When All Hell Breaks Loose (13 page)

“No luck, man, Tim has already tried to hit that.”

Phillip is looking at me smiling. “What are you talking about?” I ask, surprised that he’s read my mind.

“LaShawn. She’s not interested in him.” Phil leans on the wall next to me. He’s holding a cup of punch in his hand. “I saw you looking at them and figured you had something up your sleeve.”

“Oh, so he already approached her?”

“Yeah, he took her out and she told him she wasn’t interested in dating him.” Phil drinks from the cup and tosses the rest in a nearby trash can.

“Seriously?”

“LaShawn is a serious sister, but I bet I could get into her panties.” Phil sucks his teeth. “All she needs is an all-night-long brother such as myself. Ain’t no shame in my game.”

“Phil, leave her alone, man. Stick with the hootchie mamas and ’hood rats. You should be ashamed of yourself.” I laugh.

“Aw man, you don’t think I can get a corporate woman like LaShawn?”

“Phil, she has a child and she doesn’t need to be played with,” I argue. “She is respected by every man in this office. You shouldn’t even be thinking about getting with a woman like that. She’s climbing the corporate ladder and doing a damn good job.”

“Cool, but I know what she needs to climb up on.” Phil is looking at LaShawn like a hungry wolf looks at unsuspecting sheep.

“Phil, when was the last time you dated an educated sister?”

Phil shakes his head. “I don’t know. Man, a woman is a woman. It don’t matter if she’s educated or not. They all got a little freak in ’em.” Phil straightens his tie and double-checks his jacket buttons.
“I’m just here to remind them where they come from. Give ’em a li’l somethin’ to keep from going to the other side.”

I lean in and whisper to Phil, “With you around here, sisters should be scrambling to the other side. You are a scary brother.”

Phil looks over at me and smiles. “And don’t you forget it.” He daps me five and sucks his teeth in an arrogant manner.

Phil and I walk over to the group and join in the conversation. LaShawn looks at me, but she has this crazy please-don’t-ask-me-any-questions look on her face. At first I start to ask her is there a problem, but I decide against it.

“Hey Greg! Congratulations on getting the account.” Tim shakes my hand. I want to laugh at the fake corporate voice he uses in the office when others are around.

“Thanks, but you really need to say that to Group Three. They did the hard work.” I turn toward the group members. “Good presentation, ladies and gentlemen.”

“Mr. Alston, does this mean a raise for everybody?” jokes Arthur, one of the group members.

“Sure, and a Mercedes to go with it,” I respond. Everyone laughs.

“Mr. Alston, this will give you time to plan for your wedding now that the biggest account has been closed, won’t it?” It’s LaShawn. She’s staring at me hard.

I feel uncomfortable and look away as I answer her question. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Denton, it will. It will give me and Adrian plenty of time to get our pictures done, taste-test the food, and find a house to live in.”

“You and Adrian are getting a house?” she asks.

“Yes, we decided to get that done before the wedding. Now it’s a reality, with us getting the account.”

“Wow, she really is into this whole marriage thing, then?”

“Why wouldn’t she be?” I’m thinking LaShawn really does know something I don’t.

She laughs it off as if she doesn’t want to give any more clues to what it is that I don’t know. “It’s just that back in the day, Adrian was not into marriage. She was always real tough on her views about
it.” I ease up when LaShawn says the word “tough.” “Well, her dad did say she was a tomboy when she was growing, so maybe it took her a while to adjust her views. I can guarantee you, she’s very much for this union.”

“That’s cool,” LaShawn says with a dreamy look on her face. “That’s real cool.”

“Shoot, Ms. Denton, you make it sound like Greg’s fiancée is a football player or something.” It’s Phil and he’s instigating.

“No, it’s not that, Mr. Putnam,” LaShawn replies. She cleared her throat. “Adrian was just hard-core a few years back. She didn’t have the gentleness in her that you-all are familiar with.” She smiles her girlish smile and walks off, leaving me and Phil standing together.

I’m glad she walked off, because I don’t like the vibes I’m getting from her.

After the mini reception everyone heads back to work. I’m full and sleepy, so I get to my office and shut the door. The phone rings before I can even sit down. I press the intercom button. “This is Greg.”

