Can't Just Be His Friend

by Tina Martin

  “Oh, no thanks. I’m full.”

  “Yeah. Me too, and they were good, by the way. I should’ve tried these a lot sooner,” Derrick said.

  I stood up, picked up our bowls and walked them over to the sink.

  “You know you don’t have to do that, sweetheart?”

  “Yeah, I know. I want to.”

  Derrick walked over near me. When I turned around he was standing directly behind me. I couldn’t move an inch. “I don’t want you to leave just yet,” he whispered and I felt the same intensity as I did on our first date.

  “Okay. So what’s next on the agenda?” I asked.

  “Getting to know you and you getting to know me,” he said.

  “I think we know each other pretty well. We dated for four months.”

  “Yeah, and this is the first time you been inside my house…so since you’re over here, can I show you around?”

  “Sure.”

  “Ah’ight. Follow me.”

  I followed Derrick though a door, paying more attention to his well-maintained body than to his immaculate house.

  “This is the living room.”

  “Wow. Everything is so neat and in order.”

  “Yeah. It’s not like I have kids to mess it up.”

  “If I remember correctly, you do want kids, right?” I inquired, but was pretty sure Derrick told me once before that he wanted children.

  “Yeah. I’ve always wanted kids. It’s just really hard for me to get pregnant,” Derrick said, showing me a beautiful smile.

  “Ha, ha, ha. Very funny, Derrick.”

  We kept walking towards the stairs but we didn’t go up yet. Then Derrick said, “Just around the stairs is the study.”

  “A study?” I said, laughing to myself.

  “Well, you can also call it my office if you want.”

  I peeked in and there were two huge bookcases that filled two walls. Derrick’s desk sat in front of one of the bookcases. His office looked sophisticated, like it could’ve been a work area for a lawyer.

  “Okay, let’s go upstairs,” he said, looking at me now, but I was too busy looking at his chest.

  I followed him up, and while we were going up the staircase, he reached back for my hand, as if I were incapable of climbing the stairs alone. I put my hand in his, felt the strength of it that I missed so much.

  “How many bedrooms?” I asked him as we were at the top of the stairs now.

  “Three, and they are all up here,” Derrick said, interlocking our fingers now.

  “Oh, okay,” I said, feeling the nervous twitches of my hand in his.

  We walked a few steps and he said, “This is my bedroom.”

  “Wow.”

  “What? You like it?”

  “This is absolutely amazing. You have a very peaceful space.” Derrick’s bedroom looked like a high-end spa. He had a built-in Jacuzzi in the floor near the sliding glass doors that led to an outside balcony view of the Atlantic. The room was vanilla ice cream white, with black accents. The pillows on his king-sized bed were a mixture of the two colors. The carpet was the same white color along with the curtains, the comforter on the bed and the walls. Black Japanese plaques lined the wall over his bed. The black headboard connected to the bed was filled with white candles that had never been burned. His bedroom was a romantic retreat.

  “I like candles, in case you were wondering,” he said.

  I smiled and continued gazing into his tranquil space. “So do you know what those Japanese symbols mean, or did you just put them there for decoration?”

  “Yeah, I know what they mean,” he said, releasing my hand and throwing his arm around me, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Love, harmony, kindness, happiness and unity – and no, I didn’t just make that up.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “So do you like it?” he asked, squeezing me.

  “Do I like what? Your room or your Japanese wall symbols?” I asked, giggling.

  Derrick hauled off and tickled me. I was laughing so hard, I crouched over. He grabbed me from behind, and I thought he was going to tickle me again, so I said, “Okay, okay. I like it. It’s decorated beautifully.”

  Derrick smiled, and was staring down at me, eyeing at my lips. I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead he took my hand and led me down the hallway. “Here are the other two bedrooms,” he said but didn’t open the doors. “I recently put some beds in them. I don’t use them for much else unless some family is coming into town or something. That’s about it. Oh, and there’s a bathroom right there,” he said, letting my hand go to open the bathroom door.

  “Nice.”

  “So that’s the place,” he said slamming his hands together to a clap.

  “Very nice. Who did the decorating?”

  “I did.”

  “Get outta here. You did all that?”

  “Yep.”

  “So you run your own business, cook, decorate…is there anything you can’t do?”

  “‘Can’t’ is not in my vocabulary.”

  “There’s that confidence. I like that.”

  “I knew you would.” I followed Derrick back downstairs. “You want to sit outside for a few or do you gotta get back?” Derrick asked me.

  “No, I can stay a lil’ while longer.”

  We walked out onto the deck and walked down the stairs to go near the water.

  “So Derrick, how long have you been living here?”

  “About five years.”

  “And why didn’t you invite me over here before?”

  “There were plenty of times I wanted to, but things were so out of whack with us…” Derrick said, looking away.

  “Reggie bought an oceanfront house,” I blurted out, only realizing how out of place the comment was after I said it.

  Derrick took me by the hands. “No offense, but I don’t want to hear anything about Reggie. Right now, I want to talk about you…about us.”

  “What about us?”

  “I want to know if you’re feeling me?” he asked bluntly.

