As soon as I rung the doorbell, Aaron automatically opens the door. “My man Jam, what up boy.”
“Chilling man and thanks for the invite.”
“Hey, I had nothing to do with that. It was all Crystal because she said a man needed to be around family at a time like this.”
“I appreciate you guys so much man.”
“Man please, you lucky she likes you because I told her to leave your ass outside fool,” said Aaron in jest.
“You mad crazy Aaron!”
“Yeah, but laughter is good for the spirit.”
While we laughed and joked a bit to lighten the atmosphere, Crystal walked in from the kitchen, “Dinner will be ready in about ten or fifteen minutes okay hun!”
“Thanks baby.”
Women have an interesting perception of emotions because Crystal gave me a glance that pierced the façade of my smile and seen my true emotional state.
“Glad you could make it. Everything is going to be okay so just enjoy the food and good company.” “
Thanks Crystal. I will.” She walked over and gave me a sisterly hug. Crystal walked back into the kitchen so that her husband and I could continue a much needed conversation.
“How are you really doing?” Said Aaron.
“Holding on the best way I can, but sometimes it’s hard to cope.”
“Damn. Believe it or not, I know how you feel. You feel like you’re coming and going at the same time.”
“Yeah!”
“Sometimes you’re happy and sometimes you’re sad in the span of minutes depending on your company at that time.”
“That’s exactly right.”
“I know about a few things.”
“So how do you know exactly how that feels? You got a great woman.” Aaron was quiet for a moment then looked at me with a bizarre facial expression that said I’ve been there before.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Why?”
“It… It’s not the right time. But one day, I promise I will tell you.”
“I respect that. Sometimes, I feel like I am losing my mind while at other times I feel like banging out my frustrations with any beautiful woman that would allow me to forget my pain.”
“Have you met any?”
“Just one.”
“That’s a start so what’s her name?”
“Her name is Sasha and she is smart, ambitious, funny and easy to talk to. It helps that her body is banging and she’s pretty as hell.” I decided to go into brief detail about Sasha and not about my intentions.
“Is she black, white, Hispanic…”
“She’s black but resembles a Hispanic woman. Maybe someone in her parent’s family has Spanish, Asian, or European ethnicity.”
“I hear that, does she have kids?”
“Yeah. A boy named Jason and a girl named Shanice.”
“What… You even remember their names. That’s interesting.”
“What you shocked about Aaron? How hard is it to remember some children’s names?”
“Actually, harder than you think.”
“Yeah right.”
“I’m dead serious man. Most guys don’t remember such things especially so early in a friendship. You care about this woman!”
“It isn’t that deep but I guess I kind of do like her.”
“I don’t care what you say.”
“You are bugging for real. Crystal your husband is bugging over here.”
“No I’m not but baby…”
“Yes honey,” she answers.
“Would you come in here for a second?”
I was kind of embarrassed to say the least but Crystal and I went way back to college years so it was perfectly okay. Wiping her hands on a dish towel Crystal entered the room and stood next to the chair her husband was sitting in.
“Honey let me ask you something.”
“Okay.”
“A man meets a woman with kids, knows the children’s names, and ages… Said nothing about the woman’s bodily dimensions. What does that spell?”
“That is the beginning of love, who did this?”
“Jamal.”
A smile comes across my face, “Damn right!”
“That is great, but you should take it slow now!”
I smile at the thought of such happy notions but want to concentrate on being alone for a while. “We are just friends though Crystal. We enjoy each other’s company, that’s all.”
“Aaron and I were once friends too you know.”
“True, but that is different because I kind of introduced you two love birds remember?”
“That is also true,” said Aaron. “But if fate would have it, that was the vehicle for our love to blossom.”
Aaron always spoke with such wisdom or maybe experience. I remained silent even though all of us were not on the same page. Besides, my initial intentions were decided by how cute she was and not by anything else. I didn’t know how long Sasha and I would be friends.
Crystal took my hand and consoled me like a sister. “Remember Jamal, life is a journey and not a destination and if you want a great journey recognize a great partner. If you can get along with someone on most things, then that is a great start.”
“I hear that.”
“Well, dinner is ready guys.”
