“The bathroom is through my bedroom if you want to freshen up,” Sloan said as he took their plates to the kitchen sink.
“Thank you,” Jai said as she got up from the floor, where they had been sitting Indian style, and headed toward the bathroom. The light in Sloan's bedroom wasn't on but the light in the bathroom was. The bedroom was huge. It appeared to only have a bed, a chest, and a nightstand in it. Perhaps it was less that made the room look more. He had a canopy bed swimming with sheer drapery. It sat in the middle of the bedroom, which was a bit unusual, but it worked for this setup. There was a balcony that faced the bed. Jai could see the moon peeking in through the drapes.
The bathroom was gray marble. A couple of Rolling Stone magazines lay on the counter.
Jai used the bathroom, washed her hands, and dried them on one of the throwaway guest hand towels Sloan had sitting in a small wire basket. When she came out of the bathroom Sloan was standing in the doorway with nothing on but his pants, unintentionally showing off his cut physique.
Jai jumped and placed her hand over her heart. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Shh,” Sloan said, putting his index finger over Jai's lips. “Follow me.”
Jai let Sloan lead her over toward his bed. He had turned out the lights and the sheets were bathed in the soft, pale light of the moon.
“Take your clothes off and lay down on the bed,” Sloan ordered.
“Wh—,” Jai tried to speak before Sloan placed a finger over her lips again. “Shh. Just take your clothes off.”
Jai slowly stripped. Sloan lay on the bed watching her. When she dropped her panties at her feet, Sloan rose from the bed, grabbing a cloth from the nightstand, and came to stand behind her. He slipped the cloth over her eyes.
“Sloan,” Jai said nervously.
“Shh,” he whispered, and finished tying it. He then took her hand and walked Jai over to his bed and made her lay across the bed on her stomach. Jai could hear him fumbling around and then she heard something wet as he rubbed his hands together. At first she thought Sloan might have been jacking off until he touched her with his hands slick with warm oil. He pressed the ball of his hands into Jai's back and began to massage her. He buried his fingers in her shoulders and kneaded his way down her back to her ass. He worked his way down the backs of her legs down to her feet. Jai had never felt so good. He then turned Jai over and cupped handfuls of her breast and fondled her nipples with his fingers. Jai arched into his hands. Once again he began a slow, luxurious descent, that left her loose limbed and languid. Jai sighed and let the feeling take over.
When Jai woke up, the first thing she did was remove the blindfold. That's when she realized that the moon had been replaced by the sun. She stretched and ran her fingers through her hair. She felt brand new, rejuvenated. She looked around and saw that Sloan was nowhere in sight.
Jai got out of the bed and peeked into the bathroom. No Sloan. She wondered if he were in the kitchen.
Jai walked into the living room where she found Sloan sound asleep on the sofa, snoring. He obviously didn't want to wake her when she fell asleep across his bed while being massaged, so he opted to bunk on the couch for the evening. He looked so beautiful just lying there and so at peace that Jai didn't even bother waking him before she got dressed and left.
Sloan couldn't believe he woke to find Jai missing. He couldn't believe she had left without even saying good-bye. Sloan figured that she would at least call once she made it home safely so he decided to hop in the shower and wait for her call. He even took the cordless phone in the bathroom with him.
However, when he walked out of the bathroom Jai was standing there with a box in her hand.
He stared at her with a stunned look on his face.
“Sorry. I hope you didn't mind that I left the door unlocked, but I wanted to go out and grab breakfast,” Jai said, referring to the box of Krispy Kreme donuts in her hands. “You were such the sleeping beauty that I didn't want to wake you, and I didn't have a key to get back in.”
Sloan smiled, walked over to her, took a glazed donut out of the box, and bit into it.
“Thanks for breakfast, babe,” he said, polishing it off. Then he walked over to his dresser and slipped on some underwear and a T-shirt.
“Thanks for last night,” Jai said. “I needed that.”
