by M. T. Pope
“My bad,” I apologized. I had an embarrassed look on my face.
“And if you must know, no, we have not been intimate yet. I told you that I was trying to do things differently with Carla. Besides, she had some strict morals that I have to respect.”
“You know what, Carlos?” I paused to get myself together, because I had just witnessed my best friend growing up in front of me and it made me a little emotional.
“What?” He looked at me, curious as to what I was about to say.
“I’m proud of you, dude. I mean really. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend and I know that Carla couldn’t have asked for a better person to have as a mate and future husband.”
“Wow.” He sat up in his chair and looked at me for a few seconds. “Kraig, that means so much to me. I can’t ask for a better friend than you. And Carla just adores you. Thanks for always being there for me.”
“No problem.” I smiled back at him with admiration in my heart. “Now let’s get off of that stuff before people start thinking we’re wimps.” He laughed and so did I.
For the rest of that evening we chilled and watched sports for a few and then went our separate ways.
Chapter 22
Second Thoughts
When I got in the house that evening all I wanted to do was get in the shower and get in the bed. And that was what I did until the ringing of my phone awoke from my slumber.
It was about ten o’clock at night and I was sleeping nice and comfortably in my bed.
“Hello,” I answered after I had reached over and grabbed my cell phone from my nightstand. I didn’t even look at the caller ID because I was still trying to get my eyes to focus in my dimly lit room.
“Hey, wassup.” I heard a gruff voice over the phone.
“Who’s this?” I asked, confused as to who I was speaking with.
“You mean to tell me that you forgot about me that fast?”
“Oh, hey, Jarrod.” For a second I thought it was Mr. Wheelchair Guy. I was not in the mood for a stalker.
“Shame on you for forgetting about me.”
I almost sucked my teeth in disbelief that he was serious, but I didn’t, for fear that I didn’t know what he would say or do in turn. “I’m sorry,” I apologized like I really cared. “I was asleep when you called and didn’t look to see who was calling when I picked up the phone.”
“Oh, okay,” he said, accepting my apology. “I know the feeling. Were you sleeping well?”
“Yes.” I sat up in my bed and threw my legs over the side of my bed and planted my feet on my plush carpet. I squeezed my toes in and out and then slid into my slippers. “I was sleeping really well.”
“Were you dreaming?” Jarrod asked. It sounded like he was in his patrol car, because I heard what sounded like a CB radio giving off static.
“It’s possible.” I smirked.
“About me?” I could almost see his chest poked out in pride.
“Huh?” He had caught me off guard with that one. “Of course. You and no one else.”
“Okay, that sounded sincere.” He sounded like he was being sarcastic.
“Okay, you got me. I was a little off with it.” I laughed. He laughed too. “So what are you doing tonight?” he asked.
“What I was doing when you called me.”
“Huh?” He sounded confused.
“I plan on sleeping in the rest of the night.” I looked at my clock and it read 9:03 P.M. “What about you?”
“Well, I planned on getting into that ass of yours, but I see you have other plans tonight.”
There was a brief silence on my end because I didn’t know what to say after that comment. I was a little shocked at the bluntness. He was more aggressive than I anticipated.
“Hello, are you still there?” he asked.
“Ahhhh, yeah, I’m still here.” I had the look of “let’s get this over with” on my face. Thank goodness he couldn’t see it.
“Are you okay?” he inquired.
“Yeah, something on the television caught my attention.” I lied to save face.
“Oh, okay, I thought I had said something that offended you or something,” he quipped.
“Nah, you good.”
“So you not up for any fun tonight?”
This dude is a shonuff freak. Bang! Bang! Bang! “Nah, not tonight. I’m taking it easy.” I had put my feet back up in my bed and propped myself back up against my pillows.
“Okay, that’s cool. I guess I’ll hit you up another time. And just for the record I was going to take it easy on you.”
Yeah, I bet. “Okay, talk to you later.” I hung up the phone and then lay back in my bed.
I started to feel a little guilty about setting him up. I thought about his wife, his kids, and his job. Was getting him back this necessary? I mean, was I willing to ruin a man’s whole existence just on some get back? I wasn’t really sure if I was going to go through with my plans, even after all that I have plotted and planned on doing to him. I rolled back over and went to sleep. I had a lot to think about.
A couple of days later . . .
“Hey, wassup.” Carlos spoke as I picked him up in front of his house. He and I were headed to the movies in Arundel Mills Mall to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I was amped up a little because I really wanted to see this one. I had heard some good things about it and I was excited to get in and watch it. I had two jobs this week that wore me out. Now it was Saturday and all I wanted to do was get away from the city and enjoy myself with my best friend. Jarrod was still blowing up my phone like he and I were going steady and he had no family. I ignored him the last couple of times he called because I just wasn’t for it. I was feeling like I was in over my head, and I was still having second thoughts about all that I had done thus far.
“You okay over there?” Carlos asked as I just stared at the road in front of me as I drove. “You kind of quiet over there.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” I nodded my head. “Just can’t wait to see this movie.”
