Cutting Loose

by Dash, Jayson

  She said, “You will not believe what went down in the bathroom.”

  “I can only imagine what happened. I thought you might’ve fallen into the toilet bowl or something.”

  She lightly nudged him in the ribs. “Not funny. You’ll see in a minute I’ll tell you all about it on the way to your place.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “My place?”

  “I didn’t stutter,” Sabrina said coolly. “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “No, not at all.” He smiled and wrapped his arm around her. “I thought you’d never come to my place.”

  She chuckled and said, “Me either.”

  Moments later, the groomsmen and bridesmaids stood at the altar, waiting for a wedding that was never going to take place. Then Carl came strolling down the aisle all smiles as if he had just won the lotto and took his place next to the best man. Little did he know his world was about to be shattered.

  Jasmine came out without her veil, no bouquet, just a pissed look on her face that told everyone something was wrong. She didn’t walk with grace, something more of a brisk pace until she stopped at the altar.

  “Jazzy, what’s wrong?” Carl asked, his smile fading away from his face.

  “There’s something I have to tell you,” she said.

  “What is it, baby?”

  She looked at the best man, and back to Carl and said, “I’m sorry Carl, but I can’t marry you.”

  The sea of guests gasped in unison and exchanged empty looks.

  Carl looked shocked as his eyes danced from Jasmine to the crowd and back to her.

  “W-what are you talking about? I—”

  “Damn it, Carl, I’m not in love with you. Never have been. In fact, I’m in love with someone else and I am carrying his child.”

  Carl’s jaw dropped. No words came out.

  Jasmine turned to the best man and said, “Kenny, I should be marrying you. And someday soon, I hope I do.” She walked over to him and began kissing him passionately, not giving a damn about Carl and his silent tears. She slipped off her engagement ring and threw it at Carl.

  “How could you do this to me?”

  “You know what, Carl? I don’t have to explain shit to you. I’m done with all the bullshit. Have a nice life.” She grabbed the best man and pranced off down the aisle and disappeared.

  “You bitch!” screamed Carl. “You fucking bitch!”

  The crowd began to break away, some laughed in Carl’s face and swore at him as they passed by.

  Sabrina was heading down the aisle when Carl caught up to her and said, “Sabrina, wait. Is that really you? What the hell did you do to your hair?”

  Sabrina ignored his comment and said, “Carl, I think you better take a few steps back and walk away while you still have what’s left of your dignity.”

  “Come on. Can we talk? I know I messed up but can’t I get another chance? You saw what just happened to me.”

  “Yeah, I did see what happened. You deserved it. For two years you caused me nothing but hell. Why would I be dumb and go back to that?”

  “Because you still love me. Right?”

  Sabrina exploded with laughter. “Come on, Carl. Let’s be real. There was no love in that relationship. I moved on and it’s about time you do the same.”

  He tried to grab her wrist but Brett stepped between them and said, “What part of ‘move on’ don’t you get?”

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just know that I’m her man and you’re not.”

  He laughed like something was funny.

  “Damn, Sabrina. So it’s like that now, huh? You rather get busy with a white guy than your own kind?”

  “See that just shows how immature you are!” Sabrina snapped and stepped in front of Brett. “What the hell did I ever see in your sorry ass?”

  Carl laughed again and said, “You know exactly why you stayed with me—can’t nobody put it down like me. Not even your punk ass white boy!”

  That did it. Brett tried to keep his cool until Carl threw a punch at Brett, and missed. Brett took it to his advantage and punched Carl right in the jaw. Immediately, blood began to trickle from him lips as he staggered backwards. Carl threw another punch, this time it landed on Sabrina’s face and she immediately felt the impact as it set her jaw on fire.

  “Bastard!” Brett raged hotly before going after Carl as he tried to escape, but Brett caught him by the back of his jacket and knocked him to the floor with one blow to the stomach and another to his jaw.

  Brett ran back over to Sabrina and examined her jaw; no major damage was inflicted.

  “Sorry, baby. Are you alright?”

  She rubbed her throbbing jaw. “Yeah. My jaw hurts like hell.”

  He draped her arm around his neck and said, “C’mon, let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Chapter Fifteen:

  Aftershock

  Sabrina’s jaw was throbbing like a bitch. It felt like a million, maybe a billion, tiny stars of pain had exploded inside her jaw a half an hour later as she sat in the living room of Brett’s large and grand bachelor pad apartment that he shared with his pet beagle. It was a nice place tucked away in a quiet neighborhood in Miami Lakes.

  In the last few moments where she had gotten sucker punched replayed over and over in her mind as a simple reminder that she should have went with her woman’s intuition that told her to avoid the wedding to begin with. When it was all said and done, she had Brett to thank for being her knight in shining armor, so to speak. Even with that being so, she didn’t want to look weak or like she couldn’t hold her own and couldn’t fight her own battles, which was totally not the case. She was caught off guard.

  Thank God it was all over now and she no longer had to worry if she was in the wrong for feeling sorry for someone who didn’t deserve her pity.

