I Saw Your Profile (13 page)

“Yes, as a matter fact I did. I got up with the
birds, but you looked so peaceful, I let you sleep.”

Arianna sat up, snapped off the lid and sipped her
coffee. “Why’d you get up so early?”

“Just used to it I guess. On Sundays, I attend the
nine o’clock service at church, so it’s rare for me to sleep late, no matter
what time I go to bed the night before.”

“I’m going to take a shower right quick and get
dressed. Is there anything you’d like to do before you have to get back on the
road and I have to get the kids?”

“Do you have any of that delicious fruit left?”

“Yeah, why?”

“How about a picnic? It’s a glorious day.”

“Great idea. But it’s not lunch time yet, so I’ll
think of something else to do before we go to the park.”

“How about I join you in the shower. Two heads are
better than one.”

“But you already took one.”

“You can never be too clean, dear.”

“Yeah, right. I’ll bring the condoms.”

“You must be reading my mind.”

After working up a sweat in the shower and
washing it off, Arianna and Chauncey dressed for their outing. Arianna chose
the African American Museum. She’d been meaning to go since she moved to
Philadelphia.

 
After checking out the exhibits, they
stopped at a deli to buy extra food for the picnic basket already stocked with
wine and fruit from the night before. They then drove to Penn’s Landing along
the riverfront in downtown Philly.

They found a spot to spread their blanket,
dined on their feast and snuggled.

Four blankets over, a gay couple kissed.

He sighed in disapproval. “Did you see that? What a
despicable display.”

Arianna lifted her head from his chest. “See what?”

“Those two men over there. Kissing. There are no morals in
this country, anymore.”

Arianna thought her ears were playing tricks on her.
 
Chauncey had given her the impression
during their conversations that he was liberal and open-minded.

“Morals? Are you passing judgment on their lifestyle in
general or are you just upset at their public display of affection?”

He hissed. “Both.”

She sat up. “A little homophobic aren’t we? You didn’t seem
to mind kissing me in public on our first date.”

“Are you saying that you condone their behavior?”

Arianna sighed. “It’s not up to me to condone it or condemn
it. It’s not my life.”

Chauncey sat up. “A little too tolerant aren’t we?”

“I spent a year in Northampton at Smith College. I saw
lesbians kissing, touching and feeling on each other all the time. It’s no
biggie to me. I say live and let live.”

Northampton, Massachusetts was known as a haven for
lesbians.

“You only spent a year there,” Chauncey said. “Obviously
you left for a reason.”

“Not because of the lesbians. I just wanted a more diverse
college experience, period. I wanted to see men on campus and another black
face every now and then.”

“I see. Well I don’t accept homosexuality. It’s an
abomination before my Lord.”

Arianna giggled. “Your Lord? The same lord who said that
fornication was an abomination, right?”

“Yes.”

“So was he okay with you fornicating with me in the shower
this morning? And in my bedroom last night? And every other time you stuck your
thing inside some woman who wasn’t your wife?”

“That’s different.”

“Why? Because it’s heterosexual sex? It’s still bad sex
according to
your L
ord. You
know what? Never mind. Let’s just agree to disagree on this subject and drop
it, okay?”

He pulled her back down to the blanket and covered her with
his arms.

 
“That sounds
like a good idea. Besides, I want to talk about us, not those degenerates.”

“What about us and they’re not degenerates.”

“I want us to spend all our Sundays like this. After we
attend church, of course.”

“That’s a nice fantasy, but we don’t even live in the same
state.”

“That’s not an insurmountable obstacle, my dear, as
evidenced by our presence here today.”

“Not an obstacle to an occasional date, maybe. But, I doubt
we will be seeing each other
every
Sunday. And I don’t do church. I’m
taking a break.”

“Well I’ll go by myself until I win you over.”

“Suit yourself. But I doubt you’ll be winning me over any
time soon, especially if your church teaches intolerance.”

She sat up again. “Anyway, I think you and I have different
ideas about where we go from here so let’s talk about that.”

