Jason

On my way back from Philadelphia, I decided to find out where Keyshia lived so that I could surprise her at her doorstep one night. Before I get into all of that, I guess I should say something about how the proposal went.

It was so convincing that everyone, even the architects couldn’t wait to see it take action. That really made me ecstatic because I was that much closer to seeing my mother. The only problem that stood in my way was my dad. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid but it seemed like he knew what my motive was. He showed up during the middle of my presentation and took a seat. At first it was a little intimidating having to do something so important in front of my extremely judgmental father, but it got easier along the way.

After conversing with a few of his colleagues, he pulled me aside. I was in the middle of packing my briefcase getting ready to leave.

“What the hell is this?” he said through clenched teeth.

“Are you really going to be the only one who disapproves?”

“What good would one of our hotels do in Brazil?”

“I already went over that. All we have to do is double the prices since it’s two Reals to a dollar” My face carried an unamused expression, letting him know that what he was saying didn’t faze me.

He smirked and shook his head. “There’s no way I’m going to allow this to happen.”

“It’s not your proposal. You’re not the one who gets to make the decision…and I’m not intending on using the family’s money. I can raise funds and combine my own with whatever I get.”

“And you plan on using the family’s name. Is that what I heard?”

“Yeah...but-“I paused and caught on to where this was going. “You’re unbelievable.” Before he could say another word to me, I shook my head and walked away from him.

I think my dad would have been better off leaving me with my mother. He makes it so hard to be his son and love him like a son is supposed to. Shit, sometimes I wonder if he even loves me like he’s supposed to.

Anyways, so I called an old friend of the family up to see about Keyshia.

“Jason Jameson! I haven’t heard from you in a while!”

“How are you, man?”

“I’m doing pretty good. How about you?”

“Same here. Look, I actually called for a favor.”

“Yeah, of course. What can I help you with?”

“I need you to find out where someone lives for me.”

“Name?”

“Keyshia Reynolds. She lives somewhere in the Bronx.”

“Okay. Give me a second” He started to type on his keyboard. Tom Gomez never left his laptop. Every time I call him he’s near it. He used to work for the CIA and my family uses him for just about everything. He and I are about ten years apart and since he’s such a computer geek, I feel very lucky to have him around.

“Dude, there are about ten different Keyshia Reynolds in the Bronx. How do you spell her first name? Maybe that’ll help me out some.”

As soon as he said that, I had a mini flashback to when Keyshia had spelled her name out for me.

“K-E-Y-S-H-I-A    R-E-Y-N-O-L-D-S.”

I could hear the faint sound of his fingers quickly moving across the keyboard. “Okay…ah…I think I found her. She’s twenty-one right?”

“Yeah. Good. What’s the address?”

“First, do you want to tell me why you’re looking for an African-American woman that lives in Bronx? Is this one of your charity cases?”

“No. Can you just give me the address?”

“Give me a hint and I will.”

“She’s a friend.”

“Just a friend?”

I sighed and pinched the area between my eyes. “C’mon Tom. It’s none of your business.”

After he gave me the address, I stored it in my phone and continued to make my way back to Manhattan.

Jason

Since Lauran didn’t have that much stuff, it only took us one trip back to my apartment. We went ahead and settled her stuff in so that it wouldn’t be much of a burden on us later on.

“I promise that I’ll move out when I get a job” Lauran tiredly said, plopping down on the crème colored suede couch. 

“You mean the one at that hotel?” I was sitting across from her in my favorite chair, a sphere shaped blue chair.

“Yeah…that’s only if I get hired.”

“You’ll get hired” I assured her with a smile. “It shouldn’t be that difficult to get a job at a hotel.”

“Keyshia, this isn’t just any hotel. This is the Jameson Suites we’re talking about. Everybody wants to work there. They only have a few job openings. Imagine how many people are going to be at that job fair.”

“Pray. It’ll all work out. But for now, just stay calm. We have a week and a few days til then.”

“You just said ‘we’. So that means you’re applying with us?”

“Yeah…I guess.”

A few days later, while Lauran was out with one of her friends, I gave myself a pedicure and a manicure. Jason came up in my mind, but I shook that away real quick. He didn’t need to be invading my thoughts; not this soon at least. I treated myself to a couple of romantic comedies and ordered in Chinese food.

While my toes were drying and while the movie was playing, there was a knock on the door. Thinking that it was the delivery guy, I jumped up and swung the door open.

