by Rae Shawn
5
Jada
It took nearly two weeks, but I found a studio for rent to use as the new place for my painting and sculpting. I might have found one sooner if I didn’t need to field calls and texts from Tra’Mel.
He reached out for a coffee date and I agreed, but never said when. I didn't mean to agree so quickly, but he always had a way of bringing out my spontaneity.
After our encounter at the Dark Dragon, I stared at his card for three days. I wanted to reach out, but I was still so angry and hurt. When he didn't hear from me, he hit up Demontré to get my number. How they knew each other, I didn't know, but after I calmed down enough, I'd chew D out.
That was about a week ago, so I guessed I wasn’t calm yet. I didn’t want to avoid Tra’Mel per se, it was more the repercussions of being around him again. I vividly remember how things happened in college. We became intense pretty quickly.
I liked to think the mess with Raiden somehow directly correlated with everything that went down back then. So, I figured to keep from falling into a situation like that again, I would stay a good distance from Tra’Mel. That was the decision I was weighing when his name graced my text messages.
Since I knew I'd be likely to run into him again, I agreed to coffee. There was a day coming up that I didn't want to think about too much, so having him as a distraction would probably do me well, but I didn’t provide him an actual date yet.
Having a studio again allowed me to focus on work, but I knew that day would be hard, so I was seriously weighing whether to go out for coffee then. Next week Jaiden would be with Raiden and while that gave me a lot of anxiety, I would be able to use that energy on creativity.
Standing in the middle of my studio after getting my easel set up and putting some molding clay I finished mixing in various tubs for later use, was the right kind of excitement. Because D’Nae offered to watch Jaiden while I set up everything, I decided to try to work out some of my emotions building up inside me.
I didn't want to think about the time I spent with Raiden, but memories and emotions swirled around inside ever since I saw Tra’Mel and I didn't want those thoughts either.
The one thing I didn’t seriously think about until this moment was the fact that he was at my sister’s front door. He said nothing was happening there, but I saw how my sister looked at him.
I really needed to have that talk with her and lay it out on the table. Before I even considered what feelings might be there for him, I needed to see what was going through her mind. What was going on in their lives.
I opened up my paints and started creating something that represented my emotions and where my head was. A sheet of canvas laid spread on the ground in front of me. An hour later an abstract design of splotches of blues, violets, and reds revealed an image of a caged bird of sorts. I guess I felt trapped in my own head.
I shook myself out of my funk and decided it was time to get my baby girl. I’d had taken up enough of my sister’s day even though she said it was auntie duties, and she didn’t mind giving up a day to be with auntie’s baby, but I wouldn’t push my luck any further.
When I glanced down at myself, I thought about running home to change clothes, but changed my mind. The paint and dust had to stay for now. Jaiden had seen mommy looking a mess plenty of times. D’Nae had also seen me looking worse than this.
My tattered jeans allowed for smears on the skin of my thighs as well as the jean pant legs, and my crop top had been covered in dirt marks from moving boxes and other materials around. My stomach had paint on it too and I didn’t even know how it got there, but I would soak in the tub later and all would be fine.
On the drive over I decided to finally tell Demontré about himself for giving Tra’Mel my phone number. He had the gall to say it was my own fault for not telling him which option I had taken. He thought I should fuck him and gon’ on my merry way. Because, of course, that was how it worked, right?
I couldn’t deal with him, so I told him he’d have to fend for himself when it came to dinner for at least a week. He apologized profusely, said he knew how to cook but preferred mine and concluded that Tra’Mel really wanted to talk to me. I told him he should have consulted me first, and he said it wouldn’t happen again.
I forgot to ask him how they knew each other, but I figured I'd ask when I made it home. When I pulled up to D’Nae’s place and knocked on the door, the last person I expected to answer was Tra’Mel.
Why couldn't I avoid him? I really needed to stop thinking about him. Every time I left the house and had him on my mind, I seemed to manifest him ass in front of me. My face hardened as I closed my eyes, looking at him long enough to convey my annoyance.
I told myself the “avoid him and tell him to fuck himself” option was the way I wanted to go about this and that looked like a mighty good decision right about now as he stood at my sister's front door for a second time. I couldn't help the twinge in the back of my mind about how I longed to see him, though.
“Good evening, Jada Jean’e.” he said as he stepped to the side so I could walk into the house.
“Mommy.” Jaiden said running toward me. I fixed my face and leaned down as she slammed into my chest, rocking me back on my heels.
“Hey mamas,” I said. “Did you have a good day with auntie?”
“She tried to wear me out, JJ. What do you normally do with that girl?” D’Nae asked. “She’s only two.”
I started laughing and picked Jaiden up before walking over to the couch. I forgot Tra’Mel was even there until he sat beside me. When I looked at him, he smirked before scooting away a few inches.
“We are just very active people, D’Nae Monique.” I said.
Jaiden itched to be let down, so I set her on her feet, and she took off into the kitchen. I raised my hand in question and D’Nae shook her head.
“We were making slime. Let me go finish that with her. Also, quit it with the middle name thing.”
