Turned Out Saga

by Angel M. Hunter

  “Yeah, okay. I saw you take a peek at the calendar.”

  * * *

  Thomas and Zyair met during their first year of college. They attended Rutgers University in New Jersey together, and hung out with the same crowd. One evening when they were standing in the hall, Thomas overheard Zyair talking about his sloppy-ass roommate that was pledging a fraternity. “I’m about to go upside his head.”

  Thomas was going through the same thing with his roommate and was in the process of finding an apartment off campus. He’d need a roommate if he wanted extra cash to spend on the ladies. He decided to approach Zyair. “Yo, man, I’m about to get an apartment off campus, if we split the cost, we can get a two bedroom and it’ll save me a few dollars.”

  “Yeah, but what will it save me?” Zyair asked.

  “I don’t know what it’ll save you, but you just might get peace of mind.”

  Zyair looked at him and tried to sum him up. He recalled seeing Thomas around campus talking to the finest ladies. He also knew that Thomas wasn’t a slouch in the academics department. Although he dressed like a thug and talked liked he was from the streets, he ran track and stayed on the dean’s list. He’d appreciate a change because his roommate was a slouch, loud, and irritating. Peace of mind was definitely something he could use.

  “Yo, man, thanks. It sounds like a plan but I need to see the place first.” Zyair wasn’t stupid. He knew that college students could only afford so much. He knew what he could afford, and he wasn’t too sure if he wanted to give up safety for comfort.

  The apartment turned out to be in a decent area of New Brunswick, close to downtown and near public transportation, so he moved in.

  Thomas and Zyair got off to a smooth start. Both of them were neat freaks. Nothing was ever out of place. When they had women over; they were always impressed, especially when they learned they kept the place up themselves. They also never had any major disagreements, especially when it came to women. Zyair liked them attractive and smart, while Thomas liked them ugly and dumb. His theory was ugly women treat you better because they want to hold on to you and would do just about anything to make that happen. Zyair didn’t have a theory. He just wanted someone he could carry a conversation and be seen in public with. It wasn’t long before they became the best of friends.

  They’d stay up late at night and talk about any and everything under the sun. They had each other’s back. Where one might slack off in studies, the other picked up. They complemented one another, balanced each other out.

  They became like brothers. Zyair’s parents would send Thomas necessities when they sent Zyair’s, who never felt cheated because he knew Thomas grew up in a foster home without family.

  Thomas and Zyair still had each other’s back. They’d drink together and even go so far as to have sex in the same room. Well, that was before Champagne came along.

  Occasionally Zyair would recall with disdain an incident that took place their senior year. They’d had a party to celebrate their upcoming graduation. Drinks were flowing, and weed was being passed back and forth like water. Everyone was having the time of their lives.

  As the clock ticked and hours passed, the crowd started to disburse, until there was about ten people left. And what was a party with people dancing, laughing, and having a good time became an orgy.

  How it happened is still beyond Zyair’s knowledge. All he knew was that one minute he was kissing this girl on the couch, and two minutes later he looked up to find a group of five having sex near the fireplace, and two other couples off to the side doing their thing. Dicks were being sucked, people were fucking doggy style.

  There was no pussy eating. Back then, that was something the brothers denied doing, so to actually be seen doing it was out of the question.

  Full of liquor and weed, Zyair decided to see just how far he could go with his female friend. It ended up being all the way.

  Later that night, after everyone left, Zyair lay semiconscious out on his bed. He could barely move. His head was pounding. That night was his first night experimenting with weed, and he recalled hearing someone say it was laced with something.

  Feeling a little out of it, he found himself falling asleep. He woke up with someone’s lips wrapped around his penis. Not even bothering to open his eyes, he figured it was the girl he’d been with earlier. He decided to go with the flow and take the pleasure ride. He started moving his hips and grinding into the person’s mouth and went to reach for their head when he heard his door open.

  “What the fuck?” Thomas yelled out.

  Zyair opened his eyes and looked down to find Ty’ron, a classmate and fellow partygoer with his dick in his mouth. Shocked, embarrassed, and confused because it was feeling so good, Zyair’s initial reaction was to jump up and push Ty’ron’s head away. He then kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall back. Zyair was about to beat his ass to pulp but Ty’ron got up to run out the room.

  “Close the door!” Zyair called out.

  Thomas did as he was told.

  Zyair looked at Thomas and tried to convince him. “Yo, man, I’m not gay. I was in here passed out. I wake up and this motherfucka has my dick in his mouth.” Zyair took a step toward Ty’ron.

  Ty’ron covered his face, like the punk he was, and immediately started apologizing.

  Zyair was up on him when Thomas said, “Wait! Wait!” and stood between them.

  “Move out of my way, man, or you’re going to get hurt too.”

  “Nah, man. I’ve got a better idea. Let’s humiliate him instead. That’s what we used to do in foster care.”

  “Fuck humiliation! He needs his ass kicked!”

  Thomas started to unzip his pants and turned toward a frightened Ty’ron. “You want to suck some dick? Here’s a dick for you.”

  Zyair was shocked. “Yo, man, what the fuck are you doing?”