A somewhat confused expression crossed my face when I noticed who was standing there.

“Hey” he simply said with a huge smile on his face.

“W-What are you doing here?” I stuttered, still in shock.

“I-“

“How did you find out where I live?!”

“You don’t seem too happy to see me.”

“I am…I just-wow. This is unexpected.”

“That’s kind of what I was going for” Jason said with amusement in his voice.

My hair was wrapped up in towel and I had an oversized t-shirt on. My underclothes were non-existent at the moment. Let’s just say I looked a hot mess. Even though I wasn’t big on makeup, I always had it on whenever I saw him so that made things worse.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.” I looked both ways out the door to see if any eyes had followed him up here. He walked past me and I closed the door behind him.

“Did anyone see you come up?”

“Not that I know of.” Jason had on a baggy pair of grey sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt. A fresh pair of Air Jordan 4’s covered feet. For a second, I was amazed that he had them on. They just came out like last week.

“You do know that what you did by coming here was pretty careless, right?”

He unzipped his hoodie and laid it across the couch. “Yeah. Now can I kiss you already?”

I smiled and practically jumped into his arms. He covered my mouth with his and damn near sucked the life out of me.

I broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. “You don’t think I look like shit?”

“Nope” He started to kiss me again, getting deeper into it this time. I couldn’t help but to smile. “I’ve been missing you” he said through a whisper.

“I’ve been missing you too…” I wrapped my arms around his neck and broke the kiss once again. “So are you gonna tell me how you found me?”

“I have connections”

I released the hold I had on him and plopped down onto the couch. He fell down right beside me.

“You’re stalking me now? I mean, you’d think I’d be the one doing the stalking.”

He got up, pretending to be offended. “Okay. Well I guess I’ll be leaving then.”

“No! Stop…baby, please don’t leave. I was joking around.” I laughed and pulled the edge of his shirt so that he toppled down on top of me.

My hands moved up and down his hairy leg. “I like the fact that you found me…but I’m kind of embarrassed. I live in this little shack of an apartment. And the way you live is-“

“Forget about the way I live. I happen to like your apartment better. It gives off a more comfortable vibe.”

“Really? You think?”

“Yeah.” Jason moved his hips into a more relaxing position. I wrapped my arms around his left arm and snuggled up against his shoulder. He didn’t have any cologne on, but his aftershave smelled heavenly. It smelled like he sprayed on nutmeg mixed in with hints of sandalwood.

I just had to make a comment on it, of course. “You smell so good.”

“So do you.” No matter if I were taking a bath or shower, I always used my favorite fragrance; coconut and lime. “What do you have planned for the night?”

“I was having some ‘me time’. Notice I said ‘was’.”

“How about I turn that into ‘us’ time?”

I smiled up at him. “Cheesy line…but I like it. I ordered Chinese food and I have yet to put underclothes on…so you gotta hold on because-“

He grinned a devilish grin, grabbed me, and placed my ass right on top of his lap. I was facing him and his hands gripped my hips.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh…” His fingers slowly crept up my thighs while he placed his lips on my neck.

“We shouldn’t be doing this Jason…” I said, trying to withhold a moan.

“Who says?” I felt his fingers on the upper part of the inside of my thigh.

“Me.”

Jason ignored me and palmed my butt with his free hand. He scooted me closer to him, making things a lot easier. After scooting me and without much warning, he inserted his index and middle fingers inside me.

“Oh God” I gasped with wide eyes.

“Still want me to stop?” he asked, working his way in deeper. I looked him in the eyes while I moaned and grabbed his face with both of my hands. He leaned his forehead against mines.

“Mmm…please go deeper. Now please” I begged, grinding up against him. Jason followed my directions and pushed his large fingers in a little further. For a few seconds, he toyed with my clit and then he began to thrust his fingers in and out as if they were a dick.

I gripped the back of his head and groaned. “Yeah…oh fuck.”

He pinched my womanly nub and growled into my ear. “I’m not going to stop until I have you coming all over my hands.”

I let out a soft giggle and kissed the side of his neck, where little beads of sweat started to appear. With the same hand he used to scoot me closer, Jason slowly unwrapped the towel from around my damp hair and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

“Mm…you’re not supposed to see my hair like this.”

He ran his hand through it and gave me a confused look. “I love your hair, why not?”

I smiled at him and caressed his right cheek. “This feels so good.”

