Joan saw a bag from what used to be one of her favorite clothing stores lying on Sonya’s chaise. “I used to shop there all the time. Let me see what you got.”
“Oh, you are going to love this.” Sonya pulled out a gold knee-length dress, matching stilettos and a clutch.
“Oh, this is too cute,” Joan said, putting the dress next to her body.
“You think this is cute? I went to the mall last weekend and had one of the most successful shopping experiences of my life. Come . . . follow me to my closet. Everything I purchased was heavenly.”
While Joan looked through Sonya’s extensive closet, she learned about her world travels, her boardingschool education, and the men in her life. She preferred them older, highly educated, and rich.
When Sonya realized she and Joan were the same size, she insisted Joan try on several different outfits. Joan hesitated at first, but when Sonya showed her the cutest little black dress, she stripped down and put it on. The dress was tight, short, and cut low. Joan knew it wasn’t an appropriate dress for a single, modest Christian lady. She turned around in front of Sonya’s full-length mirror. The dress fit flawlessly. If Sonya said yes, Darren was going to love her in this. Joan casually mentioned how her friend needed a date for his out-of-town cousin.
When Sonya found out they were meeting at one of Houston’s famous and most expensive eateries, she was not only willing to go, but very excited. She changed into her new gold dress and Joan wore the black one. They helped each other with their makeup and accessories before jumping into Sonya’s black Corvette.
Joan couldn’t remember the last time she felt this giddy with excitement. It was time to have fun; there would be no rules, and no one looking over her shoulder. It was her time to be single, sexy, and free. Driving down the Richmond Strip, with all of the other people heading for a night out, was blissful. Everybody was smiling, honking their horns, music blasting, all dressed to perfection. She ran her hands through her hair. The night was full of scrumptious possibilities.
At every stoplight, Sonya and Joan had the men giving them second and third looks. When they pulled up to the valet and proceeded to get out of the car, everything stopped. Joan imagined this must have been what it felt like to be a star on opening night. The valet was so entranced, he couldn’t move. The two couples waiting for their cars couldn’t stop staring either. The doorman hurried to open the door to the restaurant. Sonya and Joan pretended not to notice it all. They just kept gabbing as they followed the host to their table. It looked like they had been friends for years.
Darren and his cousin Sean looked good enough to eat. Joan had met Sean only once years ago when a bunch of them went skiing. When they got close to the table, Darren and Sean stood up. Joan pointed to the seat next to Sean. Sonya looked over at Joan with an impressed look on her face. Sean was just as handsome and as well built as Darren.
Soon after they were seated and the introductions were completed, Sonya eyed the menu and then looked at Sean.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Sean asked, grinning.
Sonya batted her eyes. “I’m thinking of ordering the lobster.”
“Hmm . . . you know what that means, don’t you?”
“Oh . . . I do. I’m just wondering if I want to go there. I did just get my hair done and I’m singing a solo in church tomorrow. It is not a good time to sweat out my hair.”
Sean got up from the table and walked around it. Then he opened his gray suit so she could see how fit he was. He sat back in his seat. “You want to touch me? Trust me, baby, there is nothing soft on me.”
Sonya looked him up and down; she grabbed his hands, then glanced down at his feet and turned back to the menu.
The waiter came to take their orders. Sonya let out a huge laugh; then she ordered the lobster. As soon as they finished eating, Sonya and Sean left, leaving Darren and Joan at the table.
“That was interesting,” Darren said.
Joan sighed, and said, “To say the least.” The entire time Sean and Sonya were at the table, Joan wished they would leave so she could be alone with Darren. Now that she had Darren all to herself, she was starting to feel uncomfortable because their table was so quiet.
“It’s good to see you.” Darren broke the silence.
“Likewise.”
The waiter put a chocolate soufflé in between them. “Why did you call me back tonight? I really didn’t think you were going to call,” Darren said as he put his spoon in the dessert.
“That makes sense—”Joan avoided his eyes, “considering how things went the last time we were together.” Their spoons tapped together in the soufflé. They both decided not to discuss the incident any further.
Back then, Joan was so sure that the next time she had sex would be on her wedding night. Now Joan wasn’t sure of anything, besides the fact that Darren looked finer tonight than he had this morning. Joan had been having flashbacks all day of their many sexual escapades.
They finished their dessert. Darren paid the bill and then looked at Joan as they were leaving the restaurant. “Now, what?” Joan didn’t know what to say. Darren answered for her. “How about a walk in the park across the street?”
That sounded perfect. Joan was glad she kept a pair of flats in her handbag; stilettos were not made for long walks. There were several couples walking hand in hand. Joan wanted to be one of them, but Darren kept his distance. For a long time, they didn’t speak; eventually Darren stopped at a bench and sat down. For the first time tonight, Joan could see that something was bothering him.
“What’s up, Darren? Back in the day, you would have been all over me. Now you are practically acting like a monk.” Joan expected Darren to say something funny and change the subject. She had dated Darren for a while, but he never let things go too deep. So when he started telling her what was bothering him, she turned away so he couldn’t see the shock on her face.
