Raging Blue (24 page)

Chapter 53

Gavin

Lisa squealed with joy as she planted a juicy kiss on Gavin’s cheek before jumping out of the bed, leaving him behind.

“I’m excited and nervous about today,” she said about their dinner plans.

“Why?” Gavin asked as he lay back with his hands behind his head.

“You know…because of all of…this.” Lisa waved her hand around the room. “And you,” she added, then walked back and stood at the side of the bed, smiling down at Gavin. “I’m happy,” she said and sat beside him. “I really like being with you.”

Gavin pulled up on his side, leaning on his elbow. “I like being with you, too,” he said before leading her lips to his with the help of his finger on her chin. “Can we be together again?” he teased, licking his lips at her bare breasts.

“Stop playing, Gavin.” She swatted at his playful hand as he traced the edge of her nipples. “I’m serious.”

She paused, presumably thinking about what she wanted to say next. Gavin hoped she wasn’t going to get too deep.

“I’m happy things are going well with us. I wasn’t sure if we would make it this far, but when you took me to meet your father…” Lisa looked as if she were miles away and took a reminiscent breath. “I knew then that I was in a good place. Now we’re going to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family!”

Gavin smiled. It was all he could do as he second-guessed his motives for the umpteenth time. Taking Lisa to meet his father was one thing. It kept him in control of their level of commitment, but since that day, things had moved fast—at least
from his perspective. Meeting her family could be too much too soon—especially with his mind oscillating between Lisa and his concerns for Blue. Just as he anticipated, Lisa brought up the fact that he had referred to her as
his
girl
in front of his father. He let her hang with the idea because it kept him distracted. And now it had been at least a week since Blue’s last call, which he hadn’t answered.

Gavin assumed if he kept ignoring her, she’d go away. However, when she finally stopped calling, he'd found himself wondering about her. Whenever his phone rang, he’d snatch it up to see who was calling. The friend in him wanted to reach out to her just to make sure she was okay. The lover that she'd coaxed out of him was still
jaded at being used. He wanted to forget her and Jay. Lisa was helping, but her presence was more like a band-aid fruitlessly covering a gaping wound.

Lisa continued smiling at Gavin. He pulled her in for a long kiss, his way of responding without actually responding. He’d come to using that tactic whenever Lisa took the conversation to a place he didn’t want to journey into. Most times it worked, as they would end up making love.

At first, Lisa gave in, but then pulled back. “Gavin,” she said, searching his eyes, “you never say much when we start talking about where our relationship is going.”

He tried hard to keep his game face on. “What does that mean?” he asked, finding himself at a loss for words. He knew playing dumb wouldn’t go over well with Lisa, but he wanted to buy a little time. “What am I supposed to say?”

“Say something. Your actions seem to comply with where I think we are in this relationship, but your words—or lack of—make me question what’s really going on between us.”

Gavin sat up fully. “Lisa, I’m cool with us. Let’s just enjoy this ride without having to put pressure on the situation by trying to identify exactly where we are every step of the way.”

Lisa sat quietly, gnawing on her bottom lip. After a while, she huffed. "Okay," she said with a hint of disappointment. "We'd better start getting ready."

“Yeah,” Gavin agreed and headed to the bathroom.

He liked Lisa, but couldn’t help holding out for something he constantly told himself he didn’t want.

The only thing that kept him from picking up the phone or reaching out to Blue after she'd stopped calling was the fact that Lisa was in his life. With her, he was safe—at least until he ran into Blue at some point, which he knew was very likely to happen since they operated in similar circles. Maybe by the time that happened, she would be completely out of his system.

“Come on. We need to get moving or we’re going to be late,” Lisa said, leading him to the bathroom by the hand. “It’s a good thing I packed a bag last night. We can leave and head to Brooklyn straight from here.”

Gavin just smiled again. He hadn’t committed to the idea of letting her sleep over, but again, he didn’t protest and it'd happened. Eventually, he knew he’d have to show up at the other end of their conversations or else he’d find himself in a one-sided situation that would be difficult to escape.

