by Zane
“Yeah, let’s do this,” I responded, slamming the ball into Felix’s chest.
He leered at me and slammed the ball back at me. “I don’t want Roxie.”
“Why not?” I slammed it back at him. “Because she’s no longer my woman? Not a scandalous enough scenario for you?”
“It’s not even like that, Yardley. I’ve tried to explain but enough is enough. I’m not gonna kiss your ass or anything.”
“That’s because you’re too busy kissing Roxie’s,” Mike stated jokingly.
All of us shared a good laugh; except Felix.
The tension was thick throughout the entire game. And it was one hell of a game. I couldn’t recall a time when the four of us had played so hard. Not to mention so roughly. I knocked Felix on his ass numerous times and he elbowed my ribs continuously, knocking the wind out of me a couple times.
“That’s it for me,” I finally said, taking a seat on a bench to catch my breath.
“Good game!” Mike exclaimed. “I’m gonna be sore for days though.”
Dwayne came over and sat down beside me. “Say, what do you have planned for tonight? Want to check out that new Morgan Freeman flick?”
“No, I can’t,” I told him. “I have a date.”
“Date!” they all yelled out in unison.
Felix, the last one that needed to say shit, was the first one to ask for details. “Who do you have a date with? I guess you really are over Roxie.”
I snarled at him. “Felix, if you want to stay stuck on the Roxie topic, be my guest. I’ve moved on to better things.”
“Like?”
“Like a real woman that’s not into playing games.”
“And you’ve figured all that out about the sister already?”
I sighed and got up off the bench. “I’ll catch you fellas later. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
I was halfway to my car when Felix tapped me on the shoulder. “Yardley, hold up! I was wondering if you want to get together for drinks this week. Maybe we can hit the happy hour over at the Zanzibar.”
“I’m not ready to start hanging out with you again, man. Basketball’s one thing, but I’m not trying to chitchat over buffalo wings and tortillas.”
Felix shook his head. “That’s cold.”
“That’s not cold. That’s the way it is. Maybe, in time, I can begin to view you as a close friend again, but that remains to be seen. You have to earn my respect all over again.”
He dropped his eyes to the ground. “I understand.”
I realized that Felix genuinely felt regret, but it was time for him to grow up. If I’d forgiven him like it was nothing, he would’ve assumed that he could get away with scandalous behavior at will.
“Do me one favor, Yardley?” He stood tall and stared directly into my eyes. “Think about taking Roxie back. I take full responsibility for what happened. All I’m saying is consider it. Please consider it.”
“I appreciate you trying to be the fall guy but Roxie’s a grown woman and she knew what she was doing. After she embarrassed me in front of my friends like that, I could never be with her again. Besides, like I said, I have a date tonight and I’m really looking forward to it. The young lady’s very special and she’s someone that had me feenin’ long before Roxie ever came back into the picture.”
Felix chuckled. “Damn, it’s like that?”
I grinned. “Yeah, it’s like that.”
“So who is she? You’ve got to tell me. You’ve never mentioned having the woody for anyone.”
“Woody?” I laughed. That was a term I hadn’t heard in ages. “You’re sick, man. I didn’t tell you about Rayne because I’d assumed she was taken.”
“Rayne?”
I have no idea why I decided to tell Felix my business. Maybe I felt like bragging to someone, anyone. After all, I was excited as hell at the prospect of seeing her again.
“You know how you used to always call me and I’d be coming out of the bank?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I was doing a little bit more than making deposits. I was checking her out.”
“So she works at the bank?”
“Yes, and after I went in there one day I was hooked.”
Felix laughed and punched me lightly in the arm. “Damn, she must be fine as shit!”
“Yes, she is. That’s why I’d assumed she was taken all this time.”
“So how did you find out she wasn’t?”
I sighed uncomfortably. “After what went down, I decided to take a chance and find out. I’d planned to do it before but, ironically, that was the day Roxie called me up out the blue and asked me to have lunch. I got hooked up with her and tried to do the right thing by not going after another woman. It’s a shame I did that, too, because Rayne and I could’ve been getting to know each other all this time. Then again, that wouldn’t have been the appropriate way to start things off, so it’s all good.”
Mike and Dwayne were still over on the court shooting layups, obviously trying to give Felix and me the space and opportunity to make amends. While that didn’t happen, I did feel a little better since I’d managed to somewhat clear the air.
“I have to jet, Felix, but you take care of yourself.”
“You, too, and call me.”
I didn’t reply to that either way. I wouldn’t be calling but I did plan on seeing him on the court the following weekend.
As I was driving away, my thoughts turned to Rayne. I couldn’t wait to see her.
Nineteen
Rayne
The Playground Arena was packed, as usual. Adults love the chance to act like children without the risk of being scrutinized. If everyone is acting immature, who can cast a stone?
I got there at eight-fifteen and ran straight toward the ball pit, kicking off my shoes on the way. I jumped in and immediately started a ball fight with two stringy-haired white girls that appeared to be college age. That was the most fun.
