Cutting Loose (16 page)

A woman sitting beside Sabrina chimed in
and said, “It’s becoming a worldwide epidemic. And they try to come up with the
sorriest excuses. My ex-boyfriend left me for some anorexic-looking bitch and
said he left me for her because she was less needy and more interesting.”

Sabrina wanted to chime in but decided
to keep quiet and see where the conversation would carry.

The loud-mouthed woman chuckled and
said, “See, that’s a cop out response ‘cause they don’t want to admit that they
can’t handle a strong black woman not willing to bow down to them. They need a
white woman to control and tell them what to do.”

“That’s not all true,” Jennie cut in.
“Not all black men who date white women need somebody to control. Sometimes
they get treated badly and feel like a white woman can offer less drama.”

“So now you saying we black women have
drama and drive black men to date white women?” the loud-mouthed one asked
curiously.

“Basically, yes,” Jennie said
matter-of-factly. “But I’m not I’m not saying all black women drive men away.
Shit, I got a good man with a job, his own place and there isn’t a plethora of
baby mama’s chasing him.”

“Well, aren’t you the lucky one,” a
woman sitting next to Sabrina said sarcastically. “Not everybody is lucky to
find a good man like that. Better yet, a good man at all. But I’ll be damned if
I go running off to some white guy. I’ll die before that happens.”

“True that,” laughed the loud-mouthed woman.
“What do white guys have that black men don’t have?”

“Good credit, a job and a college
degree,” Sabrina said sarcastically just for the hell of it.

All eyes fell on her and the room went
silent.

Then the one with the loud mouth had to
open her big mouth and said, “Girl, you must be smoking something. Not all
white men have a lot money. And they don’t even look all that.”

“I think I speak for all women when I
say that it shouldn’t even matter about skin tone when it comes to dating. If a
bitch wants to date a white guy, what’s wrong with it? I don’t see anything
wrong with stepping out of your comfort zone and following your heart.”

“I feel you,” said Jennie. “Skin color
should not be a factor in dating. I see a lot of interracial love every day and
it somewhat bothers me to see a fine ass black guy dating a white bitch. Then I
see a pretty black girl hooking up with a good-looking white guy and be like,
‘Damn, maybe I need to try that.’ To each his own, you know?”

“That’s horrifying,” the loud-mouthed woman
spoke up. “If any black woman is stupid enough to date a white guy after all
the bullshit they did to us black folks back in the day, that’s just asking for
a death wish.”

“That’s way out of line,” Sabrina said
hotly, her voice rising. “The past is the past. The way I see it, can’t nobody
tell me as a grown ass women who I should date whether he is black, white, blue
or green. Period.”

“True dat,” Jennie cheered. “Tell it
like it is.”

The woman sitting across from Sabrina
said, “Oh, please. You sound like you know from experience what it’s like to
date a white guy.”

“As a matter of fact, I am dating a
white guy. And?”

“And what’s your excuse?”

“Excuse?” repeated Sabrina. “I don’t
need an excuse. It’s like I just got through saying, I’m a grown ass woman and
I date whoever I want to and can’t anybody tell me different.”

“Whatever. You just couldn’t handle a
black man.”

 Sabrina waited a beat and said, “Not
that it is any of your business, but I have dated
plenty
of black men,
and every time I got with them, they were always complaining about this and
that, cheating all the time. After two years of dating my ex, who cheated on me
the majority of our relationship, he dumped me for his ex. So basically, I
haven’t sworn off all black men, it just so happened that the right guy came
along and stepped up to the plate and happens to be white.”

The woman across from Sabrina said, “And
you think he won’t be just as quick to cheat on you as a black guy would?”

“I never said that.”

After a while the atmosphere in the
place changed and they moved on to another subject not involving men.

Jennie turned the radio on and turned to
a station that was playing her favorite singer’s new song. Sabrina and others
immediately burst into song as best as they could when the chorus came on.

“Did you see the video for that song?”
Jennie asked Sabrina when the song was over. “She looked so good in it.”

“Yeah, I did. She looks good with short
hair.”

“Yep. But not everybody can rock a short
haircut like that.”

Sabrina pictured images of the singer’s
hairstyle in the back of her mind and wondered how she would look if she did
the same. She figured with the right style and color, she could rock the hell
out of a short style.

She said to Jennie, “You know, what? I
think I’ll stop wearing weave for a while and go natural.”

“Oh, really?” Jennie asked, intrigued.
“How so?”

Sabrina paused for a moment, wondering
if she was thinking things through before acting on an impulse. She never had
her hair cut short—except for that rebellious phase when she was a senior in
high school—that didn’t turn out well at all. Since then she’d always had the
same bland jet-black hair color. It was definitely time for an upgrade.

She asked, “I was thinking about
something like the one I saw in that video—a medium-length bob with side-swept
bangs that frames the face.”

