Just When I Think I’m Over You . . . . .

What was I doing here? It hadn’t been eight hours since Kyla kissed me goodnight. But yet here I was . . . . . at seven in the morning . . . . knocking at her door, anxious to see her again.

“Good morning handsome!”

Before I could step in, her arms were enveloped around my shoulders!

“It’s so good to see you again Chance! Damn, I’ve missed you!”

I was frozen in disbelief! Tangie was normally guarded when it came to expressing her emotions, especially when she could be seen by others.

“It’s good to see you too, lady”

As I recovered from the shock, my arms made their way around my old friend’s waist. Feeling her new and improved body against mine almost made me forget about my night with Kyla! Tangie stared into my eyes and returned the kiss from the other night. Her tangerine lip balm lingered on my lips as she pulled me inside.

“Take off your shoes and come have a seat beloved. Breakfast is almost ready”

The smell of maple sausage filled the immaculate condo. It’d been a minute since I visited a woman’s house and it was actually . . . . clean! On my last couple of dates, the females I went out with didn’t care about their home. When I arrived to take them out, I found myself standing near the door until my date was ready. Whenever I did find the strength to sit, I was always looking over my shoulder. My mind would start playing tricks on me, making me believe something was crawling on me! I always wanted to say something, but I knew they had to see the critters too right? I didn’t want to come across snobbish or what not, so I kept my mouth closed. This was not the case with Ms. Carson. Her house was so clean and white, I automatically felt at home.

“Tangie, your place is clean girl! Are you sure you live here?”

She laughed to herself.

“Yes Chance, I live here. I’m just not here as much as I would like”

I took a seat at her kitchen bar while she finished scrambling the eggs. My gorgeous host had hugged me so fast that I didn’t get the chance to admire her frame. Although my favorite soprano had dropped a few pounds, she hadn’t lost her curves (thank you Jesus!). In fact, the see through babydoll nightie she flaunted allowed me to see everything that I had been missing. The top of her red lingerie exposed her creamy, hazelnut, breasts which shined through her outfit. Her prodigious posterior was too big for that G-string she had on, but I was enjoying the show all the same.

“So what are you cooking up for us Ms. Carson?”

“Well since you’ve got to be in Columbia in a few hours, I whipped up some grits, eggs, sausage, and my famous French toast”

“Whipped up huh? Sounds like you been in the kitchen all morning!”

“Doesn’t take me long to do breakfast mister. I’m an entertainer too ya know!”

“So if you know, how am I supposed to be able to perform with all of this on my stomach?”

“Chance, stop being so dramatic! You know you eat breakfast and then hold off until after the performance. You’re just scared cause you might enjoy it!”

And she was right. I was a little nervous that I might start enjoying all of this like I did before. My temptress motioned me over to the dining room table and placed our plates next to each other.

“Hmmmmmm”

“What’s wrong Chance? You don’t want me to eat next to you?”

I scanned Tangie up and down. This was all a set up from the very beginning! Why did she have to invite me over to her place for breakfast? Why couldn’t we have met at the IHOP on Washington Road? Better yet, why couldn’t we have just talked over the phone? She knew that I had sex with Kyla the night before. Did she even care?

“I just want to be able to concentrate on the food. That nightgown you got on is making it difficult for a brother . . . . .”

“Oh this old thing? It’s the first thing I saw to put on. I mean, I didn’t want to come to the door naked!”

“Uh huh”

I let her keep up her little charade and sat in my assigned seat. After I blessed the food, I focused on feeding my face. I wasn’t going to give Tangie the satisfaction of me feeling her up. I took the salt and pepper and applied it to my bowl of grits.

“You still make them with no seasoning right?”

“Indeed. You know I can’t stand a lot of salt in my food babe”

“Speaking of salt, why did you invite me here this morning Tangie?”

“Chance Waters, don’t start acting brand new! What did the text message say that I sent you last night?”

“It stated that you wanted to see me before I left for South Carolina. That we needed to talk”

“Yes”

“But Tangie, what do we need to discuss in person that we couldn’t talk about over the phone? You were the one who left me and started dating that dude from the Lakers remember?”