As soon as she left the room, I was quickly reminded of Tra’Mel sitting inches from me. When I looked over at him, he’d leaned against the back of the couch and rested his arm behind my head. I looked at it, but he didn’t budge. Not this time.
“Pêsh mò?” He raised an eyebrow. “Why, Jada Jean’e?”
Ever since he taught me Louisiana Creole – Kouri-Vini – he’d slip into it at random. An endangered language that was spoken by enslaved blacks in the mid-1700s up through the end of slavery and was indigenous to Louisiana, mostly in and around the New Orleans area was all too interesting not to learn. When he told me about his ancestors and how they strove to keep the language alive, I smiled that he wanted me to help keep it going.
“Because I can.” I responded.
“You said you’d go out to coffee with me, but it seemed quite reluctant. Haven’t even given me a date yet. Do you not like coffee anymore? Would you rather tea? Breakfast? Something else?”
“I’d rather you stop trying to be my friend or even my acquaintance.” I snapped.
His lopsided smirk made another appearance and I had to turn away from him. He knew he was sexy as hell and those honey brown eyes seemed to be trying to melt away the wall I’d put in place.
I stood to go into the kitchen, and he caught my forearm. The touch of his skin against mine sent fireworks into the atmosphere of my groin . I had to snatch away to keep anything else from happening. He felt it too, I knew he did.
“Why are you here? What do you want? You’re dating my sister aren't you?” I whispered.
D’Nae looked out over the breakfast nook.
“What y’all in there doing? Come on and help me clean this slime stuff up. I don’t even know why I let her talk me into this.” she said.
She’s two, you chose that on your own.
I waved my hand at her, never taking my attention off Tra'Mel. I wanted answers. I wanted to kiss him – hit him, I wanted to hit him. When he didn’t respond, I shook my head and walked off.
There’s a sligh
t curve leading into the dining room attached to the kitchen. No one would see a person from the living room or the dining room for about a foot and a half, so he stopped me and pressed me into the wall.
I went to protest, but he put a hand over my mouth and trapped my hands above my head. My eyes hardened, and in about two seconds, I would’ve kneed or bit him, but he spoke against my ear and it sent a shiver down my spine.
“Look, I know why you’re avoiding me and the more you try to forget, the deeper the feelings will be,” he said. “I want to let you know why I left at the end of that semester and I want you to tell me about Jaiden’s father. I hear something happened. Let me take you out for coffee. I promise I won’t do anything and if you still don’t want to talk to me after that, I’ll leave you be.”
When he leaned away from me, I had to remember to breathe again. I glared at him, then looked toward the kitchen. He let go of my arms and removed his hand from my mouth, but he didn't step back.
I straightened my shirt so my bra didn’t show from beneath it. The flecks of paint on his jeans and a smear on his shirt caught my attention. I closed my eyes because I knew D’Nae would see it, she already noticed the tension between us.
“What about you and my sister? I know something is here.” I huffed and swung an arm toward the kitchen. “Look, I need to think about it. You-”
I heard D’Nae walking toward us. I pushed him away as she came into view, but she already looked at us like we’d stole the last slice of cake.
“What. Are. Y’all. Doing?” she squinted her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
When she peeped the paint on his pant leg and the bottom of his shirt, she breathed out a laugh. I crossed my arms and went to put more distance between the two of us. My nipples had betrayed me and I could feel them straining against the lace bralette I had on. Tra'Mel, on the other hand, put his arm on the wall behind me and I ran into it. He had a grin on his face but his eyes were on D’Nae.
“Y’all a thing or something?” she asked. “How well do y’all really know each other? I’ve been getting a vibe, especially since Mel said y’all had classes together at the university.”
“We hung out, were cool way back when.” I said, hoping she’d drop it.
She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. She wasn't dropping it. "How cool?"
I sighed. I didn't feel like acting like a child. Everybody in this house was grown except my daughter. It needed to be known, so whatever this tension between the three of us was, could dissipate.
"We fucked, Nae. Okay? It was college, he was a friend. We had sex. Dated for a bit,” I felt his head turn toward me. I didn't look up at him, but D'Nae's eyes went wide. "It's in the past. Damn near a decade old. There's nothing here, so can we drop it now?"
D’Nae had a few years on me and went off to college in Florida two years before I started at the university in Atlanta. She shared her surprise with me because she thought her baby sister would try following her to the same college like I'd done our whole life. I told her we were grown and needed to follow our own dreams.
I met Tra’Mel in Atlanta, but I never said anything to my sister or my parents because it was a fresh relationship. Maybe I should have mentioned him. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation.
6
Jada
“Would it be possible to borrow a pen?” Tra’Mel asked as he slipped into the chair beside me. I looked up from my study notes and my jaw nearly dropped.
The cute boy I had seen the other day sat his ass down beside me. The boy – who I should say was more of a man – that almost knocked me into the rocks sat right next to me. Dreaming? I pinched my leg, nope. I was awake.
I looked at him for a long time before he smirked – the most adorable thing ever – and his dimple made an appearance beneath the scruff on his cheek, which made it all the more sexy.
