“Why are y’all packing?” I asked.
“We are moving to San Diego.”
“You are?” I asked.
“Yeah, Martin just bought some property down there and he wants to be able to watch it better. My mom said she doesn’t want to leave him down there by himself. So she is going with him. And I’m going with her because I’m not trying to be in LA by myself. So what you going to do?” The way she said, So what you going to do, was like, You can’t come with us.
I wasn’t sure if I was reading her wrong, but Aunt Vicky confirmed that I was not invited. She came in the room and said, “So Jade told you we are moving. So I’m thinking you can probably find your own place, right?”
“I guess,” I said, surprised.
“Okay, good. We’re moving tomorrow. You can stay here until the end of the week.”
“This week?” I said as I began to become alarmed.
“Yeah, you should be able to figure something out,” she said like she was just saying we were out of milk.
I was so confused. This was so crazy. As soon as everything was getting good, here was another damn problem. I only had a few days to figure out what my next move was. I called Elena and she sounded her usual happy self.
“Hey, chica, why you up so early?” At first I couldn’t answer her because I was still trying to understand why this lady would let me move three thousand miles only to tell me two months later I have to move out.
“You there, Zakiya?” Elena asked.
I whispered, “My crazy aunt is kicking me out.”
“What happened?”
“They are moving to San Diego. They basically looked at me like, What you going to do? You have until the end of the week.”
“Oh my God, so where are you going to live?”
“I don’t know. Do you know anywhere with any cheap apartments that I can afford? I wish we could get our own place now.”
“I know, but I won’t be ready to move for a few months. I’m going to ask around.”
“All right, do that and then call me back.”
Chapter 22
Cherise
I wasn’t comfortable with anyone knowing about my relationship with DeCarious yet. I wanted to be cautious and plus right now it was hard to define anyway. We weren’t exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, but we spent a lot of time together. We were taking things slow, but I really enjoyed his company and the way he made me feel. I felt like I had to talk to him a few times a day, and if I didn’t I would miss him. I was in the middle of trying to figure out what I was going to wear to Tim’s house. DeCarious and I were going there to watch the segment I did on Brothers Helping Themselves.
I was so disappointed when I looked in my closet. I really needed to go shopping. Almost everything I owned was black, and what wasn’t black were suits and professional work clothes. I really needed to go shopping and get more fun clothes. Especially because DeCarious always dressed and looked so nice. My phone rang in the middle of my search for something cute and sexy. It was Gavin. I didn’t really have time to talk, but I answered anyway.
“Hey, Gav. What’s up?”
“So you must have got yourself a little boyfriend, because you never answer your phone.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of seeing someone now.”
“Too bad. Well, you have the number. Call me when you get some time.”
“I will.”
DeCarious showed up at my house forty-five minutes early. I hadn’t been in the shower yet, and I still hadn’t decided what I was going to wear.
“You’re early,” I said as I opened the door.
“I know. I was already in the city.”
“Have a seat and let me get dressed. The remote is on the table,” I said. I went back to my closet to see what I could wear. I decided on a pair of dark blue jeans and a black, short-sleeved ruffled shirt. It was cute. Just as I was getting ready to change into my clothes, I heard DeCarious walking toward my room. He tapped on the door.
“I wanted to see if you needed help picking something out to wear.”
“No, I can find something on my own.”
“You sure?” he asked. He looked so handsome. His shoulders were so broad, and I felt like I wanted to just go over to him and jump on his lap and throw my tongue down his throat.
I must have gazed a little too long, because he said, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I wasn’t looking at you any type of way.” He must read minds, because I was so attracted to him and it had been a very long time since I had a man in my personal space. All types of thoughts ran through my mind.
“I can’t help you pick something out,” he said as he came toward me, cornered me against my closet door, and began sucking and blowing on my ear and neck. His hands reached over, opening my robe to expose my naked body as he grasped my breasts and massaged my nipples in circles. His lips were moist, and I liked the way his tongue and lips nibbled my shoulder.
He was ready for it, but I had to push him off me or we would never have made it to Tim’s house. “I can’t—let’s wait.”
