Getting The Edge

by Alexandra Warren

  “I win either way.”

  “Yeah, you’re definitely gonna be winnin’ tonight baby. You’d be winnin’ right now but you’re probably scared.”

  “Scared? Scared of what?” He licked his lips as he leaned in closer, finally lowering his voice some but not enough for the driver not to hear him.

  “If I wanted to taste you right now, in the back of this taxi, would you let me? Maybe just touch it; see how ready it is for me. And my big dick.” I peeked up just in time to see the driver’s eyes go wide. Thankfully, we were only about five minutes away from my neighborhood so all this talk could be put to good use.

  “Would I let you? Yes. Are you going to at some point tonight? Definitelyyy.”

  “But can I...right now? You just look like the type that would taste so good. So sweet.” He punctuated his statement with a few kisses and nibbles to my shoulder blade.

  “You think so huh?”

  “I know so.”

  Something about the way he was coming on to me made feel bolder than ever. I parted my legs open just enough for my dress to ride up to my hips surely giving the driver a good view. Then I grabbed Jamison’s hand and guided it right to that sweet spot he was talking about, letting him explore at his leisure.

  “Damn girl.” I vaguely heard his words as I was too busy enjoying his touch. I didn’t even know it was possible for someone that hardly knew anything about me to be so in-tune with what my body craved. His motions were skilled like he had been working on the craft for years.

  Hell, he probably has.

  As the driver came to a stop at what I hoped was the front of my building, I cracked my eyes open to the salacious sight of Jamison tasting me on his fingers.

  “Sweeter than I imagined.”

  jamison.

  I could hear the sound of an alarm in the distance, but I didn’t recognize its tune as my own so I didn’t bother getting up. When the sounds went off for a second time, I felt the sheets and covers shift but nothing more. When I heard it for a third time, I had to see what was up. I rolled over and ran right into her. Her lips were parted slightly allowing me to hear her soft, steady breathing. She looked so at peace in her slumber and I had a feeling I was at least a little bit to thank for it.

  I had worn that ass out.

  A few times.

  And it was magical.

  I had never felt so in sync with a girl even though we were way past the point of sobriety and didn’t know much about each other. But our time shared together was enough for me to be hoping that it wasn’t the end.

  The alarm went off again and I watched as she stirred in her sleep before her eyes slowly opened. When she saw me, she instantly jumped up and out of bed.

  “Oh my gosh! What time is it?!”

  “I don’t know. Probably like 8:30 or so.” She was already up and getting dressed while I just laid there confused by her drastic change in attitude from the night before.

  “8:30?! Graduation starts in 30 minutes! Fuck! My parents are gonna kill me!” I made my way out of the bed grabbing my clothes from the night before as she pulled a dress over her head and stuffed her feet into a pair of heels. Lucky for her, we were at her spot so she at least didn’t have to wear the same clothes from yesterday unlike myself.

  She dashed into the bathroom to try and tame her matted down hair, brushed her teeth, and grabbed her cap and gown that was hanging from the doorway before she was heading to the front door.

  “Hey, what about me?”

  “Lock the door behind you!”

  And just like that she was gone.

  It surprised the hell out of me that she had actually left without kicking me out first like she was just confident that I wasn’t some creep who would go through her panty drawer or some curb that would try to steal something from her. Maybe she was just in such a rush that any of that kind of stuff was the last thing on her mind. Or maybe she saw me for who I really was regardless of the circumstances that brought us together.

  Since graduation did start in…now 20 minutes, I went to the bathroom to take a leak and used a little of her mouthwash to at least kill my morning breath. Luckily, I was dressed pretty fresh last night so my outfit was still appropriate for today’s event. I called up a cab and grabbed a granola bar before I was out of the door almost as fast as she was.

  ariel.

  “Ariel! Where have you been? I called you at least 100 times!” I was trying to find my place in the line-up for my college and Jasmine was right on my tracks like she didn’t have a place of her own to be.

