Authors: Carl Weber
Lookin' For Luv (24 page)
Anxiously ripping the paper off, Sylvia gasped as she uncovered a stunning painting of an angel. In the comer was Tyrone’s signature.
“I used you as the model for her face. I would wake up at all hours of the night thinking about you and use my memory to paint a little each night.”
“Oh, Tyrone, it’s absolutely beautiful. A true work of art.” She put the painting down and turned to wrap her arms around his waist
“I guess I was God inspired, living here in heaven.” He smiled.
“You are the most romantic man I’ve ever met.”
“Baby, it’s all about you. My job is to make you happy,” he murmured, kissing her deeply.
This was truly all he did want. There was something about this woman, who had been denied any real affection for so long, that made him want to work twice as hard to please her. Even the drug incident had been forgiven, and he didn’t think he could ever excuse someone else’s drug use again in his lifetime. But over the weeks that he thought about it, he realized he couldn’t push her away over one mistake. In his own life he had chosen drugs to escape, and perhaps as she was making all these changes in her life, she got a little scared and needed to escape. Whatever her ultimate reason was, he knew he was crazy about Sylvia and had missed her terribly, so he decided to give her another chance.
“Just being near you makes me happy,” Sylvia told him.
“And you make me happy, Syl. I think we’re really good for each other.”
“Oh. Really? How am I good for you?”
She wanted to be told that she was important to someone. She desperately needed that kind of affection in her life.
“Sylvia, you’ve shown incredible faith in me, encouraging me to reach for my highest goals. Nobody’s ever really done that for me before. You introduced me to the black elite and made me feel like one day I could get out of this place and be one of them.”
“You would want to be like those people at the country club?” Her eyes widened.
“Not really.” Tyrone laughed. “But it is a good feeling to think that your woman believes you have the potential to be accepted there.”
She draped her arms over his shoulders, and they began to slow-dance as she softly sang, “Heaven, I’m in heaven...”
It was six o’clock the next morning when Sylvia awoke. Tyrone was across the room, ironing his shirt for work. She decided that the bathroom could wait a few minutes and lit a cigarette. After their long night of passionate lovemaking, she was a little stiff. Making love to Tyrone had been the most wonderful experience of her life. Not only did she have an orgasm, but she had multiples for the first time in her life.
“Good morning, how are you feeling?” Tyrone asked. He had stopped ironing and sat next to her on the bed.
“A little overwhelmed but good.” Sylvia rested her head in his lap.
“Overwhelmed?”
“Yes, overwhelmed. I’ve been with my husband for twenty years, and until now I never realized how bad he is in bed.”
This thought upset Sylvia, and she stood up and walked into the bathroom to avoid discussing it further with Tyrone. He watched her. The sight of her body made him smile as he remembered how appreciative she was each time he had made love to her that night.
“You want me to make you something to eat before you go to work?” she asked as she came back out of the bathroom. She wanted to do something nice for him.
“No.” He kneeled at the edge of the bed and smiled naughtily. “I think I can find something to eat right here.”
“Tyrone, you’re going to get me started and be late for work.” She giggled.
“No, I won’t. You can drive me.”
He nibbled on her ankle and kissed his way up her thigh, finding the spot Maurice never cared enough to look for. Forty-five minutes later the two of them climbed into Sylvia’s car.
“Damn, I’m gonna be late.” He sounded worried.
“Don’t stress yourself.” She was completely relaxed after Tyrone’s early morning gift. “There’s nothing you can do about it now anyway. I’ll drive as fast as I can. Now, where are we going?”
“Springfield and Francis Lewis. The Alternative High School for Boys.”
Her heart was in her mouth. As large as the New York school system was, it had never occurred to her that he might work at the school where her husband was principal.
This is going to get very complicated,
she thought nervously as they drove away from Tyrone’s building. She knew she would have to choose carefully the time to reveal to Tyrone who his boss really was. For the time being she just wanted to bask in the afterglow of their beautiful reunion.
she thought nervously as they drove away from Tyrone’s building. She knew she would have to choose carefully the time to reveal to Tyrone who his boss really was. For the time being she just wanted to bask in the afterglow of their beautiful reunion.
20
KEVIN
“Two hundred and ninty-seven! Two hundred and ninty-eight! Two hundred and ninty-nine! Ahhh, Three hundred!”
Antoine barely got the words out as he finished the last sit-up. He and Kevin were doing their daily workout in the gym, fitting in one last session before the school closed for the midwinter vacation. Although he was starting to notice results from his workout and diet routine, Antoine would never have a physique like Kevin’s. Yet every time they got together, he would push himself to match Kevin set for set. On this day Kevin decided to work a little harder to see if his buddy would really try to keep up with him. It was a friendly competition.
“You boys working up a good sweat?” Tyrone shouted as he entered the weight room with a wide grin across his face.
“Yeah, and you need to get out of that uniform and start sweating too,” Kevin answered, giving his friend a light hug. “You’re twenty minutes late.”
“Bro, I got my workout last night.”
He wished he could tell his friends about his relationship with Sylvia without ruining his reputation as a ladies’ man. His relationship was definitely smoothing the rough edges of his personality, but there was no way he was about to let his boys know it.
“So you finally hit that little freak you been telling me about, huh?” Kevin gave him a high-five. “I hope you put it on her?”
“Let’s put it this way.” Tyrone hesitated for a second, trying to get his lies straight. “Tesha Walker asked me to be her baby’s daddy last night.” He laughed along with Kevin.
“What’s so funny about that?” Antoine asked.
“I probably could have gotten some last night myself,” Kevin interjected. He wished sometimes Antoine could just be lighthearted with them.
“You almost got some?” Tyrone grinned in mock amazement. “I thought your girl was trying to get you locked up for harassment.”
