Where I Wanna Be (10 page)

“
Singing lessons?” Eli asked.

“
Yes, because according to Tony, she was doing a lot of singing last night,” Nick turned a page in the paper and began to imitate Minnie. “oh, oh, oh, oooh…” He then glanced up at his brother and smiled at him. “
Chris!
”

Eli felt his cheek aflame with embarrassment. “I’m taking Minnie home now. Tell mom I’ll be right back.” He quickly left with Minnie.

Kieran and Nick laughed amongst each other. “We’re such assholes.” Kieran laughed.

“
Aren’t we?” Nick laughed.

*****

“
Yo, Eli!” Folliero’s owner, Marco, scribbled on some paper and handed it over to the young man. “You have an order coming up. Get ready, kid.”

When Eli wasn’t in school or participating in some sport, he spent his weekends delivering pizzas. His goal was to save up for a nice speaker system for his “new” car, a used Mustang convertible his brothers helped get him for his recent eighteenth birthday. The only condition was Eli had to cover the insurance and maintenance on the car, which he gladly did. He had big plans for the car, starting with the wheels and working his way inside to the interior. It was in process, between looking like something potentially special and a piece of crap. Eli had faith, though. Soon, his car would have all the honeys flocking to him.

But for now, he was using his honey-macking machine to deliver pizzas.

After ordering from Folliero’s for so long, he was able to score a gig there. He started as a busboy, wiping floors and cleaning tables. Then he was the delivery guy. He soon made his way as waiter, then as cook. Occasionally when the delivery guy was out or they were short-staffed, Eli made the deliveries. He didn’t mind it at all. He usually scored a few good tips. He just didn’t like going to the rich neighborhoods. Despite all the money they had, they never tipped shit.

He gathered the pizza and side dishes and headed out to New Brighton, a city right next door to St. George. After scoping the neighborhood and finding the right house, Eli parked his car and gathered the pizzas. He casually walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. He began to daydream about the next upgrade he wanted to make to his ride when the door opened.

“
Oh, you came quick!” A young girl answered the door. “Krista! The pizza is here!”

“
Just a minute!” Krista Allen called back. “Tell him to wait just a moment!”

Eli stared hard at the chocolate beauty in front of him. She had shoulder-length shiny ebony hair that was so dark, it almost looked blue. Eli immediately wanted to run his fingers through it. She had sensual, deep brown eyes and her full lips were daintily painted with a nude blush color. She just wore jeans and a sweater top, but that was just fine. Her petite figure filled that outfit perfectly.

It was love at first sight. Eli knew he was going to marry her. He was going to make her a D’Amato. She was going to have his babies. Now all he needed to do was convince her.

“
What’s your name?” Her soft voice was music to Eli’s ears.

Eli had to shake his head to relieve himself of the assault of dirty thoughts that began to plague his mind. “I’m Eli.” He smiled. “What’s yours?”

“
I’m Faith,” she smiled. “Nice to meet you, Eli.”

“
Same here, Faith.”

Faith folded her arms and cocked her head to the side. “You look familiar. Do you go to Roth High?”

“
Yeah, I do,” Eli smiled. “I’m a senior there.”

“
Oh, that’s cool. I’m a senior there as well.” She smiled.

Faith’s smile could light up the darkest sky, Eli determined. “That’s funny. I’ve never seen you around.”

“
Maybe it’s because you never looked for me,” she grinned back.

“
Duly noted.” Eli replied. He felt silly for chasing so many hoes that he was missing a good woman right before him.

“
Okay, here you go,” Krista gave Eli money for the pizza and he gave the boxes to her. “For the pizza and the tip is for you. Thank you, so much.”

“
Not a problem,” Eli smiled. He then caught a last glance with Faith. “I’ll see you around at school, then?”

“
See you around, Eli.” Faith smiled before she closed the door.

Eli stood in front of the door for a few seconds, hoping to catch another glimpse of Faith. Once he realized his actions were considered to be borderline stalking, he hurried back to his convertible and rushed back to Folliero’s.

He was determined to get to know Faith a little better.

****

“
So who was that delivery pizza guy?” Krista asked over pizza.

Faith shrugged. “Just a delivery guy.”

“
Yeah, but he ain’t just any delivery guy.” Krista gave a sly smile. “You two were making conversation.”

“
I make conversation with everyone, Krista.” Faith countered.

Krista took a bite of pizza and eyed her best friend. She knew when Faith was being honest and when she was full of it. Faith was currently full of it. “What’s his name?”

A slow smile formed on Faith’s face. There was something so special about the delivery guy; she couldn’t put her finger on it. “Eli.”

“
Mmm, hmm,” Krista nodded, “I don’t know my delivery guy’s name.”

“
Well, now you do.” Faith smiled.

Krista took another bite of pizza and continued to eye her best friend. Faith was trying to hide her newfound crush on Eli. Her eyes sparkled just a little more and her cheeks became just a smidge rosier. “I bet you already have your first-born’s name picked out, huh?”