On the ride over to Tim’s house, DeCarious asked me to go on a trip with him.
“I wanted to tell you next weekend is our bye week and see if you want to take a trip, maybe fly to the Bahamas or something.”
“I can’t. I have to work.”
“Can’t you just take off?”
“No, I can’t just get up and take trips whenever I want to. I don’t have that kind of job.”
“Okay, my bad. So what do you want to do for your birthday?”
“It doesn’t really matter. I’m not a big birthday person. I’ll probably be working.”
“Well, now that we are together we are going to celebrate birthdays, so we are doing something. I’m going to take you somewhere and surprise you. Can you try to take off now for your birthday weekend?”
“Okay, I’ll try.”
They were so excited about Tim being on the news. I couldn’t understand it; he was on television every Sunday.
“It’s coming on, Tim,” Tim’s wife Mari said as she used the remote to turn up the volume on the huge wall-unit television. We all had a seat. I wasn’t normally nervous, but seeing my face on the screen and everyone watching intently, made me a bit uncomfortable. We all watched for the next five minutes, silently. I tried to study everyone’s face to get a reading of what they were thinking.
They all clapped after the segment went off.
“My baby did good, didn’t she?” DeCarious said as he hugged me and grabbed my waist and kissed me on my cheek. I hated PDA, but I didn’t push him off of me.
“That was so good,” Mari said. I thanked her. I was becoming a little embarrassed. I had to switch the praise back over to Tim.
“No, Tim, you did all the work.”
“But you provided the outlet, and thank you, girl, for that,” Mari whispered. “Because he can’t put in another dollar of ours.”
Within minutes Tim’s phone started ringing and people wanted to help out the organization. Mari turned on the music and began serving dinner. DeCarious was so loving, and it was fun being around him and his friends.
Chapter 23
Tanisha
There’s been so much to catch up on, but my life is still in limbo. Kierra was the only person who opened her heart back up to me, no questions asked. She slept in the bed with me every night. Tyrone gave me my bedroom back and he moved into the back room. I didn’t want Tyrone to think that we were going to be together again.
Mr. Ballard was trying to work out a deal for me so that I didn’t receive any, or at least not a lot of, jail time. The media attention was gone. After a half dozen nos to requests for interviews, all of the media attention stopped. Alexis, Kierra, and I have been out on mommy and daughter outings. We went to the movies and had lunch at Red Lobster. Jamil is busy with his job and his girlfriend. I really don’t want to meet her, either. Alexis told me she is only twenty-three, with four
kids, and she is using my son as a replacement father.
Kevin brought Jarell, our son, over twice, but when he came there was always a houseful of people and he never really seemed comfortable, plus when he visited he was never alone. There was always someone waiting in the car for him. Last time it was a blonde, this time a chocolate beauty. Both times the women got tired of waiting outside and began calling him, saying they were ready to go. I guess his only preference now was pretty with little patience. It made me a little angry that he was even bringing these random women to my home and around my son. But what could I say? I wasn’t with him any longer and I had run away.
Mr. Ballard finally called me and said that he had reached a deal with the DA. I was petrified. My entire life was on the line. He had told me I could walk away with community service or I might have to do a few years. I walked into the dining room and grabbed Tyrone.
“It’s Mr. Ballard. He said he has some good news about the plea.” We sat down at the dining room table. I put the phone on speaker. “Yes, Mr. Ballard.”
“Hello, Kevin is on the line, too. Tanisha, I believe I have some pretty good news for you guys. I was able to get all but one of the charges dropped. The only charge that is going to stick is the simple assault, which is a misdemeanor and no jail time.”
“No jail time!” I exclaimed. All my prayers had been answered. I screamed out, “Thank you, God. Thank you.” I had prayed and prayed and prayed some more, and it had worked.
“Hold up, Miss Butler, I’m not done. There is no jail time; however you will be on probation for a year, and three months of that year will be under house arrest.”
“House arrest?” Tyrone repeated. I looked over at him, then back at the phone to hear the rest of what Mr. Ballard had to say.
“Yes, you will be able to leave the house to go see your probation officer once a week, but you will not be permitted to go outside of your home for three months. But under the circumstances, I think this an excellent deal and the DA is being very lenient.”
