by Jamila Allen
“It’s all good, you’re here now; although, if I had my car, you wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Cam says, grinning from ear to ear.
“Yeah, yeah, ok, anyway, how was school?”
“It was fine.” Said Cam. “How was your day?”
Aaliyah smiles and says, “My day was amazing.”
“Let me guess, you saw that guy again?”
“Yep.”
“That’s cool and all sis, just don’t get caught up like last time.”
“Don’t worry little brother, I’m fine.”
“Ok, Aaliyah, I’m just saying.”
Aaliyah and Cam finally arrived home, both completely exhausted from the long day they’d had.
“Hey J.,” said Cam
“Hey J.” Said Aaliyah
“Hey, how was you all’s day?”
Cameron just looked at Jason and flopped down on the couch.
“Well, my day was long but amazing.”
“Yeah, I saw you walking to the campus café earlier, looking like you were in la la land.”
Aaliyah ignored Jason’s comment and walked into the kitchen to make herself a salad. To her delight when she sat down to eat, she noticed she had a text from Ray.
“Hey pretty lady, I had a great time talking with you earlier, hopefully, we can do it again.”
Aaliyah smiled as she read the message and replied, “Sure, I’d love that.” “How about this weekend?” “I’ll have more time.”
“Sounds good to me, send me your address, I’ll pick you up.” “I have the perfect spot.”
Aaliyah couldn’t have been more excited. She text Ray her address and told him good night. From that moment on all, she could think about is when she’d see Ray again. The days went by and while they shared a few texts, Aaliyah had been determined not to talk to Ray too much. She wanted to make sure that they had plenty to talk about on their date.
Chapter 4
Saturday finally arrived. Jason took Cam to their parent’s house for the weekend and Jason was helping their father with some long overdue chores around the house. With the house all to herself, and with no one to tease her, Aaliyah took extra time to look incredibly beautiful for her night out with Ray. The doorbell rang and Aaliyah felt butterflies. She hurried to the door and opened it.
“Hi, ma’am, I have a package here for a Jason Davis.” It was just the UPS man. Aaliyah’s heart sank.
“Sure I’ll sign for it.”
“Thank you, ma’am, you have a great day.”
Aaliyah shut the door and then; ding dong
She opens the door.
“Yes, may I help you?”
Well, I thought we had a date today but, if now isn’t a good time…” Said Ray with a smile
“No, no, I’m sorry, the UPS guy just left and I thought maybe he forgot something.” “I mean, never mind.” “I’m so embarrassed.”
Ray says, “Don’t be, It’s all good.”
“I just need to grab my purse and I’m ready.”
Ray looked around as Aaliyah grabbed her bag. Aaliyah stepped outside and locked the door. She turned around to see Ray’s silver drop top Mercedes with black chrome wheels sitting in the parking lot.
“Nice Car,” She says.
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t even know those were out yet.”
“They’re not but, my dad works for the company and, well, here we are.
“Wow! That must be nice.”
“’Yeah, it is,” Ray answers with a grin.
Ray opened the car door, allowing Aaliyah to get in and, then they’re off.
“So that’s a nice place you have there, you live all by yourself?” Ray asks.
“Thank you, umm no, I live with my two brothers.”
“Ooooh snap, two brothers, I guess I better watch out huh?”
Laughing Aaliyah says, “Their bark, is much worse than their bite, you’ll be just fine.”
“I don’t know; they might pull out a shotgun on me with a sister as gorgeous as you.”
All Aaliyah could do was blush and smile. Ray was real smooth and, Aaliyah was the bread to his butter. Ray and Aaliyah arrived at the destination for their date. It was a quiet little restaurant called, “The boardwalk café. Ray had arranged for the two of them a private table in the back. They walked in and the room was astonishing. There was a couch over on the side wall. The most beautiful crystal chandeliers, dimmed lighting, a grand piano in the corner and, to top it all off, a bottle of chilled sparkling cider.
“Wow! Ray, this is amazing!” “I was not expecting all of this.”
“Something extraordinary for an extraordinary lady.”
“Aww, aren’t you sweet.”
“I try,” Ray replied with a grin.
The date had been a fairy tale for Aaliyah. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever have expected for this to be her. Sure, Aaliyah was beautiful and smart but, contrary to what many might believe, Aaliyah was very shy. She was always humble when men approached her. She hadn’t had that much experience dating because she and her ex-boyfriend Chris had been together since the sixth grade. When things ended with them, it devastated her. Aaliyah thought she and Chris would get married, have children and, live happily ever after. All the guys since just hadn’t been able to live up to Aaliyah’s dream of what she wanted in a guy. Ray had started to change all of that though. The night had come to an end and Ray and Aaliyah were back in the car headed back to her place. When they arrived, Ray got out and walked Aaliyah to the door.
“I wish this night didn’t have to end.” “I’ve had an amazing time.” Said Ray
“Me, too.” Said Aaliyah.
“So does that mean I’ll get a second date with you?”
“Absolutely, just let me know when.”
