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Authors: Stephanie Perry Moore

Prime Choice (10 page)

BOOK: Prime Choice
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“So, you like Auburn?” she asked me.
Unable to take my eyes off her, I said, “I like what I see at Auburn.”
“Now, I know you ain't flirting with me?” She batted her long eye lashes.
I couldn't even answer the question. For some reason I was really attracted to her. For the first time I wondered if that was the reason why I was having mental pressure about going the extra mile with Tori. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with my girl at all. Maybe it had something to do with saving myself for someone else.
“Flirting isn't bad, is it? I gotta say you look great today.”
“Thanks,” she said flipping her hair in a way that made me even more into her. “Well, I didn't know when I would see you. We gotta do better and stay in touch. How's that girlfriend of yours?”
“As good as I'm sure that boyfriend of yours is. Maybe we need to get rid of both of them, so it's just you and me.” I didn't know where that came from.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha, Perry Skky.” She thought I was teasing.
Her brother came over and said something to her, and my dad came over and said something to me. We mouthed bye to each other.
“Boy, you need to be over there impressing these coaches, not over here chasing skirts. What's up?” my dad said as he cornered me.
“Dad, I was just saying hi to a friend. They're related to Tad.”
My mom chimed in, “Yeah, I found that out.”
My dad was mad I was getting sidetracked. I was supposed to be here to check on the school. Not to check out Savoy Lee. And I was straight with that, since her brother acted like he had issues with that, anyway.
I saw two coaches calling for me to come toward them. I wasn't done wanting to chat with Savoy. But, I'd been learning how to suppress my own desires. I guess I was doing okay yielding to others.
6
Seeking True Purpose
“
L
ord, I can't believe I'm eighteen today,”
I said on September twenty-eighth, as I rolled over and looked up at the ceiling.
Being one of the first in class to have a birthday has been real cool over the years. I was always a little bigger and got my license before people, but this birthday made me a little apprehensive about being the first one to turn the big 1-8.
I still lived at home with my parents, and had many months before I was out on my own. But I knew I was a man. I often thought about the possibility of going to war now and how scary that sounded. I thought about being able to vote, hoping I'd make the right choices. Yeah, I'd waited to be eighteen for a long time, and now it was finally here.
I continued:
“Lord, I just pray that I can make You proud. I'm a little confused today even though it should be a great day for me. Maybe it's because I'm not where I need to be in my relationship with You. I don't know what I'm asking, 'cause I don't know if I'm ready to completely commit to do right yet. All that church-going stuff and speaking in tongues and everything just really ain't my style right now. But I do have a true heart to please You. And if You can do anything with that, then I'm all Yours. Amen.”
My birthday was going by real fast. I didn't have major plans, but I was surprised that Tori couldn't hang out with me. She said she had something else to do but would make it up to me next week. Leave it to my boys to always come through. Though when they started talking about going to some abandoned warehouse for a party, I just had to protest.
“Aww, man. Just trust us, Perry. Can't you loosen up a lil' bit?” Damarius asked.
“We know you don't want anything too wild and you ain't trying to pick up no chicks. Trust us. We got yo back. It's just a little party. Relax and have a good time,” Cole said.
“Fine, whatever.” I just rode and trusted they knew where to take me.
When we got to their “new spot,” cars were everywhere.
“Who's having this party, anyway? And are y'all sure we invited? How did y'all hear about this?”
Damarius didn't answer me. He just got on my cell phone and called somebody. As soon as we opened up the steel door, people from everywhere shouted, “Happy Birthday, Perry! Surprise!” I could've gotten both of those jokers. They had gotten me so good. Then my sister and my parents walked up.
“You know I couldn't lose our folks,” my sister said as she hugged me and whispered in my ear. “Tad and Dakari brought over some of their friends, so the party is off the chain!”
It was a bye week for University of Georgia, so I guess my birthday came at the right time. Tad came and slapped hands with me. Dakari and a few other Georgia boys hollered at me next.
“You see we tryin' to cheat,” Dakari joked. “We want you to come and play for us. But we gon' head to da ATL. We just had to come say Happy Birthday Bulldog-style.”
“All right, all right,” I said to him as I greeted some of their teammates.
“Enough of all the family stuff, move away!” Damarius joked.
My moms wasn't thinking 'bout him, though. She walked up to me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. “My baby's getting' so big!”
