He's Just A Friend (21 page)

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Authors: Mary B. Morrison

BOOK: He's Just A Friend
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CHAPTER 28
“H
ey, man, what's up?” Desmond had phoned Tyronne because he hadn't heard from his friend in several days.
“Man, I'm so excited. Good things have been happenin' for a brotha left and right. Furniture is being delivered for my bizness today. Got a promotion at the cola company. I'mma a supervisor now, dawg. No more runs. Next week I start my training. And guess what?”
“What?” Desmond asked, pleased things were going well for Tyronne.
“Pastor Tellings asked
me
to be a deacon. Can you believe that shit?”
Desmond waited for Tyronne to correct himself but Tyronne didn't so Desmond said, “What you gon' do man?”
“I said I'd think about it. Just like a brotha is thinking about proposing to SaVoy. What you think?”
“Honestly?” Desmond said.
“Shoot, man. Don't hold back.”
“I think you're not ready for marriage. Aren't you still seeing other women?”
“Man, that's the only way I can keep my cool around SaVoy. But I'mma bout to let them other felines loose. For real.”
“Well, be honest with yourself, man. Don't play games and end up breaking SaVoy's heart.”
“Yeah, you right. Maybe I should wait. Look, if you not busy Sunday, come go to church with us. Bring Carlita. But whatever you do, don't bring Fancy.”
“Man, you can't tell me who to bring to church. I might just show up. Speaking of Fancy and Carlita, I gotta go, dawg.”
“Peace,” Tyronne said, and hung up the phone.
Desmond hopped in Fancy's old two-seater and cranked up the engine. It was so quiet, he restarted the car to make sure it was on. He'd recently tuned it up and figured it was time to give it back to Fancy. When Byron bought her the Benz, Fancy gave Desmond the car saying she didn't need it and he could do whatever he wanted with it. Desmond had stored it in his parents' garage and never mentioned it again.
He parked in front of Fancy's building and called her. “Hey, whatcha doing?”
“Studying for my real estate exam tomorrow. I could use a ride if you're available.”
“No, I can't. Not tomorrow. I'm busy.”
Fancy's voice escalated. “Too busy to drop me off and pick me up for my important test?”
Desmond hadn't told Fancy that in about two months he'd take the Law School Aptitude Test. Would Fancy be equally supportive of him? SaVoy helped him more than Fancy. Well, that wasn't a fair comparison because SaVoy helped everyone, including Fancy.
When Desmond went to his mother's house to get Fancy's car, his mom had said, “That there fast Fanny girl has got your nose wide open. One day you'll sneeze her out.” Mom had lived her life. And although his parents had a beautiful marriage, Desmond knew there were things his mother had done to upset his father. But he guessed she'd forgotten about those days. But he sure hadn't.
“Can you come downstairs for a minute? I need to give you something right quick.”
“Okay,” Fancy said, and hung up the phone.
Desmond stood in the lobby and waited for Fancy. When she stepped off the elevator, he handed her the keys and eyed the car sitting in the driveway.
“Oh, my goodness! Dez, no you didn't. You kept my car?”
“No, I kept
my
car. You gave it to me, remember? But you can have it back. I never registered it in my name so you don't have to worry this time.”
“Why didn't you give it to me sooner? Instead of having me begging for rides.”
Desmond wanted to say,
Because you only want me when you need me,
but instead he said, “I need a ride back to my job so I can get my car.”
Fancy went inside and returned bouncing happily with her purse in hand. “Let's go.”
Desmond got out of the car. He gave Fancy a hug. “I love you. I know you'll ace that exam tomorrow. Remember, I'm with you even when I'm not with you.”
Fancy wrapped her arms around Desmond, kissed his lips long and hard, then said, “I love you too, Dez.”
Desmond worked the rest of the day thinking about Carlita and Fancy. He hadn't seen Carlita since he left her keys on the table. She'd called a couple of times but he didn't return any of her messages until this morning. Carlita was happy simply to hear his voice and know everything was all right. Law school was next year so he only had a few more months of leisure before he had to balance school, studying, and work. He wouldn't have much time for a social life so Desmond planned to visit Trina sometime after his test and before Christmas. He was grateful for all SaVoy had done and although he was happy for his boy Tyronne, Desmond wished SaVoy were his girlfriend because she was the perfect woman. Single. No kids. And a virgin. Desmond knew Tyronne wasn't going to do right by SaVoy. And Desmond knew the question was not
if
Tyronne would break SaVoy's heart, but
when.
Parking in front of Carlita's house Desmond left his overnight bag in the trunk just in case things didn't go well.
When Carlita opened the door, Desmond said, “Hey, what's up? Good to see you.”