  “Derrick, you already know I am.”

  “But…”

  “But my mind is in so many different places right now.”

  “Why can’t it be on me?”

  I shied away from him and looked into the darkness of the ocean.

  “I don’t know what I want right now, Derrick.”

  “Well, I don’t have that problem. I know what I want.”

  Derrick took his hands from my grasp, stepped in front of me and placed them on my face. “I want to know what my life will be like with you. I’m ready to explore this and like I said before, I don’t think you gave us a fair chance, Tiffany, and I want that chance. We deserve that.”

  I watched the look of hope in his eyes. I didn’t give the relationship a fair shot, and had I taken it a little more seriously, something could’ve developed between us.

  “So you’ll think about it?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’ll think about it.”

  “Ah’ight.”

  “Well, I guess it’s time for me to be heading back home.”

  “So I will talk to you later?”

  “Yes. Definitely. I had a wonderful night with you, Derrick. Thank you for inviting me over.”

  “Thank you for coming.”

  He walked me to the back where my car was parked, hugged me tight and kissed me on the cheek.

  ***

  It was close to ten-thirty when I got home. I took a long, hot shower, then jumped in bed. I didn’t get any calls from Reggie, not that I expected any. He was probably still licking his wounds from the verbal beating I gave to him. Mom hadn’t called me either. I just assumed she was out kickin’ it with Patricia.

  As I turned off my lamp on the night stand, my cell phone rung. It was Derrick. I was cheesing already, as I pondered why he was calling me. Maybe he wanted to say goodnight.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “I miss you already.”

  I blushed. �
��Oh stop it, Derrick. I just left.”

  “I know. I still miss you, though. I wish we had more time to talk.”

  “We could talk now. I’m just laying in bed chillin. I ain’t doing nothing. What’s up?”

  “I was thinking about what you said earlier, about Reggie and how he was the only man you had a history with. Has there ever been anything between you two?”

  “Physically? No. We’ve just been friends all of our lives.”

  “So you’ve never been in a romantic relationship with anyone?”

  “No. I thought I told you that back when we were dating.”

  “You probably did. I’m just recapping...it’s been a minute…”

  “Oh…well anyway, I’m saving myself for marriage, like Georgia Water taught me. She was a single Mother, said she didn’t want me growing up that way. What about you? Any serious relationships?”

  “I thought we were getting serious before you broke up with me.”

  I smiled. “Okay, before me, how many serious relationships were there?”

  “Um…there were a few girls I dated in college. Then the most serious relationship lasted for four years.”

  “And that’s the woman who hurt you?”

  “Ah…yeah.”

  “She cheated on you?”

  “Nah…um…it just didn’t work out.”

  “Oh,” I said, batting my eyes. I was comfortable in my bed, and it was late. My eyes were getting heavy, but I didn’t want to stop talking to Derrick.

  “Tiffany…” Derrick said to break the silence that halted our conversation.

  “Yes?”

  “What’s your middle name?”

  “It’s Paradise. You never knew that?”

  “No. I know that’s crazy, huh?”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “So Paradise, huh?”

  “Yep, and before you ask, no, I’m not kidding so wipe that smile off of your face,” I told him. I could hear him grinning.

  “Nah, I think it’s nice.”

  “Thank you. What’s yours?”

  “It’s Orlando.”

  “Orlando,” I repeated, then smiled. “Seems like we didn’t get to know each other well enough the first time around, huh?”

  “Yeah, but I’m hoping to change that now.”

  “Me too,” I said and yawned at the same time.

  “Tiffany, I’ll let you go if you’re sleepy. I don’t want to keep you up.”

  “Nah. I’m good.”

  “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

  “I’ll probably be working at home tomorrow. Most of the associates work from home on Fridays.”

  “Do you have any plans tomorrow night?”

  “No. I’m not doing anything. Why? You cooking more beans?”

  Derrick laughed. “I thought maybe you could swing by and chill with me for a lil’ while.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay you’ll come, or okay you’ll think about it?” Derrick asked to confirm.

  “I’ll come.”

  “Good, because I can’t wait to see you again.”

  “Same here. I had fun tonight. As a matter of fact, I think I learned more about you tonight than in the few months we dated.”

  “Yeah, me likewise,” Derrick agreed, “And I’m looking forward to learning more. So anyway, I’m not going to keep you up but I will talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay, Orlando.”

  Derrick grinned. “Ah’ight. Goodnight, Tiffany Paradise Water.”

  I smiled wide and said, “Okay. Goodnight.”

  Chapter 21

  Derrick was the first person on my mind when I woke up in the morning. The evening I shared with him was absolutely amazing and for the first time since knowing him, I got to see him in a different light. Turns out, he wasn’t strictly business after all. He had a great balance between work and home and though he had money, he wasn’t all about the Benjamins. He had the desire to know me and I could sense that it was sincere.

  I got out of bed and went into the kitchen to help myself to a banana and a glass of orange juice. I didn’t feel like eating much else. Then I turned on my computer to begin my day of working at home with checking emails. After deleting a few, my cell phone rang. I ran in the kitchen to grab it off of the table.

