When All Hell Breaks Loose, page 10
She leans over and touches my face. She plants a kiss on my lips. “Call me if you need me,” she whispers.
“I will.”
She gets out of the car. Adrian is understanding, warm, sweet, and caring. Everything I want in a woman. I watch her walk to her apartment and disappear inside. I drive off and head home, ready to face one of the biggest monsters of my life: talking to my mother.
It’s only six P.M. when I get home. That means it’s around midnight in France. I figure my mother is probably just getting in or getting ready to go out. I grab my phone book from my briefcase and look up the number. Someone picks up on the first ring.
“Bonjour?” The voice is that of a man. I can tell he isn’t French by the way he fucks up the word. It sounds more like “bunshure.” There are several voices in the background, people laughing and music playing.
“Yes, is Louise Alston available?”
“Sure, un moment.” The watered-down Frenchman puts the phone aside and I can hear the voices more clearly. I can hear a song in the background. They’re playing Sarah Vaughan. The song is unfamiliar. I’ve never heard it before, which is strange because I have all of her recordings, everything she ever recorded all the way up until her last song on the Quincy Jones Back on the Block CD. My stomach has butterflies and I swallow hard to get rid of them. I realize the voice singing in the background is not Sarah’s but my mother’s. The phone falls silent and I can hear another line being picked up in a quieter area.
“Yes?” the raspy voice asks. It’s her. A voice I haven’t heard in years. I can’t say anything. Her voice is familiar, as if it were yesterday that she told me she loved me.
“Hello? Is anybody there?”
“Hi … It’s me … Greg.”
She chuckles a little. “Gregory Louis Alston! How are you doing, son? Baby, it’s so good to hear from you!”
She’s faking it, I’m thinking.
“How are you, and how is everything going back in Texas?”
“It’s fine and I’m fine.” All of a sudden I feel urgent for some water. My throat is dry and it’s hard for me to swallow.
“Is everything okay? Is Nina okay?”
“Yes, Shreese is fine. We’re all doing fine.” Without you!
“I was entertaining some guests, that’s what all the noise is, but it’s so good to hear your voice, Gregory. It is warming my heart.”
I can hear her sniffling. I can feel myself struggling trying to stay mad at her, but I can’t. I haven’t talked to her in so long, it feels good to just hear her voice. Her beautiful raspy voice.
“Where’s your father? Did he make you call me?”
I smirk at the thought that she’s right and doesn’t even know it. “He’s home and yes, he talked to me about giving you a call.”
“So, what’s going on with you? I have all night to talk to my only son.”
She still has a way of making me feel special but I’m keeping my guard up.
“I’m getting married in March.”
“MARRIED??!! Who are you marrying, and when is all this supposed to happen?”
“Her name is Adrian Jenkins and we’re getting married next spring.”
Louise sits quietly on the phone. I don’t know if she has put it down or not. I clear my throat to break the silence. After a few seconds she speaks to me. “When, Gregory Louis? What month did you say again?”
“March.”
“Then I will be in Dallas at the end of the month and stay until the wedding.”
“I’m not asking you to come here.”
“Gregory, I know that, but I am still your mother. I don’t know this girl, and I don’t want to be a stranger to her, regardless of what you may have told her about our relationship.”
“I’ve never told Adrian anything about you not being around.”
“Exactly. You haven’t spoken to me since you were eight, so I’m willing to bet you haven’t told her anything at all. You think just because I move to France and don’t see you for several years, I am no longer a part of your life? I know you don’t want me there, that’s no big secret, and I’ve always tried to respect what you wanted.”
I sit in silence for a moment. I don’t know what to say to this question. I do feel that way, and I don’t need her here. “I’m just calling to let you know I’m getting married. Don’t think this is a sign of me going out of my way to have you come here.”
“I’m not asking you to go out of your way. I’m coming to Dallas because I want to see my family as well as attend your wedding. I want to be there to share it with you and make sure all hell doesn’t break loose.” She laughs at her comment. But I’m not laughing with her.
“Just understand that I’m not asking you to come,” I repeat. I feel like I’m eight again.
“That’s understood, but I’m still looking forward to it. Besides, I haven’t seen your father or Nina, aside from the few photos I have, which are old, and this will give us all a chance to be together.”