Within the blink of an eye, he had me on my back. I spread my legs, allowing his long burly body to fall between them.

“I thought you weren’t gonna stop until-“

“Oh trust me, you’re about to.” Before I had time to even make sense out of what he just said, he lowered his face down into my crotch and lifted my shirt up for easier access.

“Jason…”

He pressed down on my flat belly with one of his free hands while the other hand opened the lips to my pussy, which was dripping wet at the point.

I had to prepare myself for what I knew was coming. “What the fuck did I do to deserve this?”

He chuckled, sending vibrations up my spine. As soon as he started to guide his tongue into my entrance, the fucking doorbell rung. Why did it have to ring now? WHY.

“Shit” Jason muttered, moving away from me and giving me a hand up.

“Just when things were getting good, right?”

I got up from the couch, pulled down my shirt and walked to the front door. The delivery guy stood there, reminding me that I had ordered food.

After paying him, I received my food and closed the door. Jason waited on the couch as I walked towards him. He had taken his shoes off and leaned back.

“So…I guess that ruined the mood, huh?”

“Not really. But I am hungry.”

“House phone’s over there.” I pointed to the coffee table and snickered. “All you have to do is push redial.”

“Psh. I’m eating yours.”

“No you’re not. This is all for me.” I playfully brought the food closer to my chest and hugged it.

Ten minutes later, we were cuddled on the couch eating my food together. Jason was laid back and I laid in his arms. It felt nice to finally have someone to cuddle with.

“Are you sleeping over?”

I could feel his lips nibbling on my ear. “Only if you want me to.”

“It would be nice to be in your arms for the night, so yeah.”

“Your wish is my command sweetheart.”

Hearing those words sent butterflies all throughout my stomach. I haven’t felt like this in a while. And shit. It’s beginning to scare me.

“Oh. I forgot to tell you something.”

‘What is it?”

“My friend moved in with me.”

“Is this a lady friend?” he said, with a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“Yeah.”

“What time are you expecting her back?”

“Tomorrow…but knowing my luck, she’ll probably come back tonight.”

“Should I leave before she gets here…or do you think she can keep a secret?”

“I don’t know. Man, I hate that we have to hide our relationship sometimes.”

He rubbed his nose against my neck and gave it a soft peck. “Sometimes? For me it’s all the time. I just wanna say ‘fuck it’ and let everyone know about you…but I can't.”

I placed the food container on the table in front of us and then leaned back into his arms.

“I really like you Jason” I confessed.

“I really like you too” he whispered, placing another kiss on my neck.

A few hours later and it was midnight. I was extremely tired and I could tell that he was too. We had talked about how our days went. Jason told me all about how the proposal thing played out a few days ago. Probably not all of the details, but enough to keep me informed. I just love talking to someone that’s passionate about what they do.

After putting the leftovers in the refrigerator, I walked into my room and sat on the edge of my bed. Jason followed and laid beside me.

“Sorry about the mess. I’ve cleaned everything but my room today.”

“It’s okay.” He slipped his shirt over his head and held his arms out for me. “C’mere.”

The next morning, I woke up alone. Once again. I quickly skimmed the small room to see if he had left a note or something, but he didn’t even have enough decency to leave that. I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest.

A strong whiff of waffles and coffee surpassed my nose. Lauran must’ve been back and started making breakfast. I walked out of my room, through the living room, and towards the kitchen.

“Lauran…you-“

Jason looked up from the stove with a smile on his face. “Who’s Lauran? Your friend?”

“Yeah…” I walked towards him with a growing smile. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

As I got closer, my jaw nearly hit the floor. He was cooking completely nude; with an exception of my zebra print apron on.

“You thought I left you hangin?”

I stared at him, taking in his beautiful (yes Lord this man is beautiful) appearance. “Yeah…hanging, alright.”

“What?” He paused for a second, acting like he suddenly forgot that he only had an apron on. ‘Oh.”

I walked closer to him and leaned against the dark green marble countertop. “You’re torturing me. I mean, first you give me the best finger fuck that I’ve ever had…then you cuddle with me for the night. And now you’re cooking breakfast for me. I’m still trying to figure out what I did to deserve all of this.”

Jason pulled me in closer to him. “You don’t have to do anything. I’m your boyfriend. I’m here to furnish every single one of your needs.” After he said that, he grabbed me by the legs and lifted me up onto the counter.

“You’re too good for me” I whispered, placing my hands on each side of his face.

