“Funny, man, or should I say son.” He imitated a New York accent.
“Please don’t do that again,” I said, making fun of his pretend New York accent. “You crazy. Where you, at work?”
“Hey, man. Trying to make a little pocket change. So what do you do again?”
“I work freelance on production projects and I work the night shift at Channel 2 news.”
“Oh, excuse me but that doesn’t sound so busy.”
There was a slight pause on the phone. I didn’t really understand what he meant.
“I asked you why you were still single last night, and you said you are a very busy lady,” he said, trying to explain his previous comment.
“Oh, I am a very busy person. I work a lot. My job is my life right now.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I said, interrupting him. “I meet guys and they always say that’s cool, they like a girl that works and all that other good stuff. But I’m different, I really do work a lot. My life right now is my success and my career. It’s hard being black and a pretty decent-looking female in my line of work.”
“JR—” David tried to say something, but I just kept on talking.
“My work always leads me to the club or entertainment events, so this is how I know so many people, and my line of work keeps me out and about, staying relevant, you know,” I tried to explain myself as if he asked me to do so.
“JR,” David said, “JR.”
“Oh, my bad, I am so sorry.”
“No, you’re good. I guess you heard this before, but I do understand. It’s cool, I respect that about you. At least you ain’t one of these girls out here just looking for a dude to take care of them. Good guys like us always finish last.”
“So you’re trying to say you’re one of the good guys,” I said in a seductive voice.
“I guess you could say that, but you can be the judge of that.”
“Okay, I guess I will.”
“So what are you doing today? I know your schedule is all crazy and stuff, but do you have a moment today for little ole me?”
“Very cute. I’m actually off for a few days and don’t go back to Channel 2 until Friday night and I don’t start a new project until next month. So this is like a short month for me.”
“Cool, so what’s good? You want to catch a movie or something?”
“A movie would be cool,” I said.
“Well, it’s four o’clock now; I get off work in an hour. What do you want to watch?”
“I’m not too picky; anything is cool. What side of town are you on? I live in Stone Mountain.”
“I stay over in Gwinnett.”
“Gwinnett,” I repeated back to him. “That is so far from me.”
“Girl, please, I’m like fifteen minutes from you. I used to live off of Mainstreet, back in the day.”
“Oh, I have a house over off Mainstreet.”
“Is that where you live now?”
“No, I live in my other house.” Damn, I hated the way that sentence came out.
“Damn, nig, how many houses you have?”
“I have two, nig,” I said, trying to sound sarcastic.
“Two houses and how old are you again?”
Damn, I hated where this conversation was going. “I’m only twenty-three, but I’m not rich or anything, I just work very hard and try to make some wise investments. Besides the house I’m in now is my mother’s investment property. I recently moved and rented my townhome off Mainstreet last month since my mom’s rental is larger.”
“It’s cool. It’s hard to find a female that got her shit together.”
“Thank you.” That didn’t go that bad, I thought to myself. Most guys would say some stupid-ass comment like, I want to be like you when I grow up, or can you buy me a house, or my personal favorite, baller, can I have some money for my down payment?
“JR,” David said, snapping me back into reality.
“Sorry.”
“You okay?” David laughed.
“I’m good.”
“So I’m on the Internet now at work. What movie do you want to see?”
“I don’t know, what movies are playing? I’m game to watch anything except scary movies.”
“I guess Saw is out of the question, then,” David said, laughing.
“Yes, it is. Unless you’re planning on moving into my house, so I can sleep at night for about a month or so.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad, Saw it is,” he said.
“Funny.”
“Damn, there isn’t much showing. If I get off work at five, there’s a six twenty showing of Troy.”
“Oh, the new Brad Pitt movie. That sounds cool. Where is it showing at?”
“It’s showing at Cinema 24 off of Pleasant Hill Road.”
“Pleasant Hill Road. Where is that? It sounds familiar.”
“It’s located in Gwinnett. If that’s too far, we can go to the movies off of I-85, but traffic might be kind of bad,” David said.
“No, the one in Pleasant Hill is fine. I just don’t know how to get there.”
“Do you know where Gwinnett Place Mall is?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” I said while looking into my huge walk-in closet full of clothes.
“It’s located behind the mall.”
“Okay, that’s cool. I’ll see you in—” I paused for a second to look at the clock. “Damn, it’s past five o’clock. Aren’t you off of work?”
“Yeah, I am, but I was enjoying the conversation, I didn’t want to say anything.”
“That was sweet, but if you don’t stop me, I’ll talk your ear off.”
David started laughing. “You don’t say. Alright, I’ll see you in an hour or so.”
“Alright, see you in a bit.” As I hung up the phone I began dancing around like a schoolgirl in my closet. “What to wear, what to wear? Nothing too dressy, but still cute,” I said to myself while pulling out about five pairs of my tightest jeans. Of course I have to show off my best asset, referring to my ass, which I was extremely proud of because my small waist made my Coke-bottle shape even sexier.
