When Clarke didn't say anything at first, Persha wanted to take it back. It was a stupid joke, and she didn’t mean anything by it.
"You know what I mean, Clarke. They complain about you taking up all my time. So honestly, it would be good if I could hang out with them for a few hours tonight, you know like old times."
"Oh yeah, baby, no offense taken. So when you gonna let a brotha know whassup?"
Persha was really disappointed. She wanted nothing more than to wake up Saturday morning with Clarke in her bed, and she in his arms. But she was careful, not wanting to come across like some silly little mistress either. Hooking up with Clarke was cool, but she didn't really need his company.
"I was waiting to call Cricket back after I talked with you. So let me see what they're talking about then I'll call you back."
"Okay, that sounds cool. If I'm not in the office, just hit a brotha on the hip," Clarke said before hanging up the phone.
When Persha hung up the phone, she took a paper holder from her desk and threw it against the wall. Persha was already tired of this, Clarke disappointing her by canceling dates. But what she felt for Clarke wouldn't allow her to just throw in the towel and give up.
On the patio at Magnolia's on the Richmond strip, Persha, Kori, and Cricket were enjoying one of their favorite pastimes; people watching.
"OMIGOD! I can’t believe she squeezed herself into that!" Kori gasped as an obese woman walked by wearing a tube-top dress.
"Of all the restaurants offering happy hour specials, you had to pick the only one in the city that thinks happy hour doesn’t include half price drinks," Cricket said to Kori.
"Girl, this is an upscale spot," Kori said. "So that means you'll meet the kind of people we want to be around."
"Yeah, this is just like your plan to hang out at Maverick’s, the bar in the Hotel Derek with eighteen dollar martinis, right?"
"Oh chill out, Cricket, will you?" Kori said as she rolled her eyes. "You always hating," she hissed before turning to Persha.
"What's wrong with you?" Kori asked Persha. "You haven't said much. You feeling okay?"
Barely able to keep her eyes open, Persha sat up at the sound of the questions directed at her. She told herself to shake it off. But that did little to help. The last thing Persha wanted to do was go home and sit up all alone, and she was so tired of being sleepy all the time.
"Oh, girl, I'm cool," Persha replied. "Just over here chillin', that's all."
"Well, you've been chillin' a lot lately. Anything you want to share with your very best friends in the whole world?" Kori asked.
"I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all," Persha replied as she struggled to mask a yawn.
"Something you want to share?" Cricket jumped in.
When she didn't respond right away again, Kori reached over and touched Persha's hand. "You not having problems with Clarke are you?" She asked sincerely.
"No, nothing like that. We're fine, it's just…" She looked around the patio, the tears had already started stinging in the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I never feel good anymore. I can't tell you the last time I felt like myself. I just don't feel good and I can't put my finger on it."
"Well, what's wrong? Is it your stomach? Your head? Is it your feet, your heart? What hurts?" Cricket asked, jumping into her nursing mode.
"Well, that's the strange thing really, nothing hurts so-to-speak. It’s like I feel weak all the time, kind of like I'm on the verge of getting sick, but not quite there. And it's strange; whenever I'm inside, I feel even worse."
"Inside?" Kori said as her thinly arched brows shot up.
"Like at home?" Cricket asked.
"No. Now that I think about it, anytime I’m inside, really; at home, at the office. That's why I wanted us to sit out on the patio. It's almost like I'm making myself sick when I'm inside."
"Sounds like cabin fever to me," Kori said casually.
"Cabin what?" Persha’s brows inched upward.
"Cabin fever," Kori said. "You know, like in the winter you get so sick of being in the house that you start to convince yourself you're sick, and you actually start feeling bad."
"She might be on to something," Cricket said as she licked the salt from her glass and then sipped her margarita. "Think about it, remember during Tropical Storm Allison when we had all that doggone rain and flooding. We just felt so stuck indoors that we spent that one Saturday on the phone all day."
"Yeah," Persha said, finally feeling encouraged.
"Well, it's almost like that. We were so eager to get outside, it felt like we'd die if we had to spend one more day inside," Cricket said.
"But I don't remember feeling like this," Persha quickly said.
