He's Just A Friend

by Mary B. Morrison

  “Hey, woman. What’s up?”

  “Just talking with Fancy. Come in.”

  Fancy rolled her eyes as Tyronne sat on the opposite end of the couch and clasped his hands.

  Fancy looked at SaVoy and said, “Girl, I met Wellington Jones the other day at the JaHva House. I tried getting—”

  Tyronne interrupted, “SaVoy, get me something to drink, baby, please, I’m thirsty.” Tyronne motioned for SaVoy to come closer. He kissed her lips, then said, “Baby, I got the money to start my business.”

  “Fancy, you want something to drink?” SaVoy asked, sensing the tension building between Fancy and Tyronne.

  Fancy rolled her eyes at Tyronne. “Excuse me, I believe we were having a conversation before you came in.”

  “Tyronne’s just kidding. He’s trying to agitate you, Fancy,” SaVoy said, placing a glass of fresh lemonade in front of Tyronne.

  “No, I’m not,” Tyronne said.

  “Girl, he probably stole the money. Nobody in their right mind would give him a loan.”

  “Fancy, that’s enough. Look, I’ll call you,” SaVoy said. “We can continue our discussion later.”

  Fancy quickly turned toward SaVoy and said, “I know you’re not choosing this—”

  SaVoy frowned.

  Tyronne spread his legs, put his hand behind his head, and lay back, looking at Fancy. “Is Miss Kitty’s open today? I know a few executives who could splurge on a bed and breakfast.”

  SaVoy slapped Tyronne’s knee. “You two cut it out! This makes no sense.”

  “Thug bitch ass nigga.” Fancy got up in Tyronne’s face.

  SaVoy jumped from the love seat and eased between them, facing Fancy, and said, “Fancy, you need to leave my house. Tyronne is a king. My king. And our relationship does not require your acceptance or approval.”

  “What drugs are you on? I know you’re not choosing this . . . him over me,” Fancy protested, pointing her finger in Tyronne’s face.

  SaVoy backed Fancy up several steps. “No, I’m not.” SaVoy escorted Fancy and opened the door. “You are. I’ll call you later.”

  “Don’t bother. The only reason you go to church so much is to find a man and since you couldn’t find a decent one at church you fucked the soda boy.”

  “You’re still welcome to go to church with me anytime. Bye, Fancy.” SaVoy closed the door. Most businessmen had some form of religion. If Fancy weren’t so stubborn, she could meet lots of them at SaVoy’s church. Fancy had so many issues, SaVoy knew not to take her seriously.

  “I’m glad you put that ho out. She’s the type of female that makes a man just wanna slap her in the mouth. Next time she puts her finger in my face, I’mma break it off.”

  “Oh, no! I’m not going to listen to you talk bad about Fancy. As much as I love you, Fancy is still my friend and I will not give up on her. Just like I didn’t give up on you.”

  “Wait one minute. What are you talking about?” Tyronne mimicked SaVoy, “Like you didn’t give up on me.”

  “Tyronne, I know you’re seeing other women. It’s obvious you’re sleeping with ’em, too.” SaVoy knew because Desmond had told her, but how she knew was irrelevant.

  Silence chilled the air. SaVoy wanted Tyronne to say it wasn’t true. She wanted him to hold her. To make her feel secure instead of afraid. Afraid he’d leave.

  Tyronne opened the door and said, “I call you later. Peace.”

  What the hell just happened? Two of her closest friends just left her home. Both of them upset. Neither apparently cared enough at the moment to acknowledge her feelings. Not really knowing where to go, SaVoy grabbed her jacket and left the house, too.

  CHAPTER 32

  Fancy lounged on her love seat. She’d passed her exam the first time. Some of the other people she’d spoken with had already taken the test several times. Fancy couldn’t understand how they failed. Everything that was on her pretest was also on the actual test. Some of the financing problems she knew the answers to before she finished reading the questions.

  “I don’t need any of them. Desmond. Mandy. Harry. Caroline. Byron. SaVoy.” Fancy wondered what had happened to Tanya. William was ruder each time Fancy had called. The last time he said, “Tanya’s busy and don’t call back because she’ll be busy then, too.”