“Will I have an arrest record?” I questioned.
“Yes, but after a few years we can try to get it removed. It will only be a misdemeanor.” It sounded like a good deal to me. I got to be with my family, I wouldn’t have a permanent record, and I could put this entire situation behind me.
Chapter 24
Adrienne
I hit my goal weight and I was making progress with DeCarious. Last week after the game I massaged his shoulders and gave his side a deep massage until he fell asleep. When he awoke, me and Asia were in the bed with him like a happy family. I poked out my butt slightly, just so, so he could get a little feel of what he was missing. I thought I got a rise out of him. He didn’t say anything—he just positioned his body to the other side.
I was always happy, docile, smiling, and very attentive to DeCarious and Asia. I sent him pictures of us all the time and let Asia talk baby talk to him. I tried to laugh at all his jokes and I was very complimentary. I knew DeCarious was on his way back—he was calling me all the time like he used to. He deposited money in my account just because, he said. I like just because money, especially when it is a couple of thousand dollars. He was definitely coming back, and I just had to let him think it was his idea. If he thought that I was manipulating him even a little bit, he would run away.
And hopefully DeCarious came to his senses soon, because I was tired of being Miss Anne’s praise pal. She had me going to other churches now, and she was even calling me too much. But I thought—no, I knew—all my hard work was eventually going to pay off. It had to, because I couldn’t wait to quit my job and move back down to Atlanta. Then my life would be one big vacation again.
Chapter 25
Cherise
DeCarious was on his way back from a West Coast game against the San Francisco 49ers. I couldn’t wait to see him. Tuesday had become DeCarious’s and my unofficial day to be together. We both had very busy schedules, so we had to make time for one another. We did everything together, from doing nothing to watching episodes of The First 48 on television. It was strange that we were so close and we hadn’t had sex yet. We hadn’t done anything more than hug and kiss. However, I felt an emotional connection to him like I just can’t explain. We cuddled, hugged, and kissed a lot. He said several times that he had never felt so strong about someone so fast. I felt the same way. He was definitely what was missing from my life and we were making our way to the next level. He was everything I ever wanted. DeCarious had looks, personality, and intelligence. Plus, we had so much in common it was like I’d met the male version of me.
I wanted to be with him. He kept jokingly calling me a prude, but he had no idea. I am anything but. I didn’t tell him about my two years of celibacy, because it was really none of his business. I was just scared that when I finally had sex I might go crazy on him. Before I had a man around I was good—never thought about sex. But now I felt myself always thinking about it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out too much longer. And I knew it was going to be so good.
DeCarious asked me to go to a few parties and I wouldn’t go. To me, our relationship was just too new to put on display. He said this was the first time in his life he had to be a secret—people usually wanted to show him off. It was not that at all. I actually really liked him and couldn’t wait to have sex with him, but I was a little scared. Then he kept offering me money. I told him I didn’t need his money. If I needed it I would gladly accept, but I was happy with him just picking up the tab when we went to dinner.
I was at work and I got a text from DeCarious—lyrics from a Jamie Foxx song, “She Got Her Own.”
I texted back,
CUTE :) SMILE
He texted me,
WHEN YOU GO HOME CHECK THE FRONT DESK.
I texted him,
OKAY. HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT.
The next day DeCarious called right before I went into my meeting. I remembered that I forgot to check the front desk as he had instructed me, and I hadn’t called him back even though he had left several messages.
“Cherise, did you get your gift?” DeCarious asked.
“No, babe, I’m sorry. I forgot, but listen—I will get to it as soon as I get home.”
“Okay, I miss you. Am I going to see you later on?”
“Probably.”
“Cherise, I need to see your face. Send me a picture or something. Something sexy.”
“DeCarious, I’m at work. Plus, I don’t take those kinds of pics. I can’t, not right now. I’ll call you later,” I said and turned my cell phone off.
When I came out of my meeting, I turned on my phone and was about to call DeCarious back when I got several crazy text messages from him.