They managed to get dressed quickly. Wearing a tunic dress that ended mid-thigh but continued with another inch of fringe, Lisa looked like she was fit to grace the runways of Paris. Her strong legs robbed Gavin of his focus. He attempted to complement her look with a polished flair of his own. A crisp, butter-colored, button-down, French-cuffed shirt, monogrammed cufflinks, and brown slacks with his dress shoes did the trick for him. Lisa smiled her approval as they walked out the door.

On the ride over the bridge, Gavin found himself worrying about Blue spending her first Thanksgiving alone. His second concern was meeting Lisa’s family, wondering if this would push him further along in the relationship as he continued to participate from the sidelines. He felt like a benched basketball
player who had no control or impact on whether or not his team made it to the playoffs. If they played well, he’d reap some of the benefits, but if they didn’t, he could safely say he hadn’t actually contributed to the loss. The passive position wasn’t something he vied for. It just seemed safe.

Gavin finally tuned in completely to Lisa’s conversation as they exited Manhattan by crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge.

“My sister and I are worlds apart, and my mother…well…let’s just say she speaks her mind. Their mouths may be a bit much, but they’re harmless,” Lisa said.

“Okay. I’ll be fine. They can’t be any worse than my family. You haven’t met my cousins,” he chimed in and laughed as if he’d been mentally present for the entire conversation.

Lisa laughed. “Oh, I’d beg to differ. They may give your cousins a run for their money. You only get one family, so I have to accept them. Got to love ‘em.”

Lisa directed Gavin to a bustling neighborhood in the Crown Heights section of
Brooklyn which featured a blend of stylishly renovated brownstones juxtaposed against a few dilapidated eyesores. A colorful tapestry of ethnicities sprinkled the block. It was unseasonably cold for the end of November as cold air whipped through the streets. A few pedestrians had wrapped themselves in winter gear to protect themselves from the elements, while others hung out on stoops without coats, as if it were the dead of spring.

Lisa’s mother’s house offered a modest facade that didn’t compete with the fancy finishing touches of the newly renovated homes, but it also didn’t fall among the unkempt models that lacked attention and curb appeal. Lisa’s mother greeted them at the door with her head cocked and one eye shut as the smoke from her Newport spiraled in the air. She took a deep pull, twisted her lips, and let the smoke out the side of her mouth while keeping her eyes on Gavin.
Popping the cigarette out of her mouth, she held it low beside her thigh as she leaned in to give Lisa a one-armed embrace.

“Hey, baby!” she greeted. Her husky voice defied her petite presence. She was a darker version of her daughter, but slightly thicker around the edges.

Lisa wrapped both arms around her mom and kissed her on the cheek. Then she turned to Gavin. “Ma, this is Gavin Gray. Gavin, this is my mother, Sandra Langley, but you can call her, Sandra. She can’t stand for a grown person to call her Mrs. Langley.”

“You got that right,” Sandra quipped. “Y’all come on in here,” she said, stepping aside for them to pass. She sized Gavin up from head to toe as he passed. “Um! Nice,” she commented while following behind him. “Lee’s here,” she announced as they made their way into the house.

The atmosphere held a warm and jovial existence. Family memories captured in varying frames gave life to the beige walls. Large cozy furniture filled the room, along with lively conversations from holiday guests and loud voices emanating from the flat-screen TV perched on a black stand near the front entrance. A savory medley of delicious aromas filled the space, causing Gavin’s mouth to water. Immediately, he recognized the smell of collard greens, turkey, and the sweet scent of candied yams.

“Hey, Lee,” sang a thick, short woman who also favored Lisa.

Two rambunctious look-a-likes zoomed around Lisa and latched onto her legs, giggling their greetings to their favorite auntie. Lisa lifted each boy one by one and snuggled her nose into their puffy cheeks.

“Hey, Angela,” Lisa said, leaning over to kiss the slightly shorter woman. “Gavin, this is my sister Angie.” Lisa paused as Gavin smiled and shook Angela’s hand. “Everyone, this is my…” Lisa looked at Gavin “…friend Gavin. Gavin, this is my brother-in-law Rob, my uncle Hubert, my aunt Leslie, and my nephews Ethan and Evan. Everyone, say hello and be on your best behavior. I don’t want you scaring my company away.”

