May the Best Man Win

by M. T. Pope

  “You’re not going to go down and say hi to dad and Alex?” My sister looked at me curiously.

  “I’ll do it a little later, right now I want to spend time with my two favorite ladies.” I was a good manipulator and today I was going to put on my best act.

  “There’s no time like the present,” she said in a singsong manner as she turned back around to stir her pot.

  “I said later,” I replied with a snippy tone.

  “All right, you two . . . cool it.” My mother stepped in before it could get out of hand. “Kardell, come over here and pinch the edge of these three pie crusts for the apple and sweet potato pies that have to go in the oven soon.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, sitting down at the small kitchenette table and doing as I was told.

  “So . . . ah . . . Dell, who have you been dating lately?” my sister’s nosy ass asked me as she sat down across from me and looked me dead in my mouth waiting for me to answer. I didn’t really talk to her about who I dated.

  “You know I don’t discuss that type of business with you.” I looked right back at her.

  “Kardell, you act like we don’t know you take dick. We know you be letting dudes take a trip down your Hershey highway. You’re so stuck-up. I knew you were gay when I found you making two of my Ken dolls do it when you were six years old.” She had a vicious smile on her face. That was a secret she promised to keep. I cleaned her room and waited on her hand and foot for a few weeks to keep her quiet. And now here she was spilling the beans.

  My mother’s mouth hung open in shock. I didn’t have a rebuttal right away. I was too shocked.

  A few seconds went by while a lot of things swirled around in my head. The first thing that popped into my head was blurting out the fact that her baby’s daddy was bi-sexual, but I kept it to myself. I wasn’t going to stoop to her level. And that probably would have shut the house down for sure.

  “What’s wrong, dick got your tongue?” she asked and then laughed. I got up from the table and opened the door that was in the kitchen to the backyard. I walked to the back of the yard and leaned on the fence and cried a little as I hung my head low. It was what I did as a kid, and now as an adult when someone made me mad and I didn’t have the guts to retaliate and hurt them the way they hurt me. I heard the screen door open and shut, so I knew that someone was coming out in the yard with me.

  “Son, your sister didn’t mean that. She’s just going through a rough time right now.” My mother rubbed my back as she spoke. I wasn’t really crying about my sister’s remarks; it was the emotions and thoughts of my past that she triggered when she said what she said. I, like many other gay guys, had it rough growing up different. School wasn’t easy for me so I had to stay to myself to get by. I wasn’t stuck-up. I just stayed to myself as a defense from being hurt. It didn’t really work because people teased anyway, but I continued to close myself in as a defense.

  “I know, Mama. Hurt people hurt people. But why does she have to be so mean?”

  “Son, I don’t know. She doesn’t get from me or your father. Then again we not really her parents so maybe it was from them.”

  I spun around as quickly as I could and looked at my mother in shock. “What?”

  “Just kidding son, I’m afraid she’s all ours.” She laughed. I laughed too. “See, son, it’s not that bad. Now get back in there and make up with your sister. Life is too short for the drama.”

  I did as I was told. I hesitantly made up with my sister. Best believe I owed her one though. We worked and talked for about another hour before the food was finally done and the desserts were in the oven.

  “Angie, go get the men and tell them that the food is ready, and don’t make me have to come down there. And say it the way I said it and look the way I looked when I said it.” She smiled.

  My sister followed instructions and went downstairs. My mother and I went into the dining room and set the table and arranged the food. Not long after we finished the guys and my sister filed into the kitchen to eat.

  They came in one at a time. First it was my father. “Sooonnn.” He held out his hands as he waited for me to hug him. I did and it was a nice tight hug like he hugged me when we had breakfast a few weeks ago.

  Then Alex came into the room and I just looked at him for a second before I reached out to shake his hand. He had fear in his eyes.

  “H . . . hey, Kardell. Long time no see.” He smiled nervously in front of everyone in the room, which was me, my sister, my mother, and my father. “Nice to see you, man.” He gave me one of them strong-arm handshakes and then pulled me to his chest and patted me on the back. He had “please don’t let today be the day I get outted” written all over his face. This was the reaction I got every time I’d seen him since he groped me in the club.

  “Nice to see you too,” I replied. He took a seat on the opposite side of me and two chairs down. It was a wooden dining room table that sat six. My sister sat down beside him and then my mother and father sat beside me.

  “Baby, where is Ron?” my sister asked Alex.

  “Oh, he had to make a call. He said he would be right in when he finished.”

  “Oh, okay. We will start when he comes in and sits down,” she said.

  My phone began to vibrate and I looked at it and then put it back in my pocket. It was a call that I didn’t recognize so I let it go to voice mail. I knew it wasn’t Mateo because I had his number programmed in my phone and he said that he would only call me from that number. A few seconds later my phone vibrated again and let me know that I had a voice mail. Curiosity got the best of me and since we were waiting for Alex’s friend to make his way to the table I decided to check to see what the message that was left said. I almost never let a voice mail linger for too long without listening to it. I retrieved the phone from my pocket and pressed my voice mail button so I could listen. I wasn’t surprised to hear Ronald’s voice on the voice mail, but I was surprised to see Ronald’s face as he walked in my parents’ dining room while my phone was still pressed to my face.

