The Score

by Demetrius Sewell

  He was frustrated to hear who it actually was.

  Gabby giggled. “How is the trip?”

  He ignored the question. “What do you want?”

  “Are you alone?”

  “What the hell do you want?”

  “You,” she answered sweetly. “I want you to change your mind about us. You’ve spent long enough sampling the chocolate. Come back home.”

  Seth never wanted to harm a woman, but he wished he could strangle Gabby. She continued to surprise him. He didn’t know she was this much in denial or he would have never gotten involved with her. He wanted to curse at her, but he knew it wouldn’t help. “It’s over between us. Deal with it.”

  She sounded like a scolded child. “I won’t.”

  Seth walked over to the mini bar and made the strongest drink he could take and still be able to attend his meeting. He couldn’t take much more of this insanity. “Is there some business that I need to know about?”

  “No, but I have some interesting information.”

  He wasn’t interested.

  “Do you know that…woman you’re playing around with is loco?”

  Seth didn’t respond. Gabby sounded happy he didn’t respond.

  “I know you’re trying to put on a brave front because you don’t want to admit she is loco—”

  “I don’t care.” Seth tightened his grip on the glass cup.

  Gabby wasn’t convinced. “You don’t care that she goes to therapy once, sometimes twice, a week?”

  “No.”

  “Come on, honey. You know—”

  “Is there an emergency at one of my restaurants?”

  Gabby sighed. “You can’t be serious?”

  “Listen Gabby, I don’t want you. She could be a masked murderer on the weekends, and I wouldn’t resume things with you. Now stop wasting your time.”

  Everyone invited actually arrived. They drank, talked, drank more and had fun. Tatum was surprised at her own behavior. She joked with people and danced. She usually didn’t act this way around her family. It didn’t matter how old or young they were.

  Karla and her boyfriend were a fleeting memory, and it wasn’t because of the drinks Tatum had consumed. As soon as she learned Seth wasn’t there, Karla had made an excuse to leave. She had only been there fifteen minutes.

  Adam and his girlfriend stayed longer. She’d invited three family members, all cousins. She asked them because they were outsiders in the family like she was. Myra was her favorite cousin. They were around the same age. Anita wasn’t a favorite cousin, but Tatum was comfortable being around her. Anita, at least twenty years older, was best friends with Tatum’s mother. Tatum never wondered why Myra or Anita were included in the black sheep group. She was too wrapped up in her own pain.

  However, she could have been a stranger to the family and she still would have known why Reggie was an outsider. He was the son of the aunt who once declared there would never be “a gay” in the family. Of course, he arrived with his boyfriend.

  Tatum expected Ralph to open the door and tell them the nightclub was closing, but he didn’t. She guessed he had orders to let the party continue. Tatum didn’t care. She was happy.

  It was nearly four in the morning when it finally it was just the family. The party became more of a gathering. Tatum had stopped drinking. She knew she wasn’t going to drive home, but she didn’t know how she was getting home either, and she didn’t care.

  “So you have to tell me about your love life,” Reggie said.

  She laughed. “Who says I have one?”

  “Good try.” He pointed around the room. “This place would cost me six paychecks to rent. And that would only be an hour. Hell, we’ve seen day turn into night and back again, and we’re still here.”

  “Plus, the drinks are free,” Myra interjected.

  Tatum smiled because she was high, but she was shaking fearfully inside. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone in her family she was dating Seth. She didn’t know how they would react. Tatum’s worst fear was having the happy gathering turn into an intervention to save her soul.

  “Spill it.”

  “Fine.” She waved her hands in surrender. “I am involved. He owns this place.”

  “Where is he?” Myra looked around like she was going to see someone new.

  “He had to go on a business trip, but,” she pointed to her new gifts, “he sent these.”

  “He must be white,” Anita, her oldest cousin said dryly.

  Fear pumped through Tatum’s heart. Here we go.

  Anita must have noticed her scared expression because she quickly commented, “I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s more a reflection on my life. The damn lowlife I’ve been with for years has never given me anything like that.”

  “What about that necklace you got last Christmas?” Myra suggested.

  Anita gave her disgusted look. “I wrapped it up and put it under the tree myself. He thanked me for remembering.”

  “Well, I can’t complain. Larry’s remembered every anniversary and birthday,” Myra boasted.

  “Don’t you badger him for a month before the day arrives?” Reggie questioned.

  Myra reluctantly agreed. “I don’t like to call it badgering. I just drop creative reminders.”

  “It’s badgering,” Reggie said, sarcastic. “Now let’s get away from your sad life and back to Tatum’s. Tell us about him. Is he cute?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” she said. She recounted their relationship from the beginning after being badgered herself, badgered to reveal everything.

  For the first time since the relationship began, Tatum felt good. It was one, in a long line of issues, she got off her chest. That was, until Anita spoke again.

  “I know your mom would be upset.”

  Tatum nodded. “She wanted me to marry black and never look at a man outside my race.”

  “No,” Anita corrected. “She just wanted you to date your own before you ventured into unknown territory.”

