Slick

by Brenda Hampton

  “I’m sure you would have.”

  We laughed and Crissy suggested we go across the street to CJ’s to have a drink. Having nothing else to do, I decided to go.

  Crissy and me had a ball at CJ’s. Both of us had gotten tipsy and we talked about all kinds of mess. When she called me a black bitch, not just a bitch, but a black bitch, I put down my drink and looked at her.

  “Watch it now, heifer. We ain’t that cool where I’m going to allow you to disrespect me.”

  She threw her hand back at me. “Oh, Sylvia, get over it. What’s with you Black women when it comes to being called a bitch? Black bitch, white bitch, purple bitch, whatever. Who gives a damn?”

  “I do, white bitch, only because we ain’t that cool. It’s okay for my girls to call me a bitch, but when any man or a white bitch such as yourself crosses the line, I don’t play that.”

  “So, let me get this straight: a man or any white bitch can’t call you a bitch, but it’s okay for your friends to call you a bitch?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that doesn’t make sense. It’s just like the issue you guys have with being called the N word. What difference does it make whether it’s said by me or by someone from your own race?”

  “Big difference. And to avoid yourself getting your ass kicked, don’t ever call me either one.”

  Crissy laughed and shook her head. “I like you, Sylvia. You wanna know why?”

  “Because I’m a black bitch who will tell it like it is, that’s why.”

  “You’re right. And even though I pretend that you irk the hell out of me, you make my day with your jacked-up attitude. I love it!”

  I gulped down another shot of Martell and so did Crissy. When this brotha came over and tried to holla at both of us, Crissy suggested having a threesome. Excited about her offer, he bought both of us another drink. Several minutes later, he insisted he was ready to go, but Crissy went off on him.

  “What in the hell do we look like, man?” she slurred. “A bunch of fucking whores?”

  “Now, I didn’t say all of that,” he said, trying to compromise. “I thought you ladies might have wanted to have a little fun tonight.”

  “We are having fun, brother. And we’re going to have a lot of fun as soon as you get your ass away from here.”

  The brotha frowned and looked at Crissy like he was getting ready to go off. I quickly intervened. “Hey, listen, my girl here is kind of messed up, all right? But, either way, we’re really not interested, okay?”

  “That’s all y’all had to say,” he snapped then walked away.

  I looked at Crissy. “You better watch that shit. That brotha was about to hurt both of us.”

  “Please,” she said. “What is it with these men anyway? Why must everything revolve around having sex?”

  “Well, when you come off suggesting a threesome, what did you expect?”

  “I was only kidding. Besides, I’m not interested in screwing around with a black man anyway. That’s, of course, with the exception of your boss, Jonathan. He is definitely one man who I would fuck the mess out of. Tell me, is he a good lover?”

  “Why in the hell do you think I would know anything about that?”

  “Sylvia, please, girl. You know darn well that you’ve screwed him. There’s no way you would have interrupted that meeting like you did if you weren’t screwing him.”

  “Well, believe it or not, I can’t answer that question for you.”

  “Then I’ll just have to see for myself.”

  “Go ahead. If you think he’ll screw you then go for it.”

  “I’ve already tried,” she said, ordering herself another drink. “You better not tell anyone this or else I’m gonna kick your butt.”

  “Please. You always talking about kicking somebody’s butt and can’t fight a lick. Anyway, I better not tell nobody what?”

  Crissy leaned in and whispered, “That Jonathan and I worked late one night and I stripped naked in my office for him. I threw myself at him and he—”

  “He what, girl?”

  “He looked at me like I was out of my mind. I consider myself to be a great catch, but he told me he wasn’t interested. When I asked why, he said because he was a married man and he loved his wife. I respected that, until I had my suspicions about him screwing you.”

  “Well, you’re wrong about that.”

  “Bullshit, Sylvia. Now, I was honest with you. You can at least be honest with me and tell me how good it is.”

  I laughed at Crissy and took another sip of my drink. Trusting her not to tell anyone, I admitted to having sex with Jonathan.

  “I knew it!” She slammed her hand on the table. “But, like, give me some juicy details. Is it everything that you could imagine?”

  “Yes, and then some. He’s a great lover, and I’m truly missing the hell out of him this week.”

  “So, that’s why you’ve been all quiet and shit.”

  “Pretty much. Other than that, I dreaded working for you.”

  Crissy rolled her eyes. “Get over it, bitch. I’m the best darn thing that could have happened to you.”

  “All right, trick. Watch the bitches because I will still mess you up.”

  “I can call you a bitch all I want to. You only said I couldn’t call you a black bitch. Besides, I’d like to consider us as being homegirls now, right?”

  “Hell no! You are too damn stuck up to be considered one of my homegirls.”

  “For your information, I am more hip than any of your homegirls are. 50 Cent is the man, so is Nelly, and Jay-Z. I love me some Jay-Z.”

  Crissy stood up and tried to rap. Several people looked over at us and shook their heads.

  “No way,” I said, standing up. “You are not about to embarrass me up in here. Put that drink down and let’s go.”