“Parasuco or Baby Phat?” At least I narrowed it down to two pairs of jeans. After about another ten minutes of trying on clothes, I finally decided on my dark blue Baby Phat jeans, a white V-neck sleeveless shirt and a pair of white Air Force 1s. Why dress up too girly for a movie? He already seen me at my best last night at the club.
Thank goodness I had just got my hair done yesterday and my hair was still in good shape even after all the dancing we did last night. One final look in the mirror and I was good to go.
I was speeding down the highway to get to the movies. I didn’t want to keep him waiting.
“Damn, am I too early?” I said to myself after looking around and not seeing him. “Wait a minute, I don’t even know what car he drives. Calm down, JR, you got this.” First dates always made me nervous and I never knew why. Anyway, I parked the car and applied a little bit more Mac Lipglass to my lips. “Can’t forget the gum,” I said as I began to look for some gum in my purse. I was all set, so I decided to get out of the car and make my way up front so he could see me when he pulled up.
“Yo, shorto, can I holla at you for a sec?” some guy from behind me yelled.
“No, I’m good.” I kept on walking toward the door, without looking back.
“Just like a New Yorker,” the guy said. This time he was a few steps behind me.
“You stupid as hell,” I said as I stopped and turned around.
Damn, the club lights did him no justice. He was looking fine as hell with some blue jeans, a button-up and a clean pair of Air Force 1s.
“Can I get a hug?” he said, snapping me out of my vision.
“My bad.” I hoped he didn’t notice me damn near drooling over him, but the way he was looking me up and down, I could tell he was also checking me out.
“Have you been waiting long?” David asked as he leaned in
to hug me.
“No, I just pulled up.”
“Come on, the movie is about to start.” He grabbed hold of my hand and walked us inside to buy the tickets. “Do you want any popcorn or candy?”
“No, thank you. I’m good.”
“Don’t be trying to act cute. What, are you watching your weight?” David said as he poked at my very flat stomach.
“Sorry, I’m very health conscious. I don’t eat much fatty or junk food.”
“I like what I hear; I try to watch what I eat as well. I try to work out at least five times a week and play basketball as much as possible.”
“Hey, me too. I work out at LA Fitness.”
“I work out at the LA Fitness on Pleasant Hill.”
“Oh, there’s an LA Fitness around here?”
“Yeah, it just opened a few months ago. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest ones in Atlanta. Maybe one day we can work out together. I don’t know if I can keep up with you.” David laughed as he tried to feel my arm muscle.
“First of all, all my muscle is in my legs, and second of all, my trainer has me on a strict workout schedule on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Saturdays are my free workout days.”
“I’m scared of you,” David said as we sat down as the previews started.
***
“That was a good movie,” David said while he was stretching from his chair.
“Yeah, it was pretty good.”
“So, what’s next? Do you want to get something to eat?” David asked while cracking his neck.
“You gonna make it? You all stretching and stuff, old man,” I said, laughing while we walked out of the theater.
“Old man, aw.”
“Yeah, old man, how old are you again?”
“Funny, first of all, that was a three-hour movie and the chairs were very uncomfortable.”
“I’m just kidding, relax, old man.”
“Oh, and twenty-six.”
“What?” I said, confused.
“My age. I’m twenty-six. My birthday was last week.”
“Oh, happy belated birthday.”
“Thanks, so we game to get something to eat or what?”
“Sure, why not.”
“We can take my car, unless you want to drive?”
“No, you can drive. I hate driving sometimes.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll have to come and pick you up for our next date.”
“How you so sure there will be a second date? And even though I hate driving sometimes, I hate to depend on a ride because I have a fear of being left if the date goes bad.”
“Well, damn, nig, I guess I have to drive to your house and you can drive to our second date so you can leave me if the date goes bad. And yes, I said second date.”
As we walked toward his car, the only thing I could think of was, what kind of car does he have? He was from Atlanta and all; for all I knew, he could have a hooptie or Caddy. He really didn’t look like the Caddy type.
“Don’t be too sure,” I said as he pulled out his car opener to automatically open his car door.
Beep, beep was all I heard as he pressed the alarm off for his 2003 Acura TL.
“Oh, I’m sure,” he said as he opened the car door for me.
I couldn’t help the cheesy-ass smile on my face. “Nice car,” I said with a stupid smile of relief.
“What did you expect, a Cadillac?”
Damn, he is good. He must have been reading my mind. “No, I wasn’t expecting a Cadillac, I was expecting a hooptie.”
We both busted out laughing.
“So, what ya got a taste for?”
“You are so country; it’s cute.”
“Oh, so you think I’m cute,” he said, popping his collar.
Damn, he got me. All I could do was smile and laugh at the same time as he continued to pop the collar on his shirt.
“So, what do you eat, Miss Health Nut?”
“I eat almost everything except red meat, pork and fried foods.”
“Well, that is a lot of things not to eat. How long have you not eaten red meat?”
I just smiled at him because I got the same response when I told people how long it had been. “It’s been about thirteen years.”
“Damn, that’s a long time.”
