Authors: Alex Hairston
For Lovers Only (14 page)
After breakfast Erin and Joel had a little time to kill. They sat on the sofa talking and watching the Saturday morning news. Erin decided to do something special for Joel. She grabbed her overnight bag from the bedroom and returned to the sofa. She had Joel lay his head on her lap while she massaged some vitamin-enriched shea butter into his hair and scalp. Then she brushed his hair as he continued to relax. This was a perfect example of what Joel meant when he mentioned something about a nurturing woman with an affectionate touch.
Erin said, “I'm really enjoying being around you. Last night was perfect.”
“I thought so too.”
“Sorry if I came off as being a little abrasive earlier when we were in bed talking about love. It's just that I'm a strong-minded woman and I get that from my mother. When we get our minds set on something then that's pretty much it.”
“I understand. You weren't abrasive at all. You're just passionate about your beliefs and feelings. I was wrong for trying to make you express something you weren't feeling. For some reason I wanted us to have a love-at-first-sight kind of vibe going. I guess that was more or less a desperate attempt to fill a void.”
“What's the rush?”
“I dunno. Maybe it's fear of loneliness. I just think it's time for me to really concentrate on settling down with one woman and eventually finding a wife. I don't want you to think that I'm crazy or anything.” He laughed, “I'm a love junky going through withdrawal.”
“I never heard a guy describe himself like that.” Erin smiled. “Joel, I like you because you seem to be a really open and honest type of guy. You've shown me who you are and what you're about right off the bat.”
“That's good to hear. More than anything I wanted to get an idea of how you felt about love in general, and now I know how you feel.”
“Love hurts.”
“When I was younger I used to say that love ain't supposed to hurt, but it does. I want you to know that love never meant to hurt you.”
Erin felt her emotions kick in. Her voice quivered a bit. “It's weird because my emotional scars run deep. Flesh wounds heal pretty quickly, but when your heart is wounded it takes a lot more than bandages to help it heal.”
“Trust me 'cause I know from experience. I wear my scars proudly, like a soldier wears his medals on his chest. I know the pain, darkness, emptiness and abandonment associated with a broken heart. But what I know, more than all of that, is how good it feels to start the healing process and get rid of all of that negative energy.”
“I'm getting there, but I have issues,” Erin said with laughter in her voice.
“No,
we've
got issues. All relationships do. I felt the need to comfort you because I was worried about you dealing with how fast we slept together and all.”
we've
got issues. All relationships do. I felt the need to comfort you because I was worried about you dealing with how fast we slept together and all.”
“Yeah, I was kind of stressing over that. You know how women think. The faster we give it up, the less likely you are to stick around.”
“I'm not going anywhere. You can blame me for what happened because I didn't wanna wait.”
“You wanted yours right away, huh?”
“Yeah. It just goes to show you how strong of an instant attraction I felt.”
“I understand. Stop worrying because I'm fine. I was starting to worry about things between us getting too serious too fast, but I'm okay with that now. I feel subtle changes inside already. If you put everything aside, the most important thing is that I want you, and I enjoy being with you.”
“And I enjoy being with you. Tell me something. What's your fantasy? Think about itâany kind of fantasy.”
“I dunno.”
“C'mon, you don't have a fantasy?” Joel smiled. “We all dream a little dream called fantasy.”
“I've always dreamed of making love on a beach.”
“Okay. We can do that.”
They both laughed.
“What's your fantasy? Wait, don't answer. You've always dreamed of making love to two beautiful women at the same time.”
Joel smiled and said, “Yeah, what guy hasn't? But that's so unrealistic.” He was interrupted by the doorbell followed by three loud thumps. “I got it. Wonder who this is banging on my door like that,” he said as he walked toward the front door. Joel looked out the peephole. “It's Ms. Benson.”
“I can't let her catch me in here looking like this,” Erin said as she jumped from the sofa and hurried toward Joel's bedroom with her overnight bag in hand.
Joel whispered, “Come back. Don't worry, I'm not gonna open this door.”
“See what she wants.”
Ms. Benson knocked on the door againâthree quick thumps. Joel just stood at the door watching her to see how long it would take until she decided to leave. He hated when people dropped by his apartment unexpectedly.
Erin said, “Stop being mean and see what that old lady wants.”
Joel held his laugh inside and nodded his head as Erin retreated to the bedroom.
Ms. Benson raised her hand to knock again, but Joel opened the door quickly before her knuckles were able to make contact.
“Oh Lord!” Ms. Benson said as she stumbled backward, grabbing her heart and trying to catch her breath. “You scared the life outta me.”
“I'm sorry.”
“It's okay. Good morning, Joel.”
“Good morning, Ms. Benson. What can I do for you?”
“I'm looking for the young lady from across the hall. You know the one who just moved in.”
“Yes, ma'am. I met her yesterday. She told me that you sent her up to meet me. Thanks for doing that. But I haven't seen her today.”
“You're welcome. I figured you'd be glad to meet a pretty girl like that.” She paused for a brief moment and said, “It was a shame how your girlfriend and her new boyfriend came all up in your place and moved her belongings out.”
Joel felt embarrassed. Then frustration began to set in because he figured if Ms. Benson knew details about Renee moving out then that meant the whole building knew as well. He tried his best to remain respectful. He stood there wishing that he had never opened the front door. He didn't even have a reply for Ms. Benson.
