An Unconventional Love: A Novella

by Warren, Alexandra

  Clearly I needed to get my shit together.

  “I’m so jealous. I don’t think I can dance like that now let alone as an adolescent.”

  I shook my head in agreeance with Ariel’s whispered admittance though I was convinced I could give the kids a run for their money. Being on the dance team in high school didn’t leave me at a complete disadvantage when it came to these teeny-boppers.

  As their routine came to a close, they were immediately transitioned out and a pair of dancers were transitioned in. The music slowed in pace to a ballad I recognized as John Legend’s All of Me. The dancers, a boy and a girl, immediately engaged in a moving piece, telling the story of the power of love and exchanging your all with someone; something I could never...ever do.

  I mean, if I were to give my all to someone, what would I have left for myself?

  What if they just...up and left, with my all, leaving me with nothing?

  Nope.

  Not happening.

  Though it did look like an enchanting feat when told through dance; probably the closest I would ever get to it.

  The pair stuck their ending pose, face-to-face on their knees holding hands, and the crowd went wild with applause and whistles.

  “Give it up for our first two acts!” The crowd gave more cheers and I joined in, wiping my eyes of the little tears that had thankfully remained in my tear ducts instead of running down my face. “Alright, before we move on to our next set of performances, we’d like to give a special thanks to tonight’s sponsor, Duke Enterprises. May we please have Mr. Robinson come to the stage to accept a small token of our appreciation.”

  I observed closely as a guy a little finer and younger than I imagined strutted confidently to the stage, sharing an embrace and air kiss with the emcee before accepting a plaque. Something about him looked familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I knew him from.

  Did I see him at the club one night?

  Nah, that’s not it.

  Maybe from school?

  Hardly possible.

  It bugged me to no end that I couldn’t figure out where I knew him from, but there was no doubt in my mind that I’d be reacquainting myself before the night was over.

  rich.

  “I guess that wasn’t so bad.”

  I wrapped my arm around Rae’s shoulder as we exited the auditorium surprised that she didn’t have a complaint to give as usual. Truth be told, I had enjoyed the show as well.

  “I told you. And you even got someone’s phone number out of it.” I watched my kid sister blush at the fact that I had caught her red-handed flirting with some alright lookin’ dude. Definitely not good enough for her but there was no need for me to knock her game quite yet.

  “Dang Rich, do you have to stay in my business?”

  “As long as you’re living in my house, eating my food and using my wi-fi, you are my business little girl.”

  I pulled her in closer, giving her a nudge to the top of her head as she fought for me to let go. We were almost to the car when I heard a very faint, “Excuse me”. I turned around, releasing Rae who immediately crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

  “Yes?”

  “Hello. I’m...Jasmine. I just wanted to offer a personal thank you for your contributions to the efforts of this...particular organization.”

  I knew this girl.

  She was introducing herself to me on an innocent platform but I recognized her, even though she was using her professional voice; completely opposite of the brash tone she used the day of the accident.

  “And I wanna thank you for messing up my little sister’s driving privileges.”

  Jasmine’s face turned to one of confusion but Rae had immediately picked up on what I said.

  “Wait, she’s the one that hit my car?! You should be ashamed of yourself! A grown ass…”

  “Rae, relax. It was just an accident.” I turned my attention to Jasmine who looked ready to spit flames right back in Rae’s direction. “I appreciate your kind words, Miss. Jasmine. Have you gotten a chance to get your car fixed? I can recommend someone who specializes in cars of that particular style.” Now it was my turn to egg things on. Jasmine had assumed so much about me during our initial interaction that I couldn’t help but rub how wrong she was in her face, starting with my fully-loaded 5 series BMW right behind us.

  “I haven’t. But I...plan to soon.”

  It amazed me how much her boisterous personality from before seemed to be severely muted though nothing about her looks wavered. Girl was a bombshell, surely her intentions even for a family-friendly event like this.

  “Good. Well, we’ll be going now. Gotta see to it that the brat gets home safely.”

  “Absolutely. You umm...have a good night.”

  I unlocked the door for Rae to get in before I walked to the driver’s side, taking a moment to appreciate all of Jasmine’s womanly features. She was what they called ‘thick fit’. Juicy thighs and ass with a thin waist representing at least some kind of workout regimen or waist training or whatever the hell women did these days to get an hourglass figure.

  I didn’t let her get too far away before I yelled, “Hey Jasmine!”

  She only turned around partially before she replied, “Yeah?”

  “I’m gonna take her home but I’m thinkin’ about going to grab a drink at the I Don’t Care bar after I get her settled in.” She smiled a little to herself, patiently waiting for her invitation. “If you don’t have anything going on, feel free to join me. I’d love to have some company.”

  She twirled one of her honey blonde loose curls on her fingertip, appearing to be weighing her options before she gave a smile bigger than her original one.

  “Sure. I mean, why not? I’ll see you there.”

  jasmine.

  I know this mothafucka did not stand me up.

  I sipped on my cosmopolitan - the second if we were keeping count - as I scrolled aimlessly through my phone at a bunch of nothin’ until a notification popped up signaling I had a text.

