If I Were Your Boyfriend (22 page)
Read If I Were Your Boyfriend Online
Authors: Earl Sewell
Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #People & Places, #United States, #African American, #General
Keysha
esley was hot. I don't mean just cute hot. I mean, he was so fine that he made me want to scream out his name at the top of my lungs. He kind of reminded me of the Jamaican rapper Sean Paul. He gave me goose bumps whenever I was near him and, when he looked into my eyes, he melted my heart. The way he studied me and talked to me made me feel as if destiny brought us together. It had been a week since he came to my rescue and introduced himself to me at the library. I'd talked to him every day since and I couldn't stop thinking about him. It was hard to believe that he and I had so much in common. We both had mothers that didn't have our best interests at heart. Our fathers rescued us both from problematical situations and we both hated Liz Lloyd. I got all excited when I was near him and he had taken it upon himself to protect me against anyone who tried to harm me. Wesley was nothing like my ex-boyfriend, Ronnie. In fact, Wesley was much nicer than Ronnie ever was. Ronnie was always making me feel stupid and worthless. Wesley, on the other hand, listened to me. He cared about what I'd been through and praised me for weathering all of the hardships I'd endured. He was a dream come true.
When the 3:45 p.m. bell rang, I leaped up out of my study-hall seat and rushed out into the crowded hallway toward my locker so that I could grab my homework. Wesley was meeting me at my locker so that he could escort me to the football field where I had to wait for Mike to finish practice. As he'd promised, Wesley showed up around 3:45 p.m., trying to look stylish.
"We need to hang out at the mall one Saturday afternoon," I said as I closed my locker.
"I don't like malls that much," Wesley said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"It's just never been my thing," he answered.
"Well, you'll be with me, so that will make it fun," I said.
"Oh, you got it like that, huh? You can just turn anything into fun for me." Wesley smiled.
"What, do you think that I can't?" I placed a little playful authority in my voice.
"Girl, as far as I'm concerned you make the grayest sky blue, make it rain whenever you want to and make a ship sail on dry land."
"Wow. You make me feel as if I can do anything in the world," I said.
"That's because you can," he assured me as he held the exit door open for me. We stepped outside and began our journey around the school and toward the football field.
"I want to take you shopping so that we can pick out some better clothes for you," I said.
"What's wrong with what I have on?" he asked.
"You need an upgrade, boo. The color in that blue
shirt you're wearing has completely faded. Who does your laundry?" I asked.
"I do," he answered.
"Do you know how to separate your clothes?"
"Separate them." He laughed. "I just throw them all in the washing machine together. They all get washed the same way, right?"
"Oh, Lord, you're a typical male." I chuckled.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you're normal. Maybe one day I can come over and show both you and your dad how to do laundry. Especially if his shirts and stuff are faded like yours."
"Yeah, they are."
"You guys just need a woman in your lives." I wanted to say a woman like me but I didn't push it.
"My dad dates a little but he doesn't really have anyone in particular that he's real serious about. He likes his simple and uncomplicated life."
"That's good. If you guys are happy, then that's great. But you still need to learn how to do your laundry properly."
"Whatever." Wesley laughed. "I'll let you show me how it's that important." We maneuvered our way past a cluster of school buses and began walking across the school's vast parking lot.
"I've been meaning to ask you, how could you stand to be with a guy who constantly put you down?" Wesley asked.
"I don't know. Sometimes I listened to him and sometimes I didn't. Either way, I'm glad that he's out of my life for good," I said as I adjusted my backpack.
"Here, let me carry that for you." Wesley helped me remove my backpack.
"This is heavy," he whined.
"I'll carry it. Don't worry about it," I said, reaching for the backpack.
"Relax, I was just teasing you." Wesley smiled at me and I playfully punched him on the arm.
"So, what about you and your girlfriend?" I asked. I wanted to know his history as much as he did mine.
"I used to date this girl named Della Turner. It didn't work out between us."
"Why not?" I asked.
"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes, you do. Come on, tell me. You can trust me." I wanted him to know that I was a loyal kind of person.
"The truth is she came from a wealthy family and I didn't. Her father was the president of some big advertising company downtown. Her dad played golf with other executives. Anyway, her parents made her break up with me."
"That's not fair," I said.
"Believe me when I say they did me a favor. I learned that she was cheating on me anyway, so the breakup was no big deal."
"So you haven't had a girlfriend since that time?" I asked.
"Pretty much. Although, I had a few minor dates, but nothing serious." He shrugged again. "I mean, I've tried but I seem to like girls who are out of my league. Whenever I got rejected or humiliated by them, drinking alcohol reduced the sting of embarrassment. Eventually alcohol became the only way I dealt with my problems. But I'm better now," Wesley said. "The therapy sessions that I had to go through really helped a great deal. I feel stronger than I ever felt before and, now that I live with my father, I just don't have the problems I had with my mother. Speaking of mothers, have you been in contact with your mom?"
