A Preacher's Passion (9 page)

Lavon arrived back at his hotel Sunday morning with just enough time to shower and change for church. Fortunately the series production had found its rhythm and the taping was going smoothly. It was a good thing he didn’t have to think too much. Between his unreleased sexual tension and Passion’s soft, pliant body that periodically bumped up against him during the night, Lavon had hardly gotten any sleep. He hadn’t gotten any breakfast, either, after deciding he needed a cold shower more. He’d eased out of Passion’s bed at seven-thirty, leaving a note and her house five minutes later.

A blinking message light on the phone greeted Lavon as soon as he opened the door. Seeing it, Lavon remembered he’d turned off his cell phone the night before, just as he’d arrived at Passion’s house. He hoped there were no emergencies.

He decided to listen to the hotel messages first. There were two; one from last night and one from a half hour before. Both were from Carla.

First message:
“Hey, Lavon, Carla. Stanley wants to invite you over for dinner tonight to discuss the completion of Kingdom Keys. Dinner’s at seven. If you can make it, give us a call or just come by.”

Second message:
“Ahem, good morning, Brother Chapman. I’m assuming you didn’t get the messages from yesterday, either here or on your cell. Anyway, we’d like to invite you over for an early Sunday dinner, around five thirty. No need to call back, we’ll see you in church.”
There was a long pause before Carla hung up the phone.

“Well, Chap,” Lavon said, undressing as he walked toward the shower, “you’ve gone and done it now.”

Less than ten hours after leaving Passion’s bed, he sat at the Lees’ dining room table. Carla looked lovely in her perfectly coiffed braids pulled up and away from her face, a form-fitting dress that showed off her curvaceous body to perfection, and a pair of low-heeled mules. As she walked from the dining room to the kitchen, Lavon discreetly studied her backside. Carla had the best ass he’d ever seen, bar none. It was large, hard, and as round as a basketball. After his sexless night with Passion, he wanted Carla more than ever.

Carla stood in the kitchen feeling the same way. Women’s intuition told her that Lavon had been with someone the night before, and as unfair and unjustified as it was, a wave of jealousy consumed her. She was married and had absolutely no rights to Lavon, but that didn’t stop her from being envious of the woman who’d enjoyed his illustrious charm and lovemaking skills. Her earlier resolve disappeared as fast as her Sunday chicken and dumplings. Carla had watched how much Lavon enjoyed the meal, and she wanted to be sopped up just like the sauce on his plate.

Carla brought out a moist, lemon-frosted pound cake made from scratch. She was surprised to see Stanley rising from his seat, reaching for his suit jacket.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Derrick just called, and I think he could use some support. He’s doing much better since losing his uncle, but I want to say a prayer with him, in person.” Stanley put on his jacket and reached for his briefcase. “On the way to his house, I’ll drop off the kids for the church musical and probably be back around eight. I figured that until I get back you two could discuss SOS and which promotions would be best to put at the end of these DVDs.”

“You probably should be here, baby,” Carla replied, mentally begging him to come back and help save her from herself. “You know best how you want the DVDs to look.”

“But you know me,” Stanley said, coming around the table to plant a kiss on her lips. “And nobody makes me look as good as you do. I trust your judgment in watching the tapes for the best footage. It will give us a leg up on our work tomorrow. And like I said, I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Lavon didn’t trust himself alone with Carla and quickly sought to get out of the situation. “I’m not sure I have all the DVDs,” he said as he walked with Stanley toward the door. “It would probably be best to do this tomorrow, Doc.”

“Well, let Carla check out whatever you have; we don’t have time to waste.” With that, Stanley called to his three children, who were all on program to sing with the youth choir. “Y’all ready to go?” Brianna, Shay, and Winston came bounding down the stairs with a chorus of “yeahs” and “uh-huhs.”

Stanley looked the epitome of the perfect father as he held the door open for his children. He blew his wife a kiss. “See you soon.”

Lavon and Carla stood still a full two minutes after Stanley left, both silently trying to talk themselves out of the inevitable. And then they were in each other’s arms.

“I missed you,” Carla said as she led Lavon to the guest bedroom.

“Me too,” Lavon responded, his hand on Carla’s generous backside. “And I’m getting ready to show you how much.”