  Ariel: He still hasn’t showed up?

  Jasmine: No! I’m about to get someone to put my next drink on their tab and get the hell out of here.

  I pressed send while simultaneously looking down the bar for a possible suitor. I caught the eye of a guy who was far from my type looks wise, but in a good range money-wise according to the sharp tailoring of his suit and the expensive watch dawning his wrist.

  Just as he motioned for me to come his way, I felt a warm hand at the small of my back. “Hey. Sorry I’m late. The brat had a load of questions.” I turned to find...whatever his name was, dressed down from his earlier attire but still looking exquisite. His good looks were almost enough to make up for the fact that he was twenty minutes late.

  “It’s all good. But I’ve had a long day so I think I’m gonna jet.”

  His face turned into a frown as he questioned, “Jet? But I just got here.”

  “Yeah. You just got here but I’ve been here and am now ready to leave.” I reached down to retrieve my purse from the under counter rack before I felt that same warm hand except for this time it was covering mine. It felt like I was shocked by static but I knew that probably wasn’t the case considering there was nothing around to create that kind of energy.

  So what the hell was that?

  “One drink. It’s the least I could do for wasting your time.” His beautiful brown eyes were pleading with me to stay and it felt like I couldn’t say no if I wanted to.

  But for the record, I did in fact want to say no.

  “Fine. One drink. Then I’m out of here.” He smirked as if he didn’t believe me before he climbed onto the barstool next to the one I had been occupying.

  “You won’t wanna leave.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “After one drink. You won’t wanna leave.” So this late mothafucka who had already ruined a little of my month by hitting my car really had the nerve to be arrogant about my time. Yet here I was,
accepting the challenge with open arms.

  He motioned to get the bartender’s attention before returning his blindingly-white smile back at me. “So, what’s a girl like you doing out here, meeting up with strangers as if there aren’t men lined up at your door?”

  “A girl like me? You know absolutely nothing about me.”

  “I actually do know something about you. Your approach to me was a hell of a lot different when you realized I was a man with at least an ounce of stature. I watched you willingly offer yourself to the highest bidder just before you realized I was here. You drive a damn BMW even though you don’t look a day over twenty-one. And you douse yourself in designer clothes even though you probably look better with nothing on.”

  Holy shit.

  I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been offended or turned on. But of course, I chose the former regardless of my body’s natural response down below.

  “Who in the hell do you think you are coming at me like that?”

  He remained calm and too smooth for his own good as he replied, “I’m the guy you told off when you thought I was a lame and then came at on some sophisticated bullshit when you thought I was the man. But I see right through that, Miss. Jasmine. Just like I see through this facade you’re tryna pull like you’re some uppity Rodeo Drive chick when you’re probably from East Oakland, which does quite a bit to explain your attitude flare-ups though I’m sure they pay off in the bedroom.”

  Again.

  Offended or turned on?

  “Well let me tell you something. I’m not from East Oakland, I’m from Watts so don’t come up in here trying to tell me about myself like you’ve just got shit all figured out. Yes I wear designer but it’s simply because I can afford designer, the same way I can afford my car. Oh, and by the way, my attitude flare-ups do a hell of a lot more than just pay off since you’re so concerned.”

  He raised an eyebrow as my heart rate seemed to skyrocket. It bothered me, but also strangely intrigued me, that he had managed to get me so out of character in the blink of an eye though I was sure it was intentional.

  “A hell of a lot more, huh? That’s umm...fascinating to say the least; fuckin’ sexy as hell to say the most.”

  It was like the dude had two sides; one that simply oozed confidence and sophistication, and another that blasted an arrogant sex appeal. Mixed together, it was damn near mythical. So mythical that I had to ask, “Who are you? I mean really like...who the hell are you?”

  He appeared amused by my questioning, taking a moment to graze his facial hair. “I’m a corporate exec by day, recreational painter by night who doesn’t prefer to play games but will if that’s what it takes to get what I want.”

  “And what exactly is it that you want?”

  “You.”

  )~o~(

  How did I get here?

  One second I was at the bar, telling him off for coming at me crazy. The next second I was sharing a bed with him; I assumed at a hotel considering the fluffy white comforter and matching pillows though I didn’t exactly remember coming here. And it wasn’t like I was in the bed laying in the bliss of a satisfying sex session before I got up to get my clothes on. I was waking up.

  I never stayed.

  Never, ever stayed.

  It was simply unnecessary considering I didn’t do relationships and was surely not going to get someone’s hopes up about it. But somehow I was waking up and knew without rolling over that he was also still there by the sounds of level breathing coming from behind me.

  Instead of turning around, I reached for my phone conveniently located on the nightstand desperate to know what time it was.

  4:48 AM.

  Shit.

  I had to get out of here.

  I pulled my legs as slowly and quietly as I could from under the comforter, letting my toes sink into the carpet for a moment before I stood up. I glided from the bed, working hard not to draw any attention to myself.

  Where are my panties?

  Luckily they were bright pink otherwise there would’ve been no way for me to spot them in the dark.

