“Why is it when women get with a married man, they expect him to be faithful to them?” Crystal wondered out loud.
They finished their drinks and Elsie waved the bartender over. “We’d like two more, please.”
“Yours is on the house,” he told Elsie.
Elsie didn’t want to lead him on, so she leaned over the bar and said in a real low tone, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
He leaned in closer to her. “What? Your number?”
“No,” Elsie hesitated. “I need to tell you I’m gay, that I don’t do dick.”
He pulled back and looked at her, smiled, leaned back over and said, “I don’t mind.”
Elsie sat back up. “I do.”
Not to be put off, he told her, “You know what, I don’t care, you’re fine anyway and this drink will be on me.” He left to pour their drinks.
Crystal was taking it all in. “Ain’t that some shit, here you are, turning brothers down and they’re still buying your drinks. You go, girl.”
Elsie didn’t think it was amusing at all, she knew that most men fantasized about being with two women and maybe her telling the bartender she was gay would make him be that much more aggressive thinking, he could get in where he fit in.
Elsie changed the subject and said, “You think my getting a sperm donor is a bad idea.”
“I didn’t say that, plus I’m not one to judge anything a person does; shit, I’ve made enough mistakes in my life.”
“You have?” a voice interrupted. “I hope I wasn’t one of them.”
Crystal didn’t have to turn around to know it was Lange, she’d know his voice from across a crowded room. Should she be cool or should she show her true feelings? That was the question.
She didn’t have to answer it because the minute Lange said, “I’ve missed you,” she told him, “I’ve missed you too.”
Elsie just shook her head.
Lange noticed. “Why are you shaking your head?”
“Because it’s obvious you two should have stayed together.”
“Well, she chose another man.” Crystal could tell in his tone that Lange was still bothered by that, after all this time.
“Well, they’re not together anymore,” Elsie revealed.
“Is that right?” Lange asked.
Before Crystal could respond, the woman he was flirting with was standing behind them. “I’ve been waiting on you to return.”
Lange turned to face her. “I ran into someone I know.”
The woman looked at Crystal and frowned. “Well, I’m ready for my drink.”
Crystal touched Lange’s arm. “My number is still the same, call me.”
Lange kissed Crystal on the cheek. “I’ll do that,” and to Elsie he said, “It was nice to see you.”
Just to piss his female friend, companion, or whatever the hell she was, Elsie replied, “And it’s always nice to see you, Lange.”
When Lange was gone Elsie mocked Crystal. “My number is still the same.”
Crystal smirked and looked Lange’s way. “That is one handsome man.” As an afterthought she added, “and good in bed too.”
Elsie followed her gaze and told her, “Maybe you two can start over, have a new beginning. You know what they say, if it’s meant to be, it will be, if it’s not, oh well.”
“I don’t know about us having a new beginning but it would be nice to see him sometimes.”
They continued looking his way and noticed he was whispering in his date’s ear. She looked up, noticed them watching, and rolled her eyes.
“Want me to put her out for you?” The bartender had watched what transpired.
“Didn’t I tell you I was gay?” Elsie smiled so that the bartender would know she wasn’t being a bitch.
“You did indeed, but you can’t fault a brother for trying.”
“No you can’t,” Elsie agreed.
“Elsie,” Crystal interrupted.
“Yes?”
“This must be your night.”
“Why do you say that?”
“First the bartender is acting like he’s all in love with you and then there’s this lady, who keeps looking your way.”
Elsie turned to look around. “What lady? Where?”
“Look behind you.”
Elsie began to turn around but Crystal stopped her. “Wait, wait, at least play the shit off.”
“Girl, I’m to old for that.” Elsie turned around anyway to see who Crystal was talking about. It was Savannah.
“Oh, you know her?”
“Yeah, she’s a friend of mine.” Elsie noticed that she was with a man and turned back around.
“Oh, oh, she’s on her way over here,” Crystal told Elsie.
Elsie turned back around just as Savannah arrived at the bar.
“Elsie? I thought that was you.”
Elsie stood up to greet her with a hug. If she wasn’t mistaken, Elsie felt Savannah’s hands touch her ass.
She stepped back and noticed Savannah was smirking, like she had a secret. “So who’s your friend?” Savannah looked at Crystal and raised her eyebrows, “or is she more than a friend?”
Elsie could tell that Savannah may have had one too many drinks.
Crystal answered the question. “No, no, no, I’m just a friend.”
Elsie introduced them to one another.
Elsie looked past Savannah and asked her, “Is that your husband?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it looks like he’s waiting on you.”
Savannah looked his way. “Well, he can wait a little longer.”
Neither Elsie nor Crystal responded.
“Crystal, would you excuse us for a minute, I’d like Elsie to walk with me to the bathroom.”
Elsie couldn’t help but wonder why Savannah needed her to tag along but she agreed nonetheless.
“I’ll be right back,” Elsie informed Crystal.
“I’ll be right here, watching the sights.”
Elsie got that Crystal was talking about Lange and his date.
