flat tummy made me want to explore every inch of her body.

  “Hang on,” I said as I stood up and took off my shirt. I glanced down at my own abs and chest and knew that I had to have looked just as tempting to her as she did to me. I kicked off my gym shoes and unbuckled my belt. Just as I was about to hover over her again my cellular phone buzzed. It was Grandmother Katie calling.

  “We’ve got to hurry up,” I said as I tried to unfasten her pants. Sabrina stopped me.

  “Mike, wait. I’m scared,” she said with a quiver in her voice.

  “Scared of what?” I asked. I wasn’t in the mood to try to get around her defenses.

  “I just don’t know about this,” she said softly, “It’s a big step and it just doesn’t feel right.”

  “Give me a minute. Let’s get out of these clothes and everything will feel just fine. Come on, let’s do this,” I said reaching into my pocket for a condom.

  “You’re not listening to me, Mike. This isn’t easy for me. What will you think about me afterward? Will you still like me?” she asked.

  “Of course I will still like you,” I said as my phone buzzed again.

  “What if the condom breaks? I’m not on the pill or anything. What if I get pregnant?” she asked.

  “You won’t get pregnant, okay? Stop thinking like that and let’s just enjoy each other. What’s the problem?”

  “I just think—” Sabrina paused. “I mean, I like you a lot but I don’t think I can do this right now. Let’s just wait awhile. Okay?”

  “Wait awhile!” I snapped at her. “This is my birthday. You promised me you’d give me this. How could you mess this up for me?”

  “Mike, we could just hold each other for a while, can’t we? I’ll touch you a little bit.” She offered something that I didn’t want.

  “Touch me a little? What the hell is that? I want everything. I want it all!” I yelled at her and she began crying. My phone rang again. I was on edge. I felt like punching a hole in a wall. “I can’t believe you’re doing this. You’re just a big tease!”

  “Mike,” she said as tears ran down her face. “I’m sorry.”

  “I thought you were a woman. I thought you were ready for this. I thought—” My blood began to boil the more I thought about how she’d strung me along. “Do you have any idea what I had to go through just to get over here?”

  “No.” She sat up and began buttoning her shirt.

  “I stole my father’s car to get here, Sabrina! You can’t do this to me!”

  “Mike, I didn’t ask you to steal you dad’s car!” Sabrina yelled back at me. She stood up and I wanted to push her back down but I didn’t. I had to catch myself because my anger was taking control and if I didn’t stop myself and leave I’d end up taking what I wanted anyway.

  “You know what?” I held up my hands in defeat. “Forget it. I’m out of here. Don’t ever call me again. I don’t want to see you anymore,” I said as I put on my shoes and shirt.

  “Mike, you said you loved me. How could you just turn your feelings for me off like that?”

&
nbsp; Once I had my clothes on I headed downstairs.

  “What does this mean, Mike?” She trailed behind me. She was crying, but I didn’t care. I opened the front door and sprinted around the corner to the car. I fired it up and smoked the tires as I pulled off. The Trans Am did a fishtail and I almost slammed the rear end of the car into a lamppost. As I drove home, my phone rang yet again.

  “Hold on, Grandmother Katie, I’m coming!” I yelled aloud.

  I made it back home and put the car back into the garage just the way it was when I took it. Now I had to run four miles as quickly as I could to get back to the mall. I closed the garage and began sprinting down the street. My phone rang several more times during my run back but I didn’t want to answer it until I got closer to the mall. I’d already come up with an excuse as to why I didn’t answer Grandmother Katie’s calls. That excuse was simple. I couldn’t get a signal inside the movie theater. I knew that I’d promised to stay out of there, but I was confident I could smooth Grandmother Katie over. I had about two miles to go before I reached the mall. As I ran along the sidewalk, I saw Grandmother Katie and Keysha pass by me in her car.

  “Oh, snap!” I shouted out, “They’ve left the mall.” I stopped running, leaned forward and rested my hands on my knees to catch my breath. I screamed out at the top of my voice. Then I pulled out my phone and called Keysha.

  “Where are you at?” she yelled at me. “You’ve got Grandmother Katie going crazy. She’s called Jordan and told him that you’ve run away from her.”

  “She did what?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Jordan’s home now. He’s pulling into the driveway with us.”

  “I didn’t run away from her,” I said, my voice loud.

  “Well, she believes you did and she’s not happy.”

  “Let me speak to her,” I said. I was hoping to find the words I needed to say to smooth this over with her.

  “Tell him I don’t want to talk to him!” I heard Grandmother Katie yell out.

  “Mike. All I have to say is you’d better get home and quick because neither Grandmother Katie nor Jordan are happy with you right now.”