  “So what, was I supposed to use black men so I could get to white men?”

  “I agree,” Myra said. “If you don’t know your own, you’ll be taken by another race every time.”

  Reggie backed Tatum. “She shouldn’t have to do that. It’s not necessary when you already know what you want. Imagine if I’d broken some woman’s heart so I could go with another man.”

  “Yeah, but who says that what Tatum really knew what she wanted, or that you did either for that matter,” Anita rebutted. “She could have found a black man she liked and fallen in love.”

  “Only to break up later because her desires were stronger than her will to stay in that marriage.”

  Anita shook her head. “I would just be scared that I was being taken. You know, white men treat you differently than black men.”

  “Yeah, black men will tell you what they’ll do for you and then don’t do it. White men just do it.”

  Everyone stared at Myra. Even Tatum was bewildered by who the comment had come from.

  Myra nervously finished her drink before she admitted, “I had to make sure I wasn’t missing out on something. You know, the reverse of what Anita said.”

  “Were you?” Anita asked

  “Was I what?

  “You know, missing something,” Reggie clarified.

  “We should be focusing on Tatum’s relationship.”

  Tatum stared at her cousins. She was surprised there was no intervention. They weren’t pointing fingers at her and damning her to hell. There was just conversation.

  There was a knock on the door and Ralph entered. “I’m leaving, but I wanted to know if you needed a ride home.”

  Tatum nodded. She didn’t think any of her party could drive.

  Ralph quickly cleaned up the remains of their celebration and took directions to everyone’s house. As they walked out of the club, Reggie put his arm around Tatum and told her, “Be strong. If you love him, don’t worry about anyone else.”

  She t
hanked him for the advice.

  Ralph drove Tatum home last. During the ride, she kept thinking about what each of her guests had said at the party. She wondered if her mother was right. Did she have to go with a black man first if she was going to have a successful relationship with a man outside her race?

  Tatum rubbed her eyes. Maybe it was the alcohol making her scheme up a plan. Her head felt dizzy. She was floating on air and scared and wanted everything to work between her and Seth. Would the relationship turn sour because she didn’t have a “meaningful” relationship before trying to make it with him?

  A black man. Her mind raced with the possibilities. Where could she find a man on whom she could test the theory?

  Stop it, this is insane.

  However, fear leapt into her heart. What if her mother was correct?

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Yes,” she quickly told Ralph, then decided to tell the truth. “No.”

  “Your party didn’t go well?”

  “It was great,” she said, still excited by the memories.

  “Then what’s up?”

  “What do you think about interracial relationships?”

  Ralph didn’t answer right away. “I don’t think it’s for everyone, but it’s a good thing if the parties involved can handle it.”

  “What if a black person wasn’t involved with a black person, not successfully anyway, before their relationship with a white person?”

  “Well, my parents always told me that love is love as long as it’s honest.”

  Tatum was satisfied with the answer. What about your plan? she asked herself as they pulled up to her apartment building. Should you follow through with it? Could you do it?

  “Well, here you go,” Ralph announced, ready for her to get out of the car.

  Tatum turned to him. She didn’t think about it, just did it. Kissed Ralph as passionately as she could while picturing Seth in her mind.

  Ralph quickly broke the kiss, and Tatum realized immediately she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. She’d taken her mother’s assumption and made it into a nightmare. She almost panicked. If Seth found out what she’d done, he would break up with her.

  She fled the car, praying the kiss had never happened and was just a product of her overly active imagination.

  Karla couldn’t wait for Don Page to call. She called him. She was disappointed by what had happened. The ad exec knew Page was in his office — the secretary indicated he was there.

  Karla waited. When she heard the phone taken off hold on the other end, Karla gave a rapid, excited introduction. “Mr. Page, I am happy to finally meet you. I have been a fan of your work for years. My name is Karla, and my potential client, Seth Carter, told me to contact you. He’s—”

  “—not here.”

  Karla was bewildered. The secretary, not Mr. Page, was on the line.

  “Excuse me?”

  “If you would like to leave Mr. Page a message, I can transfer you to his voicemail.”

  Karla wanted to cry. “No. I’ll call back.”

  “Have a nice day.”

  Chapter 12

  “May I talk with you?”

  Tatum didn’t expect him to hear her. Her voice was barely above a whisper. The loud music hadn’t started yet and the employees stood around relaxing. The nightclub was going to open in a couple hours.

  Ralph looked up. He was staring at a piece of paper on the bar. If he was shocked or dismayed to see her, he didn’t show it. “Sure.”

  She looked around to make sure no one was around. Then she awkwardly began. “I am so sorry about the other night. I didn’t mean it. I wish I could blame it on the alcohol, but I had this stupid thought.”

  “I appreciate the apology, but you don’t have to. You’re a great sister, really, but—”

  “Oh, I know.” She knew where he was going. “I want to stay friends with you. I just hope you know I have feelings for Seth.”

  Ralph hugged her briefly. “You’re a tough sister. You’ll make it.”

  “That night my family was saying a lot of stuff, and I want my relationship to work with Seth…”

  “Let me guess: you should try chocolate before you try another flavor.”

