Secrets On Lake Drive (10 page)

“Hey, Sean.”

“Oh, hey.”

“What are you watching?”

“Nothing really. I’m just sitting here…and
turned the TV on for sound.”

“Oh.”

“You can sit down if you want,” Sean said,
while patting the bed.

I sat on the opposite end, not wanting to
sit too close to him. A man that fine is tempting from far away.
There was no telling what would happen if we got too close.

“So you like Floetry, huh?” he asked,
grinning.

“Yeah, I love their music. And just how long
were you standing there watching me?”

“Not long at all,” Sean responded. Then he
laughed and started singing,
“You make me so, so, so,”
imitating me.

I couldn’t help but laugh and throw a pillow
at him. “Okay. I’m going to bed.”

“Nah, don’t go. I’m just playing with you.”
When I sat back down, he said, “For real, though, wassup?”

“Just wanted to know if you and Roman had
fun today?”

“Yeah. I took him to the basketball
court.”

“Oh really. I know he loved that, huh?”

“Yeah, he did.” Sean placed both of his
hands behind his head and let out a deep sigh. “He showed me a
thing or two…said you taught him a little.”

I laughed. I didn’t know much about
basketball, but I did show Roman a few moves I learned from high
school physical education classes.

“I was trying to show him how to dribble a
while back. He actually got pretty good at it. He’s a fast
learner.”

“You know, he adores you,” he added, then
looked at me for my reaction. I simply smiled. “I’m serious. When
he was in your class, he told me about the necklace.”

“He did?”

“Yep.”

“Wow…I remember that. I’m just surprised
that he told you.”

“Yeah, he told me all about it. That was
very nice of you to do that for him.” Sean was highly appreciative
it seemed.

I tried to remain modest. “It’s all a part
of the job. And he was so frightened, I had to do something.”

“Did you know he sleeps with that necklace
under his pillow?”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. If you go in his room right now, I
guarantee you it’s under his pillow. So, I hope you don’t think
you’re getting it back.” Sean smiled.

“Nah, I don’t want it back. He can have it.
I gave it to him.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Ah…I don’t remember where I got it exactly.
Why you want to know?”

“I could buy you a replacement.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, Sean.”

“There was a ring on the necklace and it
looked pretty expensive. I would be happy to replace it for
you.”

“Oh…the ring. That ring was given to me a
long time ago.”

“Your man gave you that?”

“Yeah.”

“And you just gave it away? It must not have
had any sentimental value.”

“Just the opposite. It has a lot of
sentimental value. That ring represents the one man that has ever
loved me. I gave it to Roman so he wouldn’t be afraid. It worked,
so I’m happy. I don’t want it back. It’s his now.”

“You know, I’ve never seen him so attached
to someone like he is to you. Even with Shanelle, he wasn’t this
close. But looking back, I see now that was mostly her fault.” Sean
was quiet for a moment, taking the time to collect his thoughts. “I
don’t know what I’m going to do when you leave?’

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, my son treats you like you’re his
mother and you’re not even going to be here long enough to see his
next birthday.”

“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get
to it.” Yawning, I stretched my hands high up in the air. “I’m
getting tired. I’m going to bed.” I stood up, stretching again.

“Hey, before you go, can I have a hug?”

Sean never asked me for a hug before. That
was quite surprising, though I didn’t mind at all.

He walked over to me and then did something
that blew my mind. He removed my hair clamp and let my hair fall
down my back. Next, he pressed my head against his chest. With his
one hand on my neck and the other slowly stroking my hair, I put my
arms around him.

“Goodnight, Monica,” he said, but didn’t
release me.

I could feel the moment when his heart rate
increased, his breathing became faster, and he gripped me tighter
as if he didn’t want me to go.

“Goodnight, Sean.”

He pulled away and looked at me again.

“What? Why you looking at me like that?” I
smiled when I asked him, but he stared back with a serious look, as
if he was trying to seduce me.

“Like what?” he asked, then smiled.

“Nevermind.” I snapped out of the trance.
“I’m going to bed.”

