\u201cHello?\u201d
\n\u201cCin, it\u2019s me Becky. You ready for your date with Steven?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSure, man. I\u2019m like, so nervous. Becky, like Steven\u2019s real fine, man. Don\u2019t you think?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is, man, sure. So Cin, hon, what are you wearing?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got like, these black spider web stockings and a black mini skirt. You know the one I wore for Deb\u2019s wedding? Plus I bought this cute white blouse. It\u2019s real tight, but it\u2019s like, virginal. I want to look virginal but not a prude. You know what I mean?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, sure. You don\u2019t want to look easy but you want him to know you\u2019re interested. I know you. You\u2019ve got the look down.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Zactly. Oh man, I\u2019m like so nervous.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCalm down Cin. This ain\u2019t your first date since you threw David out.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but all the other guys, they weren\u2019t Steven. I can\u2019t believe a dude that fine could be single at his age.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWell, cause he ain\u2019t, girlfriend. He\u2019s going out with you.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure, yeah. And if it\u2019s up to me, he ain\u2019t never going out with anyone else.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cDamn, we are determined, girl.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWell, hey, sweets. You know that when I make up my mind, I don\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, Cin. You ain\u2019t a broad to be messed with.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, look Beck, he\u2019s here. I just heard the doorbell.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo. Make him wait a little bit. Don\u2019t matter how fine he is.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t, girlfriend! I want to see him soo bad!\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI know. You\u2019ve got it bad, girl. You\u2019d just better make sure he\u2019s worth it. You know how I feel about guys who pick up girls in clubs, right?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI know. But this time the girl is me, Becky. You know after dealing with David I wouldn\u2019t be with a guy who\u2019d dis me.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well. He seemed nice enough at the club. And he is real fine. Cin, you do find the cute ones. What\u2019s your secret?\u201d
\n
\n \u201cBeck, he just rang again. I just have to go see him. I\u2019ll call you when I get home.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, call me. Even if it\u2019s two in the morning. I really want to hear what happened.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure, girl. \u2018Til then.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCiao, girlfriend.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie, damn. It\u2019s Laura. I was going to tell your machine about this cool party Felice is giving. I wasn\u2019t expecting you to be at home.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cUh huh. Well, I am.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOn a Friday night? Where\u2019s Sergio?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWorking.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cA playboy working on Friday night? Doing what?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said his friend needed help at the club. You know Richie? He\u2019s got the place on Thirty-Seventh?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI know who he is. So why aren\u2019t you there with him?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, I always feel weird when I\u2019m with him there. It turns into a guy thing. Besides, I\u2019ve decided I\u2019m going to learn to trust him. After six months it\u2019s about time.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well. When did he spring this working thing on you?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday. No, it wasn\u2019t last minute. I could be out if I really wanted to be.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo why aren\u2019t you?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie Houston doesn\u2019t want to be out on a Friday night? Damn, girl, he has you trained like a dog.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you\u2019re exaggerating. I\u2019m still my own person. I just had a hard week at work. A night alone sounded good to me.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cThen he\u2019s running you ragged. You never were tired from work six months ago. He\u2019s making you old before your time.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura, you\u2019re crazy.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you\u2019re crazy. I\u2019m home tonight because I\u2019m single by choice. You\u2019re not but you\u2019d better off if you were. Jeannie, the man is up to no good. I don\u2019t trust him, neither should you.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura, he\u2019s just busy. Isn\u2019t he entitled to have a life?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you? Or are you supposed to just sit around waiting for him?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve just forgotten what it\u2019s like to be in love.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie, I think he\u2019s struck you stupid. Look, I have an idea. Why don\u2019t we go pay a little visit to Sergio at the club? You know, girls\u2019 night out but we\u2019re so sweet we\u2019ll come by to brighten his long night at work. We\u2019ll even buy him a sandwich to tide him over. Sound good?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura, you\u2019re bad.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cI\u2019m as bad as bad. Nothing\u2019s changed since eighth grade, you know that. So you in or what?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, God, you\u2019re crazy. You\u2019re going to make me look like a snoop.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have to be one if he treated you right. Pick you up at ten?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOh god, you are nuts. Okay. But we\u2019ll just stop in to say hi, right? Then leave?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie, would your soul sister steer you wrong?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBeck, I got you up. Sorry.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCin, hi. I told you to call me when you got in, and I meant it. What time is it anyway?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThree thirty-seven.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDamn! You just get in?\u201d
\n
\n \u201cYup.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMan, he must have be one hot date. I\u2019m surprised you\u2019re home at all, then.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only the first date! Gotta keep them hanging for a little while.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI know. But there\u2019s always those romantic sunrises after being out all night\u2014\u201c <\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe next time. That\u2019s sooner than you think. He really wants me. I made him want me. We\u2019re going out tomorrow.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow, meaning later tonight?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYep.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou work some kind of charm on him or what?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI told you, he\u2019s hooked. And I\u2019m hooked on him. I think I\u2019m in love.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDamn, I wish I had your problems, girl. What did you guys do? Tell all.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cBeck, Steven is like, so fine. He came here in a tux\u2014\u201c <\/p>\n
