On the drive back to my apartment I thought about how I screwed up in the past by allowing myself to fall in love with a pretty face and buff body. If only I’d been smart like Corrine and didn’t allow love to control my emotions or my actions I probably wouldn’t be unemployed right now, I’d own my own damn company.
Just then as I reduced the speed of my Mitsubishi and came to a halt for a pair of flashing red lights in front of the fire station I had an uplifting epiphany. I could start my own jewelry line from home! Why not? I know how retail works, I definitely have the skills, the tools and the space now that Tasha is gone. When Saundra gets her magazine started she can advertise for me (at the little sister discounted rate of course) and with the to-die-for pieces I’m going to make for the wedding I can begin to make a name for myself. I can start small by selling in small boutiques around the valley and then when business picks up I can hire independent contractors to help me fulfill my orders!
An exhilarating feeling permeated my body as thoughts and new ideas burst from their seams and flowed out of my mouth like they’d been there the whole time. This made sense, this was me. This was going to be my ticket into entrepreneurialism.
“Why haven’t I thought of this before?” I asked myself as the high pitched sirens from the fire trucks whizzed by and I began driving again.
Because you’re broke.
“Hush!” I said stomping out the self-defeating thought of my subconscious mind.
“Yea I may be broke now but not for long. I’m going to do this. No,” I corrected, “I’m doing this!”
And with the determination of a bull, I began to visualize my business name in pretty silver scripted letters. Designs by Sonya; Jewelry by Sonya. I’d have to work on the name I realized after saying them out loud a few times. Nevertheless, nothing could stop the high I was on. A heavy weight had finally been lifted from my shoulders. I had a goal in sight and now I just needed a plan to go along with it. Having a goal, damn it felt so good.
Eight
Kaia
It’d been a long day at work and although I’d been busy since the moment I stepped foot in the door, I felt like I hadn’t gotten anything accomplished. When I glanced up at the time it was nearly one o’clock and I hadn’t even been able to start on my clients work yet because I was busy dealing with Rosie’s tedious task list. I had phone calls to make and return templates to design and deadlines to meet while Rosie was busy making me her personal assistant.
I’d had enough and decided to take my lunch before I lost it. While I was in the car driving to Chipotle I got a text from my mother asking me to call her so I did. My car’s Bluetooth speaker rang less than half a ring before she picked up briskly.
“Hey Kaia, did you get my text?” She asked in a rushed tone.
“Uh yea mom that’s why I’m calling, is everything okay?” I responded.
“Yea everything is good, real good. What you been up to? How’s work and everything?” She asked.
I could feel it already, I knew what she wanted and I knew what the purpose of this call was for, money. My mother never asked about my job unless she was trying to get on my good side. She really didn’t have any interest in graphic design or computers or anything I was doing until it made her look good in front of her so-called friends or it provided her with some extra spending money.
“I’m doing fine mom just working hard as usual.” I responded. I could almost hear her rolling her eyes over that one.
“That’s good baby, listen, I was wondering if you could send me a few extra dollars to cover a few bills this month. You see my job at the restaurant is starting to slow down ever since they built that new bistro next door and I’m just not getting the same tips like I use to. You know I can charm a man right out his wallet but if the man don’t come in and order a plate a food I can’t do nothing.” She responded in her back east fast talk that I’d grown up on.
“How much do you need mom?” I answered feeling annoyed but not letting it show in my voice.
“About three-hundred to cover the rent. Riley and that no good thug boyfriend of hers don’t do nothing but hang-out all night and sleep all day. She said she’s looking for a job so she can start paying their half of the rent but I don’t see her do nothing but get in the car and ride with him unless he tell her she can’t go. I need you to talk some sense into that girl but anyway you think you could send it Western Union Kai Kai?”
“Yea mom I’ll do it after work tonight. I’ll text you the confirmation number okay?”
“Okay thank you baby. You know, Celeste’s been wanting you to come down so she can show off her new Mercedes. It’s nice you should come see it.” My mother bragged.
“Celeste wants me to come all the way down to Inglewood to see her new Mercedes? Why doesn’t she just send me a picture?”
“See there you go, always making peoples accomplishments seem like they ain’t nothing. I done told you about that Kaia.” My mother snapped.
“That’s not what I’m doing, I’m just saying I get really busy and I can’t always come down for everything.” I responded exasperatedly.
What I really wanted to say was that Celeste’s Mercedes didn’t impress me one bit. Not because I didn’t love Celeste but because she got it by shaking her monkey and didn’t have anything else to show for it except for her Mercedes. I’d always thought she would go back to school.
Initially when she started stripping she used the classic excuse of “I’m just doing it to pay my tuition” line. But that was a lie, because she qualified for financial aid and only had to pay for the cost of her books. She turned down the school’s work study program and started stripping and hasn’t stopped since.
“Well then be happy for your sisters every once in a while. Anyway baby I gotta get back to work and finish up this shift so I can get home and relax my feet. I wanna see you soon you hear? She demanded.
“Yes ma’am.” I replied feeling defeated.
“And don’t forget to text me the confirmation number, gotta run, I love you.” She said while hanging up the phone before waiting for a response.
