Wives, Fiancées, and Side-Chicks of Hotlanta

by Shereé Whitfield

  For the next few seconds the two just stood there, then Casey jumped in.

  “Well, dinner should be served in a few,” Casey said. “Sasha, come over to the bar with me and let’s get you a drink.” Casey looped her arm through Sasha’s. “We’ll be back, fellas,” she said to the men, and then led Sasha over to the bar area.

  Who the hell was that man, Sasha couldn’t help but ask herself. She knew his name was Terrance. She knew he was Eric’s best friend, but that’s all she knew. Eric and Casey seemed like decent people, but might have had a little world of their own that they lived in. Was Terrance, perhaps, a part of that world? Not knowing the answer to that, Sasha didn’t know if she should play it safe and keep her distance, or get to know this man, who clearly, by the way he looked into her eyes while kissing her hand, wanted to get to know her.

  Meow was the only answer Sasha could hear in her head. And trust, that sound wasn’t coming from the curious cat.

  Chapter 9

  “You really didn’t have to walk me to my car,” Sasha told Terrance as they made their way down Casey and Eric’s walkway. Her mouth said it, but deep inside, she was oh so glad he’d offered to walk her to her car. That gave her a couple more moments in his presence. His conversation inside the house had been simply delightful. He didn’t come off as some Simple Simon jock, but instead had dreams and goals beyond just hoop dreams. He’d shared with Sasha how he was taking a couple online marketing, accounting, and investment courses. After she shared her dream of opening up her own boutique, he even offered her some tips. He was dropping so many nuggets about entrepreneurship and investing in one’s own business that at one point, Sasha pulled up the memo feature on her phone and actually took notes.

  Sasha was quickly drawn in by his intellect. Even if he was just trying to impress her, she still appreciated that. And anybody who had the knowledge to help her get closer to accomplishing her goals, she was all for it.

  Terrance could have just as easily sat back as if she was supposed to fall at his feet. But no, he realized Sasha was the kind of girl he had to work for. She was glad to know he recognized that.

  Sasha could see that he was a successful go-getter who still wasn’t satisfied, instead wanting and striving for more. This was evident when he shared how even though he played pro ball, he had other career ambitions. As a matter of fact, he’d already flipped five houses, doubling the money he’d originally invested in them.

  She never expected to be bitten by the attraction bug so hard. Terrance was fine indeed, but it was his mind that had her tipsy with fascination. She’d seen tons of handsome men during her tenure in the ATL, but there was something about Terrance that simply captivated her. He’d been the first and only man, in Ohio or Atlanta, to take her mind off business for more than five minutes and allow her to dabble into just a pinch of pleasure. They’d talked a little business while getting to know each other, but even staring into his eyes while he shared his wisdom, for Sasha, was pleasure.

  “Oh, but I did have to walk you to your car,” Terrance said. “That’s how my momma raised me. My mother told me what she expected of a man, and my father showed me what was expected of a man.”

  Sasha’s eyes widened and her heart danced a little jig. But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself so she asked, “Are your parents still together?”

  “Yep, going strong after being together for thirty years.”

  “Oh, wow. That’s amazing!” Sasha said, and she meant it . . . in more ways than one. Although finding a man, let alone a husband, had been the last thing on Sasha’s mind, like everything else in her life, it didn’t mean that she hadn’t planned it all out. And one of the things on her list of marriage material was a man who had been raised by both parents and that, God willing, his parents were still together to this day. “I didn’t have too many friends coming up who were raised in two-parent homes, including myself.” Sasha began removing her keys from her clutch as they approached her car.

  “Yeah, my household was like a rare gem, especially in the hood,” Terrance replied. “When my friends came to my house and saw my dad, they looked at him like he was an alien or some type of foreign object.” He chuckled. “Their eyes would be all bucked. They’d walk up to him and be like, ‘Can I touch him?’ ” He reached out as if he was going to touch Sasha’s arm. “ ‘Is he real? Is it a real live . . . fa . . . fa . . . father.’ ” He laughed. “They could hardly say the word.”

