Autumn and Summer (28 page)

Looking up at him, I asked the question that had been on my mind since he gave his speech. “James?”

Running a hand
down his face, he laughed. “James Xavier Ford. Everyone calls me James. The people who matter call me Xavier.”

**********

              After the waiter at The Blue Lounge brought our drinks, I continued, “Don’t get me wrong, it was cool that we were watching his movie at the Indie Movie House. But because a bunch of people had come out, I felt like he was on the whole time, you know what I mean?”

             
Olivia nodded as she sipped her fruity cocktail. “You can’t really get to know someone in that environment anyway.”

             
“Right?!” I exclaimed as I took a small, tentative sip of my own fruity beverage. “These are good.”

             
“That’s why I love this place! Even though the lighting in here is horrible, you can’t go wrong with the Blue Lagoon.”

The lounge only used blue iridescent lights that seemed to make
everyone look ashy because of the freaky glow. I looked around and flagged down the waiter to order a veggie burger and fries.

             
“Wait, did you two not make it to dinner?” Olivia’s big eyes opened wide.

             
“No…not at all. A director wanted to talk to him about the movie and offered to take him to dinner. He apologized, but I recognized it was a great opportunity for him so I didn’t mind. I wasn’t really in the mood to go out on a date with him tonight anyway. So I texted you during the question-and-answer session after the movie and then left immediately afterward to meet you here.”

             
“Ohhh okay now it makes sense. When you texted me and said ‘my mouth is watering,’ I thought you were talking about your date. I didn’t know you were hungry and your mouth was
literally
watering.”

             
I laughed and took another small sip of my beverage. I didn’t want to drink on an empty stomach, but it was delicious.

             
“So now that we’re done talking about the bad date, can we talk about the guy you’ve been swooning over?” Olivia smiled mischievously.

             
“What are you talking about?” I asked, perplexed.

             
“Boris Kodjoe or whatever his real name is.” She grinned.

             
How did she know?
I wondered as I finished off the rest of my cocktail. My heart tightened.
I decided I wasn’t going to tell anyone about him until after I met him. And now that meeting him is out of the question…

             
“Don’t look so shocked. You know I am good at putting things together. So remember last week when we all went to happy hour after work and you kept texting instead of girl-talking?”

             
I nodded so she continued, “Well I peeked over your shoulder and saw you texting this Boris character. I didn’t read the exchange between you two, but I did notice how happy you looked. I’ve been waiting for you to mention him and you haven’t so I’m calling you out right now.”

             
Olivia sat back with a self-satisfied grin and I just stared at her blankly.  I didn’t expect for my eyes to water.
I remember that conversation. He was quoting Nas lyrics to describe how he felt about me. It was so funny and cute and…over,
I reminded myself.

             
“What’s wrong, Autumn?  I was just playing. You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”

             
“It’s not that. It’s just that…things didn’t pan out with him.” I forced a smile. “And everything happens for a reason.”

             
“Why didn’t it pan out? And what happened to that cutie Jordan?”

             
My burger and fries were dropped off and Olivia ordered us two refills. Popping a fry into my mouth, I mulled over my answer to that question.

             
“Jordan is amazing… it’s just complicated. And Boris…I don’t know what to say about him. We’ve both had some unsuccessful relationships in the past, and based on his past experiences, he thinks he can’t give me what I need in a relationship. But instead of basing it off of the past, I wish he would just…figure it out
with me
instead of trying to figure it out
for
me. But it is what it is. We aren’t looking for the same thing right now.”

“Do you think he’s scared because of whatever happened in his past relationship?”

I shrugged. “I mean, yeah, I think so, but it doesn’t matter. He’s convinced himself that he doesn’t have the time for relationships.”

             
Grabbing one of my fries, Olivia pointed it at me. “Tell me everything. And start at the beginning.”

             
With the assistance of three more Blue Lagoons and a belly full of food, I told her all about Boris and Jordan and my feelings for them both. Once I was done, Olivia was completely caught up to speed.

             
“And I know it sounds crazy,” I concluded emotionally, due to the alcohol. “But what if one of them is the one? I’m not saying I’m in love or anything. I just… I don’t know, Livie. I won’t even let my head or heart go there with Jordan because he has his baggage. But Boris’s only baggage is self-imposed. I don’t know what’s worse, but I’m most frustrated with Boris because if he is the one, he’s standing in his own way. Do you know what I mean?”

Olivia’s eyes were glassy and her porcelain skin was pink. “
Totally,” Olivia pointed out with a nod. “Either one of them could be the one.”

I smiled appreciatively. 
As much as I love Summer and her insight, it’s good to have someone who can get lost in the wonder and magic of love
, I thought, nodding emphatically.

“I always think about how my mom and dad met in a library during exam week and fell in love by graduation. In two weeks, they knew. And they’ve been married for thirty-four years!” I informed Olivia. “
I want that!”

“I want that too! I’m going to call Phillip
right now!”

“W
ait, who’s Phillip?” Even in my inebriated state, I knew that she hadn’t mentioned a Phillip all night.

“Phillip is Tatiana’s boyfriend’s friend. The one who got us into Dirty Dozen.”

“Ohhhh,” I said, dragging the word out. “I remember him. He was cute. I didn’t know you two talked after that night.”

“We haven’t done much talking,” Olivia giggled. She covered her face and t
hen peeked between her fingers.

I laughed and held up my glass. “At le
ast one of us is getting some. Congratulations!”

