Talk a Good Game (8 page)

I posted two of my favorite
photos, one I had taken at Gloria
’s
wedding and
one while clowning with some girls in my unit, then I republished
my profile.

Feeling slightly hopeful, I sprung
from the couch and grabbed some snacks. I was munching on cheese
puffs and watching the second half of the game while I surfed
Blackfolksmeet.com for a potential match. Veronica wasn’t lying.
There were some fine men on there, which made me wonder if
they
’
re really single or just running
game. Like Rock
’s
tired ass.

Derek Fisher had landed a three pointer when I
noticed an instant message on my screen from a SanMan29.

How are you doing?

Before responding, I clicked on
his photo to get a closer look and frowned. He wasn’t bad looking
although his bald head was like a honeydew melon. But I had to
admit as I scrolled through all his photos, he wasn’t half bad.
Dark skin, big eyes, and there was a cute, boyish look about
him.

Me: Hey. You watching the game?

I figured that would be a good way
to get the conversation going. I hadn’t met a man yet who didn’t
like sports.

SANMAN: Most definitely. Let me
guess, you’re a Celtic fan?

Me: Nope. OKC all day long.

We went back and forth and in the meantime I
received a few messages and Flirts from some other members, but
nobody worth striking up a conversation. I had just returned from a
bathroom break when I noticed another message from SanMan.

SANMAN: I read your profile. Are you bitter?

Bitter?
I
guess I never thought about it like that.

ME: No. I’m not bitter. Just
wiser. I deserve nothing less than love and respect.

Both were things that bastard,
Rock, didn’t know the first thing about.

SANMAN: Just make sure you don’t
take your anger out on every man you meet. You might miss out on
your soul-mate.

I had to smile at his comment. He
was right. I couldn’t blame everyone else for Rock taking my
kindness for weakness.

ME: Thanks for the advice.

He immediately messaged me back.

SANMAN: If you feel like it, give me a call

I waited until after I made dinner
and then I called the number he had messaged me. I couldn’t believe
the way my hands were shaking. He answered after the first
ring.

“
Hello.
”

I turned up my nose. Eww! I didn’t
like his voice. It was all squeaky and soft like a little
boy.

“
Hey this is Nyree.”

“
Hi Nyree. My name is Jeremy
Anthony Lee Samuels, Jr.”

“
Damn, you have a long name!” I
said, trying to break the ice and expected him to laugh but I guess
he didn’t think it was funny. “What should I call you?”

“
My friends call me
Jeremy.”

“
Hmmm, maybe I can call you
Tony.”

There was a slight pause.
“
I
don’t
know if my father will like
that.”

“
Why?”

“
He’s never
liked that name. He
’s
Jeremy
Lee Samuels, Sr,
” he said by way of an explanation.

He was so damn serious. “Okay then
how about I call you Jeremy?”

“
Okay.”

After a long pause, I was so
through with this conversation. “Well, it was nice talking to
you.”

“
Same here.”

Goodness talking to him was like pulling teeth. I
hung up and went back to surf the website. So far I was striking
out.

JANELLE

I was strapping my stilettos when I heard Kaleb
pulling into my driveway. I moved over to my bedroom window, peeked
outside and smiled with satisfaction when I spotted a charcoal gray
Range Rover with that fine-ass mothafucka sitting behind the
wheel.

“
Cha-ching
bitches,” I murmured under my breath. Kaleb was everything I had
ever wanted and thought I
’
d never find and I
planned to have him and every perk that came with being his woman.
We
’
d been dating for almost three
weeks and I still hadn’t given him my goodies.
There
’s
power in pussy and Kaleb had
been working so hard to romance me, I was almost ready to at least
give the brotha a sniff of my va-jay-jay.

I grabbed my purse and hurried down the stairs and
out onto the porch just as Kaleb came up the walkway with swag that
was all his own. Honey followed at my feet.

“
Hey,” I said and grinned as I
took in his relaxed blue jeans, the gray running shoes on his feet
and a blue Michigan jersey. My man was so sexy.

“
Whassup beautiful?
”

Tilting my head, I stared up into
Kaleb
’s
eyes as he leaned down to kiss
my lips. “Who do we have here?”

I stepped away and beamed down at
my baby. “This is Honey.”

“
Hey Honey!
C
’
mere boy.”

Honey started jumping up and down.
Kaleb smiled while he rubbed him behind his ears. “He’s a cute
little dog.”

“
Thanks. He
’s
my baby.” You can tell
a lot about a man when it comes to your dog. Like I had placed in
my personal ad, Honey and I were a package deal.

“
Where are you taking me?” I asked
for the thousandth time, and hated he still hadn’t told me where we
were going.

“
Damn, you don’t believe in
surprises, do you?” he teased.

“
I just like to know.” Kaleb said
clear my schedule for the entire afternoon. Hell, I don’t do that
for just anybody.

“
We aren’t going
anywhere.”

I frowned. “What do you mean, we
aren’t going anywhere?” Hell, I didn’t spend all morning getting
ready for nothing.

“
We
’
re not going anywhere until you
go back upstairs and put on something
comfortable.”

