by Darrien Lee
Exhausted, he stared down at her with a strange look on his face. Breathless, she slowly opened her eyes and said, “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Where did that come from?”
“You know where it came from. You know what you were doing to me.”
“I was hoping for a response, but I never expected that. I almost lost my damn mind, girl. You made me wanna tear up something.”
Venice smiled. “It feels like you did. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. You’re trying to get me addicted to you.”
He played in her hair and asked, “And what would be so wrong with that?”
“I’m scared,” Venice readily admitted.
“Of what?”
“This. Us.”
“It’s because of him. Isn’t it?”
Venice was silent for a moment.
“Craig…it’s so complicated.”
“Because you’re making it complicated. You know how I feel about you. Maybe if I spoke Spanish, I’d know what you were saying.”
Venice grinned and asked, “Do you want to know what I said?”
He kissed her cheek. “Yes.”
She put her arm around him and said seductively, “I said you feel so-o-o good! I want you so much! Then I said some curse words and finally I said that I love you.”
Craig blushed. “I wish I could’ve heard it in English.”
She brushed her lips against his and said, “The night is young.”
He smiled and they continued to kiss deeply and meaningfully. She laid in his arms for the rest of the night. Craig was finally content that he knew Venice loved him, but Jarvis still lurked in the shadows.
Twenty-Six
Craig craved Venice all the time. She was smart and fine. He had no idea that he would end up turned out over her. He’d dated women before, but none like her. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was definitely different. Craig found himself staring at her all the time, trying to figure it out. He could see why her ex was so possessive and dreaded losing her. Venice had an air about her. She didn’t take any shit off anybody and she and was very, very, independent. Some men would’ve thought that she was too independent. Craig had never dated anyone who didn’t constantly call or try to keep up with him. Venice was one of a kind and he wanted her all to himself.
It was about four-thirty when Craig was awakened by Venice’s voice. As his mind adjusted, he laid there listening.
“Please don’t. Please! I won’t say anything! Stop! Please!”
Craig rose up to listen closer. Venice began to whine in her sleep and appeared on the brink of screaming out.
“Venice! Venice! Wake up! What are you dreaming about?” Craig asked, shaking her awake.
Venice began to come out of it, but she didn’t seem to recognize him. She screamed out and started pushing him away. He grabbed her arms and shook her again.
“Venice! It’s me, Craig! Venice! Wake up!!”
It took a few seconds, but she finally woke up completely and hugged him tightly. She began breathing very hard.
He hugged her. “Calm down. What’s wrong? What were you dreaming about?”
“I don’t remember. I just remember being scared. I just want to go back to sleep.”
Craig was a little puzzled, but decided to momentarily leave it alone. He pulled the covers over them and Venice immediately went back to sleep. Craig, however, couldn’t go to sleep. Venice’s actions had caught him off guard. She hadn’t even recognized him at first. Even though it would be difficult, he decided to wait until morning to pursue the issue.
Venice woke up Sunday morning feeling exhausted. Craig was still asleep and she wanted to just lie there and watch him sleep. He was so sweet and sensitive, which was very special to her. How could she be so lucky to find someone to help fill the void of missing Jarvis so much? Venice knew her mother would love to meet him and she was anxious to take him home to meet her family. Thanksgiving was coming up and it would be the perfect time. Bryan had already given his okay. The final call would be up to her daddy, the other man in her life. She didn’t know how Jarvis would take the news.
Craig began to stir out of his sleep. He opened his eyes slightly to find Venice staring at him. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
He pulled her over to him so they’d be lying face to face with his arm around her waist. “Venice, is everything all right with you?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You don’t remember what happened last night?”
Venice assumed that he was talking about their passionate session and blushed. “I could never forget that, Craig.”
“Not that, Venice. You don’t remember screaming out in your sleep and fighting with me?”
She looked confused and said, “Fighting with you?”
“Venice, you were talking in your sleep. Something about please don’t.”
The blood left Venice’s face. “It must’ve been a bad dream. I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay?”
Craig wasn’t satisfied with her answer. “Has someone been bothering you, Venice?”
“No, Craig. It was just a bad dream.”
“Whatever you say. But I need to tell you that I find myself getting spoiled waking up next to you. It’s been a while since I’ve been with someone seriously like this, but I’m starting to like it. We haven’t actually talked about where we want our relationship to go, so I’m opening the door for you to express yourself, if you’d like to.”
Venice smiled and replied, “Baby, you know I enjoy your company, but you also know I have issues. The main issue being Jarvis. I’m in love with him, but I’m also in love with you. I’m dealing with a lot of stress because I let this happen and I don’t want to hurt either of you. Can’t we just take it one day at a time?”
“Venice, I know what I want. I want you. I know you’re trying not to cause anyone pain, but in this situation, someone is going to get hurt. I hate the thought of you with him, but I’m sure he feels the same way. They say it’s better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all. That’s the only thing that keeps me going, besides knowing that you love me back.”
“That was beautiful, Craig.”
“Thanks.”