“Are you sure the young lady from 2D isn't home, because I noticed that her car was parked out front, but she's not answering her door.”
“It's early. She could be in there ... sleeping ... you know? Or maybe she's just not home. Someone could have picked her up or something.”
“You're probably right.”
“Is there a particular reason why you're looking for her?”
“No, not really. I just wanted to see how she was making out with her new place.”
“I'm sure she's all right, but I'm worried about you. Are you all right? It's not even nine o'clock and you're going around on a Saturday morning knocking on people's doors.”
Ms. Benson threw her hand at Joel and laughed. “Aw, don't pay me any attention. I don't mean any harm. I get outta my bed at five-thirty every morning just so I can see what's going on.”
Joel raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is that right?”
“Sure is. Did you hear about that young man down in 1A?”
“No. But I've got a feeling you're gonna tell me, though.”
Ms. Benson lowered her voice to a whisper. “He messed around and got his girlfriend pregnant again. They already got two children living in a one-bedroom apartment. Where do you think all those children are gonna sleep?”
Joel shook his head and said, “I dunno.”
Ms. Benson continued whispering, “That woman up in 3C got a drug problem. If she comes to me begging for money or I see her daughter begging for sugar with that cup of hers one more time, I'm gonna have to call both of them out. This building ain't what it used to be. All of these trifling people moving in here. When the family from across the hall moved they loaded their furniture on the back of an old broke-down pickup truck. You should have seen it. Their stuff looked like a junk pile all uncovered for everybody to see. Another family moved into the building next door the same way, using a pickup truck. Whatever happened to people using U-Haul or a professional moving company? I tell you, the ghetto has officially made its way to the suburbs. That's why all the white people moved outta hereâthey saw this coming. That's exactly why I'm moving back to the city. I'm just waiting to see how this new young lady is gonna have her stuff moved in.”
“Erin looks classy, so I bet she'll use professional movers.”
“She didn't look that classy. I think she probably rented a U-Haul and will have her friends help her move in.”
“We'll just have to wait and see. I wanna clarify some of the things you mentioned a moment ago. I think you're exaggerating a little about the people in 1A and 3C. The guy in 1A is divorced, and only has custody of his two kids every other weekend, and this is his first kid by his girlfriend. Everybody knows that the lady in 3C is a recovering addict with over ten years clean. You know good and well she hasn't been begging you for money. Her daughter did go around asking for sugar once and her mother punished her for two weeks for embarrassing her like that. You should be ashamed of yourself spreading rumors about that nice couple in 1A and that hardworking single mother in 3C. This building is full of young professionals trying to make a decent living.”
“Think what you want. I know what I know because I get my info firsthand.”
“You've been misinformed.” He paused for a moment and thought about what he was saying. “I dunno ... I've already said too much and I can't stand here contributing to gossip. I don't want you to misquote me and cause trouble with the other neighbors.”
“You don't have to worry about that. Well, I'm sure you'll see the young lady from 2D before I will.” Ms. Benson paused to see what kind of reaction she could get out of Joel. He winced. She smiled and said, “Tell her that I came up to check on her. You have a blessed day.”
“You too.”
Joel closed the door and headed to his bedroom, where he saw that Erin was dressed and looking absolutely beautiful in a bright multicolored sundress and sandals.
With a smile Joel said, “Damn, you look pretty. I like that dress.”
“Thank you.”
“Where'd the dress come from?”
Erin laughed and said, “It was folded up in my overnight bag. I ran the iron over it real quick and in less than a minute it was ready to wear.” She paused for a second. “Oh, I heard most of the stuff that Ms. Benson said. Very audacious is all I have to say about her.”
“More like delusional or demented.”
Joel's phone rang.
“Go ahead and get that. I'm gonna sneak outta here and make my way across the hall without Ms. Benson noticing. Hopefully she won't see me because the last thing I need is a nomination for tramp of the year.”
They both laughed.
“Either way that won't happen. You're grown. Forget about her. I'll meet you across the hall in a little bit,” he said as Erin let herself out of his apartment.
The phone continued to ring. Joel checked the Caller ID and saw that it was his buddy Greg. He answered the phone just before the answering machine activated.
“What's up, Greg?”
“What's up with you? I think you're losing your mind. What happened to you last night?”
“Man, I hooked up with this fine-ass honey. She's moving in right across the hall.” Joel was trying to cut the conversation short. “As a matter of fact, I think the movers are here right now.”
“Well, I'm glad you've got something going on. Me and Dave thought you were still depressed and damn near suicidal by now.”
Joel laughed and said, “Everything's fine.”
“I guess we won't be seeing you any time soon since you hooked up with somebody new. We know how you have a problem concentrating on anything else besides your girl.”
“Don't even try that.”
“You know it's true. The only way I'll see you is by accident or at a couples function.”
Joel laughed and said, “All right. Maybe I do get a little consumed, but I'll definitely make time to hang out with my boys.”
“Yeah right, nigga. I'll believe it when I see it.”
“Shut the hell up.” Joel heard someone at his front door and said, “I just heard somebody at my door. I think it's my new girl looking for me.”
“You know I'm just playing. I'm happy for you, bro. No matter what, you're still my boy.”
“Thanks, Greg. Take it easy. I'll be in touch, aight?”
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