Charlay

Charlay McKenzie was met by the glare of fluorescent light as she stepped into the foyer of the Opus Night Club. She couldn’t wait to grab a Long Island Iced Tea and collapse into one of the VIP booths. Her week had been extremely hectic. Monday was the sentencing of her client, Lucy Cuban. Lucy had kidnapped her ex-boyfriend, and two children from his neighborhood YMCA. She held them all in a shabby shack for two months pretending to be her sick version of a family. In the end, Lucy ended up killing all three of her hostages. She was apprehended because of a fender bender in the car she used to move the bodies. When the police arrived to take statements from Lucy and the other driver, they noticed blood on Lucy’s clothing but no visual bruising on her body. A lengthy interrogation and subsequent GPS tracking of her vehicle’s activity, led police to the bodies of four other men and eight other children. Lucy was guilty, but Charlay still went the extra mile trying to exonerate her. Charlay researched every statute, applied every logic, filed several motions, and nothing worked. Despite an amazing closing statement, the jury found her client guilty and the judge sentenced Lucy to sixty years in prison. If she was being honest with herself, Charlay would admit that a large part of her knew that this woman had committed horrendous acts against humanity and deserved to be locked away for the rest of her life. However, she felt guilty that she hadn’t been successful in her attempt at keeping her client out of prison. Nevertheless, losing a case is a hazard of her occupation and she needed to let it go. It was time to let loose with friends and enjoy the weekend.

Charlay looked around the popular Brooklyn night spot for the two owners. She waved hello to them and began to make her way through the crowd. It looked like a buffet of men and women. Barely dressed, light and dark brown bodies swayed to urban sounds, while others lay in wait at the bar for human interaction. Charlay noticed that Trenay was already seated at the vip booth they reserved for their weekly Friday gatherings. The booth was surrounded by mirrors so before sitting down, Charlay took a quick glance at her 5’9” frame. She adored her mocha colored skin and almond shaped eyes but shook her head at the sight of her thighs.

“Sit your butt down!” Trenay yelled over the voice of Jay-Z blasting from the speakers. Charlay opened her mouth to speak but Trenay interrupted. “There is nothing wrong with you so just sit the hell down!” she said, using her hands to animate her words.

Charlay looked at her friend. They shared the same almond shaped eyes and mocha coloring but at 5’6”, 110lbs, a D-cup, and an apple bottom, Trenay Greene would never understand her insecurities. Trenay had always been the wild one. She most likely wouldn’t care if her body wasn’t perfect anyway, and she would have dared anyone to tell her of her imperfections to her face, she would have beaten the hell out of them.

“Well, hello to you too,” she said, playfully rolling her eyes as they both cracked up laughing.

“Seriously, what took you so long?” Trenay asked abruptly putting an end to their amusement. “I’ve been sitting here watching Sonia work the room for an hour.”

“Trenay, this gorgeous look didn’t happen all by itself you know,” she said, smiling and scanning the room for Sonia.

“That outfit is hot. You know I’ll be coming for that shirt next week,” Trenay said, admiring the blazer covered tube top and matching pencil skirt Charlay was wearing.

“Good, that means that I can borrow that blouse you’re wearing. Oh, and maybe you can flip my beat down bush into a decent ’do. Lord knows I need a new hair style.” They both chuckled “Where is Sonia?”

“Charlay, you know her. She’s somewhere trying to find her meaning of a good man.”

Charlay turned to look at Trenay. “A man with long fingers and longer money!” They both exclaimed in their best ghetto girl voices.

A waitress came over to take their drink orders and broke up their display of female bonding. As the server walked away, Charlay noticed Sonia at the bar.

“She’s wearing the hell out of that slip dress, isn’t she?” Trenay commented.

“Yeah, I guess she looks good,” Charlay said.

Charlay had to admit that Ms. Sonia Ambrose wore the dress well. She has perfect C-cup breasts, an ungodly tiny waist line, and an extra round bottom. All of which were accentuated by her legs, which at 5’10”, she had plenty of.

