by Cheryl Faye
“For real?”
“Yeah, so this morning when I got out of church, I called him and told him I wasn’t going.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to have a nice life and hung up on me.”
“What!”
“Humph, you think you’re shocked? Myra, I panicked. I called him back and apologized to him.”
“What did you have to apologize for? If you didn’t want to go that was your choice. He didn’t have to be so rude,” Myra indignantly stated.
“That wasn’t why he hung up.” Charisse told Myra of her first conversation with Stefàn that morning. “When I actually admitted to myself that he was right, that I had judged him without really knowing him, I had to apologize.”
“So where’d you go riding?”
“Right here in Bergen County.”
“Well, how was it?”
“It was great. You’ve got to take a ride on a motorcycle, Myra. It’s the bomb!” Charisse said excitedly.
“You weren’t scared?”
As she removed her towel and continued to dry herself, she said, “At first, I was, but he told me what to do before we started and after a while, I was fine. By the time we got to the park, I wanted to do it again.” She chuckled.
“So how was he?”
Charisse sighed. “He was wonderful.”
“Wonderful?”
“Yes, Myra. He was wonderful. He was a perfect gentleman the entire time. He was really a lot of fun.”
“You sure he wasn’t putting up a front?”
“No, he wasn’t. Everything between us was so natural. It was as if we’d known each other forever.”
“So are you going to see him again?” Myra asked after a while.
“If he calls me, I probably will.”
“You gave him your number, huh?”
“Yeah, but only after he promised not to lie to me.”
“Charisse, is he saved?”
“He believes in Jesus.”
“How do you know?”
“I asked him, and even though he doesn’t go to church or have a real relationship with Christ, I believe he’ll keep his word.”
Myra sighed. “Do you really?”
“Yes, I do.” Sensing Myra’s skepticism, she continued, “I like him. I’m comfortable with him, but I’m not trying to get physical with him. I’ve already told him that I wouldn’t go there with any man I wasn’t married to. But I’d like us to be friends.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Risi?” Myra said softly. “He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would want to be just friends with you. I saw the way he was looking at you and it wasn’t in a friendly manner, if you know what I mean.”
“I understand your doubts, Myra, and honestly, I have some of my own, but there’s something about him that I can’t ignore. There’s a reason God put him in my way. Maybe I’m supposed to bring him to God. Maybe he’s supposed to help me learn discipline. I have to admit he excites me and that scares me, but trials come to make us stronger. That’s what it says in the Bible, Myra. Maybe he’s a vehicle for my growth in Christ.”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt by this guy, Risi, and you sound like you’ve already got your nose open for him.”
Charisse snickered at her friend’s words, but deep inside she trembled, for the truth of them hit very close to home. “I’m going to keep my hand in God’s hand, Myra. That way, no matter what, I can’t go wrong.”
IT WAS NINE FORTY-FIVE THAT SUNDAY NIGHT, and Stefàn was still flying from his afternoon with Charisse.
After she left him, he went straight upstairs to remove the wet jeans he was wearing. Changing into a pair of sweats and sneakers, he moved to his spare room. Furnished with exercise equipment, including free weights, a weight bench and a Bowflex System, he dove right into his workout. Pent up tension, both identifiable and not, had to be relieved.
Charisse had gotten under his skin today. Taking him on a roller coaster ride of emotions in less than six hours, she left his spirit soaring high, riding on a cloud of pure bliss and he wasn’t sure when or if he would ever come down.
He’d exhausted himself during his workout for the sole purpose of banishing her from his mind, but it had been an exercise in futility. The moment he spied her business card, which he had placed on the dresser in his bedroom, everything they’d shared was brought back to the forefront of his memory. The woman thrilled him to no end. Maybe it was because she was basically untouchable. He couldn’t seduce her; his conscience wouldn’t let him. The last thing he wanted to do was compromise her. She’d been big enough to admit that her decision to abstain from sexual activity would be something of a struggle, and he admired her truthfulness. He felt certain the physical yearning he felt for her was reciprocal. He was no biblical scholar—not by any stretch of the imagination—but he was pretty sure that anyone intentionally leading someone in Christ astray would surely go to hell. He was probably on his way there as it was, but he definitely wasn’t trying to hasten the trip.
What is it about her? he wondered. Why has she captured my attention so completely? It wasn’t like she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She wasn’t even the sexiest woman he’d ever known. What made her so special? The chemistry he felt between them was undeniable. Recognizing it the moment he touched her hand yesterday when they met, her eyes pulled him in like quicksand, and it seemed, just like that natural phenomenon, the more he tried to resist, the deeper he sank.
Showering in mostly cold water to anesthetize his senses, Stefàn, nevertheless, felt a rising warmth just by thinking of her.
After his shower, he went downstairs and retrieved an ice cold Corona from his refrigerator. Taking the brew back up to his bedroom, he placed it on the nightstand next to his king-sized bed. Stacking the pillows behind him so he could sit up in bed and watch ESPN for the day’s sports highlights, he reached for the remote control next to his beer and brought the flat-screen television on the wall across from him to life.
At the same moment, his telephone rang.