  “Doesn’t matter. I made it.” She crossed her arms over her chest, analyzing my demeanor. Jasmine and I had been the best of friends since I first got to college so she knew me well enough to know something was different. But I damn sure wasn’t in the mood to tell her exactly what. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to say anything for her to put two and two together.

  “Oh my gosh. You...and Jamison. You little skank.”

  I snatched her in close before I said, “Would you shut up? And don’t you have somewhere to be?”

  “My college is last and since I was here on time unlike you, I know exactly where I have to be. But damn girl, it must’ve been good if it almost made you miss graduation.” I hadn’t had much time to even think about it. But now, since I had a free moment, I could remember every...blissful…stroke.

  And did he really have to look that good first thing in the morning?

  I was snapped out of my daydream by the sounds of the graduation processional music. Jasmine gave me a pat on the shoulder and a smile before strutting to the back of the line.

  - & -

  “Graduation has you glowing baby!” I smiled for the hundredth picture my parents had taken of me holding my diploma. A bunch by myself. A bunch with family members. A bunch with family friends. A bunch with them. But I would keep on smiling as it was a special moment, brought largely in part by the college fund they had set up for me from birth. As we arranged for yet another family photo, I was surprised to see a now familiar face watching me; waiting for me in the distance. Though my parents blamed my glow on graduation, I knew at least a part of it had to do with him. I was expecting him to be at graduation, for his cousin Drew, but I still didn’t think we would actually run into each other. After a few snaps, I told everyone I would be right back and headed his way.

  “Congratulations Ariel. These are for you.” He handed me a bouquet of flowers and I couldn’t help but be flattered. Hell, there were people I had dated for months and never gotten flowers from and he was already giving them on the first day.

  First and last.

  “Thank you Jamison. These are beautiful. How’d you know tulips were my favorite?”

  “I saw you had some on display in your apartment and figured they wouldn’t still be there if you didn’t like them. And I locked your door for you. Even though I don’t know why you would trust a stranger like that.” Now that I had the chance to think about it, it wasn’t the smartest of moves on my part. But something about Jamison seemed so legit that I would probably do it again.

  If there ever was an again.

  “Well excuse me for seeing you as a genuine soul who wouldn’t rob me.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t rob you. Well except for a granola bar. A brotha was hungry. Oh, and a little mouthwash.”

  “Consider it a parting gift.” I said it in a friendly manner but I could see an ounce of dismay in his eyes.

  “Indeed. Well I better catch up with Drew.”

  “Yeah, you do that. Tell him I said congrats.”

  “I will. You take care Ariel.” I wanted to give him a hug, a kiss, something that would allow him to linger for just a little while longer. But instead, I just watched his confident strut until he disappeared into the crowd. I would’ve been lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. Not that I expected anything out of a one-night stand but of course one of the nicest guys I had ever encountered had also been in my life for the shortest amount o
f time.

  At least I got the D.

  jamison.

  I poured myself a glass of water before I walked the couple of steps to the couch in my new studio apartment. Moving to NYC before I actually had a job was risky, but I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t believe in myself. Some called me cocky, but it was usually the same people who had no idea how hard I worked to get to where I was. My parents were there, for the most part, but I still had to grind my way out of the hood just like many of the bosses holding positions that I saw myself getting in the future.

  As I flipped through my basic cable channels, I couldn’t help but smiling when I landed on the movie, The Little Mermaid. It reminded me of her, the girl who stole a little piece of me with her charm, bold attitude, and sexy ass body. Oh, and crazy skills in the bedroom. You would think we had actually been together for some time the way I seemed to miss her presence. What was even crazier was the fact that I didn’t even get her number.

  I picked up my phone and found Drew’s name in my contacts. Maybe he could help me out. I watched the animated sea animals sing until he answered.

  “Yo, what’s up fam?”

