by Viv Love
“I’ve already requested a table. I didn’t see your car outside, so I wanted to be sure that you didn’t have to wait when you arrived. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You seem a little preoccupied. Do I look that terrible?” Miguel joked to lighten up the tension.
I guess my thoughts were written all over my face.
“Oh no. You’re fine. I mean… I’m fine… Uh I just had a long day, but I’m much better now. How long is the wait?” I asked trying to change the subject.
Before he could answer, the hostess came back to seat us. She escorted us to a private table towards the back of the restaurant. As we were walking, I could feel Miguel’s eyes all over me. I made every step count as I took long sensual strides. When we sat down, I noticed that he kept his hands underneath the table. I bet this fool really is married. Damn you, Cheyenne! You sure know how to pick them. Maybe they’re separated or on bad terms. What am I saying? Separated is still married damn it. My parents were still married when my daddy decided to fuck his secretary. Don’t go down that same path, I thought as I tried to find something wrong with him.
“Amber will be your server. Can I start you off with something to drink? We have happy hour going until 8:30. It includes wine, draft beers, and well drinks” the hostess said.
“You first,” Miguel offered.
“I’ll have a glass of White Zinfandel, please.”
“I’ll have the same.”
“Alright. I’ll get it right over to you.”
We sat in silence for the first few seconds before I broke the ice.
“How was your trip?”
“It was smooth. No complaints. I was just anxious to see you. It could have crash landed here, and that would have been fine with me,” he flirted.
“Oh really,” I blushed. “I’m glad to finally see the man behind the screen. You look different from what I imagined.”
“What did you imagine?”
“You want the truth?”
“Please.”
“I just knew you would be some fat nerdy guy with a big belly, scruffy beard, and cow licks.”
We both laughed and awkwardly grabbed hands, and then quickly pulled away.
“Nah. You got the wrong guy, love. You actually look exactly how I imagined. You have your Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu thing going, and I love it. You are a beautiful queen, and I’m glad I fell in your DM.”
“I’m glad, too.”
We continued the usual conversation for a first date. We talked about our childhoods, siblings, college days, work, and even the upcoming election. He finally showed his left hand, and there was no ring. I thought I saw a faint tan line, but I couldn’t really tell and didn’t want to stare. I decided to drop that idea for a second, and I just enjoyed a wonderful evening with a gorgeous man. I couldn’t wait to tell Marissa that I may have finally found a love of my own.
Chapter 11
Marissa
Despite having to endure my hating cousins from L.A., I actually enjoyed my family this weekend. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Tyrone much because he was occupied with the big project at work. He would miss my calls and then text me back within ten minutes. That was strange, but I allowed it considering how busy he has been with work. Sometimes I swear he’s married, but he assures me that he isn’t. When I ask why he hasn’t invited me to his home yet, he claims that he’s remodeling and his house is a mess. He swears that he’ll invite me over as soon as he gets everything in order. I’m not going to push the issue because I don’t want him to think that I don’t trust him.
Cheyenne finally met her online boo in person this weekend. She has not shut up about how sexy and charming he is. They went to dinner and hung out all night before he drove back home. She has been going on and on about how great he smells and his soft lips. Coincidentally, her guy is also dark with dreads like Tyrone. His name is Miguel and he’s Dominican and Black. Although I’m happy for her, I hope that Miguel isn’t cuter than Tyrone. I would never hear the end of that. She wants our beaus to meet so we can double date and enjoy us both finally having pure love in our lives. I’m looking forward to meeting the guy that has my friend walking around with little hearts floating around her head.