I glanced down at the blue
sundress and four inch sandals. “This
is
comfortable.
”

“
No it isn’t. I said wear jeans
and tennis shoes. Now get back inside and change.” He swatted me
playfully on the butt then pointed toward the door.

It sounded like a command and
after a controlling father, I normally didn’t take too well to a
man telling me what to do. But for some reason, I actually enjoyed
it when Kaleb did it.

I invited him inside and he played
with Honey, while I disappeared upstairs and frantically searched
my closet for my favorite skinny jeans. I slipped on a fitted
Mizzou t-shirt and a brand new pair of white Nike sneakers. “How is
this?” I said as I stepped back into my living room to find Kaleb
looking at the photographs I had displayed on my book
shelves.

He swung around, and his approval
shone in his eyes. “Good job.”

I
don
’t
know why his approval was so important. I guess I
just didn’t want to miss out on what could possibly be my
life.

“
Who is this?”

I looked over to see which
photograph he was referring to. “That
’s
my brother
Brice.”

He glanced at me skeptically. “You
sure he isn’t one of your men?”

It took everything I had not to
roll my eyes. Men can be so damn territorial. “No,
that
’s
my younger brother. And I don’t
have a man.”

“
Really? Then what am I? Chopped
liver?” He stood there with this serious look waiting for a
response.

Grinning, I stepped over to the
bookshelf. “
I don’t
remember you saying
anything about being exclusive.” Trust me. I wouldn’t forget
something like that.

Kaleb returned the picture frame
to the shelf, then faced me as he said, “Does it have to be spelled
out? I could be out there spending my time with someone else.
Instead, I
’
m here with you.
I
’
m crazy about you. You can’t
tell?”

His declaration was like music to
my ears. I had to do everything I could not to jump for joy. “And
I
’
m crazy about you.”

Kaleb dragged me into his arms and kissed me hard.
Lips, tongue, deep moans. I got it all.

“
C
’
mon. Let
’s
get out
of here before we miss our balloon.”

I couldn’t possibly have heard him
right. “
Balloon?
”

Kaleb just winked and headed out the door.

We arrived at a small field south of town and within
minutes we were boarding a large red hot air balloon.

“
I
’
m so excited! I’ve never had a
man do anything like this for me.”

“
Hopefully this will be the first
of several new experiences.”

My cellphone vibrated in my pocket
and I reached inside then glanced down at the screen. It was Q.
He
’
d been texting all morning about
our weekend and I had yet to respond. Of course he would pick now
to decide to call. I quickly swiped Decline on my phone.

“
Is that your man calling
you?”

I groaned then pressed the button
silencing my ringer. “Nope, just my girl Janelle checking to see
what I got planned.”

“
Then why don’t you answer it?”
Something in his eyes said he didn’t believe me.

I forced a smile. “Because
I
’
m with you and I don’t want any
distraction. When I call her later I’ll have something to talk
about.” It was obvious, Kaleb was no fool. I was used to dudes
taking what I said at face value but, Kaleb was definitely
different from the others I’ve dated. I
’
d be lying
if I didn’t say I was intrigued.

We were hundreds of feet in the
air when Kaleb came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my
middle section. “What are you thinking about?”

I leaned into his embrace. Man I
could get used to this. “I
’
m thinking this is one
of the most rewarding experiences of my life. When I was younger, I
used to sit on my grandmother
’s
front porch and watch
all the balloons go by. I always wondered what it would feel like
to be up this high in the air looking down on the entire
city.”

“
Now you know longer have to
wonder.”

I shook my head as I continued to
gaze down at my city. “
No, I don’t
.”

We stood there, with his arms
wrapped around me, until I felt Kaleb reach down for my hand.
“C
’
mon.”

I swung around and followed Kaleb
to the other side of the balloon where I noticed for the first time
a large wicker picnic basket. “What
’s
this?”

“
Lunch.”

He reached inside and removed a large blue blanket
and spread it onto the floor and took a seat. I lowered beside him
and watched as he removed subs, potato salad, and sodas. The whole
time I was grinning. This man was impressing me more and more by
the second.

“
You are full of
surprises.”

He winked. “Baby, this is only the
beginning.”

That
’s
exactly what a
sistah wanted to hear.

We were almost to my house, when I pulled out my
cell phone and turned it back on. I quickly scrolled through my
voicemail messages. Q had called twice and so had Janelle. I caught
Kaleb giving me a strange look. That dude seriously believed in
having your full attention. I put the phone back in my purse.

“
You
’
re sure you don’t have a man in
your life?” he asked impatiently.

My head whipped around. “Why you
say that?”

“
Because you spend a lotta time
checking your phone.”

He was right. I do, but so what? I liked staying
connected. Besides, I paid the bill not him.

“
I’ve had a wonderful last few
weeks. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better but
like I said before I don’t believe in sharing.”

I had never been one for playing
games or putting all my cards on the table but there was something
about Kaleb. I guess I just really liked him or maybe it was
knowing he was seasoned that made me want to go about this
relationship differently from all the others in the past. Really,
it wasn’t just about the money. Despite being a ready-made family,
this man had almost every quality I wanted in a man and because of
that I didn’t want to bullshit him.