Cutting Loose

by Dash, Jayson

  He turned to face her completely. “Why not? Are you scared of what mommy might think of me?”

  “Honestly, Brett, I am scared, but not of what she might think, more of what she might do to you.”

  “Well, you know what I stay to that?”

  “No…what?”

  “I think you should tell her and face your fears. We’ve been dating for how long now?”

  “Uh, we’re coming up on almost two months.”

  “My point exactly. I think it’s time to meet each other’s family.”

  “I don’t know, Brett. Maybe we should hold off for a while, until you know, more time has passed.”

  He looked at her for a few seconds. “All right.”

  She considered his words then and she even considered them as she tossed and turned all night thinking about it. Would she ever be ready to tell her family about her new man? Right now was way too soon.

  Chapter Sixteen:

  Scandalicious

  Monday morning brought on a new and beautiful day to start Sabrina off to what she thought would be a good week, but she was dead wrong for thinking so soon. Over a week or so she’d been contemplating whether or not if it was a good idea to consider Brett’s proposal that she introduced him to her family and vice versa. It wouldn’t have been such a bad idea, had she not been sneaking around like a school girl afraid to get caught with a boyfriend, or the fact that she hadn’t dated in a long time and the guy she was involved with wasn’t necessarily the ideal guy to bring home to mom and dad.

  Brett was far from her ideal guy and Sabrina knew this for a fact. It wasn’t his skin tone that set him apart or the way he made her feel safe when she was with him; he didn’t think or act like the next guy or pretend to be something he wasn’t—it was his overall persona that said it all.

  She sometimes wondered what it would be like later on down the road when she didn’t have to worry about the what-ifs: What if Brett’s another heartbreaker just like the rest of the good for nothing men from her past? What if her past of failed relationships came back to bite her in the ass? She didn’t have the answer to those questions but she did know that there was something special about her relationship with Brett that was different from others in the past.

  She pushed those negative thoughts aside and decided to focus on the good things that were happening between herself and Brett. Since the night he asked about meeting each other’s families, Sabrina had been thinking about what it might be like to meet his family and see what they were like. From the pictures that she saw, she could only imagine how such a large family would be like in real life when they were all together.

  And to contrary, her family was not so great when they were all in one room meeting someone Sabrina was dating, which was why she stopped bringing people to meet her family for a long time. She didn’t feel like having her love life butchered by her know-it-all mother, who always had the answer for everything and never knew to keep her mouth shut at the right moment. Sean on the other hand wasn’t anything to worry about because he always told Sabrina the flat-out truth, even if she didn’t want to hear it and if he disapproved of someone dating Sabrina, it didn’t take long before Sabrina sent him packing. It wasn’t because she was easily influenced by Sean’s opinions, it was just that she knew that she could always turn to him no matter what situation she found herself in and know that he would be there for her.

  She wanted to spend her day hunched in front of her computer going over layouts and pitches that her editorial staff left her to review, but for one reason or another she wasn’t feeling up to it. She was just having one of those days where she felt like going back home, curling up in bed and shutting the word out for the day and focus on relaxing.

  So when she left work early and raced home, she was feeling irritated when she saw her answer machine had a few new messages on it. She quickly went through them, most of them being from her mother and bill collectors. It wasn’t until she got to the last message that caught her off guard.

  Beep. “Hey, Rina, it’s Cassandra. Normally if I had some juicy news to tell you, I would just go ahead and spill it over the phone, however, the news I have today can’t be said over the phone. Can you call me as soon as you get this? You might want to ‘cause um, you’re in for a surprise”. Beep.

  Momentarily, Sabrina picked up the phone and called Cassandra back.

  “Ooh, girl, I’m so glad you called me back!” Cassandra answered on the first ring. “You have to come over here quick.”

  “What is the big deal? Why can’t you just tell me over the phone?”

  “’Cause it’ll be better in person. Trust me, you will want to see this.”

  Sabrina sighed. “All right fine. I’ll be over there in a few minutes.”

  After she hung up with Cassandra she changed clothes and made her way to Cassandra’s place.

  A few traffic lights and passing a few speed limits later, Sabrina pulled her car into Cassandra’s driveway, where she could see Larissa’s car was parked as well. And since it had been a while since she last spoken to Larissa, she knew things were going to be awkward with the both of them in the same room.

  Sabrina knocked on the door a couple of times before Cassandra finally came to the door and let her in.

  “Rina, I’m glad you came,” Cassandra said as she led Sabrina into the living room. She sat down on a sofa in front of the TV and said, “So, um, how’s everything going?”

  “Good, I guess,” Sabrina said, taking a seat opposite Cassandra on another sofa. “How are things with you going?”

  Cassandra got excited and said, “Great. I met this guy that I’m dating through this hook-up that I did a few weeks ago.”

  “Oh, really? What happened to not mixing business with pleasure?”

  “Girl, I threw that rule out the window the minute I first met his fine ass. The woman I set him up with turned out to be a gold digger and she was only after him for his cash after she found out he was a fashion designer. After I saw how heartbroken he was I just had to keep him for myself. I think he might be the one!”