Charlay watched as Sonia leaned on the bar and playfully touched the arm of an unattractive, but well-dressed man. She’d throw herself at anything that she thought had a thick wallet, and he was nowhere near good looking. In fact, he looked like a gorilla, Charlay thought, turning up her nose.

“Looks aren’t everything you know,” Trenay said reading Charlay’s mind. “Besides, brother might have bank.”

“How do you know?”

“Well if you stop giving that man the screw face, I’ll tell you,” Trenay said, snapping her fingers in front of Charlay’s face to sway her attention away from the monkey man. “He’s wearing a $3,000 suit and $500 shoes. I can’t tell what brand of watch that is from here, and I can tell that those are not rhinestones. So, with all of that bling, his watch has to be worth well over 20,000 dollars.”

She took a sip of her drink and eyed the man over her glass. “Dang girl, three years of running your own party planning business has turned you’re 20/20 into baller vision!”

They gave each other high fives. “Shut up Charlay!” Trenay giggled. “You have to be on point when you’re constantly rubbing elbows with New York’s in-crowd.” She used two fingers to make quotation marks. “You have to be able to spot one of the city’s elite out of a sea of fake wannabes.”

“Speaking of fake ballers,” Charlay said with a roll of her eyes. “Yarlise is at the entrance with that wannabe, Tyrone.”

“Charlay, why don’t you like him?”

“I can’t stand him because he’s a loud, obnoxious, bigheaded, pain in the butt! Plus, I don’t trust him and neither should she.”

“Don’t talk like that. Here they come.” Trenay said, putting her now empty glass on the table.

Yarlise Belmont was dressed in a pair of low-rise jeans that showed off her onion shaped butt. She accentuated the jeans with a matching black shirt that draped off of her right shoulder. The shortest of the girls, Yarlise stood at 5’1’. Her full figure often made her the center of attention.

“What’s up ladies?” Yarlise asked as she slid into the booth. Trenay and Charlay greeted her with sister-girl smiles and hugs.

“Hey! What y’all doing over here; male bashing?” Tyrone asked, looking toward the bar as he approached the booth.

“Hi Tyrone,” they both blandly said.

Charlay gave Mr. Tyrone Moore the once over. He is handsome, she thought. But his attitude makes him so unattractive. Immediately her nose wrinkled, lips pursed and eyes tightened. Her mind drifted back to the day she spotted him at Kings Plaza Mall, in front of Victoria’s Secret, all hugged up on some short skirt, long weave wearing, girl. She called Yarlise immediately and told her what she had witnessed. Of course Yarlise was angry. She called Tyrone and told him to make his way to her house at once. Charlay ended up staying on the phone for nearly two hours while Yarlise waited for him. She knew from experience that confronting a cheating man could be hard, she wanted to show her friend some support.

Charlay was in the comfort of her own home when she repeated, for the hundredth time, what she saw at the mall. Yarlise seemed to be getting angrier by the second. Charlay could hear knocking at Yarlise’s front door so she knew he’d finally arrived. As soon as she opened the door, Yarlise began to yell. She didn’t even bother to hang up the phone. Charlay could hear Yarlise’s harsh words; she had to admit that she was proud of her girl for standing up for herself. She stood there with the phone pressed to her ear trying to catch every syllable, she knew it was wrong to be so nosy, but Tyrone deserved this tongue lashing. She quieted her own hurried breaths in order to hear better but the words stopped coming. Yarlise’s screeches fell silent. Charlay started to panic, her mind raced with hundreds of scenarios. She just knew something was wrong. She started shouting Yarlise’s name into the receiver. After a horror filled second, she quieted down. She pressed her ear to the phone again to see if she could hear Yarlise breathing or signs of a struggle. That’s when she heard it, a light moan. Charlay’s expression quickly turned from terror to confusion. She listened again to see if she had heard wrong. When she heard it for a second time she knew. Those weren’t the sounds of a wounded woman; they were the sounds of love making. Yarlise was screwing a man that one of her best friends saw with another woman. Charlay was stunned. She slammed the phone down disconnecting the call. She couldn’t believe her girl had gone out like that. She had taken her man’s dick over Charlay’s word. That was the last time she told Yarlise anything about Tyrone.