“Don’t you ever say that again.” He looked at me with this crazy serious face and clenched his jaw. “Do you hear me?”

I don’t know why I began to tear up, maybe it’s because my period’s due anytime soon or something…but of all the bullshit that’s happened to me since my parents died, nothing good has really happened; just one bad thing after another. Yeah, I’ve had boyfriends…and yeah, I’ve been in lust before. But never has a guy done these kinds of things. Never has a guy made me feel this way so fast.

“Sorry” I choked out, dropping my hands away from his face and bowing my head. “This has never happened to me.”

He softly placed a few pecks on my lips. “Hey, I’m here to make it happen.”

God I loved his little cheesy lines.

While we were sharing a very intimate moment, I heard the front door open and close.

I quickly whispered “Lauran’s here. You have to hide!”

Jason ran over to the pantry and hid in there. I put my hand over my mouth to prevent me from laughing at the sight of his cute little toned butt cheeks.

“I knew I smelled breakfast” Lauryn sung, walking into the kitchen while taking her coat off.

I hopped off of the counter and leaned against it. “Yeah. I cooked.”

“What made you want to cook?”

“I don’t know. I got hungry and eating cereal is starting to get old real quick.”

“Oh…” she gazed at the steaming waffles with her tongue slightly sticking out. “Can I?”

“Yeah. Help yourself.”

She picked up a waffle, stuck it in her mouth, and began to make her way towards the bathroom. “I’ll tell you all about how my night went when I get out of the shower.”

“Okay.”

Before she fully made it to the bathroom, she took the food out of her mouth and turned around to face me. “What’s with you? You seem a little jumpy.”

“Nothing. I’m fine. Go ahead and take your shower. I want to hear about what went down.”

“Okay…” her face held a skeptical look as she turned back around and went into the bathroom.

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Jason stepped out of the pantry and walked over to me.

“I’m so sorry!” I whispered.

“It’s alright. I guess that was my cue to leave.”

“I really wish you could stay but-“

Almost simultaneously, Lauran opened the bathroom door and Jason ducked behind the counter.

“Is there any more soap left?”

“Check under the counter.”

“Okay…” She stepped up on her tiptoes and acted like she was looking over the counter. “I know you’re hiding someone…and I know how secretive you can be so I’m not gonna be a pest about it.”

Lauran closed the door after she said that and I let out a huge sigh. My heart started to beat faster.

“Oh my God.”

“Wow…talk about unexpected” Jason said, popping back up.

We walked back to my room while I tried to catch my breath. I watched him slip his shirt and sweatshirt back on before he prepared to say goodbye to me.

“Next time, I’m taking you out.” I followed him into the living room after he said that and thought “How in the world is he going to take me on a date?” We would probably spend the majority of our relationship alternating between each other’s places.

Jason pulled me in for a kiss and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Every time he kissed me, I never wanted it to end.

“I’d love to spend all day kissing you, but Lauran is going to be out in a few minutes and I’m sure you have something really important to do today.”

He pursed his lips together after detaching them from mines. “I do.”

“What is it?”

“Eh, another photo shoot. It’s not until 4:00 though.”

He talked about it like it was so casual. “Oh. Want me to walk you downstairs?”

“Sure.”

He held my hand in his as we walked down the stairs. Parked in front of my building was the newest model of a sleek black S class Mercedes-Benz. It definitely didn’t look like it belonged in this neighborhood.

I halted at the exit, almost snatching his body back with me. “I can't walk out any further I have no shoes or underclothes on. I like your car though.”

“Thanks…” he took a set of keys out of his pocket and twirled the keyring around his finger. “I hope you enjoy it.”

Not fully catching on to what he was saying, I responded by saying “I told you. I can't go any further. I could get sick.”

He chuckled and held the keys out to me. “Baby it’s all yours. That’s what I was trying to say.”

“Excuse me?” I almost choked on my spit.

He started talking really slowly, probably hoping that I’d catch on this time through. “It’s…all…yours…”

“Not it’s not” I responded quickly. “I can't take it.”

“Yes you can.” He pushed the keys towards me once again and I pushed his hand back.

“No I can't. I told you that already. And how the hell are you supposed to be getting home?”

“My driver is on the way. Please take the keys.”

“No…I can't. I’m not the kind of chick that takes these kinds of gifts from men. No.”

Jason placed my head between his hands and gazed into my eyes. “Take. Them.”

