The Cost To Play (Slivers of Love) (8 page)

Raheem, Felix and P
hở
sat in the Mexican restaurant laughing and having a good conversation with their friend Toshi.  The four had been friends since ninth grade math club at Lakeside High School. Each man was successful in his own field, but Felix was the only one who was married.

Felix Masterson, the science genius had come from a meager background and was that student who lived in the trailer park close to the school.  The ongoing joke between them was that Felix used his knowledge of science to create drugs in the ‘90s that helped him create a slush fund for college.  His parents, both hard working people, had no idea what he had been up to. The saving grace was his grades that, along with some help from Toshi, earned him a full scholarship to Princeton. Felix returned home when his parents became ill.  He took a job with a local pharmaceutical company and took a major cut in his salary, but he was still happy.  His wife Jenny, was a really sweet woman, who looked forward to giving him a home full of squalling blonde children.

Raheem Thomas, on the other hand, lived a different lifestyle.  He was shocked when in the eleventh grade he
came out
to his friends.  None of the group seemed to care since they always knew and it had no real bearing on how they regarded their friend. The friendship meant everything to Raheem, whose father suffered a heart attack when he learned of his son’s sexual orientation. His father’s love for his son was not diminished, especially when Raheem’s sister began popping out babies, year after year.  Finally after child number six, Mr. Thomas asked the doctors to tie her tubes. There was no disappointing his parents when their very large, burly son, who had grown a full beard at the age of 15, received his acceptance letter to Harvard. He had a partial scholarship, but with a supplemental scholarship from Hirishito’s Steak House and one from King’s Beauty Supply, he made it through the first year, earning more scholarships.  Dr. Raheem Thomas came home to take an Assistant Dean position at Paine College in the math department.

  
Ngu
yễ
n HànP
hở
held an MBA and was also a Yale graduate like Toshi.  As th
e
eldest son, a few years back, he took over his family’s beauty supply stores and nail salons, doubling the profit margin and retiring his parents.  It was no secret that under his skin, he resented a $150,000 dollar education that was used to make sure plus sized women were pleased when his employees asked, “
you want design?”
He also felt some resentment toward Toshi who never had to work in his family’s restaurants.  His friend Toshi never came home from work smelling like Hirishito’s secret sauce. He would come home smelling like nail acrylic and hair weave. The resentment didn’t go very far when he came to terms with no longer having a student loan, his BMW was paid for and he’d made  a sizeable cash deposit on his five bedroom home on Stallings Island.

All in all, they were good guys and really good friends who truly understood the strength and weaknesses of each member of the group.

“Hey you,” a sweet voice said. Toshi looked up and saw Jayne standing there. A huge grin covered his face as he rose to greet the woman who was costing him a few sleepless nights. He embraced her as if he had not seen her in a year. He closed his eyes as he inhaled her subtle fragrance; something his friends easily noticed. With his arm still about her shoulders, he turned Jayne to face his friends.

“Jayne,” he said as he looked down at her upturned face. “This is Raheem, P
hở
, and Felix.  Guys, this is Jayne.”

She was surprised when each man rose and shook
her hand. A bigger surprise was the diversity of the group.  Toshi asked, “are you here alone? You are more than welcome to join us.”

Jayne was about to turn and point to the table where her friends were sitting, but her hand came into contact with RaShunda’s boobs. Her friends were all standing behind her. They were scrutinizing Toshi, who had yet to remove his arm from around her shoulders. Jayne cleared her throat. “These are my friends.”

“This is Rashunda,” who added an “hmmmnnhhn,” with a sister girl neck roll. “Tamika,” who instantly asked what Toshi did for a living. And Brionna, who spontaneously felt the need to say, “look at you with your own little Rainbow Coalition over here.”

Jayne let out a large swoosh of air followed by laughter as she introduced Toshi’s friends to the group. Brionna’s eyes first went to Raheem, then to Felix, and eventually settled on P
h
ở
, who looked over his shoulder to see who she was staring at. When his eyes came back front, he realized that Brionna was eyeing him. Just to be certain, he looked over the other shoulder.  Nope. No one was behind him.

Jayne sensed P
hở
’s discomfort. “Well, it was nice to meet you all.”  She patted Toshi on the chest, but his arm tightened about her shoulders. He had kissed her in front of his sister. He needed to know if Jayne would acknowledge him in front of all of their friends. He looked down at her, as she leaned upward and placed a feathery kiss upon his lips. “See you tomorrow night. Don’t forget the Champagne.”

There.

It was tangible.

It was in the open.

Toshi sat down at the table with three sets of eyes affixed on him. “What?”

P
hở
was the first to say something. “He’s smiling.”

This remark was followed by Felix. “He closed his eyes when he hugged her.”

Raheem was the last to weigh in. “She seems so nice and normal Toshi. What is she doing with you?

