Chapter Five
It took us longer than I thought to redo the second song and by that time lunch had come around. We decided to stop and grab something to eat and I had a craving for a sandwich. He took me over to this deli that was around the corner from his loft. “They make some of the best sandwiches here. I often get one when I really want something quick to eat.”
“Don’t you like to cook?” I asked as he opened the door for me.
“Of course, but I only really cook when I have friends over. But since it’s just me, I sometimes cook enough for two, that way I have seconds.”
We both looked up at the chalkboard menu up above where they were making the food at. I already knew what I had wanted just from reading the description of it. “I can understand that. I just grab like a TV dinner or something but my parents invite me over for dinner sometimes, especially on Sunday after church. My mom makes a big meal for those who want to come over and eat.”
“What would you both like to have?” the guy from behind the counter asked.
“Umm, I’ll have the corn beef on rye please,” I said.
“Would you like just the sandwich or if you want you can get a side and drink for two dollars more?”
“I’ll do the side and drink. I think I’ll try the potato salad and a sweet tea.”
“I’ll have a Reuben with a pickle, potato salad and a slice of chocolate cheesecake please.”
I couldn’t believe what I heard him order. Lord knows, I couldn’t eat all of that in one sitting.
He looked at me puzzled by my reaction. “Also make sure to add a sweet tea to that order.”
Again…I gave him the look.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you sure you can handle all of that food?”
“Yeah and what I can’t handle I can save for dinner. Plus…” He lifted up his shirt which I wasn’t prepared for especially when he smacked his toned abs. “…I think the gut can handle all this good food.” He smiled as he went into his back pocket to get his wallet.
All along this statement he made, I suddenly kept thinking about what the hell I just saw. But quickly I snapped out of it, “I’ll get it.”
“Oh no, I’ll get it this time, next time we have lunch you can get it.” He handed the guy his Debit card and grabbed the receipt along with two plastic cups to which he handed me one. Walking over to where they had the sodas and tea, I poured myself a glass as he put some ice in his glass. “No ice?” he asked.
“Just a little, if you put too much it just waters it down more and make it less sweet.” I watched as he took out half of the ice that he had in his cup before putting some ice tea. Looking around, I saw a table over near one of the windows. “Let’s sit over there.” I pointed as we walked over and before I could get to my chair, he quickly came behind me to pull it out for me to sit in. “Thank you.”
Sitting down, he helped pushed it in before heading over to his own seat. “So how long have you been singing?”
“For as long as I can remember I think, most of the time I would sing in church when I was a kid and even as I got older. But I just don’t want to sing gospel. I like to sing a bit of everything really. How long have you been in a band?”
“About eight years now. We travel here and there, in theatres and bars. Like you, I love to sing and love playing my guitar even more. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves makes me feel good.”
“I feel the same when I sing. That’s why I want to get this demo tape done and then if my chance comes, it will be discovered.”
“It takes time you know, it just doesn’t fall into your lap right away.”
“Oh I know that, I know a lot of others think that success will come to them immediately but that’s not the case. I knew someone that had gone out and had people listening to his work and all, thinking that if he had a tape, then he would instantly get noticed by someone. That was like ten years ago and he just recently got a record deal.” I hoped it wouldn’t take me ten years before I got discovered but I was a patient person, more patient than most. “It will come for me.”
“I think it will too, you have an amazing talent. Now, tell me what you were laughing so much about?”
“Order seventy four is ready!” a woman called from the counter.
“Hold that thought.” He got up.
I took another sip of my tea which was a huge relief as the coldness of it really did it the spot. I had gotten so overheated from seeing those abs of his. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, never had I seen abs like that in months.
He came back over with our plates which looked really good and sat mine down in front of me. “Go on.” He gave me a dazzling smile.
I stared at that smile for a moment. Wow. “Well, I sang that song at my cousin’s wedding. We haven’t gotten along for years because she thinks that because she’s older than me by a month that she’s better than me. So she calls me up since the other singer ran off, to sing not only during their first dance as husband and wife but also when she was walking down the aisle.”
“What did you sing for that?”
“At your best, you are loved by Aaliyah.” The look on his face was enough to shake my head and laugh because I knew what he was thinking. “I tried to talk her out of it but she told me that the song had sentimental value for her. It was the song that she heard at the club when they met.” I took hold of my sandwich fixing to take bite.
Then he asked me, “Are they still together?”
