Lust and Lies (The Jamie Reynolds Chronicles #1) (13 page)

Ring, ring, ring.

“Hello.”

“Hey, what you doing?”

“Nothing, I just finished cleaning up and I’m about to fix myself a drink.”

“Who is at the house with you?”

“Nobody, I’m by myself, why?”

“You’re making yourself a drink by yourself?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Only alcoholics drink by themselves,” Toni said as he began to laugh.

“I drink by myself all the time and I am not an alcoholic, I’m West Indian. Besides, I have to refresh my bartending skills sometimes.”

“You’re crazy. What does being from Trinidad and Tobago have to do with anything? What are you making?”

“I’m making a peach Long Island, and my Trinidadian roots makes drinking a social affair, as West Indians are very social drinkers, like Italians and wine.”

“Italians and wine, I got it now. Well, enjoy your drink. Wait, what is a peach Long Island?”

“It’s a Long Island ice tea with peach schnapps instead of triple sec.”

“Damn, you’re making a real drink.”

“Yes, I am, thanks to Mexico. Remember I told you when Angela and I went down there last year I came back with a suitcase full of liquor.”

“I thought you were exaggerating when you said suitcase.”

“No, I was dead-ass serious. When you spend forty bucks on a medium bottle of Ketel One in the U.S. it’s like twenty-five bucks in Mexico, or at least the part of Mexico we went to. I loved it.”

“Spoken like a true alky.”

“Ha, ha, funny. I know how to hold my liquor. Besides, one to two drinks doesn’t make me an alky.”

“No, one to two drinks a week don’t make you an alky.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him I meant one to two drinks a day on certain days. “Thank you,” I said with a false sense of security. “Anyway, honey, enough ’bout me, what’s going on with you?”

“Same oh, same oh. Just thinking ’bout this girl I love.”

“Girl you love, are you cheating on me? Because I thought I was the woman you love.”

“Ha, ha, very cute.”

“Anyway, I’m ’bout to fix dinner, enjoy my drink, take a shower and head to bed. I have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Is that anything new? I’ll call you later, baby. Love you.”

“Ditto.”

How About Tomorrow…

“Hey, honey, I can’t really talk now, I have a whole crap load of work and my director is M.I.A.”

“I know you’re busy, honey, I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Aww, babe. You are so sweet. I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“Hey, got to go, hit me on AIM.”

“Okay, bye.”

Toni: Hey, baby.

JR: Hey, honey.

Toni: Long time no talk.

JR: You stupid. I just hung up the phone.

Toni: I know, I know, I am so bored at work.

JR: Well, it is almost 5 o’clock and you should be leaving soon.

Toni: No, honey. Today is Thursday and I get off at 7.

JR: Damn, sorry, honey, it’s not that bad. At least you get off while it’s still light outside. I don’t know what time I’m getting out of here.

Toni: I know, honey, I hate the fact of you getting off set so late and having to drive home by yourself. It’s just not safe.

JR: I know, honey, maybe one day, I won’t have to drive home to an empty house. ☺

Toni: Yeah, I can’t wait for the day that I’m home waiting for you with a warm candlelit bath and a hot home-cooked meal.

JR: Damn, that sounds good. One day, honey. One day.

Toni: How ’bout tomorrow?

JR: ???

Toni: I’m just going to leave work now and drive up to the woman that I love.

JR: Yeah, right.

Toni: Okay, don’t believe me. Watch, before you get off work tomorrow, I will be sitting on the steps, waiting for you with open arms.

JR: That’s sounds nice, but don’t get me all excited. I should be done with this movie in about a month, and then maybe we can take a vacation or meet back up in Virginia.

Toni: Forget Virginia, we can have that magical weekend every night for the rest of our lives.

JR: So what you going to do? Just quit your job and move up here with me?

Toni: Yup…

JR: Stop playing. You stupid.

Toni: I think I’m serious.

Ring, ring.

“Hello, Toni, stop playing, are you serious?”

“I thought you was too busy to talk.”

“Funny, I just went outside the office. I can’t believe you’re considering this. Are you serious?”

“I don’t know, I have been thinking about it. I hate my job down here and you being in Jersey messes with my head. So what do you think?”

