Saint And Sinners (19 page)

“Avis, thank you for calling. We have to move on to other callers now.” Aubrey disconnected
his line, an all knowing, slightly arrogant smirk on her face, as if she’d taught
the man everything he knew. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to take a quick commercial
break and then we will be right back with the spectacular Dr. Saint Aknaten, renowned
sex therapist.” Soft music began to play as the outro commenced before a litany of
commercials about contact lenses and debt consolidation. She sighed as if coming home
from work after a long day, and turned towards him, shaking her head in awe.

“You handled that very well!” she exclaimed. “You know what impresses me about you?”

“What?” Saint asked dryly, not caring to hear the answer.

“Your ability to connect with people. I’ve seen tapes of you, Saint. I’ve
seen
the way you invigorate a crowd, make them fall down to their damn knees at your command…”
She eyed him closer. “It’s mesmerizing.”

“I don’t believe that people fall at my—”

“Oh yes, they do.” She placed her finger upon his lips, as if to silence him. Saint’s
eyes widened in astonishment.

This woman has lost her damn mind!

Gripping her hand, he firmly folded her fingers into her palm. He kept them in a tight
clasp. Her eyes widened in surprise, her lips parted, her expression wrought with
pain as a slight moan escaped her lips.

“Ms. Jericho, there seems to be some misunderstanding.” He kept his tone even, but
his grip on her hands tightened, eliciting another whimper. “I believe you know about
my past. I’ve been candid about it, but you see, I’m a married man. I do
not
cheat on my wife. I would not want
anyone
to touch her in the manner that you’ve been touching me. Now, this is your third
offense. So I am not asking you to stop, I’m
telling
you. If it happens again,”—he cocked his head to the side and glared at her—“I will
get up and leave the show and as
soon
as my ass gets in the house, I will make certain that the listening audience understands
why
I left. As it stands, we can simply chalk this up to you being a horny woman who
felt my previous exploits would entitle you to sample my wares. Well, I have nothing
for sale, rent or on layaway, Ms. Jericho. I’m bought and paid for. I belong to my
wife. Xenia has the receipt and proof of purchase in the form of a wedding band on
her finger, my last name and the family and life we’ve created and forged together.
No need for you to window shop, I’m not even
remotely
close to being on the damn market… Do I make myself mothafuckin’ clear?” he hissed.

She glared back at him, her face morphing from pain to anger. “Saint, let me ask you
something.” She attempted to snatch her hand away, but there was no way to escape.
He wouldn’t release her until she fulfilled her obligation to steer clear.

“Yes, and I’m going to let your hand go, trusting it won’t be used to do what you’ve
been just doing. Now answer me…”

“It won’t, I mean…” She shook her head. “It won’t happen again.”

“Very well!” He threw her hand down as if it were a soiled tissue.

She ran reddened fingers over the others, soothing the soreness.

“I apologize if I hurt your hand, Ms. Jericho. That was not my intention. I wasn’t
aware I was gripping you that hard. However, you crossed the line and my anger got
the best of me. Now, what was your question?”

She took a deep breath and faced him head on, still rubbing her fingers but seeming
oblivious to any possible discomfort as her face cracked into a smile. “Why do you,
why
did
you only date black women?” She shot her brow up, as if convinced the question she
asked were a provocative one.

Saint smirked hard, rolled back in his chair, and stared at her a long while, shaking
his head.

“I’m serious.” She grinned.

“Have you not read
anything
I’ve written? I’ve explained all of that. But, to give you the very short answer,
it’s a personal preference … a preference I’ve had most of my life.”

“Have you ever had sex with a white woman?”

Saint suppressed a laugh and crossed his legs, ankle over knee, forming the letter
‘four’. Running his fingers along his chin, he kept his intent gaze on her. “Of course
I have,
many
…”

“Hmmmm…” She turned away from him, hiding her face, as if suddenly bashful.

“Ohhhh, I see what this is about.” He leaned forward, his gaze unflinching upon her.
“You thought I’d never fucked a white woman before, and that you’d be the first, right?
Haha! That’s funny! Fuckin’ hilarious.” He pointed at her like she was some joke,
and to him, she was. The woman finally turned back to him, a broad grin on her face.

