Cutting Loose

by Dash, Jayson

  The guy in the Jordan T-shirt looked at Brett and back at Sabrina and said, “Seeing you with that white boy is nasty. Why you with his punk ass?”

  “He don’t know what to do with all that ass!” shouted one of his friends in the background.

  Sabrina ignored his friend and said, “Does it matter why I’m with him? I bet if I was a guy with a white girl I bet you wouldn’t have said anything to me then.”

  “You’re probably right about that.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” said Sabrina. “I don’t have time for immature ass haters like you. Get a life.”

  “Yeah it is whatever, bitch. When Whitey start beating your ass you’re going to regret that shit. I guarantee it.”

  “Why don’t you go buy yourself a belt and some clothes that actually fit,” said Brett hotly.

  “Speak up, white boy. I didn’t catch that little comment.”

  He thought he was tough with his friends backing him up. Sabrina and Brett were obviously outnumbered two to four and they looked like some roughnecks that may have done time behind bars before. Sabrina knew Brett wouldn’t be able to take them on by his self, unless he had some kind of superhuman strength that she didn’t know about. That would have been nice.

  So instead of taunting them like they would have loved, Sabrina grabbed Brett and said, “Let’s go, Brett. They’re not worth it.”

  As they walked away they could still hear the idiots talking crap behind their backs. None of them were dumb enough to try anything.

  Once they were in Brett’s car and on the road, Sabrina felt like she wanted to burst into tears for stooping so low and getting worked up over nothing. She never thought about how far she was willing to go for Brett until now as she thought about it. She knew if she wasn’t in such a complicated relationship that never would have happened. But all in all, it wasn’t so bad. At least she wasn’t all alone. Finally, someone had her back.

  Chapter Twenty-Two:

  Possibilities

  I think that was funniest movie I’ve ever seen in a long time,” exclaimed Sabrina as she and Brett walked out of the movie theatre holding hands. They had just spent an hour and a half making out in the back of the movie theatre of a movie they had to watch twice because they were fooling around so much they couldn’t keep their eyes on the screen.

  Brett smiled as they walked along the walkway. “I would love to see you in a bikini. But it has to be a two-piece, you know, to show off those killer abs of yours,” he said while rubbing a hand over her belly.

  Sabrina chuckled and said, “Definitely. But if I do that you know you have put on something sexy for me, like a Speedo?”

  “How about never in a million years will you see me in Speedos. Are you trying to make me throw up my lunch?”

  Sabrina laughed. “Come on. I bet you would look hot. And I’m sure your cute butt can squeeze perfectly into those short, underwear-looking shorts.”

  “Yeah, right.” He paused and said, “Speaking of lunch, I’m getting kind of hungry. You want to head back to my place and I can whip you up something.”

  “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  Brett beamed. “That’s what people do when they date.”

  Sabrina giggled like a little girl and said, “Yeah, I know.” She stopped in front of him to look him in the eyes. She said, “Brett, I’ve never met anyone like you. You treat me so good. It’s like you’re almost too good to be true.”

  He pulled her close to him and said, “Baby, you stole the words right out of my mouth. I feel exactly the same about you.”

  He leaned in for a kiss…

  Their lips touched and sent a wave a tiny explosion inside Sabrina’s body that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was like that feeling you get when you’re looking for something so bad and you’re just ready to give up hope. And just then you finally find it.

  When she pulled away from his kiss she caught herself giggling again and said, “You’re like a dream come true…well, not exactly.”

  Brett cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, when I was younger my dream was to marry Prince. But I guess dreams change.”

  “They sure do. But I think most of my dreams are kind of still the same.”

  “Really? Which ones?”

  “Uh, let’s, see…when I was growing up I always wanted to do something different from my family. While everybody else is off being doctors and lawyers and teachers, I’m a computer guy. It’s not every day a kid says to his mom and dad, ‘I want to be a computer geek when I grow up.’ It’s different. But I like it. Probably not as much as my parents though.”

  Sabrina laughed. “Wow. I bet you were a handful growing up, weren’t you?”

  He smiled and said, “Yeah, I guess you can say that.”

  “Well, I you’d like we can talk more about our childhood memories over dinner. I’m starving.”

  “Cool. Sounds like a plan to me.”

  The smell of a fantastic dinner filled Sabrina’s nostrils as she sat in the living room of Brett’s place and waited patiently for him to impress her with his culinary skills. She loved the idea of having a man cook dinner for her, but she loved the idea that Brett did it so well even better.

  She got up and walked into the kitchen as she was stirring something in a big pot that smelled like herbs and something savory. She snuck up behind him and asked, “Need some help with that?”

  “Sure,” Brett said, stepping aside.

  “This smells good. What is it?”

  “Shrimp and linguini, with a dash of paprika.”

  “Sounds good. So, what can I do to help?”

  “I was just about to add the sour cream and bacon. You can finish that up while the pasta gets ready.”

  “Okay,” Sabrina said, grabbing the ingredients Brett had on the counter and began mixing them in the pan. Though she rarely ever cooked on her own, she liked the idea of doing something right for a change, at least as far as keeping an eye out for the smell of something burning up. “Now what?”