Aaron grabs his stomach and said, “Great because I’m mad hungry.”
He then grabs me by the neck and gives me a hug.
“I love you.”
I felt, kind of funny having an emotional moment like this, given my delicate emotional state I was hoping I didn’t burst into tears again. “Me too.”
After dinner, the lovely couple walked me to the door. “Take care and don’t be a stranger.”
“I won’t.”
“And bring that lady by sometime. We would really like to meet her,” said Crystal.
As I got into my car and drove away, I caught a glimpse of the couple passionately kissing. In a jealous flash I dismissed it in my mind as juvenile, inconsiderate, and made a promise to myself to secretly scold them for their public display of affection. They should’ve known full well that I was lonely, hurting, envious, and vulnerable. I decided not to call them for a while.
Chapter 3: Reflections
A few weeks had gone by since the dinner at Aaron’s house and a lot of things in my life had changed. The best way for me to stay focused was to surround myself with positive people; besides, you are the company you keep. I managed to stay away from Crystal and Aaron under the guise of being real busy. The only person that shined some light in my life was Sasha and the children. Although we weren’t together, spending time with Sasha and her kids kept me humble. The conversations that we shared were good mental stimulation but I was craving physical attention. The thirst was starting to control me in ways I never imagined.
Normally on a Friday afternoon I would plan a day filled with various events for all of us to partake in, but this day was going to be different. I knew I was becoming emotionally attached to her so I needed a distraction to wean me off of her.
Earlier in the week, I met a woman named Monica at the convention center downtown. She was 23 years old, beautiful, and unfortunately married. Given all that, she appeared to be attracted to me. Fact of life I’ve come to hate, admire, then emulate is that woman respond to a confident man. That night, I wasn’t even trying to get her number because my intent on being there was for business purposes and I try not to mix business with pleasure.
“Fine event isn’t it?” I could smell the sweet scent of Channel No.5 as she sauntered up next to me.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh hi, my name is Monica.”
“Hello, Monica. I’m Jamal”
“Nice to meet you Jamal.”
“Where you referring to the displays here?”
“Actually… I was referring to the people.”
I had to admire her cockiness; especially since her 3 karat wedding band was still on he
r finger.
“I’m here to compare the competitions designs that are on exhibit here tonight.”
“You must be really great at what you do.”
“And you are basing your assumption off of what?” Stepping back I was able to get a better look at her and I had to admit she was breathtaking.
“Well for starters you’re a good dresser. That suit is very suave and unique.”
I really wasn’t in the mood for cat and mouse tonight but based on her gestures, it was obvious that her husband wasn’t anywhere in sight nor did he pose a threat to me. I wanted to level the playing field to see how willing she was. Every man can tell you that there is nothing more rewarding or sexy than a woman willfully sharing her sensuality with you.
“I’m pretty much done for the night so I am going to get out of here and get some real food.”
“That sounds nice.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you Monica. Take care.” I began to walk away without pushing her ‘come get me’ buttons.
“I know we just met and all but maybe I could join you…two is always better that one.”
I smiled to myself and turned around to face her.
I waited for her to place small, delicate hand inside of mine as we walked out of the venue.
I took her to a popular West Indian Restaurant where we laughed at each other’s pronunciation of the entrees’ and began the usual ice breaking conversation.
“So, what do you enjoy most about your work?”
“Let’s see; I can travel whenever I want to without any bosses approval, I am my own boss sort of, and the office is right at home. I really don’t look at this as a job since it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
“So art motivates you?”
“Well life motivates me and I express it in art form.”
“Deep. I know your girlfriend must love having you home all the time.”
“I don’t have a girl but I do have a lot of close friends that help me fill that void.”
“That is nice; people say you can learn a lot about someone if you study the people around them.”
“So what’s your story? What do you do?”
Right away I knew she was the kind of beautiful woman that only needed someone to talk to. Most men probably are too hasty or intimidated by a woman like her. This was a learning experience that taught me, even if not interested; try to find something intriguing about your counterpart that allows you to stay focused on the conversation. A lot of women only want a friend, someone to vent to; so in this moment I was being that to her even if I had ulterior motives.
“Well what do I normally do for fun? Absolutely nothing.” The tone of conversation quickly changed to melancholy.