  Chapter 20

  Lewis

  Simplicity

  Waking up in a good mood on a Saturday morning and walking out the door to find the word FAGGOT spray painted on to your car is not a good way to start the day. I couldn’t even get mad. You might even say I deserved it or worse for fooling around with a married man.

  I had a date with Mateo and wanted to go and get my hair cut and then get the manicure/pedicure that I didn’t get a chance to get the other day. But here I was sitting at the Maaco car paint shop getting my car repainted. They said it was going to be a couple of hours to strip the paint off of the left side of the car, repaint it, and let it dry. I called Mateo and told him of the dilemma and he said he would send a car for me. I was going to be pissed if I didn’t get to see “my man-to-be” today.

  Sure enough not fifteen minutes after I made the call I was picked up and whisked away to meet up with Mateo.

  This is the life! I thought as I chilled in the back of the limousine where there was a bottle of wine chilled for me along with a long-stemmed rose. My ass felt like Julia Roberts’s character in Pretty Woman when she finds the man of her dreams. I dropped my head back and enjoyed the peaceful ride to my destination.

  I must have drifted off to sleep because I awoke just as the car came to a stop. The door opened just as I got myself together.

  “Greetings, Mr. Turner.” A guy with a very nice suit on nodded his head at me as I exited the car.

  When I fully exited the car , I thought I was going to fall out from the sight I saw in front of me. It was a mini mansion. I mean it was huge and beautiful. The lawn was immaculate and the few people I saw looked like they were happy to be working for him.

  “Greetings sir,” I nodded my head back at him. Mateo must treat his people well.

  “Would you please follow me? Mr. Lopez is awaiting your arrival.” He walked me up to the door and then he opened it. When I slowly walked in I was in awe once
again. I felt like Little Orphan Annie when she met Daddy Warbucks. Except there wasn’t anyone singing and flipping off of shit in here. It was quiet as shit in here. I was afraid to even walk. I admit I had some ghetto ways and didn’t want to do or say something that might mess up my chances to “move on up” like the Jeffersons did. I mean I loved my job and all but who wouldn’t want to live like this?

  Kardell’s stuck-up ass missed the boat on this one. You snooze you lose. Bitchessss! I thought and almost laughed out loud at myself.

  “Please follow me,” the butler, I was assuming, requested of me. I followed him to the back of the house and out to a luxurious pool area.

  “Mr. Lopez, sir.” He greeted Mateo as he sat under an umbrella while he was stretched out on a wicker lounger. “Mr. Turner has arrived.” He stepped back and bowed once again.

  This shit is unreal, I thought.

  “So nice to see you today, Lewis.” He spoke as he got up from the lounger. His voice commanded attention even with an even tone. He wasn’t a huge guy but he was thick and somewhat muscular. He didn’t have a shirt on and he was glowing from the sun hitting his slightly sweaty body.

  I wanted to lick one of his pecks just for the heck of it, but I kept my cool and said, “Thank you, it is nice to see you as well.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your car.” He looked at me in disappointment.

  “Yes, it is unfortunate, but I have a feeling things will work out.” He looked at me in the eyes the whole time he looked at me. Almost as if he were looking through me.

  “You have the most beautiful eyes.”

  “Thank you.” I blushed.

  “Here, have a seat.” He pulled out a chair that was at a table and chair set near his lounger. “Do you want something to drink or eat?”

  “Yes, I’ll have some ginger ale if you have it.”

  “Sure.” One wave of his hand and a member of his staff was standing in front of him, awaiting instructions. “Our guest would like a glass of ginger ale, and bring him a bowl of fresh fruit while you’re at it.” He then turned his attention back toward me.

  “Would you like someone to come and rub your feet or something?” he asked.

  I actually was speechless for a moment. I couldn’t believe he was treating me this good after only knowing me for such a short amount of time. “Yes, that would be nice.” I accepted because I didn’t want to offend him. Or maybe I should have said no because he might have thought I was a gold-digger looking for a free ride. Shit, I hope I didn’t just fuck this up.

  “Great.” He smiled.

  Not long after that I had a nice cool glass of ginger ale and fresh fruit to nibble on. My feet were propped up on a small ottoman as a nice lady went to work on my feet and calves while another guy was working over my shoulders and arms. Soon after they had my hands and feet in paraffin baths and cucumber mask on my face. This was better than the massage I received at Asian parlor the other day. I was in heaven. Simplicity was the order of the day. I could do this every day.

  Mateo sat nearby and watched all of this go on and he smiled as if he was enjoying me getting pampered. I was glad he was enjoying this because I damn sure was enjoying it too. I was now at the point I would fight someone tooth and nail for this spot. But I had a feeling that it would never come to this. The way he was treating me only showed me that he didn’t have interest in anyone else but me. He was a perfect gentleman all of the time and I know he was the best man for me and I for him. It was just that simple.

  Chapter 21

  Kardell

  One Mo’ Time

  My mouth hung open like I was waiting for a big dick to suck. He came in the room and sat down like it was his second home; like he had been here before. I couldn’t believe it. Alex and Ronald were friends. This was truly a small world.