  “Let him finish his job on the both of us.”

  Zyair looked at Thomas like he’d lost his mind. “I ain’t gay, man.”

  “And neither am I. He started it, let him finish.”

  Zyair, not being sure what to do and caught between confusion and anger, decided to just follow Thomas’ lead, and together they forced Ty’ron to do them both. They knew he wouldn’t say anything for fear of what it would do to his reputation.

  This incident stayed their secret. They never told a soul about it and discussed it only once, and that was the following day.

  “Yo, man, what made you come into my room?” Zyair asked.

  “Well, when you were doing Sarah, I saw Ty’ron watching, and it looked like he was watching you harder than her. When you went to your room, he said he was going to the bathroom. Something just didn’t feel right. He was taking a long-ass time to come back, so I thought I’d check on you. Shit, you better be glad I did because ain’t no telling how far he would have tried to go.”

  “How come you just didn’t let me beat his ass?”

  “That would have been too easy.”

  “I don’t know, Thomas. I don’t feel right about what we did. I’m not gay, and the shit feels wrong.”

  “Man, please . . . just because you let another man suck your dick don’t make you gay. When I was in foster care, it was either that or get beat down. Which route would you have taken? Don’t even worry about it. It’s between us. We don’t even have to talk about it anymore.”

  To Zyair, just because it wasn’t talked about didn’t mean it didn’t happen. It was something he thought about occasionally but never discussed ever again with anyone. He decided that the incident was something he would take to his grave.

  * * *

  Later that evening Zyair and Champagne sat on the couch discussing Champagne’s business plan. Suddenly Zyair glanced at his watch. “Oh, shit.”

  “What’s up?” Champagne asked.

  “I forgot I told Thomas and the boys I’d hang out with them. Today is Thomas’ birthday.”

  Champagne didn’t know whether to believe him o
r not. It’s funny how insecurity can creep up on you at any given moment. Ever since they’d had their we-need-a-change-in-our-relationship talk, she’d been second guessing herself. Then out of the clear blue sky, Zyair informed her that he was hanging out that night, which didn’t make it any better. She knew that he was anal about his schedule.

  “Where are y’all going?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I’ll call you while I’m out.”

  That made her feel a little better, because he couldn’t be doing too much if he telephoned her.

  “What time do you think you’ll be back?”

  Zyair stood up. “Why the third degree?”

  “What? I can’t ask you any questions?”

  Not in the mood for an argument, Zyair chose not to answer. Instead, he just leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll call you while I’m out.”

  Chapter Five

  “Friends” Whodini

  Zyair and his boys had taken to doing something at least once a week.

  While in the mall shopping, Champagne admitted to Alexis that she was a little jealous.

  “Girl, please . . . don’t be jealous. A man needs his space, just like a woman does. I’m sure you don’t want to be cooped up under some man all day every day. You need to be you and let him be him.”

  “I know, but I’ve gotten spoiled. It’s just been me and him for the past couple of months.”

  “Reality check! You’ve also been miserable. Plus, you’re going to have him for the rest of your life. What’s a couple of hours here and there?”

  * * *

  Champagne knew Alexis was right. She also knew she was going through some emotional shit right now. She felt like she was on some sort of roller coaster. She was definitely leaving her job. She was going to start a new company, and to top all that off, Jackson expected her to train the new girl. She was feeling a little sensitive and a lot overwhelmed.

  Camille, her new partner came in making demands, acting like she was Whitney or some other diva. Champagne knew that Camille and Jackson were fucking. The way he was rolling out the red carpet for her, there couldn’t have been any other reason. He was even paying her a higher starting salary than normal, and as if that weren’t enough, what really broke the camel’s back was when he tried to hand over one of Champagne’s better clients, who politely told him that the only person he was interested in working with was Champagne.

  Thank God, she had already talked to some of her clients and informed them she was leaving. Most of them said they would like to continue having her service them, no matter where she was employed. She informed them that she would have to look over their contracts first. She didn’t want to get into trouble legally by stealing clients under contract. If she discovered she couldn’t be held liable for them leaving, so be it.

  * * *

  “You know, tomorrow is the day I’m officially handing in my resignation.”

  Alexis didn’t hear her because she was looking at a pair of shoes. Champagne knew not to repeat herself because nothing came between Alexis and her shoes.

  “What do you think of these?” Alexis held up a pair of white three-inch heels.

  “I don’t like white shoes, you know that.”

  “Well, humor me.”

  “Anyway, I’m resigning tomorrow, and I’m a little nervous about it.”

  “That’s understandable.” Alexis looked at the cashier and told her she’ll take the shoes in a size eight. “Champagne, honey, you’re about to embark on a big project. Starting your own business isn’t something small. You have a right to be nervous. I believe in you, though. You’re smart, and you’re a go-getter. It’ll all work out.”

  * * *

  Champagne heard what Alexis was saying. She knew she was right about her being a go-getter. Shit, mostly everything in life she wanted to achieve she’d achieved. She and her brother Sir were raised by a single mom, who tried her damnedest to instill in them a sense of pride and self-esteem. She told them over and over that they could be whatever they wanted to be and do whatever they set their minds on doing. Champagne believed her. Sir didn’t. Growing up, neither of them knew their fathers.