“Mom, come on.” Of course I was embarrassed.
My dad said, “Son, I'm proud of you. I give you a hard time, but it's because I expect great things from you. I don't know what Damarius and Cole are thinkin', but we shutting down at twelve so you better get yo groove on in a hurry.” He pulled me close. “Heads up, man, a whole bunch of girls came up to me saying that they're your girlfriend. I don't know what you doing, but you better watch yo back.”
I only had one girlfriend I claimed. And I scoured around to try and find her. Before Tori came into my sight, Amandi pulled me to the dance floor. I promise, every time I saw her, her clothes were less and less. It was getting colder and colder outside. The crazy girl had on almost nothing!
“I can't believe my mom let you in here,” I said to her.
“Probably when yo mama saw me, I had on more than I have on right now. With all these people around, what she gon' do? Be the po po and lock me in jail?”
“I don't know. She see you coming on to her son, she might try.”
“I just wanna give you a birthday dance. I'm just wondering, Perry. When you gonna be ready for some real fun? Everybody knows your lil' girlfriend is a Goody Two-Shoes. Aren't you ready for a nasty girl?”
“No comment, no comment!” I said choking as I pulled away from her embrace. “But I'll hook back up wit' you later for real, for real. I need to look around and check out the crowd.”
Before I got too far from her, she touched my behind. The girl was really wild! A little too hot for me.
“There you are,” said sweet little Tori who came up to me moments later.
For some reason, I was feeling like she was my little cousin, sister, niece or something. Looking at her didn't turn me on one bit. Yeah, she was cute, but it was like teddy bear cute; something that made you snug at night. And though I'd been the one to put on the brakes in the sex area, she had regained her original thought and made her decision to stay a virgin until she got married.
That was good for her, but that wasn't the birthday present that I had in mind. I danced with her, anyway. A few of the honeys in the place were winking at me. None of them made me want to step away from my girl. But when I looked around and saw Damarius dancing with Savoy, my head did a double take.
“What's she doing here?” I blurted out, forgetting whose arms I was in.
“What's who doing here?” Tori asked me.
“Oh, nothing, babe. Nothing. My moms just wanted to make sure that she got everyone.”
“You didn't know she was here? I thought she would've given you a hug when you walked in. I was in the back trying to surprise you and she was posted at the door making sure she didn't miss her baby come to his birthday party.”
“Yeah, let me go holla at her now. I'll catch back up with you later, babe.”
“All right, boo,” she said and then gave me a little peck on the lips.
I watched Savoy laugh with Damarius as her long black hair twirled in the air with her every movement. I was definitely feeling my oats again looking at that sweet sight. I stepped over to my buddy. When he saw me there he broke apart from Savoy and turned to me.
“D, man. I see you were with my friend,” I said, smiling at her.
“Yeah, and she can dance, too. You better handle her for the rest of the night. If Ciara sees me with this hottie, she'll lose her mind in here.” Then Damarius bent toward my ear. “Do she know you got a girl in here, too?”
“Oh, yeah, Savoy knows. She and I are just friends, partner. But, watch out for a brotha, all right?” I whispered back.
“I got yo back, man.”
Damarius pushed me into Savoy. He placed my hand behind her back. I shoved him. We all laughed. When he was gone, the music changed to a really slow groove. She motioned she was okay with dancing with me.
“I wouldn't have expected you to be at this thing,” I said to her.
“My cousin told me about it, and I didn't have nothing else to do,” Savoy said nonchalantly. “So me and my girls decided to come to an Augusta party and see how y'all do it.”
“That's the only reason, huh?” I asked, playin' with her.
She didn't respond. Just held me as our bodies were in rhythm. It was obvious to me that as I'd just had a conversation with three different women in the last twenty minutes, Savoy Lee struck a nerve with me. She made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I didn't know what I was going to do with that feeling. And I didn't think Savoy did, either—because when the next song was a slow jam, too, she made an excuse to get away from me. Of course that intrigued me more
.
The rest of the party was straight. It didn't end until around twelve thirty
AM
. My dad was having such a good time with his salesmen that helped chaperone that he slipped when it came to watching the time.
I was handling eighteen well. I was having a good night without any of three women going off on each other or me. But inwardly, my heart had made a choice. Now my mind had to figure out what I was going to do about it. Until that decision was made, I decided to just keep everything at a status quo. If I was to be with Savoy, it would work itself out.
 