U’RE NOT PAYING ME ENOUGH ATTN. U WANT TO KEEP ME A SECRET AND YOU COULDN’T EVEN PICK UP A GIFT I LEFT YOU AT THE FRONT DESK OF YOUR BUILDING. I’M DOIN’ EVERYTHING TO MAKE THIS WORK, BUT I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I CAN WAIT FOR YOU TO CALL ME BACK. I’VE CALLED YOU THREE TIMES & YOU HAVEN’T EVEN CALLED ME ONCE IN 2 DAYS. I GUESS I’M JUST USED TO A WOMAN WHO HAS TIME FOR HER MAN. OTHER WOMEN WOULD BE HAPPY A MAN WAS TRYING TO BUY THEM THINGS AND TAKE THEM ON TRIPS. AND MAYBE THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE. IF SO, KEEP IT REAL AND STOP PLAYING. YOU CAN’T BE WORKING THAT HARD ALL THE TIME & I KNOW YOU REALLY CAN’T BE THIS SHY PRUDE WHEN IT COMES TO SEX. MAYBE YOU GO ELSEWHERE.
I reread the text several times. I didn’t have time to have a text war with him. Gary and I were on our way to do a pregame shoot around interviews with the Hawks. I didn’t know how to handle DeCarious’s stupid long text. At first I wasn’t going to respond, but then I found myself sending him a bunch of texts. I must have sent about five.
BEFORE I START, I NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR NOT RETURNING YOUR CALL YESTERDAY. I DON’T BELIEVE IN SCHEDULED CALLS. IF YOU SAY YOU WILL CALL AND DON’T, I SIMPLY PICK UP THE PHONE BECAUSE I WANT TO TALK TO YOU. I DON’T KEEP A TALLY OF WHO HAS TO CALL NEXT. YOU SAID IN YOUR MESSAGE THE KIND OF WOMAN YOU PREFER. I FEEL THE NEED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A LITTLE
FEEDBACK. I PUT MYSELF THROUGH COLLEGE. I AM A YOUNG BLACK WOMAN IN A WHITE SOCIETY. I HAVE NO CHOICE THAN TO WORK HARDER, STAY LATER, AND CONSTANTLY KEEP MYSELF AHEAD OF THE GAME. I’M SORRY I CAN’T JUST GET UP AND TAKE TRIPS WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT. I PAY ALL MY OWN BILLS, ALWAYS HAVE, ALWAYS WILL. YOU JUST TEXTED ME THAT YOU LIKE A WOMAN WHO HAS HER OWN, BUT YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HOW HARD I WORK. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
AND AS FAR AS HORIZONTAL ACTIVITIES—I VALUE MYSELF AND DON’T JUST GIVE IT AWAY TO ANYONE. NO PRUDE, BUT JUST NOT EASY, LIKE THE WOMEN YOU USUALLY DATE. I JUST BELIEVE IN COMMITMENTS AND WHEN I’M READY I ENJOY ALL 3 HOLES!!! I WANT TO BRING SOMETHING TO THE TABLE, NOT JUST AN OVERNIGHT BAG.... WHY WOULD I WANT MY MAN TO HAVE THE STRESSES OF BEING A SOLE PROVIDER? I WANT A MAN TO KNOW I’M THE KIND OF WOMAN WHO—GOD FORBID SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN TO HIM—I CAN HOLD DOWN A FAMILY, BUSINESS, AND POSSIBLE LIFESTYLE . . . I BELIEVE IN GIVING FOOT MASSAGES, BACK RUBS, AND, YES, COOKING IF NECESSARY. I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF A GOOD MAN.
He didn’t respond to my text. I was thinking maybe I had said too much. I wasn’t sure if I should call him or not. I was scared of his reaction. However he shouldn’t have sent me all those crazy, insensitive texts. Whatever I thought, once I was home I retrieved the box he left at the front desk.
I opened it as soon as I entered my house. It was just a teddy bear. A stupid teddy bear. I couldn’t believe DeCarious was so upset until I looked down at the teddy bear’s ears. Both ears had beautiful marquise diamond earrings. Wow, I thought. The earrings were nice, but they still didn’t excuse DeCarious’s behavior. I was about to text him back, but before I could call, he texted me.
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