When Elsie and Savannah entered the bathroom, Savannah looked in the stalls.
“What are you looking in the stalls for?” Elsie wondered if Savannah was past tipsy to drunk.
“I’m seeing if we’re alone.”
“Why?”
Once Savannah was sure they were alone, she locked the door and stepped closer to Elsie. “Remember at the coffee shop when we pretended I was your girl?”
How could Elsie forget, she’d never been so embarrassed.
“Well, I’d like to collect on my debt.”
Elsie was lost. “What debt?”
Savannah moved closer and placed her mouth near Elsie’s ear. “Did you like it when I grabbed your ass?”
Elsie stepped back. “Okay, Savannah, I think you may have had too much to drink.”
Savannah grabbed Elsie’s ass and pulled her so that their bodies touched. “I don’t think so.”
Elsie had to admit that she was turned on. “What are you doing?”
“Seducing you.”
Elsie glanced around the bathroom. “One, I hope you’re not doing this just because you’re drunk and two, look at where we are.”
Savannah knew that Elsie was right about the “where they were” part but she was not right about Savannah wanting her just because she had more liquor in her system than usual.
Savannah placed her lips on Elsie’s and moved her hands toward her ass. Elsie was surprised with Savannah’s aggressiveness. She knew she should push her away but the shit was turning her on.
Savannah pulled slowly away from the kiss and whispered to Elsie, “Turn around, look in the mirror.”
Elsie complied. Once turned, Savannah attacked her neck and ears.
Savannah’s hands were everywhere; her nipples, her ass and finally she started to slide her entire hand down the front of Elsie’s pants.
Elsie grabbed her hand and for a moment was fearful that someone would atte
mpt to enter the bathroom, but the warmth of Savannah’s hands combined with the kisses on her neck made Elsie allow her to continue.
When Savannah’s hands finally reached their goal, Elsie let out a deep gasp, which delighted Savannah as she increased the pressure on Elsie’s clitoris.
At this point if someone came into the bathroom, Elsie would not have cared. She started grinding against Savannah’s hands, trying to assist in her bringing her to an orgasm. Elsie could not believe they were doing this in the bathroom.
It was when Savannah’s heard a low moan and when Elsie arched her back that she knew Elsie was about to come. She took her free hands and squeezed Elsie’s nipples through her shirt.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Elsie repeated over and over.
Savannah slowly removed her hand from Elsie’s pussy and told Elsie to turn back around.
When she did, Savannah slowly sucked her fingers dry.
While Elsie gathered herself together, Savannah winked and walked out of the bathroom.
Elsie was left standing there thinking, I know she didn’t leave me here like this.
Elsie heard the bathroom door open. She quickly checked herself in the mirror.
It was Crystal with a smirk. “Did you have fun?”
Elsie just laughed and walked out the bathroom.
When she sat back down at the bar, she looked across the room for Savannah and her husband. Neither of them were anywhere to be seen. Yep, I’ll definitely call Savannah tomorrow, after my meeting with Faith.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
FAITH
“What do you mean, he’s in the hospital?” Faith asked, but the person hung up.
Faith pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it.
“What’s going on?” Siddiq asked.
“Someone just called and said Raheem’s in the hospital.”
“Did they tell you what happened?”
“No, they just said I need to get there as soon as possible, then the line went dead.”
Earlier that day Faith and Siddiq literally ran into one another with their shopping carts at the grocery store. Both looked up at the same time.
“Hey beautiful,” he greeted.
Faith was pleasantly surprised to see him. “Good morning, how have you been?” Faith asked him as she took in his relaxed look. Siddiq wore a lightweight baby-blue Sean John sweat suit. On someone else, it would have looked just plain wrong but not on him.
“You look smooth,” she complimented.
“Thanks.” Siddiq pulled his cart next to Faith’s and peeked in. All he saw was vegetables and fruit.
“So, healthy eaters are we?”
Faith laughed because if only he knew how addicted she was to junk food.
It just so happened that she recently made the decision to try and go cold turkey and not have anything white, which included flour, sugar, and salt. It was making her cranky as hell. “I’m trying,” she told him.
“Listen, what are you doing later?” he asked her.
They’d seen each other a few times since the beach outing. Faith had to admit that Siddiq had gotten into her system. She was truly feeling him, so much so it frightened her because she knew she was headed for trouble.
“I’m open, what are you doing later?” Faith replied.
“Let’s get together, maybe go to this little theater I heard about in North Jersey.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
They made small talk a little longer and agreed to meet up later.
On the way home, Faith stopped by Susan’s to say hello. When Susan asked Faith what she’d been up to, Faith told her, “Well, I’ve kind of been seeing Siddiq.”
“Siddiq? Lisa’s brother?”
“The one and only.”
“Girl, are you crazy? Why? Why are you doing that? What about Raheem?”
“What about him? I told you how he does me. Shit, this is the first time I’ve ever stepped out of my marriage.”