“You too, baby. I missed you so much,” Carlita said, massaging his back as she hugged him. “Oh.” Carlita frowned. “You are so tense. Wanna talk about it?”
“Talkin' isn't what I really need but we can start there.” Desmond passionately kissed Carlita.
Carlita smiled. “Let's take this inside.”
Carlita gave Desmond a full body massage and fucked him so good he fell into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 29
T
he money SaVoy loaned Fancy was dwindling. August first had arrived and it was time to pay her rent. Maybe Desmond would pay her rent again this month. Fancy decided not to stress over her lack of finances. She'd stopped handing out cards because hanging out in the East Bay she couldn't meet the type of men she wanted to date.
Fancy picked up her phone and dialed Adam's work number. “Hey, baby what's up? How are you?”
“Who's this?” Adam asked.
“Fancy. Don't act like you could possibly forget me.”
“Hey, baby! I was hoping to hear from you. What happened to you that day? I thought you were going to the coffee shop.”
“I left. I had to go take care of my mother,” Fancy lied to gain Adam's sympathy. “She's sick. Not doing too well.”
“Really? I'm sorry to hear that. You never really talked about your mother.”
“You never asked.”
“That's true. Look, you need anything?”
“Well, if I don't pay my rent by the fifth of this month, I won't have a place to stay.”
“Hey, Big Adam can't have his baby homeless. As soon as I finish working on this house, I'll be by. How much you need?”
“Well, I need four thousand but—”
“No, buts. Big Adam will take care of his baby. I'll see you around eight o'clock. Gotta go. Bye.”
“Bye, Daddy.” Fancy hung up the phone and smiled.
The four thousand dollars had attachments but nothing Fancy wasn't accustomed to. Adam would get his money's worth tonight. Fancy picked up her car keys and drove to the JaHva House on Lakeshore to get a chai. Ordering her tea she stared at one of the men seated at the counter, trying to remember where she'd met him.
Unable to recall, she introduced herself. “Hi, I'm Fancy Taylor. You look awfully familiar. Have we met?”
The other four men became silent.
The man stood and shook his head. “I don't think so.” Extending his hand he said, “I'm Wellington Jones.”
“Oh, my gosh.” Fancy gasped and covered her mouth and grabbed his hand. “You're Darius Jones's father?”
Wellington smiled and the other men roared with laughter. “Yes, that would be me.” Wellington raised his palms toward Fancy. “Whatever Darius did, I don't want to hear about it.”
“Excuse me, miss. Here's your chai,” the cashier said, handing Fancy the tall white paper cup.
“Thanks. Just sit it there. I'll get it in a minute.” She'd already paid the woman so Fancy redirected her attention toward Wellington, trying to figure out how she could get Darius's home phone number.
“I see where he gets his intellect from,” Fancy said, smiling and moving closer to Wellington.
Wellington rubbed the back of his head, stretched his neck left then right and said, “Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude but we're in the middle of our Socrates discussion. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Taylor.” Wellington turned to a gentleman wearing a Kangol black leather cap, blue jeans, a sweatshirt, and a silver peace sign and said, “Rich, what does you being the last sugar daddy on earth have to do with what we're talking about?”
Fancy shook her head trying to figure out why a man like Wellington, with all his money, would hang out at the JaHva House. And why the man Wellington called Rich looked poor, according to her standards. Was he really rich or was that just his name? Maybe Fancy needed to rethink her strategy for meeting wealthy men. Maybe there were wealthy men in the East Bay.
Fancy thanked the woman behind the counter for her chai and drove to Top Notch Hair Salon on Seventeenth Street to schedule an appointment. She'd pay Raeshelle extra to squeeze her in tomorrow between clients. After begging and pleading Raeshelle agreed. Determined Adam was going to get the royal treatment, Fancy rushed to the nail salon for a manicure and pedicure. Tonight, for the first time with Adam, Fancy was unwrapping her exotic dancing pole.
CHAPTER 30
D
esmond entered SaVoy's store looking down the street for Tyronne's truck. Damn, that's right. His boy was the boss now. Since SaVoy had helped him, Desmond decided he should help her by telling SaVoy the truth about Tyronne.
“Hey, woman. What's up?”
“Since when you started calling me woman? You know my Tyronne is the only one who calls me that. I was just about to close.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. You wanna grab a cup of coffee? We can go to the JaHva House around the corner.”
Desmond knew Tyronne kicked it at the JaHva every Wednesday night—after singles Bible study, after he dropped off SaVoy—for poetry. Usually he showed up or left with one of the female poets.
“Okay, I guess since there's no Bible study tonight. But I can't stay long.”