She’ll actually get to meet Tyrone sooner than expected. He’s stopping by the shop next week so we can decide which area he and his crew will be renovating first. Cheyenne and I are usually slower on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Those are the days we see appointment clients only. Walk-ins are welcome any other day of the week. I told Tyrone to stop by on one of those days, and we can do a walk-through between clients. This would also give me a chance to introduce him to Cheyenne. I’m slightly nervous about the introduction, because I don’t want her to find anything wrong with him. We like to assess each other’s men to ensure that we aren’t being played. I haven’t told her that I have a suspicion of him being married because I really like him. Plus, I don’t want to hear her mouth about what our mothers endured and how we shouldn’t do the same thing to other women. I value her opinion, but sometimes I don’t always want to know the truth. Maybe she won’t be so opinionated since she has a new man and all.
***
As I pulled up to Xpressions after a quick break to grab some lunch, a black convertible Jaguar parked next to me. The lady driving the car got out and went to the door of the salon. She let out a sigh of disappointment when she realized the door was locked. Before she could walk off, I quickly got out of my car.
“Hi. May I help you?”
“Oh. Hi. Yes, I was wondering if they take walk-ins. I’m not from the area, and I need a refill on my gel manicure. I checked local reviews, and they all pointed me to this place. Do you work here?” the lady asked.
“Yes, I do. I’m actually one of the owners. Thanks for taking the advice of the reviews. My name is Marissa. We do take walk-ins. I was kind of slow today, so I ran to get some lunch. We’re usually open through lunch. Please forgive me. My partner should be in shortly as well.”
“Girl, it’s no problem. You have to eat. My name is Tosha. I can wait until you’re done eating. I’m not in a hurry. I’m actually surprising my husband. His construction company has a contract here. We’re from Chicago. This is like his second home.”
I immediately started choking on my tea when I heard that.
“Oh my! Are you okay?” Tosha asked.
“Yes… I’m fine,” I said between coughs. “My tea must have gone down the wrong pipe as the old folks say.”
“You scared me for a moment. I thought I was going to have to call for back up,” she joked.
“Haha. No, I’m okay. What did you say your husband does, again?”
“He owns a construction company.”
“Oh okay. That’s awesome. And, you said you’re surprising him? I’m sure he’s going to be excited to see you.”
I tried my best to keep my composure, but I was fuming on the inside. Is this Tyrone’s wife? Is he really married? What are the odds of my boyfriend’s wife coming to my shop from Chicago? Does she know about us? Hell, I didn’t know anything about a wife until now. I mean, I had my suspicions. Did her intuition lead her to me? Ugh! I need to call his ass right now! I should just tell her everything! Yes, that’s what I’ll do! Wait… what if she’s armed and she knows about us? Hell, I’m innocent. She can’t harm me. On second thought, let’s just see if she knows anything. My thoughts were running rampant as I tried to figure out how to approach this situation.
“Um, let me get you soaking while I knock out this sandwich. While I’m getting you set up, pick your color. Our gel section is just over there.”
“Wow, you have a huge selection. I’m impressed. I love to see black businesses with their shit in order.”
Is this bitch trying to be funny? Let me calm down. I could just be jumping to conclusions based on my suspicions.
“Yea girl. We have to beat the competition and work twice as hard as the white folks
. There’s no such thing as black privilege.”
“I know that’s right, chile.”
While Tosha browsed our gel nail polish selection, I prepared my station to let her soak her nails. I glanced at her occasionally, and I couldn’t help but notice her simple beauty. She had a beautiful complexion and a nice athletic body. She didn’t wear makeup, but her flawless skin didn’t need it anyway. If my Tyrone was really her husband, I wonder why he would cheat on a woman so beautiful. These damn men just have to have to be greedy.
My appetite disappeared as my heart settled in my stomach from the pain of my boyfriend possibly being married. I decided to pick Tosha for information while her nails soaked.
“I guess I had too much tea and spoiled my appetite. I’ll just keep you company while your polish softens. So, how long do you plan to stay in Shreveport?”
“I’ll only be here for a couple of days. My husband and his crew have a couple of apartments here until their big job is done downtown. I’ve checked into the Hilton near his construction site. My flight came in this morning. I tried calling him earlier, but he didn’t answer. I figured he was busy, so I decided to do a little shopping and pamper myself after that long flight and a couple of delays.”
