by Zane
“Oh, it was a big fucking deal!” She came up closer behind me. “Yardley has always been and will forever be my man!”
“Is he aware of that?”
I laughed as another sister came into the restroom and entered a stall.
“You think you’re cute, don’t you?” she asked me.
I shrugged. “I’m not ugly.”
“But you’re fat!”
That comment stung. I wasn’t fat but I hated skinny little women who said shit like that.
The other sister finished up and came out to wash her hands. She lingered a little longer than she needed to; trying to be nosy, no doubt.
I turned my neck to the right to glare at her, making her aware that she needed to bounce. For that matter, I should’ve stormed out right then. I wanted a piece of the bitch, though, so I stayed and waited for the other one to leave.
Once she was gone, I turned to face Roxie.
“I’m not fat. God didn’t intend for me to be skin and bones like you. It’s true that society has played up this anorexic image of what’s considered sexy but the fact of the matter is that more sisters look like me than you.”
She inched closer to me. “Your point?”
“My point is that none of us seem to be lacking in the relationship department. I know more miserable petite women than I know large ones. Think on that.”
“This is a cute conversation,” Roxie said, “but it’s irrelevant.”
“You brought it up.”
“Yardley’s using you, trying to get over me on the rebound, but he’ll never get over me.”
“Being that he’s here with me, it appears he already has.”
“Did Yardley ever tell you his nickname for me?”
I laughed uneasily, quite sure I didn’t want her to reveal it.
“He used to call me his dick slayer.”
“Cute name. Kind of like the nickname I have for his penis; my dick,” I came back at her. I turned to the mirror and straightened my hair.
Roxie pushed me on the back and headed for the door. I started to whip her little ass but wasn’t about to get into a brawl on a night that was so special to Yardley and his friends.
I heard Roxie say, “Hello, baby. Your slut and I were just getting a few things straightened out.”
Yardley was standing outside the door. I glared at him in the mirror’s reflection; even though I knew what Roxie had said to me wasn’t his fault.
“How dare you call her a slut?” he lashed out at her. “You fucked my best friend, on my damn balcony, and you’re calling someone else a slut.”
Roxie smacked her lips and pushed him out the way. “Whatever, Yardley. It’s only a matter of time before you come running back to me. Once you realize what you gave up, you’ll be kissing my ass to get me back.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you stalking me, Roxie?”
“No, I’m not stalking you. I don’t have to since you’ll ultimately be stalking me. I’m an event planner, in case you’ve forgotten. I organized this party so I have every right to be here.”
I could hear their muffled conversation through the door. It was then that I realized there were tears flowing down my face. How could I have let that bitch get to me? I wiped them away with some facial tissues off the counter and straightened out my blouse and skirt.
As I opened the door to exit, I heard Yardley yelling, “When they start manufacturing Pintos again, bitch!”
He turned around and I asked, “Yardley, can we please leave now?”
We ended up going to his office. I’d never been there and had been looking forward to seeing it; being that he was at my job regularly. It was a beautiful suite. We had a talk about what had happened and he assured me that he was only into me. Then he proved it by making love to me; right there. He had this table with these balls that roll up and down your spine. He worked his dick inside me as those balls worked me from underneath. I hadn’t done it yet but I definitely planned to order one of those massage chairs from The Sharper Image catalog. They were expensive but after that experience, I wanted Yardley and me to be able to perform that kind of magic in my apartment without having to go to his office. It was the shit.
I bought two chicken caesar salads from Chicken Out Rotisserie and headed to Chance’s apartment around eight. She’d moved from Adams Morgan to Connecticut Avenue; within walking distance from the National Zoo. I hadn’t been to the zoo in ages and that was a shame because I loved animals. So many people who live in big cities never take advantage of the local museums and attractions. Washington, D.C., was one of the biggest draws for tourists—even after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet, I rarely went to check out anything. I was going to mention it to Yardley. He’d been living there his entire life—with the exception of attending NCCU—and I was willing to bet he hadn’t been to a museum or the zoo in years.
Chance and Ricky had leased a two-bedroom. It was a high-rent district, much like Georgetown where I lived, but you got what you paid for. The lobby had a lot of character, with antique leather furniture and marble floors.
I pushed the button for the elevator and cursed because I realized I’d forgotten to ask for extra dressing for my salad. Most restaurants skimp people on dressing for carryout orders. They need to invent some larger condiment cups or make sure they give everyone at least two per salad. I was hoping Chance had some black cherry soda. It was strange. Black cherry was my favorite flavor but I never purchased it. I only drank it when I went to visit Chance, which meant I hadn’t had one in a while.
I was excited that she and I would be able to do some bonding. I had so much to tell her; mostly about me and Yardley. Things were getting serious—as if they didn’t start out on a serious note—and I had the feeling he was ready to take things to the next level already. I wasn’t sure if I was emotionally prepared to go there.
I definitely wasn’t emotionally prepared for what I saw when Chance’s door swung up after I rang the bell.
“Hello, Rayne!”
