“I’m not expecting us to get married next week and start having babies. All I’m asking is that you leave the baggage from your previous relationships behind. It all starts with friendship and trust. Don’t you remember what I wrote on your card? If you need a friend, I’ll be there.”
“I also remember you offering your services if I needed a maintenance man,” Terri said. “If this is all about sex, I wish you would come right out and say it.”
“Terri, I’m not gonna lie and say that sex isn’t important. I have needs like any other man. But a relationship is also about being compatible and wanting the same things,” I told her. “But you have to admit, if the sex isn’t good, you’re not stickin’ around either.”
“You got that right!” Terri said. “You’ll never hear me lie and say size doesn’t matter. I’ll take a cruise ship over a canoe any day of the week!”
“Then why can’t we deal with this like adults and move forward. You know, just get to know each other?” I walked over to where she was standing and took her hand. “Like I told you when we met, I’m different, and if you give me a chance, I’ll prove it to you.”
“Julian, I have no doubt that you’re a good man. I admire and respect you for making it to this point in your career and for raising a child on your own. Not many men would do that. But I can’t help guarding my heart after it’s been stepped on so many times. A woman has to be strong just to survive!”
“Terri, being strong doesn’t keep you warm at night. And it damn sure doesn’t hold you and tell you everything is gonna be all right.” I moved in closer. “As strong and independent as you are, you’re still alone and incomplete. Why can’t you stop focusing on being strong and just be Terri? There’s more strength in that than anything in the universe.”
She got quiet as if she was contemplating what I said, and then she put her arms around my neck.
“Okay, Mr. Payne. I’m gonna do something I haven’t done in years. I’m gonna trust you. And if you can handle my love without getting scared and running away, I will be more than happy to play my role. Hell, I’m tired of being strong and independent anyway; it’s too hard,” she whispered as she moved in toward my lips. “It’s too damned hard.” Then we kissed.
Her lips were soft. She moved her tongue slow and smooth, just the way I liked.
“Umm!” we moaned.
When I hugged her around the waist, her wrap fell off, exposing her firm, round ass. I rubbed it gently at first, trying to be a gentleman, but then I grew bold and palmed it. The contours of her hips and the dip in her lower back made me erect. She must have felt it because she backed away.
“I think we’d better stop,” Terri said. “I’m not quite ready for that tune-up yet.”
She walked over to her bag and pulled out a towel and a pair of goggles.
“Why don’t we go get into the pool and cool off. I think we both could use it.” She looked down at the bulge in my towel and smiled, then took off running toward the pool. “Last one in is a rotten egg!”
I laughed as I ran after her, because that’s a line I always used with Samantha.
For the rest of the afternoon we laughed and talked about all the things we wanted out of life. I could feel her enthusiasm as we engaged in conversation. When she mentioned a city she had traveled to, I had been there. When she talked about ethnic foods, I had tried them or was willing to try them, and when she asked me a question about relationships, I answered it directly.
Terri was everything I wanted in a woman. On the outside she was beautiful and classy, on the inside she was sweet, smart, and vulnerable. Most men would try to take advantage of her past pain, but it only made me even more determined to make sure nothing like that happened again.
Chapter 15
THE THERMOMETER ON my dash read seventy-six degrees as I cruised down Highway 59 on my way to the studio. I had the convertible top down and the music blaring as the warm breeze blew across my face. I smiled as I sang along to “Baby Can’t Leave It Alone” by Olu. It was a popular stepper’s cut in Chicago. The first time I heard it was at a club called the Fifty Yard Line, a small but classy joint on the south side.
It was the perfect song for a perfect night. Even the humidity was low. Houston may have been hot as hell during the day, but the nighttime was incredible! I felt blessed to be where I was, to have my job, to have a healthy child, and to have Terri in my life.
When I arrived at the studio, I parked in my designated space in the underground garage. It was only nine thirty, so I decided to chill out and listen to one more track off the Soul Catcher CD. I pushed the selector to track three, “Sistah Why?” I reclined my seat and closed my eyes while I sang along to Olu’s poetic lyrics.
“Sistah why do people fall in love so mad-ly
And then leave each other standin’ all alone. …”
The symphonic violin interlude echoed through the tiers of concrete like in a concert hall. “Maxwell better watch his back,” I said to myself. Just about halfway through the song I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I ignored it until I felt it a second time. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t believe who was leaning over me.
“Olivia, what the hell are you doin’ here?” I turned the volume down, then stepped out of the car.
“I just wanted to give you this.” She handed me a small box. It was covered with red Christmas wrapping paper. “It’s my way of apologizing for the way I acted last week.”
“You flew all the way from Chicago to give me this?”
“Who said I ever left Houston?”
Her hair was all over her head like it hadn’t been combed in days and she was wearing a long trench coat, which was odd considering it was seventy-six degrees outside. I played it cool, but deep down inside I was scared. I didn’t know what she was capable of.
“Olivia, I have to go to work. My show starts in twenty minutes.”
“Don’t you think I know what time your show starts? I’ve been listening to you every night.”