“I know you ladies want more drinks,” Tyrone said, bringing Charlay back to reality. He was pointing toward the two empty glasses on the table. “I’m gonna go over here and get some. You know the bartender is my boy. I got the hook up!”

“Okay baby.” Yarlise said smiling ear to ear.

Trenay and Charlay looked at each other and Trenay made the loser sign using her forefinger and thumb to make an L.

“Anyway,” Charlay said. “How was your day at the center, Yarlise?”

“Stressful! Running the center is still pushing me to the max.”

“Even after five years?”

“Trenay, you have no idea. No More Reign is supposed to promote the mental and physical health of women, but it is putting my mental and physical health to the test. Today, a middle aged socialite came in with her three kids. Apparently, her husband fell in love with their marriage counselor and decided to leave her.”

“Yarlise, that doesn’t sound out of the ordinary. I mean, men leave women all the time.”

“Yes, Charlay, but they don’t usually change the locks to your penthouse condo when you go to pick the kids up from school. They also don’t leave instructions for the doorman to give you a little yellow envelope.”

“An envelope?” Trenay questioned.

“Yup, the envelope contained a $100 bill stapled to a note that read, It’s over. Here’s a Benji and a smile, make it happen.”

“What kind of man does that to his wife and kids? Trenay asked.

“The kind that has a prenuptial agreement,” Yarlise said. “I had to hustle to find a place for this woman to stay. I knew she was used to having the best, but that woman was working on my last nerve. She was up a creek without a paddle and still being picky. I showed her three different apartments before she chose the one that she felt was suitable.”

“Apartments?” Charlay asked.

“Yes, because my offices are located on Park Avenue, I’ve gotten several wealthy women; many of which have been verbally or physically abused. I helped them get out of their negative situations, hooked them up with the best divorce lawyers that helped them get great settlements from their husbands. Now, some of these women offer some of their fully furnished, second or summer apartments to other women in need. What’s amazing is these women are usually dragged through the mud, verbally and physically, but they still maintain an air of superiority that can be both remarkable and annoying,” she shook her head. “I know that what they have been through affects them emotionally but to the outside world, they appear so put together, and often incredibly demanding.”

“Wow.”

“Wow, what, Trenay?” Maritza asked, as she took steps towards the table.

“Hey girl” Yarlise said as Charlay slid further into the booth to make room for Maritza

Maritza Felicitas is a beautiful mix of Dominican and African American. Standing at 5’7”, her golden skin, thick eyelashes and long flowing brown hair gave her an exotic look. She was the heaviest of the bunch, but her wide hips and large breasts made her every man’s dream.

“It’s about time you got here. I thought you were going to be tied up at that office all night.”

“We can’t all be fortunate enough to make our own hours, Charlay.”

“Yes, freedom to come and go as you please is a beautiful thing;” Charlay said, while blowing imaginary dust off of her well-manicured nails.

They all snickered and Maritza ordered a fresh round of drinks.

“Where are the guys?” Maritza asked.

“Tavaris and Anderson met up with their boys and went to the Mets game straight from work.” Trenay replied. “They’ll be here later.”

“And your man,” Charlay asked, pointing to Yarlise. “Is over there flirting with Sonia.”

They all looked toward the bar where Sonia and Tyrone were whispering in each other’s ears and laughing. Then all eyes were on Yarlise.

“They’re just cool because he’s been spending a lot of time at the apartment. Sonia lives there so they have to interact. Besides, Sonia is my best friend. She would never do that to me.”

“Uh huh, keep your friends close and your man even closer.” Charlay whispered to Trenay

“You are crazy, Charlay,” she said, laughing.

Then something caught her attention. Four gorgeous guys were coming through the green neon outline of the front door. Trenay stared like a deer caught in headlights. Her silence caught the attention of the other girls, and they all followed her gaze toward the club entrance.

“Damn,” Charlay muttered as the first man came through the metal detector.

He was a beautiful shade of chocolate. Marble eyes and shoulder length locks highlighted his skin which was the same shade of brown as a Hershey’s Kiss. Even in his double-breasted Hugo Boss suit, it was obvious that he was cut in every possible way.