  “Dell, this is Alex’s good friend, Ronald, or Ron as we call him.”

  All I could think was, damn, why is this happening to me? “Hi, I’m Kardell.” I reached my hand out to his and he shook it.

  “Nice to meet you.” He shook my hand back and then took a seat right in front of me. He was as good-looking as I remembered him. His hands were still soft, too.

  “Nice to meet you too.” I almost couldn’t breathe and I didn’t know why. I was over him. At least I thought I was over him.

  “Are you okay, Kardell, baby? You look a little flustered,” my mother asked me.

  “Ahhh . . . yes, Ma. I’m fine. I was just thinking about something I had to do,” I lied.

  “Well could you pray for us so we can eat and stop ogling the man? He doesn’t want you.” My sister offered an unsolicited comment. I wanted to jump across the table and fuck her ass up.

  “I wasn’t ogling. I just thought I knew him from somewhere, but I was mistaken,” I countered like I was six years old again and then lowered my head to pray over the food. Trying to keep my eyes on my plate and not on Ronald was a task in itself. For some odd reason he was so good-looking right now. Just thinking about how he used to fuck me made me hard as a brick. I fidgeted in my seat a few times to keep from publicly rearranging my erection.

  “You look familiar too,” he spoke after he finished fixing his plate. “But I’m sure I’ve never met you before.”

  “Isn’t this nice . . . having family and friends together for dinner,” my mother commented. “Family is everything I love. I love my family; even as crazy and dysfunctional as we are.” We all laughed.

  We all ate and enjoyed our time together. Ronald and I played our parts as best we could. After we all had dessert we all piled into the living room to watch a movie like we always did as a family. The movie was good, or at least the parts I saw because all I could do was think about Ronald. What was also good was the fact that Alex was putting on the performance of his life. I watched in seething anger on the inside as he pretended to be so into my sister. Even though my sister and I didn’t always get along, she was my sister and I didn’t want anyone to hurt her or lie to her. I wanted to bust his ass right now in front of everyone. But I kept it cool and formulated a plan to out his ass without being involved. I just hoped it worked.

  It was getting late and even though it was a Saturday I wanted to get home.

  “Well, I guess it’s time for me to get going. I’m a little tired.” I stretched my arms for effect.

  “Yeah, I need to go too. Got some things I need to get done tomorrow.” Ronald spoke up as well.

  “Kardell, why don’t you take Ronald home, since he is on your side of town?” my mother suggested. “Alex and Angela have to go get my grandson and he is on the other side of town. No need for them to go all the way out of their way to take him home and waste gas.”

  If I didn’t know any better I’d think my mother was trying to set me up.

  “Mrs. Spencer, I’m good. The bus stop is a few blocks from here and it takes me straight home. I’ll be good,” he countered.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I’m sure.”

  “Well, let me at least make you two some plates to go so neither one of you will have to cook tomorrow.” She walked off toward the kitchen.

  “Okay,” Ronald and I said almost in unison. We waited for a few minutes and sure enough my mother had some healthy plates ready to go. I left the house, as did Ronald, and my mother and father waited until I pulled off and Ronald started walking toward the bus stop before they went into the house.

  I drove a few blocks down the street and then turned the corner on a secluded street and waited for Ronald to show up. Since I knew what bus stop he was going to from catching it as a teenager I just waited for him to show up. When I spotted him, I tapped my horn to let him know that I was waiting for him. I did all of this because I didn’t want my parents nor my sister to be in my business. I enjoyed my personal business being personal.

  He hopped in and before we pulled off I had a few things to say to him. He tried to kiss me, but I put my hand up to stop him.

  “Ron
ald, how long have you known Alex?” I asked.

  “I’ve known dude a couple of months. Why?”

  “Have you and him ever messed around?”

  “Nah, he’s not even like that. He doesn’t even know about me,” he answered.

  “Well, he is like that and I need you to do me a favor.”

  “What am I going to get for this favor?” he asked as his hand made its way onto my thigh. He was always thinking about sex. I mean I was too but at least I keep it cool.

  “You don’t even know what I want you do to and you asking me about sexual favors.”

  “Baby, I been missing you. You know that,” he said as his hand made its way up to my chest and he squeezed one of my nipples. I almost forgot what I was getting ready to say. It felt so good to feel his touch on me.

  “Ronald, it’s over between us. I told you that,” I stated.

  “Then why did you wait for me? Why am I sitting in your car? Why couldn’t you keep your eyes off of me the whole time I was in your parents’ house? Look me in the eyes and say it over.”

  “It’s over.” I looked him dead in his eyes. “But I do need one last favor from you. It’s important to me.” I gave him the softest look I could muster up. Yeah, I was good at manipulation.

  “You need a favor?” He then looked at me for a second and said nothing. “Why should I help you if you don’t want me?”

  “Because I really need your help with this one.”

  “What about my needs?” he asked.

  “Okay, but one last time. That’s it.”

  “Okay, so what do you need me to do?”

  “Alex is putting my sister’s life on the line, because he is on the down low. I can’t tell her because she won’t believe me. I need someone to do it for me.”