“And this is Adrian. Hey you.”

Her voice makes my good day better. “Baby, I was just thinking about you.” I pick up the receiver, taking the phone off intercom.

“And I was thinking about you, too. What are you doing?” Her voice is warm and it makes me hold the phone closer to my ear.

“Nothing. Just got back from a big lunch celebration. The company paid for lunch today to celebrate the Dillinger account I told you about.”

“Wow, sounds like it was nice.”

“It was. Now I have more time to concentrate on me, you, and the wedding. Speaking of which, one of your past customers is interning here.”

“Who?”

“LaShawn Denton. She said she knows you from—”

“Lancaster. Yeah, I remember her. How is she?”

“Promising. She said you had a big impact on her life. What was that about?”

“Girl stuff. Having babies and keeping them versus giving them away.” Adrian laughs and then changes the subject. “So, what else is going on?”

“You tell me,” I tease.

“Why don’t you leave early from work, and I’ll show you what else is going on.” She’s teasing me and I can feel my pants tighten in the crotch.

“When do you want me knocking at your door?”

“How does two o’clock sound?”

“Sweet.”

“Okay, then, I’ll be waiting. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We hang up and my penis is as hard as Chinese algebra. I try to think of something else, but Adrian got me all worked up. I look at my watch and it’s only twelve-fifteen. I get up, flip my computer off, and head out of the office anyway. Shit, opportunities like this don’t happen often, so I’m going to enjoy them while I can. See ya!

I stopped by my place to freshen up before going to Adrian’s. By the time I get to her place, it’s nearly two o’clock. There is a note on the door that reads:
USE YOUR KEY
. I take my keys and find the one to her lock and open the door. Immediately, the remix of Maxwell’s “Whenever Wherever Whatever” starts playing from upstairs. I look up, but can’t see anything. There is a lit candle in front of me with a note attached. I pull it off and read it:

Thank God I have on my Calvin Klein underwear. I strip to my draws and tie and head upstairs. When I walk into Adrian’s bedroom, she is lying on the bed. The only things she has on are a purple g-string and her toe ring. My penis is rock hard against my briefs. My girl is looking good! She wiggles her finger for me to come over. I get in the bed with her and she starts kissing me all over. I grab her petite waist and pull her on top of me. She smiles and
continues to kiss my chest and navel. I wouldn’t mind at all if she went on down, but the last time she did, I came too soon and she got mad at me. I couldn’t help it, Adrian’s got skills. That was also the same night we got into it because I wouldn’t go down on her.

Don’t get me wrong, I have been known to linger in the valley, but this one particular night, Adrian wanted it bad. I mean, that’s
all
she wanted, and I couldn’t do oral on her and get up with a hard dick. We had just started dating and I wasn’t used to one-sided pleasures. I couldn’t see myself going out like that. That was before. But as our relationship has progressed and my love for Adrian has grown, she gets served quite often without having to do too much in return. She likes oral a lot.

One time, she put my ass in a headlock. My neck was sore for two days. We have a lot of fun in bed and it’s always something new. Even after three years.

Another time we did it in Pops’s bathroom. He’d invited us over for July Fourth for barbecue. He was cooking and had run to the store to pick up an onion. I was just about to come when I heard him walking down the hallway. He knocked on the bathroom door. I covered Adrian’s mouth. She was giggling hysterically as she stood leaning over the sink with me behind her. Pops turned the knob, but we had locked the door. He started whistling and went back down the hall. We finished and came back into the kitchen where Pops was. After an uneasy silence between us three, all Pops said was “Make sure you wash your hands before you eat.”

When I think of all the crazy things I’ve done with Adrian, it amazes me how some brothers like Phil and Timothy get off trying to play the macho role all the time. I’ve found out that if you let yourself be a sensitive brother, then your girl will pretty much be down for whatever. And I do mean
whatever
, like what Maxwell is singing about. I’m sweating now and Adrian is doing her thing. Her eyes are closed and she looks like she’s enjoying herself. I like that. I like to see her having a good time with me. I’m giving my love to her the way she likes it. Adrian can go years before she comes. Seriously, she can do me about four good orgasms before she gets her first. I’m game, because we like different positions. It takes me a
long time to come, so our intercourse usually lasts about fifteen minutes or more.