“Double damn,” Maritza added as the second guy came into the club.

His 6’5” frame was picture perfect and his creamy beige skin looked especially soft. He was sporting a well-tailored, Armani suit. He was clean cut and his athletic build was apparent.

“Yeah, they’re alright,” Trenay said, grabbing their attention. “But take a look at the brother coming in behind them. He looks good enough to eat!”

Every head snapped in the direction of the door.

“Iiilll!” they all shouted

“That ain’t nobody but Tavaris,” Charlay teased. “Don’t nobody wanna be looking at your man.”

“Oh boy, ol loco Anderson is right behind them. Get ready to laugh y’all.” Maritza added.

“I don’t like him,” Charlay said turning up her nose

“Mama, you don’t like anybody,” Maritza commented.

“It’s not that I don’t like him, there is just something about him that is, you know, off,” Charlay tried to explain.

“Whatever,” Trenay said. “He’s Tavaris’s best friend so be nice,” Trenay said as she watched the men make their way to the table.

“Hello ladies,” Tavaris spoke first, his words spilled through the air like a smooth silk. “And a special hello to you beautiful.” He leaned over Yarlise to kiss his woman. “These are my friends Devin Welsh, and Kemari Nauru,” he said, reaching for a chair. “Fellas, this is Charlay, Maritza, Yarlise and my baby, Trenay.”

“And, I am the Thirst-Quencher!” Anderson said, his voice animated and stressing each syllable. He grabbed a drink tray from the waitress that was heading to their table, and served them their alcoholic beverages with a seductive wink and smooth wiggle of his hips. He hummed the well-known tune of the athletic drink and his perfect white smile made everyone around him grin as well.

“You are so crazy,” Maritza said, taking a glass. “Nasty as hell too.”

They all laughed

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Tavaris quipped. “These are my boys from the gym. Devin is the owner and CEO of Public Notice, an up and coming advertising agency.” He boasted patting him on the back. “And, I’m sure you’ve all seen Kemari play.”

“I thought you looked familiar. You’re the Kemari Nauru of the New York Knicks!” Maritza said. She was pointing at him beaming and wide-eyed. “You’re a great power forward, but your team could use some work! The Lakers spanked y’all the other day! What was the final score? One hundred and seven to seventy-two? Damn!”

“Don’t blame him, he probably doesn’t play much. I’m sure he’s a power forward who spends his time making sure the bench doesn’t fly away.” Yarlise uttered with disdain before taking a sip of her martini.

“Ouch!” Tavaris grimaced.

“Whoa,” Kemari said gesturing toward Yarlise with all five of his long fingers spread into an open palm. “I haven’t been playing because I’m injured. But I’ll give you a few Kool-Aid points for wit.”

“She doesn’t know very much about basketball.” Anderson said while sliding into the booth next to Yarlise. “She thinks all professional athletes are spoiled, stuck-up gigolos. But I wouldn’t mind rebounding half of the ass you guys toss away,” he snickered.

“Anderson, you are disgusting!” she snapped, rolling her eyes and neck. She turned in Kemari’s direction. “I also think you guys are egotistical and sexually unconstrained!”

Maritza, Charlay, and Trenay shot confused looks at each other. Kemari remained silent. He was intrigued by Yarlise’s dislike for professional athletes. He’d met thousands of women who wanted nothing more than to please him. He looked at Yarlise with a sparkle in his eye and a slight smile.

“Did you just call me a whore?” he asked with a slight titter.

“Yes! Frankly I’m surprised you caught it. I’m sure it’s not a word on the jock reading list.” Yarlise shot her slick remark at Kemari with outward confidence, but inside she was taken aback by his flirtatious smirk. This man is gorgeous, she thought. Everything from his strong jaw to his masculine scent was making something stir within her. She sighed inwardly. She couldn’t remember the last time a man made her feel so warm, so feminine, so… wet. Despite her sharp anecdotes, Kemari held her attention with his sexy gaze, a gaze that made the moisture between her legs grow. She mutely kicked herself. She shouldn’t be feeling this way about a man that wasn’t Tyrone, but when was the last time Tyrone made her feel this much heat. Her skin felt as though it was literally on fire, and Kemari kept assaulting her with his smoldering eyes. It was beginning to make her uncomfortable, so she hastily tried to squeeze her way out of the booth.