“Then you should know I don’t have time for this drama.”
“I didn’t come here to bring drama, I just wanted to give you this before I left for Chicago tomorrow.”
“What is it?”
“Open it and find out.”
I figured the best thing to do was open the box and get it over with. I peeled the paper off and lifted the top. Inside was a small royal blue pillow covered with packing paper. There was a long rope attached that I assumed was used to hang it on a hook or doorknob. On the front were embroidered white letters that read The Princess Is Sleeping.
“When we first met, you called your daughter Princess,” Olivia said. “I thought she might like it.”
“Thank you, Olivia. Now I have to go. I’m running late.” I put up the convertible top on my rental car and locked the doors.
“Can’t you take a couple of minutes out of your busy schedule to talk to an old friend? I’ve been waiting around this dump for hours just to see you.”
“Well, now you’ve seen me. Good-bye!” I started walking away.
“Wait, baby, look at what I brought you.” She untied the belt on her trench coat and slid it off her shoulders.
When it fell to the ground I damn near lost my breath. She was naked. From twenty feet away I could see her erect nipples.
“Olivia, put on your coat before somebody sees you!” I ran over and put the coat over her shoulders. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I just miss you, Julian. Don’t you miss me?”
“Go home, Olivia, you’re embarrassing yourself.”
“Fuck these country-ass people!” she shouted. “I came here to see my man!”
“Your man?” I laughed nervously. “Woman, you don’t even know me. Now go back to your hotel and sleep off whatever you’ve been drinkin’ or smokin’!”
“Will you come over later and tuck me in?” She put her arms around my neck and tried to kiss me.
“No, Olivia, now get off me!” I
pulled away and began walking toward the elevators.
“If you change your mind I’m at the Wyndham Hotel, 2205, remember?”
I didn’t say a word, I just kept walking. When I got to the elevator I pushed the button frantically, hoping to escape before she snapped. While I waited, I stuffed the pillow into the garbage can that was nearby. There was no way in hell I was giving my daughter a present from that crazy bitch. Just as I shut the lid, Olivia came walking around the corner.
“What is it now, Olivia? I told you I have to go to work!”
“You can stop being so nasty to me, Julian, I get the message. You don’t want to be with me and I have to accept that.” She was strangely calm. “I promise you I’ll never bother you again. All I want is a hug and then I’ll leave.”
“How about a handshake instead?”
“No, it’s got to be a hug,” she said. “Call it—closure.” When the elevator door opened my first impulse was to jump inside and close the door in her face, but for some strange reason I felt sympathetic toward her. Maybe it was my guilty conscience. In an odd way, I needed closure, too.
“Okay, but after I give you this hug, you’ve got to promise to leave.”
“I promise to God and hope to die.” She crossed her heart with her hand.
I didn’t like the way that sounded, but I let it slide. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and a church hug.
“Mmm,” she moaned. “I’m really gonna miss you. I hope we can at least be friends.”
“Sure, Olivia, but let’s make that long-distance friends. In other words, don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
“I understand, Julian, it won’t happen again. Have a great show tonight. I’ll be listening.”
After I boarded the elevator I held the door open and watched her walk off into the night. As the elevator doors shut, I tried to convince myself it was over. I really wanted to believe that. But Olivia walked away too quietly—too calmly.
Chapter 16
MY TEMPER FLARED as I circled the Delta baggage claim area in my car for the third time. According to the agent at Continental Airlines, Eddie’s flight had landed on schedule, but when I arrived outside of baggage claim he was nowhere to be found. I dialed his cell phone three times, but he didn’t answer. It was typical of Eddie not to be on time. If I knew him, he was probably trying to get into the pants of some weak-minded female.
The longer I waited, the more frustrated I became. It didn’t help that the sun was frying the left side of my face. The high was expected to be ninety-three, but it already felt like one hundred. Even with the air-conditioning on full blast, I was sweating. After another fifteen minutes of circling the terminal, I drove around to the hourly parking area. I hated parking at Intercontinental Airport, especially with all the new construction going on.
Once I walked inside the terminal I checked the monitor for flight arrival information and the carousel number his bags were arriving on. Most of the passengers from his flight had already collected their luggage, but Eddie was still missing. Just as I was about to try him on his cell phone, I saw a tall, light-skinned brotha wearing beige shorts and a tank top coming down the escalator. He had his arm wrapped tightly around the waist of a blond flight attendant. When he saw me walking toward him he waved and pulled her closer to him. “He’s got jungle fever!” I sang underneath my breath.
“Julian, meet Cindy,” Eddie said cordially. “Cindy, this is Julian Payne, radio personality extraordinaire!”
“Pleased to meet you, Cindy. Do you mind if I talk to my friend alone for a second?”
“Sure, go right ahead,” she said in a valley-girl accent. “I’ve got to get going, anyway.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Cindy.” Eddie kissed her hand. “I hope I can ride the friendly skies with you sometime soon.”
“Isn’t he adorable?” She blushed. Then she strutted down the corridor swinging her behind as hard as she could.