If she’s thinking we’re going to be one big happy family again, she is dead wrong, I’m thinking. So much has changed since she left, and I can’t even tell her. How can she be so calm and sure about her visit here? Why would she want to come home to a man who’s dead on the inside, a daughter who has gotten lost in the cracks of religion, and a son who just doesn’t want her here? What can she possibly bring to a table that has nothing on it she can complement?
“Don’t forget to make your hotel arrangements.” I say. My voice is dry and I can feel it about to crack.
“Hotel arrangements? Child no, I’m staying at my house. Your father could use the company and I have some things to do there anyway.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why? Is he seeing someone?”
“No, but …”
“Well then … it’s settled.” She laughs again. “Tell Nina that I will be home and she should get ready, because we’re going to have a good time together, just mother and daughter. I’ll see you then, Gregory.”
I want to tell her she can’t just come here like she won the lottery and make all of our lives better. I want to tell her that our levels of sanity can’t tolerate her staying at the same house she left, and that we can’t take any more of the hurt she’s caused. Especially with my father. He’s been hurt enough by her absence! I fall back onto my bed. “Bye.” That’s all I can form my lips to say. I can’t even tell her off the way she should be told. The way she deserves to be told off after all this time.
She hangs up.
I hold on to the receiver, wondering if calling her was a good idea after all. I’m hoping she doesn’t come down here and make my life more complicated. I head for the shower and prepare for my next day at work, but all I can think about is my mother’s upcoming visit. I don’t know how I’m going to keep myself busy until then. I guess work and the wedding are the best answer.
9
The atmosphere at the office is festive. We got the Dillinger account this morning! They sent a rep over to sign the contract. I decided to have lunch catered in Data Tech’s main meeting office, which seats up to twenty-five people comfortably. Someone brought a CD player and put on some new music by a brother named Rahsaan Patterson. I dig his music and I feel like getting my groove on. The Dillinger account will allow me to sit pretty the rest of the year and then some. I actually don’t have to work hard on any more accounts until January. That’s good, because the wedding is going to take up a lot of time as the new year comes.
LaShawn and the other Group Three members are all packed together in a small group in the meeting room. They’re talking and celebrating by tapping together paper cups full of Pepsi.
LaShawn is at the center of the circle. She has on an olive-green two-piece pants suit that looks good against her shiny black skin. LaShawn wears her hair natural, close to her head, and her petite face sets it off just right. She reminds me of those young sisters you would see in Essence, Seventeen, or Braids & Beauty. Tim is standing near her. Scary, but they look damn good standing together. I wonder if Tim is interested in being a stepfather? I can see them happily living together in a small home with LaShawn’s daughter, Aija. And they would have African and African American art all over the place. LaShawn’s little girl would even have an all-black doll collection. My thoughts of Tim and LaShawn are interrupted by a tap on my back.
“No luck, man, Tim has already tried to hit that.”
Phillip is looking at me smiling. “What are you talking about?” I ask, surprised that he’s read my mind.
“LaShawn. She’s not interested in him.” Phil leans on the wall next to me. He’s holding a cup of punch in his hand. “I saw you looking at them and figured you had something up your sleeve.”
“Oh, so he already approached her?”
“Yeah, he took her out and she told him she wasn’t interested in dating him.” Phil drinks from the cup and tosses the rest in a nearby trash can.
“Seriously?”
“LaShawn is a serious sister, but I bet I could get into her panties.” Phil sucks his teeth. “All she needs is an all-night-long brother such as myself. Ain’t no shame in my game.”
“Phil, leave her alone, man. Stick with the hootchie mamas and ’hood rats. You should be ashamed of yourself.” I laugh.
“Aw man, you don’t think I can get a corporate woman like LaShawn?”
“Phil, she has a child and she doesn’t need to be played with,” I argue. “She is respected by every man in this office. You shouldn’t even be thinking about getting with a woman like that. She’s climbing the corporate ladder and doing a damn good job.”
“Cool, but I know what she needs to climb up on.” Phil is looking at LaShawn like a hungry wolf looks at unsuspecting sheep.
“Phil, when was the last time you dated an educated sister?”
Phil shakes his head. “I don’t know. Man, a woman is a woman. It don’t matter if she’s educated or not. They all got a little freak in ’em.” Phil straightens his tie and double-checks his jacket buttons. “I’m just here to remind them where they come from. Give ’em a li’l somethin’ to keep from going to the other side.”
I lean in and whisper to Phil, “With you around here, sisters should be scrambling to the other side. You are a scary brother.”
