Full Figured 13

by Mona Love

  But I could always count on my mother’s sick logic to give me an excuse. My mother would always preach, “Remember, good men are hard to find, and they all have faults. When you get one, you better hold on to him. Somebody else would gladly snap him up.”

  That’s how I rationalized things in my head, until I couldn’t any longer.

  * * *

  “You know, all of my years living in New York, and I’ve never come to this place. Heard about it, couldn’t afford it,” Leitha said as we walked into Mr. Chow’s, a well-known celebrity haunt in the city. Leitha and I both loved Asian fusion food. Mr. Chow’s was as fancy as everyone made it seem, too. The white tablecloth service, glass bar tops, and expansive ceilings gave the inside of the restaurant a bright and inviting but rich feel.

  “I love it in here. I love to be able to just get up and go anywhere I want to go without counting pennies,” I replied.

  “I hear you, girl. Life has definitely changed for the better,” Leitha agreed.

  We were seated at a prime table. It seemed like the perfect spot: not too far from the door, so we could see the comings and goings, not too far from the bar, so we could have drinks faster, and close enough to the restaurant’s center so our new-money-groupie asses could snap pictures of celebrities if we spotted any.

  “So what’s good on the menu?” Leitha asked as she scanned her leather-bound menu. The scent of roasted garlic, fresh seafood, and newly authentic Chinese food made both of our stomachs growl.

  “Girl, you asking me? I don’t know, but I’ve heard that everything is good here. I think I want to try every entrée,” I replied without looking up from my menu. “I’m going for anything spicy that goes over white rice and is enough to fill up my big-ass stomach.” I laughed.

  Leitha nodded her agreement. “All of that sounds good to me.”

  “Good evening, ladies.” The waiter approached, taking a quick little bow in front of us. “I’m Khan, and I’ll be serving you this evening.”

  “Even the waiter looks expensive,” Leitha joked. “He look like he only serves millionaires.” Leitha eyed him up and down. We giggled.

  “I’ll start with an order of dumplings,” I said.

  “The spicy ribs for me,” Leitha said.

  “Any drinks, ladies?” Khan asked us.

  “For me, something sweet and potent.” I winked. Khan nodded, smiled politely, and rushed from the table.

  “It feels like we’ve been missing out,” Leitha said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Like, we used to spend more time together when we were broke,” she said solemnly.

  She was right, but I didn’t want the mood of our day out to change. “Let’s move past that. Let’s promise to make sure we do this more often. As long as you don’t beat me up about my relationship every time we are together,” I said, kind of on the defensive. Leitha’s eyebrows arched in understanding.

  “LeLe . . . Oh, shit,” I whispered, abruptly changing the subject. I squinted and stared past Leitha. I was suddenly clued into someone near the bar. Leitha had opened her mouth to say something but quickly snapped her lips shut and turned slightly to see what had me so caught up.

  “LeLe, th . . . that’s him,” I stammered, unable to break my gaze.

  “Him who?” Leitha questioned, confusion evident in her tone.

  “The knight. The guy,” I said.

  “Who? Girl, you got me confused as hell,” she said.

  “That’s Andre. The mall . . . The lottery number name dude,” I huffed excitedly. Leitha wore a blank look.

  “Remember the guy who helped me up in the mall and then I used his name to play the lottery numbers that helped me win?” I prattled off.

  “Oh. Hiiim,” Leitha said, suddenly recalling.

  “Yes. Oh, my God. Is this fate or what?” I whispered, kind of flabbergasted since I never thought I’d see him again in life.

  “Are you going to go over and say something?” she asked while I dreamily kept my eyes glued to Andre and his company, which was all dudes.

  “Yes. I have to go over and introduce myself. This has got to be fate,” I said excitedly. “What are the chances of us coming to this exact spot and the hottest Good Samaritan I never thought I’d see again in life being in the same spot at the same time?”

  “Yes, fate,” Leitha declared. “And maybe a new man in your life to boot.”