Craig then took his pillow and hit Venice with it playfully. She grabbed her pillow and fought back. He chased her through the house and cornered her in the den. Venice tried to fight her way out, but wasn’t so lucky. He grabbed her around the waist and they plummeted onto the sofa. Both of them laughed and struggled for breath. They took a moment out to rest. Then he started tickling her. He held her down with his body, pulling her arms above her head so that he could tickle her underarms.
Venice screamed and laughed at the same time. “Stop! I’m going to get you back!”
“Whimp!”
He gazed at her lovingly and Venice knew in her heart that he wanted to get intimate again. Instead, he helped her up and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Venice pressed her body against his and ran her hands up his muscular chest and around his neck. Gazing into his chocolate chip eyes, she said, “They said there’s nothing like breakfast in bed.”
She backed him into the bedroom and they crawled back under the covers. Smiling, he asked, “What are you doing?”
Venice giggled. “If you don’t know, then I’ll have to show you.”
Moments later, with their sweat drenched bodies intertwined, Venice said, “That’s the best breakfast I’ve every had.”
“Me, too. I would love seconds, but we’d better get over to the hotel to see your brother off.”
“Okay, but dinner’s on me.”
“Have it your way. I’ll pick up the whipped cream.”
Laughing, they got dressed.
They all met in the lobby and Bryan once again gave Venice money. She told him that she was fine, but he insisted. He asked for her bank account number so he could send her money that way. She thanked him and gave him
a goodbye hug and kiss.
Joshua and Craig were having a chat over to the side until it was time to go. Joshua came over to Venice. “Girl, you take care of yourself. I had a great time. Craig is cool, so try not to mess it up. Okay?”
Venice had tears in her eyes. “Okay. I’m going to miss you, Josh. Thanks for coming.”
“You know you’re my boo. You just start finding us some furniture for our apartment.”
“I will, Joshua. You guys have a safe trip and call me when you get back.”
They agreed and finally pulled off from the hotel.
She knew this was the end of her wonderful week with Craig. She’d be returning to the campus and he’d be starting his co-op training again on Tuesday. They knew they wouldn’t get to see each other often, but Venice was hoping to see Craig as much as time would allow. She again contemplated inviting him home for Thanksgiving.
As Venice packed her belongings and helped him clean up the house, she asked, “Craig, if you don’t have any plans for Thanksgiving, I’d like to invite you to go home with me to meet my family.”
Craig stopped making the bed and answered, “I’d like that. Thanks for inviting me. Look, Venice, you don’t have to go back to campus today. Why don’t you stay?”
“Thanks, baby, but I’ve been here all week. Plus, we both need to get some sleep for our classes in the morning. If I stay, I probably won’t let you get any sleep.”
“I’m not going to get any sleep anyway because my bed will be empty and cold.”
“Craig, I’ll be back next weekend. I really need to spend some time in my room before my dad pays me a visit.”
He reluctantly accepted her argument so she took her suitcase out into the garage to put it in his truck. Craig followed behind her and locked up the house so he could drive her back to campus. When they reached the dorm, Craig walked Venice to the room only to find Monique MIA.
After he sat her bags down, he hugged her. “I’m going to miss waking up next to you.” “Me, too.”
Craig stared at her for a moment and then took Venice’s face in his hands and kissed her ever so tenderly. Exiting the room, he asked if she wanted to catch a movie. She walked him to the elevator and agreed on the spot to hook up with him later.
Before she could get back in the door, the phone was ringing. She grabbed for it. “Hello?”
“Hey, Niecy.”
Venice sat down on the bed, exhaled, and said, “Hi, Jarvis.”
“Look, Venice, I know I may have over reacted a little the other day.”
“What do you mean, a little?”
“Sweetheart, I don’t want to argue. I’m trying to apologize to you. This is hard for me because I feel like I had every right to be pissed off at you. Maybe I handled it wrong, but I meant every word I said. I don’t like what’s going on and I don’t know how much longer I can deal with it. I want to be with you so bad and I hope you still want to be with me.”
“My feelings for you are the same, but I like Craig’s company and he’s nice. I enjoy his company and you can’t expect me to sit in my room and not socialize.”
“I didn’t say I expect you to do that, Niecy. I do expect you not to give up my stuff to the first brotha who smiled at you.”
“What do you want me to do, Jarvis? Huh? Let me ask you something. Are you still a Michigan virgin? Well, are you?”
He calmly responded, “Are you asking me if I’ve been with anybody?”
“You know that’s what I mean!”
“Once, but I also take a lot of cold showers because it’s you that I want.”
Venice selfishly became sick to her stomach, realizing that he’d sleep with someone else. She could now relate to how Jarvis was feeling.
“Are you seeing anyone now, Jarvis?”
“No, I want you and only you. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“What do you expect me to do, Jarvis?”
“Just pull up, Niecy. I’ve been trying to reach you all week so I know you’ve been with him. I don’t want you giving it up to him anymore.”
“Jarvis…”
“If I can, you can.”