We plummeted each other for a good twenty minutes and, other than getting sideswiped by a red one right in the eye, I was all into it. I wanted to get my adrenaline going so I’d be hyped up before Yardley got there. Then again, I was already hyped up. I had been all day, wondering if he was still coming. I’d finally convinced myself to relax. Either he showed or he didn’t but after the way he’d flattered my ass the day before, I told myself that he’d be there.
Just as I told myself that for the hundredth time, I heard a slice of heaven.
“Having fun, Rayne?”
I was about to launch an all-out war with an armful of balls when I looked up and saw him standing there in a pair of black sweats and a white tee. Damn shame how the simplest of clothes can make a fine man look even finer.
I cleared my throat and stared at my playmates. “I have to run, ladies. My date’s here.”
I climbed out of the ball pit. Yardley was standing there with his arms crossed and a gigantic grin on his face.
“Oops, did I say date?” I asked bashfully.
He started laughing. “Yes, I believe you did.”
“Well, you know what I meant.”
“Hey!” Yardley threw his arms up and slapped his chest. “Calling it a date was my preference in the first place.”
I poked him gently in the arm. “Then let’s call it a date.”
Yardley blushed and I started searching for my shoes amongst a pile of them on the floor. I found the first one and then paused. “Before I put these back on, did you want to play in the ball pit?”
Yardley shook his head. “No, no thanks. I don’t like playing with little balls.”
“What about big balls?”
He chuckled. “Sure, basketballs.”
I located my other shoe and put them both on while Yardley allowed me to lean on him for balance. After I was done, I told him, “For the record, I enjoy playing with all kinds of balls.”
I winked at him. I was sure he got my drift.
“So, Rayne, what would you like for me to wh
ip you in first?”
“Very funny!” He had to be kidding. “How about laser tag?”
“I’ve always wanted to play laser tag.”
“So why haven’t you?”
“My buddies think they’re too grown to do something like that, I suppose.”
“Have you ever asked them to play?”
“Good point,” he replied. “I never have.”
“Well, after I give you a beatdown, you probably won’t ever want to play again anyway.”
We both laughed.
Yardley said, “Let’s get it on!”
I wanted to get it on all right, but not the way he had in mind.
Yardley beat my ass in laser tag. I was highly disappointed but I realized that if he was the typical man, he probably had at least three video game systems at home that had much wear and tear and was about to wet himself waiting for the next one to come out. After laser tag, we moved on to virtual golf. He whipped my ass again. That was when I started getting frustrated. I hated to lose at anything. I did beat him in the water shoot. I knocked down more than a dozen ducks that floated by and he only got two.
“Aha, I beat you,” I boasted, blowing imaginary smoke off the tip of the pistol before pointing it at him and squirting him in the face.
He chuckled. “Lucky shot. If we play it again, I’m sure I’ll beat you.”
I wasn’t willing to take any chances. “Naw, that’s perfectly all right. I think we should move on to something else.”
“Fine, what do you want to try next?”
I picked up a diagram of the amusement center off a nearby table and scanned over the choices. That was a stall. I already knew the place like the back of my hand but I needed a moment to gain some composure. There was something about the way that Yardley asked me the question that had aroused me to the point where my heart had started pounding in my chest. I knew what I wanted to try next, but I wanted to take things slowly. Even so, I imagined pulling him into a quiet corner of the place and feeling him up at the very least.
“So have you decided?” Yardley asked.
“Hmm, how about wall climbing?”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, Rayne. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
Surely, he was joking. “Me? Get hurt?”
“Yes, you.”
I started walking toward the room where the wall climbing section was located. “You need to be more worried about yourself.”
“Why don’t you give it up?” I yelled across the wall at Yardley, who was struggling to hang on and maintain his footing.
“Not in this lifetime,” he responded, out of breath. The look of frustration on his face was priceless.
I wanted to laugh but was too afraid that I might fall, trying to be cute. I said, “Fine. I’m going to have to make you look like a fool in front of all those people down there watching.”
He glanced down at the onlookers who were laughing and pointing at him. He looked like a puppet dangling from a string.
“This might be a strange time to ask this but Valentine’s Day is coming up,” he said after managing to place his right hand on the next mount.
I waited for him to continue his comment, assuming he wanted to ask me something. When he didn’t, I commented, “That didn’t sound like a question to me. That was more of a statement.”
Yardley lifted another foot and slid it on top of a mount, trying to catch up to me. I was at least three feet ahead of him and still moving swiftly.
“I was wondering if you had any plans,” he said.
I grinned. “Hmm, you’re getting closer to a question, but that was more of a spoken thought.”
“You’re silly, Rayne.” He paused and stopped trying to climb the wall. It was obviously a lost cause. “Would you like to spend Valentine’s Day with me?”
“Now that sounds like a question.”
“Good. This is the point where it’s customary for you to say something that sounds like an answer.”
“Is that right?”
“That’s the general idea.”
We both giggled.
I said, “Well, it depends.”