  “Your ass never stops, do you?” I said, shaking my head at her slick comment. “Mama LeLe never stops trying. I got to give it to you, bitch.”

  “I know. I know,” she said, laughing. “Enough about me. Go make your move. Shit, I ain’t offended. I know what it is like to see destiny right in front of your face,” Leitha continued. “Just make sure you get the damn phone number this time, silly ass.” She winked.

  I smiled gratefully. “You’re the best. I’ll be back before the food comes. Promise,” I said as I eagerly slid from behind the table. Malek flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t help this urge. It was like something else had come over me when I saw Andre again. I stood up, took a deep breath, fluffed my hair, and started confidently toward the bar.

  Hi, remember me? The fat girl you helped up in the mall? I rehearsed. “No, you can’t say that, stupid,” I scolded myself. C’mon, Keisha. You got this. He will definitely remember you. Shit, not like you’re some forgettable skinny bitch. You got this.

  “Hi, Andre.” I walked right up to him with the confidence of a sexy model. “I don’t know if you remember me. Keisha, Keisha Long,” I boldly said, smiling all goofy.

  Andre furrowed his brows, his eyes scanning mine as if he was trying to place my face.

  “Atlantic Terminal Mall, the floor, Target flip-flops,” I said for clarification, feeling kind of stupid for approaching him now. “You helped me up after a bad fall and a bad high heel that wanted to do its own thing.”

  The creases in Andre’s forehead eased with understanding.

  “Ahh. Right! I remember now. How are you?” he said, his voice going up a few levels. He turned all of his attention to me. My heart jerked.

  Damn. Now what? I don’t even know what else to do. I fiddled with a stray string hanging from the bottom of my dress. “I’m well. Thanks for asking.” I beamed.

  “That’s good.” Andre nodded.

  “I was out with my best friend and saw you and figured I’d come over and buy you a drink,” I said levelly, trying to stave off my nerves.

  Andre chuckled. “I’m usually the one buying ladies drinks,” he said.

  “Well, I figured since you helped me out and I never got to say thank you, it’s the least I could do,” I replied, smiling. Without another word, I tapped the bar to get the bartender’s attention. “Two of whatever he’s been drinking. Bill to my table over there,” I instructed, pointing at the table where Leitha sat staring, curiosity playing all over her face.

  “This is a nice turn of fate,” Andre said, facing me. The left corner of his mouth curled upward with intrigue.

  “And if I told you the real turn of fate about our first meeting, you might not believe me,” I said, climbing onto the bar stool next to him. Andre’s friends exchanged looks with him and moved aside to make room for me. As I got closer, I immediately picked up the scent of Issey Miyake, my favorite men’s cologne. Malek flashed through my mind for a quick second again. A wave of nausea followed. I swallowed hard and pushed the thoughts down. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I just wanted to make sure Andre knew how he’d changed my life.

  “Well, try me and see if I believe you,” Andre said, touching my hand softly. My body warmed up. I watched him examine me as if he were making an assessment, but I can’t front, I did the same.

  This man is as fine as I remember him to be. Damn! Stop it, Keisha. Stop!

  My stomach fluttered. Andre moved his hand. I fiddled with that string on my dress again. Of course I had seen Andre before, but I didn’t think I remembered nor was I prepared for how gorgeou
s he was up close and in person. Andre had the most gorgeous eyes and full, kissable lips. I blushed. I could feel it.

  “Well, that day you helped me, I was so thankful I went to the store and used the letters of your name to play the lottery,” I said.

  Andre chuckled. “Nice. Well, I hope you won.”

  “That’s the thing. I did,” I said, smiling wide.

  Andre choked on his sip of drink. His eyes went wide. “What?” he wheezed.

  “I sure did. You were my lucky charm. So now you understand why seeing you here today was like . . . I don’t know how to explain it,” I said.

  “Damn! That’s amazing. Glad I could help out,” he replied with his perfect smile painting his lips. This man was so hot my underarms itched with sweat.

  “I’m glad you could too,” I said. “It was totally unexpected, but you’ve changed my life in a lot of ways, Andre.”