“My mom’s addicted to prescription drugs. My dad is cheating on her with a woman half his age. My brother and his girlfriend had a baby boy last month. The first day his girlfriend returned to work, she had a car accident and was killed. Did I tell you that I was supposed to graduate from college?”
“Yeah.”
“I lied. I have been in school long enough to have five degrees, but I don’t have one. My dad is fed up with me. He is cutting me off at the end of the year. He will no longer pay for education or my expenses.”
Joan was about to speak.
“No, wait—there’s more. I have daughters, six-month-old twin girls, Chiya and Madelyn.” Darren handed Joan his phone. There was a picture of two cute, chubby, bald baby girls.
Joan couldn’t help but smile. “This must be at least one bright spot.”
“It should be. . . .”
“But?”
“But when my father cuts me off, I won’t even be able to buy them a pack of diapers. Last month, their mother called me saying she needed some formula. I had already spent my entire allowance for the month. I had to borrow the money from a friend. I’m a grown man who gets an allowance from his parents. I don’t have anything to show for the three decades I’ve been on this planet.”
“Are you and their mother together?”
“I don’t know, Joan. Things were going fine between us, but when the babies came, well, everything changed. She wants me to take care of them, not my father. She wants us to get a house and be a family. I can’t take care of myself. Ever since I got out of high school, I’ve been having a good time. Life has been one big extended party.”
“And now?” Joan asked.
“The party is over. In reality, the party has been over. Things stopped being fun long before all this happened. A guy I used to go to grade school with caught up with me one day in the store. It was early in the morning, about four o’clock. I was in the checkout line with a pack of condoms. He was buying Children’s Tylenol.
“He invited me to his house the next weekend. I had no intention of going at fi
rst, but for some reason, I went. We all sat around the table; it was me, his wife, and their two girls. He sells insurance and lives across the street from our old elementary school.
“After dinner, we got to talking and he invited me to church. That’s what happened to you, isn’t it? That’s why you kicked me out of your room that day, because of your relationship with Jesus, right? You notice, I never called you after that. I respect that.”
Joan nodded her head. “I see.”
“So many girls I know spend Saturday night screaming some dude’s name and Sunday morning screaming Jesus’ name. I’m glad you are not one of those girls. Well, that night at his church, I almost walked to the front. I know a lot of people do it, but I have no intention of having one foot in the world and one foot in the church. I’m too scared of God to play with Him.
“Saying no to me that night, even though you had that desire, I never forgot that. I would be with other women and remember you. No disrespect, but I know how much you enjoyed sex. So if you love Him enough to say no, well, that must be some kind of love.
“I guess that was the first time I realized that people who call themselves Christians aren’t all the same. I know lots of people who go to church, but they all do the same things I do, or worse. You know what my friend told me? He said, ‘Being in the garage doesn’t make something a car, and being in church doesn’t make someone a Christian.’
“He gave me a Bible and I’ve been reading it. I didn’t realize Bibles came in other versions. I got an NIV. Have you ever heard of it?”
Joan didn’t bother telling him that the New International Version was one of the most popular versions of the Bible. She just nodded.
“There’s this big men’s conference at the stadium downtown. My friend wants me to come with him.”
“You should go.”
“Thank you, I needed to hear that coming from you. Joan, I got two questions for you. Why are you dressed like that, and why are you hanging around with a woman like Sonya?”
“I don’t know, Darren,” Joan said quietly. “It made sense at the time. I barely know Sonya.” She felt like she had been summoned to the principal’s office.
“So you wanted to hook up with me tonight, old-school style?”
“Yeah.”
“And now?”
Joan said nothing.
“Joan, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but let me tell you something. You deserve better than that.”
Joan looked confused.
“Okay, let’s say we went back to your place and did our thing, just like we used to. Then what? What happens in the morning?” Darren asked.
“You don’t understand, Darren. It’s been so long. I just need this one night, you know, then maybe I can think straight. You remember when we were in that Chinese restaurant in Charlotte? Do you remember what you did to me underneath the table? It was so spontaneous and so much fun. I want you to do that to me tonight. Only not in public this time, but back at my place.”
“Are you listening to me, Joan? What I did to you that night was totally disrespectful.”
“Darren, don’t make it sound so horrible. I have no regrets. We were just having fun, enjoying life and each other.”
“Were you having fun the next day when I just left and didn’t bother to tell you where I was going? You called and called me, but I was laying up with some other woman, so I didn’t bother to call you back. If I remember correctly, I don’t think I called you until two weeks later. Joan, don’t make it better than it actually was. I was horrible to you that weekend, and on many other occasions.”
“But things are different now.”
“Why, Joan? Because this time, you aren’t looking for a relationship? All you want is the sex?”
“Exactly, Darren. That’s all I want.” Joan snapped her fingers. “Now can we please stop talking and walk back to the car and drive to my place? Come on, Darren. I need you tonight. I need to be touched and taken to that place where only you can take me. I need to be held, caressed, and loved like any other woman. I’m human, baby. Don’t you understand that?”