“Yeah, I want to see it really bad too. Ain’t nothing like some destruction and mayhem to get the adrenaline flowing.”
“You got that right.” I smiled, faintly. Destruction and mayhem . . . Destruction and mayhem . . . Destruction and mayhem. Those three words played over and over in my head. They made me feel a little guilty.
“So how was your week?” I asked him.
“Man, my week has been lovely. Carla and I are getting closer by the day and my mother loves her. I can’t help but say that I am closer to perfect. I even have an easier route at work, too.”
“That is so awesome.” I smiled.
“I know, right.” I glanced over to see him smiling too. “It is so good to actually see things in your life go from bad to good over a period of time. I am totally in awe at the space I am in right now. Again, I am not going to say the word perfect, but it is pretty close. So, what’s been going on with you?”
That was the million-dollar question. It was a loaded one as well. I couldn’t even begin to tell him what I was really going through or putting myself through. I knew that he would never judge me but I just couldn’t do it. If I were to say anything I probably would have said everything that I had been holding back for all of this time.
“Nothing but work and staying focused on life.”
“That’s good. Are you happy?”
Damn, why did he have to ask me that question?
“Carlos, I’m great.”
“I didn’t ask you for Tony the Tiger’s response, I asked you if you were happy. Happy with your life, job, and where you are right now mentally: all of that. If you died today or tomorrow would could say that you died happy?”
“Are you serious?” I looked at him briefly and seriously. “What brought on this question?”
“Well, Kraig. Lately, I have been experiencing happiness and I want to make sure that the people I surround myself with are experiencing the same. Is that a bad thing for me to expect?”
Was he being rhetorical or did he really want me to answer him?
I breathed out a frustrated breath because I knew that he wanted an answer, because out of my peripheral vision I could see him looking at me.
“Carlos, I can truly say that I am not completely happy. I don’t have everything I want and the truth is I really don’t even know what I want. If being happy means knowing what I want out of life and having what I want out of life, then, no, I am not happy. I am content but not happy. Are you satisfied with that answer?” By the time I got to the end of my sentence we were stopped in some backed-up traffic, which gave me a few more seconds to look at him dead in his face. I was being rhetorical with the last comment.
“Yeah, man, that is cool. It’s just that you give some plain-ass answers sometimes. It’s like you are afraid to say something about being with a man physically or in a relationship. I know in the beginning I told you I didn’t want to know about anything that you did with a man, but I am older now and I have to respect your choices in life and care about them because I care about you. Nah, man . . . I love you.”
I was completely silent for about five minutes after he said that. I didn’t have a comeback or smart-ass remark. I was stunned. Not that he said he cared about me, but the fact that he was growing in front of me and it seemed like I was stuck back in college, back on the couch where Jarrod took advantage of me. I wanted to moved past it but I just couldn’t get over it. I just couldn’t walk away. I wanted him to pay for the way I was now. I wanted him to know that I was fucked up for life by his actions. He was a thorn in my side and I wanted to pull him out and break him in half. I wanted to see him writhe and squirm in the loneliness that I felt on too many days after he abandoned me and left me hanging. Then I would be happy, then I would be satisfied, and then I could move on. I knew why I wasn’t happy and Jarrod was that reason. Taking away his happiness would make me happy.
“I love you, too.” I said it as we pulled into a parking spot in front of the theater. “And don’t worry about me being happy. I feel like my season is coming.”
Chapter 23
Transformers
We got our tickets and a few snacks, and walked to the theater. It was a little crowded when we got there, just like I liked it. I hated going into a theater that was almost empty. I liked to be around a lot of people in a good movie. I scanned the crowd quickly as I made the decision where we were going to sit. I didn’t want to sit near any babies or the fool who brought one into an adult movie. There weren’t any babies so we made our way to some empty seats I spotted. Not too close to the top or the bottom. To quote little Goldilocks from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” they were “just right.”
We sat down and got comfortable. I was ready for this distraction. This was something that would greatly distract me. Tyrese Gibson was always great distraction. I could see myself being “happy” with him. I laughed out loud at myself.
“What’s so funny?” Carlos nudged me with his elbow. Carlos was famous for watching the previews and trivia that the movie theaters showed before the start of a movie.
“Oh, nothing. I was just laughing at something funny my mother did the other day.”
“Oh, okay.” He turned back toward the movie screen.
A few seconds later the theater lights faded and the movie started. I was good and into it and then my bladder let me know that I had to take a piss. I had drunk almost a whole thirty-two-ounce tea at the beginning of the movie and now my bladder was full and ready to be emptied. I knew that I shouldn’t have drunk all of it because tea runs through me like Grant through Richmond. I sat there and tried my best to hold out, but it just wasn’t happening. I was squirming in my seat a little and Carlos looked at me with a “what the hell is wrong with you” stare.
A few seconds later, he leaned over and whispered quickly, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Bathroom,” was all I could get out as I squeezed my legs together and watch them involuntarily bounce.
