“So,” she said after getting into his car. “Where are we off to?”
Without breaking eye contact, Drew said, “You look . . . beautiful.”
Zelma smiled as she checked him out as well. “Don’t make me blush; besides you ain’t looking too bad yourself, Mr. Staley. So tell me, where are we going? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!”
“First do me a favor. Put your finger in your mouth.”
“Put my what in my what?” she said, and tilted her head down. “See, I knew you were some kinda closet freak, Andrew!”
With a laugh Drew said, “Come on, just do it.” When she did so and removed it quickly while staring at him suspiciously, he said, “Okay, now put it in the air.”
“Oh, that’s so cute,” she said, catching on to what he was doing. “It’s blowing, ah, thataway,” she said, pointing to the left of her house. Drew put the car in reverse and they headed in the direction of the wind to start their date.
“You must excuse my wrap, but I couldn’t squeeze another day out of this hair. I called Marcel and he’ll see me tomorrow, so you’re in luck.”
Drew smiled as he put on his tortoiseshell Ray-Bans, and then he felt Zelma’s full lips on his cheek.
“I just had to do that. Thanks for getting me out of the house and being so sweet. And besides, now all the pressure is off. We’ve kissed and now we can just enjoy our date. Right?”
“Right,” Drew said, smiling more on the inside than he displayed on the outside.
“Tell me something,” Drew said, and inserted a CD. “How often do you think about him?”
“Vince? All the time, that’s all. But I’m getting better. It’s been less than a year since we broke up, and you know, I used to cry every time I saw a green Camry like his. You know, there are a lotta green Camrys out there. I could just see her in it with her blond hair blowing out the window and him grinning and stuff, but I got over that. It takes time, but you’ll get over what’s-her-face too. I now look at the relationship and try to learn as much as I can from it. But to be honest . . . it still stings a little.”
“If Felicia taught me anything, she reminded me of something my dad told me years ago. He told me you get what you got. I hate to say it, but people don’t change. I saw a lot of things I did not necessarily like in her and I tried to overlook them. She was often selfish, mean-spirited, and downright nasty at times, but I tried to make her the woman I wanted her to be. Looking back now, maybe that’s why she decided to hurt me the way she did. Maybe because I wanted her to change.”
“That’s not true. Andrew, I’ve listened to you talk about her, and I think she probably loved you more than you know, but what she did didn’t make sense. She was bitter. Point-blank.” Zelma spoke with her hands as if she were giving a presentation. “She was bitter because she got dealt a bad hand and decided to leave this world with a bang. I don’t really know you that well, but from what I do know of you, I know you did not deserve to be treated like that.”
Drew stared down the road and turned the volume down on the song “I’d Do Anything and Everything to Fall in Love.” “Tell me something? Do you still see his face whenever you hear a love song? That’s my biggest fear. Whenever I hear a love song . . . I’ll always see her. She’ll always be there.”
After driving an hour, Drew slowed the car in the middle of the two-way road, and Zelma immediately looked back for traffic. “What are you doing?” she questioned with a smile of anticipation.
“This is where we will have our date.”
Looking up and down the deserted stretch of highway, Zelma said, “On the side of a highway? There’s nothing out here but trees and . . . See, I knew you were gonna take me on a country-boy date. You got moonshine back here or something, don’t you?”
“Don’t tell me,” Drew said, turning off the road. “With that attitude you must be a New Yorker. Right?”
“Born in Jamaica, Queens, and you might not want to forget it. Hey, where are you going!” Zelma asked, laughing as they drove through an open gate down a bumpy path through the woods. “Andrew, where are we going! I’m serious! Wait a minute! Wasn’t Ted Bundy from Florida?”
“You’re sick,” Drew said, laughing. “Just lean back, love, and enjoy the ride.”
Drew continued driving for about a mile through the thicket until they reached a clearing with a large oak tree at its center. Beneath the oak was a picnic basket, and tied to the tree was a large brown and white mare.
