Turned Out Saga (2 page)

Champagne was irritated by the waiter's rudeness and intended on telling him so. Then again, maybe she was just on edge considering she and Zyair were out to dinner to have “a talk,” the two most dreaded words in a relationship.

Lately they'd been having a lot of disagreements about nothing and at the most inopportune times. Sometimes it would start first thing in the morning, putting a damper on the rest of her day and leaving her unable to focus and with her mind racing.

Zyair would be doing the same.

Each would think of what they should have said or how they could have handled the situation better. If the disagreement wasn't first thing in the morning, it was right before bedtime, leaving them unable to sleep, but faking it for fear another disagreement would start up.

Everything one of them did seemed to irritate the other. It didn't matter what it was, from leaving the plate on the table, to leaving the toilet seat up, or talking loud on the phone. There was entirely too much tension in the house, and it was time to bring it to a head.

Earlier that day, fed up with the nonsense, Champagne suggested they go out to dinner to “talk and discuss some things.”

Zyair agreed, figuring it would be an opportunity to get some things off his chest as well. He was ready to get out of this rut they were in and move forward.

They sat at the Soul Africana cafe, having cocktails and waiting on their appetizers.

“So,” Zyair said, making a weak-ass effort to break the ice.

“So?” Champagne replied.

Zyair loosened his tie. “What's on your mind?”

Champagne took a deep breath. “I feel like our relationship is at a standstill. I feel like it's taken a turn for the worst, like something is missing, like we're stuck in a place I don't want to be in. I don't want to continue feeling this way, and I need to know if you're feeling the same way.” There she'd said it. Now all she had to do was wait on his response.

For a moment Zyair didn't respond. He'd suspected what this talk would be about but for her to blurt it out, putting it out in the air that way took him off guard. He wondered if it was his fault or whether they were both to blame. He knows that it takes two to make or break a relationship. Was theirs broken or in need of slight repair? “I agree,” he told her. “So what do you propose?”

Since he agreed, Champagne wondered why didn't he bring this up before she did, and how long he'd been holding back.

“I don't know. Maybe a vacation, maybe counseling, maybe time apart.”

“Time apart?”

That threw Zyair for a loop. Why would they need time apart? A relationship can't be fixed with time apart, you needed to be together to make it work. Maybe what she really was saying is that she wanted to break up? Damn, could that be it? Could that be the real reason behind this talk? He didn't want that. Despite their differences, he couldn't imagine growing old with anyone else. That whole getting out there, meeting new people, learning their quirks, their likes and dislikes was a lot of work, and he had enough work on his plate. He'd had his share of gold diggers and wasn't ready to experience the drama again.

“Time apart? How is time apart going to help us?”

“I suggested more than time apart, and if you felt the same way why didn't you say anything?”

“Honestly . . . because I didn't know what to say. I couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.”

“But you knew something was?”

Zyair sighed and reached across the table, and Champagne placed her hand on top of his. “Yes, Champagne, I did. Listen, I don't know what you want me to say. I don't have any solutions, but I do know that time apart is not what we need. Maybe what we do need is time together on some exotic island, away from the pressures of work and other outside sources.”

Before Champagne could say anything, the waiter returned, placed their appetizers on the table, and walked away. Didn't even ask if they needed anything else.

Champagne tried to pull her hands away to call the waiter over, but Zyair, knowing how she was about service, squeezed her hands. “What do you think the problem is?”

“I don't know either. I just feel like things have gotten routine, and that we got too contented.”

“Contented? You say that like it's a bad thing.” He removed his hands.

“I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is, sometimes I wish we still had that I-can't-wait-to-see-you and-want-to-be-around-you-every-minute-of-the-day anticipation we had when we first got together.”

“Champagne, is that realistic?”

“Probably not but the thought is nice.”

* * *

Zyair smiled because he remembered that feeling like it was yesterday, the anxiety of the first phone call one week after their initial meeting at Private Affairs. Thoughts of her overwhelmed him, and he just couldn't stop thinking about her. He wondered if she would call or if she just played him.

Right when he'd given up hope, she called. He was unavailable at the moment, busy going over a contract with the new chef, and told his assistant to tell her he would call her back within the hour.

“Zyair?” she asked, when he said hello into the phone.

“How did you know it was me?”

“You're unforgettable,” she flirted. It was because of caller ID and the fact that his voice and his lips were unforgettable.

“I'm glad you called. For a minute there I was giving up all hope,” he told her.

* * *

After leaving the restaurant that day, she thought of him often. She wished she had given him her cell phone number instead of taking his.

“Girl, call the man,” Alexis told her, “Remember, he asked you if he could see you again . . .”

“Yeah, you're right.” Champagne dialed the number, full of anxiety and feeling like a child about to go the candy store, only to be told he'll call her back within the hour. She tried her hardest not to watch the clock but found herself doing it anyway.

 

“So how's your week been?” he asked.

“I've just been busy trying to make a dollar,” Champagne said.

“You're a publicist, right?” He'd done his research. That's one of the perks of being rich. You can find out almost anything about anyone. He knew he was wrong for having her investigated, but before he took someone out or got too involved, he had to know a little bit about them.

Champagne didn't recall telling him. “Yeah. How did you know that?”

He lied, “One of my waiters recognized you. He worked an event for one of your clients.”

She tried to recall his staff and couldn't. “Oh.”

“Would you like to go out sometime?”