  Tatum smiled at him. She liked the way he put it. “Exactly.”

  “As I heard your friend Reggie say that night, if you love him, love him.”

  She wanted to feel relieved about the conversation, but she still wished the kiss never happened. “Could we keep that kiss a secret between us, forever?”

  “What kiss?” he joked.

  “Thank you.”

  “Sure.”

  “So, to what do I owe this unexpected surprise?”

  Tatum jumped. She turned around to find Seth looking at them. For the first time, she had a reason to feel guilty and didn’t know how to react. So she stared at him with her mouth open she struggled to find something to say.

  Seth studied her, his expression unchanged, then turned his attention to Ralph.

  They shook hands. “Everything seems in order around here,” Seth said.

  “I didn’t have any major problems.”

  “Good.”

  Ralph excused himself. Seth stared at her. His eyes were flecked with shards of ice and his voice sounded strange.

  “Do I even get a kiss?”

  Snap out of it. He’s going to know if you don’t act normal.

  She kissed him quickly. “What are you doing back so soon?”

  He looked confused. “Are you disappointed?”

  “Of course not.” She tried not to sound overly enthusiastic. “I’m just surprised. I thought you were getting back tomorrow.”

  “I tortured myself for the last two weeks thinking about what I was going to do to you,” he whispered in her ear. “Let’s go.”

  “What about the club? Don’t you have some work to do you here?”

  “It can wait.”

  They returned to his place in the city. Tatum wanted to stop by her apartment, but he dismissed the suggestion. She wanted to go out for dinner. He ordered pizza. She wanted to watch television. He had other plans.

  Seth grabbed her by the hand and led her to the bedroom. He kissed her senseless.

  “Whoa, down boy.”

  He stared at her in bewilderment. “What?”

  “You’re acting like a sex-crazed teenager.”

  “I haven’t seen you in nearly two weeks. All I want to do is make love to you all night. Am I wrong for wanting that?”

  Tatum finally realized why he said there was a difference between sex and making love.

  She watched him remove his watch and place it on the nightstand. All she wanted was to feel him inside her. She didn’t want to fight or hide. Maybe she should tell him the truth. Quickly, she thought better of that move. “I missed you,” she said sheepishly.

  Seth began removing his clothes. “Is that right?”

  “Yes.” She kissed his back.

  He turned around. “Show me.”

  Tatum slowly kissed him. She felt the need to prove herself to him, to show him how much she felt for him. She wasn’t sure she loved him, but whatever her feelings might be called, they were certainly close to love.

  She straddled him. They were both completely naked. Tatum stroked his manhood. Seth leaned against the headboard, fondling her breasts and driving her sexually insane.

  “Are you getting the condom, or shall I?”

  “Depends on if you went to the drug store recently,” he sarcastically remarked.

  Tatum rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she remembered the last time they’d made love at his apartment they’d used the last condom. She was amused they’d run out at his place and hers. It had never happened before. Now, she wanted to cry. They weren’t going to make love.

  “I didn’t.”

  Seth caressed her thighs. “So, it’s your call.”

  “You mean, I need to decide if…” She couldn’t complete the sentence. Sex without c
ondoms didn’t make sense without marriage. She was scared of having a baby without the emotional and financial support of a husband.

  “We can make love without a condom,” he suggested.

  “No,” she told him firmly.

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “There are a lot of diseases out there.”

  “You’re saying I have a lot of diseases?”

  She gave him a look. “I’m not saying that.”

  “That’s—”

  “Have you ever had sex without a condom?” she challenged.

  “No.”

  She didn’t believe him at first. However, his serious expression made her rethink it. “Are you sure?”

  “I should remember if I didn’t use one.” He looked away.

  She thought about it. Her cycle wasn’t due until next month, so they were safe there. This would be the first time he hadn’t used a condom, so they were safe on that count too. She didn’t know what to do. Did she choose this time to show him that she trusted him?

  “Listen.” Seth was obviously frustrated. “I’ll go to the store if it’s so ‘repulsive’ to you.”

  She stopped him. “No. I trust you.”

  Seth kissed her, then he pushed onto the bed and took control. He slowly and hypnotically focused on every part of her body. She just wanted him inside her, not to sexually torture her. Seth suckled each breast for what seemed like hours to Tatum, and then he began to slowly travel to her core with blazing sucking and kisses. Tatum gasped excitedly when he snaked his tongue inside in her belly button. She was out of breath when he finally made it to his destination.

  Seth rolled his tongue against her core. She clenched the bed sheets, trying not to scream. Once Tatum knew she couldn’t take it anymore, he moved away.

  “Come here,” he told her. Sitting up, he waited for her to assume the position.

  Tatum straddled him. Taking his manhood in her hand, she massaged him until he ordered her hoarsely to stop. Tatum didn’t. She loved watching him beg. He was always in control or controlling others. It was time he knew how it felt.

  Seth, now nearly completely breathless, warned, “You better stop or you’re going to be waiting a couple hours before you’re satisfied.”