“Chance I can explain . . . . . . ”

“Tangie, it’s all good. I understand. I wasn’t the dude you were accustomed to dating”

“Baby, don’t say that . . . .”

“And to think that because we were friends first, I would have been treated differently. When I found out you were on tour with us, I thought it was fate. We vibed so well. We talked for hours traveling from city to city. You even helped me develop my sound, my voice. You gave me confidence. But after we had sex that night in Chicago, it seemed like everything changed. Suddenly you were “too busy” to help me write. You weren’t available to talk to me anymore. Then you left the tour without saying goodbye . . . .”

I felt myself starting to get a little hot. I took several sips of my cranberry juice before diving back into my meal.

“Chance . . . . I . . . . I . . . . didn’t know that you cared”

I put my spoon down and stared a hole through Tangie’s face!

“Whadda ya mean you didn’t know I cared? Tangie, I’ve known you since elementary school! I’ve always been the one to call or write you to see how you were. Even after college, I still checked on you. Even when you were dating all those ex NFL and NBA hasbeens, I still called”

“Chance, I need to apologize. When we were together on the road, it was the best time of my life. It was great sharing myself with someone who actually understood me and had a drive similar to my own. I never experienced that before, and honestly, I wasn’t ready for it”

“Wasn’t ready for it?”

“No, I wasn’t ready for it. It had been six months since the abortion and I really hated men at the time. I just wanted to fuck the pain away. I guess it was my way of getting over the jackass who impregnated me”

“So is this morning an apology?”

“Chance, you’ve been there for me for most of my life. All the men that I’ve been with, I’ve always tried to measure them up to you. When I realized what I had done to you, I knew there was no coming back. So I tried to move on. And just when I thought I was finally getting over you, there you were at Logan’s. . . . . .”

“With your cousin Kyla . . . . .”

“She’s only my cousin by marriage”

I sat and laughed for a moment.

“Chance, I’m being serious! I don’t consider her a blood relative”

“So why didn’t you tell her about us when you sat at the table last night?”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Why didn’t I? Tangie, I was there with Kyla. I wanted to be respectful”

“And so did I . . . . .”

“So your idea of respecting the situation is sending me a text in the middle of the night requesting my presence for breakfast?”

“Chance, you didn’t have to come. You could have simply said no . . . .”

Couldn’t argue there. Something compelled me to make this trip. And as I ate the sausage, I couldn’t decipher if coming here was the wrong choice or not. Even though Tangie used me, I wanted to see her again. Apart of me was dying to taste her again too . . . .

“You’re right love. I could have so no, but here we are”

“Chance, I’m not gonna front. I was hoping I could have spoiled your plans last night”

“Why? Are you that jealous?”

“Yes! I ain’t gonna lie! I wouldn’t want anyone else sleeping with my man!”

“Your man?”

“You know what I mean! Kyla doesn’t deserve a brotha like you!”

“Oh, and you do?”

“Absolutely! We’re soulmates Chance. Whether you want to admit it or not. I know what it means to be in the industry. The time on the road and away from home. Nobody understands that more than me. I can be your writing partner again. I can be your lover again. I can be your friend again. Kyla will never understand you! She’s just a bus driver!”

“Wow Tangie, that’s cold! She is your family”

“Chance, let me tell you one more time. She’s family to me on her step father’s side. That’s it! So really, I don’t claim her like that”

“So you’re gonna sell out your family to try to date me again?”

“Chance, when I saw you . . . . . I realized that I had let go of the best thing in my life. Honestly, if I could turn back the hands of time, I wouldn’t have been so selfish”

“That’s a little hard for me to believe right now Tangie”

“Why?”

“Because every man you chose to be with in public had six figures. I can’t help but feel that you only want me now because I make six figures as well”

“Chance, if you haven’t noticed, I can take care of myself. There’s no need to get with you for financial gain”

“Is that right?”

“Unlike Kyla, I can hold my own”

“Well even though she isn’t making the money you are, she is still taking care of her family”

Tangie glared at me.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Chance, Kyla doesn’t take care of her family. Her husband does . . . .”

Written by the Wednesday Gentleman