“Don’t go there, Tyrone.” Now Kevin was the one becoming serious. “I was talking about that woman, Denise, I told you about.”
“Oh, yeah,” Antoine remembered. “That’s the woman you went to the Knicks game with last night. How’d that go anyway?”
“Perfect, except for one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s white.”
“What! Kevin, what are you doing going out with a white woman?” Antoine was not pleased at all.
“So what?” Tyrone exclaimed. “Was she ugly?”
“Not at all.”
“Then what’s the problem? You said she’s a lawyer. That means she’s got loot.” Tyrone patted Kevin on the back to show his approval. “So, she was fine, huh?”
“You should have seen her, Ty. She’s got this natural blond hair down to her shoulders, with these crystal-blue eyes and an ass like a black woman.”
Even with his reservations about interracial dating, Kevin had to admit Denise was very attractive. She was the kind of woman some would refer to as a trophy.
“Damn, I always wanted to get with a natural blonde.” Tyrone’s voice showed a hint of jealousy. “I once dated this really cute blonde a few times. Then, when she took off her clothes, I found out she was a brunette. Damn, was I pissed.”
“Yeah, I could see you getting mad. The thought of sleeping with a woman who’s blond down there is kind of exotic.” Kevin laughed as Tyrone continued his story.
“Man, that girl took off her clothes and I was like a kid whose parents bought him books for Christmas. The books were nice, but they definitely weren’t what he wanted.”
“I wonder if Denise is a true blonde?” Kevin asked himself.
“There’s only one way to find out. Why didn’t you hit that last night anyway?” Tyrone asked curiously. “I thought you said from now on, if a woman wants you to stay, they’ve got to give you some play.”
Meanwhile Antoine’s objections had practically been forgotten by the two friends as they bantered about sex with a blonde. Although Antoine didn’t consider himself to be prejudiced, he had strong feelings against interracial dating, feelings he had assumed Kevin shared with him. He sat listening to Tyrone and Kevin with displeasure on his face. He had to speak his mind.
“Kevin, what the hell are you doing going out with a white woman? I thought you were against interracial dating.” He folded his arms and waited for an answer like an angry parent.
“I didn’t even know she was white,” Kevin protested.
“Oh, sure, she put a magic spell on you so you couldn’t see she was white. Give me a break. I can’t believe you would insult my intelligence like that.”
“It was a blind date. We met on the 1-900-BLACK-LUV line, and she didn’t tell me her race, so I assumed she was black. I had no idea what she looked like until we met at the Garden.”
“Well, if that’s the case, why did you go out with her once you saw her?” Antoine was about to start his pro-black speech.
“The woman had courtside tickets to the Knicks game. Do you really think I was going to miss that because she was white?” He was exasperated. He had struggled enough with his own conscience on this issue and didn’t want to have to explain himself to Antoine. As long as he didn’t plan to make this a steady thing, what difference did it make if he went to the game with her?
“Besides, Antoine,” he continued, “if you had been in the same situation, I really wonder if you would have left the woman standing alone in front of the Garden. What can one night hurt? It’s not like I’m taking her home to meet Mama.”
“I never figured you for a sellout, Kevin. I really thought you were one of the righteous brothers. Dating a white woman just to see a basketball game? That’s pathetic.” He wouldn’t even look him in the eye.
“Wait a minute, Antoine. Who the hell are you to call me a sellout?” Kevin was defensive. “Besides, I was fifteen minutes late. What was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry, miss, I know you’ve been waiting in the cold for almost twenty minutes, but I can’t go out with you now that I know you’re white.’ I don’t care what your feelings are about whites, Antoine. My mama didn’t raise me to be rude. Denise has feelings too.”
“The hell with her feelings!” Antoine shouted. “Did you think about the feelings of the sisters that saw you with her?” He picked up his gym bag to leave. He was visibly upset. “If you really want blond hair and blue eyes, Kevin, you can find them right here in your own race. Black women come in any shade or hair color you want. All you have to do is look.”
“Hold on, Antoine. You’re getting this all wrong. I still don’t believe in interracial relationships. I went out with her not to be rude. I told her that we couldn’t see each other again.” Antoine tried to hide a smile when he heard this. He dropped the gym bag, indicating he was staying to hear more.
“Don’t listen to this fool, Kevin,” Tyrone interrupted. “Antoine’s got his own agenda.”
“I don’t have any agenda.” Antoine hoped Tyrone wasn’t going where he thought.
“Yes, you do.” Tyrone smiled ear to ear. “I guess you never told Kevin your pops left your mom for a white woman.”
Kevin was stunned. He had always thought Antoine’s dislike for white women was a little obsessive. But now it made sense. Antoine had told him once that his mother had committed suicide five years earlier and that he didn’t speak to his father because of it. Now Kevin saw the bigger picture. His mother’s death must have had something to do with her husband leaving her for a white woman.
“Are you talking about my mother?” Antoine glared at Tyrone.
“No, man, I would never do that.” He was serious. “I just think that you should let Kevin make up his own mind and not prejudice him because of the problems you’ve had. I mean, white people have done right by me.”
Kevin watched his two friends during their disagreement. Both of them made good points. Tyrone was sold on the fact that a white counselor at his drug program was the one who had put him on the right track. The woman had gone above and beyond for Tyrone when she recognized his talent. Antoine, on the other hand, felt strongly that blacks and whites should be separated, because it would lead to the loss of identity for blacks. As the argument heated up, Kevin jumped in.
“I know the white people in your program helped you out a lot, Ty.” Kevin got between his friends to separate them. “The truth is, I have a lot of white friends back home too. But this isn’t about friendship for me. This is about the feelings of my mama, my sisters, and every other black woman who is offended by a brother and a white woman.”
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