I cringed each time she mentioned more details that confirmed my Tyrone as her husband. Still, I played it off and continued my line of questioning as I worked on her nails.
“Do you want French tips, or the full nail painted white?”
“I’ll take just the tips and a design. You can do whatever you want on the design,” Tosha said with a smile.
“Awesome,” I replied and forced a smile.
I decided not to ask any more questions about her husband because I didn’t want to cause her to become suspicious. I continued her nails, and we talked about general girl stuff, the presidential race between a bad candidate and a terrible racist, sexist, incestuous candidate, and life as a minority business owner. Tosha seemed like a nice woman. However, I couldn’t wait to talk to Tyrone’s lying ass. I wasn’t even prepared to tell Cheyenne that my relationship failed before she even got the chance to meet him. I didn’t want to scare her away from her new love. Sadly, I knew this shit was too good to be true.
Chapter 12
Tosha
Since Tyrone was inconsistent with answering my phone calls, I decided to surprise him in Shreveport. I also wanted to use this time to reach out the counselor that everyone thought was so great. Since it was after noon when I arrived and got settled into my hotel, I decided to do a little shopping and get my nails done. I wanted to look sexy for my husband when he saw me after work. I went to a nail salon about ten miles from his construction site. The owner was really nice, but she seemed as if she knew Tyrone. There was just something about the way she choked on her tea when I mentioned what kind of work my husband does. She asked me a few questions, but I could tell that she wanted to know more. I played it cool and waited for her to drop some kind of clue that she does know him. I wasn’t able to gather much information, but I don’t think that really means much. I know how much Southern women love men from out of town. I’m sure she’s crossed paths with him at some point in this small ass town. No worries… I’ll be sure to pay her another visit before I head back home.
After a couple of failed attempts to reach Tyrone on his cell, I gave him one more call before I was going to head to his site. Luckily, he answered this time.
“Hello? Baby, can you hear me?” Tyrone said over the loud sound of hammering in the background.
“Hey! Yes, I can hear you. I’ve been calling you all day. I was beginning to worry. Have you been super busy today?”
“Yea, it’s been crazy, and my phone was charging in my truck. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. I was just missing you and wondering what you’re doing for dinner.”
“Dinner? I wish I was eating you, but me and the guys might watch a game at a sports bar.”
“Eating me, huh? That sounds like a date,” I flirted back with my husband.
“I guess you plan to SnapChat me that pussy?” he joked.
“I’ll do you even better and let you eat me tonight at the Hilton downtown.”
“Hilton? Downtown where?”
“Shreveport. Surprise!”
Tyrone was so silent on the other end of the phone that I had to look at my phone to see if the call had dropped.
“Hello? Babe, are you there?”
“Uh yea, I’m here. My bad. You’re in Shreveport?” he asked in a flat tone.
“Yes… Is that a problem?” I asked disappointedly.
“No, baby! Of course not! That’s great! I can’t wait to see you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming in town? I would have cleared my schedule for you.”
“I wanted to surprise you. I know it can be hard on you traveling back and forth constantly. I needed a break from work, so I decided to come to you instead. Besides, I know you need to finish up on this job, and traveling tends to slow you down.”
“That’s sweet of you. When did you arrive?”
“I got in this morning, but I wanted to get cute for you. So I went shopping and got my nails done at a nice place in town. I think it’s called Xpressions or something like that. The owner, Marissa, was really cool and did a great job on my nails.”
“Xpressions? Wow,” Tyrone said in a surprised tone.
“What’s the ‘wow’ for? Is that place good?”
“Oh… no. I mean, yea. It’s good. It’s fine. Um… Nah, I actually have to go check it out because they need some work done. It’s just weird that you ended up there on your first try. There are lots of nail salons all over town. That’s all.”