“It’s me, girl, open the door,” Kelvin said impatiently, banging on Princess’s door at one o’clock in the morning.

Princess rubbed sleep from her eyes as she undid the latch to her dorm room. “Kelvin, what are you doing here? You trying to get me in trouble?”

“I’m in enough trouble for the both of us,” he said, pushing his way into the room and dumping a large, stuffed backpack on the floor. “I left the Rev’s.”

“You what?”

“Left, got kicked out, however you want to look at it. Me and the Rev had words or whatever. I told him I wasn’t going to church, and he told me that it was either that or get out. So I got out.”

“And you came here? Kelvin, you can’t stay here—”

“Oh, I’m your man but you gonna throw me out too? Is that how you roll?”

“No, but—”

“But what? Look, whatever, I’m only here to crash for the night. This weekend, me and you are moving into our own place.”

Princess was sure she was dreaming. All she’d ever wanted was for Kelvin to be her man only, and now here he was saying he wanted them to live together? It was more than she could have prayed for. Once they were living in the same house there would be no way for him to be with anyone else; all the other girls would have to back the bump up. Yes, she knew about the other girls. She’d just kept believing they didn’t mean anything, that they threw themselves at Kelvin because he was an athlete, but that she was the one who really mattered in his life. Now, here was the proof. He was at her place, saying he wanted them to live together. It didn’t matter the reason. The bottom line: he was here and Princess thanked her lucky stars that her roommate, Joni, was spending the night in her boyfriend’s room.

Princess pulled Kelvin toward her and sat down on the bed. “We can’t get our own place, Kel. Where are we gonna get the money?”

“Don’t worry about that; I’ve already got the hookup. A friend of my dad’s is, let’s say, ‘sponsoring’ me. He’s a huge basketball fan and wants me to be able to focus on that and school, and not worry about money.”

“You talked to this man tonight?”

“I talk to him all the time. He’s like a play uncle who I’ve known since I was thirteen. I’ve been kicking around the idea of an apartment for a while, since even before attending church got to be such a big deal. He feels the same way I do, that I shouldn’t have religion forced down my throat. And he’s got hella bank and friends in real estate. For him it’s no big deal, but for us…”

“I’m surprised you don’t wanna hook up with your boys and make this a party pad.”

“Oh, it’s gonna be that; it’s definitely gonna be party central, baby, but not with a bunch of hardheads. Plus, the place can’t be in the name of anybody on the team. The rules are strict about us college ballers not getting paid. So Geoff’s gonna pay the year’s rent in advance and we’ll put the condo in your name.” He reached over and hugged Princess. “It’s gonna be our own hot spot, baby, just you and me.”

Our own spot.
Princess didn’t mind rooming with Joni but setting up house would definitely have its advantages. A part of her was already relishing the freedom, but another part was hearing her parents’ voices, already knowing how upset they’d be if they ever found out she’d moved off campus, was sexually active, who she was sexually active with…and not necessarily in that order.

“So what’s it gonna be, we down or what?” Kelvin’s countenance was serious as he awaited an answer.

Princess pondered her answer. If she said no, the question might not come again. Girls were waiting in line to hook up with Kelvin. But if she said yes, that was a different kind of weight. She didn’t want to imagine the consequences of her parents finding out, and with her mother’s nosy intuition, combined with Aunt Viv’s regular phone calls and dinner invites, it wasn’t “if” the truth about her living situation would ever come to light, but “when.”

“So what’s it gonna be?” Kelvin asked again. “’Cause if you ain’t down, I need to keep moving. Geoff’s already got a place for me to look at, and since he knows the owner, I might be able to move in tomorrow. But we gotta handle the paperwork ASAP, feel me?”

Princess took a deep breath and with one word turned the page of her life to a new chapter. “Yes,” she said softly, and then with more confidence. “Yes, Kel, I’ll do it.” Princess cut the parental umbilical cord in that moment:
I’m grown and can do what I want. I’m not Mama and Daddy’s little Princess anymore. The quicker everybody realizes that, the better.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Viv,” Tai said sincerely. “But the boy is grown, and he comes from a very different background. I know it’s Derrick’s house and all but—”

“You’re preaching to the choir,” Vivian interrupted. “Me and Derrick have very different views on this. I mean, the boy just came to live with us six months ago. He’s never attended church regularly. My idea was to slowly incorporate church into his lifestyle. But Derrick wouldn’t budge. Stubborn, manly ego; that’s all this is about.”