“There’s a test today. You need a pencil, not a pen.” I said.
“Well, Noneya, would you happen to have a pencil I can borrow?” he asked.
I closed my eyes and bit back a smile. He a whole mess. The fact that it was week two, and we already had a test was one thing. The fact that the class met three days in a row was another, but seeing this fine ass, sun-kissed man again, that I wasn't prepared for.
“Are you even in this class?” The first thing that came to mind as I studied the freckles that dotted the tops of his cheeks.
“Why else would I be in here?” he asked, his head tilting to the side as his eyes drifted over me. “It couldn’t possibly be because I saw this beautiful, ebony, nameless woman with two curly puffs atop her head, glasses on her face and hoops in her ears. It couldn’t be because her light brown hair with a tinge of rose gold caught my attention for the third time. It couldn’t be because the overalls she’s wearing made me wonder what she'd been working on just before she came in this class because of the splotches of paint just above that middle pocket there.” He nodded at my chest.
I licked my lips to fight the smile. That was a slick compliment. I looked up Tra’Mel yesterday after he yelled his name to me. Because of his build and his confident ass demeanor, I knew he had to be some kind of athlete and, of course he was the quarterback who led our team to the NCAA D1 FBS Championship title.
He stepped up after our quarterback went out during the first game of the playoffs due to a torn ACL. I’d believed I became the target for his latest conquest. Problem with that was, until a few nights, I didn’t know who he was and now that I did, I still didn’t care. Don't get me wrong, he could get it – all of it – but I wasn't going to be a notch on his bed post and still have to deal with him all semester.
“Well, I need to finish studying, Tra’Mel.” I said as I handed him the pencil from my desk. I went back to reviewing my notes, but he lingered at my side.
“Thank you, Jada Lorenzo.” he said as he got up.
I snapped my attention to him, and he had that smirk on his face again. He turned and walked over to the other side of class and, as if he knew I was watching him, he turned and gave me a wave before dropping into his seat.
Jeremy leaned forward and tapped my shoulder. I turned back to look at him, not even realizing he'd come into the class.
“He’s into you,” He said as he moved his eyes to Tra’Mel on the other side of the room. “He’ll be at the party tonight if you want to get to know him some more. Although, I wish you’d come so you could talk to me.”
I bit the inside of my bottom lip and shook my head before smiling and turning back to finish studying. Two very different, but very sexy men grappling for my attention? I didn't have time for this. It's freshman year, I needed to focus.
After our test, I looked up to see if Tra'Mel was still there, but he’d already left. Jeremy had finished and departed as well. Resigning myself to talk to both of them next class, I made my way to my dorm. I didn't plan on going to the party, I didn't want to deal with whatever testosterone situation was developing.
Neither one of my other two classes met today, so I wanted to get started on a few upcoming assignments, one that’s due on Monday. As I went to get off the elevator on my floor, Tra'Mel went walking past. I froze and looked at the now empty space in front of me before peeking my head out to see if I was going crazy.
“Hey Noneya,” he said. “This your floor too?”
I nodded cautiously before moving around him to go toward my door. Of course, he followed me. In a bit of a shock, I mostly ignored his presence. I knew the dorms were co-ed, but I couldn’t believe I hadn’t run into him my first semester at all.
I would’ve remembered that face, that now shirtless body, that tribal tattoo on his shoulder, that pearl-white smile with the slight gap in his front teeth – would have remembered all ‘lat. The fact that he stood about a foot behind me in some sweats and a beanie with some Js on was doing something to me.
“Why you following me?” I asked. “Creeper much.”
“Not at all. I find you intr
iguing and my room this way, too. Must be fate,” I glanced over my shoulder to see a gorgeous smile. “Would you to happen a moment to talk?”
“Umm?” His question made little sense, but I got the gist of it. “Not really. I have an art history project due in a few days.”
“Oh yeah? Your professors don't play. Classes just started. So, uhh no party for you, I take?” He asked. “If you can spare an hour, so I can know to get you a little more, I’ll help you with your project. Can even spend part of time the talking about marketing exam.”
I looked over at him, his vernacular was different and I couldn’t quite follow. I heard the southern accent, but couldn’t figure out what made his words come out like that.
“Where are you from?”
“New Orleans.”
“You speak with your words out of order sometimes. You know that?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, ancestors spoke Kouri-Vini. I learned it growing up, sometimes slip in an out of it unintentionally.”
“Kouri-Vini?”
“It’s a damn near dead language native to Louisiana. A particular version of Creole spoken in the New Orleans area. Different from your everyday Creole that others know. Best known as Louisiana Creole, but I also am fluent in French, so the three languages get jumble on occasions I get … umm … emotional.”
“Emotional?”
“In this case, excited.”
I knew letting him come inside would be a terrible idea, I couldn’t linger my eyes on his lips any longer. With my hand resting on the door, I looked down and his evident excitement said hello. On a sigh, I changed the subject as quickly as I could.
“You not going to the party?”
“I’d rather spend time with you and learn about who Jada Lorenzo is.”
My lips pulled to the side. “Alright, fine but you need to put on a shirt and the door stays open.”