\u201cA tux! Where was he going to take you? The Waldorf?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFor real, Beck! But then it was like so wild! He starts taking it off!\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe stripped?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo! He just wanted me to think he was! I though he was going to show off his bare chest to me, but he had a brown shirt on that was exactly the same color as his skin. The tux? It was one of those paper digs you get in the costume store.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, man! Did he show you chocolate underwear, too?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBeck, this is like for real, girl! So then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out this long-stemmed rose.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom his pocket? He Houdini or something?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMan, he had the deepest pockets I\u2019ve ever seen. And you know me, Beck. I like men with deep pockets, if you get my drift.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cSure thing, girlfriend!\u201d \u201cThen all of the sudden he\u2019s taking me in his arms and kissing me. Like Clark Gable or whatever.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJust like that? Damn, girl.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYep, just like that. Then he takes me to Chantique\u2019s for dinner. \u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cChantique\u2019s! He\u2019s really trying to wine and dine you, girl! I heard that just the salad is seven dollars. Did you eat?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t, I was so excited all I did was talk and talk. I don\u2019t know how much champagne I drank or what I said. But he\u2019s so fascinating. He\u2019s already traveled around the world.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cEven Africa?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially Africa. He goes there almost every year, mostly to Senegal and South Africa. He said if we\u2019re together in a few months, I can go on his next trip with him. Isn\u2019t that awesome?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cEnough that I\u2019d want to stick around until then. Are you sure this guy is single?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe ain\u2019t now. He\u2019s with me.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cSo you\u2019re definitely seeing him tomorrow? Girl, don\u2019t disappoint me.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYep, I\u2019m seeing him in fifteen hours and seventeen minutes if he comes on time like last time. Can\u2019t wait for seven o\u2019clock.\u201d \u201cWell, you go girl. I wish I had your kind of luck.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSomeday you will, Beck.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCall me and tell me how it goes.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how late?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how late.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie? How are you?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so pissed.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry that you found out he was a liar. But you can\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe he lied to me about where he was. I can\u2019t even get in touch with him. Where the hell was he?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cRichie was in on it, too. I could see it in his face.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDamn straight. Did you see the look on his face when we walked in? Like the Feds were busting him for coke or something. He knew. He and Sergio are up to something.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie, you gotta face facts. The man is cheating on you.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he do that? He knows I love him. Why would he need to go to someone else?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the man is a scumbag, and he knows he can get away with it because you\u2019re too nice. You have to learn to play dirty in this world, sweetie.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I do now?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cGo there tonight and confront him. Maybe he\u2019ll be strung out with his hootchie.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cYou mean just go over there and yell? When I don\u2019t even know for sure he\u2019s cheating.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHon, how old are you now? Twenty-seven?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-six. Why?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause, you\u2019re like a virgin who\u2019s never dated. No wonder Sergio likes you. You\u2019re inexperienced, especially after spending ten years with one man. It was like you were married.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean because I only slept with one other guy I\u2019m stupid?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, sweetie. You\u2019re my friend. I would never think that of you. But you\u2019re na\u00efve. You spent ten years with one man and you never learned how to play the dating game. You never learned to smell an asshole like Sergio coming for you. And assholes like him love women like you because they can get away with anything.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought Sergio was an asshole.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTime will tell, sweets. Time will tell.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cBeck?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCin? Is everything all right? It\u2019s only nine o\u2019clock.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201c I\u2019m like so pissed. I\u2019m at Steven\u2019s place. Oh, man. I want to kill.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCin, what happened?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCheck this out. Steven went out for some food, right? So I said I wanted to stay here. We had gotten funky and he wiped me out so bad he was like so fine. But check this out. After he leaves, the phone rings, right? And like, I don\u2019t know this guy or anything so I figure hell, I ain\u2019t his answering service or nothing. So I let the machine pick it up, right. And it\u2019s this girl. Sounded like a white chick. So she\u2019s yelling into the machine, wanting to know where he was last night and tonight or whatever.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDamn! I knew this guy was too good to be true.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBut check this! She didn\u2019t call the guy Steven. She called him Sergio.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo she had the wrong phone number, right? Please. Tell me I\u2019m right.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cNah-uh. I started to think that. But then I had this weird feeling when she hung up. Like I had with David when I thought he was cheating? So this time, I listened. So I went through his stuff. And guess what.