Cutting Loose

by Dash, Jayson

  “Good night, Brett,” Sabrina said, pulling herself away from him and unlocking her door.

  “Um, good night, Sabrina,” he said with a confused look on his face.

  She closed the door in his face and leaned up against the door in the dark as her heart hammered against her chest. What the hell was her problem?

  Chapter Eleven:

  If at First You Don’t Succeed…

  “Dust yourself off and try again!” Cassandra was damn near screaming into the phone.

  Sabrina felt terrible about the way her date with Brett ended and called her up a couple of days later, only to hear the same speech Sabrina gave her when Cassandra was in her shoes a short time ago.

  “I don’t know if I can,” Sabrina cried into the phone in between her low sobs and dabbing at her puffy eyes from an hour straight from crying for no apparent reason. “Why would he be interested in me when I can’t even kiss the guy without freaking out?”

  “It’s really not that serious. And it’s not your fault. I mean, look how long it’s been since you’ve been on a date with a guy other than that jerk Carl? A long ass time!”

  “I know, I know. That’s what sucks about it all.”

  “Firstly, Rina, stop feeling sorry for yourself—and stop all that damn crying. You think those tears are going to make things better?”

  “No,” murmured Sabrina. “I know it won’t. And I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I just can’t help the fact that I’m finally getting over Carl and I messed things up the first chance I got. Would you be interested in me if you were Brett?”

  Cassandra waited a beat and said, “Yes, I would, especially if you told me what the deal is and seeing that you just got out of a long relationship, it would only make sense.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” She sighed and said, “Look, just because you had a small hiccup with Brett the world is not over. Just let him know what happened and spend some time with him. Get to know him some more.”

  “That’s true. So what should I do?”

  “I just told you, Rina. I can’t do it for you. All I can do is offer you my advice and hope you put it to good use because I’d hate to see you show up to your ex’s wedding next week looking all depressed and shit.”

  Sabrina had forgotten all about Carl’s wedding being next week. She really didn’t care about it and pushed it out of her mind.

  She considered Cassandra’s words and said, “You’re totally right. I have to pick myself up and go after him. It’s only been a couple days. Thanks, Casey. You always know the right things to say for every situation. I don’t know how you do it.”

  Cassandra chuckled. “It isn’t easy, but somebody has got to keep you and Larissa on y’all toes.”

  Sabrina laughed for the first time since her date with Brett. “Yeah, yeah. Speaking of Larissa, what is she up to?”

  Cassandra paused and said, “Don’t tell her I told you, but she missed her period and thinks she might be pregnant.”

  “I told her crazy behind to use protection but she’s so damn hardheaded. It’s like talking to a brick wall with her.”

  “I know, girl. But Larissa is going to do what she wants to do no matter what anybody tells her. She better slow down before she has more to worry about than carry some stranger’s baby.”

  “I feel you. Well, thanks for the pep talk; I have to get myself straightened out so I don’t end up all depressed again.”

  Cassandra chuckled. “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Several hours later Sabrina found herself crying again. But it wasn’t over the fact that she slammed the door in Brett’s face or the fact that he hadn’t returned her phone calls. It was from a sad movie she was watching on TV where a woman found out her ex-fiancé slept with her sister who was getting married to his best friend.

  That kind of betrayal made Sabrina’s heart ache, taunting at old memories of a friend she knew who had the same experience. Then a flashback of the night she caught Carl in bed with Jasmine for the third time. To this day she still had no idea what made her stay with his cheating ass after all those times. Most women would have left the first time it happened. But then again, Sabrina wasn’t like most women. She was way too forgiving. Maybe that was her problem.

  It was that and the way she trusted people too easily. But that was in her nature ever since her mother instilled into her and Camille when they were younger. Her mother always it was the Christian way to forgive people and never hold grudges over people because it wouldn’t make any sense and that if God could sacrifice his only son so we could be forgiven, it was the only thing to do.

  She lived by that concept and so far it caused the majority of the problems in her life because she would say she forgave someone but not really in her heart. She still hadn’t forgiven Carl and knew it was going to take a longtime before she did. At least for now.

  She hated complaining and moping around. She couldn’t do it anymore. So she gathered up enough nerve to hop in her car and drive over to Brett’s workplace and pay him a visit in person since he didn’t want to answer any of her phone calls. Maybe he would get pissed at her and think she was wrong for showing up unannounced or maybe he wouldn’t. Either, she was going to make her presence known by any means necessary.

  She pulled up to the plaza where a bunch of stores were packed into a plaza and saw a window that read Brett’s company name and logo on it, the same one she saw on his van. Her nerves almost got to her and tried to make her stop what she was doing but then she sent those thoughts into oblivion where she wouldn’t even think about them.

  She walked into the air-conditioned place where she saw a few desks here and there and people were walking around wearing the uniform Brett wore when he came to her house.

  A tall blonde woman with her hair in a bun dressed in a white dress shirt and a navy blue pencil skirt walked up to her. She smiled and said, “Hi, may I help you?”

