Lookin' For Luv Page 8

  She entered the hotel’s elaborately decorated lobby and maneuvered herself as carefully as she could, considering the slight buzz she had. She’d purposely had quite a few cocktails trying to calm her nerves before meeting with Tyrone. Heading straight for the bar, she scanned the faces of the bar patrons, hoping to recognize Tyrone from the description he’d given her over the phone. The memory of their conversation brought a smile to her face. He’d seemed so sweet and genuinely interested as she talked about her daughter and her life. It also impressed her when he spoke with such great love about his own girls.

  As Sylvia scanned the men in the room, she saw only two black men. One was short with light skin and frekles and was with a woman, so Sylvia assumed he was not Tyrone. The other black man was tall and thin, just as Tyrone had described himself. She liked what she saw.

  Tyrone had been watching Sylvia since she walked into the bar. He knew it was her right away, because she was wearing a lavender dress, as she said she would. He noticed how flattering the dress was on Sylvia’s curvaceous figure and smiled approvingly. She wasn’t the overweight housewife he had expected her to be and was relieved. As Sylvia approached, he leaned back against the bar and smiled nonchalantly.

  “Well, hello, pretty lady. I’m glad you made it. Can I buy you a drink?”

  Although she knew she had already had enough, Sylvia decided one more drink might just make things less awkward for her. She asked the bartender for a gin and tonic, then sat next to Tyrone at the bar.

  “I’m very sorry I’m late, Tyrone. I had to attend a cocktail party at the Ridgewood Estate.” The bartender arrived with her drink, and she sipped it before continuing. “I really planned on being out of there on time, but I had to stop Bernard from chasing Councilwoman Jordan’s son.” Tyrone put his drink down and stared at Sylvia in disbelief.

  “You know Bernard Ridgewood, as in Bernard Ridgewood of Ridgewood Galleries? As in owner of the largest African American art gallery in the country?”

  “yes,” she answered matter-of factly, taking a long swig of her drink. “Although, his gallery’s actually the second biggest. Walter Black’s out in L.A. is bigger, but he carries the work of white artists too.”

  Tyrone still couldn’t believe his ears, This woman he was about to sleep with knew someone who quite possibly could change his life.

  “You know, Sylvia, I’m an artist myself. I’ve been tryin’ to get Bernard Ridgewood to look at my work for years. Do you think you could hook a brother up?”

  The alcohol had made her a lot bolder, so she teased him. “I don’t know, it depends on how much a brother hooks me up. Take care of me and I’ll take care of you.”

  Of course, she had no way of knowing if Tyrone’s artwork was any good, since she had never seen it. But she smiled wickedly, thinking that if he was any good in bed, she might be willing to pull a few strings for him.

  Tyrone liked the naughty smile on her face and decided to continue this little flirtatious game with her. He leaned close as he asked, “Penny for your thoughts?”

  “Honestly?” She sighed. “I was just thinking about how much you reminded me of my high school sweetheart.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “Oh, it’s good. It’s definitely good. I was thinking maybe I should take you upstairs and get from you what I should have gotten from him twenty years ago.”

  “What if I refuse to go upstairs with you? Maybe I’m not that kind of guy,” he teased.

  “Well, Tyrone., I guess I would have to convince you that you are that kind of guy,” she said, placing her hand on his upper thigh and caressing him.

  “So you think you can convince me, huh? Well, give me three good reasons why I should go upstairs with you.” Tyrone’s breathing became a little faster as Sylvia’s hand rose a little higher on his thigh. Things were moving a lot quicker than he expected.

  “Three reasons, huh? Okay, number one, tonight might be the only chance you get to sleep with me. Number two, I’m horny as hell and might just do anything you ask. And number three, your little friend is not so little anymore.” She laughed as her hand slid between his legs.

  “Oh, boy.” He sighed, removing Sylvia’s hand and placing it on top of the bar. “Those are pretty damn good reasons, especially number three. But we have plenty of time for that. Why don’t we have some dinner, then we’ll take our little party upstairs.”