Chauncey turned on his side and sat up on his
elbow. “We have to make sure to see each other at least once a week. I know it
will be difficult with the children, so I will try to get up here as often as I
can. If I have to, I’ll just get a room until you are comfortable with me being
in the house.”

“See that’s what I mean. Slow down. Let’s take
this one step at time. Seeing each other once a week is great, but it will be a
long time before I’m ready to have you in the house with my kids, so you need to
rethink this getting a room thing. I don’t think you’ll be able to afford to do
that every week.

“You let me worry about that, my dear.”

“Fine.”

 
The next day,
Arianna was checking her personal email from her work computer when she got a
message from Chauncey.

Darling,

I am
sorry for the misunderstanding we had. I’m sure as we get to learn more about
each other, there will be more, not many, but some. And I hope we can handle
them just as we did yesterday, with respect. By accepting each other’s differences
and remaining civil to one another, I know we will be able to overcome
anything. We have a wonderful future ahead of us and I can’t wait to explore
it. In the meantime, I noticed you liked poetry from the books in your house so
I’ve written this poem to express how much I enjoyed making love with you. I
can’t wait to hold you in my arms again. I hope you enjoy it.

Our
bodies intertwined as one an instrument of sound

The
melody was sweet, rhythmically legato, next stanza staccato

Never
missing a beat, or straying off key

Like
cool jazz on a hot summer night

No
words, just the blending of sounds

Striking
just the right chords

Until
we hit the high note

The
crescendo of passion

The
climax of love

The
resolution of a beautiful song

He titled the poem
“Making Music.” She printed it and read the words over and over, the poet in
her scrutinizing each one.

Her reporter’s
analytical brain kicked into overdrive. She liked the piece. It was passionate
and emotional, like something she’d write herself.

 
Perhaps, too emotional.

 
Mr. Good Body was a little too homophobic
to be so in touch with his feminine side.

What
looks too good to be true, usually is.

Arianna couldn’t wrap
her mind around what it was that bothered her about Chauncey, but until she
could, she’d keep her emotional distance, despite his poetic charm.
She wasn
’t trying to get caught
up just to get played.

Chapter Thirteen

Pellets
of sweat dripped from
Chauncey’s face as he strained to balance two hundred pound weights above his
chest.

“Aaahh,”
he bellowed, the sound of his pain bouncing off the walls of the YMCA gym.

“Don’t
be such a wuss,” said Max, who was spotting him.

“Take
the bar already,” Chauncey barked.

Max
grabbed the bar and returned it to the supports on the weight bench.

Chauncey
sat up, breathing heavily.

“Don’t
ever play like that again,” he whined.

Max
threw him a towel. “Buck up, ol’ boy. Ain’t that how you Brits say it?”

“I’m
from Barbados,” Chauncey sneered, still catching his breath.

“Yeah,
but you lay the Queen’s English on thick for the ladies.”

Chauncey
stood up and wiped the sweat from his brow and his neck.

“Speaking
of ladies, I’ve got a paarty coming up in two weeks. Are you in?”

Max
handed Chauncey a bottle of water. He took a long sip.

Can’t,
man. My old lady saw you pullin into a hotel a few weeks ago with that fat
chick you picked up in Virginia. Asked me if you had broke up with Nicole or if
you were creepin.”

Chauncey
nearly choked. He coughed, spitting water on Max.

“Damn,
man! What the hell!” Max shouted as he backed away.

Chauncey
wiped his mouth. “Sorry. Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“This is
the first time I’ve seen you.”

“You
couldn’t call?”

“Man,
please. I don’t call niggas up to gossip.
 
I figure you know how to handle your business.”

“What did
you tell her?” Chauncey asked.

“I told
her it wasn’t our business.”

Chauncey
raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“And
–
she
said she didn’t want me hangin around you anymore.”

Max’s
nonchalance incensed Chauncey. “So, just like that, you’re going to diss me?”

