way people think I am.”
“Well, what are you into?”
He looked at her again. “A promising career. With basketball, I wouldn’t know if I’d make it to the pros or not. I plan on taking as many business classes as I can. Do you know how many Black men went into business for themselves and are set for life now?”
Her Uncle Nathaniel, Natalie’s father, came to mind. Tiphany smiled, realizing that he had given her another reason for her attraction to him. “That’s good, Jee.”
“So, you’re not going to get rid of me,” he announced in a playfully challenging tone. He slowly slid closer toward her and slipped his right arm around her shoulders. With his left hand, he reached for her left hand and held it.
Tiphany very much wanted to return his sweet embrace. She could see him surveying her face in her peripheral. He seemed to be more anxious for her response during that frozen moment. In her girlish bashfulness, she had intended to resist looking into his eyes. But her actions defied her plans. She was almost enthralled by his parted lips. Her heart’s beat sped up as she noticed his head drawing closer to hers with his eyes fixed on her lips.
“Jimmy, what do you think you’re doing?” She blurted.
His eyes flew open and could have gauged from his face had he been any more flabbergasted by her reaction. “What? What do you think, Girl?” He chuckled with an obvious attempt to restore his confidence within that staggering moment.
Once again, words began spilling from Tiphany’s mouth before she could first think and devise a tactful way of saying them. “I think you think I’m one of your drooling fans,” she scolded. Her own tone stunned her. “I don’t even like basketball.”
“But how do you feel about me?” He squeezed her hand.
“I feel like you’re a player,” she retorted. “I don’t fit into your track record, Jimmy. And I’m not some desperate puppy waiting around for a moment like this with you.”
“Lord, please forgive me for lying to this guy!” She prayed inwardly.
“Then, why did you come out here with me?” He asked her pulling away.
“Jimmy…”
“Call me Jee, Tip,” he reminded her in a gentle tone.
“Jee,” she complied. “Do you know how many years you and I have been dancing together?”
“Two – two and a half. Right?”
“Roughly, yeah,” she replied before pausing to shiver. She didn’t realize how cold the weather actually was until Jimmy pulled away. “And besides saying to me, ‘Hey, Tip, let’s go kick it,’ what else have you ever said to me before tonight? I came out here with you because, for the first time, we were about to have a conversation – a real conversation, uninterrupted.”
Tiphany studied his gape into her eyes but couldn’t determine if the look was blank or conflicted with self-evaluation. She wanted to ask him for a response, but she was afraid, for the first time, that the guy she had a dream-consuming crush on might say something stupid to the extent of sabotaging her feelings. So, she entertained his silence with more of her own words.
“I’m excited about your scholarship choices. And I needed somebody to talk to about moving. I hate that I have to wonder if I’ll ever have another dance partner like you again. Those are things to talk about, Jee. That’s what friends and even dance partners do. They talk. You want to jump the gun and link me into a long chain of experiences that you’ve had with other girls. Well, guess what! I’m not…”
“Woe there, Partner! Okay!”
For a moment, she searched her heart and really wondered if she actually wanted to turn Jimmy down over a kiss that would have meant everything to her.
“Man!” He blurted. “Nobody ever…I mea-.” He coughed out half-laughter as if he were at a complete loss of words. Running his hand over his low-cut, perfectly round afro, he looked out at the blank field like a lost boy in search of something he couldn’t identify. Bewilderment covered his face. “I guess you really don’t like me. Do you?”
Tiphany replied with an attempt to conceal her heart in her tone. “If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t dance with you every time I have a chance. I wouldn’t be out here trying to talk to you.”
“There!” She told herself, “Now, he’ll think you like him the way you like your seventy-five year-old math teacher. Real romantic, Tiphany!”
“Hey, by the way,” Jimmy began in a more cheerful tone as he scooted away to face her more. “Who said you had to have another dance partner? Why can’t I just come and pick you up and take you with me sometimes?”
“Really?”
“Tip, I like dancing with you. You’re fun, too.” There was a hint of bashfulness that formed on his handsome face. He stared downward again! This guy had never lowered his eyes, Tiphany thought, except to gawk at some girl.
He continued, “You know, I know you’re not like these other chicks I know. And I always wanted to talk more to you. But Manuel…Man, that’s a big dude.”
She giggled. “He’s only like five-foot six inches tall. You’re over six feet.”
“Yeah, and he lifts heavier weights. ‘Probably eats more than me, too, since he plays football. He’s big regardless of his height. And he’s crazy about you – still. I remember he punched out this dude in the locker room just for saying that you’re fine. That was last year when y’all first started going together. He seemed to like you more and more after that.”
She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know Manny did that. And all this time I’ve been criticizing other girls for instigating guys’ fights over them.” There was also a thought forming in the back of her mind. When she broke up with Manuel, she thought he didn’t care. After all, he never called to rebuttal her wishes. She had always thought his interest in her was faint compared to other guys who showed affection and more attention to their girlfriends. Part of what drew her to Jimmy, she admitted to herself, were his smiles at her on and off the dance floor. His mystery was more alluring than Manuel’s bland presence walking at her side. But, she decided, there was no point in explaining these feelings to Jimmy.
“Hello?” He waved a hand in front of her, breaking her thoughts.
“Huh?”
“I said you didn’t instigate that fight,” Jimmy defended her graciously. “You had no idea. Nobody from the locker room really said anything about it ‘cause brothers don’t really talk like that.”
They both laughed.
Tiphany forced herself to tell him what he may have like to hear, “Jee…I know so many girls who want to go with you. They’re pretty. Foxy as you would probably call them, I guess. They dance well. Don’t you have at least one more semester girlfriend to choose out of all of them before the school year is over?”
He was taken aback. He even thought with a nod before answering. “I could do that. But if I did, I’d be obligated to take one of them to my prom. And I want to take you.”
Tiphany’s