Phil looks over at me and smiles. “And don’t you forget it.” He daps me five and sucks his teeth in an arrogant manner.
Phil and I walk over to the group and join in the conversation. LaShawn looks at me, but she has this crazy please-don’t-ask-me-any-questions look on her face. At first I start to ask her is there a problem, but I decide against it.
“Hey Greg! Congratulations on getting the account.” Tim shakes my hand. I want to laugh at the fake corporate voice he uses in the office when others are around.
“Thanks, but you really need to say that to Group Three. They did the hard work.” I turn toward the group members. “Good presentation, ladies and gentlemen.”
“Mr. Alston, does this mean a raise for everybody?” jokes Arthur, one of the group members.
“Sure, and a Mercedes to go with it,” I respond. Everyone laughs.
“Mr. Alston, this will give you time to plan for your wedding now that the biggest account has been closed, won’t it?” It’s LaShawn. She’s staring at me hard.
I feel uncomfortable and look away as I answer her question. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Denton, it will. It will give me and Adrian plenty of time to get our pictures done, taste-test the food, and find a house to live in.”
“You and Adrian are getting a house?” she asks.
“Yes, we decided to get that done before the wedding. Now it’s a reality, with us getting the account.”
“Wow, she really is into this whole marriage thing, then?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?” I’m thinking LaShawn really does know something I don’t.
She laughs it off as if she doesn’t want to give any more clues to what it is that I don’t know. “It’s just that back in the day, Adrian was not into marriage. She was always real tough on her views about it.” I ease up when LaShawn says the word “tough.” “Well, her dad did say she was a tomboy when she was growing, so maybe it took her a while to adjust her views. I can guarantee you, she’s very much for this union.”
“That’s cool,” LaShawn says with a dreamy look on her face. “That’s real cool.”
“Shoot, Ms. Denton, you make it sound like Greg’s fiancée is a football player or something.” It’s Phil and he’s instigating.
“No, it’s not that, Mr. Putnam,” LaShawn replies. She cleared her throat. “Adrian was just hard-core a few years back. She didn’t have the gentleness in her that you-all are familiar with.” She smiles her girlish smile and walks off, leaving me and Phil standing together.
I’m glad she walked off, because I don’t like the vibes I’m getting from her.
After the mini reception everyone heads back to work. I’m full and sleepy, so I get to my office and shut the door. The phone rings before I can even sit down. I press the intercom button. “This is Greg.”
“And this is Adrian. Hey you.”
Her voice makes my good day better. “Baby, I was just thinking about you.” I pick up the receiver, taking the phone off intercom.
“And I was thinking about you, too. What are you doing?” Her voice is warm and it makes me hold the phone closer to my ear.
“Nothing. Just got back from a big lunch celebration. The company paid for lunch today to celebrate the Dillinger account I told you about.”
“Wow, sounds like it was nice.”
“It was. Now I have more time to concentrate on me, you, and the wedding. Speaking of which, one of your past customers is interning here.”
“Who?”
“LaShawn Denton. She said she knows you from—”
“Lancaster. Yeah, I remember her. How is she?”
“Promising. She said you had a big impact on her life. What was that about?”
“Girl stuff. Having babies and keeping them versus giving them away.” Adrian laughs and then changes the subject. “So, what else is going on?”
“You tell me,” I tease.
“Why don’t you leave early from work, and I’ll show you what else is going on.” She’s teasing me and I can feel my pants tighten in the crotch.
“When do you want me knocking at your door?”
“How does two o’clock sound?”
“Sweet.”
“Okay, then, I’ll be waiting. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
We hang up and my penis is as hard as Chinese algebra. I try to think of something else, but Adrian got me all worked up. I look at my watch and it’s only twelve-fifteen. I get up, flip my computer off, and head out of the office anyway. Shit, opportunities like this don’t happen often, so I’m going to enjoy them while I can. See ya!
I stopped by my place to freshen up before going to Adrian’s. By the time I get to her place, it’s nearly two o’clock. There is a note on the door that reads: USE YOUR KEY. I take my keys and find the one to her lock and open the door. Immediately, the remix of Maxwell’s “Whenever Wherever Whatever” starts playing from upstairs. I look up, but can’t see anything. There is a lit candle in front of me with a note attached. I pull it off and read it:
Take off everything but your tie and underpants, come upstairs, and be introduced to romance.