“Surprisingly yes, they are, even though at the reception, the groom and one of his groomsmen were having a threesome in the closet.”
“What? No way!”
“Yes way. And I was about to tell her but after she only paid me half of what she told me she was going to pay, I decided to keep that shit to myself.”
All he could do was laugh bless his heart, he was trying to eat but I was making him laugh too much. That’s how most of our lunch was spent, laughing at each other’s stories. It felt like we were trying to one up each other but I had to admit it was fun being able to talk and joke around. Before we knew it, we hadn’t even eaten a thing and we had been talking for four hours straight. “Good grief, do you know we’ve been talking for hours now?” I told him.
He then grabbed his phone and began swiping it. “Wow and I’ve got to be somewhere in about an hour too. Let me get us a doggie bag or something.” He got up.
I did get a bite out of my sandwich which I have to admit was delicious and I couldn’t wait to get it home and eat. But then something or actually someone in my head said, ‘Weren’t you supposed to look at that ass of his?’ And that’s when I remembered what Sara told me to do when I got the chance and this was the perfect moment to do just that. My mouth popped open.
Lord, why did I do that?
She was right. He had an ass that could fill a pair of jeans as if he’d been poured into them. I just watched as he waited for the guy behind the counter to give him what he needed.
Picking up my cup, I almost poked my damn eye out with the straw when I was trying to get the damn thing in my mouth. I just put the cup down because it was no use for me to even try and drink it. The sight had been enough to jar my brain, I think.
“Here we are.” He came back with two containers and bags.
I then put my food into it.
“So same time tomorrow,” he said as we were walking back to the lofts and it seemed we were taking our time with the walking.
“I’ll be late. I have a doctor’s appointment.”
“Well, if you are unable to come afterwards, then just let me know.”
“Oh no, I’ll be fine. It’s just a routine checkup is all.” I pressed the button on my key bob, and we both walked over to my car. “I’ll see you tomorrow,”
He waved as I got inside and soon drove off. I heard my phone ring and saw it was my mom calling. “Hey momma,”
“Hey baby, how are things going?”
“Just came from my studio session, feels like everything is going just fine.”
“Well, that’s great. I’m glad. I was calling to see if you wanted to come over for lunch since your Dad brought us some stuff for sandwiches and all, thought you’d like to join us.”
“Dang, I already had lunch. Actually, I didn’t get the chance to eat lunch but I was able to get me a sandwich near where I am doing my studio session at.”
“Why didn’t you get the chance to eat?”
“I got caught up talking with Anthony after we had ordered our food, we sat and talked and talked for hours until it was time for him to go.”
“He seems like an interesting guy, who is this Anthony fella?”
“The guy who is helping me with my demo tape.”
“Well, he seems nice if he was able to keep you enthralled with whatever you guys were talking about. If you like, you can come on over anyway. I think your Uncle and Aunt are coming over.”
“Nah, I think I’ll just head on back home, I wanted to look over tomorrow’s song, plus I’ve got that doctor’s appointment in the morning.”
“Really, you want me to come with you?”
I smiled because whenever I would tell my mom I had a doctor’s appointment, she would think it was something major even when it wasn’t. “No, it’s just a checkup momma, no need to worry. I’ll talk with you tomorrow, okay?”
“Fine baby, just let me know how it goes tomorrow, love you.”
“Love you too, goodbye.”
Once I got off with mom, I put in a call to Sara who I knew would enjoy listening to what I had to tell her.
“Hey girlfriend, how’s tricks?” she answered.
“I am going to kill you.”
“What? What did I do?” she asked with a gasp.
“You told me to look at his ass and I did.”
“No you didn’t, how was it?”
“I swear to God I am going to kill you for making me want to look at that man’s ass. It looked so good in those jeans he was wearing. We were having lunch and he went to get us some containers for our food.”
“What did you guys talk about?” she playfully questioned me. “Or were you too busy looking into his eyes to realize that you were talking for so long?”
“Mainly, we talked about music, how we both write our own songs and where we get inspiration for those songs. What kind of music we both liked. Stuff like that.”
“That’s it, you guys didn’t talk about how much he could lift or what his favorite sexual position was?”
I was trying my best not to laugh at Sara but of course, I did. “No we didn’t. I just met this guy Sara, geez. What the hell would I look like if I was to ask him some insane question like that?”
“Like a girl who wants to get laid,” she quipped.