“Maybe—oh!” Olivia interrupted herself mid-thought and gasped. She stared at me in horror and my stomach dropped.
“Oh my God!”

“What? Olivia, what? What’s wrong?” I panicked, looking around.  My hair bounced as I whipped my head back and forth.

“Catfish!”

“What?”
I pointed at her plate, confused. “You ordered fries.”

“No,
not catfish,” she waved her hands over her food dismissively, and then pointed at me. “Catfish. What if you’re being catfished?”

My mouth dropped open. That thought had never occurred to me.
Yes, Summer photographed an extremely sexy model-type guy who was well-read and pretty awesome and gave him my number. But that doesn’t mean that the extremely sexy model-type guy kept my number. He could’ve passed it on to a friend. Or worse, he could’ve thrown it away. I mean, Summer can be tough and if he just wanted to shut her up, he could’ve just took the number but never had any interest in me. If he’s as hot as Summer keeps saying he is, I’m sure he encounters pretty girls all the time. So why would he spend time getting to know some girl he’s never even seen in real life? I’m the most cautious person I know and the idea that Boris could not be who Summer gave my number to never occurred to me. Oh my God! I’m being catfished,
I panicked. I was close to tears as I spiraled in my full blown alcohol induced freak out.

“We have to do something about t
his!” Olivia burst out, pounding her fist in the center of her palm.

“I don’t know what to do,” I whined.

“I know…we’ll catch him!”

“How?” I put my head in my hands.
My head was swimming, but I still felt good—loopy, but good.

“Give me your phone. We’ll get to the bottom of this!”

I handed her my phone and she sent a text message. “What did you say?” I asked as she placed my phone beside her and continued eating her fries.

“I told him I knew the truth about him.”

I nodded firmly. “
Yes! Good. What else?”

“
And that he—he should get over his ex and focus on his present.”

“Good!”

She swallowed the fry she was chewing. “And that it matters most what’s on the inside and he lied so his insides are messed up.”

I nodded uncertainly as I focused my sight on her. “Okay...”

“And I said no more sexting.”

“Uhhh…”

“And I told him that I deserve better than some guy whose idea of a date is for me to come over and watch a movie. Having sex does not a date make!” Olivia declared loudly.

“Ummm… Livie
, did you text that to Boris?”

“Yes!
We never go out or do anything, Autumn. The last two times he didn’t even have a movie! I came over and there was no movie! He invited me over to watch a movie…but didn’t have a movie! He’s not even trying anymore.”

“
But you texted that to Boris?”

She interrupted incredulously, “And who doesn’t have $1.99 for a movie?”

Oh no…I think she thinks she was texting Phillip. And how many of these Blue Lagoons did we drink?
I wondered as I focused on Olivia’s scrunched up face.

“Wait, wait, wait…who did you text?” I asked, trying to get the story straight in my head.

Olivia stared at me for a beat longer than necessary before she exclaimed, “No more sex until we go on some dates!” She threw her fist in the air and pumped it twice.

Unable to help myself, I laughed, “No more drinks for us.”

Finally determining that Olivia was completely wasted, I reached over the table for my phone, but I couldn’t quite grasp it.
I’ll get it in a minute,
I thought as I sat back in my chair.

“We deserve better, Autumn! No one should be catfishing you and no one should be bootycalling me!”

I sat back and nodded my head in agreement. “We need to stop letting these men dictate how the relationship will go. Boris isn’t going to tell me he has feelings for me, but we can’t be together and we can’t just be friends either. I decide! And Phillip isn’t going to decide that you are a booty call. If you want the relationship to just be sexual, then so be it. But if you want a date, you deserve a date. You decide!”

We high fived and then got our stuff. 
We were almost to the front door when our waiter came up behind us. “Ladies… you forgot to pay your tab.”

Oh c
rap! Seriously, how much did I drink?
I thought as I fumbled around trying to open my handbag.

“Oh!” I exclaimed.
I dug into my bag until I found my wallet. I handed him sixty dollars in cash. “I’m so sorry! Keep the change.”

“Men don’t tell us what to do Ke
ith!” Olivia hissed, reading the waiter’s nametag before walking out the door.

My jaw dropped and
my eyes widened. “Yeah, I’m sorry for that too. It’s been an emotional day. And we…I’m sorry!”

Turning, I ran out t
he door to find Olivia. She was standing by the door swaying to the music of the club across the street. “You want to go to the club?” she asked.

“No, not tonight.
We need to go home. You want to stay with me or do you think you can make it home?”

Olivia thought about it while she pulled her thick hair into a ponytail. “Y
our house. I think if I go home, I won’t be able to sleep. If I can’t sleep, I’ll get bored. If I get bored, I’ll call Phillip. And if I call Phillip, I won’t tell him no.”

We took a
sobering taxi ride to the house and within minutes of getting in the door, Olivia was asleep in the guest bedroom. I checked on her one last time and then closed the door behind me.  It was difficult making it up the steps since I was exhausted, tipsy, and in heels. I pulled my phone out of my bag and threw it on the bed. Taking my clothes off, I pulled on a T-shirt and threw myself across the bed.  Rolling onto my back, I stretched out on top of the comforter.

This feels good,
I sighed to myself as I let my eyes flutter closed.

I could barely hear t
he soft vibrating against the plush comforter, but it startled me and my eyes flew open. Grabbing the phone, I froze. I couldn’t get my eyes to focus long enough to understand anything except for the fact that Boris’s name was blazoned on the screen.  Suddenly, all of the text messages from earlier came flooding back.