I exhaled loudly. The thought of my mother gave me chills.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Wesley said, sensing my uneasiness.
"No, it's cool," I said. "I heard from my mother a few times. We've talked on the phone. She talked about her court case, which she thinks she's going to loose. Then she talked about the possibility of having her baby while she's still locked up and how she's going to have to turn it over to child services if she delivers while she's behind bars. She also continually asks me to send her money, which I don't have. That's about it. I can only talk to her for so long because she upsets me."
"I know that feeling." Wesley understood where I was coming from because of our similar experience. We arrived at the football field and I was hoping that Wesley would say he'd sit with me for a while.
"Well, here we are," he said. We were standing behind the concession stand out of the sight from the football players.
"Yeah, here we are," I repeated. I had butterflies in my stomach.
"Well, here. Let me give you your backpack." He handed it to me.
"So, can I call you later?" he asked.
"You better," I answered.
"Cool." He paused for a moment, then reached out to touch my hand. He wrapped his fingers around my hand and we looked at each other for a long moment. I knew he wanted to kiss me and I had to determine whether or not I was ready for that. I mean, I was definitely ready but I didn't want to get hurt if things didn't work out. I also wanted to know what the kiss would mean.
"Do you want to kiss me?" I asked nervously.
"Only if you want to kiss me," he responded. I paused and bit my lip and began to contemplate the moment. I exhaled.
"I don't want to get hurt again. I've got enough problems in my life." I tossed up a roadblock.
"Do you think I'm a problem?" he asked, staring at me with his warm eyes. He'd just blown through my roadblock.
"No," I answered softly.
"Do you think I'd ever hurt you?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"I won't," he said. "I'd never hurt you, Keysha. You can trust me."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said, and I wanted to believe him so I did.
"One kiss and that's it, okay?" I swallowed hard. Wesley leaned toward me slowly. I lowered my eyes and awaited contact. When our lips met, he cupped his hand and caressed my right cheek. The stroke of his hand was very gentle and nurturing. I felt my heartbeat begin to race wildly, and my body was giving in to him way too easily. When my knees started buckling beneath me, I pulled away.
"Whew," I exhaled. "I've got to go."
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned that he'd done something wrong.
"Nothing." My voice and lips quivered because they were filled with passion.
"I'll call you later, okay?"
"You had better," I said, and rushed away from him so that I could get a grip and pull myself together. There is nothing as sweet as the first kiss, I thought to myself as I found a spot to sit down.
During the walk home from football practice Mike complained about how sore he was from being tackled repeatedly.
"I swear, everything hurts on my body," he groaned as we walked back across the student parking lot. I wasn't really paying attention to him because I was still floating on air over the kiss that Wesley and I had shared. I wanted him to ask me to be his girlfriend. I wanted to be everything to him because, as far as I was concerned, he was the brightest spot in my life and I was hoping he realized that.
"Keysha," Mike yelled out. The loudness of his voice startled me out of my daydream.
"Dang, girl, get your head out of the clouds. A car almost hit you. Didn't you notice that we reached the corner stoplight?" Mike glared at me as if I were retarded.
"No. I didn't notice it," I answered him. I didn't like the expressions on his face and for some reason I felt as if he had an issue with me but I didn't know what the issue was.
"Well, duh! Pay attention," Mike said sarcastically.
I felt as if he was trying to belittle me and I got defensive. "Give me a break, Mike. I was just daydreaming a little. Is that a crime?"
"No, but if you keep hanging around with that burnout Wesley Morris, crime and more trouble will certainly show up."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about, Keysha."
"No, I don't, Mike." I suddenly got mad at him for trying to question my relationship with Wesley.
"Wesley is not good for you, Keysha. He's trouble. He has a very bad reputation and is known for getting completely wasted. I've heard all types of crazy stories about him."
"Stories like what, Mike?" I was really getting angry now.
"I heard that he and his goons got some young girl completely bombed so she could be taken advantage of. I also heard that he was arrested for auto theft, did time at a juvenile detention center and is in rehab."
"That's not the Wesley I know. That's the old Wesley," I fired back at him. I wasn't about to let him talk about my friend in a bad way.
"Keysha, open up your eyes, Wesley will get you in trouble. All he probably wants to do is get you wasted so that he can have his way with you."
"Shut up, Mike. I don't want to hear it."
"Well, you're going to hear it because you need to. He's the wrong guy for you. When are you going to start trusting me, Keysha? I know what I'm talking about. I told you about Liz but you didn't believe me until it was too late. Now I'm telling you about Wesley before something major happens."
"He doesn't do that anymore, Mike. He's been through rehab and is much better now. Besides, it's not your right to judge a person. You should also really take the time to get to know him and understand what he's been through before you criticize and attack his character."
"You are utterly impossible, Keysha. I don't know what it's going to take for you to see people for who they truly are."
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