  “Well, now I’ll just add the pasta and toss it up in the pan a bit and that’ll be it.”

  Sabrina stepped aside and watched as Brett mixed all the ingredients into the pan with such finesse. He made cooking at home look so easy...and sexy. She never thought that seeing a man cook in his home would be a turn on for her. Now she was thinking otherwise as proof stood right before her eyes.

  After Sabrina helped Brett set the table, they were surprisingly quiet the first few minutes. Either the food was really good or Sabrina was just fighting the urge to tell him how badly she wanted to jump his bones. Thankfully she resisted and pushed the dirty thought aside.

  She looked up from her plate of delicious food and said, “It’s obvious you watch a lot of cooking shows in your spare time. How did you get so good at it?”

  “Watching TV or cooking?” He smiled and took a sip of wine.

  Sabrina smiled. “No need to be cocky.” She smiled and took a sip if her wine. “So?”

  Brett laughed softly and said, “Well, technically I learned to cook from my dad, but my mom was the one who first taught me anything. I went to culinary school but I dropped out a semester before I was supposed to graduate.”

  Sabrina frowned. “What? Why did you drop out? You were almost done.”

  “Yeah, I know but back then I was on a tight budget and I was working two jobs to pay for school and it was exhausting. Then my grandmother passed away and I just didn’t have the passion for it anymore.”

  “Aww, I’m sorry about your grandmother. Were you close to her?”

  “Yeah, I was her favorite grandson, although she loved all of my five brothers and sisters equally, she always told me I was her favorite.”

  Sabrina reached her hand over the table and placed her hand over his. “I bet she was a sweet lady.”

  “Yep, she sure was. I still miss her even though she’s been gone all these years. I think she would be proud of
what I’ve become.”

  “Me too,” said Sabrina compassionately. “So, how come you never went back to school?”

  “Honestly, I don’t even know. I‘ve always wanted to but I never really had the motivation to do it. My parents encouraged me and tried to give me the money I needed to finish but I kept putting it off. Now I’m almost thirty and think it’s definitely too late to go back. Plus I’ve got my business and I’m happy I guess.”

  “That’s not true, Brett. It’s never too late for anything.”

  A smile crept across Brett’s face. He said, “That’s true.” He paused and added, “It wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I mean, I’ve only been working on computers because I needed something to fill in the void, kind of like a front. But now, I think it’s time that the veil came off.”

  Sabrina put down her fork and studied Brett’s face. She could tell he was happy and showed by the way he looked at her.

  She said to him, “So, does this mean you’re going back to culinary school?”

  He smile grew wider. “I think it does. And who knows, maybe I can take over my dad’s family business in a few years.”

  “Sounds intriguing. What kind of business it?”

  “My dad owns a chain of seafood restaurants he named after his Canadian dad, Gabriel. You might have heard of it, it’s called Gabriel’s Seafood.”

  “Now that you mention, I have heard of it. Isn’t there one in South Beach?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow. I love that place. I wish I would’ve known this a long time ago…wait a minute, so you’re Canadian?”

  “Well, half. My dad’s side is and my mom’s side is mostly from Italy. That’s where my dad met her when he was on vacation with his fiancée at the time and let’s just says that one thing lead to another and my dad dumped his fiancée for my mom. They’ve been together ever since then.”

  “Wow, that’s so sweet. But not the whole broken engagement thing, which must’ve sucked for her.”

  Brett laughed. “I’m sure it did.”

  After Sabrina forked the remaining scraps on her plate she said, “Well, I have to say, that was great. And I liked the little history lesson too.”

  Brett leaned back in his chair. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. So, um, what’s your family history?”

  Sabrina whipped her mouth with a napkin and said, “You could go on Google and type in my mother’s name or even my name for that matter, and everything will pop up.”

  “I know. But I want to hear it from you.”

  “Okay. Let’s see, my mother is of Jamaican decent, was born and raised in Kingston until her family moved here when she was nine years old. Her father was a wannabe Reggae artist; he reminds me of that Sean Paul rapper, except her father didn’t have braids, but he did have dreads. Um, I think that’s it. They were on the rich side but not really. My mom’s dad got into gabling and he lost a lot of money and somehow they didn’t go completely broke. They’re still making it today with what they can.”

  “Oh, so I guess that explains your drive.”

  “Yeah, to a certain degree. I’m glad I was born here in the States instead of in Jamaica, because I don’t think I would sound too cute with a thick accent.”

  Brett laughed. “Yeah, me neither.”

  “I’m glad you find that amusing.”

  He smiled. “So, what about your father?”

  She waited a beat. “I often think of him but not really. Did he look like a young Denzel Washington or maybe he could look like Brad pit.” Sabrina laughed to herself. “Of course, my mother always telling me that there’s no way she would ever date a white guy. So that rules that out. I never saw any pictures of him so I don’t even know what he looks like. It’s kind of sad. But I’m a grown woman and I haven’t seen him since I was born so, I can’t miss something I never had.”

  Brett stood up and collected their plates. He bent down and said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure there is a reason you never met your father. He’s out there somewhere.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Who knows, maybe one day he will find you.”