  “Well, congratulations. Let me guess, is he celibate, too?”

  “Yep. Girl, you have to meet him.”

  “I don’t know about all that. Don’t you think it’s kind of early for that?”

  “No, not at all. Maybe we can all go on a double date and I can finally get to meet your man, the one you’ve been hiding from us all this time.” She grinned and added, “But not anymore.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Larissa came from the hallway bathroom and sat next to Cassandra. She reached into her purse next to her and pulled out a magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table and said, “Turn to page eighteen.”

  Sabrina looked from Larissa to Cassandra.

  “What is this about?”

  Larissa said, “Just open the damn magazine already.”

  A split second later, Sabrina picked up the tabloid magazine with the headline, “Love is in the air this month—or something like it.” She flipped through the magazine until she reached the page where she saw a picture of herself holding her jaw while Carl lay on the floor with Brett escorting her away from the scene—the scene being the disastrous wedding that took place days ago.

  Immediately, Sabrina felt her blood began to boil under her skin and she felt like she was a teapot ready to explode. No matter how many times she looked at the picture, she didn’t want to believe that it was real and that her once private love life was shattered. No, she wasn’t a celebrity with millions of dollars, but she was an editor at a famous magazine read by millions of people across the world, which in itself, made her somewhat notorious.

  Sabrina’s mouth was agape as she looked up from the magazine and stared at Cassandra and Larissa as they stared back at her, probably with the same curiosity she was feeling, but with a little more intensity written all over their faces as if they were owed some kind of explanation.

  Larissa spoke up
and asked, “So, um, is there something you want to tell us?”

  “Uh…”

  Before Sabrina could finish her sentence, Cassandra cut her off and said, “Read the article.”

  Sabrina looked back to the magazine and read aloud:

  “Spotted in a love triangle gone wrong, co-Editor-in-Chief of Fabulous magazine, Sabrina Evans, suffered the effects of having another man on the side—and getting caught! An eyewitness from the event claims that Sabrina and her former boyfriend who was supposed to get married to his former mistress, a woman whom left him for his best friend, found out about Sabrina’s new boyfriend and got into a tussle that resulted in Sabrina getting punched in the face and her boyfriend coming to her aid. Maybe she should have worn a tamer dress, because form the looks of it, she was asking for attention. In the end, she got what she asked for and then some!”

  When she was done reading she looked at Cassandra and asked, “Is this what you called me over here for?”

  “Yeah. I figured you hadn’t seen it yet and you could explain what the hell is going on.”

  Sabrina shook her head in disbelief. She tossed the magazine back onto the coffee table. “This is ridiculous. I cannot believe how people take shit and twist it around.”

  “So, what is the truth?” asked Larissa. “What, are you dating white guys now?”

  “Larissa, chill,” Cassandra said coolly. “His name is Brett. Stop sounding so racist.”

  Larissa turned to face Cassandra. “Oh, so you knew she was dating this Brett guy all along and here I was thinking you were just as shocked as I am?”

  Sabrina butted in and said, “Yeah, she knew because I told her not to tell you because I know how you are.”

  Larissa turned to Sabrina and asked, “Oh, and how is it that, huh?”

  “You act like you’re all high and mighty because you only date black men and you don’t think people should date outside their race and it ‘disgusts’ you whenever you see it.”

  “Damn, Rina, you hit the hammer right on the head.” She broke off as her cell phone rung. After she was done with her brief conversation she said, “I have got to see this.” She turned the TV on and flipped to a station where a woman was speaking:

  “Hello everyone out there! It’s Eva the Diva here with a Hot and Now News exclusive. While everyone was relaxing and taking a break, the co-Editor-in-Chief at Fabulous Magazine, Sabrina Evans, was spotted videotaped via cell phone in a love triangle. Roll the footage people! Here Sabrina is seen at the wedding of her ex-boyfriend, whom earlier in the relationship dumped her for the woman he was supposed to get married to until she changed her mind at the last minute, but that’s only half of the drama! Things go from bad to worse.

  “Enraged by the standup, Carl decides to take his anger out on Sabrina with a sucker punch to the jaw! Then her new beau steps in and saves the day—girl, I hope you put some ice on that! Well that’s all for now and until next time keep it fresh and as always, scandalicious!”

  For a while the room was quiet. Almost too quiet.

  Larissa broke the silence. “So, what is the real story? Or should I say, what is your side of the story? Enquiring minds would love to know.”

  Sabrina paused and said, “Well, I went to Carl’s stupid wedding with Brett and things got out of hand when Jasmine left Carl at the altar and he got pissed when Brett stepped up and basically, Carl got his ass whipped.”

  Cassandra chuckled. “Well, at least now you don’t have to worry about if he can stand up for you. And Carl got what he deserved.”

  “Sure did.”

  Larissa said, “So why did they say in the news thing that you were in a love triangle?”

  “Because they don’t know the truth. Do you really think I’d be dumb enough and trick on a good man like Brett with a low-down, dirty jerk like Carl? Hell to the no!”