  Sylvia regained her composure and realized she might be going a little too fast.

  “You’re right. I haven’t eaten all day, and I could use something other than alcohol in my stomach. I would hate to be so drunk that I miss something.” She took Tyrone’s hand and led him to the restaurant on the other side of the lobby, requesting a quiet table in the comer. They studied the menus silently for a few minutes.

  “So, what do you think you’d like to have?” she asked.

  “Shoot, I really don’t know. I mean, I know what I’d like to order, but these prices are a little steep.”

  “Go ahead and order whatever you want, honey. My husband’s paying for dinner and our room.” She pulled out a gold MasterCard and they both laughed. When the waiter returned to take their orders, Tyrone asked for filet mignon and Sylvia ordered a pasta dish and the most expensive wine on the list.

  While they waited, the two exchanged some small talk about Tyrone’s job, and he shared several funny stories about his students. Before long their dinners arrived, and once he started eating, Tyrone barely lifted his head from the plate. Sylvia, on the other hand, was too nervous to touch her food, so she tried to engage him in conversation.

  “So, why does a good-looking guy like you need to use a line?”

  Tyrone barely looked up from his dinner as he spoke. “Don’t take this wrong, but I’m a player.” He swallowed another bite of the tender filet. “The date line puts variety in my life”

  “Why do I have the feeling you’re not telling me the entire truth?” She chuckled. “Come on, Tyrone,. What’s your real story? I promise it won’t change my mind about sleeping with you.”

  Finally putting down his fork, Tyrone looked into Sylvia’s eyes and answered honestly. He had barely admitted his true reasons to himself until then.

  “Okay, a friend of mine met what seems to be the perfect woman from the line the other night. I gave him all kind of shit about it, until I met her. I guess now I’m jealous. I’m gonna be thirty years old, and I haven’t had a meaningful relationship since I was seventeen. It’s about time I grew up and maybe even settled down.”

  “So, you’re looking for the perfect woman, are you?” She was taken aback by the sincerity of his answer. They were strangers. He didn’t owe her anything, but he was already being more honest than her husband had been in years.

  “Well, I don’t know if I’m looking for perfection. I just want to find someone I’m compatible with. Someone I can share my art with. Someone who’s going to grow with me. You know what I mean?”

  “Yeah, I suppose I do,” she practically whispered as her eyes welled up with tears. “I suppose once upon a time my husband and I were compatible, but we drifted apart a long time ago. I just never realized it until now. We were never really meant to be together anyway.”

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean?” Tyrone felt genuine sympathy for the pain Sylvia’s marriage was causing her.

  “I met my husband on the night of my senior prom. I had been with my boyfriend, Keith, since the first week of high school.” She smiled, amazed as she noticed again the remarkable resemblance between Tyrone and Keith. “The night of the prom was supposed to be our big night. I was finally going to give him my virginity. I was pretty nervous, so I was giving Keith a really hard time most of the night. When the prom came to an end, we went to this beach party over in Far Rockaway. Keith was really impatient and kept pestering me to leave so we could finally make love. I was too nervous to go, so I told him I was having a good time. I suggested he should get a motel room and I would be ready to l
eave when he returned.”

  “So did he leave you there?”

  “Are you kidding? He was so happy that he’d be getting some soon, he jumped into his car and sped off to the motel in about two seconds flat. I went back to the party. It could not have been ten minutes later, I felt someone cover my eyes. I assumed it was Keith. Then he kissed me, but it wasn’t like Keith had ever kissed me before. You know the kind of kisses that make you weak in the knees?”

  “Mmm-hmm. I sure do. So your boy Keith was trying out some new moves, huh?”

  “It was like a movie or a dream or something. I opened my eyes, and there he was, the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. I will always remember the way the full moon shone down on his shoulders. He looked like some kind of mythological god.”

  Sylvia paused. She could tell by the look on Tyrone’s face that he was in suspense.