“Ok then, I’ll do just that.” “Good night Ms. Aaliyah.”
“Good night Ray.”
Ray leaned in and gave Aaliyah a kiss on her cheek. As he pulled back slowly their eyes connected and Aaliyah couldn’t help but to taste the lips she had been dreaming about.
Chapter 5
The moment Aaliyah kissed Ray she knew she had messed up. That first kiss made her so weak that she almost collapsed right into his arms. Aaliyah opened the door, leading Ray inside. They closed the door and Ray picked her up against the door, kissing her with a vigorous passion. He carried her over to the couch and laid her down gently and began taking off his jacket. All of a sudden, Aaliyah says…
“Wait, wait, wait.” “We can’t, I mean I want to but...”
Completely out of breath Aaliyah could barely make out her words. Ray looked at her and said…
No, no, You’re right this is our first date, let's slow it down.” “I umm, I should go.”
“Ok, I’ll walk you out.” Says Aaliyah. “Thank you for an amazing night.”
“It was my pleasure, pretty lady.” “Talk to you tomorrow?”
“Yes, good night.”
“Good night.”
As Aaliyah closed the door behind Ray, she almost wanted to call him back. In all her life, she had never wanted a man so much. She didn’t know why he had such a strong hold to her but, there was just something about him that she could not shake. She began to try to walk to her room and stumbled all the way there. By the time Ray got home he sent Aaliyah a text saying, “I’ll be thinking of you all night.” Aaliyah couldn’t even reply, her mind was racing. She tossed and turned, tossed and turned relentlessly. She decided to get up and take a shower in hopes that it would help her relax. Her adrenaline was just too high. When that didn’t work she tried turning on the tv and, it seemed like everything she put it on was about love or had love scenes. She finally drifted off to sleep after attempting to read a book but, before she knew it, her alarm was going off, and it was time to get ready for church.
Chapter 6
“Good morning saints,” said the pastor as he opened up service.
“Good morning,” the congregation re
plied.
“Good morning saints!”
“Good morning!!!” The congregation said, a little bit louder that time.
“This is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it; Amen?”
“Amen.”
“The Lord has been so good to us,” “A lot better than we could ever be to ourselves.” “Amen?”
“Amen.”
The congregation echoed the pastor. Service was going beautifully. The choir sounded amazing and the glory of God had truly filled the church. Aaliyah felt pretty good. Being in the church had always been able to take her mind off of things she was dealing with. When the pastor got up to preach, Aaliyah was excited. She truly did enjoy listening to the sermons. The whole church stood in respect while the pastor prayed. He then released everyone to sit as he prepared to begin.
“Today’s message will be coming from the book of Matthew starting at the first verse, all the way through the eleventh verse.” “And it reads; Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”
“ 2After fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.”
“3The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread,” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6” If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
‘He will commend His angels concerning you
and they shall lift you up in their hands,
So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9” All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
“11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
“May there be a blessing added to the readers, hearers and doers of his word. Amen?” Said the pastor
Amen rang through the church in agreeance with his statement.
“Today I would like to talk to you from the subject, Fully loaded while on empty. The pastor preached and he preached. He talked about how Jesus had been on a fast for forty days and forty nights and, how physically he was on empty, but although his physical body was on empty is spiritual mind was on full. He talked about how the devil tried to tempt Jesus and even quoted Jesus’s own words but, all in all, Jesus was able to stand. Every word that the pastor said made Aaliyah feel as if he was speaking directly to her. It was almost like he knew exactly what had happened. Almost like the pastor knew her struggles. She knew that he didn’t but, it sure felt like it. Church was over and Aaliyah and her family went out to eat. It was something they did every Sunday, so they could have a chance to all catch up as a family. Cameron got to pick the restaurant this time, and Golden Corral was his favorite place. Everyone finally finished fixing their plates and sat down together to say grace. Everyone began to eat and for a while, it was quiet as everyone ate. Then, Lisa with an inquisitive grin on her face turned to Aaliyah and said,
“So Aaliyah, we didn’t get to finish our conversation the other day.”
“Oh?” “What conversation was that mom? About Cam’s Car?”
Aaliyah knew exactly what conversation her mom was talking about but, was hoping to be able to deflect the conversation.
“Wait, you and dad are getting me a car?” “REALLY?” “When?” said Cam
“We’ll see.” Said Aaron
“Then what is Lele talking about?”
“The fact that we may or may not get you a car.” Replied Lisa
“Aww man, I should’ve known not to get my hopes up,” Cam mumbled.
“Keep that attitude sir and, it’ll be a definite no.” Said Aaron.
“So how are the renovations coming on the house?” Said Aaliyah
“Fine but, don’t you try to change the subject, Diane.”
Lisa only called Aaliyah by her middle name when she wanted to get her attention, so she knew she wasn’t getting out of this one.
“Yes ma’am,” Aaliyah replied.
“Who was the boy that had your mind in the clouds to the point you couldn’t talk to me?”
Jason and Cam looking at each other with grins on their faces, waiting to see how this was going to play out.
“His name is Ray, Ma.”