“So where is he?”

“Kelvin? He got an apartment. Janeé finally shared that much with us after we failed to hear from Kelvin all weekend. She said he was fine, that he wasn’t mad at Derrick, and that he would be in touch with us.”

“Sounds like his mother is okay with him living on his own.”

“Actually, I think she’s relieved he’s no longer living with us. Don’t get me wrong, I think she wanted Derrick and Kelvin to get to know one another better, and to develop some sort of relationship. But I don’t think she was ever totally comfortable with the idea of his living here. She never said anything; it’s just the feeling I got.”

“Hmm. So he’s staying in an apartment all by himself?”

“No, Janeé said it’s him and a friend from his poli-sci class, somebody he knows from high school.”

“Hmph.”

“I’m just gonna pray for him, Tai, that’s all I can do. He’s a good kid, and we’re going to miss him being around. Especially D2, he’s really proud to have Kelvin as his older brother. I plan to invite him and his new roommate to Sunday dinner when he calls, and I’ll ask Princess to come too.”

“How do they get along—Princess and Kelvin?”

“Okay, I guess, but aside from the time y’all were here, they’ve only been over once at the same time. Kelvin had some girl with him and Princess had a cell phone glued to her ear. She still call herself in love with Rafael?”

“I guess so. El isn’t at church much since he started college at KU. But last time we spoke, he talked about seeing Princess over the holidays. I guess it could be worse. At least I know who she’s seeing and at least if they’re screwing—which I think they are ’cause they’re all googoo-eyed over each other—it’s only a few times a year.”

Tai sighed, thinking how she’d been just a little older than Princess when she got pregnant with Michael, her oldest child. “I definitely need to have a talk with her when she comes home for Thanksgiving because, trust, I’m not ready to be a grandmother.”

“I’m ’bout to pull over and give you the business…. ooh baby, can I get a witness…” The sounds of T-Pain oozed out of the speakers as about twenty partygoers grooved to the beat. Princess melded into Kelvin, her hands around his waist, his hands gripping her backside. Couples bumped and grinded around the room, while others smoked blunts and/or drank the Vodka-laced punch Princess and Joni had prepared.

“Here,” Joni said, giving Princess a partially smoked joint.

Princess took a hit and passed the joint to Kelvin. “Naw, I’m good,” Kelvin said, continuing to dance. Princess passed the joint over to Joni’s boyfriend, Brandon, who had attended school with Kelvin in Santa Barbara. He and Joni were now roommates with Kelvin and Princess and as Kelvin had predicted, their place was party central.

Aside from the creative story she’d had to invent for her mother, Princess and Kelvin’s moving in together two weeks ago had gone quite smoothly. Kelvin’s uncle-friend, Geoff, had provided a nice, roomy, furnished, two-bedroom condo less than two miles from the UCLA campus, and had covered rent and utilities for the rest of the school year. A week later, Brandon and Joni suggested they all become roommates, and agreed to provide food, transportation, and recreational necessities for Kelvin and Princess in exchange for the second bedroom. So far it was a perfect arrangement for these best friends.

It also helped Princess with the story she told Tai: that Joni’s family owned the condo and Joni had asked Princess to become her roommate. She’d rationalized the move to her mother saying the room and board monies her scholarship provided could now be used for study aids, field trips, and to supplement the small check she received from her part-time job. Princess told her mother she wanted to be independent, that she liked having found a way to save her parents some money. When Tai asked Princess about the secrecy of the move and her, the mother, finding out about it because of a disconnected phone number, Princess simply said she’d been too busy moving to call home, a story that Tai told Princess she didn’t believe for one minute.

“You think I was born yesterday,” Tai had said when Princess used a loaded schedule as the reason she hadn’t told Tai about the move. “What’s his name, Princess?”

“Who?” Princess had asked innocently.

“Are you telling me it’s just you and Joni in the apartment—there are no guys staying with you? Remember, I was your age when I got pregnant with Michael. Things haven’t changed that much since then.”

“Well, uh, Joni’s boyfriend comes over a lot. His name is Brandon.”