Toshi was offended
. “What do you mean Raheem?” He also addressed the other comments. “I smile all the time.” He paused. “What do you mean, I closed my eyes?”

All three men were shaking their heads in unison, telling him no,
but Toshi was not hearing it. “I don’t like the implications here fellas.”

Raheem spoke up
. “Let’s see. There was Cindy, Candy, Karla, Mandy Rae, Jaqueeda, Gloria, Bronetta, Jonqueeta, Melissa Ann….”

“What are you trying to say Raheem
? That I am some kind of dog?”

P
hở
spoke up. “No Toshi. You are a wolf. An insatiable wolf that stalks and hunts all the time. Women are not safe around you. You go through them and toss the scraps aside.”

Toshi was getting angry
. “That is not true.”

“Dude, I was your college roommate. Th
ere was always different women in and out of your bed. At one point, I thought your dick was going to go on strike for being overworked,” P
hở
said with a straight face.

Felix added his two cents
. “She seems like a really sweet woman Toshi.”

“She is
. I really like her,” Toshi said in his defense. “I don’t just toss women aside!”  He needed his friends to understand. “There is a red hot fire burning inside of me. I need the right woman to make it burn blue. You know what I am saying?”

Raheem would not let it go
. “Do you like her, like her?” Which was a running joke in high school. They all knew Toshi never stayed with one woman for long. “Besides, your parents would have a cow.”

Toshi sipped at his tea
. “They already know.”

P
hở
was shaking his head.  He had come home once with a white girl and his parents treated him as if he had picked up the local crack head. He could only imagine how Toshi’s parents had reacted.

“My father went into one of his speeches
. My sister choked on some of my Mother’s burnt turkey.” He told his friends.

“What did your Mother do
?” Felix asked.

“She passed out in the cranberry sauce
.” This statement brought tons of laughter from the group.

Toshi got quiet
. “There is something about Jayne.”

“You haven’t slept with her yet have you?” Raheem asked.

“That is none of your business. It is also not something that is discussed among gentlemen,” Toshi said with a very straight face.

All three friends chi
med in at the same time. “No, he hasn’t!”

“I only met her i
n October and we are getting to know each other.  Like I said, I really like her.” His eyes dropped to the table.

Felix said what they all had been thinking, “yeah, but you have got to get through those friend
s first.”

P
hở
, always the last to add his two
đồ
ng t
iề
ns
said
,
“I think that Tamika girl scanned my credit cards through my wallet.”

Raheem piped up
. “Yeah, P
hở
. She zoomed in on you.”

Both Felix and Toshi in unison said, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…..”

As the men finished the verse of the song, Toshi heeded Raheem’s words. He had to get through those friends first. It wasn’t the friends he was worried about.  A larger concern was for Jayne. 
Was he a good man?
  If what his friends believed and said about him was true, then he needed to be better. He had taken a seat at the playing table and tossed in his chips. He was all in. A woman like Jayne deserved his best and he was going to be a better man.  He was going to filter his words and really think about her feelings and what she needed. 
I only hope it will be what I  need.

Jayne fussed and primped all day getting ready for dinner with Toshi.  The guest bathroom was double checked three times, the toilet cleaned twice, the special towels hung, and the soap containers refilled.  A quick peek under the sink to ensure no personal items were in this bathroom, making certain that everything was okay as she ran the vacuum over the carpet.  Still not satisfied, she added some carpet freshener and vacuumed it again. Although she had no plans for him to be in her bedroom, she changed the bed covers, put on the good comforter and the nice pillow shams, before running a dust cloth over all the furniture.

While she was at the market yesterday, she had picked fresh seasonal fruit for the centerpiece on the table.  The pound cake had come out of the oven and she was roasting apples with cinnamon to go on the cake. At four o’clock she showered and pressed her clothing. She didn’t know why, but she put on a nice set of matching underwear and laughed at herself for taking the extra step. 
Nothing is going to happen, but just in case there is a little over the clothes action, I am wearing the good stuff
. It had been a while for Jayne, but she could wait a bit longer. She still wasn’t sure about Toshi.  Her girlfriends had plenty to say, but this was her time. For whatever reason she and Toshi had been brought together, was yet to be seen.

At five o’clock she removed the apples and put the parmesan dusted fingerling potatoes in the oven.  The table was set with her good dishes and crystal wine glasses.  The doorbell rang and Jayne nearly jumped out of her skin.  She peeked through the keyhole to find Brionna standing at the door. “Come in,” she told her as she cracked the door.

“Why are you answering the door in your drawers, girl? I thought you were just having him over for dinner?”

“I still have to cook the fish and I don’t want the smell in my clothes.” Brionna looked about the apartment.

“I wanted to see if you needed help with anything?”

Jayne looked about the small two bedroom space. “Nope. I’m good.” 
What is this about?