“I know, but it’s cool, it doesn’t bother me. I really don’t remember what it even tastes like.” The date was going great; I didn’t even realize we had been inside the restaurant for over two hours. After dinner we just sat in the restaurant and talked and talked for hours. I felt like I was having dinner with an old friend. It was very refreshing. I knew from that night on, this was a good guy.
***
Ring, ring. “Hello, this is JR.”
“Hello, JR. How are you doing?”
I got so caught up in daydreaming about David and me, I forgot I was heading to Virginia to meet up with Toni for the weekend.
“Hey, honey. What’s up? How is everything?” I said.
“I’m good, where are you at?”
“Oh, hold on, I’m pulling up to a highway sign now… I’m about thirty-two miles away. I should be there in about thirty minutes or so.”
“Okay, that’s cool. I’m about three hours away.”
“Three hours, I thought you should be a little closer than that. This means you won’t be in until after midnight.”
“Yeah, I was trying to follow my friend’s bootleg directions. It was supposed to be a shortcut through Alabama. That stupid shortcut had me driving through a residential area at thirty-five miles an hour. That was a waste of my time. It set me back like an hour.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, babe. Well, I’ll be there in a minute. I can get some work done and relax until you get there,” I said, but didn’t really understand how that could tie him up by an extra two hours. Virginia was halfway between us, so I figured he would be an hour behind me, not three hours. I wondered if he was really in Alabama when he said he was the first time he called. Anyway, at least I could finish up some work and relax a bit before he got there.
***
“Thank you, lord, for getting me here safely. Please continue to bless and guide Toni on his journey here,” I prayed to God as I dropped my things down on the bed and looked around my weekend suite.
“Let me start unpacking and get some work done before I fall asleep. Sleep, why am I thinking about sleep? I have way too much on my mind to fall asleep. I’m about to meet the guy I fell in love with over the phone for the first time, or should I say second time. Damn, what should I wear?” I put my laptop to the side and began looking through my open suitcase. “What to wear? Of course, I have to show off my best assets.” Smiling to myself, I immediately thought of the perfect first/second meeting outfit. “Perfect,” I said to myself as I laid out a white pair of boy shorts and a small black express shirt with the word “sexy” in diamonds on the front pocket.
“This is cute, yet sexy, and I can sleep in it,” I said to myself. I managed to finish my report, took a nice long bath and got my thoughts together as I began to put the outfit on and still no Toni.
Ring, ring.
“Hey, babe, where are you?” I said, excited to hear Toni’s voice on the phone, knowing he would be here soon.
“I just got the room key and I’m coming up. I was making sure you were still up.”
I had actually dozed off, as it was one o’clock in the morning. Toni took four and a half hours to get to the room from the last time we spoke, not three hours like he said.
“I’m up now.”
“Sorry I took so long. Traffic was crazy, I also stopped to grab dinner and charge my phone at a rest stop.”
I was so tired and excited at the same time I didn’t even say anything.
“I’m getting on the elevator now; my phone may cut off in here. So I’ll see you in a few seconds,” Toni said as the elevator door closed.
I swore the room was spinning after I hung up the phone.
Knock, knock, kno
ck. My heart skipped a beat after each knock at the door. This was the moment I had been waiting for, but why was I afraid to open the door? I immediately jumped at the door and looked through the peephole and saw the man I had been speaking to on the phone for over two months.
“Well, here goes,” I said to myself as I assisted him in opening the door.
“Hello, babe,” was the only thing I said as our eyes connected as one for the first time as lovers.
His arms were so strong and felt so good wrapped around my body. Tears began to fall down my face as I held on to my new man. After about a two-minute hug, we pulled apart. Again I looked into his eyes and my heart stopped as I noticed a small tear roll out of his eye.
“Babe,” I said as I embraced him again.
“I love you, JR.”
“I love you too, Toni.”
After another minute or two went by, I pulled us apart and said, “Okay, okay, enough of the mushy stuff. How is everything? I’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time.”
“You and me both,” Toni said as he began looking through his bag. “I got something for you.”
“You do?” I said, flopping on the bed like a little kid waiting for their presents on Christmas Day. “What’d you get me?”
He pulled out a small white bag. “Now, you got to calm down. It’s not that big of a gift.”
He threw the bag to me and I opened it, and to my surprise it was some old pictures of people I didn’t know. I was so confused. I looked up at him and just smiled. He sat down on the bed next to me and said, “I know we’re moving fast, but I told my family about you. They wanted to meet my ‘soul mate,’ but first I wanted you to meet them.”
We stayed up for hours, going over the pictures and confirming what we felt in our hearts for each other these past few months… LOVE.
***
“Thank you so much for a great weekend. I love you so much. I don’t want to say good-bye,” I said as I grabbed a hold of him in front of the Marriott hotel. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too, JR. Please don’t cry,” Toni said has he held me in his arms and rubbed my back. “Shh, I love you too. I will never forget this weekend. Don’t think of us being apart. Just think of all the new memories we made this weekend. Think of how much fun we had in the park, at the zoo, at dinner and in the room.” He pulled me apart from him and helped me wipe away my tears and kissed me good-bye.
Lust and Lies (The Jamie Reynolds Chronicles #1) Page 8