by Zi'ere
“Did ya’ll see the way Neka was looking at him?” I have to know if it’s just my imagination.
Jai adds, “When is the first date?”
“Ok, we finna nip all this in the bud. Jump up out of my business and tell me where ya’lls hot asses took them old ass men to!”
They aren’t the only ones in need of information.
“Girlllllll, let me tell you!” Jai starts the tale of the Friday night past.
I need them out of my business but I am not ready for their tales.
“See, that’s what you get! That Viagra has changed the Sugar Daddy game! Ole Cleophis was ready to put in work on that young ass!” I don’t even bother drying my hands, as I hit NaNa on her ass.
Jai is on the floor, she is laughing so hard.
“Then he goes into the hotel bathroom and comes out with his flag pole at attention. He’s totally naked with nothing on but his church socks and gator’s! Gull, I almost pee’d on myself, I was laughing so hard.
I told him, ‘Bae ain’t nobody in here going to steal your Gator’s! It’s just me and you, relax. Girl he laid it down the way Greg did on prom night. Bish, Cleophis had me tapping out!”
I am rinsing dishes trying to be careful not to break all of Jai’s drinking glasses, I’m acting a fool.
“Girl, I didn’t get home till after nine am Saturday morning! I wasn’t fit for nothing but some Ben Gay when I got in my bed! You know I collect my fee ahead of time and then dip out of the hotel when I put that ass to sleep.
I can do without the promises of a happy ever after future at the end of a good nut. Cleophis gave me my five hundred upfront as planned, but there was no leaving his ass in that room by himself.
He held on to me like I was his forever and ever. He done called me twenty times since he walked me to my car Saturday morning!” NaNa is the only one that’s not laughing anymore.
I know damn well she ain’t charging nobody $500 for that pussy, with all them miles on it! She’s dead ass wrong for that shit! This broad done priced her shit out the game! I can’t deal!
Jai snorts as she laughs. “How long did the pill last? I thought it was only good for four hours?”
“I was drunker than a skunk when we left the club, but I know for sure that Cleo went way over four hours, Boo.”
“Now what if he would a done a Color Purple on your ass?” I am too ashamed to call them my girls sometimes.
“All she could’ve said after the funeral was ‘he died on top of me’!” Jai makes fun, even though she is no better.
“Ya’ll some hateful heifers when you want to be! Leave me alone, Cleo putting me and the kids in his will.”
“WHAT?” Me and Jai scream, at the same time.
“Then Blade came through last night, I was faking my ass off. My purse needs to go into retirement for a while!” NaNa proclaims, as she put the Tupperware containers in the fridge.
She flips us off, as we high five each other and continue to laugh about her abused purse. Only thing is, we aren’t laughing about her weekend festivities. Her purse needed a rest fifteen years ago.
She is our girl, so we aren’t judging how she earns her funds. If the men that she deals with fall for the banana in the tail pipe- no refunds on ‘As Is’ used car sales, it is out of our hands.
They deserve everything that they don’t get in the comfort between her thighs. One thing is for sure, NaNa has no job and five kids. She isn’t wealthy but the chic is hood rich and set for life. My mind is working overtime.
I don’t give a damn how much men talk shit about women sleeping around. Always tryna front like they only want a virgin! Hood mice madams are still getting pregnant, so I’m not convinced that they don’t love hoes the way they said they don’t.
There is no shame in NaNa’s game at all. You have to pay to play, we all know that. If she thinks that the money is long enough, she will get pregnant on a dude in a minute. She has four baby daddies to prove it. Lying ass muthafuckas!
10
As with all Mondays, comes the start of my week as a career woman and a full time student. During the week my schedule is crazy. I work from eight am until four thirty pm, with an hour lunch break.
Monday through Thursday nights, I have night classes at the University of Arizona. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays I take my God daughter Joi to dance class. I am responsible for getting her there, dressed/prepped for practice, and then I sign her over to her coach.
Jai will pick her up. After she is signed in for practice, I spend time with Ian in grief therapy. During football season, I tutor RJ on Thursday evenings, which is the only night that I have one class and I can attend it online.
Then before I leave on Sunday evenings after dinner, all three of them can come to me for tutoring or mental relaxation. Even their mother needs a counseling session with a professional and not her cousin from time to time.
I am considerably younger than her and I am elated that she trusts me so much. We have been a big part of each other’s lives for a long time now. I have no idea how my world is about to change when I finally do get that life changing phone call from Gavin Brown.
I just picked Joi up from school. She’s in the backseat transitioning from Catholic school preppy to a dancing diva when my cell phone rings. I answer the call wirelessly because I don’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Hey Pretty Lady, how are you doing today?”
His voice instantly makes my heart melt.
“Who is this?”
I should punch your ass for taking so long to call me!
“This is Gavin. I didn’t call you at a bad time did I?”
“Nanny, I’m all dressed!” Joi announces.
“No, your timing is pretty good.”
“I hear a child in the background. That’s cool because I have a daughter too.”
“You heard a child correct but she is my God daughter. I don’t have any children.”