“Oh no. Andrew, this is,” she said, forming a circle with her lips, “too much. How did you get the horse out here? And what about the picnic basket? Are those fresh flowers on the ground beside it, and how did you know which direction the wind would be blowing, and how—”
“Zelma? Please hush,” Drew said, looking at the expression on her face. “I just knew you had been putting in a lot of hours and so I wanted to get you away from the rat race and all. Give you time to just lie out under a tree and relax for a few hours and catch your breath. Is that okay?”
Looking Drew in the eyes, she leaned toward him and kissed him on the jaw. A pinky’s width from his lips she said, “You really don’t know how much this means to me.”
“You’re welcome.” And then Drew took her hand and whispered, “I have only one request for today, okay? This is a date for two friends. Therefore, Vince and Felicia are not invited. Deal?”
“You know, Andrew, you are so amazing.”
First Drew showed Zelma all the items he had packed for their day together. He had even brought the imported white seedless grapes and smoked Gouda cheese she’d mentioned in one of their conversations that she liked so much, and a bottle of her favorite white wine. Drew mounted the horse, then reached down and pulled her up in front of him. As they rode, she leaned into his chest a little more than she had to, and he squeezed her much closer than was necessary. The field was lush, the wind gently blew the tall stalks of grass, and the only sight on the horizon was a Winslow Homer-like burnt orange barn in the distance.
After the ride, Drew and Zelma returned to the clearing, ate lunch, and talked about their dreams, their ambitions, and their goals. Never did comments surrounding their past relationships come to the table, and it was not as difficult to keep the ghosts away as either of them had expected.
“You know what?” Zelma said from her place on the blanket as she ate grapes and looked up at the green leaves of the large, oak tree. “I have never done anything like this in my life. I mean where I grew up, you saw this as something people only do in movies.” She paused and looked at Drew before adding, “That was the first time I rode a horse. Could you tell?”
“Yeah, and I got the fingernail marks in my wrist to prove it.”
“Stop lying,” she laughed. “Seriously, though, thanks for bringing me out here, and thanks for not telling me where we were going, because I would have most definitely thought of an excuse not to show up.” She stopped chewing as she looked up at the clouds above. “You know what I miss most about a relationship?”
“What?”
“Having someone there. Not in a sexual way or necessarily at my house or what have you, because except for those few weeks with Vince, I have been on my own since I was seventeen. I mean not having someone to call and check in with if you are going to make it home late and all. Usually,” she said, sliding a grape between her lips, “when we find out we have to work late at the office, everybody is complaining and running to the phone to rearrange their plans or contact sitters. You know what I do? I don’t want to be left out, so sometimes I call my house just to check my messages. And sometimes I don’t even have any damn messages,” she said with a melancholy tone in her voice. “One time I had car trouble out on 1-75 headed here from Atlanta. A fan belt or something, I think. It was past midnight and my cell was not working for some reason. I was about five miles from the next exit and I wasn’t about to hitch a ride. So I walked to a hotel back at the last exit. By the time I got there, I was exhausted. I was sweaty a
nd had broken both of my heels. My hair was standing on end, and of course, I get to the counter and the clerk who helped me asked what happened. When I told him, he said, ‘Well, ma’am, here’s a phone. Would you like to call someone to let them know you are okay?’ He was just being nice, but, Drew, I almost lost it on the spot. I couldn’t think of one . . . damn . . . person to call.”
“It’s tough,” he said after a pause. “It’s real tough at times. But it will make you appreciate the good times when they come along, I guess.”
Zelma shook her head, looked at Drew, and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I went there. I just wanted to say thanks for what you did for me today. I needed this.”
“You’re welcome. Well, we have a couple of hours left of sunlight,” Drew said, looking up at the sky and inhaling the brisk air surrounding them. “What would you like to do?”
His mind immediately went to sex, but Zelma dug her toes into the soft grass, put the ball back in his court, and said, “No, you have done an okay job with this date-planning thing. I’ll let you make the call.”