  Sasha chimed in with laughter of her own. “Stop it. You wrong for that.” Her laughter ceased. “I know you play basketball, but I didn’t know you were a comedian also.” Sasha stopped once they approached her car.

  “Yeah, well, there are a lot of things about me that you don’t know.”

  He said the words with a hint of mystery in his eyes, enticing Sasha to find out more.

  Terrance removed a strand of Sasha’s hair that the slight evening breeze had blown onto her cheek. “But prayerfully, all that is about to change.” He stood looking into Sasha’s eyes.

  Sasha was still stuck on the fact that he’d said the word “prayerfully.” Bingo! That was another check on her list: a man who loved the Lord. He could have said any other word. He could have said “hopefully.” But no, he’d said “prayerfully.” Was it possible that God was about to interrupt her own life plans so that she could start living the one He had in store for her?

  “And just how would all of that change? Me not knowing things about you?” Sasha played coy.

  “It would change by you agreeing to go out with me,” Terrance said. He waited on her response, still looking her dead in her eyes.

  A man who was direct and to the point. A man who knew what he wanted. A man who didn’t waver and could look at things straight on. Check, check, and check!

  “Well, I don’t recall you asking me out.” Sasha was usually forward and straight to the point as well, but she had to admit that she was indeed enjoying this little game of cat and mouse. She wanted to play a little longer, which was also out of character for her. She recalled Casey having said one time that dealing with a baller can bring a woman out of her usual character. Was this what Casey had meant by the words? For Sasha, being out of character didn’t feel so bad.

  Terrance took Sasha’s hands into his. “Miss Lady, would you be ever so gracious as to allow me to indulge in your company by donating just a couple hours of your time to a common folk like myself?”

  Sasha giggled and blushed. Who was this girl and where the hell had she come from? Sasha was usually in serious mode. Although she didn’t feel the need to party and have fun 24/7, she did crave happiness and contentment. Fun was temporary. Happiness was the real deal. But right now, even though living happily ever after with a husband and a couple of crumb snatchers was way down low on the totem pole, it still was part of her goals.

  “Well,” Terrance said, “will you go out with me?”

  Terrance might as well have been asking Sasha to marry him as far as Sasha was concerned. That’s what it felt like to her. She wasn’t into the dating thing to the point where she’d have to juggle multiple men, and then eliminate them according to her man checklist. She didn’t have time for that, and she especially didn’t have time to waste. Just last week she’d attended a free three-evening seminar put on by a nonprofit organization with a mission to create more minority business owners. It focused on the different aspects of real estate such as leasing property versus buying land and building. There was a focus on budgeting for remodeling, upgrades, or moving into a turnkey business. That’s something she could have missed out on if she was more into dating than preparing for her future. So going out on a date wasn’t to be taken too lightly in her world.

  “You know what, never mind.” Terrance released Sasha’s hand. “Don’t go out with me.”

  Sasha swallowed the lump in her throat. The one in her stomach felt like a rotten apple with worms residing in it. Chills ran through her body. Her blood felt like it was draining to her feet
and her heart started pumping quite a few beats more per minute than usual. Was this what rejection felt like?

  “Just meet me out,” Terrance suggested instead. “Somewhere casual, public; you know, like two friends would do.” He leaned into Sasha. “’Cause I really do need a friend in my life right now.”

  Terrance had to have been placed strategically in Sasha’s life, and not just by Casey and Eric. This was divine. Sasha always said that her future husband would be her present friend. She wanted to break out in a praise dance like her grandmother used to do back in the day. This was it; Sasha didn’t need any more signs, miracles, and wonders, or any more checks on her list. She’d be a fool not to give this man a chance to see where things could go from here. She’d been in charge and complete control of her life up until this point. Switching up gears a little and letting her girlfriends, Miss Destiny and Miss Faith, take the wheel for a minute might not be such a bad thing at all.