“Jayne,” she said with the sisterly look. “This guy….” She chewed on her lip a bit as Jayne waited to see what her friend had to say.  “He makes you smile, and honestly, you looked good standing next to him.”

“Thanks Bri. Did you come all the way over here to tell me this?”

“No girl. I came to bring you this.” She opened her large purse and removed a love basket, filled with flavored condoms, a penis ring, a vibrating egg, gels, rubs, and some other items that made Jayne blush.

“I don’t need any of that stuff! We are just having dinner and watching the ball drop.  Take that freaky shit back to your house!”

“Girl you never know. Those Asian men like this kind of shit.” She headed toward the master bath. “I will just leave this under the sink for future use.”

“No, Brionna! Get out!” She was laughing as she shoved her friend out the door.

At 5:45, she dropped the asparagus in the pot, seared the sea bass, and covered the finished plates with cloches and sat them in the warm oven.  The dishes used to cook the meal were washed and put away. She even made Toshi a container
to go. At 6:10, he knocked at the door.

Her heart beat sped up as she checked her slacks, patted her hair, and opened the door to welcome him in.  She could barely see him behind the gigantic bouquet of flowers.

“Champagne, flowers, and…” He handed her a golden box. “…of course, chocolates.” Jayne placed the flowers in a vase and added them to the table. “I hope you are hungry, because dinner is ready.”

“It smells delicious. Is that sea bass?”

“Yes.” She had not seen him eat anything other than chicken and fish, so she had hoped that the bass was a good choice. “The guest bath is here when you are ready to wash your hands.”

Out of habit, Toshi removed his shoes and stepped into the bathroom. One wall was painted orange, adorned with abstract paintings. The shower curtain was an unusual pattern that had matching hand towels. The bathroom even had orange balls of soap and tangerine liquid soap.  He was curious and opened the second adjoining door to the bathroom which led into her home office.   One wall was painted candy apple red and the other was granny smith green.
What was with the fruit theme?

It did not take Toshi long before he noticed the sewing machine and the fabric from Joann’s.  She had gone back to purchase it.  Jayne called out to him, “get out of my office Toshi Yamaguchi!  Stop being nosey!”

He could not help but laugh, because she had caught him dead to rights. “Get over here so I can feed you this lovely dinner that I have been slaving over all day!”

As he walked to the table, she took him all in.  The navy slacks and soft cream colored shirt with a navy zippered sweater with a hood.  His cologne was faint, but smelled fresh like an ocean. His hair was a bit spiky on top, with the rest in a ponytail. The goatee that surrounded those luscious lips, had been trimmed since yesterday.  Through the sweater, she could see the muscle definition of his arms. As he took his seat, she could see the muscles in his thighs. 
Damn, he was fine
!
Covered in sexy and wrapped up in a blanket filled with a mouthful of “oh yeah”
.

She removed the cloches from the plates and poured the wine. “Bon appetit.”

Toshi eyed the plate and everything looked wonderful. “
Itadakimasu,
Jayne.” She strained her mind, remembering the words, “
Dou itashimashite
,” as she watched him sink his fork into the bass.  It flaked apart. When he put a fork full in his mouth, his eyes rolled up in his head. He moved on to the potatoes, then the asparagus, saying nothing as he cleared the plate. Suddenly, as if he remembered he was not alone, he looked up and started to laugh. “I didn’t realize how
hungry I was, and it was so delicious, I got lost in the food.”

“I will take that as a compliment
.” The kettle sang as she prepared the water for his tea.

“Jayne,” he said as she poured his tea and removed his plate
. “You are so talented and warm. Why are you single?”

She kowtowed and served his tea
. “Most men don’t want what I want.  They want what I represent, but not who I am or what I am.”

“What would that be
?” he asked as he sipped on the perfectly steeped tea.

“Independent, free thinking
, and an artist,” she told him as she cleared her plate and returned to the table with dessert. He watched her spoon the warm apples over the pound cake, pressing the whipped topping just enough to make the perfect white, sweet flower. The plate of dessert looked restaurant quality. It tasted that way as well.

“Jayne
. Can I take a few slices of this cake with me?”

“Of course
. I made you a to go plate of everything I cooked tonight.”

“G
ochisosama,”
he told her.
 

Jayne replied
, “Deshita.”

This woman, in Toshi’s opinion was incredible. There had to be something wrong, or weird about her that he had yet to spot. “If you keep cooking meals like this, you are going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”

“Don’t worry. My cousin is a cop and I have pepper spray and a gun.” It was said as nonchalantly as if she had just gotten two loaves of bread on sale at the store. He really liked her dry sense of humor.