“Let’s go back to my place,” Drew said before he could pull back the words. And then he softened it by adding, “I rented Love Jones from Blockbuster and I have to take it back tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Zelma said with a smile. “That sounds like a plan.”
As they walked through the door, Drew went to his answering machine to check for messages. As he glanced from his kitchen to see Zelma admiring his decor, he was tom between offering her a glass of tea and a movie or a taste of wine in front of the fireplace. When she asked him about his music collection, he answered her question and thought, It’s the only way to get over her. It’s the only way I can get on with my life.
“I like your place, Drew. I never knew you were into both Biggie Smalls and acid jazz, and are those Annie Lee prints?”
“Yes,” he said from the kitchen where he was pouring two glasses of wine. “I picked them up at an exhibit last year. Do you like?”
“Impressive. Your house looks warm. Not like a bachelor pad.”
“Well, what were you expecting, bean bags and a big pool table in the living room or something?”
Zelma exclaimed, “Damn, Andrew, you have a screened-in pool? Man, I’m in the wrong line of work.”
“This is for you,” he said, walking up behind her with a glass of Chardonnay. Zelma turned toward him slowly, moved aside his hand holding the drink, and kissed him. This kiss was anything but a friendship kiss and was much more than anything they had shared before. When their lips parted he held the wineglass softly in his cupped hand between two fingers, and rocked it to a swirl before he blindly placed it on the end table. After a brief pause to heighten the moment, he then wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss with passion.
“Andrew?” she said, breaking away a moment and looking into his eyes. “What about the movie?”
“Saw it before. They fall in love in the end,” Drew said, and leaned her back to reclaim her lips. He felt Zelma shake as he moved his hands from her back, grazed her erect nipple, and then held her face gently.
As he did so, Zelma looked down and whispered, “Andrew, do you think you’re ready for this? I mean, seriously. Let’s not start something we can’t finish. Do you really think you’re ready to take this step?”
“Yes,” he said, and kissed her sweetly on her forehead. “I want to be with you. I want to hold you. I want to be held by you.” Then he grasped her face and looked back and forth at each of her eyes. “Zelma. Zelma, you have done more for me in the past couple of days than I thought anyone could do. I had so many doubts about myself, but you’ve helped me find something in me I thought was lost. Do you know how long it has been since I’ve even poured two glasses of wine? I know I’m ready for this. I just hope you are.”
As she moved back from Drew, Zelma smiled, took off her shoes, and headed for the pool area. When she did so, Drew went into the kitchen to retrieve some items to make their encounter unforgettable. He and Felicia had made love in the same pool on many occasions, and if he was to weed her out of his mind, he was now convinced that this was the evening to take a giant step toward doing so.
Zelma bounced on her toes in the pool. Then the lights went out and the pool area was completely darkened. “Andrew,” Zelma said with expectation in her voice as she heard the clinking of glass, “what are you up to?”
Drew stood silently at the head of the pool, watching Zelma as waves of expectation rushed through his body and moonlight cut across the water like a razor. From the silence came the rip of a match being struck and its accompanying blaze. The illumination pierced the darkness with a red flame which turned to orange, then to yellow, but remained blue at its base. Drew lit the tip of a candle and sheltered its burn by cupping his hand around it as he walked and set it at the pool’s corner. He then repeated the action and set the next candle at the opposite end of the water. Feeling her eyes upon him, Drew paused and glanced back at his guest. As he smiled at her, his heart pumped faster and he could feel sensations inside that left goose bumps on his forearms. He moved to the head of the pool and brought the fire close to a large candle. Zelma watched him intently as he slowly brought the heat to the wick without breaking eye contact with her. Realizing what was missing to make the moment even more special, he abruptly walked away.
“Hey! Hey, Andrew! What’s up! Where you going?” Zelma called.
