by Lena Skye
Kalena looked at Nina and hoped that she believed her. They could possibly mend their friendship, but this was going to be the determining factor. Rebuilding their bond was going to take a lot of work, but it could be done, but their problems with men had to stop.
Nina sat quietly; they both directed their attention towards the waiter when he sat their drinks in front of them. Nina told him to order her another because she was going to be finished with the one that she had before her soon. When he walked away she gulped the expensive wine like it was a bottle of malt liquor. After that she closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath before letting it out dramatically.
“Okay, I don’t even know what to say right now. For the first time in a long time I’m speechless,” Nina admitted. “I’m trying not to be mad at you because it doesn’t seem to be your fault, but I’m a little mad at you.”
“I know that you’re upset, it’s an upsetting situation but trust me, I wouldn’t have done it if I knew that he was dating someone. I thought that I was the only woman in his life. When I found out that I wasn’t, I kicked him to the curb.”
“I don’t know what to do, I love him.”
“You deserve better. You deserve someone that’s going to be upfront and honest with you. You’re obviously his main woman, but you should be his only woman.”
“Yeah, a part of me felt like he was cheating on me, but I wasn’t ever sure. It was easier to just turn a blind eye and be happy. He’s so sweet and he’s everything that I ever wanted.”
“I know. I can’t tell you what to do about this situation, but I knew that I had to tell you. Whatever you choose, it’s your business.”
Nina shook her head to fight back the tears and gave a brave smile, “Well, I guess that I’m going to have to let him go. There are more men where his ass came from and I’m way too fly to let a fucking DJ treat me like that. His punk ass found out that he was sleeping with someone that I knew and didn’t even have the balls to tell me.”
Kalena tilted her head to the side and looked at her, “You can’t tell me that you expected a man to tell you that he was cheating with one of your friends. He was probably just praying that I wasn’t going to tell you. He’s probably at home scared as hell right now.”
“He needs to be scared because when I get a hold of his ass, it’s not going to be pretty. I don’t tolerate the bullshit,” Nina said.
“You shouldn’t, these men are out here acting foul. He really had me fooled, I thought that I’d found someone that I could actually be with and he hurt me.”
“He’s easy to fall for, he’s so charming.”
“He is, and I fell for him quick. I didn’t question where he was at night or the fact that we spend most of our time apart.”
“I would apologize to you, but I wouldn’t even know what I’m apologizing for,” Nina admitted, “All of this is fucked up.”
“It definitely is,” Kalena sighed. She hoped that Nina was telling the truth about leaving Daniel alone. Women always claimed that they were going to leave a man, but nine times out of ten it just didn’t work that way. The urge to keep them around so that they don’t break their own hearts was too tempting. She knew that feeling first hand because her fiancé stuck around for three more months after she caught him kissing Nina. Eventually, she just couldn’t stand the sight of him any longer and she cut him off completely.
“So yeah, we’re going to enjoy this lovely lunch and stop talking about Joseph’s dismissed ass. I want to hear all about you missy, what’s been going on?”
Kalena smiled slightly and allowed her to change the subject, “I’ve just been working really.”
“Okay, and that’s it? Who has put that smile on your face because if I remember correctly, you only smile that way when someone special has put it down on you.”
Kalena almost spit out her cocktail from laughing, “Don’t act like you know me.”
“I know you very well honey, so you may as well go ahead and spill the tea. I want to hear all about this gentleman.”
“You kind of already know him,” Kalena said.
“Oh? Who is it?”
“Tommy,” she said.
“Aww shit! You’ve finally given Tommy a chance? It’s about time, that poor man has been following you around like a puppy dog since he met you. I swear to you that he broke up with his girlfriend so that he could get with you.”
“That’s not true, he broke up with her because he didn’t want to be with her.”
“Right, and he didn’t want to be with her because he met you. In his eyes you can do no wrong. He stares at you like you have on a halo and La Perla lingerie.”
“I don’t know about all of that, but we slept together one time and now I don’t know what we are.”
“I know what he wants to be, so the ball is in your court.”
“It should be interesting because we have a date tonight, I’m sure that he’s going to want to bring up the relationship conversation but I don’t think that I’m ready for all of that.”
“So wait a minute. You will hop into a relationship with a random ass white boy, but you have to think about having a relationship with a man that you know wants you. He doesn’t just want you, he loves you. I wish that I had someone like that in my life, I thought that I did but I was wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that he cares about you. That’s the kind of man that you hit over the head and drag down the aisle.”
“Whoa! We’re jumping the gun here aren’t we?” Kalena asked.
“Jumping the gun? We’re pushing thirty, it’s time to actually consider settling down with men that want the same things as we do. You see where chasing the party boys are getting us. If we keep this shit up we’re going to end up like Crystal.”
“Hey, don’t talk about my girl like that,” Kalena said.