“Mom, why do you want me to be in the Beautillion?” I asked, hoping to ease my way out of this event, given by my mom's sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. As a big muckety-muck there, everything they had going on she was a part of it, it seemed like. And that was cool 'cause I didn't mind my moms not being home all the time to tend to my every need. She actually gained more flexibility. With Dad being at work, she could run around saving the world.
It was only when she wanted to include me in that high-society stuff that a sour taste was left in my mouth. It was cool for Payton to be a debutante 'cause that was right up her alley at the time. I didn't want to be a Beaux, but it was like Moms wasn't giving me a choice.
“Junior, let's be fair here. I support your events all year, making all your football games, going on your recruiting visits, planning other birthday parties. I'm asking my son to do one thing for me, and that's being in this Beautillion. I want to introduce you to society. I want my friends to know how proud I am of my baby! Plus, they teach so many great things throughout the process. It's like your father and I baked the cake and this program will put the frosting on top, you know?”
When I saw that I wouldn't be able to get out of it and how important my participation was to my mother, I just agreed. She went on to being so excited about it. Whatever!
I do clean up nice in a tuxedo and I have the etiquette and all. Wasn't really feeling that, though. But for my moms, I'd be down for anything. Then she hit me with another request.
Touching my shoulder she said, “We only have nine guys and they really want one more. I know you got a friend that you could invite to be a part of the program.”
“How much is this going to cost, Ma? You know my friends can't afford this extra stuff.”
“Boy, you gotta couple of friends whose parents would pay a thousand dollars for this caliber of grooming. Work it out. First meeting is tomorrow and you'll only have to go once a month until you guys are presented in April.”
 
Later that day, I was with Cole and Damarius. As unpolished as they were acting, sitting out the window, yelling out at girls and gobbling down Mickey D's as if they'd not eaten in days, I realized they needed some fine-tuning. My buddies were embarrassing.
“I don't even know why I asked you two turkeys,” I said as they joked on me when I mentioned it as we balled in my backyard.
“Tea and an opera concert—stuff like that? Oh, no, man! You got the wrong brothers if you think we'd be interested in that up-under-the-collar junk,” Damarius said.
I laughed back. “See, that's what's wrong with y'all fools. You need to expand your horizon. Get cultured!”
“Then you can learn for us,” Cole said, “and teach it to us. That way we know everything we need to know without having to take the course ourselves.”
“So, you trying to cut corners, huh?” I asked as I dribbled and Cole stole the ball.
“Looks like I'm gonna school you on a few things ... like this shot! Shhhhh.” Cole missed. Damarius and I both laughed.
“Naw, it's cool because I wouldn't want y'all in there embarrassing me and making my moms look all bad.”
“Why don't you ask your smart friend? He always trying to hang around you, anyway,” Damarius said, actually having a good idea.
“Boy, that's the smartest thing you ever said. Great idea. But now let me school youuu! Nothing but net,” I said as my ball went in perfectly.
“Whatever.”
 
Early that evening, I was on the phone with Justin.
“Aww, man, that sounds real cool, but why did you ask me to do it?”
“Actually, it was Damarius's idea. He thought you and I bonding this way would be fun.”
Shoot! I didn't know what to say. I mean, he wasn't my first or second choice, but my mom needed somebody else. This was right up his alley. I couldn't believe I didn't think about him first.
 
Justin's mom talked to my mom and the next thing I know we was sitting next to each other waiting on some late man. I didn't know none of the other brothers that were signed up for this gig. When the late dude arrived, I could've choked on the water I was sipping. To my surprise, it was Saxon Lee.
BOOK: Prime Choice
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