"Yeah, but remember I was. It felt almost like I was pregnant, but knew I wasn't doing the do. Yeah that was really tough," Cricket sympathized.
"I feel like that, but to the tenth degree," Persha said as she studied her friend’s faces. She had a feeling the question was on the tip of their tongues, but neither wanted to ask, so she let them off the hook. "And no, I am absolutely not pregnant!"
"Whew!" Cricket released.
Kori shook her head and downed the rest of her drink.
"I know better, it would be senseless to get pregnant by a married man," Persha said.
"But it makes sense to be sleeping with his trifling ass? Right?" Cricket said.
"Oh, Cricket, don’t even get on your soapbox!" Kori screamed.
"No, I'm serious," Cricket defended. "Persha, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't at least try to set you straight?" Cricket rolled her eyes at Kori before continuing. "It's been almost six months, girl, and this dog is still talking about he's gonna leave her? Then you stop dating, so while he gets to go home to wifey, you're sitting at home all alone and waiting on him! It's just not right. It’s a bunch of foolishness!"
"Damn Cricket, when you say it like that, it sounds all thrown off. But just think about it, when they hook up, I mean really hook up, that's gonna be one helluva love story," Kori said.
Cricket rolled her eyes at Kori then looked at Persha. "Who cares about a helluva love story!" She suddenly sat back. "You know what, it's all about you. I spoke my peace, so I'm just gonna have to leave it alone. If somebody’s sloppy seconds makes you happy, then so be it," she snapped.
In a quick sweeping movement, with one hand over her mouth, Persha shoved her chair back and rushed toward the bathroom. Lucky for Cricket too, had she not had to run and throw-up, Persha just might have had to give Cricket a piece of her mind.
~ Clarke
Clarke sat back in awe over the greatest blowjob filled weekend he had ever experienced. It was one great big suck-fest, and he enjoyed every hot tantalizing minute of it, both giving and receiving. He told himself it only got better and better with each encounter. He considered himself a real lucky man.
As he walked around the house and made sure everything was in order for Kelsa's return, he kept thinking about the awesome night he had had. He tried, but couldn’t think of anyone who could suck dick like that, not Persha and certainly not Kelsa. And that’s what kept him going back time and time again.
He looked at the clock and figured he had a good thirty minutes to call and say something sweet to Persha before he'd hop in bed and try to get some rest. He was worn out, but the weariness felt good.
When Clarke dialed her number, the phone rang five times but there was no answer. His heart started racing a bit, and he wondered where the hell she could’ve been on an early Sunday morning.
He hung up and called right back. When he did, her sleepy voice grumbled to life after only three rings.
"Hhhhello?" Persha said.
"Persha?" Clarke stated.
"Ah, yes, it's me," she answered groggily.
"Baby, what's the matter? Sounds like you had a rough night. You okay?"
"Emm hmm. I'm good, just tired. That's all," she managed.
"Guess you don't feel like hooking a brotha up. You know, with a little phone sex?"
"Actually, I haven't been feeling good lately; always sleepy."
"Oh, Shorty, you don't have a lil’ something on the way do you?"
"Nah, nothing like that. Just a little tired." She yawned. "That’s all."
"Damn, so no love for a brotha this morning huh?"
"Sorry, babe, I'm way too tired."
Clarke rolled his eyes, then sighed. He walked to the patio and looked out. He didn't panic when he saw Kelsa's Explorer pull into the driveway. He calmly walked to the back and sat on the bed.
"Well, I'm sorry you're feeling bad, but maybe I'll check up on you a little later. Cool?"
"Yeah, that’ll work."
"Alright, I'll holla."
"I love yo-"
He didn't want to hear that shit so he quickly hung up the phone. He wondered why she'd been acting all funny lately. He was hoping she wasn't gonna try and pull that "I'm pregnant, so leave your wife or else." hH just wasn't trying to hear it.
"Are you just getting home?" Kelsa asked. She walked in and dropped her overnight bags at the door.
"Nah, baby, I got here like around three or four this morning."
Her brows crumbled together. "Why is the bed still made if you've been here that long?"
"Girl, what is this? A Spanish inquisition? I fell out on the couch, damn what's up? Why you gotta sweat a brotha like he stole something?"
