RECKLESS — Bad Boy Criminal Romance (25 page)

When I wake up, the living room is dark and I’m all alone, on the couch, and the home phone is ringing.

I answer and it’s Angela and she tells me to come pick her up at Pomfret Hall, the freshmen dorm.  When I arrive she walks out from the lobby and gets into the Toyota.  “He thinks I live there,” she says, as we start back home.  “Luckily I slipped into the lobby after some other kid swiped his dorm card and opened the front door.  It’s starting to get chilly; I would’ve frozen my ass off outside waiting for you.”

She recounts her date with Eddie to me as follows:

After he picks her up in his silver Miata Eddie asks, “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Angela says.  “Drive around and I’ll pick somewhere.”

Eventually she chooses an upscale Italian restaurant on Dickson Street.

The waiter asks if they would like to see a wine list.

Angela looks at Eddie, hoping he’ll buy a bottle.

“I think I’ll just have a Coke,” he tells the waiter.

The waiter looks at Angela and she says, “Me too.”

The waiter walks away and Eddie says, “I think this will be better if we’re both completely sober.”

Angela forces a smile.

They sit together, and after several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Eddie laughs and says, “So what should we talk about?”

Angela thinks a moment and says, “Oh, I know.  What kind of old person do you want to be?”

He smiles and asks, “Where did that question come from?”

“Uh, it was just something I was talking about the other day with my brother.”

“Hmmm … let’s see.  Okay, I think I got it.  I’d like to still be living around here.”

“The same place you grew up?”

“Sure, I’m used to it and I like it.  Why not?”

Angela nods.

“And by the time I’m old, I want to have a happy marriage that’s lasted a long time.  Let’s say at least fifty or sixty years.”

“I guess you want to get married sometime soon then.”

“Well, yeah.  In the old days people always used to get married young and it worked out fine.  Nowadays you have people dating all the way through their twenties and thirties and even forties, switching from partner to partner to partner.  They don’t want to grow up.  It’s really immature.”

“But what about having life experiences?  And being comfortable alone and not needing to be codependent?”

“I hate that word ‘codependent’.  Human beings aren’t meant to be alone.  God created a man and a woman.  He didn’t create just a man, or just a woman.  He meant for them to need each other, or be ‘codependent’ as some call it.  And as for life experiences, they’re meant to be shared between a husband and wife.  And when you have kids – be fruitful and multiply, as it says in the Bible – you share the experiences with them too.”

Wanting to argue with him, Angela instead bites her tongue and comments, “I’ve never thought of it like that.”

Eddie smiles contently.  “What do you want to be like when you’re older?”

“My answer isn’t as good as yours.  I just thought I’d like to still be active and having fun and enjoying my life.”

“Well, that’s important,” he says.  “We should cherish every day God gives us.  What was your brother’s answer?”

“Oh, um … I don’t remember.”

For supper Angela orders mushroom ravioli. 

“What kind of person were you in high school?” Eddie asks her.  “I picture you as the popular cheerleader who all the guys tried to flirt with.”

“Popular?  No.  Most of the girls at my high school hated me and the feeling was mutual.  I get along much better with guys, so the friends I had were mostly male.  Cheerleader?  Definitely not.  I’m not into sports.  Plus I’d never be caught dead in a cheerleading outfit, though I’m sure I’d look good in it.  And yeah, guys did flirt with me.  But most of them were too immature or just couldn’t keep up.  I mostly like guys a little older than me,” she says.  “How about you?  I picture you as someone would was involved in everything – Student Council, Key Club, maybe a sport.  As far as popularity … um, maybe.  I don’t think all the girls were after you, but I bet there was at least one or two who fell for you pretty hard.”

“You’re pretty accurate, actually.  I was in all the clubs.  I was even the president of the Young Christians and the Young Republicans.  I played second-base in baseball.  I was popular.  For my senior year I was Vice President of the Student Government.  And as for girls, you’re pretty much spot on.  There was one girl, in particular.  We started dating when we were sophomores and we were together all the way until graduation.  She was involved in everything too and had a close relationship with God.”

“So what happened?” Angela asks.

“She got a scholarship to a really good college out of state.  So we decided to break up but stay friends.  I didn’t want to, but she had to do what was best for her.”

“I think you did the right thing.  At least that was the mature thing to do.”

“The bad thing is that I haven’t had a serious relationship since then.  I’ve wanted to, but I’ve had a hard time finding someone with the same values as me.  Being in college with so many people on campus, I thought it’d be easy to find a good match for me, but it’s still hard.”

“I have the feeling that you have high standards.  Not that that’s a bad thing.”

“I do have high standards.  I’ve always believed God will send me the right girl who is not only beautiful, but has strong Christian principles.  So why should I settle for any less?”

              “Good point.”

“I’ve dated girls who claimed to live each day for Christ, only to find out later they weren’t who I thought they were.  It’s hard to get to know a person on a date,” Eddie comments.  “Everyone wants to portray themselves in way other than what they really are.”

“Well, why don’t we agree to just tell the truth without filters?” Angela suggests.  “That way we can just relax and be our true selves.”

“Deal,” Eddie agrees.

After they eat their meals, they order dessert.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” Angela asks.

Eddie considers it.  “You know, that’s a good question.  My initial response would be that you’d need to learn a person’s values and learn what type of relationship they have with God before you could truly love them.  But then again, maybe God sometimes blesses people by letting them just find each other and feel that love instantaneously.  I don’t know.  I’ll have to ask my dad.  Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’m kind of embarrassed to say this.  But I felt something when I first met you.  I’m not saying it was necessarily love, but it was definitely something.  Anyway, I was just curious.”  Angela puts her hand over her face, feigning embarrassment.  “Oh my god, I feel so awkward saying that out loud.”

