Janelle
Janelle was lonely. Not only had she not heard from Jarvis, but it had been days since she had spoken with Titus, although they had texted one another a few times. She missed speaking with him. She missed the intimate conversations and the laughter, the feeling of contentment when they shared their days with one another.
It had been a long week, and it was almost seven o’clock before she finally left work. She called Nivea, who didn’t answer the phone. She spoke briefly to Sylvia, who was still dealing with the reality of Garry and his daughter. She was worried about her sister, but she knew after their last conversation that if she pressed, Sylvia would shut her out.
Thinking she would be spending her Friday night home alone, she decided to order some Chinese food and catch up on reality TV. Just as she pulled into the parking lot of the takeout restaurant, her phone rang. She looked down at the caller ID and smiled.
“Well, hello.”
“Hey, you,” Jarvis greeted her. “What are you doing?”
“About to stop and grab some food. What are you doing?”
“Trying to see you. I know it’s last minute, but if you’re up for dinner and a movie, I’d love to see you. Can you meet me at Kirby’s in an hour?”
Dinner at Kirby’s, one of her favorite steak houses, with Jarvis trumped her previous plans with beef and broccoli and the Housewives of Atlanta. Janelle made it home in record time, took a quick shower, changed, and was walking through the door of the restaurant within fifty-five minutes of talking to Jarvis.
“You look great.” He smiled and stood up when she arrived at the table where he was already seated. “Then again, you always do.”
“I can say the same thing about you, sir.” Janelle put her arms around his neck, and he hugged her tight. She closed her eyes as she inhaled the scent of his cologne. When he released her, she took notice of the jeans he wore with a Polo sweater and boots. He was also wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses that made him look even more sophisticated and attractive.
“So, what’s been going on?” he asked after they placed their drink and appetizer orders.
They made small talk. She was tempted to ask him about Sade, but she didn’t, reminding herself that Jarvis was not her man. Asking him about another female would be crossing a boundary that she may regret. Instead, she focused on enjoying the meal and the bottle of wine they shared.
After the check was paid, Jarvis looked at his watch and said, “We have about twenty minutes to get to the theater.”
“I’m ready when you are.”
They stood up, and he helped Janelle put her coat on.
She asked, “Do you want to drop one of the cars off at your place on the way?”
He smiled. “Does that mean we are going back to my place after the movie?”
“Do you want me to come back to your place?” she asked coyly.
“We don’t even have to go to the movies if you don’t want to.” Jarvis raised an eyebrow at her.
“I want to,” she said.
“Want to what? Go straight to my place?” he asked, and Janelle easily saw the lust in his eyes.
“No, go to the movies.” She laughed. Janelle knew that she was going to go back to Jarvis’s place the moment he called and asked her to dinner and a movie. She was horny, and Jarvis probably was too, which was most likely the reason for his last-minute request for the date. One thing Janelle knew was that men are creatures of habit, and Jarvis was no different. He never called at the last minute and asked her out on a date, so chances were, he’d had another chick cancel at the last minute and decided to hit her up to see if she was game. Heck, it had been almost a month since she’d had some good dick. Why not? But she was entitled to a movie first.
To her dismay and to Jarvis’s delight, they hit traffic as soon as they left the restaurant and entered the highway toward his place. There was no way they would make the movie on time. When they finally pulled into his driveway, he got out of the car and walked to his front door.
“Where are you going?” she asked him.
“The movie started fifteen minutes ago. We missed it.”
“How convenient?” Janelle said sarcastically as she followed him into his house. She removed her coat and sat on the sofa.
“You want something to drink?” Jarvis called from the kitchen.
“No, I’m good,” she told him.
He came in and sat beside her. In a perfect world, Jarvis would have taken her into his arms, held her tight, and asked her about her week, or talked about what was going on in her life. Instead, he leaned over and kissed her for a little while, then stood up and reached for her. There was a noticeable bulge in the crotch of his pants.
“Come on. Let’s go upstairs,” he said.
Creature of habit, Janelle thought as she followed him upstairs.
* * *
A couple of hours later, as she was driving home, Janelle still felt as if something was missing. The sex with Jarvis was great, and she had no complaints. She was physically satisfied, but she still felt empty and wasn’t ready to go home. It was after midnight. She didn’t want to go to a bar or a club. She remembered her gym bag on the back seat and hoped a good workout would help release some of the frustration she was still feeling.
After changing clothes, she got in the zone, running on the treadmill to the sound of DMX until she was dripping with sweat. She walked over to grab a bottle of water out of the machine and noticed a guy waving at her from one of the weight benches. Just as she was about to ignore him, thinking he was some creep trying to holler, she recognized him and waved back, then walked over.
“Hey, Sherrod, right?”
“Hey, Janelle, right?” he said, shifting his body so that now he was facing her. “I tried speaking to you earlier, but you didn’t see me. You were in your own little world.”
“Yeah, that’s what I do.” She laughed. “I get in my zone, and nothing else matters.”
“What are you listening to?” he asked.
Janelle realized her headphones were still playing and they were loud. “Oh, a little DMX.”
“Hardcore workout music. I hear ya.”
“And what you got playing?”
“John Legend.”
“John Legend?” Janelle literally laughed out loud.