“Ah’ight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

SEAN HAD HIS family over for Sunday brunch
on the deck. A calming breeze floated off of the lake. This was
perhaps one of the nicest Milwaukee mornings I’ve experienced in a
long time. The food was perfectly coordinated on the table. There
were eggs, bacon, biscuits, grits, toast with strawberry jam,
biscotti, club sandwiches, and fries. I was lying back in a folding
lawn chair, enjoying myself while sipping on a cup of coffee. I was
surprised Sean didn’t call a caterer. Instead, he cooked
everything.

“You didn’t know my son was a cook, huh,
Monica?” Sean’s mother, Victoria, asked as soon as she saw me bite
into a biscuit.

“No, I didn’t. This is really good.”

“Thanks. I learned from the best,” Sean
said, winking his eye at his mom.

“Thank you, baby,” Victoria replied,
smiling.

After finishing our meals, Victoria and I
sat in the family room, but I could hear Sean and his brothers
talking loud in the kitchen.

“Since when did you start cooking again,
man?” Derrick asked him.

“Since Ms. Monica showed up,” Warren
teased.

I pretended to be interested in Victoria’s
conversation, but really, I was listening to the brothers in the
kitchen.

Sean responded, “She just opened my eyes,
you know. That’s all. There’s something refreshing about her.”

“Oh really? So is that why you guys fight
all of the time?” Warren asked. “Y’all might as well be married,
for real.”

Sean must have avoided that statement since
I didn’t hear him respond to it.

“Monica is kinda young, though. How old is
she?” Warren inquired.

“She’s like twenty-four.”

“That’s young,” Warren said.

Derrick threw in his two cents. “Yeah, man.
She’s still a baby.”

Still a baby? I don’t wear diapers, drool,
or babble. What does he mean I’m still a baby?

“She seems to be well educated and mature,
though,” Warren added. “She’s got a good head on her
shoulders.”

“Yeah, she does, but I’m not trying to hook
up with her. She’s my son’s babysitter. Besides, I’m too old for
her.”

“Dude, thirty-two is not old. I’m not old. I
don’t care what you say,” Derrick said.

“Okay, well, it’s not old, but it’s too old
for a twenty-four year old.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Warren asserted. “You
seem to be pretty fond of Little Miss Monica anyway. I don’t know
why you frontin’.”

Sean laughed it off. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about, man.”

“Whatever, man…I’ve seen the way you look at
her.”

I was on the edge of my seat waiting to hear
Sean respond, but he never did.

Chapter 12 -
Getting To Know
Him

After everyone left, Sean came walking in
the family room, sweaty and out of breath like he just ran a
marathon. He sat so close to me that his sweat rubbed off onto my
arm. Normally, something like that would gross me out, but he
looked so good in the cut-off shirt that exposed a bit of his chest
and those muscles that I couldn’t get angry.
Goodness gracious,
he’s hot!

“I know you did that on purpose, Sean.” I wiped the
sweat off of my arm and onto my pants, while flipping through the
latest issue of
Outdoor Photographer
.

“So what’s up? Where’s Roman?”

“Your mom took him to see a movie. I forgot
which one, but I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it when he gets
home.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll be right back,” he said
before running upstairs.

About ten minutes later, he came back
wearing a gray tank and some black sweat pants and sat in the same
spot. He smelled fresh like he’d just taken a shower. And if he did
just take a shower, it had to have been the shortest shower in his
thirty-two years of living. He sat so close to me that his right
leg was touching my left leg.

“Can I ask you something, Monica?”

“Sure, what’s up?” I replied, while
continuing to flip through the pages like Sean wasn’t even there.
It’s not that I was trying to avoid him, but the magazine was full
of tricks and techniques for taking nature shots. It reminded me of
my father taking pictures of me near Lake Michigan.

I could feel Sean’s eyes beaming at me when
he asked, “Where ya man at?”

I laughed out loud because I had never heard
Sean talk like that before.

“What? Why you laughing?”

“You just took me back to the lingo I used
to hear all the time while growing up in my neighborhood.”