Thank God I have on my Calvin Klein underwear. I strip to my draws and tie and head upstairs. When I walk into Adrian’s bedroom, she is lying on the bed. The only things she has on are a purple g-string and her toe ring. My penis is rock hard against my briefs. My girl is looking good! She wiggles her finger for me to come over. I get in the bed with her and she starts kissing me all over. I grab her petite waist and pull her on top of me. She smiles and continues to kiss my chest and navel. I wouldn’t mind at all if she went on down, but the last time she did, I came too soon and she got mad at me. I couldn’t help it, Adrian’s got skills. That was also the same night we got into it because I wouldn’t go down on her.
Don’t get me wrong, I have been known to linger in the valley, but this one particular night, Adrian wanted it bad. I mean, that’s all she wanted, and I couldn’t do oral on her and get up with a hard dick. We had just started dating and I wasn’t used to one-sided pleasures. I couldn’t see myself going out like that. That was before. But as our relationship has progressed and my love for Adrian has grown, she gets served quite often without having to do too much in return. She likes oral a lot.
One time, she put my ass in a headlock. My neck was sore for two days. We have a lot of fun in bed and it’s always something new. Even after three years.
Another time we did it in Pops’s bathroom. He’d invited us over for July Fourth for barbecue. He was cooking and had run to the store to pick up an onion. I was just about to come when I heard him walking down the hallway. He knocked on the bathroom door. I covered Adrian’s mouth. She was giggling hysterically as she stood leaning over the sink with me behind her. Pops turned the knob, but we had locked the door. He started whistling and went back down the hall. We finished and came back into the kitchen where Pops was. After an uneasy silence between us three, all Pops said was “Make sure you wash your hands before you eat.”
When I think of all the crazy things I’ve done with Adrian, it amazes me how some brothers like Phil and Timothy get off trying to play the macho role all the time. I’ve found out that if you let yourself be a sensitive brother, then your girl will pretty much be down for whatever. And I do mean whatever, like what Maxwell is singing about. I’m sweating now and Adrian is doing her thing. Her eyes are closed and she looks like she’s enjoying herself. I like that. I like to see her having a good time with me. I’m giving my love to her the way she likes it. Adrian can go years before she comes. Seriously, she can do me about four good orgasms before she gets her first. I’m game, because we like different positions. It takes me a long time to come, so our intercourse usually lasts about fifteen minutes or more.
“I will.”
She gets out of the car. Adrian is understanding, warm, sweet, and caring. Everything I want in a woman. I watch her walk to her apartment and disappear inside. I drive off and head home, ready to face one of the biggest monsters of my life: talking to my mother.
It’s only six P.M. when I get home. That means it’s around midnight in France. I figure my mother is probably just getting in or getting ready to go out. I grab my phone book from my briefcase and look up the number. Someone picks up on the first ring.
“Bonjour?” The voice is that of a man. I can tell he isn’t French by the way he fucks up the word. It sounds more like “bunshure.” There are several voices in the background, people laughing and music playing.
“Yes, is Louise Alston available?”
“Sure, un moment.” The watered-down Frenchman puts the phone aside and I can hear the voices more clearly. I can hear a song in the background. They’re playing Sarah Vaughan. The song is unfamiliar. I’ve never heard it before, which is strange because I have all of her recordings, everything she ever recorded all the way up until her last song on the Quincy Jones Back on the Block CD. My stomach has butterflies and I swallow hard to get rid of them. I realize the voice singing in the background is not Sarah’s but my mother’s. The phone falls silent and I can hear another line being picked up in a quieter area.
“Yes?” the raspy voice asks. It’s her. A voice I haven’t heard in years. I can’t say anything. Her voice is familiar, as if it were yesterday that she told me she loved me.
“Hello? Is anybody there?”
“Hi … It’s me … Greg.”
She chuckles a little. “Gregory Louis Alston! How are you doing, son? Baby, it’s so good to hear from you!”
She’s faking it, I’m thinking.
“How are you, and how is everything going back in Texas?”
“It’s fine and I’m fine.” All of a sudden I feel urgent for some water. My throat is dry and it’s hard for me to swallow.
“Is everything okay? Is Nina okay?”
“Yes, Shreese is fine. We’re all doing fine.” Without you!
“I was entertaining some guests, that’s what all the noise is, but it’s so good to hear your voice, Gregory. It is warming my heart.”
I can hear her sniffling. I can feel myself struggling trying to stay mad at her, but I can’t. I haven’t talked to her in so long, it feels good to just hear her voice. Her beautiful raspy voice.