My whole point of taking lunch was to relive my stress but my mother had only intensified it. Not only had she just used me for money that Riley and her boyfriend didn’t make good on, but she also accused me of being unsupportive to my sisters and that’s just not true.
By the time I placed my order and received my Burrito Bowl from Chipotle I’d lost my appetite. I drove back to the office parking lot and parked my Avalon under a huge shade tree in the back where there were no other cars. I blasted the A/C and took a sip of my iced tea before leaning my seat all the way back and attempting to relax for the rest of my lunch. But before I could get too comfortable another call came in, it was Malcolm. I jumped to answer the phone.
“Hello.” I answered in a sweet and sensual voice.
“Hey baby.” He said sounding sexy over the phone.”
“Hey Malcolm, how have you been?” I asked trying to take some of the enthusiasm out of my voice. I didn’t want to sound too desperate…but I was.
“I’ve been alright accept I’ve been missing you.”
I knew he was just trying to sweet talk me because I figured if he missed me so much he would have called me or at least sent me a text.
“Have you been busy with the kids?” I asked.
“Yeah you know that and I’ve been working long hours at the gym but I called you to see what you’re doing tonight.”
I already knew what he wanted it and where he wanted it. If I told him I wasn’t doing anything tonight he was going to invite himself over to “hang out” and then we’d end up having sex and I wouldn’t see him until the next go round. I was determined to make things work with Malcolm. He had a great job as a personal trainer and made decent money from it, he was smart, he took great care of the two kids he had from a previous marriage and he just so happened to be handsome as hell. He was ten years older than me and for some reason I liked th
at. He was much more mature then guys my age and when we were together I felt safe with him. I guess he was somewhat of the father figure I’d always wanted in my life.
“Just the usual, nothing special really. Did you have something in mind?” I teased figuring if he came over tonight I could use that time to my advantage.
“Yea you know what I have in mind. How’s your day been?”
“I’ll tell you all about that drama later. Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight and then come back to my place.” I asked hoping he’d be up for a night on the town.
I could use a night out with the day I’ve had, plus it wasn’t often that me and Malcolm got time to spend together outside of the bedroom.
“You know I’ve been really busy all week and I don’t want to be in any crowds tonight. We’ll just meet at your place. It’s been a while since I’ve been over there anyway.” He stated as if the decision had been made.
I wanted to object and put my foot down about the subject but he made it hard for me. I wanted to tell him I was tired of this same routine but I didn’t want to argue because I missed him.
“Okay, what time are you coming?” I asked feeling like I’d been cheated out of my night on the town.
“I’ll be there at eight.” He said in his deep voice sounding very sure of himself. “And when I get there I want you to tell me about your week and how daddy can make it better for you.”
I blushed and told him okay before releasing the call. My brief disappointment turned into excitement because overall I still had a date night with Malcolm. I wished we could have gone out but who cares, in another six hours we were going to be making love and he’d be holding me tight by the end of the night.
When I got back to work I finished up everything on Rosie’s task list within the hour while I simultaneously returned phone calls. That left me with about two hours in the day to start work on a design template for a new blogging company. By the time I left the office at a quarter to six I was more than ready to go home and get ready for Malcolm. So that meant I needed to vacuum the floor, wash the few dishes I had left in the sink, take a shower, shave, brush my teeth, gargle, put the satin sheets on the bed, light the candles, find something cute to put on and make the fish tacos. When I pulled into my parking space in front of my apartment after stopping at the grocery store to buy beer for the batter, I convinced myself I could squeeze all this in within the two hours I had left. Then I remembered…Mama.
“Damn!” I said while beating the side of my fist against the steering wheel.
I forgot. How could I forget? I still had to send mama her money via Western Union and there was no way in hell I could call her back and ask her if I could do it tomorrow during my lunch break. I wouldn’t hear the end of it.
I pulled back out of my parking space and made my way to the nearest ATM, which wasn’t associated with my bank which meant I had to pay a freaking three dollar fee. I absolutely hated doing that but I was on a time crunch right now. From the bank I made my way to the nearest Western Union which was thankfully only a few blocks away at a payday loan establishment. However, I can’t stand going in those stores though. I don’t want people to think I’m taking out a payday loan but oh well; I was officially in a rush now.
When I walked into the store there were six teller windows but only two of them open. On top of that I was fifth in line which meant a full ten minutes had been wasted until I was actually called.
“This couldn’t get any more perfect.” I’d thought when I first entered the store and grabbed the Western Union form to send money.
It took about another ten minutes for the teller to finish the transaction because her gross typing speed was about fifteen wpm and on top of that she was in the middle of being trained by a young African American woman who looked no older than nineteen. As soon as l got my receipt and confirmation number I raced out of the store and back into my car and headed for home. I text my mother the confirmation number on the drive home and tried to mentally prioritize what thing I was going to do first when I got there. I pulled back into my parking stall after nearly damaging my car because I didn’t slow down enough for the speed bumps, and raced up the stairs and into my apartment. I threw my purse on the couch and put my heels in my closet and broke out the vacuum cleaner first. Then I lit my apple blossom scented candles that I had placed around the house to get the sexy aroma going. After washing the dishes I looked up at the time and realized I only had an hour and ten minutes left. I went to my linen closet and decided on the black satin sheets instead of the white ones and grabbed the matching pillow cases to go with them. I changed the linen on my bed and fluffed up my pillows and made sure my room was meticulous. I made sure to put the remote on Malcolm’s side of the bed that way he didn’t have a hissy fit like he did last time at his place because he couldn’t find it.