  Sabrina stood up as well. “Yeah, well, some things just aren’t meant to happen.” She kissed him and said, “I’ll do the dishes. It’s the least I can do.”

  Brett smiled and said, “Thanks.” He looked at the digital clock on the stove and said, “It’s getting late. Would you like to spend the night?”

  Sabrina beamed. “I would love to.”

  “Great. I’m about to head into the shower. “Care to join me?”

  “Of course. I’ll be in there before you know it.”

  He smiled and tapped her on her bottom before he disappeared into the hallway.

  After she washed the dishes she damn near ran to join Brett in the shower. They washed each other’s backs, made love and collapsed into Brett’s king size bed.

  “In the mood for a late night flick?”

  “If you have anything good, sure.”

  Brett jumped out of bed and searched through his infinite collection of DVDs until he found the one he was looking for and said, “I hope you like scary movies.” He moved over to the armoire where the flat-screen TV and DVD player was and inserted the DVD into the machine before getting back into bed.

  “I hope you didn’t put a horror movie in there.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry, you can hold me if you get scared.”

  “How comforting,” Sabrina said as she moved closer to Brett’s side of the bed.

  Brett let her rest her head on his chest. “You’ll be fine. Just remember that it’s only a movie.” He added a slight giggle.

  Sabrina laughed and got comfortable as the movie started and felt better than she normally would have been if she were watching a scary movie alone, which she never did if such a rare occasion ever took place. At first she figured she would be the first one to fall asleep during the movie but Brett proved her wrong when his light snore told her otherwise.

  She was about to fall asleep until she heard Brett talking in his sleep and said, “I love you, Sabrina.”

  She looked at him, to make sure he wasn’t awake and that she wasn’t losing her damn mind.

  Oh…my…God…could he be the one?

  Chapter Twenty-Three:

  Damaged

  After everything that happened over the past few days, a mini-vacation is exactly what Sabrina needed to clear her head. She didn’t want to mention to Brett the fact that she heard him say her name and how he loved her in his sleep and seeing that he didn’t remember it, she pretended it never happened. Technically, since he didn’t say it while awake, it didn’t really mean anything. Or did it?

  Either way, she needed to get away from Miami for a little while and have some fun. Since spring was in full throttle, everybody was looking to Fabulous for the next issue on everything designer and what was hot this season. Last season it was all about trench coats and knee-high boots, this season was all about colors and things that “popped” so to speak. It wouldn’t have been so hard for Sabrina to work with Camille if she wasn’t such a bitch as usual.

  “Why do you have to make everything so difficult?” Sabrina said to Camille after she brought up the idea of doing a photo shoot on location on the beach, but Camille being the idiot she was, didn’t see the potential and kept saying no.

  Camille rose from her leather chair and said, “Because you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. And because I call all the shots, not you.”

  “Oh, really?” said Sabrina. “Well, you better not get so used to thinking you’re going to be calling the shots forever.”

  “And what is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me?”

  Sabrina stepped closer to Camille until they were face to face.

  She said, “I don’t make threats, Camille. But I do make promises.”

  Camille waited a beat. “You think you’re going to take my job and run shit? Newsflash, bitch—it isn’t going to happen. How many times do I have to tell you that?�
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  Sabrina rolled her eyes. “You know what, Camille? You are full of shit! You have no idea how to run this magazine. Ever since my mother left you have been running this magazine to shit and if it wasn’t for me, this magazine would be nothing. I have made Fabulous what it is and I’ll be damned if I let you keep on with this shit.”

  By then her voice was raised and she could feel the veins on her neck pumping.

  Before Camille got the chance to say anything, Sean walked into the room and asked, “What’s going on here?”

  “Ask her,” said Sabrina, nodding her head towards Camille.

  Camille looked from Sabrina to Sean. “Nothing.”

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing,” said Sean. He looked between Sabrina and Camille. “What has been going with you two lately? You all can’t be in the same room for five minutes without arguing and you don’t come by the house to speak to your mother or me. Something is going on.”

  “Everything is fine, Sean,” Said Sabrina. “We were just having a discussion about the photo shoot this week in the Bahamas for the spring feature. Right, Camille?”

  Camille blew up and raged, “Hell no we weren’t! I already told you we are not doing that. It’s ridiculous.”

  “No, it is not and you know it. Just admit it, Camille.”

  “Admit what?”

  “That you are intimidated by me and my ideas. You know my concept is far better than your dreadful ideas.”

  “Oh, please. That’s total bullshit. You are so full of yourself.”

  Sean raised his hands above him and said, “I don’t know what the big rivalry is between you two is about, but you all are family and you need to work together.” He turned to walk away and said, “Since neither of you can decide on whose idea to use in the next issue, I’ll decide. Whoever can come up with the best layout by the end of the month will have theirs in the magazine. That should settle that.”

  Sabrina knew there was no way on earth she was going to allow Camille to steal this from her. Hell, Sabrina seriously doubted Camille had any knowledge when it came time to think on her own at the drop of a dime, let alone have any kind of originality in her work. Sabrina laughed on the inside because she knew she had it in the bag.