“Well, two wrongs don’t make a right,” Susan offered.
“I know, but I’m tired of letting him be the one enjoying his life doing whatever the hell he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, with whoever he wants to do it to.”
“But still, you need to think about this. You’re going from one relationship to another. Actually, you are still married. In the rooms, you’ve stated that going from relationship to relationship is one of your issues. Why are you doing this to yourself?”
“You’re acting like I’m going to marry Siddiq, I’m just having a little fun, enjoying his company, that’s all. I’ve been unhappy and in a half-ass marriage for a long time, Susan. I deserve this.”
Susan looked at Faith like she was crazy. “Girl, you don’t think it’s too late to be talking about you want to have fun?”
Faith didn’t think it was too late at all. She’d never casually dated. She’s had boyfriend after boyfriend, caretaker after caretaker and her drugs.
When she really gave it some thought she realized that she’d never truly been in a relationship sober, clean, or drug-free. She was either under the influence or in transition. This was the first time she’d been confident of her sobriety and wanted to experience life in a new way.
She wanted a relationship where she just didn’t go through the motions, where the small habitual things you did together made you a couple, the waking up, getting in each other’s way, brushing your teeth, and maybe even drinking coffee before running off to work.
Was she fantasizing, was it wishful thinking? Did this kind of relationship even exist in this day and age or was it just what was shown on television, in the movies, or read about in books?
“I respect what you’re saying, Faith, believe me. I understand how you feel about enjoying life in a new way, but please think about what you’re doing. A lot of times, when couples are going through rough patches in their relationships and they start seeing someone else, it’s usually just a Band-Aid that covers a wound.”
Faith knew that what she and Siddiq shared was more than that.
Susan went on. “What if you could work on your marriage? What if Raheem was open to counseling? What if it can be turned around?”
It’s not that Susan was on Raheem’s side. Faith revealed to her his many indiscretions and Susan knew that if Timothy cheated on her with such disregard, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would not be the type of wife to accept it. As a matter of fact, she’d probably end up in jail for assault or something, assault on Timothy and the female.
Susan shook her head to get out of that whole thought process. There was no need to go there mentally. She and Timothy had overcome much worse, more than the average couple, and that was why she believed Faith should try and make it work. Marriages were worth fighting for and people could overcome anything when they really wanted to.
“Do you not think your marriage is worth saving? Is that why you just want to end it?” Susan asked Faith.
Faith believed that the relationship was done and that’s just what she told Susan. “I’m done.”
For some reason Susan couldn’t seem to let it go. “Faith, you need to give this some more thought. Look at all you put Raheem through. Those nights you disappeared and went missing for days at a time, how you would be clean for a while and he’d think everything was good between y’all, only to one day come home and find that you’ve had yet another breakdown or relapse. I don’t know Raheem that well but what I do know of him, he could have left your ass a long time ago, he could have left you when you needed him the most.”
“Well, damn, Susan, how long do I have to repay that debt? Is that the debt that never gets paid up? Is that the debt that will leave me broke emotionally? I cannot live like that, feeling I owe somebody my life, not today and not ever again. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to sound ungrateful because that’s the last thing that I am but my mind is made up.”
Faith was irritated with Susan because this was not the shit she wanted to hea
r, she wanted support and encouragement, not to be questioned, doubted, and made to see Raheem’s point of view. She knew two wrongs didn’t make a right but hell, something that feels so right can’t be but so wrong.
Her marriage was done. She was going to pack up her shit and move out. The question was when.
Later that day, Faith was looking for something to wear on her date with Siddiq and nothing was suitable. She looked at the clock and noticed she had two hours to get ready.
She decided to run to one of the boutiques in downtown Asbury Park.
Faith walked into Le’ Chic, a swanky boutique on Madison Avenue. The store was empty of customers, so she wasn’t surprised when the salesgirl rushed over and asked if she needed any help.
Faith glanced around the store and looked at the girl and said, “You’re that bored?”
The salesperson laughed and said, “Yes, yes I am.”
“Well, I’ll let you know if I need you.” Faith walked away and started to peruse the store.
About a half an hour later, she was at the cash register pulling out her wallet when the bell chimed, alerting the salesperson that a new customer was entering.
Faith turned around and when she saw who it was she turned back around with the quickness.
“Here you go.” She handed the salesgirl her credit card. As Faith tapped her feet she could feel her impatience rise. It seemed like this girl was taking forever to ring up her shit.
The young lady started to put her items in a bag, when the patron who entered called out, “When you’re done I’d like some assistance.”
“I’ll be done shortly,” the salesgirl told her as she handed Faith her receipt. “Thanks and have a good day.”
Good, Faith thought, she just might get out of the store before Raheem’s ex-wife, Lace, recognized her.
She and Lace were casual with one another, had always been, even when Faith was raising her children, but that was it.
Faith turned around with her head down, thinking she could get out unnoticed.
No such luck, right when she got to the door the salesgirl called out, “Ms. Faith?”
Sister Girls 2 Page 20