“She’s my girl too, but she’s not happy. She has an amazing career but no man. She goes from one meaningless relationship to the next. I don’t want to be in my thirties and coming home to an empty house, being single is overrated.”
“I know but you know the way that I was raised. I just can’t get down with commitment like that.”
“And that is why you make the kinds of choices that you do in men, you need to go to therapy and cut that shit out.”
“Really? You’re going to sit here and tell me that I need therapy? Aren’t I the one that just broke some bad news to you?”
“What I’m going through personally doesn’t have anything to do with you. Of course, I have my own demons but you have yours too. I’m just telling you how I see it.”
Kalena frowned but she knew that Nina was right; it was one of the reasons that she missed her so much. Very few women were as blunt as she was and she was going to tell someone the truth even when it hurt and was inconvenient. Sometimes it caused her to be a bitch but at least you knew where you stood.
“Since you’re so busy pointing out my demons, what are yours?” Kalena challenged her.
Before she could answer the next round of drinks were coming out and so was their food. They gushed over how good their food looked and dug in for a few minutes.
“My demons are linked to my self-esteem,” Nina said, “I never feel like I’m good enough, so when a man that I really like shows me attention, I don’t know how to act. Also, when a man that cares about someone else shows me attention it makes me feel good too. I know it’s wrong and I’ve been working on changing my ways, but that’s just the way that it is.”
“That was surprisingly insightful,” Kalena admitted.
“Therapy,” Nina said bluntly, “After what happened with Richard I got my ass into some therapy. Although I didn’t initiate what happened between us and I pushed him away, there was a part of me that liked it. I was flirting with him and he wasn’t even my type, I did it because I wanted him to want me, even though I didn’t want him.”
That was a level of realness that Kalena didn’t expect from Nina. She never thought that she would hear the
truth from Nina’s mouth about what happened. When she caught her and confronted her about it, Nina got defensive and snapped. Now, she was singing a different tune. Some of the venom that was still inside of her about it dissipated. Richard was history because he was never going to be a good partner, but she had Nina, and there was something to treasure in her.
“Glad to hear the truth come from your lips.”
“It’s the least that I could do, especially since you were so honest with me today. It’s time for us to bury the hatchet and move on. Men are going to come and go, but real friends are hard to find.”
“Shit, good men are hard to find too.”
“Who are you telling? When I find one I’m going to knock him over the head and drag him to the altar caveman style. It’s bad enough I have my granny calling me at least once a week, asking me when I’m going to get married. Every week I disappoint her and my mother. It’s a lot of pressure.”
“I don’t know anything about that, shit my daddy is still having babies.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish that I was, he got one of his little side chicks knocked up and has turned his life upside down.”
“Oh no, how is your mom?”
“At first she acted like she was alright with it, and then she showed up on my doorstep with luggage. She says that she wants a divorce and I believe her. She’s never talked about splitting up with my father no matter what he did, but she’s fed up.”
“Damn, I thought that they were going to be together forever.”
“Me too, it’s shocking but I’m glad that she is moving on with her life. It’s better late than never. Watching her feelings get trampled over throughout my life made me cautious with men. I don’t put anything past their asses because they can be scandalous.”
“With no damned remorse. They will sleep in your bed when they just got out of someone else’s,” Nina chimed in. Her eyes looked distant, she wasn’t talking about men in general anymore, she was talking about Daniel. She finished off her second glass of wine and sat it near the edge of the table so that the waiter would know that she was ready for another.
“I know that I said it already but I’m really sorry,” Kalena explained.
Nina fanned her hand, “You don’t have to apologize to me anymore. Daniel is going to be out of my life and me and you are going to be just fine.”
“I would like that.”
Nina smiled and said, “Yay! Something good has come out of this horrible mess.”
“That’s a positive way to look at it.”
“I’ve been working on that with my therapist,” she laughed, “Oh, but I do have to say one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re even.”
#Chapter6
“Keep it up and you may not be able to get rid of me.”
Crystal
On the other side of town, Crystal walked out of her house. Her arm was linked with Jason’s and her other arm filled with the dozen of red fully bloomed roses that he brought her. She was enamored already.
“You’re getting off to a great start Mr. Shultz.”
“I’m glad that you’re enjoying yourself, I hope that the night only gets better.”
He walked her out to his BMW SUV and opened the door for her. She slid inside seductively and gave him a coy smile when he closed the door. ‘Oh yes,” she mumbled to herself, ‘If you keep this up, I’m going to give you some.’
She watched him walk around the front of the car and get inside. He had a walk that said he was very sure of himself. His confidence was through the roof, it was sexy. Men that were confident were hot as long as it didn’t begin to get cocky.
“So where are we going?” Crystal asked.
“We are going to Hecho En Dumbo in the East Village,” he said with a smile.
