too many about the thoughts of this man! You need to stop, move on, and recognize what in the hell you got to offer somebody else! Do you understand?â
I closed my eyes to fight back my emotions and nodded.
âNow, got get changed. Letâs go workout, and if you ever mention his name to me anymore, Iâm gonna kick your butt!â
I managed to grin and went to my office to change into my workout gear. Bernie and I didnât talk about Jaylin, but I wasnât going to let him go that easily. I knew he was in St. Louis for one more night, and in knowing so, I had another plan up my sleeve.
SHANE
6
âG ood for you,â I said to Jaylin, as we sat at IHOP eating breakfast. âI gotta tell you man, I was a little worried.â
âWell, you werenât the only damn person worried. I just donât see how I was able to shake off that feeling. When I got back to your place last night, I stayed in the shower almost all night trying to calm down my dick.â
âI bet Scorpio is mad as hell this morning.â
âIâm sure sheâs mad, but hell, Iâm mad, too. I couldnât do it, though, dog. IâI just couldnât do it.â
âI understand. And, like I said, Iâm happy for you. Once you get through tonight, youâll be home free.â
Jaylin scooped a fork full of cheese eggs in his mouth. âSo, what kind of entertainment you got for Trey and his friends?â
âMan, itâs gonâ be funny. That fool turning twenty-one and I got this fine young tender coming to work his bones. You know the nigga a nerd, so I canât wait to see the look on his face. I be teasing him all the time about not getting no pussy.â
âTwenty-one and he ainât getting no pussy? Something is definitely wrong with that picture. Shit, I was boneâen and ownâen when I was twelve.â
âShit, man, me too. I hit my first gal when I was fourteen. She was twenty-six and titties and ass was out to here.â I showed examples of how big they were with my hands.
âShane, you donât even like women with that much titties or ass. The majority of your flavah has been tall and skinny chicks with nothing to work with. And, thatâs no offense to Sam, but itâs the truth.â
âI wonât dispute that with you, my brotha, because you are certainly on the right path. It ainât about all that shit for me, though, Jay. I be looking for somebody who loves me for me, thatâs all.â
âI feel you. Ainât nothing more special than loving a woman who definitely loves you back.â
We finished up breakfast and I told Jaylin to meet me at Davenports by 9:00 P.M. I had a few errands to run, and since Sam wanted to help, I stopped by her place and picked her up.
She took all day getting ready, and when she came out she wore a strapless pink sundress with flowers and some flat sandals that matched. Her long hair was parted through the middle and hung along the sides of her cheeks.
âIâm ready,â she said, while holding her straw purse in her hand.
âItâs about time.â
She walked over to me and buttoned up the few buttons I had undone on my white crisp Sean John shirt. I placed my hands in the pockets of my stone washed Sean John jeans and smiled as she tried to cover my chest.
âI donât want these other women looking at you while weâre out,â she joked. âAre you trying to get me into a fight?â
âIâd help if you did, you know. Thereâs no way Iâll let you get beat up.â
She placed her hand on her hip. âThereâs no need to help me. I might be a thin woman, but I can fight.â
I laughed and took Sam by her hand. By the time we made it to my Lexus, I had already undone the buttons on my shirt.
Sam helped me pick out a gift for Trey, and went to Davenports to help me decorate. She had the place looking really nice, and
Charles Tang, Gertrude Chandler Warner