  “Good morning, David,” I answered. “How are you this morning?”

  “Doing good. What about yourself?”

  “I’m hanging in there.”

  “So you’re working at home today, huh?”

  “Yeah…doing a lil’ something.”

  “You know you don’t have to. Why don’t you take the day off? All of your accounts are up-to-date. You have nothing to worry about and if something does come up, I’ll cover for you.”

  “Thanks David. I’m just checking some emails and then I guess I’ll log off. Thanks again.”

  “You are more than welcome. Anyway, I got a conference call I need to jump on, so I’ll see you later. Take it easy now.”

  “Okay. I will.”

  I went back to checking emails and my phone rang as soon as I had set it down. I guessed it was David calling me back.

  I answered, “Did you forget something?”

  “Ah…huh?”

  It was Reggie. “Oh, never mind. I thought you were somebody else.”

  “Tiffany, we need to talk.”

  Great. I rolled my eyes.

  He continued, “The comments you made to me were unfair and unjust.”

  “And how do you get to decide that? What I expressed to you, Reggie, are my feelings. You don’t know what I feel unless I tell you.”

  “Okay. Well, all I’m saying is we need to talk about it. You can’t just throw words at me and expect me to take them without defending myself, so can I meet you at your place tonight or not?”

  “No. I have plans tonight.”

  “Well I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

  “No. Why can’t you say what you have to say now and get it over with?”

  “Because I don’t want to do this over the phone. I wanna see you.”

  “Like I said, I have plans tonight.”

  “Well, how about you give me a call when you’re available?”

  “Yeah…ah’ight,” I said, but why should I call him? I’d been chasing Reggie my whole life. If he really wanted to talk to me, he could do like he did any other time – drop by unannounced.

  “Okay. Later,” he said then ended the call.

  I went back to checking my emails and after deleting a few and forwarding a few to Bentley for review, I logged off. I planned on relaxing for the rest of the day.

  As soon as I curled up on the couch with the remote in my hand, my doorbell rang. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath before getting off of the couch. I really needed to relax without interruptions. Who is this at my door at ten in the morning on a Friday?

  I peeled myself off of the couch and opened the door. There was a woman standing there with a dozen lavender roses.

  “Good morning,” the brunette said cheerfully, her cheeks rosy. “You must be Paradise?”

  I smiled big and said, “Ah…yes. That’s me.”

  “Well, these are for you.”

  She handed me the glass vase filled with the healthiest dozen roses I’d ever seen. They were beautiful.

  “Thank you,” I told her. Then I shut the door and read the attached card. I could hear Derrick’s voice in my head as I read it.

  Hey Tiffany. I had such a good time last night. I can’t remember being this happy at work in the morning. You have certainly brightened my day and I can’t wait to see you tonight. Talk to you later. ~ Derrick

  I was elated when I read the note. Derrick was so in touch with his feelings and with what he wanted in life. He wanted me. I sat down and looked at the roses again. It was the first time I’d seen lavender roses. The beauty of them, along with the thoughts of Derrick, brought tears to my eyes. I was full of guilt for the way I broke up with him in the resta
urant that night and he’d been nothing but courteous to me. Even after I broke up with him, he continued to contact me, to see how I was. I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes, then placed the vase on the table.

  I went for a walk after that. The temperature was in the low seventies on the partly sunny day and my neighborhood was quiet. This time of day, all the kids were in school and all the parents were at work. Beside a few dogs barking there was no noise. I needed the peace and quiet time to think about Derrick and Reggie. Derrick had been spoiling me so much, he left little time for me to think about Reggie, which I considered to be a good thing due to the simple fact that lately when I thought about Reggie, I would only get angry. He still hadn’t answered my question. Why did he only notice me when I started dating Derrick?

  To the contrary, whenever I thought about Derrick, a smile would come on my face. He was mature, sexy, funny, brilliant…the man was the complete package. I was so wrapped up in my feelings for Reggie, I couldn’t see what a wonderful man Derrick was before. Now, I saw it as clear as day.

  I quickly paced back home and after eating lunch, I took a nap at one in the afternoon. When I woke up, it was close to six o’clock. I checked my phone for voicemails but there weren’t any. I had plenty of missed calls though. Derrick had called three times. Mom called once. Reggie called once and then Brenda called me. I didn’t have time to call anyone back. I had to get ready to go and see Derrick.

  After a quick shower, I slipped into a pair of my favorite jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. I caught a quick glimpse of those beautiful roses he brought for me as I made my way out the door.

  I was so nervous driving over to his place. Derrick wanted to try this relationship thing with me again and I think for the first time, I was sure I wanted it too. I still couldn’t help but wonder what room that left in my life for Reggie.

  When I pulled up at his place, Derrick was standing on the deck with his hands in his pockets. He had on some light blue jeans with a long-sleeved pink dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I parked my car then walked towards the stairs.

  “Hi,” I told him as I made my way up.

  “Hey…didn’t think you were going to make it.”

  “I’m sorry. I fell asleep and I just woke up about an hour ago.”

  “That’s okay. You’re here now. That’s all that matters. Come on. Let’s go in.”