“Anytime,” Sloan said with a smile. “Aren't you going to have some breakfast?”
“Yeah, I think I will,” Jai said softly. She put the box on the bed and slowly approached Sloan. “But not donuts. I was thinking of something with a little more protein.”
Jai knelt down on her knees and slid Sloan's underwear down his hips until they settled around his ankles. She leaned forward and began flicking his shaft with the tip of her tongue. Then she took him fully in her hand and sucked the tip hard. Sloan groaned and put his hands on her head.
“Take it all, baby,” he said, and Jai was more than happy to oblige.
Sloan cursed, grabbed her head, and began gently thrusting into her mouth. “Oh, oh, oh,” Sloan moaned.
Jai's head bobbed faster and faster. Just knowing how much she was turning Sloan on made her clit throb. She began to moan in sync with Sloan and she knew he was about to cum.
Jai pulled back, gripped Sloan's dick in her hand and squeezed it while he ejaculated into the palm of her hand. When he finished she went into the bathroom and cleaned up.
“I've got to head out,” Jai said to Sloan when she came out of the bathroom. “I've got tons of housework to do.”
“Make sure you call me when you get home so that I know you made it safe and sound,” Sloan said as he walked Jai over to the door. “I had a good time.”
Sloan kissed Jai softly on her lips.
“Yeah, me too,” she said with a smile.
“Don't forget to call me,” Sloan said as he opened the door.
“I won't,” Jai said, still smiling.
“And thanks again for breakfast.” Sloan winked at Jai.
“Well, you know what they say?” Jai said as she headed down the hall. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
“Human Services, Jai Bosly speaking.”
“Jai Bosly, Sloan Devaroe here.”
“Sloan,” Jai said, excited. This was the first time he had ever phoned her on her job. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” Sloan replied. “I know I don't call you at your job, but I was missing you like crazy today. I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet me over at Starbucks on Walnut for a quick cappuccino.”
“I can't go to lunch for another hour,” Jai said, regret lacing her tone.
“So do you want to meet at around 12:45?”
“Sure. I'll see you then.”
“Bye now.”
“Bye,” Jai said, hanging up the phone and staring dreamily at it. Sloan was so different from the men she had encountered in the past. There was no baby mama drama to look forward to and no more having a man borrow money from her or, better yet, her car. No wondering whether or not when he invited her out to eat if she would have to pay or not. Sloan was a thirty-something- year-old college educated, financially and physically fit man who gave her pleasure instead of drama.
Sloan was already seated when Jai arrived at Starbucks, sipping on a cup of coffee. He had been watching for her. Jai was looking casually fine in Old Navy khaki drawstrings with a cream-colored V-neck body suit. She had on a nice pair of brown loafers.
When Jai spotted Sloan, a smile crept across her face. As Jai breezed through the little coffeehouse she passed a table of three handsome black men. One smiled a mischievous smile at her and they all spoke a hello. Jai smiled back and returned their salutations.
Jai reached Sloan's table and was greeted with a warm hug.
“Seeing you is just what I need to break the monotony of the day,” Sloan told her.
“Having a rough one 1 take it,” Jai said, sitting down.
“Being yelled at by claimants w
ho want obscene amounts of money isn't what I would consider an easy day,” Sloan replied. “But I don't want to talk about work. Come on, let's go to the counter and get you something.”
Sloan pulled her chair out for her and they walked over to the counter.
"Can I help you?'' the girl behind the counter asked Jai.
“I'll just have a regular coffee,” Jai replied.
“You don't want a muffin or anything?” Sloan asked.
“No, just a regular coffee will do.” Jai had packed her lunch and had a sandwich waiting for her back at work, but didn't want to tell Sloan that when he had called and ruin her chance of seeing him.
“I'll take another coffee, also,” Sloan said to the girl behind the counter.
“Just black coffee?” the girl behind the counter asked.
“I take cream in mine,” Jai said.
“And I take mine black,” Sloan added with a smile and a wink.