  Sir was two years older than Champagne and always seemed to have a hard time, as a child and as a man. It was like he was cursed. He just couldn’t seem to get it together. He did average in high school, flunked out of college, couldn’t find a job, and turned to drugs.

  Champagne blamed it on the fact that there wasn’t a male figure around, someone to guide him and be an example. Champagne and her mother tried to help him the best they knew how but to no avail. Sir committed suicide at the age of twenty-two. It devastated Champagne. She went into a shell for over a year, not talking to anyone or doing anything. School was all that mattered to her. She was determined to graduate at the top of her class.

  Champagne became an overachiever and sometimes she still found herself falling into the am-I-doing-enough, am-I-achieving-enough trap. Every time you turned around there was something else she wanted to do. First, she wanted to be a teacher, then a counselor, then in the arts. She went back to school to get her master’s and was considering going back to get her doctorate. Why? Because she could. She often wondered, Why settle, when the world has so much to offer?

  What drove her were memories of her brother and his unhappiness, his insecurities, his failures and, most of all, his suicide. There was no way she would be so displeased with her life that she would take her own, so her response was to consume herself with work and Zyair. She knew it was unhealthy, but she didn’t know what else to do about it.

  After her brother’s death, she and her mother barely spoke. Whenever she tried to initiate a relationship, she was pushed away. Eventually she gave up but her plan was to correct that soon.

  * * *

  “You know what? You’re right, I can do this. I’m intelligent, I’m talented, I’ve made some of the clients more popular than they ever believed possible. Most of them want to come with me when I leave, so what do I have to be concerned about?”

  Alexis smiled. “Now that’s what I like to hear.”

  “What’s on your agenda this evening?” Champagne didn’t have anything planned, Zyair was working late, and she didn’t feel like being by herself.

  “I’ve got a hot date, girl.”

  “Get the hell out of here. When was the last time you’ve been on a date? Does he go to your church or something?”

  “No, he don’t go to my church. And why you gotta rub in the fact that I haven’t been on a date in some time? Actually I met him at the Laundromat.”

  “The Laundromat? What were you doing at the Laundromat? You have a washer and dryer at home.”

  “Something is wrong with the dryer. Anyway, let me finish. I had just finished putting my clothes in the dryer and was about to walk out when this fine, with a capital F, brother strutted in. I was about to leave, but I hesitated.”

  “You hesitated?” This surprised Champagne because Alexis never ever made the first move. She was a Christian and believed that women shouldn’t go looking for men, that men are the hunters.

  “Yeah, girl, that’s how fine he was. Not only that but there was this magnetism about him that just drew me.”

  Champagne couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  She laughed. “Magnetism?”

  Ignoring her; Alexis continued, “So I turned around and decided to wait until my clothes dried and see if he would strike up a conversation.”

  “Did he?”

  “After a good ten minutes of waiting and not even a hello, I said to him, ‘Are you new around here? I’ve never seen you before.”’

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did, girl. It was a weak line, but it worked. He’s new in town. Only been here for three weeks. His name is Khalil. He works construction.”

  That surprised Champagne because Alexis usually didn’t go for blue-collar brothers. “Construction?”

  “Y
es, construction. Anyway, we talked a little more, and he asked me if I’d like to go out for dinner one night. So I said yes.”

  “You said yes?”

  “I figure why not. I’ve been praying for God to send me the right mate, and I’m not saying he’s it, but I know I need to be more open and stop carrying this list in my head on what the perfect man is.”

  “I know that’s right, because your list was unrealistic.” Champagne recalled Alexis and her pulling out a piece of paper with “the qualities of a good man” on it. It went something like this: Christian man, honest, hard-working, making sixty Gs a year, over six feet tall, in good physical condition, great lover, no kids, must be at least thirty.

  After reading the list, Champagne told her, “I’ve already got the man.”

  “Don’t brag.”

  “What are you willing to compromise on?” Champagne asked.

  “Well, you know there’s one thing I’m not comprising on, and that’s him being a Christian.”

  “Is he?”

  “Yes. I asked him what churches have he attended since he’s been in town. He said that was the first thing he did, find some place to serve the Lord.”

  “Get out of here.”

  “I know, right. “

  Champagne was glad for Alexis and told her so. “Make sure you call me, no matter what time it is, and let me know how things go.”

  “You know I will.”

  They shopped a little while longer and separated in the parking lot.

  Champagne hoped this Khalil guy was the one for Alexis. She was tired of seeing her best friend single, and thought she deserved a man, some children, and the white picket fence with the big yard, all the things little girls dream of having when they picture their lives as women.

  * * *

  When Champagne was young she dreamed of being rich beyond her means, jet-setting from place to place, purchasing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it. A man was never in the picture. Don’t get it twisted, Champagne didn’t think she’d be lonely for life but her main concern was to make her life successful. She’d been in and out of relationships, mostly shortterm, dated occasionally, and had sex once in a while. Then she met Zyair and her life plan changed.