Cutting Loose

by Dash, Jayson

  She had to admit that she was also scared. Sacred that for once in her life she was going to do things the way she wanted to do, not the way her mother thought they should. That’s exactly why things went wrong with her and Carl; listening to her mother’s mouth instead of instead of following her own mind and her own heart.

  Sabrina didn’t want to waste her time moping around like a sad puppy. She figured he would call her when he was ready. So she found herself at home on a lonely Wednesday night munching on leftover spaghetti from the night before, sitting in front of the TV watching reruns.

  She was caught off guard completely when the phone rang and made her jump a little. She figured it was either Larissa or Cassandra calling to bug her about some drama and decided to let the answer machine get the call. She damn near jumped off the sofa when she heard Brett’s baritone voice speaking. She ran over to the counter and grabbed the phone off of the stand just in time.

  “Hi, Brett. I thought you were one of my girlfriends. How are you?”

  “Oh. I’m fine, thanks for asking. And yourself?”

  “I’m okay I guess. I can’t complain too much.”

  “Same here.” He waited a beat and said, “I’ve been thinking about you lately and was just wondering when you were free to hang out.”

  She couldn’t contain herself from blurting out, “Um, I’m free tonight actually.”

  “Really? So I am I. Since we’re both free, I was thinking maybe we can go grab a bite to eat or something.”

  “Okay. That sounds like a plan to me.”

  “I’ll come by around seven. Is that alright?”

  “It’s perfect. See you then.”

  Sabrina tossed the cordless phone on the sofa and danced around to her own tune of happiness. “I got a date tonight!” she screamed aloud.

  After looking at the clock and realizing she only had two hours to pull herself together, she ran straight to her bedroom and rumbled through her closet. Once there, she pulled out the many outfits she bought at the mall when she and Cassandra went shopping for this day. She tried on each one and couldn’t make up her mind. She knew from experience that first impressions meant everything, especially on a date. She figured since they were going out to eat it was best to wear something safe like a nice top and a pair of jeans and maybe boots or heels to give her some height.

  She didn’t know why she was making things so hard for herself. All she really needed to do was put on something comfortable, but chic and sexy all at the same time. She stepped out of the shower and dressed in a black cashmere top over a pair of high-waist formfitting jeans that complimented her slim figure and topped it off with a pair of flats.

  She wasn’t too concerned with her hair because she just had it permed and let it naturally falls down to her shoulder. She put on a little bit of makeup with a touch of lip-gloss on her lips and a little eye shadow to make her eyes pop.

  After she gave Brett the directions to her place she sat in the living room anxious as hell, tapping her feet. She thought about calling either Larissa or Cassandra to get some last minute advice and then she remembered the pamphlet thing she got from Cassandra and read some of the tips. She made a mental note not to be boring or stiff and remember to relax. It wasn’t like she just met the guy off the street. After all, she did have a drink with him and a few conversations.

  The knock on the door nearly made Sabrina jump out of her skin, even though she saw the headlights through the window of the living room where she was sitting.

  She walked over the threshold to the foyer and opened the door. Just the sight of Brett alone practically took her breath away; he was clean-shaven and nicely dressed in a blue knit shirt to show off his incredible pecs, over a white t-shirt and a nice pair of black jeans. His auburn hair was swept back with a minimal amount of hair gel.

  Brett smiled and said, “You’re looking lovely.”

  She could feel the blood rushing to her face as she smiled. “Thanks, Brett. You look really nice.” Nice enough to take to her bedroom…

  They stood there for a split second or so in silence before Brett broke the silence and said, “So, are you ready to go?”

  “Yeah,” Sabrina said. “I just need to grab my purse and we can go.”

  Even as she sat just inches away from him in the passenger seat of his sedan, she could smell his enticing cologne and so badly wanted to reach out and touch his hand, just to feel something. It had been so long since she felt a man’s touch she felt it was only necessary to satisfy her curiosity sooner or later. Now was definitely not the time.

  So she kept her cool until they pulled into the parking lot of a local upscale-looking restaurant that was a hotspot for tourist and celebrities. She instantly had a flash back once she saw the name of the place and realized it was the same exact place Carl had taken her on their first date. A part of her wanted to scream out and throw a tantrum at the mere thought of her ugly past with Car—and she was not about to revisit the past or possibly set off a chain of events to end up the same way twice.

  Immediately she turned to Brett and asked, “Can we please go somewhere else?”

  He looked puzzled. “Sure. May I ask why you?”

  She paused before she responded, “I will tell you later, just not right now. Trust me, it’s a long story.”

  He smiled and said, “Okay. What are you in the mood to do? Are in the mood for some food or you want to have fun or a mixture of both?”

  She thought about it for a second or so. “A mixture of both would be nice.”

  He started the engine and said, “Cool. I know the perfect place to go.”

  She relaxed a bit, thinking that maybe, just maybe, the date was off to a bumpy start but she was confident in Brett. He looked as if he knew what he was doing; even though it wasn’t his fault Sabrina had a bad history with a restaurant that she refused to let resurface.