“I…” a sigh escaped from my mouth “Why are you giving me a car? What is it that you want?”

“Just because someone gives you something it doesn’t necessarily mean you owe them something in return.” He dropped his hands away from my face and continued to stare at me. “Now take the damn keys…please.”

“Okay. I’ll keep them.”

He looked outside and noticed that a black town car had pulled up. “My driver is here. Enjoy your car.”

After a few more kisses, I watched as he put his toboggan on and then the hood to his hoodie over it.

When I walked back into the apartment, Lauran had a plate of breakfast in her hands while she sat on the couch watching TV.

“Where’d you go dressed like that?” She said that while chewing her food. I could see little chunks of waffles fly out of her mouth.

I walked towards the kitchen with a slightly disgusted look on my face. “Downstairs to walk him out.”

“Oh. So when are you gonna let me meet him?”

“I don’t know. Whenever the timing’s right.”

“What do you mean by timing?”

“I’m not ready for you to meet him yet.”

She laughed a little, almost choking on her food. “Geez. You act like he’s famous or something.”

“No I’m not” I gulped.

The waffles, scrambled eggs, syrup, and fresh coffee smelled so good. It kind of sucked that Jason fixed me this huge meal and couldn’t stay to eat it with me.

“These waffles are bangin!” Lauran exclaimed.

I took the credit. “Thanks.”

“When did you get a car?” She leaned back in the chair and looked at me through the living room.

“Huh?”

“You have a car key in your hand.”

I placed the key on the counter and pulled out a plate from the cupboard. “Oh. Um…I took out a loan to get it.”

“Uh oh! What kind? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s a Benz. Sorry girl. It was one of those spontaneous things.”

‘A Benz? I know you ain’t talkin about that Mercedes parked outside!”

“…yeah.”

“That shit is nice. Oh man. Do you know how long you are gonna be spending trying to pay all of that back?”

“Yeah. Please don’t remind me.”

“I mean dag. You didn’t want an older model?”

“Does it matter?” I got suddenly annoyed with her. Alicia definitely rubbed off on her. Big time. “You’re starting to sound a lot like Alicia.”

Her mouth opened a little and then she closed it. I could tell she was offended. “No the hell I’m not.”

“Well stop being so nosey. Just because we’re girls, that doesn’t mean you have to know about every little aspect of my life.”

She slightly bowed her head and apologized. I started to pile waffles on my plate. While I warmed my food up, Lauran turned the channel so that it was on E!News.

“Ooo…did you see this the other day? Jason supposedly has a new girlfriend and everyone think she’s black.”

My head shot up and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. I tried to remain calm. “I told you that I don’t care about that man…”

“You should. He could be your future boss.”

“Might” I said, taking my plate out of the microwave.

Lauran muted the TV and turned around on the couch to face me. “Ever since your birthday you’ve had this…attitude.”

“No I haven’t. You guys have been all up in my business lately and I don’t appreciate it.”

“Well if you don’t like talking about your life, just tell me. I thought we were supposed to be friends.”

Lauran was the closest friend that I had; I didn’t want to completely shut her out. And I knew that she could keep a secret.

“I’m so sorry about the way I’ve been acting…”

She took the TV from off of mute and turned back around to watch it. “It’s okay I guess.”

Should I tell her about Jason? It would absolutely suck if she found out through the news. Speaking of the news, I thought that me and Jason were hiding our relationship pretty well. I’m not ready to be in the public eye. I’ll be judged. I’ll probably get hate mail. Oh God. People will probably tell me that I’m not good enough for him…and the list of why I never want to be famous goes on forever…

“Hmm…he was here in the BX. Probably checking things out at the site.”

“Who?” I was still lost in thought.

“Jason Jameson.”

“Oh.”

“Ugh, he is so fine! Even when he’s wearing sweatpants and a hoodie.”

I took my plate, brought it into the living room, and sat beside her. “Yeah I guess he’s cute.”

“Fine” she pointed her fork at me, attempting to correct me.

“Okay…he’s fine. I’ll give him that.”

On the outside I had a straight poker face. But on the inside? I was thinking that he is more than fine. That man is perfect in so many ways.

“I can't wait to meet him next week.”

“Oh…yeah.” I cut off a piece of the waffle and stuffed it in my mouth. A flavorful taste of apples and cinnamon burst through my mouth, making love to my taste buds. “Mm…damn these waffles are good!”

“Told ya.” Lauran said laughing.