“I listen to mellow music when I lift.” He shrugged. “I don’t like to be too hype. Lifting is a process.”
“A process, huh?” She giggled. “Sounds kinda soft to me, kinda like those biceps.”
“What? You don’t even believe that,” Sherrod said, flexing his arms in front of her. “Feel that right there. Feel it.”
Janelle rolled her eyes and then gently reached out and touched his arm. He was right. She didn’t believe it when she’d said it. She had noticed his nice physique when she walked over to say hi to him. He wasn’t muscular, but he had a nice, noticeable cut. He wore a white tank top, basketball shorts, and the same Nike Air Maxx that she had on.
“It’s a’ight I guess,” she told him.
“That’s that power ball right there.” Sherrod nodded.
“Whatever. So, you must be getting settled in and learning your way around town. You joined the gym and found the strip club.”
“True. I am. So far, so good. How’s your aunt? Still being safe, I hope.”
Janelle tried not to blush. “The condoms were for her, I swear. Don’t hate because my aunt gets her groove on.”
“I’m not hating. I’m glad she’s enjoying life at her age and being safe about it. That’s the most important thing.”
“I swear they were hers.”
“And I don’t—I mean, I do believe you.”
They both laughed as she continued trying to explain to him about her loving but eccentric aunt, who had recently moved in with her sister and brother-in-law. She shared how her mother had passed away unexpectedly and how Aunt Connie had immediately stepped in and became their matriarch, although she was crazy at times and her mind drifted.
“Is it Alzheimer’s?”
“No, it’s not. She always drifted for as far back as I can remember. Even when I was little, she would just start saying speeches or singing songs out of the blue. She’s just dramatic, like she is living her life out on stage. I know it sounds crazy, but we love her.”
“She sounds lovable.” Sherrod smiled, and he told her about his uncle who swore he was on tour with the Temptations and wrote “Tracks of My Tears” but never got credit for it. “He swore he came up with the dance moves and the whole nine yards.”
“Was he on tour with them for real?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I do know he played drums for James Brown. We have the pics to prove that.”
“Where does he live now? We may need to hook him and Aunt Connie up.” Janelle laughed.
“No way. Your aunt is already getting her groove on. I don’t need my uncle involved in no love triangle. I don’t care how safe she is.”
Janelle laughed again. “There you go hating again.”
“Am I interrupting?”
Janelle’s heart dropped when she heard the voice behind her. She turned to see Titus standing in front of her.
“Titus,” she said. “Um, no. This is Sherrod. He just moved here.”
Sherrod stood up and shook hands with Titus. “Nice to meet you, man.”
“Titus,” Titus said.
“Well, I gotta be going,” Sherrod said. “Nice seeing you again, Janelle. I am sure I will be seeing you around, especially when your aunt needs to feel safe.”
“Whatever.” Janelle smiled.
“Y’all seem cozy,” Titus said when Sherrod walked away.
“He’s cool.” Janelle shrugged. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you. I thought I would surprise you, but I see I was the one who got surprised.”
“How did you even know I was here? Stalking me again, I see.”
“I saw your car while I was driving by. You know it’s not really that safe for you to be coming to this gym in the middle of the night like this, right? You may run into some weirdo up in here.”
“Like you?”
“More like him.” Titus nodded toward the door where Sherrod was exiting. “I see y’all got the same taste in shoes.”
“You are sounding quite jealous, you know that?”
“Me? Jealous? Never that.” He playfully pulled the towel from around her neck. “You are looking good, Nelly.”
Janelle nodded at him. “Well, it has been a while since you’ve seen me. I guess you’ve been really busy these days.”
“Now who’s sounding jealous?”
“Now, you know better than to even think that.” Janelle reached over and took the towel from him and turned to walk away.
“You leaving already?”
“Yep. I’ve been here almost two hours.”
“You weren’t in such a hurry to leave when you were laughing it up wit’ ol’ boy.”
Janelle stopped. “What? You’re kidding, right? I haven’t talked to you in almost two weeks, and you have the nerve to roll up in here talking sideways? Titus, please.”
“Look, I’m sorry. That was wrong. And I know I’ve been kinda ghost, but I’ve been spending more time with Tarik. You know it’s his senior year, and his team is doing great. Schools are recruiting him, and I’m trying to keep him focused.”
Janelle knew there was some truth to what Titus was saying. His son had been highlighted on the local news for the past few weeks as one of the standout basketball players in the state. Seeing him made her wonder about her own child had she not made the decision that she did. Both children would be around the same age. Would her son or daughter have been an athlete like Titus had been, or would he or she have been a social butterfly like her? Janelle rarely allowed herself to think about the “what ifs” of that situation. When she did, she believed that her child would have been much like her niece, Peyton: the perfect balance of beauty, brains, and popularity.
“You know I miss you, right? How have you been?” Titus walked closer to her.
“I’m fine.” She looked up at him and saw the love in his eyes and felt her heart flutter.
He touched the side of her face and rubbed her cheek. “You are fine, and beautiful, and amazing. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Janelle told him.
Titus leaned over and kissed her. In that moment, everything was instantly right in Janelle’s world. She was no longer lonely, and the place in her chest that was empty when she first walked into the gym was now filled with everything she needed to feel.