  “So just that quickly I’m in the friend zone?” Sasha said teasingly, not quite ready to bow out of the game of cat and mouse just yet. And she was doing pretty good hiding the fact that on the inside she was screaming and hollering that he hadn’t actually recanted his invitation for her to go out with him; he’d simply altered it a bit.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Terrance said, looking downward as he shoved his hands in his pants pockets and bit his bottom lip. He looked like a shy little schoolboy.

  Sasha had to bite her bottom lip to keep from telling this man how freaking much she was digging on him. Maybe initially, at the charity event, he hadn’t stood out and made such a grabbing and lasting impression on her, but he was definitely making up for it now. Perhaps that just hadn’t been the time or the place the two were supposed to connect. In this moment, though, everything felt perfect.

  “Well, just what exactly did you mean?” Sasha was being all seductive, in a subtle kind of way. She hoped it didn’t come off as trying too hard, because in all actuality, she wasn’t trying. This man was just bringing out a whole other side of her that was definitely genuine. So genuine that Sasha wished she could hit a mute button. She didn’t want the man to think she was a desperate ho.

  “I’m a gentleman,” Terrance said. “I don’t want to come off all strong and move too quickly as if I’m just trying to get in your drawers, when I really just want to get to know you.”

  Either Sasha was a totally bad judge of character or this guy was good; Oscar-worthy good. It didn’t feel like he was running lines as if he’d been studying them for months. His words were like a mouthwatering meal Sasha didn’t want to end.

  Sasha stared at Terrance for a moment in an attempt to read him. Once she was sure she’d comprehended the words on the proverbial pages, she spoke. “So you’re trying to escape the reputation of a baller when it comes to relationships, huh?”

  Terrance’s eyes widened. Sasha concluded that was a result of him being surprised she had read his mind.

  “It’s like a plague, you know,” Terrance answered.

  Sasha nodded. “Yeah, I know. Well, I don’t actually know personally.” Sasha nodded back toward the house. “Casey’s the only person I’ve ever known to date a pro ball player. Any other observations have been just from reality shows.”

  “Awww, man.” Terrance washed his hands down his face. “I guess I’m doomed then, because those shows find the most cheating cats in the business and then put their wives on the show so that everybody else can see how much pain the guys are causing them by traveling all the time, getting with groupies and cheerleaders.”

  “Then that’s all just for show? That’s not really how it goes down?” Sasha asked. For the first time it was registering that Terrance wasn’t just some fine-ass, nice gentleman. He was a pro ball player, and yes, they had reputations of being low-down, dirty, cheating, having babies on the side heartbreakers. That was too much drama. Sasha didn’t do drama. And unlike the many people who claimed that they didn’t do drama but always seemed to be caught up in it, Sasha really didn’t do drama. She couldn’t help it, though, if the people around her did do drama. She might not participate in it, but a little drama voyeurism never hurt anybody. After all, that seemed to be what life was about these days, people benefiting in one way or another by other folks’ drama. But allowing someone like Terrance in her life could be too close for comfort.

  “Some of what they show on television about us is for show,” Terrance admitted, “but I must confess that some of it is the truth. But I think that’s for the guys who get in these exclusive relationships with women, even get married, without being honest with themselves about who they are and what they are and are not capable of.”

  “So let me guess,” Sasha said. “You are not one of those men?”

  “Do I look like one of those men?” Terrance asked in a tone almost as if he was testing Sasha.

  A test already? Sasha thought to herself. She imagined that he wanted to know what she saw—what she thought—when she looked at him. After all, she had those same unspoken questions about him.

  “I know exactly what I want and when I’m ready for it.” He licked his lips as he gave Sasha a quick once-over.

  Sasha subtly twisted her thighs together to try to suppress the throbbing between her legs. But she quickly stopped, as she could have sworn she heard the sound of a wave hitting the shore thanks to the wetness forming between her legs. “Umm, so anyway, back to us meeting out . . . as friends.” Sasha cleared her throat, swallowed, and tried to maintain her composure. “Umm, I think I’d be down for that. I’m still in the process of making new friends here in the city.”

  “And you can never have too many friends.” Terrance shook his head.