  Momentarily they arrived at a place where Sabrina never thought she would find herself in a million years: a bowling alley. Just stay calm and remember to have fun or at least try to have fun, she said to herself. How bad can bowling be?

  Brett got out and opened her door for her. “Have you ever been bowling before?” He asked on their way inside.

  “Nope. I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

  He chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, Sabrina, I’ll show you how to bowl. I promise you’ll love it.”

  “I hope so.”

  She had to pause for a moment before she took a step into the place just to think about what she was about to do.

  It wasn’t the fact the she was about to go bowling for the first time. Or the fact that she never pictured herself going to a bowling alley on a first date. None of that mattered. It was more of the fact that she was letting her mind fool her into thinking it was wrong in that she was in public with a great guy who happened to be white on her shoulder. Just the simple thought of what people were going to or might say freaked her out. She stood in place and stared at Brett for a moment, just thinking and wondering if she was doing the right thing by getting involved with someone who happened to be outside her race.

  Was she strong enough to face the kind of things people were going to be saying to her if she followed through with things? Could she possibly see herself falling in love with a white guy or anybody for that matter?

  Brett noticed she stopped walking and turned around. He walked towards her and asked, “Sabrina, is everything okay?”

  She couldn’t answer him. All she could do was look at his handsome face and looked into his hazel eye that told her he could sense her worry.

  They were face to face. She looked at him and said, “I don’t know if I’m ready for this yet.”

  He waited a beat. “What is it that you’re not ready for?”

  “An interracial relationship and all the drama that comes along with it. I don’t think I can handle it.”

  At this point, she half-expected him to laugh in her face or maybe even walk off rav
ing like a lunatic or some other form of reaction that wasn’t so great . She just knew she blew things already.

  Even with the way his calming eyes told her otherwise, nothing in the world could have prepared her for what was about to happen next.

  Brett gently put his arm around Sabrina and said, “I understand exactly how you’re feeling. How? Because like I told you at the club, I’ve dated outside of my race before. Yes in the beginning it was scary but I had to learn to roll with the punches and be strong. I can be strong enough for the both of us. Yeah people are going to say they don’t like seeing us together but who cares about what they think. I don’t care about anybody’s opinion that isn’t relevant.” He paused and added, “See me, I’m a rebel and I like to break rules. I hate rules and restrictions.”

  Sabrina carefully listened and considered his every word. She didn’t know why, but something about him was drawing her to him like a magnetic force. She should have known she was going to end up having this conversation with him sooner or later but she didn’t think it would be so soon. But since it was all out in the open and she sensed that she could trust Brett to be there for her along the road they had ahead of them, something told her to just let it all go and stop being so straight-laced. And the fact that he was a rebel sounded so sexy to her. Besides, there was no point in ruining a good thing before it even started. It was plain senseless.

  “Thank you for understanding. I haven’t been on a date in two years, so I’m a little wound up.”

  “No problem.” He paused. “Two years?”

  “Yes, two years,” repeated Sabrina. “That’s not funny you know. Two years of bullshit, I should add.”

  “Damn.” Brett laughed. “Well, forget about that fool. He obviously didn’t know how to treat a woman. Come on, let’s have some fun.”

  Sabrina chuckled. “I’m ready.”

  They strolled into the bowling alley and rented their bowling shoes and got their bowling balls. Sabrina just knew the night was going to be very eventful; from the moment she started walking in her shoes she damn near slipped on the slippery floor. Thank goodness Brett was able to hold her up with his strong arms.

  “If you bust your ass can I laugh at you without you getting mad at me?” teased Brett once they sat down.

  Sabrina chuckled. “No, you can’t.”

  “You’re no fun.” Brett continued to laugh with an image of Sabrina slipping and falling on her ass running through his mind.

  She looked down at the bowling pins and asked, “So how does this work, like how do you score points?”

  “It’s simple; you take the bowling ball and you try hitting as many pins as you can in one hit.”

  “That sounds pretty easy. I can do that.”

  He looked at her manicure nails and said, “I sure hope so with those long cat claws of yours.”

  She giggled. “My nails aren’t all that long.”

  She held them, out in front of her and asked, “Do you think they will get in the way?”

  “Maybe.” He stood up with his bowling ball and said, “Let’s go find out.”

  “Here we go.”

  Sabrina just prayed like hell that her nails didn’t break. She just got them done, not to mention the investment she put into them.

  Brett was the first to go, so of course he had to show off his expert bowling skills and managed to knock down all the pins on his first try. He made it look so easy.

  “Your turn,” he smiled and said once he came back. “Let’s see what you got.”

  How hard could it be? She asked herself as she picked up her pink bowling ball and stepped up to the black line. She had somewhat of an idea as to what she was supposed to be doing besides trying her best to knock down all the pins on her first try. It would have been nice if her ball wasn’t so damn heavy, or maybe she was just a little weak in the arms?

  She should have known that her nails were going to get in the way but she wanted to give it a try anyway just for the hell of it. Plus, she wanted to show off a little bit. Hell, a lot. From the moment she put her four fingers in the holes and positioned herself in a weird stance, she felt she was doing something right, even if Brett was laughing up a storm behind her. In one instant she was holding the ball with her strong arm an in the next, the ball flew out of her hand and rolled passed all the balls without hitting a single one.