“Okay, well, let me be more sophisticated.”
Sean cleared his voice. “Monica, are you involved with anyone?” he
said like the guy on those Bell South commercials.

Now I had to laugh because Sean was being
silly. “No, I’m not.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

I knew I wasn’t going to get any reading
done with this line of questioning, so I placed my magazine on the
table.

“Yeah…once.”

“So where’s he at?”

“I don’t know. It was a long time ago…back
in high school.”

“High school?”

“Yeah, high school.”

“That’s not love.”

“It
was
love.”

“Okay…what about something more recent?”

“Something more recent like what?” When I
crossed my legs, Sean briefly studied my toes that were polished a
frosted light pink color with a hint of lavender, which was perfect
for the summer.

“When was your last date?”

“High school…haven’t you been listening to
me?”

“Are you kidding me? You
are
kidding
me, right?” he responded in disbelief.

“No. Why do you think I’m joking?”

“How could someone as beautiful as you not have a
date since high school? Explain that to me.”

I smiled. Honestly, I was blown away by the
compliment. I’d never had a man as fine as Sean refer to
me
as being beautiful.

“It was a personal choice.”

“Oh, so that cat in high school must have
broken your heart or something, huh?”

“Something like that. I really don’t want to
go into detail about it.”

“C’mon, Monica.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, he wasn’t in
high school…he was in college. I was in my last year of high school
and we dated for about a year.”

“So what happened? Why y’all break up?”

“Just life. Things happened and it wasn’t
the right time.”

“So it wasn’t meant to be?” Sean probed.

“I thought it was. I loved him. I still love
him. He was my everything.” Although tears welled up in my eyes as
I reminisced on my short relationship with Cornelius, I managed to
keep a little composure. “But anyway, that’s that.”

“And this is the same dude that gave you the
ring that was on the necklace you gave Roman?” I was surprised Sean
even remembered that.

“Yeah. He proposed to me, and I said no
because I knew it wasn’t the right time. Still, there’s not a day
that I don’t wake up wishing that I said yes.” A tear fell from my
eye. I couldn’t help it. “Gosh, I’m sorry. I can’t believe I’m
sitting here crying over this.”

Sean put his arm around me. “Don’t apologize
for your feelings, sweetheart. You ah’ight?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” I wiped my eyes. “You must
think I’m stupid, huh?”

“Nah…not at all. I’m just amazed that you
still love this dude after all of these years.”

“Don’t act like you don’t still have love
for some of your ex-girlfriends.”

Sean laughed, probably because I pluralized
the word girlfriend as if he’d had many of them.

“Actually, I’m still very much in love with
one
of my ex-girlfriends.”

“Seriously?” I was surprised to hear Sean
say that. Men like him didn’t normally sweat women. Usually, it was
the other way around.

“Yep. You look shocked.”

“I am. I didn’t think someone who had it
together like you held on to past loves.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I have a heart.”

“That’s good to know,” I replied, smiling.
“So I guess I’m not crazy after all for having these feelings.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Somehow, I thought I was
crazy for still feeling the way I do about my ex. But you said you
feel the same way about yours, too. So tell me this – why did your
relationship end with Shanelle?”

“It wasn’t the right time,” Sean responded,
then put his hand on my thigh. “I can’t believe you been single for
that long, though. I know these guys out here have been at you.” He
cleverly changed the subject back to me.

“Yeah, but…” Sean interrupted.

“So what are you waiting for?”

“Right now, I’m focused on me. You have to
love yourself first, right?”

“Are you saying you don’t love yourself?”
Sean flashed his perfect smile at me.

“Yeah, I love myself. I guess what I’m
trying to say is, I have to do me right now. I have things I want
to accomplish in life. I have goals.”

“And just what are your goals?”

I smiled, trying to conceal a blush. “First,
I need to find a job.”

“You
have
a job.”

“Yeah, I know, but I want to pursue a career
in photography.”

“Oh, okay. Now I know why I see you with
those magazines.” Sean propped his feet up on the coffee table. “So
getting back to the
one
relationship you claim you’ve only
been in…”