There he was; after all those years.
“Hello, Ruiz. What a surprise,” I stated with much discomfort. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
He flashed that cinematic smile at me that I hadn’t forgotten. “That’s because I’m supposed to be a surprise.”
Then I said something totally ridiculous. I looked at the bag in my hands. “But I didn’t bring you a salad.”
He laughed and moved aside, taking the bag from me. “Come on in.” He set the bag in the dining room. “Chance is in the shower. She’ll be out in a few. She was hot and sweaty from unpacking these boxes all day.”
“Have you been helping her?”
“For the most part, she wouldn’t let me. She was acting like she had some top secret shit or something.”
I giggled because I knew Chance was afraid that her older brother would happen upon some of her sex toys. As unorganized as she was, I was sure she hadn’t bothered to label any boxes. What would you label something like that anyway? Anal Beads and Dildos?
“You’re beautiful, Rayne.”
I found myself blushing. “Thanks for noticing.”
“I’ve always noticed.” He came closer to me and rubbed his thumb down my arm. “Remember that night we spent together?”
“How could I ever forget the night you took my virginity and then pushed me to the curb?”
The smile dissipated from his face. “It wasn’t that way, Rayne.”
“Humph, well, that’s the way I viewed it.”
He pointed at the sofa. “Why don’t we sit down?”
I sat and asked, “So, when’s the big day? The second big day, that is.”
Ruiz shrugged. “What big day?”
“Aren’t you getting remarried?”
He picked up a beer that had been sitting on the coffee table and took a swig. “Nah, not anymore. She called it off.”
“Why?”
He shrugged again. “Who knows? She was a psychoti
c bitch anyway. That’s all I seem to get caught up with. My first wife was a slut and this one was sick. I need to reevaluate my criteria when it comes to women.” He put his hands on my thigh. “Or possibly revisit the past.”
I couldn’t believe it. After all that time, his mere touch still made me weak.
I moved farther away from him on the sofa. “What’s taking Chance so long?”
“You know she washes her hair every time she takes a shower.” He moved down also; closing the gap. “Relax, Rayne. I won’t bite.”
“I’m seeing someone, Ruiz,” I told him. “It’s serious.”
He glanced down at my legs. “Can’t be too serious; the way you’re moving your leg back and forth. Stroking that clit because I excite you, huh?”
Damn, he was right! I immediately froze my leg.
“Ruiz, I’m flattered that you still find me attractive, but I’m involved.”
“And?”
“And I plan to see where things can go with him.”
“What if I want to see where things can go with us?”
“That can’t happen.”
Ruiz pulled me toward him by the neck. “What can’t happen?”
Before I knew it, we were kissing. Next thing I knew, I was laying on Chance’s couch, with Ruiz on top of me, his hands under my sweater fondling my breasts. It was getting intense; I was rubbing his dick through his jeans and he was rock hard. If Chance hadn’t come in the room and cleared her throat loudly, we may have ended up fucking right there.
“Ahem, what the hell is this?” Chance asked as we both got up and tried to straighten up our clothes.
“Hey, Chance, I’m here,” I said, giggling with embarrassment.
“Ruiz, you said you wanted to see Rayne; not jump her damn bones in my crib.”
“I brought some salads,” I told her.
The three of us stood there, in the middle of the floor, in complete silence for a few seconds.
“You know what,” I added. “I suddenly remembered that I need to run an errand before all the stores close.” I headed for the door. “I’ll call you a little later, Chance.”
Normally, Chance would have talked mad shit and cursed me out in Spanish for making plans with her and then canceling them. She let me off the hook for once because she realized the situation was out of hand.
I got on the elevator and panicked. What had I done? All that time I’d been worried about Yardley caving into his past and there I was, within a matter of minutes, about to fuck Ruiz again after all those years. What if Will came back sniffing around me? Or Bryant? Would I be weak enough to fuck them too?
I arrived home around ten and took a long, hot bath. I felt so unclean; even though I hadn’t actually slept with Ruiz. I’d called Yardley from my car, asking if I could see him. He said his friends had come over but he could either kick them out or leave them there and come to me. I assured him that I would be okay, but I think he sensed something in my voice; hopefully not the guilt I was feeling.
Chance had been blowing up my cell phone but I didn’t take her calls. There were three messages on my home voice mail. One from Chance, asking me what the hell was really going on between me and her brother. The second one was from Ruiz, saying he had pressed redial on Chance’s phone because she refused to give him my number. He wanted to know if I would consider seeing him again before he left in a couple of days. He claimed he wanted to talk but he wanted much more than that and we both knew it. Ruiz and I could go absolutely nowhere and I wasn’t about to lead him on in any way. The final call was from Basil, wanting to know why he and I weren’t hanging out anymore. I did miss chilling with him but Basil couldn’t fit in my life at that moment with everything else going on. I was planning to start attending church on the regular again. I had kind of fallen from grace but intended to ask Yardley to start going with me; at least every other Sunday.