“But what about what you said a while back?”
“Forget what I said.” Joan grabbed Darren’s keys out of his pocket. “Let’s do this, Big D.”
Darren grabbed Joan’s hand, and they slowly strolled back to his car.
Joan tried not to smile too hard. But being this close to Darren made everything in her world better. She was so excited; honestly, she wanted to start singing. When they arrived at her condo, Joan asked Darren to wait on the sofa while she went into the bedroom to freshen up. She wanted to come out wearing a sexy piece of lingerie, but she had thrown all of her pieces away, believing that the next man to see her naked would be her husband, and she would buy all new things for her wedding night.
Without anything special to wear, Joan decided to come out to meet Darren with nothing on at all. Darren apparently was answering a text message when she came in. It took him a few moments to notice she was standing there.
“Wow! Don’t I at least get a nightcap first?” he asked.
Joan seductively walked toward him. “Of course, you can have a nightcap, but you are going to have to work for it.”
She sat in Darren’s lap. Darren quickly pulled her off his lap and onto the sofa. “Just do one thing for me before we get this started.”
“Okay, but after that, we are going into the bedroom and you are going to do to me what you did in that restaurant. No questions asked then. . . . You promise?”
“I promise.” Darren cleared his throat. “Go get me a Bible.”
“Excuse me!”
“Yeah, I need a Bible.” Darren started to look at his phone again. “Look up First Corinthians 10:13 and read it to me.”
“You got scripture references saved in your phone?” Joan asked with an attitude.
“Will you please just go find a Bible and read that to me?”
Joan didn’t move.
“The sooner you move, the sooner we can get on with the night’s activities.”
Joan realized what Darren was trying to do, but as she reached for a Bible from her bookcase, she vowed it wouldn’t stop her. She began to read, “‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.’”
Darren stood up, grabbed Joan’s hands, and brought her to him. “My Joan, my delicious Joan. I want you so bad right now, it hurts; but you belong to Jesus Christ and I’m not about to infringe upon His property, however tempting you may be. The next man that gets to enjoy your loveliness will have to go through Him first. I am not worthy. The next man will be your husband and it will be your wedding night.” Darren opened the door to let himself out. “Sweet dreams, my queen.”
Chapter 27
Joan waited a few moments; then she looked out the window. She wanted to see Darren walk away. He was walking away, only he wasn’t alone. Sean was walking with him. Joan got dressed, grabbed a couple of quarts of ice cream, and knocked on Sonya’s door. “Hey, Sonya, it’s me. I just saw Sean leave.”
“I’m coming,” Joan heard Sonya say from the other side of the door. Joan waited patiently. It took Sonya too long to get to the door. She reminded herself to get Sonya’s phone number so she could call first next time. When Sonya finally answered the door, Joan almost dropped the ice cream.
“What happened?”
Sonya had tears in her eyes. Her face was red and swollen, and she appeared to be hurting all over.
“Help me back to the sofa, please,” Sonya insisted.
Joan put the ice cream down and gently walked Sonya back to the sofa. All she had on was her robe. Her once-spotless condo now looked a mess. Joan gasped when she realized it had taken her sore body that long to make the short trip to the door.
“Did Sean do this to you? Let me call the police.” Joan ran to pick up the phone.
“No . . . no. Joan, just stop it,
please. I’m fine. I just need to rest.”
“What do you mean you are fine? You can barely walk. We need to call the police and tell them what he did to you.”
“Joan, please. What do you want me to tell them? I met this guy for the first time tonight and drove him to my condo with the intent to have sex?” She sighed. “Everything started out great, but then after a few minutes, he began to get rough and eventually started beating and slapping me around.”
“But if you told him to stop and he didn’t, it is rape!”
“Thank you for caring, Joan, but frankly that’s not the thing I’m most worried about.”
“What else happened?”
“I always carry my own condoms. I buy the highestquality products out there and I make a point to put them on whomever I’m with, regardless of what he thinks about it. I have seen too many grown men who don’t have a clue on how to use one properly, making them useless and putting me at risk.”
Joan nodded.
“So I put the condom on him.” Sonya dropped her head. “But at some point, he took it off, without me realizing it. I asked him about it when he was getting dressed, but he just blew me off. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Joan. I think he may have given me something on purpose.”
Sonya got this faraway look in her eyes. “I remember this HIV-infected lady doing an interview on abstinence. The host kept trying to get her to tell the audience to use condoms. The host didn’t seem to like her only speaking about abstinence. Well, the HIV-infected lady finally said something like, ‘I’m sorry, perhaps abstinence seems foolish to you, but what seems foolish to me is to trust a piece of latex to guard your life against an incurable disease.”’
Sonya shook her head back and forth. “Now I know what she meant. I thought I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I used a condom, but a condom didn’t guard me from this. And just think, Joan, he seemed like such a nice guy.”
The Bride Experiment Page 14