“Excuse me,” she said, pushing her way past Anderson.

She ended up falling right into Kemari’s arms. He helped her steady herself. Holding both of her forearms; he looked deep into her eyes. She could almost feel his coffee brown eyes touch her skin, and it took her breath away. He leaned in so close that she could feel his soft lips brush against her cheek.

“Can I take you out to dinner sometime to try and prove your theories wrong?”

Yarlise was caught off guard but quickly took a page from playbook of the women that she counseled. She pulled herself together. She licked her lips, and shot Kemari a sultry look through hooded eyelids.

“Of course you can take me to dinner,” she smiled, but her grin immediately turned into a scoff. “If I can bring my man!” she spat through clenched teeth and then stormed off.

Kemari was left standing with an open mouth and a tent in his pants that he prayed none of the others were aware of. His body was well aware of Yarlise the moment he and the other guys walked up to the table, and now because of her zesty personality, his mind was intrigued as well.

“Wow!” Devin said with a raised eyebrow. “She’s a feisty one,” he laughed out loud.

“Be careful man,” Tavaris chortled. “They all are!”

The ladies smiled and clinked their glasses.

“What’d we miss?” Sonia asked, collapsing into the booth.

Yarlise and Tyrone were right behind her. Tyrone’s face was contorted into a frown and Yarlise’s arms were folded across her chest, they were obviously at odds.

“You didn’t miss much. But we could use another round of drinks.” Maritza said.

Charlay and Trenay looked in Tyrone’s direction but he avoided their gaze.

“Drinks are on me Maritza. My mother raised me to be a gentleman. Plus, a beautiful woman should never have to pay for her own drinks.”

“You don’t have to do that, Devin,” she said through a smirk. “But if you insist!” she smiled at him and then called for the waitress. “May we have a bottle of your best champagne? Put it on his tab, please.” She pointed at Devin and they all laughed. “No, seriously we’ll have another round of margaritas for the ladies and beers for the fellas.”

The waitress nodded at Maritza then shot Devin a sexy grin. It was as if she could smell money on him. Maritza caught the gesture and shook her head. Some women are always looking for a come up, she thought. It’s a shame that men never see it coming. She saw women throw their bodies at guys and use sex to get everything from their cell phone bill to diamond rings paid for. She had no respect for women that do that or men that fell for it. Maritza pursed her lips and eyed Devin. She was positive that he would swoon for the busty, size two, scantily clad waitress.

Her bottom lip nearly hit the floor when Devin shot a quick, “thanks” over his shoulder and then subtly dismissed the young woman by giving all of his attention to Maritza.

“I love your accent. You’re from the Bronx, aren’t you?” he asked.

“You know it,” Maritza smiled and softly touched his hand. Both she and Devin couldn’t help but notice the energy that passed between them.

The now discontented waitress delivered their drinks with a frown, still paying no heed to their antics. Devin raised his glass, “Here is to new friends and new adventures,” he said while tipping his beverage in Maritza’s direction.

Here’s to old friends and long relationships.” Tavaris said, smiling toward Trenay.

“Here’s to getting up out of these seats! I want to see some bootie meat shaking!” Anderson retorted.

“Here! Here!” the guys said.

They each polished off her drink and swiftly moved toward the dance floor.

“Let’s get this party started!” Sonia yelled as they each grabbed a guy and headed toward the dance floor.

❖

It was 4:00 am when Tavaris decided to pull Trenay off of the dance floor. She and Charlay had been grooving to the latest Pop, Hip Hop, and Reggae Dance Hall music all night. They had the attention of everyone else on the dance floor. He reached into the crowd and lightly tugged her shirt. He pointed toward the exit. She leaned in closer in order to hear him better. He quickly snatched her into his arms; turned swiftly on his heels and headed toward the door as she wrapped her arms around his waist and they made their way through the crowd.

