Going Down (29 page)

“I tentatively accept.”

“Great. I assume that your acceptance is based tentatively on our offer. So why don’t we get together on Monday for dinner, you can meet my partners and we can talk money. Call me Monday morning and I’ll give you the time and place. And, Chris, it’s us who are honored that you would consider working with us. My partners and I are excited about you working with us. And I assure you that our offer is as aggressive as our plan, and will be acceptable.”

 
I smiled. “I’ll call you Monday,” I said, shaking Ted’s hand. Once Ted went inside, I found my way to the bar and ordered a drink. Then I began to mingle throughout the crowd, looking for Tyhedra. I saw Kim standing by the door to the auditorium and joined her. “Have you seen Tyhedra?” I asked quickly.

“No Chris, I haven’t seen her, but how did it go with Ted?” Kim asked.

“It went great, Kim, good-looking out,” I said as we entered the auditorium. While we moved toward our seats, I explained Ted’s proposal.

“That’s strong, Chris. What did you tell him?”

“I tentatively accepted, pending his offer. Which he said will be as aggressive as their plan and I’ll find it acceptable. I told him that I’d call him on Monday. We’ll discuss his offer over dinner.”

“I know with all that he wants, he must be talking about real money. Opportunities to get paid like that don’t come every day. I hope it all works out for you, Chris.”

“I hope so, too. But it’s for us, Kim. You’re a part of this company, too.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Of course. In fact, you’re gonna meet me for lunch tomorrow and talk about your future.”

“You just tell me what time and I’ll be there,” Kim said excitedly.

The presentation started and as Ted had warned, the speeches were pretty boring. After twenty minutes of that, I became restless. “I can’t take no more of this. I’ll be back, Kim.”

It was partially empty, a few people engaged in conversation. I scanned the room for Tyhedra on the way to the men’s room, thinking how Tyhedra wasn’t quite like any other woman I had ever met. Her company and her conversation fascinated me. We spent almost all of our time talking. It was because of her that I had landed this account. Not only that, but she taught me so much about presentation and ways that I could improve mine.

When I got to the men’s room, I saw Tyhedra coming out of the ladies room. “Hello, Tyhedra.”

“Hello, Chris,” she said, but I could tell she was genuinely glad to see me.

“Where have you been?”

“What do you mean, where have I been?”

“Just what it sounds like,” I paused, suddenly remembering what I went down there for. “Look, don’t you go nowhere.”

“I’ll be right here.” Tyhedra smiled. “Unless you want me to go with you.” I momentarily forgot that I was trying to act like I was mad at her, and pushed the door open. “Now that you mention it.” I glanced inside.

Tyhedra laughed. “I was only kidding; I’ll be right here. Trust me.”

I stared at Tyhedra for a moment. “Wait here.” And in I went. It seemed to be taking an eternity to get it all out. Just as I was about finished, the door swung open.

“Hey, Chris. I’ll be at the bar.”

“No!” I shouted. But it was too late. I quickly shook out the remainder, a quick rinse of the hands, and ran out the door. I ran up the stairs two steps at a time and hit the lobby just as the doors to the auditorium opened and the lobby quickly filled with people. “Shit!”

I made my way to the bar. I was sure that I had lost her in the crowd. I made it to the bar and looked around. “Shit!”

“Chris! I’m right here.” She handed me a glass.

“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed her by the hand. We moved away from the bar, making our way through the crowd. “Now, what happened to you?”

“What?” She could barely hear me over the buzz of the crowd. I looked around and turned up my drink. “Come on.” I grabbed
Tyhedra’s
hand and led her up the stairs to the balcony. The landing leading to the balcony area wasn’t as crowded. Just a few people who had figured out that there was another bar there. I walked to the bar, got two more drinks, and led Tyhedra to the balcony where Ted and I had sat earlier. “Now,” I said.

“Now.” Tyhedra interrupted me. “How have you been, Chris. I kinda missed you these last few weeks. What happened to you?”

“What happened to me? What happened to you?” I asked.

“What are you
taking
about?” Tyhedra asked.

“Why’d you just disappear like that?”

“Hold up, Chris. I remember us playing phone tag for a week. I called you and missed you. You called me back and missed me. I left messages for you, you called and left messages for me. I didn’t disappear.”

As much as I wanted to deny it, that was what happened. My only defense was “You didn’t make too much of an effort either.”

“Well I . . .” she stuttered, because she knew I was right.

“Ah huh, see . . .”

“Okay, okay so there’s enough blame for both of us. I guess I could have made more of an effort. I just . . . you know, didn’t feel like being bothered with you trippin’. You know we agreed that what happened between us was mistake and it should never happen again. But that wasn’t the impression I was getting from your messages. I said to myself, “Give the man some pussy and he lost his mind.”

I smiled. “I didn’t lose my mind.”

“Anyway, it’s good to see you.” She stepped closer to me. “Did Kim tell you about Ted Keys?”

“Yes, she gave me the message, and thank you for that. I already spoke with Ted and I’m going to meet with his partners on Monday for dinner to talk numbers.”

