The tone in Jawan’s voice picked up immediately as he said, “Hey, Deahnna! I’m sorry I didn’t recognize your voice.”
“Yeah. I, uh, had something in my throat.”
“Are you OK?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Good. So why did you hang up?”
“I’m sorry. I got another call just as I was calling you that I had to take.”
“Oh. Well, do you need me to let you go?”
“No, no. I’m . . . my call is finished.”
“OK. Good. So how have you been?”
Deahnna smiled at the sincerity in his voice. “I’ve been good. Had a busy rest of the weekend, and then work today, and a hair appointment to fix myself up right afterward. Kind of been nonstop since we’ve spoken.”
“I see that. So, a hair appointment to fix yourself up?”
“Yeah. I was looking a little raggedy.”
“Really? From where I was standing, you were looking far from raggedy,” he said, the tone in his voice dipping to a low, seductive growl that made bumps rise along Deahnna’s arms.
“It was dark in the gym,” she said, her cheeks feeling warm. “You didn’t really get a good look.”
“Oh, trust me, I got a very good look.”
Deahnna’s smile widened, and she was glad she wasn’t standing in front of him having this conversation. She cleared her throat. “So, I had a good time Friday night.”
“So did I,” Jawan replied.
Deahnna chuckled. “Believe it or not, it was actually one of the best nights out that I’ve had in a long while.”
“Hmm,” Jawan said. “And it wasn’t even a date.”
Just imagine if it were, Deahnna thought. “So, are you busy?” she asked.
“Not extremely. I’m just here at the school grading some papers.”
Deahnna looked at the time on her alarm clock sitting on her night table. It was nearing seven o’clock. “Do you always work this late?”
“More than I like to. I occasionally take work home, but I try to leave that time for myself. It helps keep me sane, you know.”
“Yeah,” Deahnna agreed. There was a brief moment of silence, but the silence didn’t feel awkward. Instead, it just felt . . . natural. Felt as though they could sit together in silence and everything would be just fine. “So,” she said after another couple of seconds. “How is Grady?”
During their conversation at the dance, he’d mentioned his feline companion.
“You remembered his name. I’m impressed.”
“Well, I was paying attention.”
“I see that.” Jawan laughed. “Grady is loving life as a bachelor.”
“Mm-hmm. I see. So the bachelor life is where it’s at, huh?”
“For Grady it is.”
“Oh, come on. And it’s not for you?”
“Trust me, the bachelor life is overrated.”
“I bet a lot of guys would beg to differ on that.”
“Guess I’m just not like a lot of guys,” Jawan replied, his voice confident.
Deahnna raised her eyebrows. No, you’re not, she thought.
“I’m actually thinking about converting Grady, though,” Jawan said.
“Converting him?”
“Yeah. I’m thinking about finding him a little kitty to keep him company.”
“Really? Why?”
“Grady’s a great cat, but he has a tendency to disturb my sleep, especially in the morning. I figure with a lady friend in his life, he could leave me alone.”
Deahnna laughed. “Aren’t you worried about becoming a grandfather?”
“Nah. I’ll just put him out if that happens.”
“That’s mean.”
“Hey, if he wants to act like a man, then he’ll have to do what a man’s supposed to do and support his family. I told him that too.”
Deahnna laughed again, something she found very easy to do with him. “You better be nice to Grady, or I’ll have to come over there and rescue him, and then report you to the humane society.”
“You come over here?” Jawan said. “Hold on. Let me go and hang him by his tail really quick.”
More laughter from Deahnna as Jawan called out his pet’s name.
“You’re just mean,” she said, chuckling.
“So, you’re coming over then?”
“Ha-ha. Not tonight.”
“Sorry, Grady. Looks like we’ll have to postpone the torture to, say, Friday night?”
Deahnna smiled. Very, very smooth, she thought. “Are you asking me out, Mr. White?” she asked, surprised at the playfulness in her voice.
“I’m just saying . . . Friday night would be a good night to torture Grady.”
“In that case, I guess I need to make sure that night is free for me to rescue him, huh?”
“You don’t have to. But I can’t promise that Grady would make it through the night.”
“You’re a sick, sick man,” Deahnna said.
Jawan laughed. “Tell you what: why don’t I save the torture for another night, and maybe on Friday we can do a movie or something?”
“Hmm . . .”
“Torture or a movie. It’s up to you.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” Deahnna said.
“Hey, I’m just giving you options.”
Deahnna laughed and shook her head. “OK, sicko, if I must choose . . . let’s go with the movie.”
“OK. Anything in particular that you want to see?”
“I’m open for anything. You pick.”
“OK,” Jawan said. “Debbie Does Dallas it is.”
“Ha-ha. Nice try.”
Jawan laughed. “Hey, you said you’re open for anything.”
“Not that open.”
“OK, OK. I’ll skip that one for now and pick something a little lighter for you.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“So, Friday at seven?”
“Seven is fine with me.”
“OK. What’s your address?”
“Tell you what: why don’t I meet you at the school?”
“Ah. I take it you don’t want Brian to know?”
“Well, you are his teacher. It might be a little awkward for him.”