Kelsa sashayed over to the bed and dropped her purse, then sat next to Clarke. She frowned a bit and looked into her husband's eyes.
He smiled and tilted his head, giving her his best puppy-dog look. "Whassup, Baby Girl?"
"I don't know. It’s just, well, I called around 3:45 this morning and you weren't here." She frowned.
"Ah damn. Is that what you up in here giving me the third degree over? Baby, why didn't you say something? Of course I didn't answer. I wasn't here. We didn't get back ‘till about five."
"But you just said you got here at three."
"Nah, I must've mixed up the time. I got here about five, you know, I didn't clock in. A brotha didn't know he had to." Before she could say anything else he jumped up from the bed with his hands on his belt buckle as if he was prepared to drop his pants.
"What? Don’t even tell me. Now I gotta whip out the thangie for a smell check? ‘Cause I will. A brotha will do it if that’s gonna make you feel better," he joked.
Kelsa frowned and simply nodded her head. "I'm sorry, Clarke. I don't know what's wrong with me lately. You're right, I guess I was just a little jealous of you spending time with the guys instead of me."
Clarke sat back down, put his arms around her and eased her close.
"Awwww baby girl, you ain't got to be jealous," he said in a comforting tone. "Did you hear anything more about your request?"
Kelsa pulled back a bit. "Oh, yeah I did. My supervisor discretely advised me that I might want to stay on the overnight shift for another 11 to 12 months."
"Ah Damn. Nah!" He did a couple of air punches to further emphasize his disappointment.
"Well, she reminded me that the Head Nurse slot will be opening soon, and I'm almost a shoo in. Well, you know, if I continue to do good work and not make too much noise about my shift." She smiled.
"No shit?" His eyes lit up.
"Yup!"
"Damn, Kel, that's great news, Baby! Head RN? That's got to come with a better schedule and big bucks to boot, right?"
She nodded again. This time, she shared in his enthusiasm.
"So, baby, I really need your support. Just hang in there with me and when I get that new promotion, we can go to breezy Belize to celebrate."
"Awwww, baby, that's cool. Real cool."
Now all he had to do was make it through the afternoon without any sex. He watched her intensely, hoping her actions would disclose whether she was in a romantic mood. She walked into the large closet they shared. When she emerged wearing flannel pajamas instead of a slinky nighty, he was relieved.
"Clarke, I hope you're not hungry. Baby, I'm so wiped out. If you let me take a nap now, when I get up, I'll fix you the best meal you've had in years. I'm talking fried catfish, cornbread, dirty rice and-"
Clarke eased his finger up to her lips, cutting her off. A smooth smile crawled across his face. He could hardly believe his good fortune.
"Will that meal include something ice cold?" he asked.
She frowned. "What?"
"A cold brew, a beer."
"Whatever you want, baby, whatever you want. Just let me sleep for a few hours. I'm beat."
He smiled and eased back on to the bed. She could sleep till the cows came home for all he cared.
~ Persha
Persha looked around the bustling restaurant. Amid the chaos, she struggled to remain patient. She'd been kept waiting for 15 minutes already and she wasn't happy.
She thought about waiting for him before being seated, but as tired as she was, she had looked forward to getting a table and relaxing with an ice cold drink of water.
"Ma'am, would you still like something from the bar while you wait on your guest?" the waiter asked.
Persha put the glass down and shook her head. "Nothing from the bar, but I’ll take an Iced-tea while I wait. Thank you," Persha said.
Persha watched as the waiter walked away. From her seat, she watched the front door and finally spotted Clarke. He was talking with one of the hostesses. The young woman pointed to the rear of the restaurant and Persha smiled when she saw Clarke looking in her direction.
"Finally!" she mumbled under her breath. It didn’t take long for her anger and anxiety to begin fading. A sense of relief and sheer lust started settling in. But before Clarke could make it to her table, a well-dressed man stopped him.
Persha couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Clarke's body language told her it wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. He motioned toward her table and watched as Clarke and the man looked and smiled in her direction. Clarke motioned towards the table once again. This time, the man gave Clarke a piece of paper and let him go.