  “Drew. Question. Did you umm…get that one girl’s number from the club when I was out there?”

  “Who Jasmine? Hell nah man. She didn’t even let me hit. Once you left with ol’ girl, she took a cab of her own.” I wasn’t surprised that Drew didn’t pull her but his lack of game wasn’t helping my cause at all.

  “Damn. Do ya’ll have like a school directory or something?” I couldn’t believe the desperate measures I was taking to get to her.

  “Who knows shit like that? I barely made it out of there and you think I know if we have a damn directory? What you need that shit for anyway?” I had to think of an answer that wouldn’t make me sound so thirsty.

  “I’m looking for a phone number.”

  There was a long pause before I could tell he had caught on, “Ohhh, this is about that bad bitch Ariel huh? I can’t believe I was here for years and never saw her before.”

  “Hey, don’t call her a bitch man. But I’m sure you never saw her because her ass was in class unlike yourself.”

  He laughed into the phone, “Trueeee. But nah bruh, I mean I can ask around for you.” I was tempted to have him put out the search parties but then I realized maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe she was supposed to be a memory; the most pleasant, euphoric memory that I wasn’t planning on letting go of anytime soon.

  ariel.

  “Baby girl, where do you want these boxes to go?”

  “You can put those in the bathroom, Daddy.” He nodded an affirmative before he proceeded past me down the hallway. The apartment I had settled on was very, very modest but comfortable which was all I really needed. I could’ve gotten a roommate to split a bigger space with, but after living with Jasmine for a few years in college, then experiencing living on my own, there was no way I could go back to that life.

  “Now Ariel, I put a can of pepper spray in every room just in case somebody tries to get in here.”

  I put my hand on her shoulder giving her a reassuring smile as I said, “Mommy, it’s a secured building.”

  “Girl, I’ve watched too much Scandal to know a secured building does not mean a damn thing. If Olivia can get got in a secured building, then so can you.” I laughed at her reference but knew she was dead serious so I decided not to argue about it. As we continued to get all of my stuff unpacked, I received a text from Jasmine.

  Jasmine: Girl, guess who hit me up on Facebook looking for you?

  I had a Facebook profile of my own but it was super private and hard to find as I had the interview of a lifetime coming up. There was no way I was gonna lose a job opportunity over some random ass college picture I was tagged in. I was curious to find out who went to the extreme of tracking down Jaz just to get to me though.

  Ariel: Who?

  Jasmine: You remember Jamison? Drew’s cousin?

  I couldn’t forget Jamison if I tried. Even though we had only spent one night together, the memory of it seemed to resonate with me to this day; particularly with my body.

  Ariel: Yeah, I remember him. What did he say?

  It was ridiculous how anxious I was for Jaz’s reply to come in. So anxious that when it took longer than I expected, I decided to sit down which warranted side-eyes from both of my parents who were working hard to get my apartment in order. I was expecting a text message, but received a picture instead which I quickly recognized as a screenshot of the message Jamison sent to Jaz.

  Jamison: Hey Jasmine. I don’t know if you remember me, but I met you at the club when I was visiting my cousin Drew for his graduation (congrats by the way). I was wondering if you could get me in contact with your friend Ariel. I forgot to get her number and couldn’t find her on here so I went for the next best thing…and not like that; my bad. But anyway, if you could help me out, I would really appreciate it.

  Instead of replying to the message, I went to the Facebook app on my phone and looked him up under the name he had used to send Jasmine a message; Parker Jamison. Considering his name was out of order, he must’ve been trying to lay low like myself. His profile picture was of him and his mom on his graduation day. He was kissing her cheek and she was wearing the proudest of smiles. As I clicked the arrow on the picture to get to the next one, I saw pictures of him and his boys, him and his cousin Drew, and then him and…a girl. The picture was from a year ago exactly but it was clear he had some type of relationship with her by the way his arms were wrapped around her.

  Chill Ariel.