  “Who was this mystery man, Sylvia?”

  Sylvia was enjoying his attention, so she kept him in suspense a little longer and continued her narrative.

  “So there I am with my arms around this gorgeous man I’ve never met before, making out in the moonlight, and he whispers in my ear, ‘Come on, let’s go for a ride.’ Well, now I’m speechless. I can’t believe this hunk wants me to go for a ride with him. Somehow, though, I manage to say yes, and the rest is history.” Her voice was flat.

  “What do you mean, history?”

  “I lost my virginity and conceived my daughter all on that very same night,” she replied.

  “Damn! Ain’t that a bitch,” Throne said, his eyes bugged out. “So that’s how you met that no-good fool of a husband, huh? What ever happened to your boy, Keith?”

  “Keith died two years ago from AIDS.”

  “Oh, damn. You mean the brother turned gay after you left him?” Tyrone nearly shouted.

  “At first I thought so, but I spoke to him years later and found out I was wrong. Even in high school Keith thought he might be gay but didn’t want to face it. That’s why he wanted to make love to me. He thought it was a way to prove to himself that he really liked women. So after I left him for my husband, he just admitted to himself what he had known all along.” Sylvia had a faraway look in her eyes as she recalled her friend.

  “That’s deep.” Tyrone wasn’t sure what else to say. It was clear that this man had meant a great deal to Sylvia, and he didn’t want to upset her. “At least you got to clear the air with him, huh?”

  “Yes, actually we became good friends after a while. It was he who introduced me to Bernard Ridgewood. They had been lovers for years before his death.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” Sylvia said, noticing his plate was empty. She was eager to end this depressing conversation. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go upstairs. Would you like to join me?”

  He knew he would regret his words when he got home, but Tyrone could not go through with his original plan. Sylvia was not just another screw for him now. She had shown him a little bit of her soul, and he didn’t want to use her.

  “Sylvia you’re a beautiful, intelligent woman whose had some really bad experiences with love. You don’t need to sleep with me for revenge.”

  “But, Tyrone., I want—” He put his finger to her lips to hush her.

  “I do too. But that’s not what you need. You need someone to make love to you, to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Most of all, you need a friend.”

  Sylvia sat in silence as a single tear slid down her cheek. She tried to wipe it off, but his words stopped her.

  “I don’t know who your husband is, but he’s a fool, and I honestly feel sorry for him. If he could see you the way I see you now, he would hold you and never let you go.”

  Sylvia couldn’t help it now. The tears were streaming down her face.

  “I’m about to ask you something that I really have no right to ask, especially since you’re married.” He walked around to her side of the table, and she stood up so that they were face-to-face. “Let me show you how fun life is again, Sylvia. I don’t want you to give in right away. I want to earn the privilege of making love with you.”

  They embraced delicately. After a long pause she leaned forward and whispered to him.

  “Tyrone, what you just said has to be the most beautiful thing I have ever heard from a man in my life. I want to thank you for not letting me make a foolish mistake. It’s good to know someone who can be honest.”

  “I’ll always be there for you.” He slowly began to kiss away her tears until his lips found hers. Sylvia sighed. In her twenty years of marriage she had never felt a kiss so tender and caring.

  10

  KEVIN

  Kevin was happy to find a parking space in front of his house but not surprised. He had taken Antoine’s advice on how to solve his personal New York City parking crisis. He made an anonymous call to the city parking violations bureau. Looking around, he saw that the old junkers his landlord seemed to collect were no longer taking up all the available parking around the building. They were all gone, probably towed by the city. He was sure he was not the only tenant who would be happy. This parking solution was like a bonus at the end of an already wonderful day.

  Shutting off the car’s engine, he closed his eyes and replayed the day’s events. He had been nervous for his date with Alicia, unlike their previous eight. After two months together Alicia had decided it was time for him to meet her son, Michael, and Kevin was not quite sure he was ready. Fortunately his worry had been unnecessary. Michael was a nice, respectful kid and they had gotten along well. The three of them went to church, then went to see Wild Wild West, the adventure movie starring Will Smith.