“Oh girl, hush!” teased a heavyset woman, who Lisa introduced as her aunt. After a few attempts, she finally pulled herself up off the couch and waddled toward Gavin for an embrace. “Hi, baby. Nice to meet you. You sure are handsome. Um,” she said before turning her attention to her niece. “Chile, come here and give me some sugar!” Leslie squeezed her niece tight, then pulled her back at arm’s length and took a good look. “You pretty, but is that all the dress you have? ‘Cause your ass is out!” she said, attempting to look behind Lisa. “You bet not bend over or we gonna see all your goods,” she added before waddling back to her spot on the couch.

Lisa rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“What’s up, man?” Lisa’s brother-in-law greeted Gavin with a firm handshake.

“It’s good to meet you.”

“Thanks, man. Good to meet you, too,” Gavin said to Rob, but his mind was still stuck on Aunt Leslie’s comment to Lisa about her dress. The woman was bold and he couldn’t tell whether she was joking or not.

Uncle Hubert stood behind Rob, ready for his turn in the receiving line. “Don’t pay my wife too much attention. She has never been able to control her mouth. Stuff hits the brain and out the mouth it comes. It’s nice to meet you, young man. Lee must really like you if she’s bringing you around the family. I wish y’all the best, and hope I don’t ever have to hunt you down and shoot you,” he said while shaking Gavin’s hand. The smell of whiskey sailed past Gavin’s nose.

Gavin chuckled at Hubert’s wisecrack, until he looked up and realized Hubert wasn’t smiling.

“Uh, it’s great to meet you, too, sir,” he replied and turned to Lisa, who didn’t seem moved by her uncle’s threat.

“Dinner’s ready!” Sandra announced.

Everyone quickly filed into the narrow dining room and took their places
at a large oak table set for ten. Lisa’s nephews scrambled to sit on either side of her, until their father ordered them to sit near him.

“Auntie has company. You two sit here by me. You’ll have plenty of time to hang with auntie,” Rob instructed.

“You need to come to Brooklyn more, Lee. The boys really miss you,” Angela said.

“I know. Maybe I’ll come by, pick them up, and let them spend the weekend with me. I’ve been so booked up lately that I’ve barely had time for myself. I’ll have to do it soon before all the Christmas parties kick in. I’m scheduled for a lot of holiday events. But, my boys come first. Right, boys!”

“Yeah!” they yelled together.

“Auntie, can you take us to the museum again? We want to see the dinosaurs,” one said.

“Yeah. The dinosaurs were fun! I told my teacher about them,” the other said.

“You got it. I’ll pick you guys up, and we’ll go see the dinosaurs and get something to eat.”

“Yes!” one yelled and pumped his fist. The other squealed with laughter along with the rest of the family.

“Alright, boys. Settle down and let Grandma bless the food so we can eat! Let’s bow our heads,” Sandra said, then started rattling off one of the longest Thanksgiving prayers Gavin had ever heard in his life.

Every time she paused, he’d lift his head thinking she was finished. When he saw everyone else’s eyes were still closed except Uncle Hubert’s, which were intently watching him, he’d quickly lower his head and pretend to listen to Sandra’s long-winded supplication.

When Sandra finally finished, Gavin made sure to be the last to lift his head out of respect. He’d only hoped no one had heard his stomach growling. He couldn’t take the scent of all that great smelling food a moment longer. Conversations were limited as the family indulged, but increased by the time everyone got to the end of the first serving. Then the questions came.

“So, how long have you two been dating?” Uncle Hubert asked.

Before either of them could respond, Aunt Leslie shot off a few questions of her own. "You're not one of the metro-down-low-sexuals, are you? A lot of them are real clean cut and dress sharp, just like you."

Lisa and Angie both yelled,” Auntie!”

Uncle Hubert looked at Gavin’s mouth like he was awaiting his answer.