  “So, uh, why don’t you just give me your number and I’ll call you one day to see if you have some time to—”

  “Well, hell, I have time now,” Terrance said, cutting Sasha off.

  Sasha opened her mouth to speak, but honestly didn’t know what to say. Although Terrance was being pretty straightforward, he wasn’t coming off like a perv. His tone wasn’t aggressive, just very matter-of-fact. He didn’t play around, waste time, or mince words. His actions validated exactly who he said he was. He was like the male version of . . . well . . . her!

  Words didn’t come out of Sasha’s mouth, but a chuckle did. It was one of those “Boy, stop playing” chuckles. But as Terrance stood there staring at her, he was doing anything but playing.

  Sasha snapped her neck back. “You serious? I know you don’t expect me to just go out with you tonight, the first time we’ve ever laid eyes on each other.”

  “Correction, the first time we’ve ever been introduced, because I’d definitely already laid eyes on you,” Terrance said. He gave Sasha a side-eye glare. “What’s wrong, you scared? Afraid of what I might think of you if you agree to go out with me after just one night of being formally introduced? You one of those people who care what everybody else thinks and lives your life accordingly?”

  Okay, Terrance had definitely struck a nerve with Sasha with his last comment. If there was one thing Sasha had never done in life, it was to allow the opinions of others to influence how she lived. The fact that he even thought that about her made her want to prove him wrong, and so she did.

  “I can do whatever I want, when I want. I’m my own woman, so if I wanted to go out with you tonight after just meeting you, hell, I would. It’s no different than a chick meeting some dude in a bar and then sitting there all night and drinking it up with him.” Sasha was pumped and in pure sista-girlfriend mode. Her hands were on her waist and her head was snapping on her neck.

  “Oh, yeah?” he said in a challenging tone. Sasha couldn’t quite tell if he was being sincere or just playing along. “So let’s go, then. I know the perfect spot where we can grab a couple drinks and just chill.”

  “Fine,” Sasha said, more like she was accepting a challenge and not an offer for a drink. If Terrance had been using reverse psychology, it had worked lik
e a charm. And Sasha didn’t care. A part of her wasn’t yet ready to leave Terrance’s presence.

  “Fine, then, follow me.” Terrance spoke in a “you win” tone.

  And perhaps he was winning right about now. But in life, just like in the game of basketball, the game could shift at any time.

  “I will,” Sasha snapped, then used the key fob to unlock her door. She opened her door as Terrance made his way toward his car. “Wait, aren’t you going to tell Casey and Eric that you’re not going back in to stay? They think you’re just walking me to my car.”

  Terrance looked back at the house. “Nahh,” he said. “They’ll know the deal.”

  “The deal?” Sasha said. There was no telling what Casey and Eric might think the deal was. She didn’t want any misunderstandings. No matter how honest her intentions, Terrance was a pro ball player and she was someone who just met him. Now here they were riding off into the night together to hang out. That could be looked at all kinds of ways.

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Terrance said. “Look, if it will make you feel better, I’ll just shoot Eric a text or something.” He then turned back around and walked to his car.

  A little smile appeared on Sasha’s lips. She was sooooo glad he’d decided not to go back in that house and tell them a thing. In spite of what Sasha had just said, deep down inside, she did care to some degree what people thought about her. She didn’t want it to look like she’d gone home with the first man she’d met in Atlanta, because that wasn’t the case. This wasn’t any different than her going out to have a drink with Norman within minutes of her first time meeting him . . . Okay, maybe just a little different. But so what? And besides, it wasn’t like she and Terrance were going to either of their homes. They were going out for a drink, and she’d probably just get a cappuccino or something. She’d had enough alcohol for the night.

  Sasha got settled in her car and started it up. She waited until she saw the lights from Terrance’s Range Rover before she threw her car in drive. She then proceeded to follow him. Sasha hadn’t really mastered the streets of Atlanta yet. She still used her GPS eighty percent of the time. She hadn’t asked Terrance what bar they were going to, and she probably wouldn’t have known it had he told her. She couldn’t keep up with Atlanta’s night life. There were bars and restaurants for days.