  I quickly closed out of the app and returned to my text messages. My fingers rested on the touch screen as I tried to figure out how to handle this. I could go the easy way, give him my number and then play the waiting game or I could take matters into my own hands and keep the ball in my court.

  Ariel: Tell him I’ll be in touch.

  jamison.

  Breathe.

  You got this.

  You can do this.

  This is for you to get.

  I mentally prepped myself for my interview with a little self-talk as I strolled through the glass double doors of Jones and Johnson Records. It wasn’t that I was nervous for the interview, more so anxious to show off how deserving of the position I was. I was more than qualified, had more than enough experience thanks to the internships I had completed during each of my college summers; there was no way I could lose.

  I sat in the lobby, waiting for my name to be called by the receptionist. As the clock got closer to my actual scheduled interview time, I saw the doors behind the receptionist’s desk crack open and out walked Mr. Aaron Jones himself. Right behind him was Mr. Percival “Percy” Johnson. And then there was a girl. My body seemed to acknowledge her presence before my mind did. She had a reoccurring role in my dreams and since I was use to seeing her in a fog, I wasn’t sure if it was really her or if I was simply imagining it. That was until I heard Mr. Jones say, “We’ll be in touch Ariel,” as he shook her hand.

  I hadn’t seen her since the weekend of Drew’s graduation, and I knew she was moving to NYC but I certainly hadn’t expected to actually run into her. Not here at least. After she said her goodbyes, she made eye contact with me and her face instantly lit up. I was sure she didn’t want to cause a scene with the bosses in view so she slowly approached me with her hand out.

  “Jamison. So good to see you again. Good luck with the interview.”

  “Thank you. I…” She cut me off as she leaned in to speak directly into my ear.

  “Meet me at the coffee shop down the block when you’re done.” Then she walked away wearing the sweetest of smiles. I had to shake her off quick to refocus for the interview so I straightened out my suit and approached the two men who were already engaged in a conversation of their own.

  “Did you see her ass? Shit didn’t even look anatomically possible.”

  “I know man, you better be careful with that. You know what
your wife did to the last one.”

  I couldn’t believe they were talking about Ariel’s body like she was just some piece of meat and not a potential candidate for the position. I mean, I couldn’t blame them but still.

  “Good morning gentlemen. I’m Jamison Parker.” I stuck my hand out expecting a handshake but Mr. Jones shrugged me off.

  “Yeah, yeah come on in.”

  - &-

  “I wasn’t sure you would come because I already knew. I mean, I was pretty sure by their reaction to me that I had it in the bag.” It was so hard for me to be happy for her. They had hired her on the spot without even learning anything about me. My “interview” lasted all of three minutes; long enough to regretfully inform me that the position had already been filled. I was sure she was qualified but it was clear that there was a whole lot more in her corner as far as getting the job was concerned.

  “Yeah. You must’ve did your thing. They didn’t even wanna hear me out.”

  “Seriously?” I side-eyed her excitement, not that she couldn’t be excited but it didn’t exactly make me feel any better. “I mean that’s crazy. Like, I felt good about it but...damn.” She took a long sip of her coffee, reveling in the elation. It would’ve been so easy to bust her bubble, tell her that her ass got her in the door, but I wasn’t trying to be that guy.

  “Just be careful hun. That’s all I can tell you. I’ve read up on these dudes and they can be... difficult to work with; especially as a female.” There were more than a couple mysteriously dropped charges of sexual harassment from their camp. Personally, it didn’t bother me because well...I’m a guy. But for someone like Ariel, she was gonna have to watch her back.

  “Trust me, I know. I’m pretty sure I read up on them just as much if not more than you did before I applied for the position.”

  “I’m sure Houston didn’t raise a dummy, but this is the big leagues. A whole new ball game.” She seemed to catch a little attitude like I was making the shit up. Or maybe she thought I was saying she couldn’t handle it.