It seemed as though the clerk took forever to retrieve their coffees, but they didn't mind the wait as long as they were with each other.
Sloan and Jai talked about everything under the sun in such a small allotment of time. Jai was amazed at how easy it was to talk to him. It seemed as though every time they talked, they discovered more and more of just how much they had in common.
If Jai and Sloan weren't spending the night together, then they were on the phone talking for hours. They talked mostly about their careers, whenever they weren't talking dirty that is. And every now and then they'd enjoy a game of twenty-one questions in which they inquired about different traits and characteristics of each of their races. For example, Sloan inquired as to whether the majority of black women really didn't go down on men. Jai inquired as to whether his people, which she just considered white, really didn't get cold when they wore shorts in fifty-five degrees weather. Sloan wanted to know if black people really got offended by the “N” word considering they used it more than anybody did. Jai wanted to know if white people used the word just as much amongst themselves. Sloan inquired as to how often black women washed their hair and Jai inquired as to how often white people wondered about the habits of black people.
Jai felt comfortable asking Sloan questions that Rissa might have taken offense to. Most of the questions were never things Jai normally thought or cared about. Being friends with a person of the opposite race was much different than dating one. If Jai was walking down the street with Rissa and people stared, she knew it was because they were beautiful, not because she was black and Rissa was white. She knew if minimum-wage clerks treated them funny it was because they were hating on their beauty, not because Jai was black and Rissa was white. Jai was in a whole new world, one she never imagined that she'd ever have to concern herself with. The same went for Sloan.
Jai was always in competition with herself that she never stopped to take notice of what the world thought about her. Her biggest critic had always been herself. On the other hand, Sloan was starting to take notice, and find a degree of concern, in what the world was thinking. This was natural for him, as he had always worried about what the people around him, namely his coworkers, thought about him.
Jai never really noticed how lunch in the park turned into lunch in a parked car. Jai never really noticed how dinner and movie nights out turned into DVDs and takeout food. She just simply enjoyed being with Sloan, no matter where they were.
Of course she was still sure to block out time for Rissa. Friday nights at Cream were still a given.
“You hooking up with Sloan later on tonight?” Rissa asked as she sipped on her Corona.
“Yeah,” Jai said as she giggled and wiggled in her chair like a little flutter bug. “We're going to spend the evening with me running some of my family history down to him. We're having dinner at Dad's Sunday.”
“Must be nice,” Rissa said as she downed the last swallow of her drink. Rissa finishing her drink was always the bartender's cue to bring her another, but he had been ignoring her ever since she stood him up the night she and Jai met Sloan.
“You used to have another drink waiting for you before you finished your last,” Jai said. “Bartender man been slippin' ever since you invited him over and didn't answer your door.”
“Don't remind me,” Rissa said as the two laughed. “I don't need another one anyway. I'm going to call it a night.”
“What?” Jai said surprised. “We just got here.”
“Yeah, well I'm sure you probably want to hurry up and get to Sloan so I'm going to let you off the hook. You two kids have a blast,” Rissa said with a sarcastic tone.
“There it goes again,” Jai said, throwing her hands up.
“There goes what?” Rissa asked, stopping in her tracks.
“That subtle streak of sarcasm,” Jai said, rolling her eyes. “That same bit of sarcasm that continually has me questioning whether or not you are really cool with Sloan's and my relationship. One minute it's Oh, Jai, I'm so happy you 're happy and the next minute it's You stole the guy I was going to marry. I mean get over it already. We can't be the first girlfriends this has happened to. Hell, in college we knew girls who used to share men.”
“Well, we're not in college anymore,” Rissa hesitated. “Besides, it's not that.”
“Then please enlighten me. I'm sick of this sometimey shit,” Jai said, raising her voice.
“Look, just forget about it. Have a good time with Sloan,” Rissa said sincerely as she kissed Jai on the cheek and exited the club. Jai was close behind her. She wasn't letting Rissa off that easy.
