by
BothWayz
My cousin was the prettiest bride I ever saw. She was heartstopping in sparkling white tulle and lace but my eyes remained on her maid of honor Gwendolyn. She sat at the bridal table with a sexy grin on her full glossy lips as Lisa’s new brother-in-law spoke of the happy couple. I drowned out the raspy voice of the man speaking and concentrated on the luscious, honey colored mounds softly wrapped in peach taffeta.

She must have felt the psychic pull because our eyes met at an awkward moment as I was licking my lips in her direction. She gave me a sly smile as she removed her long black hair away from her eyes with her perfect French manicured nails and turned away. Gwen has flirted with me like that for years after I came out to Lisa. Whenever I stayed over at Lisa’s crib she would always walk around in bra and panties, sit on my lap or leave the bathroom door open “by accident” while she showered.

I leaned up against the bathroom door many nights peaking in as the water trickled down the steamed up glass with only her silhouette slightly visible in the mist. It was a show for me and sometimes I’d even stand there with a corona in one hand and a joint in the other as I watched her lather up. But when I tried to kiss or grab her around her waist she would always swipe at me playfully and say “Stop it!”

But none of that mattered now. My bags are all packed up to move to California for about a year. I just stayed in New York long enough to be here for Lisa’s wedding and tomorrow I’m on the first flight out to San Francisco. But I knew that I wasn’t getting on that plane without tasting Gwen at least once before I left. But how?

I got up to go outside for some fresh air as my relatives got up to do the electric slide. I slipped on my mink poncho over the pin striped Gucci suit and placed the matching fur brim on top of my beautifully cornrowed head. I laughed as my country ass cousin Bo kept screamin “Lawd, Lawd, Lawd das a beautiful sight!” every time I walked past him in my brand new gator boots. My Mom shook her head smiling with her arms akimbo as she watched her little girl turned pimpstud flash a gold toothed grin in everyone’s direction.

The waiters rushed up and down the stairs of the pre-civil war Victorian mansion Lisa rented for her special day that looked more like a museum than a house. The place was all gilded up with those oil paintings of dead, rosy-cheeked white ladies, chandeliers and red velvet---the fly shit. It even made a Nigga feel rich walkin down that winding staircase to the main floor. I knew after a few more Bacardi and cokes that my peeps would really start actin country doin Run DMC poses in front of the grand piano. But I ain’t hatin on them because I know I’ll be right there with them.

Once I got outside I realized how the mansion seemed so out of place compared to the scenic beauty of the Catskill mountains. The soul had no time to adjust to the contrast between the pretensions of man and the stillness of nature once the threshold was crossed. All the velvet and crystal in the world couldn’t match the sight of an endless sky. I just wanted to stare and appreciate the sights and sounds I couldn’t back in the city and wish that Atomic Dog wasn’t blasting in the background.

“Hey you” a voice whispered softly in my ear. By the Amaretto sweetness of the breath and the touch that made my pussy throb I knew who it was.

“Hey yourself.”

“I heard you leavin for Cali in the morning.”

“Yup”

I inhaled slowly just to catch the familiar scent of white diamonds perfume she always wore. It mixed pleasantly with the scent of jasmine from the garden nearby.

“Why you leavin?” she asked.

“What I’m gonna stay for?” I asked trying to sound as emotionless as possible.

“I dunno…I mean…I know you’re family gonna miss u and stuff.”

I turned my body to face her and tilted my head like a true player would. “Does that mean you ain’t gonna miss me?”

Gwen sucked her teeth. “You know you need to stop that shit. Why you always tryin to mack me when you know I don’t get down like that?”

I shook my head from side to side in disgust and began to walk slowly towards the forest.

“Where you goin?”

“To get away from you.” I said without turning around.

“Well you don’t have to get eaten by a bear to get away from me cuz I’m goin back to the party anyways.”

“Whatevah trick.” I said with a smirk on my lips.

I heard the click of heels coming down the driveway. “What the fuck you call me bitch?”