Yeah. Desmond already knew, because Tyronne had told him, Bible study had been canceled due to a church retreat.
“Cool, let's go. I'll drive. You can leave your car here.”
Desmond looked for Tyronne's car in Albertson's parking lot as he searched for a place to park. Tyronne's black SUV was nowhere in sight.
“We could have walked over here,” SaVoy said. “Is it always this crowded in here?”
“You think this is crowded.” Desmond ordered two ginger ales at the counter and said, “Let's go upstairs so we can get a better view. Wednesday is poetry night. In about an hour this place will barely have standing room. Have you seen or heard from Fancy lately?”
“Yeah, I called her this morning,” SaVoy said, sipping her soda. “She was on her way to Mandy's. Then she had an interview with Howard Kees at Kees Realty in San Leandro. Fancy is really serious about real estate.”
“Wow, that's great. I haven't heard much from her since I gave her back her car.”
“Desmond, you are so nice. You know how Fancy is. At least she doesn't discriminate. She treats me the same way. She only calls when she needs something. But hey, she's still our friend.”
Desmond carefully watched the door, waiting for Tyronne to walk in.
“You know, there's something I want to say but I'm not sure how to say it.”
SaVoy looked at Desmond. “What? We're friends. You can tell me if something is bothering you.”
“You're right. You remember when I first met Fancy?”
SaVoy nodded. “Yeah, I was there.”
“Right.” Desmond paused. “Well, I was really interested in you. But since Fancy did all the talking, I ended up talking to her.”
SaVoy closed her eyes, then opened them slowly. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Nothing that matters I guess. I just thought you should know. That's all.” Desmond hunched his shoulders.
SaVoy smiled. “I was kinda diggin' you too. But Fancy always thinks every guy wants her and not me. She makes sure she's always in the guy's face. Even if she's not interested. She does all or most of the talking. Then, after the guy is gone she says things like, ‘I'm not really interested in him' or ‘He's not my type.' I really don't trip anymore 'cause if I say I like the guy, Fancy really acts like he's all hers and out of the kindness of her heart she'll hook him up with me only if she doesn't want him. Just like she did with you.”
“Really? Like that? Damn. I had no idea. So you were feeling me too?”
“Yeah, but not anymore. I'm in love with Tyronne.”
Desmond scanned the crowded downstairs area. He was so engaged in conversation he hadn't noticed Tyronne had slipped in. He was seated on the couch with a female on his lap. Now,
that
was the Tyronne he knew.
“Speaking of Tyronne, isn't that him down there?” Desmond pointed in Tyronne's direction.
SaVoy squinted. “I don't think so. That guy has some woman on his lap.”
Desmond nodded. “Maybe you're right.”
The first performer stepped up to the mic and said,
“A woman's first orgasm
Should be by masturbation
Or maybe from oral copulation
But never strictly penetration
She doesn't need permission
To explore herself
By herself
She should try herself
And hold on to her virginity
Not for infinity
But until he can prove
He's the one she should choose . . .”
“Wow, I like that.” SaVoy clapped. “Felt like she was talking to me.”
“Next we have Desmond Brown coming up to the mic.”
Desmond made his way downstairs and up to the mic. Tyronne raised his fist in the air and yelled, “That's my boy! That's my boy! Do the damn thing!” The woman sitting on Tyronne's lap tongue-kissed him and Tyronne kissed her back.
Desmond glanced up at SaVoy. Her hands covered her mouth, she stood, made her way downstairs. SaVoy squeezed through the crowd until she stood directly in front Tyronne and said, “I guess I have no right to be jealous because I'm not your
woman,
but I am jealous.” SaVoy turned, walking toward Desmond. “This was no coincidence. Thanks a lot. Friend.”
Tyronne stood, damn near dropping the feline who was seated on his lap to the floor.
“Damn, Tyronne. Are you crazy!” she yelled, grabbing his waist and pulling herself up.
Desmond and Tyronne bumped into one another trying to get out the door first.
“Nigga, move out my way,” Tyronne said, pushing Desmond aside.
Desmond squared his shoulders. “Don't blame me, man.”
Someone else was spitting lyrics on the mic so Desmond waited, giving SaVoy time to leave Tyronne. He wasn't interested in showcasing his talent tonight. His mission was accomplished. Desmond weaved between the crowd and exited the back door, walked through the parking lot until he got to his Mustang. When he stopped at the red light by Foot Locker, across the street he saw Tyronne drying SaVoy's tears. By the time the light turned green, SaVoy was laughing a little bit. Desmond glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Tyronne passionately kissing SaVoy.
Desmond concluded SaVoy was naïve like most women. After what had just happened, there was no way SaVoy should have forgiven Tyronne that damn fast.

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