  “Yes, I need to speak with Brett.”

  She frowned and said, “I’m sorry to inform you that Mr. Deltour is in a meeting at the moment. If you’d like, I can get someone else to assist you.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll wait for him. It’s really important that I speak to him so I’ll just wait until he’s out of the meeting.”

  “Very well, then,” the woman said as she glided away to her desk.

  Sabrina glanced around for somewhere to sit but the sales floor was so wide she didn’t see any seats until she glanced over her shoulder and found an uncomfortable-looking chair and sat down.

  She didn’t even care how long she was going to be sitting there, just as long as she knew at the end of the day she was going to talk to Brett at one point and do what she came to do. She had come so far and she was not about to turn around now. That wouldn’t make any sense and would definitely make her look weak. And Sabrina Evan’s didn’t have one weak bone inside her body.

  Some moments later, Sabrina had lost track of time after an hour, she saw a group of people emerging from the back of the room chatting it up. Out of the crowd of white crisp shirts and navy blue slacks, she saw Brett.

  At that moment she stood up and straightened out her shirt that was a little wrinkled. She almost had to sit back down from her legs hurting so much from the way she was sitting.

  Once she had her balance she stood firmly and waited for Brett to see her first before she ran over to him and made herself look silly.

  He looked like he wasn’t going to fall into her plan so she had to take matters into her own hands and walked around the sales floor as if she was interested in something, looking back and forth at Brett over her shoulders until he finally caught her eye with a surprised look on his face.

  He stopped he was and once he recognized Sabrina, walked over to her and said, “Hi. Uh, I didn’t expect to see you here. At my place of business.”

  “Is that a problem?” Sabrina asked curiously, looking him straight in the face.

  “No, not really,” h
e said coolly. “I just uh,” he trailed off and looked around to see who was watching him. “Do you need something?”

  “Yes, I do. I need to know why you haven’t returned any of my phone calls or any of the emails I sent you.”

  He cocked his head to the side and said, “I’ve been swamped with work the last couple of days and I turned my cell phone off and I haven’t gotten around to checking any of my email messages yet. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I was avoiding you.”

  How many times have I heard that before? Sabrina said to herself. Too damn many.

  She didn’t know what it was that made her say, “Apology accepted,” so quickly. Maybe it was the sincerity in his voice and the way he kept looking her in the eye that told her he was telling the truth. Maybe she was beginning to like him.

  Brett frowned and asked, “Are you going to let me off that easily?”

  “Yeah,” said Sabrina, a bit puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m just saying that you could have made me work a little harder before you accepted my apology, like some women do.” He paused and added, “Or at least the women that I’ve dealt with in the past have done.”

  Sabrina waited a beat and said, “Okay, then I’m taking back my forgiveness and I don’t forgive you anymore.”

  Brett chuckled and teased, “Does that make any sense?”

  Sabrina burst into laughter and said, “Hey, it was your idea!”

  He smiled and said, “Yeah, I know.” He looked around some more, then dug his hands into his pockets and said, “In that case, let me make it up to you.”

  Sabrina lowered her voice and asked, “And just how are you going to do that?”

  He grinned and replied, “Come here,” at the same time as he pulled Sabrina into him and slowly began to kiss her, not caring if his coworkers made noises in the background. He pulled back and whispered into her ear, “Let me worry about that.”

  “O-Okay,” she stuttered, holding on to the wall for balance.

  He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and said, “I’ll call you when I get off from work, okay?”

  “Um, okay,” was all she managed to come up with.

  She turned on the spot and just as she did, Brett gave her ass a light tap and heard him let out a giggle.

  She didn’t bother to turn around because she knew if she did, she would’ve never left the place.

  By the time she made it back to her car, her panties were wet and she only had Brett Deltour to thank for that. Sitting in her car, she was thankful that she didn’t freak out that time, which meant she was going in the right direction and she was highly anticipating whatever it was that Brett had in store for her because she also had something in store for him.

  Chapter Twelve:

  Plus-One

  The past week was brutal on Sabrina. Or at least she thought so. She hadn’t had any time to spend with Brett and her girls Larissa and Cassandra were breathing down her next about being introduced to Brett and hanging out, but Sabrina wasn’t ready for introductions just yet. She hated the fact the she felt like she was sneaking around like in her high school days when her mother and Sean forbade her to have a boyfriend or date until she was seventeen. It was too damn dramatic but of course it didn’t stop Sabrina from trying to do things on the down low behind their backs.

  All in all, she was looking forward to seeing the stupid look on Carl’s face when she showed up to his wedding, not single and pitiful as he left her, but taken and glowing with happiness. She didn’t feel comfortable telling Brett about being her date and decided to hold off on asking him.

  With all that was going on at Fabulous magazine involving models being too skinny or not looking healthy, Sabrina was surprised that Camille was able to keep up with the constant changes that had been going on. Sometimes Sabrina prayed the bitch would become overwhelmed with stress and pressure that she caved and resigned as editor-in-chief and gave the position to Sabrina. Too bad it was only wishful thinking.