  “So why did it have to be a white guy? I thought you said a long time ago that you would never date a white guy?”

  “That was a long time ago. And it’s not like I just chose to go looking and ducking for the perfect white guy, it just happened.”

  Cassandra chimed in and said, “Does it matter who she dates? I mean, at least she found someone.”

  “I’m just saying,” said Larissa coolly, not backing down from her position, “Of all the guys out there, you just said, ‘Okay, I think I want to date a white guy now.’ Am I right or am I right?”

  “You’re wrong,” said Sabrina. “Why do you keep making it such a big deal? You of all people should at least be glad. Why do you have to be such a hater? You don’t see me judging you and telling you what I think of all the men you sleep around with.”

  Larissa shook her head and said, “Whatever, Sabrina. It’s your life. If you want to date white men, fine. It’s your life and you’re going to do whatever you want to do regardless of what I say. So do you.”

  “That’s exactly what I plan to do.”

  So, just as fate would have it, when Sabrina showed up for work the following day everyone had their own opinion on her scandal and whispered behind her back or whenever they thought she was out of earshot to hear. And every time she heard them gossiping the story about her and her so-called love triangle always seemed to change and never once had she heard the same story twice.

  She would have been lying her ass off if she said she didn’t like the attention she was getting—a little bit. After a while she grew tired of having to explain what happened and why she was there in the first place, and then there were the people who kept asking her about Brett and why she kept her love life a secret. Then she got fed up and fired anybody who came up to her asking about him or the whole ordeal.

  Brett had no problem with the attention he was receiving as well from his colleagues and friends. He claimed that he was able to talk himself out of getting a speeding ticket because the female officer recognized him from a magazine. That wasn’t to say that he was famous or anything but if it took the strain that was beginning to build on their relationship, Sabrina was all for it.

  Sabrina shouldn’t have been surprised at all when Camille decided to open her big mouth and blab to Sean about Sabrina’s business and come to find out, he already knew and was just waiting for Sabrina to explain it herself.

  “So, what exactly happened?” Sean asked in the middle of the week after a staff meeting in his office.

  His demeanor was very calm, almost father-like as if he knew to be gentle, but not too hard either.

  “Well,” Sabrina said calmly, “it’s quite simple; I didn’t think I would get this much drama from going to an ex’s wedding, which turned out to be a disaster, as you already know.”

  “I see,” he said as he opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a magazine. He flipped through the pages and stopped at a picture of Sabrina. He looked at her and asked, “This guy that supposedly ‘came to your rescue,’ who is he?”

  Sabrina paused for a moment. She thought about how she pictured Sean reacting to everything and figured if he was being so calm about being in a magazine for something not so great, he wouldn’t blow a gasket when she told him she was dating someone outside her usual comfort zone.

  She said, “His name is Brett Deltour...and um, I’m dating him.”

  A smile creased Sean’s face.

  “I guess it is good to see that you’ve finally moved on.” He looked back at the magazine and added, “He looks like well-put-together kind of guy. How long have you been seeing him?”

  “Uh, a couple of months.”

  “How did you guys meet, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Oh, not at all. We met at the grocery store, then we ran into each other again at a club.”

  Sean closed the magazine. “Must be nice. I’m sure he’s treating you right and all that other good stuff?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “So, uh, when can I meet him? I mean, you do plan on introducing him to your family, right?”

  Sabrina felt a lump in her throat an
d found it hard to swallow as she pictured herself introducing Brett to her family. It had the words “chaos” written all over it.

  She waited a beat and said, “Uh, I don’t know yet. There’s a lot of planning involved and, you know, my plate is kind of full right now and I don’t have much room left for personal stuff.”

  Sean cackled. “Sabrina, you are something else. It doesn’t take all but a nice, quiet dinner at our place. We can all just kick back and relax and get to know this guy. What do you say?”

  “I have to really think about this, Sean. But if I change my mind, you will be the first to know.”

  Satisfied, Sean smiled and said, “All right. I’m going to hold you to that. And please don’t have me waiting two years for you to make up your mind.”

  Sabrina cackled and said, “Okay, I’ll try my best.”

  Normally a person would be ecstatic and bouncing off the walls with excitement and joy of introducing their partner to their family to get their approval, so to speak. But Sabrina on the other hand was not so thrilled. Not because it was Brett but because of her fears of not living up to their expectations, which was kind of hard to do. And there was only one thing to do get over her fears.

  Chapter Seventeen:

  The Cookout

  Sabrina had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the phone ringing. She was going to let it go to the machine but decided against it.

  “Hey, Rina,” Cassandra squealed into the phone. “Do you have any plans for this week? Please tell me you don’t.”

  “I don’t have plans. Why?”

  “Well, see, I told my boyfriend that since things are kind of, you know, fresh with us that I thought it would be a good idea to have a small get together at my house, sort of like a dinner party thing.”

  “Uh…”

  “Don’t you dare say no, Rina. You already said you don’t have plans.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t know if Brett has plans already. Plus, it would feel weird if I showed up by myself.”