I quickened my pace to a slow jog until I reached the thick, leafy darkness of the wild. Thin beams of light from the entrance of the house peaked through. Gwen followed behind me still beefing.

“I don’t give a fuck what kinda nigger you think you are but underneath that strap is a straight up bitch!” she said waving her hands in my face.

“Yo ease up! Stop actin like you gangsta or some shit with your press on nails.” I laughed.

“Fuck you!”

“Why you really angry at me huh? Tell me the truth?”

Gwen looked down at the hem of her dress and sucked her teeth when she saw it got a little dirty.

“I’m mad at you cause you called me a trick and I don’t let nobody talk to me like that.”

“Yeah ok…that’s not true.”

Gwen folded her arms. “How you figure dat?”

I waved my hand at her. “Go and take your lyin ass in the house.”

“I ain’t goin no where I don’t want to. I asked you a question.”

The DJ started playing Flashlight and I began dancing. “Dey playin Funkadelic now, I gotta go ma.”

Gwen grabbed my arm when I tried to ease past her. “Not until you answer me dyke.”

I put my hands in her face. “You betta watch your fuckin mouth.”

“Or what?” she asked with a devious smile.

“Nuthin. I ain’t your punk ass boyfriend that be slappin you silly so relax.”

Gwen looked shocked and embarrassed that I brought up something she and Johnnie Walker told me a few months ago.

“You are so fucked up.” She said and began to walk away.

I grabbed her by her arm and pulled her towards me. “I didn’t mean to hurt you but ever since you told me that Lance was putting his hands on you I wanted to kill the muthafucka.”

Gwen tried to pull away again. I wrapped my big furry arms around her waist. “Stop buckin and let me hold you dammit.”

She looked up at me and began to cry. “Why you leavin Poochie? I don’t want you to go.”

I closed my eyes. It felt so good to hear her say those words. I had heard them in my dreams so many nights before.

“I usually don’t be lovin dem hoes but I got feelins for you Gwen and I just can’t stay here and watch you play house wit that cornball no mo.”

Her body language indicated she wanted to be set free so I let her. “I know you can’t see bein wit me but at least you could get a cat that’s good to you.” I said.

“You’re wrong Pooch.”

“Wrong about what?”

“I didn’t tell you the reason why Lance slapped me that night.”

I was getting angrier and angrier by the minute. Was Gwen actually one of those chicks that think its okay if a dude got a “reason”?

“He thought I was cheating on him and he read my diary.”

I shook my head from side to side as I listened.

“Were you?”

“Yeah but not in the way he thought. He found the pages I wrote about you and me.”

I swear if I was a cartoon character my eyes would have bugged right out. “What you talkin bout you and me?”

“Well, I wrote about how much I liked it when you flirt with me and how you look at me like you wanna throw me on the floor and eat me out on the spot.”

I wanted to grin and do a “Toyota” jump in the air but I had to keep my cool. “Word ma? It’s like that?”

“Basically.”

“So how you feel now?” I asked.

She began to chuckle. “On the real?”

“I asked didn’t I?”

“I feel stupid.”

“Why you feel stupid?”

Gwen shrugged and flipped her hair like one of them white girls from her job but the hair stayed where it landed instead of falling back in front of her face. “I guess cause I ain’t tell you all this sooner”.

I reached my hand out to her. She just stared at it with a quizzical look. “What tha…?” she started to say.

I did my best Billie Dee Williams voice. “You gonna let my hand fall off?”

She bust out laughing and took my hand. We had watched Lady Sings the Blues that night she told me about Lance. She said it was her favorite scene because Billy Dee really knew how to treat a lady.

“I love you Pooch.”

I held her in my arms trying to savor every second and fought back the fem tears welling up in my pretty stud eyes.

“I love you too ma.”

I kissed her on the forehead and gently squeezed her ass. “You comin home with me tonight right?”

“I thought you gotta get up early in the morning to leave?”

“I just cancelled my flight.”

The End

Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of author. All Rights Reserved.