“For every new relationship, there's at least another new broken heart. Ryan Barber
“What do you say we get out of here? I’m growing tired of playing the pastor role. You wit’ me?”
Eliana looked up at him. She felt like a breathless girl of eighteen as his nearness made her senses spin. “Sure. Where are we going?”
“Anywhere other than here. Okay?”
“Okay, but what about my car? What am I going to do with it? I don’t want to leave it parked on the street.”
“Can’t you get your brother to drive it back to your apartment? He rode here with my brother. If he can’t do it, I’ll talk to my mom. I’m sure she’ll let you park it in her garage. If all else fails, I’ll follow you to your spot and drop it off.”
“No, I don’t want you to ask her to do that. Let me go find him and I’ll meet you outside.”
“Okay, cool.”
Khalil walked outside and looked to make sure his car hadn’t been blocked in by any of the guests—it hadn’t. He walked over to it, got inside, and while waiting on Eliana, he scrolled through his phone. There was the usual text from Dee telling him she wanted to see him. He shot her back a text, telling her he was at a function with his mother and would hit her back later. He saw a few calls from some other females he messed off with from time to time and then another few from some of the hungry females at Holy Rock who thought they could snag him by sending him naked photos. He shook his head. He laughed at the thought.
He looked up and saw Eliana exiting the house. Her brother stood next to her. Khalil watched as she passed him a set of keys and pointed toward the street. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but assumed she was showing him where her car was parked. He nodded, said something to her, and she said something back before he walked back into the house.
“Ready?” Khalil asked as he hopped out of his car and went to the passenger side to open the door for her.
“I’m all yours,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too eager.
You sure are, Khalil thought.
They sat in silence while Khalil drove toward downtown Memphis, along Riverside Boulevard, taking in the peacefulness of the nightlights lining the Mississippi Bridge.
“I’m glad we finally have some alone time. I’ve wanted to get to know more about the mysterious Eliana Hodges.”
“Ummm, that’s weird.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’ve wanted to get to know more about the mysterious Pastor Khalil McCoy,” Eliana said shakier than she would have liked, but he was so very good looking, so sure of himself—she reacted strongly to him.
“Is that so?” There was a trace of laughter in his voice. The pursuit of women like Eliana intrigued, motivated him, and made him want her even more.
“Yes, I know we learned a little about each other when you took me out to dinner, but there’s still a lot more I’d like to learn about you.”
“Same here. That’s what this is all about.”
Khalil drove to River Park and secured a parking space. Again, without speaking, he got out of the car, walked around to the other side, and opened the door for Eliana.
She didn’t hesitate—she got out of the car as if she had been hypnotized. He reached out his hand and she accepted it as he led her on the winding walking trail on the Mississippi. There was a slight warm and gentle breeze. The stars, in all their majestic splendor, were on full display. There were a few other couples on the walkway or sitting cozily on the benches spread over the park. It was the perfect place for lovers.
They talked and learned more about each other than they had in all the past months since Eliana became his assistant. Laughter from both of them rang throughout the night and without warning, he kneaded her hand in his. She didn’t pull away. It felt perfect; like this is where she belonged—beside Khalil McCoy.
Without pre-warning thunder clapped throughout the air, followed by a grand display of lightning that filtered through the sky.
Eliana jumped, frightened by the sudden sound. Khalil swung her into the circle of his arms and held her there. She buried her face against his throat, relaxing and sinking into the cushion of his embrace.
His hands explored the hollows of her back. Slowly, tenderly, and without words shared between them, Khalil lifted her chin upward, brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead, then the tip of her nose. She felt her knees weaken as his mouth swooped down to capture hers.
Another round of thunder, another lightning bolt decorated the sky like divine fireworks, but nothing could replace the fiery currents of desire racing through her.
Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes as the first drops of rain began to fall. He smiled, took her hand, and they ran, laughing all the way to his car.
Ian walked into the living room looking for Xavier. He hadn’t seen him for seen him for at least fifteen minutes. When he didn’t see him in the living room, he walked into the family room where other guests were enjoying themselves. He wasn’t there either so he made his way to the backyard. He didn’t see him outside either. Where could he have gone? Maybe he was in the men’s room.