She shrugged. “I suppose I did.”

“I know you’ve read many things I’ve written, Ms. Jericho. You’re a scholar, a sex
therapist. That’s what we do…we read, learn and share…and draw conclusions. Now, me
being the type of man that I am, there is no way I was willing to get out of this
lifetime without having sex with every nationality of woman I could get my hands on.
That was the old me. I don’t believe there is a race of woman alive that I haven’t
sexually poked and prodded. I’ve had a mothafuckin’ buffet!” He threw his hands up
in a dramatic gesture, causing her to chuckle. “That’s how I knew who my favorites
were, kind of like Forrest Gump, right? Like a box of chocolates… Some people like
the chocolate covered cherries. Some like the strawberry creams. Others like the white
chocolate… Me?” He grinned naughtily. “I gravitated towards double fudge, caramel,
milk and dark chocolate, baby…through and mothafuckin’ through! I’m not a big morning
cup of Joe type of person, but I do have it on occasion, and when I do, I like my
women like I like my coffee—strong, hot and black from the top of their kinky coif
to their goddamn feet!”

“Mmmm.”

He could see in her eyes she was a bit uncomfortable with his candid revelations,
but what the fuck did she expect?! She’d invited the notorious Saint Aknaten to her
show, a well-known swirl advocate who had an obsession with Black Goddesses, and he
offered no apologies, no fucks given. He’d written a bestselling book entitled, “Black
Pussy Vortex” for God’s sake!

“Well, I mean, you’re a very attractive man, we share the same field, yes… I saw you
as a challenge. I’ll admit that.” She reached for an ink pen, only to twirl the thing
around and around in her hand.

“And you didn’t respect me, my wife or my marriage?” He drew serious once again. “It
became all about if you could cause me to sleep with you, to see if I would screw
a white woman, or any woman for that matter. Been there, done that…had more pussy
than a tom cat with one thousand in-heat meowing females moving their fucking tail
over for him to mount and mate! There is
nothing
you can offer that I haven’t seen, felt, screwed, sucked, licked, dicked, flicked,
tossed, flossed, stuck or fucked! Not a
goddamn
thing.”

“Saint, we are sexual creatures, you said it yourself. Marriage is a man-made construct
and it is unnatural.” The little instigator was persistent for sure, but at this point,
it wasn’t about seduction anymore. This was merely conversation.

“Well, I could see how someone could believe that, however, I do acknowledge we are
supposed to practice serial monogamy.”

The woman burst out laughing. “Serial monogamy? What do you mean?”

“Yes…we keep meeting people until we find
someone
we gel with, preferably, our soulmate. We keep growing, meeting and greeting until
we get it right.”

“Pshh! You must be kidding me?” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “You couldn’t
possibly
believe in soulmates? I thought that was just for your books, you know, because it
sounds good.”

“Yes, and it appears, Ms. Jericho, that I’m just some big ass joke to you, right?”
He grinned, though his temperature rose just a tad. “That my life, my philosophies,
my beliefs, my sexual and relationship preferences, all of that, is for attention
and sales, right?” He bit into his lip and smirked as he shook his head. “No, I’m
very
serious about it. I believe every damn word I write and say.”

She lowered her gaze to his necklace, a silver ankh that glimmered under the recessed
lights, then lifted her eyes back to his face. “What would happen, Saint, if by some
unfortunate circumstances, you and your soulmate were no longer together?” She clasped
her hands together and lifted her chin a little. “Do you plan to make me believe a
man such as yourself, virile, well-built, sexy, sensual, strong, charming and extremely
bright would
never
have sex again?”

Saint was silent for a short spell as he deliberated over her words. Unfortunately,
he’d faced losing Xenia twice, a circumstance he surely could not survive a third
time. He pushed past the gritty, raw emotions, and addressed the question.

“If my wife and I were no longer together, either due to her death or the end of our
marriage, yes, I would have sex again.”

“Ah ha!” She cackled. “I
knew
it!”