  To take her mind off of things, she decided to take a couple of days off from work and spend some quality time with Brett. Over the past few weeks he had been taking her all over Miami to different tourist locations that she never would have considered going to on her own time. As surprising as it was, Sabrina couldn’t help but notice how she was becoming so drawn to Brett’s aura. She didn’t even realize how much they had in common until they were chatting about nothing in particular and Brett mentioned he was into keeping in shape and eating healthy. Sabrina wasn’t a health freak or anything close to it, but she did like to keep her figure and try new things.

  Another thing Sabrina discovered about Brett was how he was more of a stay-in-and-cuddle type of guy, where Sabrina was into the nightlife and working her ass off. They still hadn’t come up with any compromise and just decided to spend their time doing something they both liked.

  Sabrina loved how Brett acted as if he was allergic to wearing a T-shirt whenever he came over after a long day of fixing computers. Brett knew how much of a hold he had on Sabrina when he stood damn near half-naked in front of her and continued to torture her every time.

  It was mostly Sabrina’s own fault that they hadn’t had sex yet since she was so into her two-month-wait rule that she liked to reinforce to make sure she wasn’t seen as a booty call. She hadn’t always been successful with it because some guys usually broke up with her as soon as she mentioned such a thing. They never saw the true meaning behind it because most of them were just looking for a piece of ass on the first date, which in Sabrina’s eyes, was tacky and disgusting.

  Of course Larissa always claimed that she didn’t believe in making a guy wait two months for sex, let alone wait at all. Larissa was the kind of girl every guy dreamed of; she was into giving it up while on a date whether it was in a deserted movie theatre, a parked car or even at the guy’s house while his kids was in the next room. She just didn’t give a fuck about any of the usual dating methods but wondered why she could never keep a steady man in her life for more than a week, if that.

  Cassandra on the other hand was more conservative like Sabrina, but she had a reason; she strongly believed in celibacy. The idea of sex before marriage to her was like speaking in a foreign language. She once believed in shacking up before marriage but after she lived with a guy for three years and expected a ring on her finger, only found herself contemplating bailing him out of jail when he got locked up for selling drugs. To this day, it still amazed Sabrina to see how Cassandra could plan weddings and still believe in celibacy. She was pretty sure she had to get lonely sometime and even the best vibrator in the world couldn’t solve the sexual frustrations celibacy caused. But Sabrina respected her idea and never thought anything of it.

  Sabrina couldn’t even deny having sexual frustrations her damn self. She felt it whenever Brett hugged her, when he smiled at her and even when he held her hand as they walked around in public. Sabrina was always shy about public display of affection, but Brett didn’t care about whether or not somebody saw them together and pointed their fingers or muttered something under their breath. Instead, it that made him hold her hand tighter, kiss her more despite Sabrina’s fears and feelings of being watched.

  One evening in particular they were walking down the strip on South Beach minding their own business and a black guy and his girlfriend brushed up against Brett’s shoulder and looked at him as if wanted to do him harm. She’d seen that look at way too many frat parties.

  Brett simply turned around and said, “Excuse you.”

  The guy turned around shot back, “No, excuse you, white boy.”

  Brett glared at the guy and considered saying something back to him but Sabrina pulled at his hands, signaling him to leave before things escalated. Brett obliged and continued walking.

  That was nothing compared to what Sabrina had to deal with when she was standing in line with Brett at a bookstore where these two black girls about her age stood behind her whispering back and forth to eac
h other and glancing at Sabrina. She was about to say something to them but they spoke up first.

  The taller one with a bad weave-in and ridiculously long nails said aloud, “Can you say sell-out?”

  Her friend rolled her eyes at Sabrina and said, “I know, right? That’s so wrong.”

  “You got something to say to me?” asked Sabrina hotly.

  “Yeah, I do,” said the tall girl. “You are dead wrong for being with that white guy. He must have some good credit or something.”

  “Sabrina—” Brett started to say but Sabrina cut him off.

  “No, I got this, Brett.” She faced both of the girls and said, “First of all, you and your little friend here are dead wrong for wearing all that damn weave. And secondly, you don’t know me and have no right to judge me.” She glanced at the girl’s attire and added, “Shit, you need to stop worrying about other people and worry about yourself and maybe you won’t look so much like Rupaul’s twin.”

  After a few people in the line snickered at the comment, the two girls left the store in embarrassment without another word.

  Every now and then it seemed like everybody was looking in their direction or wanting to say something but never did. Sabrina tried her hardest to be strong, and eventually Sabrina found herself crying her eyes out when she let her guard down and let some of the remarks she had been hearing get the best of her. Thank goodness Brett was there to remind her that she was not alone.

  Sabrina had been dreading all along asking Brett how he felt about everything but deep down inside a part of her didn’t want to add fuel to the fire that was trying to ruin what they had between them.

  She also wanted to ask him to go with her to Carl’s wedding but felt it was a dumb move on her part to invite him to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. Not only was it disrespecting, but also it was just ludicrous.