  “Damn, that was horrible,” Sabrina said, burying her face in her hands. “I didn’t even hit one.”

  “Aww, don’t worry about it,” Brett said coolly. “You’ll get better at it. You’re not going to flip out are you?”

  Sabrina removed her hands from her face. “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because you’re impatient. Remember, I did see you live in action not once, but twice.”

  She smiled at the flashback she got when they first met in the grocery store and she let her temper get the best of her then and when she was at the club.

  “Those were two totally different scenarios.” She turned to the screen and said, “Anyways, Mr. Big Shot, you’re up.”

  He stood up and stretched. “Alright.” He grabbed his bowling ball and said, “Come over here for a sec. I want to show you something.”

  Sabrina got up and walked over to where he was standing. “What’s up?”

  “I want to show you my technique. You might not get it on the first try, but hey, it’s worth trying.”

  She didn’t know what was going to happen next or even suspect things were going to get interesting. That was until Brett led her to the line and handed her his bowling ball. Then he stood behind her and said, “See the arrows on the floor?”

  “Yeah,” she answered shyly, not even looking. She was too busy feeling the body heat that was building between them as she felt his strong, smooth hands on hers.

  “See, the arrows are a guide to knocking the pins down. So basically all you have to do is line up the ball with the arrows and hit the pin right in the front.”

  She didn’t care about a word he was saying. All she cared about was the intense arousal feeling she was getting as she felt Brett’s crotch rub against her backside. And his cologne. His cologne was driving her crazy. She just prayed the moment would last forever.

  She brought herself from her thoughts to reality, where Brett was speaking.

  “See how easy that was?”

  “Um, yeah,” said Sabrina, fanning herself with her hands. “It’s getting hot in here. I think I need to sit down for a minute.”

  “Are you alright?” Brett asked immediately rushing to her side to help her sit down. “Can I get you some water or something?”

  Sabrina managed to respond, “Uh, I think I’ll be all right.” She added, “Could you please bring me some water?”

  “Yeah, no problem. I’ll be right back.”

  Once Brett took off to retrieve her water, Sabrina took a moment to gather her thoughts. She couldn’t believe how embarrassing that was. Getting all hot and bothered for no reason. Sure, she hadn’t felt a man’s touch in what, six months? Was there a law that said she couldn’t take a little joy in copping a feel on a man’s crotch without feeling bad about it?

  She smiled to herself and began to relax her tense body at the thought of how good it felt when Brett was standing behind her, rubbing up against her. Even if he wasn’t doing it on purpose it was definitely leaving an impression that she was interested in seeing him on another date.

  Brett returned with two cups in one hand and a platter of French fries in the other. He sat the drinks and food down on the table and said, “I hope you like French fries.”

  “Are you kidding?” said Sabrina, snatching up a fry and nibbling off a piece of the salty goodness. “I love French fries.”

  Brett smiled. “Wow. Me too.”

  Sabrina sipped on her ice-cold water and looked at the scoreboard.

  “Damn, Brett. You’re kicking my ass.”

  He chuckled and said, “Yes, I sure am.” He paused and ad
ded, “I have a deal; whoever wins gets to pick what we do on our next date and the loser has to front the bill. How does that sound?”

  Taken aback by his boldness, Sabrina damn near chocked on her water. “Hold your horses, cowboy. Who said anything about a second date?”

  His face turned serious. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed that since we are having such a good time that a second date would be obvious.”

  At first, she posed the question as a tease, just to see how he would respond. And to her surprise, his he reacted just the way she thought he would. In the back of her mind, she was elated to go on a second date with him.

  “Well, your assumption was somewhat right. I must admit that I am feeling a little connection between us. So, a second date would be perfect.” She picked up a fry and said, “I think you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  Brett smiled and extended his hand.

  “Shake on it?”

  Sabrina shook his hand and made the deal official, knowing damn well she was going to lose the bet just for her lack of bowling skills. All in all, it was a win/win situation for her because she was going to be seeing him again and she was going to be able to enjoy his company versus spending another long night at the office to avoid facing an empty house.

  Brett stood up and said, “Well, on that note, let’s get back to the game.”

  He went over and grabbed his bowling ball. He stepped up to the line, paused for a moment and rolled the ball down the lane with much force.

  “Strike!” he roared when he came back to Sabrina with a big smile on his face. “Getting nervous yet?”

  “Not even close,” laughed Sabrina, getting up to retrieve her bowling ball. Sabrina got into position and threw her bowling ball down the lane with much difficulty, not hitting one pin.

  “Damn it. Another gutter ball,” she murmured after taking her seat. Sabrina glared at Brett and said, “Okay, fine, you win. I give up.”

  Brett wrapped an arm around her and asked, “You’re giving up already?”

  “Yes,” she sulked, not looking even looking at him. She knew she was terrible at bowling and for a first date, things weren’t going like she thought they would. In the few minutes she sat there with his arm wrapped around her, his warm body next to hers, she felt like she was staring to melt away and it didn’t matter how angry she was feeling at how terrible her mood had changed in one instant.