  Brett returned from the kitchen with a Ziploc bag of ice and held it to Sabrina’s jaw. “This should help with the swelling.”

  “Thanks, babe,” Sabrina said, holding the ice to her jaw and praying like hell that she wasn’t going to work with a swollen face for people to buzz about.

  “No problem.” Brett stood up and said, “If you need me I’ll be in the kitchen working on dinner.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Yeah. Remember I told you I was going to do it a few days ago? Did you forget?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Sabrina said as she rubbed her forehead feverishly with her free hand. “What are you making?”

  “Uh, nothing fancy really. Just something quick and simple.” A grin curved his mouth and he headed back to the kitchen.

  Sabrina went back to nursing her jaw and looked around his place, taking in the calm and neutral colors decorating the living room; the walls were a warm red that went well with the plush black sofa sectional Sabrina was seated on the matching love seat. The flat screen TV was squashed in the middle of the wood grain home entertainment system that was divided by the glass coffee table that had a bunch of magazines tucked away in a neat stack just below it.

  She stood up and walked over to the wall next to the home entertainment center to get a better look at the surfeit number of photos of what appeared to be Brett and his family.

  She moved closer to look at what looked like a family photo resembling the Brady Bunch. She spotted Brett standing in the middle of two guys that looked to be about twenty-something, it was clear that all the boys were handsome like the father sitting next to a woman with long platinum-blond hair and ice-cold blue eyes. Beside her stood three pretty looking females who appeared just about the same age as the three boys, all the girls also had platinum-blond hair except one, who looked like she was the oldest of the bunch.

  Just below that picture was yet another family photo, all of the family members were smiling, as they stood dressed in winter gear outside of what looked like a cottage somewhere in the mountains covered with snow. Next to that photo was Brett standing in a white-and-pale blue tuxedo, a crown on hi
s head, a sash with the words “Prom King” across his tux and the number 97 off to the side. It was obvious that it was Brett’s prom and he didn’t have a date.

  “Manhattan Preparatory School’s class of ’97 prom king,” Brett said, sneaking up behind Sabrina with a huge grin on his face. “That was a lifetime ago.”

  “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” snapped Sabrina hotly.

  “Oh, sorry.” Brett laughed.

  “That’s not funny.” She paused and added, “At least I had a prom date back in high school.”

  Brett chuckled and retorted, “I did too…until she decided to go with someone else at the last minute.”

  Sabrina exploded with laughter and said, “Now that is funny.”

  “Hey, at least I won prom king.”

  “I can just imagine the type of kid you were back in high school. Yeah, you were probably the cocky all-star quarterback who slept with half of the cheerleading squad, who you conned into doing all your homework for you.”

  “Wow. I didn’t think you were into stereotyping people.”

  She took the ice from her face and said, “Isn’t that what high school is about? I know for a fact that’s how I remember it.”

  “Oh, and let me guess, you were the geek with braces, big glasses and agreed to do guys like me a favor and do their homework on the side?”

  “Hey, I rocked the hell out of those braces. I was a cheerleader with straight A’s and all the boys were lining up to taste my chocolate-y goodness.”

  That got a smile out of him. “Really? So let me guess again, and say that you only held on to your virginity because you were a good girl?”

  “You’re sick.” Sabrina sneered at him. “And your guess was wrong again. Just because I was a cheerleader didn’t mean I was a slut running around giving it up to guys like you.” High school seemed like it was yesterday and it wasn’t all nice and easy—especially when it came to losing her virginity so early to a guy who she thought she trusted.

  Brett erupted her thoughts with his laugh. “Guys like me? What’s wrong with a guy being a chick magnet because you were blessed with good looks?”

  “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it—it’s disgusting. It’s just like being a gigolo without getting paid for it.”

  “True. But in my defense, I wasn’t running around sleeping with every female—just the ones who were pretty and well, easy.”

  “Whatever, dumb jock,” Sabrina laughed.

  “Dumb jock?” repeated Brett coolly. “I know you did not just call me a dumb jock.”

  “Well, I didn’t stutter,” Sabrina said, placing her hands on her hips. “Must’ve struck a nerve.”

  “Actually, you didn’t. And for your info, I was nowhere near being a ‘dumb jock.’ Hell, if anything I was an undercover nerd. Prep school was not a walk in the park. I not only had to prove to the school that I was worthy of going there, but I also had to prove to my family that I could.”

  Sabrina was taken aback, surprised even. Just a little.

  “I guess that comes along with the territory of being the proud son of a socialite who expects nothing but the best for their family, right?” She knew first had how treacherous that was growing up.

  “Something like that. But nothing was ever given to me. I had to take it. While my other brothers and sisters were so quick to slide through high school, I wanted to be known and taking seriously. I had to learn to step out of the shadows of my brother and sisters.”

  “How touching,” Sabrina said sarcastically. “I think I might cry.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “So tell me, since you know it all, what was your family like growing up?”

  She waited a beat. “It wasn’t too bad. I grew up in mostly nice neighborhoods when my stepfather joined the picture and decided he wanted to be my ‘father figure’ since my real father bailed out on my mom when I was six. I never really liked rules and in high school I got into a lot of fights because girls were jealous of my good grades. I had to fight for a lot of things.”