Pressing the mute button on the remote, he picked up the handset of his cordless phone.
“Hello.”
“What happened to you?”
“Hey, Dub.” Stefàn chuckled. “You’ll never believe it.”
“Try me.”
“I got bit today, man,” Stefàn simply said.
“By what?” Julian wanted to know.
“By a bug named Charisse Marie Ellison.”
He proceeded to tell Julian about his day, from Charisse’s early morning phone call until they returned from their ride. Stefàn also divulged his anxiety over his uncommon attraction to her.
“She left here around six o’clock, but she’s been with me all night. I can’t shake this, Dub. This woman’s got me sprung and I haven’t even kissed her,” Stefàn admitted.
“Well, she is fine.”
“It’s got nothing to do with her looks, man. The lady is.… I’ve never met anyone like her. I mean, I don’t even know why she’s got me so caught up.”
“Is she a church girl like you thought?”
“Yeah, but just since a couple months ago. She even told me she’s made the decision not to have sex again until she’s married.”
Julian cracked up laughing. “Well, that’s all she wrote for you.”
“No, Dub, it’s not. I want to see her. Right now.”
He paused, obviously stunned. “Damn, she’s got you like that?”
“Yes,” Stefàn said with a sigh. “I never thought I would say this, Julian, but I think…I think she’s the woman I’m gonna marry.”
“Really? Now, that’s deep, especially coming from you,” Julian noted.
“Yeah, how ’bout that? But that’s how she’s got me. I can’t stop thinking about her. I feel like….” Abruptly halting his love-driven declaration, he stated, “Never mind.”
“What?”
Shaking his head, Ste
fàn said, “It’ll sound stupid.”
Sensing how strongly Stefàn was feeling, Julian—who had a genuine appreciation for true love—compassionately replied, “This is me, Coop.”
Stefàn sighed deeply and in a tone filled with emotion said, “I feel like I’m high, man. Like I’ve taken some kind of drug or something. She’s got my heart racing. We got back over three hours ago and it’s like she’s still here.”
“Hey, man,” Julian said with understanding, “maybe she is the one. They say there’s someone for everyone. Maybe she is the one for you.”
“But we’re living such different lives, Dub. I mean, it’s not like I don’t believe in God. I do, but we both know I’m far from being a saint. She was talking to me about her faith and I felt so much admiration for her.”
“Maybe you should go to church with her,” Julian suggested.
“And have it burn down around us,” Stefàn said laughing. “I don’t think so.”
Julian laughed, too. “Hey, Coop, man, I go to church every now and then with Michele and L’il Jay. There’ve been times when I didn’t even wait for her to call and ask if I was going; I called her. There’s something to it. I don’t understand it all, but there’s definitely something to believing in an omni-potent God. I’ve been thinking about going to the Bible study at Shelly’s church, too.”
“But, Dub, I don’t even know this woman. I mean we talked a lot today, about a lot of different things, but I don’t even know her and she’s got me feeling like this.”
“Well, maybe you need to work at rectifying that. I’m sure she was put in your life for a reason, with you feeling as strongly as you do already. There’s gotta be a reason.”
“Yeah, I guess. I need to chill for a minute, though. I don’t want to play myself.”
“So take your time and let nature take its course,” Julian suggested. “If y’all are meant to be together, there’s nothing in the world that can keep y’all apart.”
CHAPTER 7
YOU CAN’T FIGHT LOVE
Over the next couple of days, Charisse, reestablishing boundaries of control, intentionally refrained from contacting Stefàn. Busying herself at work on Monday and Tuesday, she didn’t leave her office either night until very late. His image had taken up permanent residence in her mind. Shamefully, not all her thoughts of him were entirely pure. As she’d told him, he had a magnetic appeal. Being honest with herself, she had to admit sensuality oozed from his pores. Even though he had been the perfect gentleman when they were together Sunday, she had no doubts if she were the type of woman to proposition him, he would not have refused her. And in spite of her spiritual renewal, her natural desires and instincts had not waned. That being the case, she made every effort to concentrate on her Bible studies when she had free time so she would not daydream about him.
Stefàn, whose office hours were much more liberal, chose to work late Monday and Tuesday for much the same reason as Charisse. Purposely making appointments with clients for late in the day gave him plenty to do so when he finally got home, he basically fell out from exhaustion.
Although he could have easily occupied his time with one or another of the several women he frequently called on for companionship, surprisingly he opted for solitude. When he’d arrived home Sunday evening after spending the afternoon with Charisse, and before he started his workout to exorcise her from his mind, he listened to the messages on his answering machine. There had been three of them, each from a different woman trying to log some very up close and personal time with him.
He still couldn’t believe he’d actually told Julian he thought Charisse was the woman he would one day marry. Before Saturday, the thought of marrying anyone was so far removed from his vision of his future that he would have readily insisted he’d be a bachelor for life. Being the somewhat libidinous man he had always been, even the idea of not making love to a woman he was involved with was foreign to him, but she was serious about her decision. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get physical with her until they were married, if that even happened, in no way diminished his longing for her or his desire to be with her. In fact, the opposite was the case.