“Wait, I haven’t said goodbye to the girls yet!”

“We’ll call them when we get in the car!” he shouted over the sound of reggae music blaring from the speakers.

She didn’t have a chance to answer before Tavaris pulled her out into the crisp, April air. He took quick steps toward the parking lot.

“Baby!” she called while trying to catch him as well as her breath. “Why are you in such a rush?”

He slowed his pace, turned around and reached for her. A slight smile crossed her lips as the gleam of the street lights created a sparkle in his marble brown eyes.

“I’m not in a rush.”

“Then why are you moving so fast?” she asked as she took hold of his hand and continued toward the car. “Is something wrong?”

“No, but the faster I get you home the sooner I can get you in bed and caress that soft body.”

Trenay noticed the familiar look of lust flash across his face. The idea of making love to her man erased all other thoughts from her mind. Charlay and the others were no longer an issue. She smiled, grabbed his hand, and they both sprinted toward the car.

Tavaris helped Trenay into his Platinum SUV. Once inside, she leaned over the driver’s seat and returned the favor by opening his door as he walked around the car. As they turned out of the lot and onto the streets of Brooklyn, Trenay got lost in a sea of erotic thoughts. Her mind became entangled in a mass of sensual things she could do to her man’s body. It had been a while since they’d made love. Lately, he’d been coming home so tired he wouldn’t even want to eat. He’d just tell her he loved her, crawl into bed and hold her in his arms until he fell asleep. Trenay longed for his touch. She couldn’t wait to feel him inside of her. Night after night, she’d dream of climbing atop her kitchen table, feeding Tavaris her forbidden fruit, and then letting him enter her love canal gently.

Trenay tried to recall the first time they’d made love in their new home. That was almost a year and a half ago. She had been dating Tavaris for six months when they decided to move in together. Charlay told her that she was moving too fast but she didn’t care. She decided to follow her heart. Neither of them wanted to abandon their respective apartments, so they decided they’d both leave and invest in a home. Three months later, she and Tavaris were living together in a newly renovated, three family house in Canarsie. On their first night in the house, they’d made love on the only piece of furniture they had. A brand new black marble dining room set.

Trenay closed her eyes and leaned into the soft leather of her man’s car. A slow smirk crossed her lips as she relived the night they’d made love on the table.

Tavaris had finally come back from the hardware store and the delivery men had just finished setting up the table. Trenay was bending over breaking apart the box that the table parts came in.

“It’s looking good,” he said, standing behind her with a smile.

“It is, isn’t it? It didn’t even look this good in the showroom.”

“I was talking about you,” Tavaris said with a sexy grin. “I’ve never seen anyone look so sexy in a pair of sweats and a wife beater tee.”

“You are so nasty,” she replied with a light giggle.

Her back was still to him so she didn’t see him creeping up behind her. He had already taken off his t-shirt and was loosening the drawstring on his sweats.

“Do you think we should move the table to the other side of the room?” she questioned but he didn’t answer. “Tavaris did you hear…”

Finally turning toward him, she couldn’t finish her question. She was met with the sight of her sexy hunk of a man’s, half naked body. His olive brown skin was so smooth and beautiful. He moved in closer until his full lips met hers. She sucked them in then nibbled on them slowly. Then she felt his strong hands under her shirt, he was palming her breasts lightly. He leaned in and softly licked her ear lobe, making his way to her neck; he yanked at the shirt’s collar and licked up and down her cleavage. Afterward, he kissed his way down to her belly button, placing both hands on her ass. In one swift motion, he lifted her into his arms. He stepped out of his pants, which were already around his ankles, and walked over to the table. Gradually, he let her slide down his body until her behind rested on the table’s edge. He took her face into the palm of his hands and kissed her. Then he quickly removed her shirt followed by her sweats. He backed away in order to admire her body. He’d seen it before, but every glance amazed him. Her light blue boy short set hugged every curve of her body. He couldn’t wait to get her out of it. Trenay noticed the mass in the front of his boxers grow. She pulled him back to her and gently caressed him. Tavaris reached behind him for a chair. He moved her panties to the side and sat down to enjoy his first meal at their new table.