It took me a few minutes to reply and Toni asked me the question again.

“Babe, what do you say?”

“Babe, I don’t know. This is a big step, we have only known each other for five months and—”

Toni interrupted, “I walked out on my job about twenty minutes ago.”

“Wait, what?”

“We are soul mates and I can’t be away from you too much longer, so I walked out and I’m getting ready for the next chapter in my life, in our life.”

“So now what?”

“I guess I’m moving to New Jersey.”

“Oh, well, okay then,” was all I could say. “I’m happy and shocked at the same time. I can’t believe you just quit your job.”

“I know, love makes you do crazy things.”

“Tell me ’bout it.”

“Well, honey. I have a lot to do, I guess I’ll call you later. You’re off on Saturday, right?”

“Actually, I’m off on Sundays and Mondays.”

“Okay, that works out great. I’ll take a few days and get myself together and drive up Saturday. I’ll be lying in your arms after you get off work Saturday.”

“Lying in my arms, what happened to my hot meal and hot bath?” I said, laughing.

“You crazy, girl, I love you for that. I’ll call you later.”

As I hung up the phone and began to walk back to the office, I just realized what just happened. Toni was about to move in with me. My head started to spin with the thought of living with a man I just met a few months ago. “Calm down. Remember, he’s your soulmate,” I reminded myself, as I felt like throwing up.

My mind wasn’t right for the rest of the day. I couldn’t help but think of what was going to really happen between Toni and me. This relationship had been working great long distance, but everyone knows things change when the distance is gone.

“JR, what time is call time tomorrow?” Matthew, my producer, asked.

“I’m so sorry, it’s seven a.m.” I made the announcement to the crew that call time was seven a.m. tomorrow and wished them all a good night.

“JR, are you okay?” Matthew asked. “You’ve been out of it the whole afternoon. You even almost missed the lunch meeting. You’ve been doing great the last month, but I’m getting nervous.”

“I’m sorry, Matthew, I assure you after a good night’s sleep, I’ll be on top of things again. It’s been a crazy day, but again I apologize.”

“Alright then, JR, have a great night, get some sleep, and we’ll see you tomorrow at 6:30 a.m.”

“Yup,” I agreed, sounding upbeat. “Six thirty for our morning meeting and then off we go. Tomorrow we’re working on scene ten and we’re ahead of the production schedule, so this should make you happy.”

“Always happy to save some money,” Matthew said.

As much as I enjoyed working freelance, I also had a heart and felt bad when producers or directors tried to cut the production schedule to save money. Even cutting the schedule by two days was two days less in someone’s paycheck since most of the crew worked for a day rate or a week rate.

I got in my car and began to drive home when the thought of Toni moving to New Jersey popped back into my head.

“I can do this; this is good news,” I assured myself. The last guy I lived with was my ex-boyfriend from college in 1999. But that was short lived because we were young and dumb. Besides, his mother paid his half of the rent and it helped me save some money. I’d learned over time there were better ways to cut corners without jeopardizing my lifestyle.

“How would Toni moving in jeopardize my lifestyle?” I said to myself and laughed. He was a great guy; how bad could it be? I enjoyed my freedom, but I was getting older, so maybe this was a good thing and I would be ready for this.

As soon as I said that, I looked up as my car passed my exit home. “Crap.”

Then my phone started ringing.

I looked down and noticed it was Toni. I had to pick up; maybe this would help calm my nerves.

“Hey, babe.”

“Hey, pretty lady, what you doing?” Toni said with excitement.

“I’m driving home, hoping to just jump in the shower and then go straight to bed.” I was trying to be nice and say I didn’t want to be up on the phone all night. After my talk with Matthew, I needed to be well rested for work tomorrow.

“Oh, okay,” Toni said, sounding disappointed.

“I’m ten minutes from home, so we can chat.”

“I love the fact you found this gig in New Jersey. This way you don’t have to deal with the train and I can talk to you while you drive home. Anyway, I’m packing for my big move. Man, I haven’t been to New York in years. This will be fun.”

Oh my, does he think this is a vacation?
I nervously thought to myself.

“Well, New York is just thirty minutes away from New Jersey. So there’s plenty to do in both states,” I replied.