  Crissy laughed, and after she finished her drink, we left. We stumbled back to our cars, and after we stood yakking for at least another hour, we went our separate ways.

  When Crissy came into work on Monday morning, she said hello and walked into Jonathan’s office. Giving her a taste of my attitude, I followed in behind her.

  “Say, bitch, can I get you a doughnut or something this morning?”

  She laughed. “A doughnut would ruin this awesome figure I got, girlie. I do not want to look like your fat ass, so I’d better watch it.”

  “You call that a figure?” I joked.

  “You’re darn right I do,” she said, then smacked her flat butt. “Girlfriend, you wish you had it like this.”

  I patted my butt. “Honey, I got it like that and then some. You should be wishing that you could pull it off like this.”

  “Hell, no. That’s too much behind. You should be ashamed of yourself for squeezing that big butt into those tight skirts.”

  “Jealousy will get you nowhere, Crusty. And I’m going to get you that doughnut in hopes that it goes to your butt and fattens it up.”

  She laughed out loud. “You do that, Shanana, and while you’re at it, get me some freaking orange juice, too.”

  We laughed and I went downstairs and got Crissy and me breakfast. When I gave it to her, she thanked me and told me to keep up the attitude.

  As hard as I tried not to think about Jonathan, he stayed on my mind for the remainder of the day. I hadn’t been away from him for more than two days, and not seeing him at work tormented me. I, at least, hoped that he missed me as much as I missed him.

  14

  JONATHAN

  I hoped and prayed that Dana would get well soon. The doctor said she could leave the hospital next week and I was thrilled to hear that. She really didn’t say much to me, except for she was sorry for acting like a fool and she hoped I wasn’t upset with her for losing the baby. I apologized to her as well, and told her I held myself accountable for mostly everything that had happened. If anything, I should have listened to her when she begged for attention, and I never should’ve consulted in Sylvia for advice or comfort. It wasn’t tha
t I regretted being with Sylvia, but knowing how much hurt our being together would cause everyone, I should have never overstepped my boundaries.

  Thing was, though, I didn’t have the courage or guts to tell Sylvia I planned to work on my marriage with Dana. I knew my news would devastate her. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her again. At this point, though, I really didn’t have a choice. If I walked away from Dana at a time when she needed me the most, I would never be able to forgive myself.

  On the day Dana left the hospital, her parents and I brought her home. Mama Bell stayed and cooked all of us a wonderful dinner. When Britney called, I invited her to come by, but she declined and insisted she didn’t want to be around Dana. I told Britney she would have to deal with Dana and me being together, and after that, she ended the call.

  When Dana’s parents decided to leave, it was almost ten o’clock that night. I was exhausted, and after I walked them to the door, I went into the bedroom where Dana was. She didn’t have her strength back yet, so I basically had to wait on her hand and foot. Her waist and head were wrapped in bandages because of her ribs and the gash on her forehead. Feeling badly for her, I sat on the bed and placed her feet on my lap. I rubbed them and she smiled.

  “You haven’t rubbed my feet like that in ages.” She closed her eyes. “That feels so wonderful.”

  “The last time we made love I rubbed your feet. You just don’t remember.”

  “That’s right, you did. I can’t wait to get better so we can work on having another child.”

  I looked down at the floor, thinking about the loss of our child.

  “Jonathan?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You do want to try again, don’t you?”

  “Of course, I do, Dana. One day at a time though, baby. First, I want to make sure you get better.”

  “I hope you’re not worried about what the doctor said. They’ve always said my chances were slim, but, hey, we proved them wrong, didn’t we?”

  “We sure did, and we’ll do it again.”

  I continued to rub Dana’s feet until she fell asleep. After she did, I went to the kitchen and got a slice of cake, then ate it in the living room while reading the newspaper.

  Finding myself thinking hard about Sylvia, I reached for the phone next to me to call her. I must have picked up the phone and hung it up ten times before letting it ring. When a deep voice answered, I was almost speechless.

  “Hello,” a manly voice said again.

  I cleared my throat. “Is, uh, Sylvia there?”

  “Who’s calling?”

  “This is her boss, Jonathan. I need to ask her something.”

  “Aw, hold on. She’s getting out of the shower so wait a minute.”

  I took a hard swallow, as I waited for Sylvia to get on the phone. Shortly after, she did. “Hello,” she said.

  “Hey, it’s me.”

  “Who?”

  “Jonathan, Sylvia.”

  “Aw, hey, what’s up?”

  “Have you heard from Crissy?” I said, trying to think of anything to ask her, other than who was there with her.

  “Yeah, I saw her at work today. She said that she had a date tonight, so maybe she’s just not answering her phone.”

  “Hmm. So, have the two of you been getting along okay?”

  “As a matter of fact, we have. But, listen, I’m gonna have to call you back, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “And Jonathan, please give Dana my best.”

  “I most certainly will,” I said.

  She hung up.

  For hours, I sat around thinking about Sylvia fucking another man. I thought I recognized Lorenzo’s voice and knowing that he was inside of her ate at me all night long. I even thought about calling her back, but I couldn’t. Really, I didn’t know what in the hell to say. It messed me up that she wasn’t even tripping off me and had decided to move on.