  “Wow.” He flushed. He reached into his pocket. “I tell you what, Keisha. Let’s stay in touch,” he said smoothly, extending a card toward me.

  I took it. I was kind of disappointed he made it like a business transaction, but still, I happily took the card.

  “Please call me,” he said.

  “Okay.” I smiled, the butterflies batting around in my stomach making me sway a little bit.

  “What about you? You got a number for me?” he asked.

  That made me happy, and without thinking about Malek or the consequences, I rattled off my number as Andre punched it into his cell phone.

  “Got it,” he said.

  “Well, make sure to use it,” I blurted without thinking, letting him know I hoped to hear from him.

  Andre nodded and grinned. “For sure. Can’t keep fighting fate, right?”

  “Right,” I agreed. My whole face was on fire. Whew! Something about this man. Mmmm!

  “I guess I will see.” He winked.

  “You won’t have to look far,” I said with a rare self-assured smile.

  “Looking forward to hearing from you.” With that, I walked away, knowing that he was following me with his eyes.

  “Well?” Leitha asked before I could sit down.

  “Girl,” I huffed, trying hard to keep my cool.

  “Mmm-hmmm. Sure looked like you got up close and personal,” she said, leaning into the table like she was looking for the tea.

  I waved her off. Couldn’t have her getting all excited for nothing.

  “I’m just saying. Nothing wrong with moving on from the other one,” Leitha said, twisting her lips. “Especially with that fine one.”

  “Girl, stop. Let’s eat, drink, and be merry. I’m going to act like I never saw Andre at all,” I said. But I was definitely lying through my teeth.

  Chapter 7

  Revelations

  I groaned lazily and stretched my arm out, blindly feeling around on my nightstand for my ringing cell phone. I finally placed my hand on top of the noisy nuisance, slid it off the nightstand, and clumsily raised it to my ear. “Hello,” I grumbled without opening my eyes.

  “Keisha!” Leitha shouted. “I need to speak to you right away. Are you alone?” she continued, rushing her words out on waves of panic.

  “LeLe, what the hell?” My eyes popped open at the sound of my friend’s frantic voice. “What’s the matter?” I squinted across the room to my floor-to-ceiling windows. It was still kind of dark outside. Malek was not in bed. I didn’t even have time to question where the hell he would be so early in the morning, or so late at night, whichever way you wanted to look at it. I moved my cell phone from my ear and looked at the time. 5:10 a.m.

  Leitha was speaking so fast. With the fuzziness of sleep still clouding my mind, I couldn’t understand anything. “LeLe. You’re . . . I can’t understand.” I finally sat up.

  “I, um . . . He . . . he was . . .” Leitha stumbled over her words.

  “Okay. Okay. Slow down,” I said.

  I could finally hear Leitha take a deep breath and blow it out. “I need to come see you right now. I can’t explain over the phone,” she said.

  My heart began hammering so hard it took my breath away. I could tell Leitha was crying.

  “Do you want me to meet you?” I gasped. This wasn’t like her at all. She was the strongest person I knew. “Is it you? Bobby? Who?”

  “Malek,” Leitha said. “I saw him, Keisha,” Leitha said through tears.

  “This again, Leitha? You scared the shit out of me,” I said, gripping my phone so tight the veins in the top of my hand ached.

  I was out of bed, pacing now. My stomach swirled with waves of nausea, and my head throbbed from being woken up in a panic. I stopped for a few seconds and pinched the bridge of my nose.

  “Are you there?” Leitha asked.

  “I’m here,” I replied, moving aimlessly on my feet again.

  “I’m sorry, Keisha. I have proof,” Leitha said, sobbing heavily. “I know you wanted this to be real this time. But I can’t let you get hurt again. I am worried about you.”

  “I’m fine. I guess we need to meet up. I have no idea what’s going on,” I said calmly, although my heart was knocking against my chest bone.

  “You going to be okay until I get there?” Leitha asked.