“Rissa, wait!” Jai called, catching up with her.
“Jai, let's not do this. I said I'm cool with you and Sloan being together so just leave it alone, please! I thought we already agreed on this. Why do you keep beating a dead horse to the ground?”
“Let's not do what, Rissa? What is it? If you're over that fact that you initially liked Sloan and I'm seeing him now, then what else could it be?”
“Gosh, Jai, why is it that the rest of the world sees it and you don't?” Rissa said, getting in Jai's face. “Don't you see how people look at you two? I mean, don't you notice the stir you two cause?”
“No, Rissa, I haven't noticed and you know what? I don't care,” Jai said, throwing her hands up and lifting her head proud.
“Well, maybe you don't care, but I'm sure Sloan does,” Rissa said, pouting her lips and folding her arms. “How many of his friends have you met?”
Jai was silent. Come to think of it, she hadn't met any. They had never double-dated or gone over to a friend's house or anything like that. Not even one of his associates from the gym. But on the same token, Jai had never invited him out on a double date with Rissa, for obvious reasons.
“Sloan doesn't really have any friends,” Jai said in defense. “He's mostly working all the time. When he's not working, he's with me.”
“Is that what he tells you, that he doesn't really have any friends? And you were just so quick to believe him. Little ol' Jai, walking through life with blinders on. Is it that he doesn't really have any friends or is it that he doesn't bring them around you?”
“You're my only friend,” Jai said, closing that matter. “I don't bring him around you.”
“That's different. You don't bring him around me because of . . . well, you know.”
“Rissa, this is crazy You're talking crazy.”
“Okay, let's say you guys do get serious. Well, have you thought about if you two have babies or something? Imagine how the world will treat your child. It's not fair to put a child through such unnecessary discrimination. I mean I'd never have a child with a black guy.”
“Oh, you can be friends with a black person, but that's it?” Jai said, twisting her neck and bobbing her head. “Do you mean to tell me I've been friends with a bigot for the past nine years?”
“Think about it, Jai. If I had a baby by a black man, what if we break up? What white man is going to want me and my black child? That's something you should think about
too. Say you have a baby with this Italian Stallion and it doesn't work out and you meet this rich good-looking black guy. Are you going to blame him for not wanting to play daddy to a child that biologically isn't his, let alone a white kid? And imagine how the white woman, Italian woman, whoever Sloan would probably end up dating, would treat your black child.”
“The one person who I thought would be genuinely happy for me is the one person making me feel fickle about my relationship with Sloan. I can't believe the words I just heard coming out of the mouth of my best friend.”
“And I'm only telling you this because I am your best friend. You two are still pretty much in La La Land right now, but what happens when you two have your first argument? What do you think is going to be the first word out of his mouth? Jai, I'm just giving it to you like it is.”
Jai was shocked at Rissa's words. She just stood there looking at her friend like she was crazy. Jai's silence made Rissa think it was an open invitation to continue her lecture.
“You're taking Sloan to meet your parents on Sunday,” Rissa said. “Well, when is he taking you to meet his? You have to step back and look at this thing for what it is. I'm not trying to be mean, Jai. I'm just being honest.”
“Well, thanks for being so honest. Now allow me to be honest with you. No matter how you dish it out your remarks were very prejudiced.”
“Oh, cut the crap. You people kill me, always ready to have a pity party having prejudice and discrimination as your guest of honor,” Rissa said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
“Rissa, I'm walking away right now because it's the white thing to do,” Jai said, maintaining her composure. “The black thing to do would be to sweep the streets with your white ass. This is just one of the advantages, as a black person, that I have over you. I know how to do the white thing when I need to and how to do the black thing when I need to. And you people are clueless of my advantage.” Jai stomped away so hard that she was sure she had ruined the bottoms of her shoes. Thank God she wore the Payless imitation Gators instead of her real ones she lucked up on at TJ Maxx.
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