Most brothers are too busy trying to look like they’re killing the kitty-cat, or they close their eyes and imagine the sister they’re with is someone totally different. Not me. I check on my girl to make sure the position is right, she’s feeling good, and she wants some more later. I would never let her walk away unsatisfied. That’s how you lose a good woman. Give her some whack lovin’ and bam! She is AWOL on yo’ ass!

When Adrian and I finally wake up, it’s damn near nine o’clock. I have to go home and get ready for the next workday, and she has to get ready too. She watches me get dressed. “Your sister invited me to go to church with her this Sunday,” she says.

I continue to put on my clothes. “Are you going?”

“I think so. It’s been so long since I’ve gone to church.”

“Well, don’t let Shreese turn you into a holy roller.”

“I won’t. Your sister is really nice, and I don’t understand why she’s so involved in church the way she is at such a young age.”

I think about my mother. “It’s a long story.”

“Do you think she really wants to be that way?”

“I think it’s safe for my sister. Shreese needs to be dependent on something. In this case, that something is church. She eats, drinks, and sleeps church.” I grab my tie and put it in my pocket.

“It has to do with your mother leaving a long time ago, doesn’t it?”

“Among other things.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not now. Just be careful with Shreese. She wants to save the world, you included. She’s a little overbearing.”

“Well, I promise I won’t become a holy roller and I won’t ask too many questions.” Adrian rolls over, grabs her house robe, and slides into it. She follows me downstairs and stands at the door as I prepare to leave.

“I will talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

She closes the door behind me as I head for my car. This is the first cool September night we’ve had. The breeze rushes through my clothes and the smell of me and Adrian fills the air around me. I go through the day’s events in my mind and decide the one thing I need to do is call my sister. I haven’t talked to Shreese in several days and I’m overdue for a sister-to-brother talk. I’ll call her tomorrow. Mondays are set aside for her usher board meetings. She usually doesn’t get home until after eleven. I don’t know how she keeps her job at that advertising firm with all the churchgoing she does.

Anyway, I’ll call her Tuesday because I have to tell her that Louise is coming. But right now, all I want to do is go home, hit the shower, and catch the end of
Monday Night Football
.

L
aShawn didn’t come to work today. She left a voice mail that she had to go to school and get her financial aid papers signed. I forgot it was time for her and the other interns to return to school. I was meaning to question her about the remarks she made concerning Adrian when we were all at the reception yesterday. I wanted to also make sure that LaShawn is doing okay. Lately she’s been alienating herself from me and I’ve been wondering why.

The office is quiet except for the chatter of the receptionist, who is on the phone gabbing about some book she was reading. I decide to go and visit Eric and Tim. They both work upstairs in the finance department as accountants.

When I get up there, the first person I see is Simone. I begin to think about Tim and his supposed threesome with her and one of her friends. She sees me heading her way and smiles. Her cat eyes catch my attention, but I keep my pace and distance.

“Hey Greg, how are you?”

“Ms. Lacy, it’s good to see you. I’m doing good, and yourself?”

“Fine. Are you gearing up for the big day?”

“Yeah, and I put you on the invitation list.”

Simone smiles coyly at me. “Thanks,” she says. “I’ll be looking forward to this one. From what I hear, the wedding is going to be simply gorgeous.”

I walk past her, feeling awkward and unsure of what to say. It’s hard talking to someone when you know their secrets. Knowing that Tim had wild, unadulterated sex with Simone and trying to pretend I don’t is difficult.

Eric and Tim are both at their desks when I turn the corner where they sit. Tim is on the phone, so I walk to Eric’s desk instead. He’s leafing through a magazine with Tyra Banks on the cover in a bikini. The magazine is wrinkled and has food stains on it as if Eric has never given it a rest.

“What’s up, E?” I ask.

Eric swivels around in his chair. He has a new haircut that gives more exposure to his green eyes and blond eyebrows. “Nothing, Greg man, just sitting here checking out Tyra.”