“And what about you? You expect me to believe you’re so in love with Rafael that you’re not talking to anybody, not attracted to any of the fine boys on that big campus, not even a little?”

Princess laughed. “Well, I do kinda like this one boy.”

“And are you kinda having sex with this boy?”

“Mom!”

“Princess, it’s been a while since we’ve talked about it but I want you to remember the things I’ve told you about abstinence and safe sex. I believed you when you said you hadn’t slept with Rafael, but that conversation was a year ago.”

“But, Mom—”

“Let me finish. You’re a grown woman, full of life, hormones raging, wanting to spread your wings and try new things. I understand that. I was a lot like you at your age. I know what it’s like to be so in love you’re willing to do anything for the man. And believe me, whoever this dude is will ask you to do anything, and everything. All I’m saying is don’t be stupid, don’t give yourself to just anybody and whatever you do, don’t mess around and get pregnant. Don’t get me wrong—you know how much I love your brother, and how much I love King. I don’t regret my life. But who knows what would have happened and how my life would be different if I hadn’t had a child at such a young age?

“You’re smart, beautiful, and have so much to offer the world. I just want you to be smart when it comes to men, baby, okay? Wait for the man who is willing to give you his name, or at least as much as he’s getting from you…your whole heart.”

That’s right, I’m giving my baby everything,
Princess thought as she walked toward her and Kelvin’s bedroom. The party was winding down; only six or seven people remained. Just as well. The smoke, drink, and grinding against Kelvin all night had made her hot for her man. She was going to give it to him every way he wanted.

Princess neared the laundry room, which was adjacent to the kitchen. She’d almost passed it when she heard a sound. She almost ignored it, but then she heard it again and stopped. A bumping sound, and as she walked to the door and placed her ear against it, a low moan. Princess jerked the door open. The sight that greeted her was Kelvin’s smooth chocolate ass with a pair of café au lait legs clutched tightly just above it.

“Kelvin! What the fuck is going on?”

The scene was obvious, but Kelvin still used one of the most popular answers given when caught in the wrong: “Nothing.” Then under his breath, “Damn.”

Meanwhile, Fawn, the woman who’d been moaning as Kelvin pounded her, pulled down her minidress and tried to scurry past Princess.

Princess grabbed Fawn’s weave. “How you gonna come up in my house and fuck my man?!” Princess pulled on the weave, tried to knock Fawn to the ground.

Fawn struck back, grabbing Princess’s halter top. “If he’s your man, why is he with me? Let me go, tramp!”

Princess ignored the perky 32A’s that had popped out of her halter. A tousle ensued, the two women rolling on the floor of the small hallway.

“A fight, y’all,” someone yelled from the living room.

Kelvin grabbed Princess and Brandon grabbed Fawn, pulling her toward the door. “Party’s over for you,
mami
,” he said before opening the door and pushing her out, tossing her purse to the ground beside her. “And don’t think your boy ain’t gonna hear about you creepin’.”

Whatever comment Fawn said was swallowed up by the sound of the slamming door.

“You were fuckin’ her, I saw you!” Princess screamed. She and Kelvin were in their bedroom and Princess was livid. “How could you do this, Kelvin? And in our own house,
my
house. This place is in
my
name.”

“I wasn’t, we were just messing around!”

“Yeah, I saw your messing around.”

Kelvin was embarrassed that he’d gotten caught, knew he was taking a big chance by making out with Fawn in the laundry room. But that had been part of the excitement, the illicitness of it all. Plus Fawn was so fine. She’d been coming on to him all night, had been after him ever since she started dating his teammate. Fawn always told Kelvin that the only reason she was with Tyson was because she couldn’t be with him. Tonight she’d proved that she wasn’t just talk, and even Princess being upset didn’t dampen his desire for finishing what he and Fawn had started.

Princess continued to vent. “Kelvin. You’re not gonna make me a fool. You either want to be with these hos or you want to be with me!”

“Oh, you got ultimatums? It’s like that now?”

Princess sat on the bed, tears beginning to flow silently down her face.

“Look,” Kelvin said, going to sit beside her. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have disrespected you like that. That girl don’t mean nothing to me. I’m just high and shit and, well, I’m sorry, baby. Forgive me?” He tried to put his arm around Princess.