On the dining room wall was a painting that covered the entire space.  Toshi was entranced by the detail and colors of the abstract rendering.  When he stood, it was like looking at different painting altogether.  He moved to the living room to look at it from far away and was still able to see something he had not spotted earlier.  ‘This painting is amazing!” He moved closer to examine the brush strokes.

‘Thank you,” she said shyly.

“You did this?”

“Yes. The one above the couch as well.”

The painting above the couch was of a family of four.  The sadness in the mother’s eyes was haunting. The distance in the father’s eyes and expression said something was wrong.  The picture depicted the all American family. Even the girl in the pretty pink Sunday dress looked as if her smile had been painted on.  Well it had been. He shook his head as he tried to understand everything that Jayne was saying in her brush strokes. She stood beside him and his arm slipped around her waist. He was seeing something special and a view into her inner world. He held his words.  She had accused him of having no filters, but his new mission with her was to sift everything that came out of his mouth.

Jane leaned into his strength as his thumb absently rubbed at her hip. His gaze still transfixed on the painting.  “Come, Toshi. Have a seat.”

He eyed her with a new respect.  The art spoke volumes about her private pain.  The painting spoke of something unsettled which still resided in her and until it was resolved, there would never be a full-time man in her life.  The man in the painting had deserted her and let her down.  Toshi silently promised he would not add to her pain.

The remainder of the evening they chatted. She spoke of her job and he talked about his. The subject eased around to dating history and Toshi was honest. He told her that he had been with Ai for nine months, which was probably the longest he had dated anyone.

Jayne confessed that she had been on three disastrous dates since breaking up with George. “My last date was so horrible, that I refused to go out with anyone soon afterward,” she confessed. Toshi snubbed the idea that the dates had been
that
bad until Jayne told him about Phillip. 

“The evening started out fine.” She told him about dinner at his place with some Chinese takeout.  He had chosen a movie that she wanted to see, but when Phillip was informed about how she liked to Cosplay, he took it to mean something else.  “He excused himself to get more comfortable and I understood. He was still in a tie from work.”  Toshi asked if he came back in draw string pants and his shirt opened to the waist.

“That would have been an improvement over what he came back wearing, Toshi.” She sipped at her wine. “That fool walked out of his bedroom in a leopard Zentai suit with the crotch missing! His junk was on the ready and it was pointing at me, like it was saying, “you’re next”!”

The visual that formed in Toshi’s mind, made him burst into laughter. “He told me that he liked to play dress up too. He said this through the zipper that covered his mouth, as he started prancing about the room, like he was stalking his prey.  He even froze in the middle of the floor and licked at his knuckles like some big old special needs patient who thought he was a cat!” This caused Toshi to fall over on the couch in gut busting guffaws.

Toshi was choking because he was laughing so hard. When he was able to speak, he said, “what did you do Jayne?”

“I told him to hang on. I have my suit in the car. Let me go grab it and we can play together.”

Toshi was still chuckling, mainly at the expression on her face.  She was scowling like she had smelled something horrible. “Did you come back Jayne?”

“Hell no! I got in my car and drove my happy ass home!” Toshi laughed harder. “I saw that jackass last week in Macy’s, He spotted me and tried to dart out of my way so I wouldn’t see him. He ran into the pillar, nearly knocking his silly butt out.”  Toshi was holding his stomach asking her to stop. He was worried he was going to lose his dinner from laughing so hard.

“It’s not funny Toshi.  When men find out I like to draw comics and Cosplay, they automatically think I like to dress up and play kinky sex games.”

“I wondered as much myself, especially when I saw that basket under the bathroom sink.”

Jayne gasped. “I can’t believe Brionna left that shit here! And why are you snooping under my sink?”  She jumped up and ran to the bathroom, grabbing the basket and throwing the items in the trash. This only made him laugh harder. It took almost an hour for him to stop cracking a smile every time he looked at her.

The time had sped by. It was 11:55. Where had six hours gone?  He was still chuckling as she gathered the champagne glasses and handed him the bottle.  She turned on the television to see Ryan Seacrest prepping the crowd.  Jayne handed him his coat, grabbed her pistol from the closet, and drug him out to the balcony. Toshi’s eyes were glued to the gun. She
really
had a gun!

The countdown began. At the stroke of midnight Toshi popped the cork, poured them both a glass, and watched Jayne shoot into the wood line. “Would you like to shoot it as well?”

He shook his head no and handed her the glass. Jayne intertwined her left arm into his like a wedding toast with the right hand still holding the revolver. “Happy New year Toshi!”

“Happy New Year Jayne,” he said as he lowered his head and kissed her tenderly.

He placed his free hand on her waist and was careful not to stand too close. He deepened the kiss just a bit and then pulled away. She was still holding a gun.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening Jayne.  Is there anything I can do to help you clean up?” He rinsed the glasses and collected the bag of his to go plates.

Disappointment covered her face.
What had you expected? You are still holding a gun
.