“Jarvis, I’ll be up to visit you soon so we can talk.”
“That will be nice. I need to see you.”
“I’ll call you back a little later, all right?”
He was silent on the other end and finally said, “Okay.”
She hung up the phone, unpacked, and settled back into her room.
Hours later, Venice decided to go for a walk and found a bench overlooking the courtyard. Her cell phone rang and when he answered it was Joshua.
“Hey, Josh, what’s up?”
“You tell me. I just got through talking to your boy.”
“What did he say?”
“He’s worried about ya’ll. So…what happened?”
Venice closed the book that she was reading. “We talked about our situation. He said he wasn’t sharing me.”
Joshua chuckled. “Yeah, he gave me an uncensored version. So, what’s up? What are you going to do?”
“I’m not going to do anything right now.”
“I told you he wasn’t going to deal with this situation long. You knew that.”
“Well, why was he acting cool about it in the beginning?”
“That was for your sake! Look, Niecy, you know Jarvis is emotional when it comes to you. Do what you have to do. It’ll work out.”
“All right, Joshua. I know you’re tired from the trip. Get some rest and I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for coming.”
“You bet. Take care.”
Venice got back into the groove of dorm life. Staying with Craig those few days spoiled her. Monique seemed happy to have her back in the dorm. It was Monday morning, time to get to class. The alarm clock went off, awaking both women to early morning grumbling.
Monique said, “Venice, what time will you be through with classes today?”
Venice pulled the covers over her head. “Not until eleven. Why?”
“I wanted to know if you felt like going shopping. There’s a new store that opened up in the outlet mall, and I want to check it out. Are you game?”
Venice thought for a moment as she got out of bed, gathering her belongings to go take a shower. “I guess so. Do you want to meet in the courtyard?”
“Cool! I’ll pick you up after class.”
Venice went into the bathroom to get ready for class.
The day went on as usual. When her classes ended, Venice walked to the courtyard and waited for Monique to pick her up. Some Greeks were practicing their steps loudly nearby in preparation for an upcoming step show. Someone came up behind her and put their hands over her eyes. She reached up and pulled them down and turned to see Galen and Sidney.
“What’s up, baby girl?”
“Hey, Galen. Hey, Sidney.”
Sidney asked, “Venice, what ya doing?”
“Waiting on Monique to pick me up. What are you guys up to?”
Galen replied, “Not much. We’re headed to the house for a minute. I have practice later on.”
Sidney sat down beside Venice. “Girl, his tail is coming over to get some leftovers with his greedy butt.”
“You know I’m a growing boy. Anyway, somebody’s got to eat it.”
Venice glanced at Sidney and asked, “What kind of leftovers?”
Sidney pulled out her sunglasses. The sun was kicking. “I still have a tray of luncheon meat, Buffalo wings, and cheese and crackers. My girls went in and bought the food for us to nibble on. Do you want to come by and get some? You know you’re welcome.”
“No, not today. Maybe tomorrow.”
“So…how are you and Craig doing? I heard my baby sister was about to kick some ass at the party the other night.”
Sidney punched Galen’s arm and asked, “Venice, is it true? Chanelle told me Craig’s ex had her hands all over him and then she put her finger in your face.”
“It’s true, but I handled it.�
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Sidney gave Venice a high-five. “You go, girl!”
“Venice, I don’t think Momma and Daddy would like for you to get kicked out of school for fighting. You’d better be careful.”
“It’s over, Galen.”
“Okay.” Galen looked at his watch. “Let’s go, Sid. I want to get a nap in before practice. See you, Venice, and tell Craig hello.”
“I will. See you later.”
Once again, Venice sat there alone waiting for Monique to arrive. She positioned her sunglasses on her face, crossed her legs, and read her book. Craig kissed Venice on the neck after sneaking up behind her.
He climbed over the bench and said, “What are you reading?
“Biology. I’m waiting on Monique. Where are you headed?”
“I wanted to see you before I head down the road for the week.”
“Well, you see me. Now what?”
Craig looked over Venice’s shoulder and saw some of Miranda’s friends staring at them. Craig pulled Venice to him and planted a long, wet kiss on her. He jumped down off the bench, pulled Venice along with him, and said, “Come on. Let’s go.”
As they walked past the women, Craig stopped and said, “Hey, Andrea. Where have you been hiding?”
“I’ve been around. How’s Miranda?”
“I wouldn’t know. Venice, this is Andrea and Trish and this is my sweetheart, Venice.”
Both parties went through the formalities.
Craig asked Andrea if he could talk to her for a second. She got up off the bench and walked over to the side with him. Craig put his arm around her shoulder and said, “Andrea, I don’t know what kind of games Miranda has put you and your posse up to, but if I hear anything about you guys picking with Venice, you’re not going to like me very much. So my advice to you and your crew is to back off. Miranda had her chance and she screwed that up. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”
Andrea said, “I hear you.”
Craig said, “No, I asked you if you understand where I’m coming from?’
She rolled her eyes and replied, “Yes, Craig.”
“Cool.”