She thought he would never ask. “Sure. When?”

“Tomorrow around seven p.m. We could do dinner and perhaps a show.”

“I'd like that.”

They chatted for a short while longer and agreed to meet at Private Affairs and leave from there. Champagne wasn't ready for him to know where she lived.

* * *

That first date was like a fairy tale. He had a limo waiting outside for them.

“You go all out for all your dates?” Champagne asked, not really caring because she was the one getting the special treatment tonight.

“No, I wanted to impress you,” he told her honestly.

“I also didn't want to have to concentrate on driving. I wanted all my attention to be on you.”

Every date after that, they looked forward to with excitement. Maybe it was the newness of it all, getting to know one another, or the anticipation of the lovemaking they both determined would come sooner rather than later. It could have been the fact that when they met, they were both looking for someone to share their lives with and found it in each other.

Whatever it was, it had up and disappeared, and it was now time to address the issue.

* * *

“Let's take this opportunity and discuss the pros and cons of our relationship,” Zyair suggested.

Champagne rolled her eyes. “This isn't about business, this is about us. Our relationship. Pros and cons? What kind of mess is that?”

“Well, you're the one who said you wanted to talk.”

“I do.”

“Well, I was just making a suggestion.”

“Well, make another one.”

Zyair sighed. “Okay, let's do it this way. You say one thing that needs to change or has been bothering you, and I'll do the same.”

“We can't get mad at each other either, okay,” Champagne said, not wanting this to turn into something ugly.

“I agree. This is about bettering us as a couple, not breaking each other down as individuals.”

“Okay, I'll go first,” Champagne volunteered. “Maybe we've gotten bored with one another.”

“Bored? I don't know if that's it. Maybe we've gotten more like routine. Everything is the same. It's stagnant, our work schedules, what we do when we get home, even the sex.”

“The sex?” Champagne panicked. She knew it and wanted to be the first to address it, but to hear him say it brought up all sort of insecurities.

“Why are you picking up on that one thing? You're the one who said we wouldn't get offended or anything.”

“I know you're right. It's just that—never mind. You're also right about the sex thing.”

It was now Zyair's turn to be offended. “Are you saying I don't please you?”

“Are you saying I don't please you?”

They just looked at one another, Champagne thinking of him straying, Zyair wondering how many orgasms she's faked.

Champagne broke the silence. “You please me, Zyair. It's just that we barely kiss, we barely touch. You just go right for the gusto.”
Even when you do that, I'm not wet enough. And when you go down on me, you act like it's not something you want to do. You just go straight for the clitoris. Whatever happened to licking around, tasting every inch of it?
Champagne thought to herself. There was no way she was going to say that part out loud.

Zyair frowned. “The reason we don't kiss is because you turn your head. The reason we don't touch is because you're always tired. And the reason I always go for the gusto is because I thought that's what you wanted.”
Plus, you barely suck my dick. I feel like I have to force-feed you, and when you take it upon yourself you just lick it and put the head in. You don't devour it like you used to.

“I guess we're both to blame for what's happened to us.” Champagne tried to recognize.

“Yeah, I guess we are. So the question remains, what are we going to do about it?”

Champagne cleared her throat. “I have some suggestions.”

“Go ahead.”

“Let's make one day a week our date night. We have to do something together outside the house, something we normally wouldn't do.”

“Like?”

“Take dance lessons, go to a play. We haven't done that in a while. Let's try a new restaurant. We almost always eat at yours, which isn't a bad thing but a change would be nice. We could play games, maybe even do things with other couples.”

“Other couples like who?” Neither of them knew many.

“Alexis and whoever she's dating.” Which, at the time was, no one.

Zyair frowned. He liked Alexis and all but she acted holier-than-thou, always talking about, “the Lord this, and the Lord that.” Don't get him wrong, he believed in God and even attended church occasionally, but he just felt like she went overboard.

Besides, he didn't feel like hearing the when-are-you-two-going-to-get-married question. He was ready but it seemed like Champagne wasn't. And he couldn't pressure her because when she was ready for marriage he wasn't.

“We can do all those things. But why don't we do something real wild and go to Hedonism?”

“Hedonism?” Champagne asked.

“Yep.”

“Isn't that the all-nude resort?”

They had watched a special on it together. Zyair was ready to pack his clothes and go by the time the first commercial aired. He was afraid to say anything because he thought Champagne would ask him if he was crazy. His best friend Thomas went and said it was off the hook. People were fucking everywhere, and you could actually sit there and watch. Heck, some folks even let you join in. Now that he wasn't too sure about, but the watching part he could get with.

Champagne surprised him by saying, “It does sound interesting. Let me think about it.”

“Are you serious? You're really going to think about it?”

“Yes, but we also need to work on doing some of the things I suggested as well.”

The rest of the evening went without incident. Both of them felt a sense of relief about getting some things off their chest.

That night when they arrived home, Zyair made the effort to be romantic. While Champagne was in the shower, he dimmed the lights and tried to create a soft, seductive setting. He pulled out a bottle of wine, made a pallet of pillows near the fireplace and turned on some Luther. Then he went to join her.

Stepping into the bathroom, he asked, “Do you mind if I join you?”

Surprised, she told him, “Of course not.” Actually she was about to get out, but knew what he was trying to do and decided that, instead of pulling back, she would embrace this gesture.

A few seconds later, Zyair pulled back the doubled glass sliding door and took her in with his eyes. He loved what he saw.