“Mmmhmm, and where is he from?”
“I don’t know ma; I’m just getting to know him.”
“You’re just getting to know him and you couldn’t even finish a sentence on the phone?”
“It’s not that serious ma, I just got distracted.”
“Mmmhmm ok.”
Chapter 7
Aaliyah and Lisa made it through dinner with no more questions about Ray but, Aaliyah knew that that was far from the last conversation they would have. Lisa had always been over protective of Aaliyah. After all, that was her baby girl. However, ever since Chris had drug Aaliyah through the mud, Lisa, Aaron and, Aaliyah’s father David had been keeping even more of an eye on her when it came to men. Who really could blame them though? If someone had convinced your only daughter to run off with them and then treated her like crap, calling her names, playing with her emotions, and attempted to alienate her from you and the rest of the family you would be pretty protective too. It took Aaliyah two years to get her life back in order. It was only by the mercy of the fact that the president of the college knew Aaliyah’s parents that she didn’t lose her scholarship and get kicked out of school. Of course, Aaliyah felt they were over reacting. Everyone was entitled to bad judgement every now and again. Even her parents had made their mistakes in life. Chris even had them fooled at first. I mean they had known each other since they were kids. Who would think that he’d grow up and turn into this completely different person? It was only when Aaliyah called her mother crying one day that they realized, that this glitter wasn’t gold. Aaliyah understood that they just wanted what was best for her but, she often felt suffocated.
Regardless, Aaliyah knew she had to take things slow with Ray and, really get to know him. By the time they got done with dinner, she looked at her phone and had a text.
“Hey beautiful, I hope you having a great day so far.”
“I am, thank you, with family, ttyl.”
“Ok, beautiful. I’ll be waiting.”
Aaliyah could have talked to Ray then but, after the day she had just had, she was more nervous than ever to say anything to him. The way Ray had her feeling just thinking about him, she knew the celibate talk had to come soon. The problem was, she knew that generally a guy hears celibate and runs. She liked Ray a lot. The way she talked about him you would think that she had known him all her life. He was everything that she ever wanted. Ray was handsome, smart, goal oriented, a gentleman, and so much more. Aaliyah already had things planned out. She envisioned them dating for a year or two and, then getting married, having children the whole nine. She often recited to herself Mrs. Aaliyah Diane Winston, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Winston, just to hear the ring she felt it had to it. The reality was, she barely knew the guy. Even on their dates, they mostly talked about school and careers. The only personal information she knew about Ray was his last name and his dad bought him a car. So little but, yet her head was in the clouds.
Lisa could see it all in her daughter’s eyes. Even though she didn’t say much about him, she could see that Aaliyah was completely taken with him and, that’s what worried her. Lisa knew Aaliyah better than Aaliyah knew Aaliyah. Aaliyah was also more like Lisa than she even realized. Something that Lisa had never told her daughter was that, she had a “Chris
” in her life before Aaliyah’s father David and, Aaron. They didn’t run off together but, her Chris’s name was Johnathan Lawrence.
Chapter 8
Johnathan was someone that Lisa hadn’t told anyone about. It was a secret that she planned to take to her grave. Johnathan was a boy that Lisa had grown up with ever since she could remember. For a while they were inseparable. They walked to school together, they played together, they did homework together. Everyone just knew that they would be together forever. As Lisa and Johnathan became teenagers, they began to date. All was well until, that day. The day that Johnathan decided, he was tired of waiting for Lisa. He was far from ready to get married but, he wanted her. Because Johnathan’s desire for Lisa was so great he came up with a plan. A plan to ensure he could get what he wanted. He took Lisa on a date to this empty lot. He brought a blanket, some snacks and, a portable radio with them. They got out of the car and spread the blanket, turned on the radio and, Johnathan leaned over to kiss her. The kisses turned into caressing hands, and next thing Lisa knew Johnathan’s hands were headed up her shirt and inside her skirt.
She first giggled and told Johnathan to stop but, he continued while saying, “Come on baby.” “I love you, and you love me.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to do that.”
“Yes you do, your just scared but, I’ll take it nice and slow.”
“No Jon, I don’t.”
“Quit playing with me girl.”
“I’m not playing.”
Slap!!!!
Johnathan hit Lisa and held her arms down.
“We’ve known each other all our lives.” “I’ve waited for you and waited for you.” “You’ve been teasing me, with your little skirts and dancing and prancing around.” “You know good and well I want you.” “I’m getting it tonight.”
Kicking a screaming Lisa told Johnathan to stop until she finally gave up and just laid there. And just like that, Johnathan forced himself on Lisa. After it was over he stood up to put his clothes back on. When he did, Lisa kicked him where it hurt, grabbed his keys, jumped in the car and left him where he stood. Johnathan took the one thing she held dearly. Her innocence. In a flash, it was gone. She felt so dirty. She felt alone. She was embarrassed. Furthermore, Lisa just knew that her parents wouldn’t believe her if she told them what happened. She was sure that they would think she was lying. Everyone loved Johnathan. He was the perfect guy.