“No, don’t.”  Eddie reaches across the table and touches her other hand.  “We promised we wouldn’t filter ourselves and you’re living up to it.”

Angela removes her hand from her face.  “I guess so.”

“And just to make you feel better, let me be honest.  I felt something when we met too.”

“What did you feel?”

“Just something about you.  You seem energetic and full of life …”

Angela nods.

“… and you seemed pure and full of yearning for God’s love.”

Angela keeps nodding, trying to maintain a straight-face.

“And I love that you’re so eager to build your relationship with God now that you’ve found Him.  It’s really cool that our siblings met and what has come from it.  Now both you and your brother are getting involved in the church and developing your faith.  To think it all started with your brother and my sister meeting by chance.”

“Oh, definitely.  I think it was meant to be.  Like, you know, God’s divine intervention or something.”

“He works in mysterious ways.”  Eddie pays the bill and they get back in his Miata parked on Dickson.  He drives her to Pomfret Hall, where Angela says she lives.  They pull in up front and Eddie parks the car.

“I had a really good time,” Eddie says.

“Me too.”

They stare at each other a few moments, then both exhale a chuckle.  Eddie doesn’t seem to be making a move so Angela says, “We said we’d be honest, right?”

Eddie nods.  “Yeah.”

“Do you want to kiss me?”

“Yeah.  If you want to.  I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, or feel like you had to or anything.”

“I know I don’t have to.  Kiss me.”

They both lean over the console and kiss.

“I’ll see you Halloween night at the church, right?” Angela asks.

“Yeah, it’s all set,” Eddie says.  “What kind of costume are you going to wear?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”  Angela smiles mischievously.  “Something you’ll like.”  She gives him another quick kiss on the cheek before exiting the car and slipping into Pomfret behind one of its residents.  She finds a payphone and calls me.

“So what do you think of him?” I ask.

“He’s a good-looking guy.  And sometimes he can be really confident, which is hot.  But when he’s confident he’s usually on some religious diatribe that I think is totally whacked.  He has some charm too, but then he became a pussy when it came time to be physical with me.”

“So I guess that rules out sex anytime soon.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Angela says.  “I definitely felt him get excited when we kissed.  Like an energy that bypassed all the things he believes and whatever uptight feelings he has about sexuality.  You know when you’re having sex and it’s just intense and you stop thinking and you’re just in that moment?  I felt like I can get him there.  When we made out a little I could picture him going for it.  Next time when we’re together and we find someplace to be alone, his brain can shut off, and I can just get him there in the moment with me.”

“Not before I sleep with Britney.”

“When are you seeing her next?”

“Halloween.”

“That’s when I’m seeing Eddie next and that’s when I’m going for it.”

“I’ll still sleep with Britney first.”

“No way. 
If
you sleep with her that night, and that’s a big ‘if’, remember what time it is.  Because I’ll get Eddie earlier in the night than you get her.”

              “Hey, do you want to stop by the liquor store?  I feel having a drink tonight and I think my mom’s liquor cabinet is starting to get depleted.”

              “Oh my god, please.”

I pull into Crossover Liquor.  I browse an aisle near the register along the wall as the lone clerk helps out Angela.  I look at a bottle of the Johnny Walker Black.  The clerk asks to see identification and Angela opens her purse and hands him the license I stole for her. When he looks close to inspect it, I pocket the bottle of Johnny Walker and continue browsing casually.

“Your license is really soft,” the young clerk says, fingering her I.D.

Angela gives a slight nod, shrugs.

“Mine’s hard.  Do you want to feel it?”

She stares at him and says, “Are you kidding me?”

“What?” he asks in an innocent tone, but with a huge grin.

Angela looks over at me and says to the clerk, “That’s my boyfriend.  He’ll kick your ass.”

The clerk looks at me and I glance at him.

“I’m not even kidding,” Angela insists.

“I didn’t mean to …” the clerk trails off sheepishly and quietly rings up the total for the alcohol.  “Y’all have a nice night.”

              At home we go out on the back porch.  “I’m cold,” Angela says and goes inside momentarily and rummages through a closet.  She finds one of Ariel’s old sweaters and puts it on and returns outside.

              By two o’clock in the morning we’re both drunk and we walk back to the guest room Angela is sleeping in.  We continue talking and I recline one side of her bed.  She changes in front of me into sweatpants and a T-shirt.  She walks over and gets into bed beside me.

I glance over and want to touch and kiss her.  But I either fall asleep or pass out before I do and we both sleep together in the same bed that night.

Chapter Sixteen

My sister Ariel and Terrell had been dating a few weeks.

“Have you gone out with anyone else since we’ve been seeing each other?” he asked her.

“No,” she said.

“I want to be honest with you,” Terrell said.  “I’ve never been monogamous with anyone before.  But I want to be faithful with you.  That being said, my ex-girlfriend Tameka has stopped by my house a few times since you and I met.”

“Did you sleep with her?” Ariel asked.

“No, no, definitely not.  She was trying to convince me to get back with her.  She did give me oral, but that’s it.  And that won’t happen again.  I have no desire to be with her.  I think I could be happy with only you.  Do you?”

“Yeah,” Ariel said.  “I don’t want anyone else.”

“Tameka is out of her mind,” Terrell warned her.  “I told her I’m dating you now and she went crazy.  If you see her out, try to ignore her or just stay clear of her.”