  Now that Fancy didn’t have a date and no place to go, she realized she was so caught up in her own drama, she’d forgotten all about Tanya. “What the hell.” Fancy leaned toward the coffee table and picked up the cordless and dialed Tanya’s number.

  She waited for the phone to ring. No ring was heard so Fancy said, “Hello.”

  “Hey, you.”

  Fancy recognized the voice, smiled and said, “Who is this?”

  “Byron. Can you forgive me? I acted like a jerk.”

  “Me too, I guess,” Fancy said.

  “So can I pick you up in, say, about an hour?”

  “Okay, I’d like that.”

  “Don’t get all dressed up. I just want to go someplace where we can walk and talk.”

  “Okay, that’s fine.”

  Fancy showered, curled her hair, slipped into her lime-green jogging suit and stroked on her red lipstick. When she heard the doorbell, she opened a bottle of her best perfume. Quickly she debated on whether to dab on the perfume, fearing it might attract insects. She recapped the bottle and tossed it into her purse.

  Byron looked wonderful. His smile warmed her heart.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” He wrapped his arms around her.

  The first thing Fancy noticed was that Byron wasn’t driving her car. “Hi.” She hugged Byron longer than Desmond usually hugged her.

  “How about we go to my place, have lunch, then have fun working it off, and then watch the sunset from the mountains over the Golden Gate Bridge?”

  “Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought. As long as we’re together, I’m game.”

  Byron’s place was redecorated with vibrant-colored flowers. “What are these?” Fancy asked, admiring the fuchsia and white ones and wondering if another woman had arranged the flowers. Byron didn’t seem the same and Fancy realized she wasn’t in love with him anymore. Maybe she never was.

  “Orchids. My favorite. Every fall I travel to orchid shows throughout the Bay Area. And I only purchase the winners. So every orchid you see is the best in the bunch. Like you,” Byron added.

  Fancy sat on the sofa and Byron sat next to her. He held her hand, massaging her fingers. Did she ever really know Byron? She wanted to apologize for showing up at his sister’s house.

  Byron said, “Do you know how a woman can strip away a man’s pride and dignity?”

  Fancy shook her head. “No.”

  Byron stood and led her to his bedroom.

  “Wow.” Fancy covered her mouth. “This is beautiful.”

  Byron hungrily kissed her. She didn’t deny him as he undressed her, then he undressed himself. Their bodies began to sweat.

  “Turn over,” Byron said, easing on a condom.

  He entered her rectum.

  “Slow down, baby, we don’t have to rush. You’re hurting me.”

  “I missed you so much, Fancy.” Byron stroked deeper, then pulled himself out. He tore a fresh condom open with his teeth, rolled off the old one, and slipped on a new condom. Clearly, Byron wasn’t taking any chances on making a baby. His huge dick felt wonderful entering Fancy’s vagina doggie style. Byron took his time. He slapped her ass, then pulled her hair.

  Fancy grabbed his hand and said, “Not the hair.” Her weave tracks were loose enough. “Let me ride him, Daddy.”

  Byron lay on his back as Fancy mounted him. She eased down until it felt like Byron’s head touched her stomach. Fancy licked her fingers and squeezed his nipples. She massaged her clitoris and continued teasing his nipples, alternating from nipple to nipple. She moaned. Byron grunted.

  “Ooh, yeah, baby. I missed my pussy. She feels so warm. Let me taste her. Bring her to Daddy.”

  F
ancy eased her pussy over Byron’s lips, removed his condom, and started sucking his head. Byron reached over to his nightstand. Fancy watched him as he picked up a string of dime-size pearls. Byron licked and sucked her clit, simultaneously easing one pearl at time into her rectum.

  “Oh, that feels good, Daddy. Give me another one.”

  Byron eased another pearl inside her and continued sucking her clit. Then he entered another and another and stopped, but continued eating her pussy. He reached over to the nightstand again and retrieved another string of quarter-size pearls. Byron slowly inserted the pearls into her vagina while sucking the juices from her clit.

  Byron sucked continuously. Fancy couldn’t hold back any longer. When she started cumming Byron slowly removed both strands, one pearl at a time. One from her rectum. Then one from her vagina. His mouth now covered her clit and shaft. When the last pearls were released Byron tossed them to the floor, slipped on a condom, and fucked her doggie style again.

