flirting with another guy. “Maybe we could…”
“Aww, hell naw, you want me to fuck you up, don’t you?” I cut her off, a little upset that she would bring up the topic again.
“I’m just saying that would be out of my comfort zone,” she strongly suggested.
“No! Hell no! And if I did, I don’t think I’d fuck with white chicks,” I said, letting her know if I was gay, she wouldn’t be my type.
“How come?” Denise asked.
“Because for one a lot of y’all don’t have ass. For two, too bitchy; three, I just don’t like white chicks. No offense,” I said, just trying to end the conversation.
Denise always had a girl crush on me ever since we first met. I’ve never known her to mess with a female before her crush on me, but you can never tell with her and her secrets.
As we went over our birthday plans, this light-skinned man walked up and literally stopped time. He was in an all-black suit that had a small shine to it. You could tell it was tailor-made because it fit his body to a tee. He had on a white business shirt and a black tie with a gold tie clip attached. His eyes were hazel/light brownish in color, and his hair was cut short. His beard was attached to his sideburns and covered half of his cheeks and came together at his mustache.
“Honey dip look like the men in black,” Denise whispered to me in her “gotta get him” voice.
“Naw, he finer than Will,” I whispered back. As I looked over this man, he looked like he stepped out of the GQ’s sexiest men under forty 2020 edition. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I’ve never stared at a man for so long except when I used to stare at Jay.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Miles trying to give the signal that he was calling dibs on GQ. Usually I would let Miles have them and try his luck, but I just knew he was here for me. So I ignored Miles.
“Lyric! Lyric, I need to see you over here real quick,” Josh said as he signaled me to follow him.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath, mad because I knew I was gonna miss my opportunity.
“Yes!” Denise said as she moved right into position so she would be the first person GQ came into contact with.
“I need you to do me a favor,” Josh politely asked as if he was my BFF.
“What’s up?” I replied as I looked over at GQ.
“I need you to fire Denise for me,” he asked.
“What? Aww, naw, I’m not doing yo dirty work.”
“You recommended her,” he reminded me.
“Two reasons, for one, that’s my best friend. For two, I don’t even like you,” I ranted, still checking for GQ, but he was already gone.
“Damn!” I said out loud.
“What?” Josh asked.
“Nothing. All right, you want me to do it, I’ll do it, but today is payday, so after I fire her, she gone have to come in when the checks get here and get her check,” I said, swiftly leaving Josh’s side.
“What? Damn. I didn’t think about that,” Josh said to himself.
“So what’s his name? What did he buy? Did he have a wedding ring?” I drilled Denise.
“Damn, girl, for you to be asking those questions, I would’ve thought you already knew he was coming in here for you,” Denise replied, too salty she didn’t even have a chance.
“What?” I said, shocked I didn’t know who looked like that.
“Well, boo boo, he knows you. Had yo whole government Ms. Lyric Sadé Daniels,” Denise teased as she held up an envelope with a letter in it.
“Why didn’t you tell him I was here?” I said, pissed because GQ was sexy as hell and would have been worth the effort.
“He saw Josh pull you to the side, and he said, and I quote, ‘Although I want to wait, I can’t,” and he told me to give you this.” Denise waved the envelope in my face. Then she gave it to me.
“I hope this mean you gone finally get some butt,” Denise said as she tried to get some info out of me.
“Open it! Open it! I wanna read it.” Miles floated into the conversation.
“No, imma read it later,” I said, bursting everyone’s bubble.
“Did you get his name?” I asked hopelessly.
“Nope. Sorry, I was caught in his eyes. Girl, they were beautiful, and before I knew it, he was gone,” Denise explained. “But I did get his initials off his cufflinks though—J. G.”
It felt as if my heart stop beating then started again once I took that first breath after hearing his initials.
“Are you okay?” Miles asked, concerned.
I didn’t know what to say; I was stuck. “That couldn’t be him,” I said to myself. I could never forget what Jason Graham looked like. He was my best friend, my protector, the only person who ever showed me they loved me besides my grandma, God rest her soul. So many thoughts and feelings flooded my mind and body—feelings for him.
“Hello!” Denise yelled in my ear. I didn’t move.
“Man, just shake the shit out of her,” Miles suggested and she did.
“What?” I said, annoyed.
“Do you know him or not?” Denise demanded an answer like she was my mom and caught me in the house alone with GQ.
“I don’t know. I think I might,” I falsely stated. I couldn’t shake this feeling that kept attacking my heart. I rushed to the bathroom, locked the door, and took a seat against the wall next to the door. The letter read,
October 10, 2020
My Angel,
Sorry I’ve been away for so long. I’ve thought about you every second of every minute in every hour these past 8 years. I’ve missed you so much. I wish that this visit could have been on personal terms, but it’s not. I told you next time you see me, it’ll be time. The time is now, my angel. I am staying at the Renaissance Hotel downtown, suite 4201. I’m not going anywhere. Gather yourself and meet me there after your shift.
Jason
I didn’t know what to say or how to feel. It’d been eight years already, I thought to myself as I stood up and dusted myself off. Jason knew me so well. He knew his presence would overwhelm me. I gathered myself, walked out the bathroom, and proceeded back to the store to continue my shift. I couldn’t wait to get off to go see him, even if it wasn’t personal. Just to see him brought back old feelings, feelings that I thought I had buried. Guess I didn’t bury them deep enough.
Chapter 3
Jason