“Where’s your father? Did he make you call me?”
I smirk at the thought that she’s right and doesn’t even know it. “He’s home and yes, he talked to me about giving you a call.”
“So, what’s going on with you? I have all night to talk to my only son.”
She still has a way of making me feel special but I’m keeping my guard up.
“I’m getting married in March.”
“MARRIED??!! Who are you marrying, and when is all this supposed to happen?”
“Her name is Adrian Jenkins and we’re getting married next spring.”
Louise sits quietly on the phone. I don’t know if she has put it down or not. I clear my throat to break the silence. After a few seconds she speaks to me. “When, Gregory Louis? What month did you say again?”
“March.”
“Then I will be in Dallas at the end of the month and stay until the wedding.”
“I’m not asking you to come here.”
“Gregory, I know that, but I am still your mother. I don’t know this girl, and I don’t want to be a stranger to her, regardless of what you may have told her about our relationship.”
“I’ve never told Adrian anything about you not being around.”
“Exactly. You haven’t spoken to me since you were eight, so I’m willing to bet you haven’t told her anything at all. You think just because I move to France and don’t see you for several years, I am no longer a part of your life? I know you don’t want me there, that’s no big secret, and I’ve always tried to respect what you wanted.”
I sit in silence for a moment. I don’t know what to say to this question. I do feel that way, and I don’t need her here. “I’m just calling to let you know I’m getting married. Don’t think this is a sign of me going out of my way to have you come here.”
“I’m not asking you to go out of your way. I’m coming to Dallas because I want to see my family as well as attend your wedding. I want to be there to share it with you and make sure all hell doesn’t break loose.” She laughs at her comment. But I’m not laughing with her.
“Just understand that I’m not asking you to come,” I repeat. I feel like I’m eight again.
“That’s understood, but I’m still looking forward to it. Besides, I haven’t seen your father or Nina, aside from the few photos I have, which are old, and this will give us all a chance to be together.”
If she’s thinking we’re going to be one big happy family again, she is dead wrong, I’m thinking. So much has changed since she left, and I can’t even tell her. How can she be so calm and sure about her visit here? Why would she want to come home to a man who’s dead on the inside, a daughter who has gotten lost in the cracks of religion, and a son who just doesn’t want her here? What can she possibly bring to a table that has nothing on it she can complement?
“Don’t forget to make your hotel arrangements.” I say. My voice is dry and I can feel it about to crack.
“Hotel arrangements? Child no, I’m staying at my house. Your father could use the company and I have some things to do there anyway.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why? Is he seeing someone?”
“No, but …”
“Well then … it’s settled.” She laughs again. “Tell Nina that I will be home and she should get ready, because we’re going to have a good time together, just mother and daughter. I’ll see you then, Gregory.”
I want to tell her she can’t just come here like she won the lottery and make all of our lives better. I want to tell her that our levels of sanity can’t tolerate her staying at the same house she left, and that we can’t take any more of the hurt she’s caused. Especially with my father. He’s been hurt enough by her absence! I fall back onto my bed. “Bye.” That’s all I can form my lips to say. I can’t even tell her off the way she should be told. The way she deserves to be told off after all this time.
She hangs up.
I hold on to the receiver, wondering if calling her was a good idea after all. I’m hoping she doesn’t come down here and make my life more complicated. I head for the shower and prepare for my next day at work, but all I can think about is my mother’s upcoming visit. I don’t know how I’m going to keep myself busy until then. I guess work and the wedding are the best answer.
9
The atmosphere at the office is festive. We got the Dillinger account this morning! They sent a rep over to sign the contract. I decided to have lunch catered in Data Tech’s main meeting office, which seats up to twenty-five people comfortably. Someone brought a CD player and put on some new music by a brother named Rahsaan Patterson. I dig his music and I feel like getting my groove on. The Dillinger account will allow me to sit pretty the rest of the year and then some. I actually don’t have to work hard on any more accounts until January. That’s good, because the wedding is going to take up a lot of time as the new year comes.
LaShawn and the other Group Three members are all packed together in a small group in the meeting room. They’re talking and celebrating by tapping together paper cups full of Pepsi.