“Depends on what?” Yardley asked.
I looked up and then back down at him, deciding to give him an out instead of being totally embarrassed about losing to a female. I answered by saying, “Depends on whether or not I get to the top of this wall first.”
Yardley quickly jumped on the opportunity to give up, let go of the mounts, and slid down the rope to the cushioned mat. “Oops, I must’ve slipped.”
We stayed at the place for another hour or so, opting to get something to drink instead of continuing our male-female competition. Yardley was much fun to be around—playful and lighthearted. We discussed our childhoods—briefly. I wasn’t trying to scare him away by revealing TMI—too much information—about my mother. Yardley had grown up locally in Silver Spring, Maryland, and his parents still resided there.
I was hoping that I’d get to meet them one day, but only time would determine that. He did tell me that he rarely took women over to his parents’ house because they’d always expect him to marry and settle down. He said that he hadn’t found the one yet. Then, he backtracked and started reminiscing about some chick named Roxie. I didn’t like him talking about her because she had a name. It was cool for men to discuss their past but when they started talking about particular women and addressing them by name, it usually meant that there was still some baggage loaded on their hearts. This Roxie chick sounded like she had major issues. He’d caught her screwing one of his best friends on his balcony during the recent Super Bowl. That meant that he was merely days out of a relationship, which worried me even more. Men on the rebound can be high-risk and I wasn’t trying to have my heart broken again anytime soon.
I asked him, “Are you sure that you’re over this Roxie lady?”
Yardley nodded. “Oh, I’m positive about that. I’ll admit that Roxie and I go way back, to high school. I wanted to date her then but I did something to mess things up before they even got off the ground. Now, years later, I guess it all came back to me. Karma is something else.”
I laughed uneasily. “Yes, it is.”
Yardley asked about my past relationships and I didn’t elaborate. I told him that there are no accidents, I had no regrets, and everything happens in its own time. True love would find me when it was supposed to, and not a second before.
He wanted to know who I’d been recently dating. I told him that I wouldn’t classify any of them as real dates. I described the entire Conquesto fiasco—without mentioning his name—and briefly went into the Basil the Virgin story; also without mentioning his name. I left out the part about my date tonguing down another date at his parents’ party, though. Yardley didn’t need to be privy to all that and I didn’t want him to think that I could turn straight men gay. I knew a sister like that once. My mother’s best friend, Phyllis, would turn men off so much with her shenanigans that I could name at least five men that went from pussy lovers to booty bandits. I had no intention of remotely making that my claim to fame.
Since we’d driven separately, we decided to call it a night. Yardley walked me to my car and the nervousness hung in the air. He wanted to kiss me; that much I was sure of. However, I debated about whether he’d find me easy if I allowed it to happen or, worse yet, made the first move.
“Well, Rayne,” Yardley said, gazing deeply in my eyes after I had my door unlocked and was standing in the doorway of the driver’s side.
“Well, Yardley,” I said back to him after he hesitated.
We smiled at each other.
He took my hand and kissed my palm. “I had a ball this evening. I’m so glad that we finally met—officially.”
“Me, too, Yardley.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to say something to you. Every single time I came into the bank, I wanted to approach you but never had the nerve. I bet that sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?”
&nbs
p; I shook my head. “Not at all. Ironically, I’ve always wanted to say something to you also. I had no nerve at all and I’m glad you finally made the effort. Otherwise, I’d still be wondering about your situation and what could’ve been.”
“Like you said earlier, everything happens when it is supposed to.”
I giggled. “Exactly. Besides, you weren’t technically available a few days ago, so that wouldn’t have been cool.”
“Want to hear something funny?” he asked.
“What?”
“The day that Roxie came back into my life, I was planning on coming into the bank to ask you out. Then she showed up out of the blue and basically sidetracked me for a while. I’m not the type of man to divide my time between women. Never have been and never will be. I only need one woman and I need that one woman to only need me.”
I couldn’t help but blush. “Wow, that was deep!”
Yardley laughed. “Yeah, I can be pretty profound late at night.”
I glanced at my watch. “It’s not that late.”
“Is that a hint?”
“No, it’s not,” I replied. “I don’t want you to think that I’m sweating you by trying to monopolize your time.”
He shrugged. “I’m only going to head home, watch some late-night TV and fall off to sleep.”
“I’ll probably do the same.”
“So why don’t we fall off to sleep together?” Yardley asked suggestively.
I took a deep breath and then exhaled. “That sounds enticing but I better pass. At least for tonight.”
Yardley seemed disappointed when he said, “Well, with that said, I bid you goodnight, Miss Rayne.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Yardley.”
He kissed me on the cheek, made sure that I got into my car okay, and stood there as I drove off into the night.
Twenty
Yardley
Roxie wouldn’t give up. She was still sweating me and trying to get me to commit to seeing her on Valentine’s Day. She’d even come by my office and copped an attitude with my receptionist, demanding to speak to me. I’d allowed her into my office. I didn’t want the patients in the waiting room to overhear her ranting and raving.