The sentiments she awakened in him were frightening to a degree. Like the thunder before a storm, the depth of his passion for her was intense. Sending sensational shockwaves through him, no woman had ever sparked such emotional chaos in his heart and soul. At the same time, the thought of her inspired dreams of their future together. Stefàn found himself daydreaming about her whenever he had a spare moment. Several times a day, he would pull out her business card and gaze at her name.
He’d always considered himself a player so he didn’t want to start acting like a weak-minded little boy with a crush, but that was exactly how Charisse made him feel. Try as he might to ignore his yearning, when Wednesday rolled around, Stefàn’s resolve crumbled and he called Charisse at work early in the afternoon. He had an irresistible urge to stare into her beautiful brown eyes, hear her lovely voice, or merely touch her hand.
Rising from his desk chair, he closed the door to his office for privacy. Everyone there knew of his many and varied female admirers, and had heard him woo them with his smooth talk on numerous occasions. His feelings for Charisse, however, were no game and certainly nothing to be taken lightly.
He dialed her number and was grateful that the call was answered after one ring. “Good afternoon, Miss Ellison’s office. May I help you?”
“Good afternoon. May I speak to her, please?”
“Who’s calling?”
“Mr. Cooper.”
“One moment.” Stefàn’s call was put on hold.
Charisse was working on a client’s spreadsheet when her assistant paged her. “Yeah, Lynn?”
“There’s a Mr. Cooper on the line for you.”
“Is that the guy from Bennett’s office?” Charisse asked.
“I don’t think so. It doesn’t sound like him.”
“Would you find out for sure? If it is, I’m not available. If
it’s a personal call, I’ll take it,” Charisse said. She was ducking a business caller by the name of Cooper because she didn’t yet have the information he was calling for.
“Okay.” Lynn took Stefàn’s call off hold and said, “I’m sorry, Miss Ellison is not available. May I ask what your call is in reference to? Maybe someone else could help you.”
“No, it’s personal. Just tell her…”
“Oh, wait,” Lynn hurriedly said, “she just hung up. Hold on a minute.”
Lynn paged Charisse again. “Hi. It’s a personal call.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll take it.” She picked up the line. “Mr. Cooper,” she said with a smile in her voice.
“Miss Ellison. Nice ploy. Screening your calls, huh?”
In those few short days, she’d forgotten how the timbre of his voice over the phone could send shockwaves through her system. His melodious baritone voice sounded every bit as smooth as he was. As nonchalantly as possible, she replied, “Yeah, there’s this guy named Cooper I’m ducking until I can get the information he wants. He’s been calling every couple of hours.”
“Relentless, huh?”
“Yes. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” she said with a chuckle.
“Must be something in the name.”
“I wonder.”
“So how have you been?” Stefàn affectionately asked.
“I’ve been good. Busy, but good. I haven’t gotten out of work once this week before nine.”
“Really?”
“Yup. I’m in the midst of an audit.”
“Well, I hope tonight will be the exception, because I’d like to have you for dinner, I mean, take you to dinner,” he quickly corrected with a snicker.
Charisse chuckled at his gaffe and wondered briefly if he was playing with her or had made an honest slip of the lip. She had a feeling the former was the case. “That was cute,” she replied, “but I can’t tonight, Stefàn. I won’t be getting out of here befor
e ten, and I have to stay because I’m leaving early tomorrow to pick up my car.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. Then quickly added, “Not about your car, of course. About dinner.”
“Me, too. I would have enjoyed seeing you tonight.”
“Likewise. You’ve been on my mind, but I’ve been busy, too, the last couple of days.”
“I can imagine.” Have you been fighting this feeling like I’ve been? she wondered.
“So you’re picking up your baby tomorrow, huh?”
“Yes. I’m really excited about that.”
“I bet you are. What color d’you get?” he asked.
“Black-on-black leather. Fully loaded. Convertible, of course.”
“Of course.”
“Ooh, I’m so psyched!” Her excitement was evident in her voice.
“I don’t blame you. That’s a monster machine. I can see you now, flying down the highway with the top down, shades on, running from the cops,” he said with a laugh.
She laughed heartily at his verbal picture.
“Well, listen, are you busy Friday? No, what are you doing Saturday afternoon?”
“Myra and I were planning to go to the movies, but that’s about it. Why? What’s up?”
“I remember you telling me how much you love to swim, and a friend of mine is having a pool party this Saturday in North Brunswick. It’s going to be quite an event. I was hoping you could join me there.”
“Oh, but Myra and I already made plans,” Charisse said in a disappointed tone.
“She’s more than welcomed to join us. Why don’t you ask her?”
“Okay, I will. What time is it?”
“Well, I’m sure they’ll be starting sometime around noon, but I have to work Saturday morning and probably won’t be leaving my office until about one, so I figured about three o’clock. They’re going to be there all night anyway. As a matter of fact, the second shift will be coming in at about six or seven,” Stefàn added.
“Second shift?”
“Yeah, it’s a pretty big function. This guy’s home is enormous and he and his wife always have a full house for these parties.”