“Well, I guess you’ve got it going on then, Ms. Lady. Good job, nice ride, no kids, own home space. Now that’s what I’m talking about!”
“That’s what men are looking for these days, right? You want a woman with something to bring to the table besides just her plate and silverware, right?”
“I’m not that kind of man….but I would imagine- yes, that makes everything sweeter. But, you have me now, so some things are going to change in your life and how you live it.”
The man’s confidence is on one million.
“I have you now…..wow! Oh really now? This is the first phone conversation that we’ve had and you’re cuffing me already?”
“That is the plan.”
“Just like that huh, not asking- telling me what I’m going to do?”
“You are the prize. Nothing pops off without you but I think that you’re going to want to keep me too,” He laughs.
I continue to drive through the city. I stop at a gas station, so that Joi can get a snack and a bottled water for practice. All the while, I am engrossed in a conversation with a real man. As women, we can readily identify when a man has that ‘it’ factor.
Denzel has it. Idris has it. Boris has it. And as you get further down that list, out of the men in Chandler, I can see that Gavin has it too.
He refuses to end the conversation, so he listens in as I sign Joi in and then we say our good byes. Afterwards I then hop back into my car.
He asks to see me, since I’ now free. He is let down but still impressed that I have a class next. We continue to talk and the conversation leads to one another’s work places. I am thanking God from the start, to hear that the man has a real job with hours. He actually has to maintain with federal taxes being taken from his check.
He isn’t on child support either, so that tells me that he is at least still civil with his daughter’s mother. Then on the other hand, he could have been spoiling the woman just as much as he spoiled his child.
In that instance, if we do get closer- then th
ings are going to have to change. My man isn’t about to be caking his baby mama, while being laid up in my bed.
11
Everything that I learn about him is intriguing. The one daughter part is intimidating and I am a bit let down but it is still a definite plus. I want for my husband to start his family with me only. A man and young woman getting hitched with no children is a rare commodity in this century.
I can deal with one baby mama, even though I don’t necessarily want to. He is a good catch. There is no telling how many women stalk to claim to him. Gavin passes himself off as a very interesting and down to earth person.
When I park in my designated spot on campus, he is still trying to get a date for some time later on tonight. He refuses to accept a sometime during the week option. I eventually go ahead and fold and tell him that I will allow him a quick ‘come-see-me’ date later on. He will have to wait until Friday night for a real first date.
He is not happy that he has to wait four days. I can tell that he is a man that is used to getting his way. We end our call with sweet pleasantries. He questions what time my classes will be over. Ten-thirty works for him, he says he will be waiting in the parking lot at my car, when my class was over.
I guess that a phone call to make sure that I got home safely isn’t his style either. I walk into class with a new attitude that I want but that I also don’t need. I am only one semester away from graduation. I can’t let Gavin throw me off of my game, even though he is a handsome distraction. I push thoughts of him to the side and focus on the lecture.
It isn’t long before Gavin has all of my free time and my undivided attention. He calls when he says that he will and he is also on time. He is attentive, funny, and easy to talk to. By the time Friday rolls around, we are both beyond ready to chill out, without my hectic weekly schedule getting in the way.
I offer to cook us dinner and he declines. He will cook as I sit nearby, giving him inspiration for his creation is how he put it. RJ cancels his tutor session for that day via text, so after work, I go home to double check my spotless apartment.
Gavin won’t even let me pick up the groceries that he needs to cook. My purse is relieved I have to admit but he doesn’t know anything about that. He sets his arrival time at six thirty and at six fifteen the doorbell rings.
Oh, how I love a man that is where he is supposed to be when he is supposed to be there. Five points for Gavin already.
I smooth out my sundress that hits me mid- thigh in the mirror that sits beside the front door. I take a few deep breaths and then open the door to the most handsome man that I’ve ever seen.
There is a muscular six feet four, two hundred and forty pounds of muscle and sculpted chocolate with the whitest smile that I’ve ever witnessed on a man. He is wearing slacks and important looking loafers, along with a crisp white shirt on which the cuffs are turned up.
His attire isn’t street like it was that Friday night at the club. That night he was preppy. I can’t be mad at that. Because as good as he looks, he smells even better. My legs turn into noodles, as he sits the grocery bags down and picks me up to hug and kiss me.
The kiss is very inappropriate for a first kiss but we are both consenting adults. I needed that kiss more than I’ll ever admit to him. I sit at the open bar that separates my kitchen and the dining area, while smelling the sweet aroma of the flowers that he brought me.
I casually sip on champagne, as he manages to use every pot and pan in my kitchen just to cook dinner for two people. I offer my help one hundred times and he refuses one hundred and one times. He’s taken off his dress shirt and is now standing at the stove in a black wife beater.
Muscles flex and glistening in the light, as I find myself wanting to trace his biceps. The way that his pants hang off of his waist, as his abs do all of the talking is a pure sin. The man is turning me on in ways that I didn’t even know existed.
He is calm. He is respectful. He is cocky, yet he still has some modest qualities as well. He looks as though he is able do hard labor, yet he still appears as if he hasn’t worked a day in his life. I wonder how this can be possible.