“Well, go then. I’ll put it on pause.” He looked at me and laughed. I didn’t find it funny. I didn’t want to miss a thing, but I got up and squeezed past a few people in the row and hustled my way to the bathroom.
It was a little crowded on the way to the bathroom so I had to dodge a few people to get there. It seemed like as soon as I got to the urinal and unzipped my pants there was an immediate release of tension. It was the best feeling in the world at that time.
“Ahhhh.” I breathed out a satisfied moan. There were a few other guys in there with me, but I was in my own world with the piss I was taking now. Every man knew that there was no conversation at the urinal. If anything was talked about, it was about sports and sports only and your ass better be looking straight ahead when and if you say something.
When I finished, I walked over to the sink to wash my hands.
“You catch the game last night?”
My head quickly turned to my right. Jarrod! Damn! “Yeah, it was good.” I looked at him, puzzled. I was wondering if he was following me. I got a little nervous and looked around to see if people were looking at us. There were two guys at the urinal doing their business and paying us no mind at all.
“Let me use this bathroom and get back to this movie,” he said out loud. “It was nice seeing you.”
I watched him go around the corner and I made my way out of the bathroom. I shook my head as I walked back to the theater. Halfway back to the theater my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I pulled out my phone and read the text that Jarrod just sent: cum back . . . I’m handicapped. I need help.
I shook my head and paused in my tracks. I leaned up against the wall and looked at the text again and again. I was contemplating doing what he was asking me to do. I knew he wanted me come back in the bathroom and do him or let him do me. And don’t get it twisted; I wanted to. I longed to. It had been a minute since I did “it.” This was the last time and I meant it. I was going to call all of this off and move on. I had to move on. I walked back to the bathroom, content with moving on. If I was going to end it with him today he would remember me for a long time after I was gone.
I walked in the bathroom and turned the corner to the row of stalls that were in a separate section of the bathroom. I loved big bathrooms and this one was huge. It separated the toilets and stalls completely but they were still in the same bathroom. I walked by several of the stalls and made sure that there wasn’t anyone close to the handicapped stall that was at the end. I counted one occupied stall at the very beginning and then one more three stalls down from the handicapped stall. I lightly tapped on the stall to let him know that I was on the other side. I heard him unlock the door. I peeked back over my shoulder once more before I entered the stall and locked the door behind me.
He had on the smuggest look on his face. He also had his dick out and ready for action. There were no words spoken as he gestured for me to pull down my pants and then he pushed me toward the toilet. I turned around and eased onto the toilet one knee at a time. I grabbed on to the handicapped bar that was a little to the right of me and the one that was right to the left of me. I peeked over my shoulder and watched him pull a condom out of his sock. Did he plan on fucking somebody else today? I felt that it was an odd place to put it or have one at all. But I was not asking any questions at the moment. Seconds later, he was guiding himself in me. He pushed the middle of my back down so that my butt was in the air more. He started to slow grind me and I knew that he was trying to get a good nut and be inconspicuous at the same time. There was no slapping of flesh going on for fear of being caught and outted. He gripped my hips tight as he thrust into me. It was feeling good to me but I couldn’t moan. All I could do was bite my bottom lip and enjoy it. Minutes later, he started to tense up and grind into me, letting me know that he was close to coming.
When he did cum, he just pulled out and took off the used condom. I got off of the toilet and watched him throw it in the toilet. He tucked himself away and made
sure his clothes were right. And then he peeked out of the stall before he exited. A minute or two later I did the same thing. I walked back to the theater I was in and eased back in my seat like nothing had happened.
“What took you so long?” Carlos asked after I got comfortable in my seat again. My ass was a little sore from the pounding I just took, but I knew that it would dissipate shortly.
“I had diarrhea.” I spoke softly. It was an undisputable lie.
“Told you about eating those movie theater nachos and cheese.” He smiled as he turned his attention back toward the movie. It was true the nachos and cheese from the movie theater did give me diarrhea most of the time when I ate them, just not this time.
“Yeah, never again.” He thought I was talking about the nachos, but I knew that I was talking about Jarrod.
After the movie ended, Carlos and I exited the theater. On the way out, I spotted Jarrod coming out of the theater with his family. I paused and acted as if I needed to tie my shoe. He saw me, but didn’t acknowledge me, which I knew he would never do. I briefly watched him hug and smooch his wife and then he picked up one of his kids. I had just gotten finished watching Transformers 3 in the theater and came out here to see Transformers 4 starring Jarrod Starks as the loving, downlow husband. I watched him walk off and I instantly got pissed. I knew that he wasn’t going to stop playing on both sides of the fence so I had to stop him by force. I couldn’t let him string any other man or woman along in his dangerous games. I am mailing out “the package” ASAP.
“Operation Drop the Bomb” was in full effect. It was going to be like a nuclear bomb hit his life when I was finished.
“You okay?” Carlos asked me as I caught up to him at the exit door.
“Yeah, I’m great.” A smile beamed across my face.
“You know who I just saw?” he turned to me and asked when we got to the car.
“Who?” I asked curiously.
“That cop who pulled us over.”