LaShawn is at the center of the circle. She has on an olive-green two-piece pants suit that looks good against her shiny black skin. LaShawn wears her hair natural, close to her head, and her petite face sets it off just right. She reminds me of those young sisters you would see in Essence, Seventeen, or Braids & Beauty. Tim is standing near her. Scary, but they look damn good standing together. I wonder if Tim is interested in being a stepfather? I can see them happily living together in a small home with LaShawn’s daughter, Aija. And they would have African and African American art all over the place. LaShawn’s little girl would even have an all-black doll collection. My thoughts of Tim and LaShawn are interrupted by a tap on my back.
“No luck, man, Tim has already tried to hit that.”
Phillip is looking at me smiling. “What are you talking about?” I ask, surprised that he’s read my mind.
“LaShawn. She’s not interested in him.” Phil leans on the wall next to me. He’s holding a cup of punch in his hand. “I saw you looking at them and figured you had something up your sleeve.”
“Oh, so he already approached her?”
“Yeah, he took her out and she told him she wasn’t interested in dating him.” Phil drinks from the cup and tosses the rest in a nearby trash can.
“Seriously?”
“LaShawn is a serious sister, but I bet I could get into her panties.” Phil sucks his teeth. “All she needs is an all-night-long brother such as myself. Ain’t no shame in my game.”
“Phil, leave her alone, man. Stick with the hootchie mamas and ’hood rats. You should be ashamed of yourself.” I laugh.
“Aw man, you don’t think I can get a corporate woman like LaShawn?”
“Phil, she has a child and she doesn’t need to be played with,” I argue. “She is respected by every man in this office. You shouldn’t even be thinking about getting with a woman like that. She’s climbing the corporate ladder and doing a damn good job.”
“Cool, but I know what she needs to climb up on.” Phil is looking at LaShawn like a hungry wolf looks at unsuspecting sheep.
“Phil, when was the last time you dated an educated sister?”
Phil shakes his head. “I don’t know. Man, a woman is a woman. It don’t matter if she’s educated or not. They all got a little freak in ’em.” Phil straightens his tie and double-checks his jacket buttons. “I’m just here to remind them where they come from. Give ’em a li’l somethin’ to keep from going to the other side.”
I lean in and whisper to Phil, “With you around here, sisters should be scrambling to the other side. You are a scary brother.”
Phil looks over at me and smiles. “And don’t you forget it.” He daps me five and sucks his teeth in an arrogant manner.
Phil and I walk over to the group and join in the conversation. LaShawn looks at me, but she has this crazy please-don’t-ask-me-any-questions look on her face. At first I start to ask her is there a problem, but I decide against it.
“Hey Greg! Congratulations on getting the account.” Tim shakes my hand. I want to laugh at the fake corporate voice he uses in the office when others are around.
“Thanks, but you really need to say that to Group Three. They did the hard work.” I turn toward the group members. “Good presentation, ladies and gentlemen.”
“Mr. Alston, does this mean a raise for everybody?” jokes Arthur, one of the group members.
“Sure, and a Mercedes to go with it,” I respond. Everyone laughs.
“Mr. Alston, this will give you time to plan for your wedding now that the biggest account has been closed, won’t it?” It’s LaShawn. She’s staring at me hard.
I feel uncomfortable and look away as I answer her question. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Denton, it will. It will give me and Adrian plenty of time to get our pictures done, taste-test the food, and find a house to live in.”
“You and Adrian are getting a house?” she asks.
“Yes, we decided to get that done before the wedding. Now it’s a reality, with us getting the account.”
“Wow, she really is into this whole marriage thing, then?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?” I’m thinking LaShawn really does know something I don’t.
She laughs it off as if she doesn’t want to give any more clues to what it is that I don’t know. “It’s just that back in the day, Adrian was not into marriage. She was always real tough on her views about it.” I ease up when LaShawn says the word “tough.” “Well, her dad did say she was a tomboy when she was growing, so maybe it took her a while to adjust her views. I can guarantee you, she’s very much for this union.”
“That’s cool,” LaShawn says with a dreamy look on her face. “That’s real cool.”
“Shoot, Ms. Denton, you make it sound like Greg’s fiancée is a football player or something.” It’s Phil and he’s instigating.
“No, it’s not that, Mr. Putnam,” LaShawn replies. She cleared her throat. “Adrian was just hard-core a few years back. She didn’t have the gentleness in her that you-all are familiar with.” She smiles her girlish smile and walks off, leaving me and Phil standing together.
I’m glad she walked off, because I don’t like the vibes I’m getting from her.