“Why don’t you do anything?” Her eyes suddenly watered and a tear fell down her cheek. “My husband thinks that money and material things can buy silence or cooperation.”
“Come again?”
“My husband is a big broker that spends late hours at work, thinking that I don’t know anything about his nocturnal activities.”
I listened and could relate to her pain. “What a damn fool, and he leaves a young, sexy, beautiful woman like you all by yourself.”
“He stays gone for days at a time.” Sniffing she wiped her nose with a napkin before continuing. “That’s why I go out by myself, no one wants to sit in the house and be caged up like some kind of animal.”
“Why do you go out?”
“I go out hoping to lose the loneliness in the crowd but I only end up wishing I was one of the happy couples that are hugged up and smiling at each other.”
“You have to be careful Monica; there are some dangerous people who prey on women like you.”
“Sometimes I don’t even consider that because I don’t think he really cares what happens to me.”
A light goes off in my head, as I watch her try to pull herself together. “Maybe we can hang out sometime; catch a movie, or go out for drinks.”
“I’d like that very much, thank you.”
“Our conversation has upset you; so why don’t I get you home and you can call me whenever you want to go out again.”
“You’re a sweet guy. Thank you so much.”
I flagged down a cab and waited until they drove off. That night the better side of me won but I felt like it was only a matter of time before the devil showed himself again.
*******
Two days passed and I was yearning for female companionship. The ironic thing was hypocrisy was knocking on my door. There are always three sides to a story; one side, the other side, and the truth. The truth about all this was I was trying to play house with a woman that belonged to another man. First I had to get my lies together before I called Sasha and delayed our plans.
“Sasha? Hey, sorry but I’m going to be a little late today.”
“Oh, well that’s okay. How late do you think you’re going to be?”
“More like a few hours.”
The sudden silence indicated her irritation.
“So I’ll see you later.”
“Fine, see you later,” she said in the calmest tone.
There is an unspoken rule of mutual consent that states, if you and someone spend a lot of quality time together and you suddenly break or stretch a meeting, you’re somewhat on the verge of cheating. The truth was, I didn’t care enough not to break it because if anyone asked, we never said we were together. I brushed off the annoyance in Sasha’s voice and called Monica.
“Hello?”
“Does the sun shine on you today Monica?”
“Who is this?”
“What? You don’t know who this is? It’s Jamal, how you doing?”
“Oh hey you, I’m fine just sitting at home bored as usual.”
“Well, let’s see if we can do something about that.”
“I guess we could, what do you have in mind?”
“Do you like Japanese food?”
“I love it and ooh… I know just the place.”
“Where?”
“There is this fabulous Japanese restaurant by the water called Sakura.”
“Sounds like a plan say in about an hour or so?”
“You bet…and Jamal.”
“What’s up?”
“It’s on me.”
As she hangs up the phone I took time to groom myself and picked out one of the best suits I owned. I dabbed a little Polo Black behind my ears just as my phone began to ring.
“Hello?”
“What’s up Jamal, how you been man?” Surprised that his friend answered the phone. Aaron held on to the receiver as if it was the last time he would talk to him.
“I’m doing pretty good, and hey… I apologize for not getting back to you earlier. I’ve just been real busy lately.”
“I believe you.” Aaron replied with a condescending tone.
“Are we still on for tomorrow afternoon to play ball?”
“No doubt, Aaron you’re always going to be my boy.”
“Likewise, see you tomorrow.”
I proceeded to walk out the door and decided to take a cab because parking downtown could be pretty hectic. I arrived at the restaurant and found Monica waiting to escort me inside.
“Evening Jamal.”
“Evening, you look absolutely beautiful.”
She blushes and takes me by the arm, “Follow me; and I promise I won’t cry tonight.”
We walked right pass the people sitting in the lobby without even being stopped by the hostess.
“Did you call and reserve seats?”
“Actually, the owner is a personal friend of mines, and she hires only the best.” She forgot to say beautiful because most of the waitresses looked as if they were models or contestants in a beauty pageant.
“I’m going to the ladies room; I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time; I’m not going anywhere.”
What Lies Between The Sheets Page 5