  “Whose pussy is this? Whose pussy is this?” Byron asked repeatedly, while Fancy thrust backward, bracing her hand against the headboard to keep from cumming and becoming unconscious.

  Fancy kept on fucking without answering Byron. He slapped her ass until he started cumming. Byron pulled out, snapped off his condom, and came all over her ass.

  Fancy collapsed in Byron’s arms. That was not lovemaking. That was sex. Fancy dozed off and woke to KBLX playing in her ear. It was six o’clock.

  “You gotta go somewhere?” Fancy asked.

  “We’ve gotta go somewhere. We have to catch the sunset, remember?”

  “My bad. That’s right.”

  Fancy sleepily made her way to the shower. Byron showered in the other bathroom.

  Byron drove along 101 and exited at San Francisco. He drove up the hillside and parked at the very end. A few cars were parked in the area. They hiked up the hill and sat on a bench overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Watching the sunset was beautiful, but with each setting the air became colder. Byron sat in silence like he was meditating. Fancy wondered why all she thought about was Caroline.

  Now it was so dark visibility was about six feet. Fancy retrieved a miniature flashlight from her purse and squeezed the sides. “You ready? I’m getting cold.”

  Byron’s eyes were glazed. He kissed her lips. His hands massaged her neck. Then he started choking her.

  “Hey, you’re hurting me. Let go.”

  Byron’s hold became tighter. “Remember when I asked you, ‘Do you know how a woman can strip away a man’s pride and dignity?’ and you said no?”

  “Gawk.” Fancy tried inhaling through her mouth but couldn’t.

  Byron kissed her face. She felt her flesh oozing between his fingers. Fancy punched as hard as she could. Her eyes started bulging. Fancy felt like she was going to die on that hill and she didn’t know why.

  “Well, let me tell your sorry ass so you won’t make the same mistake twice. The way a woman strips away a black man’s pride is to call the fuckin’ cops.”

  Fancy’s body weakened. Her arms grew tired of fighting and now dangled by her sides.

  “I spent the fuckin’ night in jail because your sorry ass reported my car stolen. If I didn’t hate that night in jail so much, I’d toss your ass off this cliff.”

  Byron shoved Fancy on the bench and left her there. She was too weak to yell or cry. Fancy sat on the bench until the sun started to rise. She found her purse and retrieved her cell phone.

  Fancy whispered, “Dez, I need you.”

  “Fancy?” Desmond paused then said, “I’m busy. I’m at Carlita’s. What’s wrong? Where are you? I can’t come right now.”

  Fancy struggled to make her words clear. “I’m stranded on the hilltop over the Golden Gate Bridge.” Fancy rubbed her neck and felt broken flesh and crumbled particles. Her cell phone beeped, signaling her battery was dangerously low.

  Fancy felt her eyes fluttering. “Dez, hurry up. Golden Gate Bridge. Hilltop.” Fancy’s arm collapsed, sending her phone crashing to the ground.

  CHAPTER 33

  SaVoy busied herself perfectly restocking and aligning groceries on shelves. Tyronne hadn’t called since he’d left her home. It was Wednesday and her delivery was so late she considered closing early and going home but she was completely out of twenty-ounce Cokes, Vanilla Cokes, and Sprites. The new delivery guy finally arrived almost six hours late.

  “What took you so long?” SaVoy questioned him before he finished unloading her order.

  “Not you, too. Look, miss, I apologize. Through no fault of yours, I’ve had an extremely rough day and I still have three more stops. I’ll be in and out as soon as possible,” he remarked, motioning for her to stand aside as he tilted his hand truck. He quickly stocked the cooler and headed toward the door. “Have a nice day, miss.”

  “Hey, I apologize for snapping at you. You really are new, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, that and my supervisor told me ‘hands off’ as far as you’re concerned.”

  SaVoy smiled. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. You must be something special. I gotta run before he gets here.”

  “Have a good evening, um . . . what’s your name?”

  “I’m sure you can think of something to call me other than what my mother named me, Sylvester.” He smiled, then waved. “I’m out.”