  I bent over to retrieve them and was startled by the sound of his voice. “Are you purposely trying to entice me?” I refused to turn around and give him the satisfaction of my attention and bare breasts.

  “No. Actually I was purposely trying to get my ass out of here.”

  “Oh, that ass? Nah, that ass isn’t going anywhere,” he said with a low chuckle though I didn’t find anything funny.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re excused. Now get back over here. I’m far from done with you.”

  Why were my legs moving against my will?

  Why did his arrogance have to be so damn appealing?

  Why was I still here?

  “Thatta girl. Bring that sexy ass back to Daddy.”

  My gait came to an abrupt halt.

  “Don’t do that. I have a Dad and you aren’t even half of the man that he is.” Sure my dad was no saint, but that definitely didn’t mean I was giving the title out all willy-nilly.

  He leaned back against his elbows, putting his pectorals on full display before he said, “Stop being so damn literal, Miss. Jasmine.”

  “And you can stop calling me that.”

  Yes Jasmine, keep arguing with him so you’ll be less turned on and will actually leave like you’re supposed to.

  “I call you that because regardless of how you may look fuckin’ on the first night, I still respect you.”

  Damnit.

  “Will you still respect me if I tell you I don’t even know your first name?” I felt a little pathetic admitting that fact since it was surely nothing to be proud of. I guess I was hoping that would deter his interest in me though the way he was still gawking at me said otherwise.

  “Absolutely. Especially considering the fact that I intentionally didn’t tell you. I get it. We’re fuckin’. No need for formalities. But if you feel the need to scream my name...which you will...just call me Daddy.”

  “Fuck you...Daddy.”

  rich.

  “You’re awfully chipper this morning.”

  Truth be told, chipper was an understatement.

  In fact, exuberant felt more fitting.

  It pained me a little to know that what had occurred the night before was limited to those particular moments but it was surely nothing to hang my head about. I got what I wanted with no attachment nor expectations.

  It was...ideal.

  “Yeah, I’m feeling good today. Real good,” I replied, struggling through my last set of bench press. Saturday morning workouts were my thing regardless of what my Friday night looked like and I had finally found a workout partner who could keep up with me in Jamison. He was new to town, working with some promotions company and luckily shared the same fitness level as me. Though Jamison and I weren’t that close yet, we often bantered with each other between sets; usually something about his job and girlfriend or about my flavor of the week.

  “And you’re half-ass’n your reps so somebody must’ve wore you out.”

  I racked the weights with Jamison’s assistance before I said, “Damn, is it that obvious?”

  “It really is, bruh. So tell me about it. Was she bad? I know she had to be to get with ol’ Richie Rich,” he said with a laugh, mocking the nickname I had acquired.

  “Hell nah man. I don’t kiss and tell. It was a one-time deal. You know how I do.” It wasn’t that I didn’t picture myself settling down, I was just positive it wasn’t gonna happen anytime soon. I had things to accomplish before I could give all of my focus to some woman including getting my little sister out of high school and into a good college, loan-free.

  “I do. And since I’m no longer allowed to indulge in such activities, though me and my girl do it frequently and well, I gotta live through you. So spill it.” I took a swig from my water bottle, giving me a few seconds to review all that had occurred. I hadn’t expected to run into anyone at that damn talent show, especially not
someone that looked like her.

  And it was her.

  The girl that had an attitude out of this world but used it so attractively that it didn’t matter. So of course, being the lady lover that I am, I took a chance, not intending to fuck but also not ashamed of that fact that I did indeed want her. When she obliged to my wishes, it was bound to create something memorable.

  “I met this girl, invited her to have a drink, and we fucked. The end.” There was no way I was disclosing the emotional ass version that played in my head.

  “What she look like?”

  Perfection.

  “Eh, she was straight. About 5’5, maybe 5’6, curly honey blonde hair, ass for days…” Jamison busted out laughing before I could finish my falsely-unenthusiastic description. “What’s so funny?”

  “Her name wouldn’t happen to be Jasmine, would it?”

  “Damn. Don’t tell me you hit that too?”

  His face tightened up as he responded, “Oh double...triple...quadruple hell nah. She’s umm...she’s good friends with my ol’ lady.”

  “No shit?”

  “Yeah, she’s a cool girl and all but I uhh...hope you strapped up.” The way he said it, avoiding eye contact, had me instantly worried especially considering I had forgotten that small detail during our time together.

  “Why you say that?”

  “She’s very...how do I wanna put this...sexually exploratory.” I understood what Jamison was saying regardless of the way he tried to sugarcoat it.

  “So she’s a ho?”

  He put his hands up, tightening his face again as he said, “I didn’t say that. She just keeps busy that’s all.” I could appreciate Jamison trying to be respectful about it. And being who I was, there was no way in hell I could judge her considering my lifestyle was similar enough to it.

  “I got you bruh.”

  “She’s cool though, like as a person, once you get past her attitude. You gonna see her again?” I would’ve loved to see Jasmine again but I knew that was virtually impossible. We had both decided that our time together was purely about sex so I definitely wasn’t going to be the sucker that tried to go back on the agreement no matter how tempting it was.