“Hmm. OK. I’ll concede.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Another few moments of comfortable silence passed before Jawan said, “Well, I don’t want to go, but I have papers to finish grading.”
“I understand. Well, it was very nice talking to you again.”
“Yes, it was,” Jawan agreed.
“Don’t kill Grady tonight.”
“On my honor, I promise not to touch a hair on his head until you can come and save his hide.”
Deahnna smiled, and felt her cheeks grow warm again. “OK.”
“I’ll see you Friday, then.”
“OK. Good night, Jawan.”
“Good night, Deahnna.”
Deahnna ended the call, and the smile that was spread across her face grew wider. She lay back against her headboard, took a breath, and let it out slowly.
She had a date.
She was still uncertain about the landing, but she never imagined freefalling could feel this good.
11
She said yes.
Jawan smiled, and drew a red line through a wrong answer on an exam paper he was grading.
Since he’d given Deahnna his cell number, every time his cell phone rang, Jawan had looked at it with eager anticipation, hoping it would be her. There’d been an instant chemistry between them, and his hope was that she’d felt it too, thereby prompting her to call him the next day, even though he knew the chances of that were slim because rarely did anyone ever call the very next day or, sometimes, even the day after that. But she’d said she’d been on the go all weekend, and Jawan could tell by the tone in her voice that she’d felt the connection too. He had no doubt that had her days not been so hectic, he would have heard from her sooner.
He smiled again, but then quickly frowned as he drew red lines through another two wrong answers. It was Eduardo’s paper. His shoulders dropped a bit as he let out a breath filled with disappointment. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to convince Eduardo that life didn’t end after high school. That he could be more than just the class clown.
It was a battle he and many other teachers were fighting every day across the country, and while there were victories, there were just far too many losses. Far too many kids with defeatist attitudes, who teachers, despite their best efforts, just could not reach. Eduardo had the potential to be like LaKeisha and Brian, and a few other students he had, but in Eduardo’s mind, the payoff of college and beyond just wasn’t worth the effort.
Jawan frowned, wrote a large D at the top of Eduardo’s test, and grabbed another exam to grade, while putting his mind back on Deahnna Moore.
She’d said yes.
He hadn’t necessarily intended on asking her out so quickly, but their conversation had been so natural, so easy, and so free, that popping the question just seemed like the logical thing to do.
And she’d said yes.
Jawan smiled as he quickly ran through LaKeisha’s exam. As was always the case, she’d aced it. He gave her an A and then grabbed one of two papers he had left. This one belonged to Brian. As he did, his cell phone rang. He looked at it, hoping it would be Deahnna again. But it wasn’t, and the call was no less disappointing.
“What’s up, fool!” he said, answering.
“JawanaMan. What’s up, dude!”
Jawan smiled. When the ridiculous movie came out years ago, his cousin, Nick, automatically gave him the moniker.
Nick had moved from New York to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an Academy Award–winning actor. He wanted to be the next Denzel and be in an ungodly amount of movies like Samuel L. Jackson. He’d taken countless acting classes to refine and develop his craft, and had performed in numerous off-Broadway roles before making the leap to LA.
But his road to getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame had taken a detour when he was approached at the gym one day and offered a payment of $5,000 to star in a film that was being shot the following day. Living life as a struggling and starving actor, the $5,000 had been just the thing Nick had needed, as his rent was two months overdue, his refrigerator and cupboards were anorexic, and he was sure his Jeep was days away from being repossessed. He did the job the next day, received the cash as promised, and before his head had hit the pillow that night, he had four more acting gigs lined up. Nick still hoped to land an Oscar, or at least a role that would propel him toward receiving one, but until then, he was content being a leading man in the adult film industry.
“What’s up, cuz?” Jawan said, putting his pen down.
“Not much, dude. Just got a break between shots, and I wanted to give you a shout about something before I got back to work.”
“Work? What you do is work?”
“Shee-it, dude. You have no idea. Hittin’ pussy for a living ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Yeah. OK.”
“I’m serious, dude. Some days I can’t even get my shit up for the scenes.”
“Really?”
“Man, if it weren’t for the special handlers we have on set . . .” Nick paused and blew out a breath. “It looks glamorous on the TV screen, dude, but, trust me, it’s grueling work.”
“Damn, Nick. If it’s that tough, then why don’t you get out of the business and try to hit the mainstream?”
Nick sucked his teeth. “Dude, unless your name is Denzel, Will, Samuel, or maybe Don, Hollywood ain’t tryin’ to give a brotha a real role. And they most certainly are not going to pay me what I’m making now. Shit, grueling work or not, fucking pussy is a lucrative profession.”
Jawan laughed. “Yeah, I know it is.”
“You could be collecting this green too, dude. I told you I have mad movies for you to star in.”
Jawan shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I don’t think that would be a good example for the kids. I’ll just leave it to you professionals.”
“Shit, dude, if you know how to bang a chick, then you’re already a pro.”
Jawan laughed again. “Thanks, but I’m happy to be a spectator every now and then, catching it on Cinemax.”
“Cinemax?” Nick said. “Shit. That’s baby stuff.”