“Have
to, man. I told her I was still gonna work out with you here at the gym, but no
way is she gonna let me do any more parties with you. Too many women, she said.
Plus you bein a dog and all means
I’m
guilty by association.”

“You
didn’t deny it for me?” Chauncey asked.

“Of
course, man. She didn’t believe me, though. She never trusted you and never
liked me goin out of town with you in the first place. Now that she thinks
she’s got proof you’re a dog, she ain’t havin it.”

Chauncey
puckered his lips around the top of his bottle and sucked down the remaining
water.

“What
kind of man are you? You just let your woman tell you what to do?”

“I’m not
like you, London. I love my woman and I’m not gonna lose her behind
your
bullshit. I gave up my player card a long time ago.”

“What does that mean –
you’re not like me? I love my woman, too.”

Max
cackled. “Which one? Nigga you’re like that damn rap song. You got hos in
different area codes.”

“Anybody
can mack women from behind a computer screen,” said Joe, a personal trainer who
had lost several clients to Chauncey.

Joe was
dark brown and muscular, but short and round. He had been eavesdropping from a
nearby weight machine and walked over to join them.

Offended,
Chauncey stood up to face him. “Yeah, but it takes charm and personality to
keep them interested once you meet them and I’ve got that. What have you?”

 
“What have I?” said Joe, mocking
Chauncey’s accent.

“My own
shit. I don’t let women support me.”

Chauncey
lifted his fist, but Max grabbed his arm before he could get off a punch.

“Let me
go!” he hollered. “You’re just jealous because your clients left you for a
real
trainer.”

“No,
they left me because I refused to climb under the sheets to earn a dollar,” Joe
said. “You’ll do anything and anybody to make a buck.”

Max let
go of Chauncey’s arm. “Take it easy, man.” He looked at Joe and continued.
“Man, stop hatin. Let Chaunc here do his thing. If his women like it, I love
it.”

“Whatever,
man,” Joe said, dismissing both men with a wave of his hand.

“Trust
me, these women know the deal,” said Max, picking up a dumbbell. “I learned a
long time ago that women know shit even when they don’t say anything.”

“So your
man here better watch his back then,” Joe said as he turned and walked away.

Chauncey
sat back on the bench, a somber look on his face. He turned toward Max. “Is
your lady going to tell Nicole?”

“Naw.
She ain’t like that. Besides, she barely knows Nicole. She’s more interested in
your influence on me than your relationship.”

“Why?
You’re a big boy.”

“Whatever,
man. Find somebody else for your parties.”

Chauncey
couldn’t stop thinking about Max’s lady seeing him with Janelle as he showered
in the locker room.

Was Max
right? Could she be the one woman who knew how to keep her mouth shut?

Even if
she were, he knew he was on treading thin ice.

Should
he quit while he was ahead? Become a one-woman man?

He
thought about Max’s question.

Did he
love any of the women with whom he was sharing himself?

Chauncey
closed his eyes as he lathered his face, conjuring up mental pictures of each
one.
  

Nicole
appeared first in his mind’s eye. She brought him a feeling of warmth. Truth
was he did love her as far as his definition of love went.

He
wasn’t in love with her, though. Hell he couldn’t remember the last time his
nose was open for a woman. He did know he never wanted to be that vulnerable
again.

His
thoughts traveled to Richmond. He cared about Janelle in his own way. She gave
him peace. Never asked too many questions or made any demands. Always put him
first. All she needed was his company.

The
image of Arianna came next, bringing him a smile and an erection. His
attraction to her was mental and physical. He liked the way she challenged him
and she was definitely a good lay.
 

The
others also served their own purposes.

I don’t
want to give any of them up.

He
wondered, though, whether juggling three leading ladies along with his
supporting cast might prove too much. He was worried about being caught.

He’d
stood up Janelle to see Arianna.

He was
lying so often to Nicole, it was getting harder to keep track.

He
remembered the argument he’d had with Nicole over money. Her trust in him was
surely waning. He needed to do something to make her feel secure.

After
all, her home was where he laid his head.