  The new delivery person reminded SaVoy of Tyronne in a few ways. SaVoy locked the door, raced to her office, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and replenished her lipstick.

  Whoever was banging on the door, SaVoy heard the knocking all the way in the back. She raced to the front. It was Desmond. SaVoy unlocked the door.

  “Hey, I knew you were still in here. What’s up?” Desmond held his arms open, waiting for a hug.

  SaVoy hugged Desmond lightly, patted his back a few times, then stepped back. “What’s up with you?”

  “Man, why every time I drop by the store you all up on my woman?” Tyronne said, walking in the door.

  “What’s up, man? Don’t trip. I ain’t gon’ take your woman.”

  SaVoy casually said, “Can’t.”

  “Whatever, y’all trippin’. I just came by to let SaVoy know Fancy had a terrible incident. She has no insurance. She refuses to go to Highland Hospital. So she’s at home doctoring on herself.”

  “Oh, my gosh. Desmond, what happened?” SaVoy asked, staring at Desmond.

  “Dude, old boy tried to kill Fancy for having him locked up.”

  “Hell, you can’t blame him for that. Why in the hell would she do something stupid like that for anyway?” Tyronne asked.

  “Man, she reported his car stolen. The one he gave her and took back. Cops picked him up from his house—”

  Tyronne interrupted, “You mean that crazy ho called the cops for some indignant ass bullshit. Hell, I woulda—” Tyronne shook his head.

  “Y’all get out of my store,” SaVoy said with one hand on Desmond and the other on Tyronne. “I can’t believe my ears. Lord, forgive them.”

  “Us?” Tyronne questioned. “What’d we do?”

  SaVoy couldn’t believe how Desmond and Tyronne, especially Desmond, were bad-mouthing Fancy. Did they talk about her the same when she wasn’t around? SaVoy drove as fast as she could to Fancy’s. There were no parking spaces out front so she circled the block and parked around the corner. Fifty-five degrees. That was good November weather.

  The doorman rang Fancy’s phone several times but Fancy didn’t answer.

  “Please, I have to see her. She’s sick,” SaVoy pleaded with the doorman.

  “Okay, but call me from her unit when you get upstairs.”

  SaVoy rang the buzzer, knocked on the door, and paced until Fancy answered, “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, SaVoy. Girl, let me in.”

  Fancy cracked the door so SaVoy let herself in and followed Fancy to the love seat.

  “Desmond told you, didn’t he?”

  “I came as soon as he did.” SaVoy sa
t next to Fancy. Fancy’s neck was swollen and bandaged. “You wanna go to the hospital? I’ll take you.”

  “I am not going to sit up at Highland waiting until all the gang bangin’ drive-byers who done got shot, stabbed, or killed, been taken care of. I can take care of myself.”

  “Well, how about I take you to see my doctor in the morning and I’ll pay the bill.”

  Fancy’s eyes watered but she didn’t speak.

  “You don’t have to tell me or anybody else what happened except Mandy. Have you talked with her?”

  Fancy shook her head.

  SaVoy placed Fancy’s feet in her lap and began massaging them. “ ‘Be anxious for nothing,’ Fancy, ‘but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.’ ” SaVoy softly quoted scriptures from the Bible until well after Fancy was asleep. Subliminally perhaps some of the messages would become ingrained in Fancy’s mind. SaVoy went upstairs, found a pillow and blanket, curled up on the floor by Fancy, and slept.

  In the morning, SaVoy was taking her best friend to her doctor. And when Sunday came, SaVoy was taking Fancy to church.

  CHAPTER 34

  Yesterday, despite SaVoy’s greatest efforts, Fancy was adamant and refused to go to church. SaVoy had said, “The Lord said come as you are,” but Fancy was certain He meant her heart and did not mean come with broken acrylic nails and a worn-out hair weave.

  Desmond said he couldn’t loan her any more money and Fancy would rather be homeless than live with SaVoy or Caroline.

  Fancy parked at a meter on University Avenue. She unraveled her plastic bag, covered the meter, and headed across the street. Mandy had agreed not to charge her for the thirty-minute session.

  Fancy didn’t speak to the receptionist. She walked into Mandy’s office, took her usual seat, and began talking. “I’m cursed.”