“Wait.” He pointed a finger in the air, “Let me finish. Me having sex doesn’t mean
that I
didn’t
have a soulmate, Ms. Jericho. Now that I take the spiritual connection of sex and
sexuality a lot more seriously than in my day of bedding random women, I
still
would need to care for that woman, love that woman, and want to connect with her
on all levels. I’m not sure if I’d ever make love again, however…matter of fact, I
know it would be highly unlikely. I could engage in sex with a
feeling
of love, but
making
love is reserved to a very special woman. I’ve dated enough and fucked around enough
to know there is no one else like my wife in the entire world. As hokey as that may
sound, I truly believe that. She may not be a good match for another man, nor I for
another woman, but we are perfect for one another. Now, if my creator showed mercy
on me and brought another woman into my life after my world with my Queen ended, I’d
be grateful, but no one can ever sit on her seat, replace her throne, have my heart
quite the way she has it. I’m certain there are wonderful women whom I’d be attracted
to and wish to engage in sexual activity with. I have eyes damn it, I can see.” He
chuckled lightly.

“I have strong sexual desires and needs; those would not subside simply because my
original mate, the woman created specifically for me, was gone. But making love?”
He shook his head. “Nah, can’t see that happening. Thus, she’d never get
all
of me the same way my wife had. It would be unfortunate for whoever that woman might
be, but at least I’d give her the best I could at that given time. I’d love her, care
for her, be her man, be devoted and loyal, but it would
certainly
be different. My heart is tied into another woman. When she breathes, I breathe.”

“I must admit,” Aubrey said, nodding slowly. “You speak beautifully about this woman.”

“Because she
is
beautiful, in every sense of the word, and she deserves the best from me. My damn
air is coming from that woman’s lungs so if she were to be removed from me permanently,
for
whatever
reason, certain aspects of me would no longer exist. Making love is a completely
different experience than fucking and having sex. It’s a soul connection and you can’t
do that shit with just
anyone
. And you and I both know there
is
a difference. You’re smarter than that; don’t try to fuck with me.” He smirked as
he ran his finger along the edge of the table.

“Well, that is somewhat debatable.”

“What? About you being smart?” He teased, causing her to laugh lightly.

“I’d never disrespect her by allowing someone to touch me in a way that is sexual
in nature. You just found that out the hard way. So, what you see as a game, some
sort of challenge, when you really don’t care about me, is a reckless act. My life,
my marriage, my beliefs are not a show or some plaything for you to fiddle with, Dr.
Jericho. Now, hopefully you’ve gotten your fill. The world is full of bullshit, and
here you are, trying to sell me something that is readily available…more crap I don’t
need. I’m here to take calls, to help people, not be toyed with.”

They sat in silence for a short while.

“Look, our time is almost up before we take the next call,” She looked at the fast
running numbers on the timetable. “I have one last question.”

“Shoot.”

“May I have you back again as a guest? The way you handled that first question really
blew me away. Plus, I think the audience would enjoy it. We have so many calls coming
in, I doubt an hour would be nearly enough…I’d also like a ‘do-over’.” She smiled
sheepishly.

“First, I’d need a sincere apology from you before committing to that.”

“Of course…I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable by flirting with you.”

“Flirting is not the problem. Flirting is innately human. We will always find other
human beings attractive, despite our marital status. We may say things a certain way,
or do a double take, sometimes even flirt with others unintentionally. We are sexual
beings. It happens. Regardless, it is the
way
in which you did it and your motivation behind it that I find most disturbing.”

“Yes, understood.”

He could see the high-powered controlling woman didn’t like being tossed around, told
what to do and how to do it. But no, she was not going to come before him and ask
for a favor, as well as leniency, without owning up to the wrong she’d committed.
He simply wouldn’t have it though he could tell by her body language she regretted
her earlier actions.

“I also apologize for not taking you stances regarding interracial relationships seriously.
I honestly thought it was some sort of gimmick, a ploy. I see now that I was incorrect,”
she said in a slightly bitter tone, then turned back to the calls. “Well, enough of
that, let’s get back to work…” She sighed and opened the lines. “Welcome back, listening
audience. We have the wonderful Dr. Saint Aknaten here with us this evening to answer
all of your intimacy questions. Terri from Memphis, you’re on the line.”