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou found out his name was Sergio.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I found his Social and credit cards and everything, including his Rolodex. So I looked up this girl. Name\u2019s Jeannie Houston. Had hearts around her name and everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCin, maybe you should get out of there. If he\u2019s lying to you about his name and shit.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no. It\u2019s cool. I ain\u2019t afraid of this dude. Who\u2019s the black belt? Me or you? Besides, I have a plan. A good one.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCin, girl. I always can count on you.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura, he wasn\u2019t home last night at all.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI told you he was up to no good. Did you go over there like a said?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but I kept calling him and I never got an answer.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cOmigosh, if that bastard was right here I\u2019d—\u201c <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura? Hold on. My call waiting\u2019s beeping. Maybe it\u2019s him.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie, you are hopeless. All right. I\u2019ll wait a couple of minutes. Tell Sergio I said fuck you.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re crazy. I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d \u201cHello?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHello? Is this Jeannie Houston?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYe\u2014es. Who\u2019s this?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Cinthiya Johnson. You don\u2019t know me, but we have something in common. Or really, someone. Sergio McKendrick.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, my God. Wait. Could you hold on a second? I\u2019ve got someone on the other line.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMmm-hmm.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cLaura?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIs it him?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It\u2019s some woman who says she knows him.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cShe probably does. You gonna talk to her?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI guess I have no choice.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWell, don\u2019t take no shit from her if she\u2019s some jealous broad. And kick Sergio to the curb. You deserve better.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCall you later.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I want to know what\u2019s going on.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCinthiya?\u201d
\n
\n \u201cMmm-hmm. That\u2019s me.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you know Sergio?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMmm-hmm. Just came from his apartment.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOmigosh.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMmm-hmm. You wouldn\u2019t happen to be his woman, miss Jeannie Houston.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been going out with him for six months. How did you get my name?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLooked you up. I was there when you called his house. You should see his little black book. Got a lotta women in it, but you name had hearts all over it. Guess that\u2019s how you can tell a player\u2019s in love.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe this is happening.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFace it. It is. I just met him last week, but I\u2019m through with him. So don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not calling to mess with you. I thought you should know what you are involved with.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cHe said he was working this weekend\u2014\u201c <\/p>\n
\u201cIf he was working, it was with me. And I don\u2019t mean no office, girl.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, God.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLook, you seem like a sweet person. But you also sound like you\u2019re in love, and girl, it\u2019s with the wrong man. Honey, you should get rid of him. Especially in this day and age, diseases and stuff.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t\u2014\u201c <\/p>\n
\u201cMm-hmm. I did. Sorry honey. Your man is a sweet talker and ever my thirty year old black ass can be charmed. I should have known better too than to pick up some guy in a club when I just kicked out my ex- husband. But we all make mistakes, including me. And you sweetie, have made yours. Tell you what. I\u2019m at work now, and I get off at ten. Call me after then if you want to be rid of this guy. I have a plan.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your number?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 555-13—–\u201c
\n
\n \u201cLaura?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMan, Jeannie. You sure were on the phone long enough. I thought you were falling back in love. What\u2019s going on? Who was the broad?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHer name was Cinthiya. And yes, she knew him, the bastard. I\u2019m going to plan something with her. She said to call her if I want to be rid of Sergio.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo what are you going to do?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m calling her back.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLaura, it\u2019s me again.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo what\u2019s up?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going over Cin\u2019s for dinner at six tomorrow. He thinks he\u2019s getting an Italian dinner. \u2018Cept I\u2019ll be there too.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHeh heh. About time that rogue got his due.\u201d
\n
\n \u201cYeah. About time.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be discouraged Jeannie. As my mother said, there are other fish in the sea and most fish are better than men anyway because once they\u2019ve been tamed, they stay tamed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cJeannie, it\u2019s me Cin.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Cin.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo how are you holding up girl, after the big upstage?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still shell-shocked. I can\u2019t believe his expression when he saw me. It was like I was his enemy.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWell, players don\u2019t like to get caught, honey. But they always get their due, somehow, someway.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI guess.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSay you know what. Let\u2019s get together Friday. I\u2019ll bring my friend Becky and you can bring Laura. Girl\u2019s night out. Screw the guys, what do you say?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not? We girls have to stick together.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAmen, sister.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cHello?\u201d \u201cCin, it\u2019s me Becky. You ready for your date with Steven?\u201d \u201cSure, man. I\u2019m like, so nervous. Becky, like Steven\u2019s real fine, man. Don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"views":24851,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkuzmier.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}