Love the One You're With (39 page)

“Why?”

“Maybe this was a test of will—or better yet, will
power
. To prove to you that love don't love
no
body. Not only can you get hurt,
you
can cause some of that hurt.” He paused. “Are you gonna tell Pooquie?”

“I … I don't know.”

“You more than likely will. You're just not the keeping-secrets type.”

He knows me well …

“But if you're gonna tell him, tell him at the right time,” he advised.

“And what would be the right time?”

“After he tells you about
his
affair.”

“You think he had an affair?”

He shrugged. “As you yourself learned over the past two weeks,
anything
is possible. But some stones are better left unturned, so don't rock the boat unless you are ready to be knocked out of it with
out
a life jacket.”

Silence.

“Your secret's safe with me,” he promised. He raised his cup. “Just another page in your life …”

I lifted mine. “Yeah.”

Clink.

“Pooquie?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“The last time you gave it up like that … ha, was the very first time you gave it up.”

I slapped him on the right booty cheek. He giggled.

“You were workin' that back out somethin' fierce. I thought you were gonna break it!”

He laughed. “You should talk, standin' on yo' shoulders givin' it up.
Day-um.
I ain't know you could do that.”

“There's a lot of things I can do you don't know about.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Uh-huh. Very special occasions call for very special positions.”

“They sho 'nuff do.”

Smack, smack, smack.

“Not to mention a very special drive home from the airport,” I purred.

“Yeah. I knew I was gonna see you in tha backseat of that limo, but I ain't think you was gonna be
butt bootay nekkid
!”

“I wasn't
totally
naked—I was wearing a big red ribbon around my waist.”

“Baby, pleeze. Like that ribbon was coverin' up anythang?”

I giggled. “I asked Gene if he would be our chauffeur, but the last thing he wanted to hear was us smoochin'. He heard enough of
that
when we were on the phone at his house.”

“I bet. B.D. ain't seem ta mind. He was prob'ly enjoyin' da show.”

“Oh, he was!”

“And that 'Welcome Home, Pooquie' sign B.D. was holdin' … that wasn't no sign, it was like a billboard!”

We cracked up.

Silence.

“So how does it feel?” I queried.

“What?”

“Doing your first movie.”

“Uh … I don't know. It was a lota work, but it was madd fun. And now that it's over … it all happened so fast, but it went so slow.”

“Whatcha mean?”

“You know. It's like … when you in tha thick of it, time just goes so slow. It was a long-ass two weeks.”

“I know.”

“But it was only two weeks; it wasn't like it was two months. Even tho' it felt like it.”

“I know.
Believe me
, I do.” I sighed. “We'll have to get used to your being away …”

“Yeah. But it ain't gonna matter how long we apart, or how far apart we are. Long as I know you waitin' right here …”

“That I will be.”

Smack, smack, smack.

I glanced at the nightstand. “It's almost nine o'clock. You know Junior is just waiting by that phone for you to call.”

“Ah … yeah. I'll call him in like five minutes. I just wanna lay like this wit' you a little while longer.”

“Okay.”

Silence.

“Little Bit?”

“Yes, Pooquie?”

“I missed you much.”

“I missed you much much.”

“Much much?”

“Yup. Twice as much.”

“Then I guess you gonna hafta show me twice as much.” He squeezed my ass.

“You know I will.”

Smack.

Pooquie, Little Bit, Li'l Brotha Man & I would like 2 thank …

God

Bam Bam, for continuing to remind (God)Daddy what life is really all about

Lonnell “LW” Williams & Prince Albert, my “Jood Judys” for being so lovely and so looney!

John McGregor, for the brotherly representation

Kelli Martin, for the sisterly, editorial eye

Manie Barron, for bringing us to Amistad and respecting my vision

the
ph-ph-ph-phyne
Bruthaz of
Rundu
and
Champion Men
, for the
inspiration

Aretha, Luther, Dionne & Friends, Mary Jane Girls, Meshell, James, Oleta, the O'Jays (two times!), Minnie, Grover & Bill (and Will), Lady T, Donny, Stevie, Uncanny Alliance, Maria, Karyn, Jennifer, and Jermaine, for helping us “name” each chapter

and to all readers around the world who have adopted us. Thanks for letting our family become a part of yours....

An honors graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism, J
AMES
E
ARL
H
ARDY
is the author of the bestselling novels
B-Boy Blues, 2nd Time Around, If Only for One Nite
, and
The Day Eazy-E Died
. He lives in New York City.

Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

Black Issues Book Review

Best of 2002 Recommended Fiction

“The light storyline is generously studded with slangy vernacular and a host of barbed, campy one-liners, especially during the warm and wicked gay-friends-as-surrogate-family gatherings. A well-documented ‘soundtrack' (Hardy knows his music) and scenes with Pooquie's young son lend a soft glow to the story.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Hardy's greatest strength has always been chronicling the lives of what he calls ‘same-gender-loving men,' and he adds subtle shading to the portrait here, revealing how a group of friends functions as a family.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Hardy's crisp and authentic dialogue, biting humor, heartbreaking drama, and unabashed celebration of culture makes this book a genuinely good treat from start to finish.”

—Venus

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH
. Copyright © 2002 by James Earl Hardy. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

“So So Satisfied” composed by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson was reprinted with permission, © 1976 by Nick-O-Val Music Company, Inc.

“All the Man You Need,” “Sometimes,” and “You're Gonna Love What I Got” composed by James Earl Hardy, © 2000 by It's All Jood Music/A Division of It's All Jood, Inc.

The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:

Hardy, James Earl.

Love the one you're with : a novel.—1st ed.

p. cm

ISBN 0-06-621248-0

1. African American Gays—Fiction. 2. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. 3. Gay men—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3558.A62375   L68  2002

813'.54—dc21   2002066630

ISBN 0-06-051239-3 (
PBK
.)

EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2013 ISBN: 9780062279446

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