“That’s great. I hope it all works out for you.”

“Me, too. That, and seeing you, makes this a great night. I really thought you were avoiding me.”

“We just kept missing each other, that’s all. How was I avoiding you?”

“It doesn’t matter. At least not now.”

“No.” Tyhedra moved closer. “It doesn’t.” Almost on queue the house lights dimmed. The commercials were getting ready to run. After a quick intro, the house lights dropped, only the foot lights remained.

“So you think you got me
pussywhipped
, huh?” I reached for her hand and pulled Tyhedra close. Close enough to kiss.

“I didn’t say all that.” Tyhedra touched my face with her hand. “All I said was you lost your mind.”

“Sounds like ‘yes’ to me,” I said, reaching for her face with both hands. “But that’s all right.” I kissed her on her left cheek and then her right, running my hands down her bare arms and onto her hips.
Tyhedra’s
head drifted back as I kissed her on her neck. She pulled me closer and pressed her body against mine. I knew she could feel me getting harder. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said between kisses.

“No, we shouldn’t,” I said, and I forgot where we were. And apparently, so did Tyhedra. Before I could say a word of protest, Tyhedra had my zipper down and her hand in my pants.

I gathered
Tyhedra’s
dress around her waist. Tyhedra was wearing crotch-less panties and a garter belt. Tyhedra wrapped her legs around my waist and I quickly backed her against the wall.

Tyhedra was so wet that I slid my dick inside her and pounded her against the wall. “Yes, Chris, yes! Bang this pussy!” Tyhedra said, much louder than the situation allowed. I stuck the end of my tie in her mouth and continued to pound away. I could feel myself getting harder and swelling inside her.

I guess she could, too. Tyhedra spit the tie out of her mouth. “Don’t come in me,” she said, and pushed me off of her. I looked down at my dick and Tyhedra began fixing her clothes. “Maybe I do need to stay away from you, Chris.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m weak for you. Weaker for you than any man has ever had me,” Tyhedra said, and backed away from me. I started to say something, but Tyhedra turned and started walking. “I gotta go, Chris.”

I started to follow her, but what would be the point in that?

After weeks of practice on the trumpet, I finally got a spot playing with a band. It wasn’t an easy road, but I made it. During that time, all I did was work and play my horn. It was pretty much the same thing every day: I’d go to work and do the minimum amount of work that was required of me to maintain my position. After work, I’d go home and practice. I was never without my horn and I’d play anywhere.

I met an old guy who played the sax in Piedmont Park for money; it was how he lived. In the evenings we’d play duets and would draw a nice a little crowd sometimes. It was a good arrangement for him. I’d let him keep all the money and would always match whatever we made.

I hadn’t seen Tyhedra since that night at the club, but we’ve talked several times. When we do talk, she’s always very encouraging and supportive of what I’m doing. Which is more than I can say for Carmen. We talk a lot, too, but when I told her what I was doing, she had no words of encouragement to offer. “I think you’re just wasting your time. You need to be focused on your future. What you need to do is step it up at your job, like Lester told you. That’s where your future is, not playing the trumpet.”

With Tyhedra it’s just the opposite. When she calls, it’s to let me know where the jam sessions are around town. I show up with my horn and sit in. That’s when I really got my lip and timing back. That’s how I got this spot. I met a tenor saxophone player named Dexter Higgins. We met and played together at one of those sessions, and became friends. He called me one night and said that he ran into some old friends that had recently lost their horn section, and had joined their group. I asked him if they needed a trumpet player; he invited me to come to practice with them.

“Guys, I want you to meet Tavarus. This is our bass player, Gordon Warren. Clarence Powell, he plays piano, and that’s Billy Summers,” Dexter said that day.

“Call me Butch,” he said from behind his drums.

“Good to meet you guys,” I said.

“Tavarus plays trumpet,” Dexter said.

“I guess that’s why he’s huggin’ it like it’s his woman,” Gordon joked, and all of us laughed.

“We gonna just stand here lookin’ at each other or we gonna play something,” Clarence said, and tapped the keyboard a few times.

“Let’s cook,” Dexter said.

When we got together, it was like all of us had been playing together for years. It wasn’t long before we had landed our first gig.
  

It hasn’t been all work and no play. Me and Kathy hook up for those late night booty calls. We even took a little trip together. When I hit the door one night after jamming at one of those sessions, the phone was ringing. It was like she knew when I got home. When she said, “I’m coming over.” I told her I was thinking about going to the beach for the weekend and asked, “Why don’t you pack some clothes and come with me?” She was there in fifteen minutes, and threw her bag in the backseat and jumped in the car. Seven hours later, we were checking into a condo in Destin, Florida. Nothing elaborate, just a bed, a bath, and a kitchenette. Like Carmen, Kathy has absolutely no interest whatsoever in my horn. “I’ll be honest with you, Tavarus. I like you and whatnot, and I hope you do good at whatever you do, but my interest in you is between your legs.”

End of story.

I’m cool with that. Kathy fills a void. And to be honest about it, my only interest in her is between her legs.