After the mini reception everyone heads back to work. I’m full and sleepy, so I get to my office and shut the door. The phone rings before I can even sit down. I press the intercom button. “This is Greg.”
“And this is Adrian. Hey you.”
Her voice makes my good day better. “Baby, I was just thinking about you.” I pick up the receiver, taking the phone off intercom.
“And I was thinking about you, too. What are you doing?” Her voice is warm and it makes me hold the phone closer to my ear.
“Nothing. Just got back from a big lunch celebration. The company paid for lunch today to celebrate the Dillinger account I told you about.”
“Wow, sounds like it was nice.”
“It was. Now I have more time to concentrate on me, you, and the wedding. Speaking of which, one of your past customers is interning here.”
“Who?”
“LaShawn Denton. She said she knows you from—”
“Lancaster. Yeah, I remember her. How is she?”
“Promising. She said you had a big impact on her life. What was that about?”
“Girl stuff. Having babies and keeping them versus giving them away.” Adrian laughs and then changes the subject. “So, what else is going on?”
“You tell me,” I tease.
“Why don’t you leave early from work, and I’ll show you what else is going on.” She’s teasing me and I can feel my pants tighten in the crotch.
“When do you want me knocking at your door?”
“How does two o’clock sound?”
“Sweet.”
“Okay, then, I’ll be waiting. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
We hang up and my penis is as hard as Chinese algebra. I try to think of something else, but Adrian got me all worked up. I look at my watch and it’s only twelve-fifteen. I get up, flip my computer off, and head out of the office anyway. Shit, opportunities like this don’t happen often, so I’m going to enjoy them while I can. See ya!
I stopped by my place to freshen up before going to Adrian’s. By the time I get to her place, it’s nearly two o’clock. There is a note on the door that reads: USE YOUR KEY. I take my keys and find the one to her lock and open the door. Immediately, the remix of Maxwell’s “Whenever Wherever Whatever” starts playing from upstairs. I look up, but can’t see anything. There is a lit candle in front of me with a note attached. I pull it off and read it:
Take off everything but your tie and underpants, come upstairs, and be introduced to romance.
Thank God I have on my Calvin Klein underwear. I strip to my draws and tie and head upstairs. When I walk into Adrian’s bedroom, she is lying on the bed. The only things she has on are a purple g-string and her toe ring. My penis is rock hard against my briefs. My girl is looking good! She wiggles her finger for me to come over. I get in the bed with her and she starts kissing me all over. I grab her petite waist and pull her on top of me. She smiles and continues to kiss my chest and navel. I wouldn’t mind at all if she went on down, but the last time she did, I came too soon and she got mad at me. I couldn’t help it, Adrian’s got skills. That was also the same night we got into it because I wouldn’t go down on her.
Don’t get me wrong, I have been known to linger in the valley, but this one particular night, Adrian wanted it bad. I mean, that’s all she wanted, and I couldn’t do oral on her and get up with a hard dick. We had just started dating and I wasn’t used to one-sided pleasures. I couldn’t see myself going out like that. That was before. But as our relationship has progressed and my love for Adrian has grown, she gets served quite often without having to do too much in return. She likes oral a lot.
One time, she put my ass in a headlock. My neck was sore for two days. We have a lot of fun in bed and it’s always something new. Even after three years.
Another time we did it in Pops’s bathroom. He’d invited us over for July Fourth for barbecue. He was cooking and had run to the store to pick up an onion. I was just about to come when I heard him walking down the hallway. He knocked on the bathroom door. I covered Adrian’s mouth. She was giggling hysterically as she stood leaning over the sink with me behind her. Pops turned the knob, but we had locked the door. He started whistling and went back down the hall. We finished and came back into the kitchen where Pops was. After an uneasy silence between us three, all Pops said was “Make sure you wash your hands before you eat.”
When I think of all the crazy things I’ve done with Adrian, it amazes me how some brothers like Phil and Timothy get off trying to play the macho role all the time. I’ve found out that if you let yourself be a sensitive brother, then your girl will pretty much be down for whatever. And I do mean whatever, like what Maxwell is singing about. I’m sweating now and Adrian is doing her thing. Her eyes are closed and she looks like she’s enjoying herself. I like that. I like to see her having a good time with me. I’m giving my love to her the way she likes it. Adrian can go years before she comes. Seriously, she can do me about four good orgasms before she gets her first. I’m game, because we like different positions. It takes me a long time to come, so our intercourse usually lasts about fifteen minutes or more.