“Hmm. That’s weird. I mentioned what you do and she never said anything about getting any work done,” I said as I grew suspicious.
“Don’t start, Tosha,” Tyrone griped.
“Don’t start what? Damn, I can’t ask you any questions? Wow. Sorry,” I snapped.
“Baby, ask me anything you want. I just know how you can get sometimes. Look, I’m glad you made it in safely. Thanks for surprising me. I’ll try to wrap things up within the next hour or two, and I’ll link up with you.”
“Okay. You are staying with me tonight, right?”
“Of course I am. You think I’m gonna let my sexy ass wife stay in a hotel alone? You gotta be crazy. I’ll be there to eat that later, so be sure she’s all shaved and cute for daddy,” he flirted.
“Mmmm. I can’t wait. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you,” I blushed as we hung up.
Tyrone had a way of turning me on and stopping me from chewing him out. Maybe I was overreacting based on his past, but something wasn’t sitting well with me about his job with Xpressions. It looks like I need to chip my nail polish and have it repaired before I leave town. Meanwhile, I need to shave Ms. Jaguar and get ready for my husband to blow my back out tonight. It’s been a long time, and I need a touch up. I’ll deal with my suspicions later, and I’ll be sure to contact that counselor tomorrow.
Chapter 13
Vivian
It’s been a busy week dealing with Queen and the Queendom. We just accepted a few new ladies as madams, and they are hungry for healing. We’ve had to fast-track them on the orientation process so they could get started before they end up hurting their men. One of our most recent women bit a main vein in her husband’s penis, and he wanted to press charges. Our physician was able to do an emergency surgery on him, but we are out of a lot of money to keep him quiet. Queen managed to convince him that he deserved to feel his wife’s rage because of the pain he caused her with his cheating ways. At first he wasn’t buying it, but Queen counted out fifteen thousand dollars in hush money and changed his tune. The victim and his wife have agreed to go their separate ways, and Malcolm, the husband, knows not to breathe a word of the ordeal to anyone. Their marriage will end based on irreconcilable differences, and Shuntel, the wife, will become a part-time madam at the Queendom.
&n
bsp; After spending so much time dealing with that chaotic situation, I am relieved to be back in my office amid a pile of paperwork. I read through the fax that Medgar sent to me, and I am blown away its contents. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve dealt with married couples that are experiencing infidelity. However, I’ve never had the male to dress up as a female to pay me a visit. I can’t help but wonder why he would go through such great lengths to disguise himself. I wonder if he knows that I’m the same woman that he flirted with a few months back. How long has he been planning to meet me? Better yet, what is his actual plan?
The ringing phone interrupted my thoughts. Maria picked up after two rings and buzzed my office seconds later.
“Excuse me, Viv. There’s a Tosha Blackshire on Line 1. She’s requesting an appointment for today or tomorrow. She says she’ll only be in town for a few days. Your last client comes in at three o’clock today. That will leave you with two free hours. Do you want me to slide her in?” Maria asked.
“Did you say ‘Tosha Blackshire’ wants an appointment?” I asked to ensure that I was hearing Maria correctly.
“Yes ma’am. It looks like she’s calling from a Chicago number. Do you want me to take a message?”
“Uh yea… Wait! No! No. That’s fine. Let her come in this afternoon,” I stammered.
“Are you sure?” Maria responded.
“No, I’m not, but I’m eager to know what’s going on. So yes, let her come in today. Thanks, Maria,” I said and clicked the line before she could say anything else.
***
My appointment with Tosha Blackshire finally rolled around. I decided to hold our meeting in the conference room to avoid being held captive just as I was when her husband came in disguise. When she entered the room, I noticed a unique beauty about her. She had a beautiful complexion and a nice, athletic body. Everything was in place from her natural hair to her nicely manicured nails. Based on her appearance, I couldn’t see a reason for her husband to cheat on her. I decided to gather more of an opinion after speaking with her for a bit.