After that assumption, Ian turned around to go back inside the house, but then he heard Xavier’s familiar laughter. He stepped all the way out onto the patio, walked a few feet, and there to the right of him, shielded by a half wall was Xavier. He was laughing and talking to a young woman.
Ian watched for a few moments before he made the mental decision to interrupt what appeared to be an interesting conversation he and the girl were having. He was tired, had eaten too much, and was ready to call it a night, especially after he heard it thundering and lightning. Several guests must have been thinking the same way because he saw them standing or moving about saying their goodbyes and preparing to leave.
“Excuse me, didn’t meant to interrupt,” Ian said.
Xavier turned around. “Oh, Ian. What’s up? Pepper,” Xavier turned back to face her, “this is Ian.”
Bubbly Pepper replied, “Hi, Ian. Nice to meet you. So, is this your boyfriend?”
Xavier managed, after pausing, to say, “Uh, well, I don’t think you—”
“We’re just friends,” Ian finished. “Look, it sounds like it’s about to come down out here. Eliana left the party earlier with one of her friends. She asked me to drive her car home. You ready to bounce?”
Not giving Xavier room to reply, Pepper spoke up. “Hey, cool! You can take me home! It’s not like I want to ride home with my mom, you know. And, hey, maybe we can stop over at your place so I can see that collection of African-American history books you were talking about.”
“Hey, good idea,” Xavier said. “Hey, Ian, you can go on and bounce. We’ll catch up later.”
“Yeah, okay. See you…nice to meet you, Pepper.” He gave Xavier an unpleasant glare before turning and walking off.
“Hold up, Pepper. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure. I’m going to go inside and grab something to eat. You want me to fix you a plate?”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Xavier darted off. He saw Ian going out the front door and followed him.
“Ian, hold up.”
“What?” Ian said, sounding like he had a major attitude.
“You salty about me not leaving with you?”
“Naw, why should I be salty? You drove. You leave when you get ready.”
Thunder clapped again. “Anyway, I’ll holla. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” With that, he jogged down the driveway and across the street to Eliana’s car.
Xavier watched until he saw Ian approach the car. He shrugged and went back inside to find Pepper.
He found Pepper to be intriguing. She was down to earth and cool. At first he couldn’t believe it when she came out and asked him if the rumor was true about him being gay. He was surprised she’d heard that about him because from what she told him she hadn’t been in Memphis for that long.
He admitted to her without hesitation and without feeling weird that he was indeed gay. It was one of the few times he shared his preference openly with another person, afraid of being bullied or ridiculed.
“Okay, so you’re gay. Who cares? You’re sexy and fine, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. And those eyes…boyyyy. Whooo.” She broke out in soft laughter.
Xavier blushed at her openness while feeling surprisingly relaxed around Pepper. As they continued talking she told him about her love of reading and researching African American history.
Xavier was floored when she said that. It wasn’t like he found many people in his circle, his very small circle that loved reading and learning about his ancestors. Pepper was able to share stories with him that he hadn’t heard about, and his studies were extensive.
When he told her about his book collection, she was eager to see it, so tonight proved to be the perfect night. This was one of the reasons he was glad that he had his own spot. He could invite whomever he chose to, when he chose to, without his mother cowering over him to see who it was.
They hung out at Fancy’s party for another hour. The rain hadn’t fully started, but most of the guests had left.
“Mom, Xavier is going to drop me off at home,” Pepper told her mother when they were getting ready to leave.
Victoria, standing next to Tara and her husband, smiled. The man who had been on Victoria’s tail smiled too, like this was his lucky night.
“I’m going to go kiss my mother goodnight, then we can leave,” Xavier said.
He looked around for his mother and found her outside with the same man who she’d been with during most of the party. He turned and left when he saw him lean down and kiss Fancy, and it wasn’t one of those quick pecks on the lips. He kissed Fancy deeply, pulling her into his arms.
He thought about everything his mother had been through with his dad. She needed a little something or someone to make her smile and feel good about her life again. Maybe this guy would be that person. Turning on his heels, he strode up the foyer, there she was…