“Well, it’s sufficient for most people.”
“Yeah, OK. Anyway, dude, I wanted to ask you something.”
“What’s up?”
“Will you be one of the groomsmen in my wedding?”
Jawan sat up in his seat. “Wedding? What? Hold up. Something’s wrong with my cell, because it sounded like you were telling me that you’re getting married. That’s not what you were saying, was it?”
Nick laughed. “Yeah, dude. I’m getting married.”
Jawan’s turn to say, “Shee-it. Nick the Dick is getting married. The world is coming to an end. So who is the, um, lucky woman? And does she know what you do for a living?”
“Her name is Cheryl Hannah, although you might know her as Mylie Stylus.”
Mylie Stylus. Behind Jenna Jameson and a few others, she was one of the bigger female stars in the porn industry. Her movies were well known.
“For real?”
“Yeah, dude. We’ve done a couple of movies together, and unlike with all of the other people we worked with, when we kissed and fucked, it was real, because we had a real connection. We started dating exclusively about six months ago, and I just popped the question last night.”
“Damn, cuz. Well, congrats.”
“Thanks, dude. It was unexpected, but it’s real and it feels good being with her.”
“Cool. But I have to ask: with her becoming your wife, does that change how you feel about other guys having sex with her?”
“Hell yeah, it does,” Nick exclaimed. “And it’s changed for her too.”
“So, how are you two going to deal with that? I mean, that’s what your profession is all about.”
“We’ve already talked to our agents and all the directors we work with. We reworked our contracts to state that the only kind of sex we’re going to have with the opposite sex will be oral. When it comes to fucking, we’ll be fucking each other exclusively.”
“Oh. OK. I guess that’s a good compromise,” Jawan said, cocking an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Oral ain’t shit but sucking and licking. There’s nothing personal about it.”
“OK,” Jawan said, not particularly buying the logic.
“So anyway, dude, we’re getting married in two months and I want you to be a groomsman. I would have had you be the best man, but I had to reserve that for her dad, since it was on his film set that I first met her.”
“Her dad?”
“Yeah. He’s a director.”
“Damn.”
“All you need is a plane ticket, dude. Then you can come and join the family and get paid.”
“Hmm. Intriguing, but, again, I’ll respectfully pass.”
Nick laughed. “So what’s up, JawanaMan. You my groomsman or what?”
“Of course.”
“Cool. The wedding’s gonna be out here, but my boy Tracy’s gonna throw a bachelor party for me in NYC in about a month, so I’ll see you before then. And I know you’re not missing that.”
“Cool. And definitely not.”
“Good stuff. So anyway, how are things on your end? Still teaching at Lane?”
“Yeah. Still here.”
“Nice. What about females? You get over your ex’s ass yet and start living again?”
Jawan smiled as an image of Deahnna flashed in his mind. “Yeah, man. I did. I actually met someone.”
“Oh yeah? About damn time. So who is she and where did you meet. Was it at the library? I hear they’re freakier than the chicks you meet in church.”
Jawan broke out in laughter. “I didn’t
meet her at the library, but I did meet her at the school. Well, the school dance.”
“Really? She’s a teacher?”
“The mother of one of my students, actually.”
“Word?”
“Yeah. We were both chaperoning the dance last Friday. We kind of hit it off there. We’re going out this Friday night.”
“Good stuff, dude. Sounds like it could be something.”
Jawan raised his brow. “Definitely could be.”
“Cool. Well, if she’s still around when the wedding comes, make sure you bring her.”
“Will do.”
“All right, dude. They’re calling me over. I’m getting a blowjob from two midget females.”
Jawan shook his head. “You’re crazy, man.”
“Tell Scorsese to cast me in his next blockbuster and to pay me what Will is getting, and I’ll leave this all behind. Until then, I’m busting a nut and getting paid.”
“OK, cuz,” Jawan said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes as he laughed. “Go and suffer through it.”
“All right. I’ll e-mail you info about the bachelor party and all of the wedding details in a couple of days.”
“OK, man.”
His cousin ended the call. Jawan hit the end button, put his cell down, and shook his head with a smile. “Married,” he said. “Craziness.”
He picked up his red pen, grabbed Brian’s test paper, and was prepared to write an A across the top when he noticed something odd. Brian had answered the first question incorrectly. Jawan marked a red line through it, and then went to the second question, and was surprised to see that it too was wrong. He went through the rest of the paper, and when he was finished, he wrote a C- across the top.
Something wasn’t right.
He knew Brian knew the answers to the questions, because he’d answered almost all of them during class discussions on different days.
Something was definitely not right.
Had his wrong answers been in retaliation for the conversation Jawan had had with him after class? Would he sabotage his grade in order to make Jawan leave his mother alone?
Jawan shook his head.
Brian wasn’t that stupid. He wasn’t that irresponsible.
Something else had to be behind the C-.
Jawan gathered all of the exams, putting Brian’s at the top. He would have a talk with his student to find out what was going on. Brian had too much potential for something like this to be ignored. Besides, he’d meant what he’d said to Nick. Something was there with Deahnna.
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