“Nice, I see that you have taste.”
“I’m just doing my best to try to impress you and of course I have taste, I asked you out didn’t I?”
“See, now you’re just trying to get on my good side.”
“Is it working?”
“I don’t know yet, ask me again after I’ve had a couple of drinks.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.”
She looked at his hands as they navigated the car, his ring was gone from his finger. He no longer wore it. If she knew him better she would have asked him how he felt about that, but it wasn’t an appropriate topic for a first date.
“So tell me about yourself,” Jason said, “What kinds of things do you enjoy outside of work?”
“I enjoy reading whenever I can,” she said, “I wish that I had more time for it.”
“What kind of books do you like?”
“Romance,” she grinned, “It’s a great escape.”
“Do you have a favorite author? Are you one of those Ann Rice fans? Did you enjoy Fifty Shades?”
“Ann Rice doesn’t write romance,” Crystal laughed, “She writes gothic fiction, Christian literature, erotica. That’s not romance. Also, I haven’t read Fifty Shades yet.”
“What? I think that you’re the only woman on earth who hasn’t read those books.”
“You’re probably right, but I tend to like books with black lead characters. Well at least black women characters.”
“Okay then what do you like?”
“Um authors like Lena Skye, CJ Howard. They write BWWM Romance” she asked.
“What in the hell does that stand for?”
“It stands for black woman white man,” Crystal said in a sultry voice.
“Oh really? I like the sound of that.”
“I figured that you would,” she giggled.
“Maybe we can act some of those scenes out,” he wiggled his eyebrows.
“If this night goes well, maybe we can.”
“I’m going to be on my best behavior.”
“No one likes a pushover, I want to see a little bit of that bad streak,” Crystal teased.
“Alright, you asked for it. We’re going to rob a few banks before we have dinner. You can be Bonnie and I’ll be Clyde.”
“I think that you’re taking things a little too far. Let’s do stuff that won’t land me in jail, I’m way too pretty for it.”
“That’s true; they would love you in there. Not even a prison uniform could hide all of those curves.”
“So you’ve been checking out my curves?”
“Definitely, from the very first day that I met you. I couldn’t help but notice them.”
“Have you always liked women with meat on their bones?”
He grinned, “I like what I like. I’ve dated thin women and I’ve dated larger women.”
“Are you trying to call me fat?” she asked.
“Nope, you’re perfect.”
“Smart man.”
‘There is a reason that I’m a principal, I didn’t get my job by saying and doing dumb stuff. But in all seriousness, you’re far from fat. You’re a great size.”
“I appreciate that, I could stand to lose some weight but I like myself.”
“You should, you’re perfect.”
Crystal smiled at his words, he was sweet. She wasn’t used to being complimented so much by a man on the first date. She liked it a lot. This felt too good to be true.
“Alright, keep it up and you may not be able to get rid of me.”
“The feeling is mutual, I’m just glad that you came out with me. I wasn’t sure if you were going to say yes.”
“What? You couldn’t tell that I liked you?”
“I could tell that you were mildly interested, but I didn’t know if you liked white men or not.”
“I guess I’m similar to you in that respect. I like what I like. I haven’t dated many white men in my lifetime, but it’s not because I haven’t liked them, it’s because so few ask me out. I’ve just always thought that I wasn’t you all’s type.”
“What’s our type?”
“You know, thin an
d light.”
He shook his head, “Nope, I’m all about that bass, no treble.”
Crystal laughed at his song reference, “I see that you’re a Meghan Trainor fan?”
“I can’t help it, I have to listen to popular radio stations. It’s important that I know the kind of music that the kids listen to. I can’t be out of touch.”
“I know exactly what you mean. It’s difficult to connect with them if you don’t know anything about what they like.”
“Exactly.”
She smiled at their conversation. He was really easy to talk to and they had a lot in common when it came to their careers.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked.
“I was just thinking about how easy you are to talk to, it’s nice to be able to connect with someone when it comes to my job. I try not to talk about the kids in my program so much, but it is hard because they’re such a big part of my life.”
“I understand what you mean. People’s eyes glaze over when you start to talk about your job.”
“Exactly, you get me,” she said as she reached over for his hand.
He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers; they rode in silence and enjoyed one another’s company until they arrived to the restaurant.
***
“So did you like the restaurant?” he asked.
“I loved it,” Crystal said as they walked along the Brooklyn Promenade. Everything felt perfect and wonderful. She was enjoying his company much more than she had her last few dates. He was the kind of man that she needed to be with. He was mature, he loved working with kids, and he was stable.
“I’m glad.”
They stopped walking and looked at the river, Crystal slightly shivered.
“Oh no, you’re cold,” he said as he pulled her in close to him, her back against the railing.
She lay her head against his chest and inhaled deeply, “You smell so good.”
“It’s Issey Miyake.”