  “Well you know how the saying goes, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ Sound like you live by the code.”

  “Pretty much so.”

  He paused. “So, what happened to your father? You never found out why he split?”

  “No, I didn’t. My mother never really got into it. Every time I brought him up she always told me I was too young to understand and that I was better off not knowing until I was older. And to this day I still don’t know.”

  He leaned his head to the side. “So she never told you anything? Like his name, how he looked?”

  “Uh, not really. All she said was how they met in high school and accidentally got pregnant so they got married out of high school and they were young and didn’t know anything about raising a kid. She also said he was going to college to be a social worker or something.”

  “Oh. Well, have you ever tried to find him on your own?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? Don’t you want to know his side of the story and at least know that you met him?”

  Sabrina sighed. “A part of me does and another part of me doesn’t. He’s been absent from my life for the past twenty-four years. I’ve come this far without him. I don’t need him.”

  That was a partial lie.

  But she didn’t want to start crying.

  Brett said, “That’s a little harsh isn’t it?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “C’mon, Sabrina. I’m sure you’re just saying that because you’re pissed at him—and possibly your mother.”

  “What are you, my psychologist?”

  Brett smiled. “No, but I’ve known a few people who grew up without their biological fathers and not all of them turned out so great.”

  “Cute,” said Sabrina. “I guess I’m living proof that not everybody who grows up without a father turns out to be not so great, as you put it. I’m fine.”

  “If you say so.” He turned to the entrainment center and opened a drawer. He took out a photo album and tossed it to Sabrina. “Time for me to go check on the food. In the meantime, you can take a look at my earlier years. I know you’re just anxious to see more of me.”

  “You’re so full of yourself.”

  He smiled. “Yes, I know.” He turned and waked back to the kitchen.

  Sabrina went back to her spot on the sofa and went back to icing her jaw, which still hurt like hell. She flipped through the photo album full of pictures of Brett and his family going all the way back to when he was a little rascal running around in diapers.

  Seeing the photos triggered memories of her own and she drifted back to when she was a toddler, not knowing what was going on in the world and not knowing how she would turn out years later.

  The pictures of Brett and his father doing things like going fishing, camping, hanging out in the yard or playing football in the yard. It all made Sabrina wonder that much if she meant what she said and how she really did sometimes wonder about her father and if things would have been with him around.

  But that was it; she hated dwelling on the past and wondering about what things would be like if she had a real father, if he hadn’t walked out her and her mother. She hated to think that maybe she resented her mother for never wanting to disclose any information about her father and tell her the real reason her father left and never came back. There was definitely a missing link. She knew it.

  From what she could remember hearing from other family members besides the he say/she say, Sabrina’s father was named Erik Evans and he was a handsome guy, who was known mostly for being a ladies’ man and was always caught up in some sort of drama. When he married Dorothy it seemed as if his days of sleeping around came to an end and their early years together were good, almost perfect looking from the outside. But nobody really knew what was going on behind closed doors. They were always arguing about money and little things. But of course, those were just rumors and no one knew the real reason.
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  Sabrina brought herself to the present, where Brett was walking from the kitchen.

  He sat next to her and said, “The food is almost done, shouldn’t be no more than five minutes.”

  “Great.” Sabrina closed the photo album and placed it in the coffee table. “I’m getting anxious to eat.”

  “I see.” He gently took the ice from Sabrina’s face and examined her jaw. “Looks like the swelling has gone down some.”

  Sabrina touched her jaw delicately. “That’s good. I cannot go to work looking like this.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be good as new by morning. It’s not that bad.”

  Sabrina glared at him.

  “Okay, maybe not that bad.”

  She put the placed the ice back on her face and said, “So, what’s for dinner?”

  Brett stood up. “Have a seat at the dining table and I’ll serve it to you.”

  A smile crept across Sabrina’s face as she rose to her feet. “Despite the disastrous day, thanks for making me feel, well, special.”

  Brett smiled as he took her by the wrist and said, “You don’t have to thank me. And besides, the day isn’t over with yet.”

  Sabrina laughed. “This should be interesting.”

  Just as Sabrina had said, dinner was very interesting. From the elaborate spread Brett created with fried Tilapia fish, mashed potatoes and asparagus. And just as Brett said before, he could cook his ass off like a professional chef. The main course was nothing compared to the marble cheesecake brownies and ice cream he made for dessert.

  Afterwards they lay in Brett’s king-size bed and let the food settle. It was perfect.

  “Maybe I should hire you to be my professional chef,” Sabrina said jokingly.

  Brett chuckled. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

  “Yeah, not until I move you in and my mother drops by unannounced and all hell breaks loose.”

  Brett looked at her. “Your mother sounds like she has a lot of influence on your life. That must suck a lot.”

  “Well, she doesn’t…not really.”

  “Does she know you have a boyfriend?”

  Sabrina laughed. “Oh God. You make it sound like I’m back in high school—and even then I wasn’t allowed to have a boyfriend. And no, she doesn’t know.”