There was silence in the house until music flowed from the speakers surrounding the pool like honey from its comb. Drew returned to the pool to find Zelma with her eyes closed. As he sang the lyrics to “Do Me Baby” Zelma opened her eyes and said, “On se plaire fera moi?”
“Cute, but I told you my college French was rusty.”
Closing her eyes again, she said over the music, “I said, you enjoy torturing me like this, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he replied. “How can you tell?” And then Drew pulled out his belt and allowed his pants to settle at his feet. The clink of his buckle was heard as it hit the concrete, and Zelma looked at him as he pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his rippled stomach, and tossed it aside. While inside his excitement stirred, it was not shown on his face as he eased into the pool, never breaking eye contact with her. Drew swam toward the middle of the pool, and with every stroke he felt himself want her more. Wanting to hold her and stroke her and feel her caress over his body. He knew inside if this night was memorable, it could obliterate some of the haunting memories of the past.
“Damn, baby, damn,” Zelma purred. “Andrew, what are you doing to me?”
As he got closer to her, Drew’s head disappeared underwater.
“Andrew? What are you doing? Why are you under—”
And then Drew softly allowed his kiss to glide from the top of her foot up to her knee over her thigh until it rested at the center of her white silk panties. He could feel her tense body relax as he softly kissed her twice in the same spot and then slid his elongated kiss up to her navel and between her cleavage. His tongue followed the soft lines of her neck under her jaw and ended on her lips. He held her body close to his as the bitter months of confusion and frustration dissipated.
“Damn, baby, damn,” Zelma repeated. “If that’s the appetizer . . . Andrew, I don’t know . . . if I could handle your main course. Andrew, why?” she said between gasps of air. “Why are you doing this . . . to me?”
“Zee, the night is just beginning. Tonight,” he said, kissing her on the forehead, “any fantasy you have ever had, we can make come true.” And then Drew leaned her head back into the dark blue shimmering waters and left evenly spaced kisses up her shoulder, inching his way toward her neck.
“Andrew, Andrew, Andrew,” Zelma managed to say through clenched teeth.
“What, baby?”
“Bite me, baby. Bite me now,” she said, and leaned her head to the side, “right there, baby.”
Drew paused and smiled. “You’d like that, huh?”
Drew held her close as their torsos kissed underwater and bit her firmly on the base of her neck. Zelma closed her eyes tightly and tried to make a sound, but none would come out. And then in one motion she managed to draw him still closer and wrapped her legs around his waist. Drew then brought her away from the edge and leaned her head toward the water. After she dipped her hair, Zelma gazed at him with an I’m-ready look in her eyes, but all he saw was Felicia and the way she’d looked their first night in the house.
Drew closed his eyes tightly and submerged his head to kiss Zelma’s hardened nipples, but it was too late. His heart was pounding, and although he was in the pool, his mouth was so dry his tongue stuck to the roof. Zelma was only there physically; otherwise it was he and Felicia in the pool again. I can’t do this, he thought. Drew’s head came from the water and he held back. His breathing became labored and he could feel his excitement wilt.
“Andrew? Andrew, baby, what’s wrong?”
He looked at her and shook his head. “I can’t do it,” he whispered. “I can’t do this.”
“Baby,” she said, attempting to calm her breathing. “Andrew? Baby, I know it’s hard, but this is the first step. Baby, you can do this. You know Rome wasn’t built—”
“Getcha clothes.” Drew lifted his nude body from the pool. “I’ll give you a ride home,” he said, leaving a trail of wet footprints from the pool to his living room.
Chapter 18
Monday, three weeks later
Betty brought her head up from her files long enough to notice it was 10:15 A.M. and another morning had passed during which she had not spoken to her prince. The morning “I just called to say I love you” calls were fewer and much further in between as she reminded herself that he was subconsciously pulling away because of her obligations. That’s fine, she thought as she scribbled notes on a legal pad regarding the case. Jury selection was scheduled to began in three days, and the trial the following week. God knows I don’t need the distractions now anyway.
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