12
Even though he is no G. Garvin in the kitchen, the man gets an A out of me for effort alone. He swears that he will clean up his mess. I wonder how long it is going to take him to do that because my kitchen is completely destroyed.
Bottom line, we laugh, talk, and get very comfortable with each other. With a dinner of steak and grilled shrimp kabobs, loaded mashed potatoes, a side salad, and a bottle of chilled Ace of Spades- I feel like a pampered princess.
No matter what the future holds for the two of us, I know that if I call him that he won’t let me starve to death. A man in the kitchen is such a sexy turn on. The food is delicious too, even though I am worried about his skills.
Conversation continues and I learn a lot about Mr. Gavin Brown. His daughter is twelve years old and her name is Giselle. He has been out of the relationship with his daughter’s mother for about eight months but he is sure that he is ready to start dating.
Gavin comes from a big family with two brothers and two sisters. He is the eldest and takes care of everyone, even though I can’t get a straight answer about who takes care of him. We discuss my degree, graduation date, and my hopes for the future. He commends me and says that he will motivate me in any way possible, from this night forward.
Since I’ve only had the support of Jai, it feels really good to think that there will be another cheerleader in my corner. We decide to watch a Katt Williams comedy special that I just recently purchased, as we sip on another bottle of champagne. Good vibes begin to gel all around us.
We both have a really wicked sense of humor, which only adds to our chemistry together and we seem to be completely at ease with one another already.
“I know we are laughing at this crazy lil mofo, but I’ve got to tell you that this is the best date that I’ve ever had. I’m not used to being around someone so real and calming. I feel like you are really enjoying me for me,” Gavin speaks the beautiful music that I need to hear.
“I only know what you’ve shown me or told me. That’s all that I can go on. You are calm and are giving off good vibes to me as well. I’m enjoying your company just as much.”
We make eye contact and hold it for a while.
“So last month, what would you usually be doing on a Friday night?”
He takes another sip of his champagne and waits for an honest answer.
“I would normally be tutoring my God son, directly after work. Then I’d come home and maybe catch up on some reading for my classes. Afterwards I would layout my homework schedule for the new week. Then perhaps have a wine cooler and watch some TV.”
“Who is here with you when you are doing all of that?”
“It’s a wee bit too late to find out if I have a boyfriend. Don’t you think?”
“I know! But, I just realized that!”
He has the deepest dimples when he smiles.
“I am single and willing to mingle just a little bit.” I return his smile.
His only response is a head nod. I can only assume that he is content with my answers. Katt does a great joke but the only way that we can tell is because the crowd is going wild. We’re so wrapped up in gazing at each other that we have to rewind the DVD, just so we can catch the joke that we’ve missed.
We are relaxing on the same couch, lying on each other and content in the moment. Gavin is a perfect gentleman who leaves my apartment a little after two am, with no suggestion of wanting to stay.
He’s already cleaned up my kitchen to my standards and as he leaves he gives me a kiss, along with a ‘see you later,’ as I stand in the door way. I cannot turn away on the count of me being mesmerized by his model-like walk, as he strolls out to his car.
Lord, Jesus . . . Please keep me near the cross!
As I prepare for bed, I remember that Gavin’s phone hadn’t rang or vibrated not once during the hours that he’s
spent in my home. I know that he had it with him because I saw it on his hip.
I note to myself how much of a gentleman that he was tonight. He wasn’t all in his phone playing games, texting other people, or being on Facebook so that is another point for him. He put aside that time to be focused only on me.
Before I turn in, I have to check-in with my girls. I send a group text to them, both giving vague details of our date. They are both equally excited for me, which makes me feel even better.
After I clean my face, I go ahead and get into bed. The TV fills the apartment with noise, as I read a book to help me get into sleep mode. I hear my cell phone vibrate on the nightstand and it’s Gavin.
“I feel like I have met the woman of my dreams. I’m scared that I’m going to mess this up.”
I don’t want to respond to the message because I don’t have a response to give tonight. Instead, I go to bed with a huge smile on my face.
13
As the days began to flow into each other, Gavin and I get closer and closer. Because of my schedule, we virtually spend all of our time together behind the closed doors at my apartment.
I learn that he spends fourteen days on and seven days off of his job as a long shore man. He is an ex-football player, who sustained an injury his junior year of college. Instead of him finishing his full ride, he dropped out. He’s never been married, not even engaged to the mother of his child.
I have also been told where Gavin’s home is, should I ever decide to drop by but I am pre-warned that it is a true bachelor pad. After two months of consistency, Gavin and I are closer than ever. He calls when he says that he will and he shows up when planned as well.
All of his attention has been on me. I have never gotten to this point in a relationship with anyone before. Gavin is eleven years older than me, so I was a little bit hesitant of that at first. But he’s convinced me that I have it going on better than any of these older women that he knows.
Having this gorgeous man spending time with me, comforting me, and taking care of me is what I think true love is really made of. I am trying my best to stick to Steve Harvey’s ninety day rule. But there is so much chemistry and passion between us, that there is no way that I’m going to make it passed thirty days, let alone ninety.