Bit by bit, Tavaris slid two fingers into her opening then lowered his tongue to her clit. Her back arched to the sensations and her eyes closed. He worked his tongue until he could feel her ecstasy drip through his fingers. He lapped it all, up not missing a drop of her juices. Still lost in ecstasy, she tried to return the favor. He refused.

“Tonight is your night,” he’d said while pulling her down from the table top, turning her so that her back was to him.

He gently guided her so that her face was pressed against the surface of the table. He removed her boy shorts then his boxers, freeing his nine-inch shaft, and then he entered her tight wet canal from the rear. She flinched at his sudden entrance, but quickly relaxed. She smiled inwardly knowing that he remembered her favorite position. She moaned as he slowly stroked her core. Tavaris was in rapture. Her tight wet mound was feverish for him, begging him to take her deeper, slam into her, ride her like a wild bronco, and he did, always following her silent commands to the letter. Their bodies rocked in harmony as they brought each other to sexual ecstasy.

Trenay still had a smile on her face when she came back from her trip down memory lane. She looked over at her man and her anticipation grew. She turned and looked out of the window and her emotions suddenly changed.

“What are we doing here?” she asked with a furrowed brow

“I just thought it would be nice if we took a walk.” Tavaris replied as he parked the car.

“Over the Brooklyn Bridge?” she snapped. She could feel her blood grow warm and her attitude rising. “Tavaris, it’s almost five am. No one else is out here! Why the hell would you want to walk at five in the damn morning?”

Tavaris smiled. He knew this would push a few of her buttons but he liked to see her get a little ghetto, he thought it was sexy. He parked the car, got out and opened the door for her.

“I thought we were going home so we could fuck! What the hell are we doing on the damn, Brooklyn Bridge?”

“You know, for a professional woman you sure do have an extensive vocabulary of profanity,” Tavaris politely stated.

Trenay quieted down. She knew her man was subtly trying to tell her to shut the hell up and enjoy whatever it is that he has in store. He’d done numerous passionate things in the past and she had almost always ruined them by opening her big mouth. With a deep breath, Trenay took her man’s hand and together they walked toward the center of the bridge. As they strolled, Trenay told Tavaris about her kitchen table reminiscence and he reminded her of the day they met.

When they reached the observation area, he turned her around so that her back was to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and then placed his chin on the top of her head. He could suddenly feel the weight of the black velvet box in his right pocket, he shifted it and smiled. He was looking forward to a long happy life with this crazy woman. He embraced her tighter. I must be crazy, he thought to himself.

“Baby, we’ve been together for three years now,” he said. “We have a beautiful relationship. I love waking up to you every morning, and look forward to holding you every night. I know that I’m not perfect, but I work hard every day to put in my part of what is needed to create the dream life we both envision in our future. I know that I come home tired, and that I may not spend as much time pleasing you as I should, but that’s all about to change.”

He turned her around just as the sun began to rise. The tranquil yellow and red glow of the sun bounced off of the Hudson as he spoke softly into her ear. “I wanted you to see something almost as beautiful as what you’ve given me the past three years.”

A smile crawled across Trenay’s lips. She held onto Tavaris’s arms as the sun unhurriedly crept into the sky. He moved his right hand from her grasp but his left remained in place. Trenay turned to tell him how beautiful and romantic his words were. She was met with a ring. Tavaris slowly slid his 6’3” frame to one knee. One tear streaked his face as he spoke.

“You are the light of my life. From the moment I saw you, your walk, your confidence, I knew that I wanted you in my world. I am not a religious man but you make me believe. When you walked into my life, I knew instantly that God had sent my angel. I knew that I had finally found my other half, the lock to my key. Someone to accompany me on my life’s journey, the person that will complete me, be the one to keep my heart forever, and trust me enough to hand me her heart in return. I love you, Trenay Green and I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

Trenay was in shock. She stared at the sparkling diamond ring mounted on a radiant platinum base. With tears in her eyes, Trenay pulled her man up from his knees. She kissed him gently. “Yes.”