  Kevin realized he was happy for the first time since he’d left basketball behind. He had a job that he was starting to enjoy and a beautiful woman he planned on spending a lot of time with. As he placed the key in the lock, he heard the phone ringing inside his apartment. He glanced at his watch and knew exactly who was calling. He raced inside and grabbed the receiver.

  “Hi, Mama. Sorry I didn’t call you earlier,” he panted.

  “How’d you know it was me? And why you so out of breath, boy? You got some woman over there?”

  “No, Mama. There’s no one here but me. But I did go on a date with my new girlfriend.” Kevin laughed, feeling like a teenager again.

  “You got yourself a new girlfriend? Thank you, Jesus. What’s she like, Kevin? She ain’t one of them easy girls like you used to go with, is she?”

  “No, Mama, she’s not fast.” He couldn’t help but add, “Actually Alicia’s a nice, churchgoin’ girl. We went to church together this morning before we went out.”

  “Hallelujah! That girl done got my boy back in church? I like her already,” Mama said seriously. “Now, baby, you better be careful, ’cause even those church girls can be bad news. You remember Bertha Mae Washington’s two girls, Emily and Anna, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Kevin mumbled, remembering how wild they were in bed. He’d had them both.

  “Well, they got seven children between them, by five different daddies, and ain’t neither one of them married! And got the nerve to be Sunday-school teachers! Now, how you gonna be a Sunday-school teacher acting like that?” Mama sucked her teeth in disgust. “At least I got sense ’nough to keep your sistah Whitney and my cute little grandbabies, Joe and Martha, home on Sunday!”

  Kevin shook his head as he grinned. His mother could be such a hypocrite.

  “Don’t worry, Mama, she’s already made it known that sex is not in our near future.”

  “You see? That’s good. You done found yourself a real woman, Kevin. She respects herself.” Mama was happy. “You don’t find too many girls that respect themselves these days. You just treat her right, like your mama taught you, and you two will have a nice family.”

  Suddenly Kevin was nervous but figured now was as good a time as any to approach the subject of Michael.

  “Spe
aking of family, Mama, before you go tellin’ everyone at church about Alicia, there’s something you should know.”

  Mama gasped. “Oh, Lord, baby. Please don’t tell me the girl’s married. Mimmie Wilks’s grandbaby’s been strayin’ on her husband. There is nothin’ worse a woman can do.”

  “No, Mama, Alicia’s not married. She has a seven-year-old son. A wonderful seven-year-old son. I just met him today, Mama, and he’s really a great kid.”

  “Well, if she’s got a baby, where’s her baby’s daddy? And why ain’t she married to him?”

  Kevin considered making up a story that would please his mother but decided against it. “Things didn’t work out with her child’s father, Mama. He was beating her so bad, she finally had to leave.”

  “Dear Jesus, that poor child. Nobody should have to go through that,” Mama said with compassion. “But, Kevin, you be careful. You don’t know these women like I do. Just make sure she ain’t after you to raise her son.”

  Kevin was amazed at how quickly Mama’s emotions could bounce back and forth. “Don’t worry, Mama, Alicia and I both want to take things very slowly. I’m being careful, but I know she’s not looking for anything more than companionship right now.”

  “All right, baby. Mama’s glad you’re not rushin’ things. Well, I guess I won’t be meeting her anytime soon. But you’re still comin’ home to see me during your Christmas break, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, Mama, I’m coming down on Christmas morning,” he said, imagining himself sitting at her table for Christmas dinner with his friends and family.

  ‘ “Are you still bringing those boys with you? What’s their names? Anthony and Tony?”

  Kevin laughed, “Antoine and Tyrone, Mama. And, yes, they’re coming with me. We’re gonna try to drive my car. I just hope the car makes it down there. I can’t wait to see you.”