By the time I picked out my outfit for the night and stepped foot in the shower I felt stressed. I’d been hustlin’ and bustlin’ all day and I still wasn’t done. I grabbed my razor and my shaving cream and went to work on my legs, underarms and of course my kitty. I knew I could get lazy when it came to shaving downstairs but anytime I hooked up with Malcolm I made sure it was properly attended to.
I oiled up and put on a form fitting black and white striped maxi dress that showed off my figure and a lot of cleavage. It was casual enough for the house but sexy enough to make Malcolm reconsider this whole friendship status we had going on. I curled my hair and put on just enough makeup to look cute but not like I was going to a nightclub on the strip. By the time he knocked on the door I’d just finished the beer batter mix and put the oil on. I wiped my hands on the dishtowel, ran to the bathroom to double check my lip gloss and giddily hustled to the front door.
Even with the recent burglaries going on, there was no need for me to check who it was; I’d watched his Camaro pull into an open parking space. I calmed myself then opened the door with a ten inch wide smile.
“Hi Malcolm,” I tried to say coolly as I held the door open for him to come in.
“Hey baby.” He said as he wrapped his big arms around me and gave me a strong hug.
With my arms wrapped around his neck we embraced in a deep sensual kiss that got my blood boiling. Without breaking the kiss he reached behind himself, closed the door and twisted the lock. He placed his arm back around me and moved his big strong hands up and down my back massaging every muscle and piece of flesh that had been overworked and stressed today. All I could think about was how good he looked and smelled and how soft his lips were and how good his tongue felt in my mouth. He moved his hands down to my behind and grabbed a healthy amount and I could feel him rising against me. He walked me backwards into the corner still locked in the kiss and pressed his big muscled body up against mine. He broke the kiss from my lips and moved it down to my neck and started licking and sucking until I let out a moan. It felt so good I didn’t want him to stop but knew I needed him to, for now at least.
I positioned my hands on his chest and tried to push him back but he didn’t budge.
“Malcolm…Malcolm baby,” I said breathing hard and still trying to push him off. “Baby let’s eat.”
He paused, looked at me, smiled then gave me a soft kiss on the lips, “Okay, we can do that.” He replied.
He grabbed my hand and walked me over to the kitchen. I was almost so caught up in his trance that I had to force myself to remember to talk to him tonight. Talk to him about the path of our relationship.
He watched me batter and fry while he talked about how busy his schedule’s been and about how his baby mama’s been tripping because of the brand new Camaro he purchased a few months ago. I did my part by going out of my way to be supportive and offer insight into a woman’s perspective of things that way he could better understand some of her irrational ways. I wasn’t giving her an excuse for taking him back to court for increased child support when they already split the kids 50/50, but as I said I offered him insight.
&n
bsp; Eventually we took our plates out to the patio along with some margarita’s Malcolm mixed up in the kitchen.
We ate, we talked and we laughed and as the night progressed I felt truly appreciative of this moment with him. No it wasn’t my fancy dinner out on the town but it worked for tonight. Listening to him talk and share his stories with me always drew me closer to him and I pictured what it would be like if I was his wife, or if we had a little Malcolm Jr. together. I was telling him about a potential road trip I was probably going to make to California soon to see my Mama and my sisters when I saw Sonya’s car pull up and park.
“Hey girl,” I said as she approached the stairs wearing her purse on her shoulder and carrying her laptop case.
“Hey Kaia,” She replied in a friendly tone as she made her way up the steps.
“Sonya this is my friend Malcolm, Malcolm this is Sonya she’s my next door neighbor.”
“How Sonya, nice to meet you,” Malcolm replied nodding his head to greet her.
“Hi, nice to meet you to,” She said while she ran the rest of the way up the stairs. “I have to make a phone call, I’ll see you later Kaia.”
She was clearly in no rush to hang around or converse if even for a moment. It was a little surprising since she always seemed to be the life of the party type – at least until something got on her nerves. Not quite sure what that was all about but I brushed it away from my mind and redirected my attention back to Malcolm, my love. I took a sip of my margarita and walked over to his side of the table taking a seat in his lap.
“So baby,” I said starting off my intro into questioning our relationship. “You know I really miss you when we’re apart for so long. Do you feel that way about me to?” I asked looking him in the eyes.
He smiled. “You know I miss you.” He said confidently while placing a sexy sweet kiss on my lips.
“I know you do.” I paused for a moment trying to build my confidence before bringing up the topic that I knew he didn’t want to talk about. “You know we’ve been casually dating for a year now and I love spending time with you and I love what you stand for and I’m ready to move forward with you to the next level.”
The Countdown to Thirty Page 8