  “Girl, I’m fine. I swear. I’ll be fine. I don’t even know what’s going on, but whatever it is, you’re real upset over it,” I said.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” Leitha said uneasily. She took a shaky breath. “Keisha?”

  “Yeah, girl?”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said in a low whisper. As the words left her mouth, I felt all the air in the room swirling around me, and I think I fainted.

  * * *

  Leitha came barreling into my house about an hour later. I didn’t even know what to say, because I didn’t know the extent of the information she had. “Hey, girl,” she said all solemnly and gave me a hug.

  I returned a dry hug. “You have me on pins and needles, LeLe. What’s going on?”

  Leitha shook her head. I knew her well, and she was totally undone. Her hair was frazzled, her eyes were swollen from crying, and she was just sad.

  “Just tell me,” I said.

  “I know this will be hard to hear and see, but I have to tell you as a friend,” Leitha said, delaying.

  I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, listening intently. “Go on,” I huffed impatiently.

  “I don’t want you to be mad. But I never trusted Malek, so I had him followed by a PI,” Leitha relayed, her words dropping like bombs in my ears.

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Leitha?” I exploded, calling her by her full name, which I never did. Leitha put her hands up as if to halt me. I folded mine across my chest in defiance.

  “Keisha,” Leitha said, sympathy lacing her words, “I just had your best interest in mind. I want what’s best for you, and I just didn’t trust him at all. Something about him just didn’t sit right with me.”

  Before I could say a word, Leitha reached inside her pocketbook and removed a big business-sized envelope. Instinctively, I took a few steps back, not sure what to expect. Leitha kind of did the same. She tossed the envelope onto my glass coffee table and stared at me expectantly.

  My shoulders slumped, and I inhaled deeply. My heart pumped so hard and fast it hurt. I swallowed the fear forming into a ball in my throat. What the fuck is this? Why would she have him followed? Why is she doing this to me? My mind raced. I already felt like my worst fear was coming true.

  “Proof,” Leitha said calmly, folding her hands in front of her. I sucked in my breath and hesitantly reached for the package. But something inside of me was just angry.

  “This is bullshit, Leitha. You just don’t seem to want me to be happy, and I don’t understand it,” I exploded.

  My best friend was not fazed. I guessed she could see that I was struggling with the truth and my feelings. A royal battle was going on inside of me.

  “I want you to be happy, that’s it, and that’
s all. Period. All this extra shit is not needed. The truth about that bastard is what’s needed,” Leitha shouted.

  I was visibly nervous about what might be in the envelope. I stepped around Leitha and lifted the envelope. Proof. Proof. The word played in my mind like a scratched CD as I tore at the sealed envelope. I felt an uneasy tightness in my chest as I dumped eight four-by-six photographs into my hand. My mouth hung open slightly as I scanned the first picture. I squinted to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me. My head moved from side to side involuntarily.

  “No,” I whispered breathlessly. Heat rose from my toes up to my face. I knew my face was beet red. I bit down into the side of my cheek as I flipped from one incriminating photograph to the next. I looked over at Leitha then back at the pictures. My nostrils flared as I tried to keep my breathing under control.

  “When did you get these?” I asked Leitha through my teeth.

  “Over the past month or so, I had the PI on the case. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was hoping the PI would come back with nothing and we could all live happily ever after. I just wanted you to know everything, Keisha,” Leitha said gravely. “So like I always suspected, Malek came back so he could get some of your money. He doesn’t love you, I don’t care what act he put on. If you don’t believe what I am telling you, I have more proof that this is true,” Leitha said, pulling out her cell phone.

  “What?” I asked.

  Leitha made a call. “Yeah, you can come to the door now,” she said and then disconnected the call.

  In shock, I watched as Leitha walked my expansive hallway to my front door and pulled it open to allow someone inside.

  At that point, I was shaking. “What the fuck is this?” I growled, my voice unsteady. I was on edge, to say the least.

  “Come in,” Leitha instructed.

  “I’m not feeling this shit right here, Leitha. In my own house,” I complained. I still clutched the pictures against my chest as if that could make what I’d seen disappear.