By midnight, I was starving. The latest version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had just finished playing on cable. It was truly gross and I wondered how many times they planned to remake the same film. What was really sick is that the storyline was partially based on fact, which made it even more disturbing to watch.
I could’ve kicked myself for not stopping by Horace and Dickey’s anyway. Since I wasn’t going to be helping Chance do any work, I could’ve easily thrown down on that bomb ass fish and passed out. To top it off, I’d left my damn salad and I had extra caesar dressing at home that I could’ve hooked it up with.
I was in the kitchen settling for a bowl of Frosted Flakes—since cereal is a quick fix 24/7—when I heard a knock at my door. I grabbed a knife out the block on my counter. There had been a serial rapist in the district recently and I wasn’t expecting anyone.
I took baby steps toward the door and yelled, “Who is it?”
“It’s the back cracker!”
An instant smile covered my face. I put the knife down on the table in my foyer and opened the door. “Hey, baby!” I leapt into Yardley’s arms and locked my ankles around his waist. I was only wearing a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt and no panties. “I thought you had company?”
“I did. I kicked them out.”
We shared a passionate kiss.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I told him as he carried me into my bedroom.
“No, but I wanted to. I’d rather spend all my free time with you anyway.” He laid me down and buried his head in my neck. “You look better, you smell better…” He licked my earlobe. “And you taste better.”
“Does that mean you taste your friends?” I teased.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. We women have to pay special attention to certain comments men make; since the word is out about the undercover bisexuals.”
Yardley frowned. “Not a damn thing funny about that.”
I giggled. “It is to me. You never know. Your boy Felix, the player, might be putting on a serious front.”
Yardley couldn’t help but laugh. “Now that would be wild, but I’ve known Felix all his life and if they locked him up in prison for the rest of it, he’d fuck imaginary pussy before he touched a dick other than his own.”
“So did you come over here to talk or give me some dick action?” I asked jokingly.
“Oh, I’ll give you some dick action, alright.” He started pulling my T-shirt over my head. “But not with this ugly ass shirt on, traitor.”
Yardley took off all his clothes and started licking every inch of me. As I gazed at him licking and sucking every inch of my body, his dick throbbing and glistening in the moonlight coming in through my bedroom window, I still felt a twinge of guilt about what had happened between Ruiz and me earlier at Chance’s. There was simply no comparison. I’d been a fool. Everything about Yardley. His touch. His tongue. His dick. Everything was nature-made just for me.
There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
—Albert Einstein
Twenty-nine
Yardley
Two Months Later, June 2004
I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect for my parents’ thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. The weather was beautiful; life was beautiful. Rayne was beautiful.
We were all gathered at the Atrium at Treetop for the surprise party Rayne and I had helped Mom plan for Dad. The florist had really come through with breathtaking floral arrangements and Mom had never seemed happier. My parents had completely accepted Rayne and Mom had even kept in contact with Arjay; checking on her via phone to make sure she was okay. It’s funny how mutual love of a person can make two completely opposite people closer. Such was the case with Mom and Arjay. In fact, Rayne had a surprise coming her way also. I’d arranged to fly her mother up for the party. I was putting her up at the Hilton, though. I didn’t want Rayne to feel uncomfortable with her mother in her place. I started to plan for Rayne to stay with me, but didn’t want t
o seem presumptuous; even though we were spending most nights together anyway. There were times when it felt like Rayne wanted to be alone.
Rayne was helping Mom get dressed and I was waiting outside for Dad to pull up. Uncle Clifton, his brother, was bringing him by the building on the pretense that I was considering opening a second chiropractic clinic in Maryland. The atrium was on the roof of an office building.
When they pulled up, Dad was waving. I waved back and then waited for them to park and walk toward me.
“Nice building, Son,” Dad said, giving me a stiff handshake. “Thanks for making me feel special by including me in your decision.”
Out the corner of my eye, I spotted one of his co-workers pulling up in a Ford pickup. I embraced my father and then used my hand to wave his friend off. He did a U-turn and headed back up the street. We’d been adamant about telling people to come early enough to already be hiding in the building when Dad and Uncle Clifton got there. That’s the tricky thing about surprise parties; rarely are they truly a surprise.
“Dad, I wouldn’t think of taking such a big step without you.” I let him go. “I’ve consulted you about every major decision in my life. College, career, my first office location, and now this.”
“Hey there, boy,” Uncle Clifton said, shaking my hand. “Long time, no see.”
I punched him tightly on the shoulder. “You’re supposed to be coming by my office so I can X-ray your neck.”
“I don’t need a damn X-ray to tell me that I’m an old buzzard.”
“You’re only old when you believe it,” I said.
“Let’s get on in here and see this space, Son,” Dad said. “I’m trying to get back in time to see Jeopardy!”
I laughed. “The highlight of your Saturday night.”
“Each and every one, Son.”
I led them into the building and pushed the elevator button. “There’s one more thing I’d like to consult with you about, Dad.” I glanced at Uncle Clifton, wishing Dad and I were alone at the moment. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”