  By morning, my jealousy had seriously taken over. After I cooked breakfast for Dana and me, I told her I was going to the office to get something. I promised her I would be right back, and told her I would bring back some of her favorite ice cream from Velvet Freeze. She smiled and told me to hurry.

  When I got to the office, from a distance I saw Sylvia down the hallway, while leaned against the wall with her hands on her hips. She talked to Audrey and looked out of sight. Her straight, long hair was combed back and was flipped on the ends. She had on a brown leather short skirt that showed her sexy chocolate legs that I missed touching. After she saw me, she swished her hips from side to side and headed my way. I couldn’t help myself from wanting her so badly.

  “Back so soon?” she said, smiling.

  “I just stopped by to pick up something. I didn’t see Crissy in my office. Is she here?”

  “No, she’s in court.” Sylvia walked past me and went to her desk. All I got was a whiff of her sweet-smelling perfume. She looked down at her calendar. “Crissy is going to be out for the rest of the day. After court, she’s going to the St. Louis Cardinals game.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll just get what I came for then.” I went into my office. It was neat as a pin and nothing seemed to be out of place. Trying to make conversation with Sylvia, I called her into my office.

  “What’s up?” she asked, peeking her head in the door.

  “Have you seen my, uh, blue folder? It had a lot of important papers in it and it was on my desk.”

  “No, I haven’t seen it. Last Monday, when Crissy came in, there was nothing on your desk.”

  “Damn!” I said, looking around. “Do you think you can help me look for it?”

  She looked at her watch. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but if I see a blue folder, let you know, right?”

  “Please.”

  I sat at my desk and turned around in my chair. I pretended to search for the folder in the file cabinets behind me. Sylvia looked on my bookshelves, and then squatted down and searched in the file cabinet next to the one I looked in. I glanced at her sexy ass, and it took everything I had not to dive on top of her and fuck her brains out.

  After looking through two drawers, she looked at me while holding the drawer open. “How’s Dana doing?”

  “She’s fine.”

  “Is she home yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Very.”

  She stood up and walked toward the door. “I’m going to take a look in my file cabinets. Maybe you or I put it there by accident.”

  I turned my chair around and released a deep sigh. “Close the door for me.” She stared at me then slightly rolled her eyes. “Please, just close the door.”

  She closed the door, but stood in front of it. “What do you want?” she asked.

  “Who was at your house last night when I called?”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Why?”

  “Because I want to know. Was it Lorenzo?”

  “I can’t believe you have the nerve to sit there and ask me who in the hell I’ve been entertaining.”

  “That’s not what I asked you. I asked you if the brotha who answered the phone last night was Lorenzo.”

  “That’s none of your business. From now on, stay the hell out of my life and do not question me about my personal relationships.”

  “Okay, so you’re mad at me for not calling. I just needed time, Sylvia. You have no idea what I’ve been going through.”

  “No!” she yelled and pointed her finger at me. “You have no idea what I’ve been going through!” A tear fell from her eye, but she smacked it away. “Right about now, I don’t give a shit what you’ve been through. If anything, you at least owed me an explanation! That’s all I wanted, but as usual, you failed me once again.” She opened the door and walked out.

  “Syl—”

  I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. Feeling as if I never should have come here, I grabbed my keys to go. When I walked out of my office, Sylvia was at her desk with her back turned
.

  “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

  She ignored me and didn’t say a word. Not wanting her to get loud again, I headed home.

  In deep thought about Sylvia, I forgot about Dana’s ice cream. When she asked for it, I told her they were out of Heavenly Hash and promised her I would go back later to get it.

  Later that day, I rented us some movies to watch. I stopped to get her ice cream, and when I got home and entered the bedroom, she was on the phone with her mother. Her parents had been calling her like crazy, checking to make sure everything was okay. They were really starting to be a pain, but I tried not to trip. I understood their concern, but when her father kept making comments like, “You better treat my baby girl right,” and insisting that we’d better work things out, it kind of pissed me off. I was too damn grown for anyone to tell me what to do, but out of respect, I chilled and kept my mouth shut.

  Dana struggled to make it to the bed, and when I saw her standing in the doorway, holding herself up, I walked over and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek.

  “I love you,” she said, as I carried her over to the bed and laid her down.

  “I love you too.” I sat next to her.

  She placed her hand on my cheek. “Do you really? I know we’ve been through a lot these past several months, and I just hope you still love me as much as I still love you.”

  “I wouldn’t tell you that I love you if I didn’t. I know we’ve been through a lot as well, but, sometimes, a marriage has to be challenged to make it stronger.” I leaned forward and gave Dana a kiss. After we finished, I pulled the DVDs out of the bag.

  “Okay, which one do you want to see first?”

  Dana opened the container of ice cream. She put the spoon in her mouth and licked it. “Uh, that one.”

  She pointed to a horror flick, so I put it in the DVD player, and quickly went to the kitchen to pop us some popcorn. When I got back to the bedroom, I turned down the lights and jumped into bed with Dana. She laughed as I tickled her feet.

  “Stop,” she said. “Believe it or not, that hurts.”