“Don’t make me throw up,” I said to him. “And by the way, United is the friendly skies, not Continental, fool!”
“What difference does it make? As long as I get my face between those creamy white thighs, who cares?”
“Eddie, you have no shame. Why don’t you—”
“Hold up, partner.” Eddie cut me off. “I thought we had this conversation already.”
“Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox for now, but one of these days that roaming dick of yours is gonna get you into trouble.”
“You might be right, but until then, I’m gonna put as many miles on this bad boy as possible. You heard of frequent flyer miles? Well, this is frequent boning miles.” He grabbed his crotch.
“All right, Mandingo, you just make sure to keep your hands off your genitals when we get to Terri’s office. She’s a classy lady. Besides, things have been going great between us for the last week. I don’t want her to get the impression that I’m as trifling as you.”
“A whole week, huh? Have you hit it yet?”
“No, I haven’t hit it!” I said. “We’re taking our time to get to know each other. It’s called dating.”
“Well, you can call it whatever you want, but what it all boils down to is game playing. A woman knows if she wants to give you some within the first thirty seconds of meeting you. Everything after that is game,” Eddie said. “Now, you can try to play the gentleman role if you want, but you and I both know that you would be knockin’ the bottom out of that thang right now if it was up to you!”
“I hate it when you read me like that!” I laughed and slapped him five. “You know me too well.”
We collected his luggage from the carousel and headed for the exit. Once we were outside, Eddie nearly broke his neck staring at all the beautiful ladies walking by: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, he didn’t discriminate.
“Man, Texas has some fine women! I hope your doctor friend can hook me up with one of those intellectual types!”
“Don’t you ever turn off?” I said to him. “I’m gonna have Terri give you a psychological examination. You might suffer from some kind of sexual addiction.”
“That’s cool with me; I love doin’ it on the couch. But if she cures me, I’m suing,” Eddie laughed. “Now can we please get outta this heat!” He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “No wonder they call this H-Town. The H stands for hot as hell!”
Chapter 17
“CALM DOWN, GIRL!” Terri said as she paced back and forth in her office. “It’s not like you’re meeting his mama.” Normally Terri didn’t care about what people thought of her, but the situation with Eddie was different. He and Julian were like brothers. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t mention Eddie’s name and talk about something funny they had done while they were growing up. It was obvious that Julian valued his opinion about everything, including women.
Just as she finished checking her makeup in her compact mirror for the third time, there was a knock at the door. She quickly put away her purse, straightened her skirt, and took off her conservative eyeglasses.
“Come in, the door is open!”
“Where’s the party at?” Janet yelled as she came strutting into the room wearing a snug-fitting pink skirt and matching pumps. “I can’t wait to meet Julian’s fine friend Eddie.”
“Look at you, dressed up like a hoochie mama.”
“Whatever,” Janet said. “You’re just jealous because you don’t have these sexy hips.” She slapped herself on the butt. “Like that Klymaxx song says, “The men all pause when I walk into the room.”
“They better pause, before they trip over your big behind. That rascal is so wide you could sit a cocktail table on it and then the drink.”
“Well, at least I’m not afraid to show off what I’ve got. You, on the other hand, try to be slick about exposing your stuff.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay, then tell me what’s up with the two buttons undone on your blouse. I know you’re trying to show off a little clea
vage.”
“Girl, please!”
“And where are those thick Sally Jessy Raphael glasses?” Janet laughed. “I’ve never known you to take those off, not even for Michael. Ooo, somebody’s in L-O-V-E.”
“You’re out of your M-I-N-D,” Terri said. “I’m just trying out a new look, that’s all.”
“Well, if you’re not in love you must be whipped.” Janet jumped on top of Terri’s desk. “So tell me—was it good?”
“Was what good?”
“You know—it!” Janet thrust her fist back and forth in a stroking motion.
“I beg your pardon. I would never give it up that quickly. And besides, a real lady would never discuss what goes on in her bedroom.”
“Heifer, please. If you were getting good lovin’ you would be yodeling butt-naked on top of the Transco Tower.”
“Maybe I just keep my business on the down low,” Terri boasted. “I could be rockin’ Julian’s world, for all you know.”
“When a woman has gone without sex for as long as you have, it won’t be hard to figure out.”
“And why is that?”
“Because good dick will have you talking to people you don’t even like and laughing at shit that ain’t even funny,” Janet said. “And you haven’t cracked a smile yet.”
Just then there was a knock at the door. Janet jumped off the desk and pulled her locks back to expose more of her face. Terri played it cool. She put her glasses back on and slowly walked to the door. When she opened it, Julian and Eddie were standing outside smiling from ear to ear.
“Welcome, gentlemen. Come on in,” Terri said while gesturing with her hand.
Eddie barely got one foot in the door before he started laying on the old charm.
“Mm, mm, mm, Julian was right—you are fine. And sexy, too.” Eddie looked her up and down. “All this body and a mind, too. Man, you hit the jackpot!”
“Eddie, this is Terri. Terri, this is Eddie,” Julian said.
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