“What’s wrong, babe? You sound off,” Toni inquired.

“Do I?” I pretended to be shocked by the question. “I’m just a little nervous. This is a big step we’re taking and I guess it just hit me.”

“I know, I know. After I got off the phone I was thinking, did I really just quit my job? I mean, I never done something like this before, and I felt bad telling Jonathan I was leaving.”

I felt bad because Jonathan told me on our drive to New York that he actually wanted Toni out of the house because he wanted to ask his girlfriend, Tawana, to move in with him to give their relationship a fresh start.

“What did Jonathan say when you told him you’re moving?” I asked Toni.

“He was fronting, I can tell, and was acting like he was cool, but I could tell he wasn’t happy, but he did wish us well.”

“Oh, okay, so what now? What’s your plan?” I asked.

“So I plan on leaving first thing tomorrow morning after a good night’s sleep.”

“Wow, did you pack everything already? What are you going to do with your things? Can everything fit in your car? Do you have to rent a truck or something?”

“Naw, I’m just grabbing a few things and I’m out. The furniture was Jonathan’s and all I really have is clothes and stuff.”

“Oh, okay,” I nervously said.

“Don’t be nervous,” Toni said, like he was reading my mind. “Everything will be alright. I’ll get settled and find a job in no time, and we can just enjoy our future.”

This was music to my ears; I was so glad he kind of had a plan.

“Thanks for the comforting words; that was helpful. I just got home and then I’m dead to the world.”

“Okay, babe, I got you, be safe and I’ll call or text you tomorrow when I get on the road.”

“Goodnight,” I said.

“Love you,” he said.

“Ditto.”

I Smiled at Myself and Embraced This New Relationship…

Ring, ring.
“Hey, nig what’s up?”

“Hey, David, what’s up?”

“Good man, you lost my number or something? You haven’t called me in a minute.”

“My bad, David, I’ve been a little busy.”

“Your ass is always busy. That is the one thing I was feeling ’bout you.”

My mind was elsewhere that I couldn’t even joke around with David about him saying he was feeling me.

“I’m sorry, man, I promise I’ll try to keep in touch for real.”

“What’s up, man, you sound out of it. How is the new man?”

This was awkward because he never asked about Toni. It was awkward enough when I told him about Toni last month after I got back from my surprise trip to Atlanta. He called me and was upset when he heard I was in town and didn’t hit him up. I finally came clean to him and told him I was visiting someone new. I felt his whole tone changed after I told him that and, really, this was why we hadn’t spoken in a while.

“Toni is fine,” I hesitated to say.

“I would be lying if I said I was happy.”

“David, you stupid.”

“But real talk, why do you sound down?”

Beep, beep.

“Yo, I have to take this call; I’ll call you back.”

“You just avoiding my question, but you better call me back,” he insisted.

“I promise I’ll call you back.”
Beep, beep
. “Alright, I got to go, I’ll call you shortly.”

Beep, beep.

“Hey, babe, I’m in North Carolina and will be in Jersey in no time. My guess is I’ll be in later tonight when you get off work. What time you getting off again?”

“I should be off by nine or nine thirty.”

“Perfect, maybe we can grab dinner when I get to your home. Man, that sounds crazy, but I guess your home is my new home.”

That statement had me all twisted. “I guess you’re right,” I nervously said. “But, babe, you know I don’t eat past like six p.m. if I can help it.”

“I know, but I figure since this is our first official night, you can bend your rules a little.”

He was right. “Sure, we can meet for dinner. I’m off tomorrow but may still be on call.”

“I am so excited. This is a new chapter in our lives. I have dreamt about this day for months now, and it’s finally going to happen in a matter of hours.”

“Well, babe, I have to go. Drive safe.”

“Love you,” he said.

“Ditto.” We both hung up.

I promised to call David back, but I really had to finish up some work first. I would call him during my lunch break after my lunch meeting, which was a working lunch because a small group of us ate while we discussed the day.

“Alright, guys, it’s a wrap, let’s break for lunch,” Vincent, the assistant director, yelled.

“Hey, David, I’ll call you in like twenty minutes after this meeting,” I texted David.

He quickly replied, “Bet,” as if he had the phone in his hand, waiting for me to call him.