Faith fell in love with the name Elnathan, which meant
gift from God
and was determined to name one of her children that one day. “Girl, you’re so crazy.”

She knew it was wrong, but that didn’t deter her. It felt good.
Really good.
Now she understood the hype of it all. It was one of those pesky sins she heard about every Sunday in church. A part of the seven deadly sins. The major one, about which her parents not-so subtly instructed her on a regular basis—lust.

Faith Sheppard lay in bed, staring up at the popcorn ceiling in her bedroom, fantasizing about the pizza delivery guy. What was his name? Ah, yes, Eli. She practiced saying his name over and over as it rolled off her tongue.
Eli, Eli, Eli.

He went to her school so that meant she would be seeing him sometime that week, hopefully. He looked so different in a pizza delivery outfit than he did at school. He was always a bit flashy, dressing in low-slung jeans and baggy clothes. His ponytail was pulled back tightly and curled a little around his neck. She’d noticed Eli from afar and that was fine by her. She liked being incognito.

Faith also knew who he was, she just never knew his name. She definitely knew his reputation. It seemed that every girl either slept with him or wanted to. She could name at least five girls who bragged about his bedroom skills and how big his penis was.

Penis. The word made Faith giggle.

She wasn’t a prude and definitely knew what sex was. But she was a good girl. She boasted a 3.5 GPA. She was active in the Black Students Union, Rainbow Coalition, and sports. Unlike her friends, she didn’t drink, smoke weed, or have sex. She did go to quite a few parties and participated in more than her fair share of dirty dancing.

She was also a virgin. Faith’s parents preached to her the importance of saving herself for marriage, but Faith also knew reality. And reality told her unless she was going to get married straight out of high school, there was no way she was going to be a 40-year-old virgin.

“
Faith,” her mother, Amy, knocked on her door. “It’s time to get up and get ready, honey.”

“
I’m getting out of bed, Mom,” Faith pulled back the sheets and quickly undressed. She put on a robe and hurried to the bathroom to shower. She then walked back to her bedroom and closed the door behind her to get ready for church. It was the church’s anniversary so she had to wear pale blue as her mother specifically picked out that color for the Sheppard women. She had to practice her speech in front of the mirror one more time. She also had to be on her very best behavior for the entire day.

Being a preacher’s kid was not everything it was cracked up to be.

*****

“
Eliodoro! We are going to church, not a fashion show! Get down here, now!” Nicola yelled up the stairs and shook her head. Getting her boys out of the house when they had to go somewhere was always a battle. It was a guarantee she spent the least amount of time in front of the mirror because she had to battle her sons for face time.

Now she was waiting for her second-youngest to make his grand appearance, finally. Her older sons were dressed and ready to go, along with Tony. Out of all of her sons, it seemed Eli took the role of pretty boy to heart. “Eliodoro! Now!”

“
I’ll be right down, ma!” Eli yelled back. His mother was invited to a Baptist church by one of her housecleaning friends and they were having a celebration. Eli, for one, was excited. He couldn’t stand another minute being inside the sleep haven also known as mass. If it was up to him, he would spend his lazy Sundays in front of the TV watching football. Instead, he was inside a church pew and listening to the priest give spiritual readings, something he usually forgot by the time they left the church.

Eli slicked his hair back a one more time and straightened his tie. It was a church they were visiting in Harlem, some forty-five minute drive away. Truth to be told, Eli wanted to go to the church to scope out the Harlem honeys. He was on a mission to bang as many women in New York as possible before he turned 21.

He said a quick prayer in the bathroom and then left.
Lord, please forgive me for all the sins I’m going to have within the next several weeks. Amen

****

The parishioners of First Baptist Church were nothing like anything Eli had seen before. Women, in all shades of brown, were dressed to the nines. It seemed the older women wore extravagant hats that coordinated with their entire outfit down to the shoes. The men wore the sharpest suits and were models out of Ebony Man.

The church itself was quite large, two stories tall, and almost rivaling the size of the cathedral by his mom’s house. Eli and his family made themselves a place in the back of the church and sat down. Nicola made small talk with her co-worker and waited for the festivities to start. Eli just hoped he wouldn’t fall asleep like he did every Sunday in mass.

“
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to celebrate the church’s anniversary on this fine Sunday,” The deacon spoke into the microphone. “We know you all have other responsibilities and things you have to do, so for you to come here to celebrate the church is just a gift from God. Thank you! Now without further ado, please welcome your First family—Pastor and Lady Sheppard and their daughter, Faith!”

The parishioners stood up and applauded the family entering the church, walking down the long center aisle. Pastor David was a muscular and tall Black man, standing over six feet tall with a bald head and goatee. His wife, First Lady of the church, Amy, was on the pastor’s right. She was a petite Black female, with black hair just over shoulder-length and a hazelnut skin tone.