“Honestly, I think you have that Halle
Berry face—she can rock any hairstyle long or short and it’ll look hot.”

Before she could chicken out, Sabrina
smiled and said, “Okay, let’s do it. And I want to dye it honey-blonde too.”

“Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. I
got you covered.” She swiveled the chair around so that it faced the mirror and
said, “After this makeover, that man you got won’t want to leave.”

Sabrina chuckled and said, “You can bet
on it.”

Chapter Fourteen:

Wedding Mayhem

It was a quarter to three when Sabrina
last looked at the clock before deciding to get dressed for the stupid wedding.
A part of her wanted to say fuck it and blow Carl and his wedding straight to
hell, but then there was the fact that she had already bought a new dress for
the occasion, something she deliberately told herself she was not going to do,
but ended up doing it any damn way.

The dress wasn’t anything special, just
a formal scarlet strapless evening gown, a pair of matching heels and a clutch
purse. She figured the look was appropriate for a wedding and really didn’t
scream for too much attention, just enough though to say, “Sorry motherfucker,
you had me, you lost me, now a better man has taken your spot,” sort of thing.
And the haircut. That was a totally different statement she was sure to blow
Brett’s mind.

After a few minutes of staring at the
ensemble that was spread across her bed, she headed for the shower and
freshened up. Once done, she slipped into the dress and stilettos, applied a
little bit of makeup, some lip gloss that tasted like cherries and supposedly
last eight hours. Her hair didn’t require much, if any maintenance at all and
the only thing she had to do was spray some product into it to make it shine
and that was about it.

She was ecstatic in knowing that Brett
hadn’t seen her new ‘do since she went to the hair salon and she was pretty
sure he was going to be surprised as hell. Maybe even a little disappointed
that he couldn’t run his fingers through her long weave anymore.

 After giving her dress the final look
over, she called Brett to make sure he hadn’t chickened out on her at the last
minute. About twenty minutes later he showed up in the flesh just to show her
that he hadn’t and that he too was going to try his best to make Carl jealous
as hell that he ever cheated on Sabrina and left her for a second-rate bitch
named Jasmine.

Sabrina couldn’t help but notice his
dapper appearance. He was looking too damn good—his auburn hair short length
hair had a touch of blond highlights, he was wearing a huge diamond stud in his
ear, and his usual clean-shaven appearance was revamped with a trimmed beard.
And the dark suit he was wearing only magnified his ensemble.

“You look very handsome, Brett,” Sabrina
managed to say once they stepped outside into the cool afternoon weather.

“Thanks,” Brett said. He glanced at her
for a second. Then he smiled and said, “Oh my goodness. You got a haircut?”

“Yes, I did. I’m glad you noticed.”

Brett chuckled and said, “It looks good
on you.”

 “Thanks. I see you’ve grew a beard and
you’re wearing a diamond stud earring. I’m shocked.”

“Yeah, I had to switch it up. Do you
like it?”

“Of course. It makes your sexiness look
even sexier—I doubt what I just said makes any sense.”

Brett laughed softly. “It does to me.
Anyway, let’s get this stupid wedding out of the way, shall we?”

A weird sensation crept over Sabrina’s
body as she sat in the passenger seat as they drive to the wedding that she was
sure to be something other than normal, just because she was showing up an ex’s
wedding with a current boyfriend. She went over it over and over inside her
head and even after talking to numerous female friends, a part of her felt
guilty for even considering going. Several people told her not to go because
there was no logical reason for an ex to invite a woman to his wedding after he
cheated on her numerous times with the woman he was going to marry. Honestly,
Sabrina knew it was a mistake to go to the wedding with Brett.

Okay, it was big mistake to go to the
wedding with Brett. Not just because he was her current boyfriend, but also
because Carl was her ex. Plain and simple. Some would say that it was somewhat
disrespectful because Sabrina might still have feelings for Carl that she
thought were gone and resurfaced once she saw him at the altar.

All that could have been true. But
Sabrina knew for damn sure that she was over Carl and there was no way in hell
she was going to change her mind and ever consider thinking about taking him
back, if the opportunity ever presented itself. How could she? The man cheated
on her too many times than any other woman would have out up with. And the
lies? He lied about everything in their two years together and never had he
uttered the words “I love you” or “I care for you strongly” or anything close
to it. That only let her know that Carl was not the one for her, but yet she
put up with his bullshit because she thought he would come around someday and
see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And to think of how the bitch he was
marrying was going to have to put up with his bullshit for the rest of their
pathetic lives together made Sabrina laugh on the inside. She knew Jasmine was
the type of bitch who thought she had everything and hit the jackpot when she
stole Sabrina’s man from her. But she was sadly mistaken Carl to be her Prince
Charming, blinded by all the lust they shared together. She was in for a rude
awakening.

“What are you thinking about?” Bret
asked Sabrina, pulling her way from her thoughts.

“Oh, nothing really. Just dumb girl
stuff.”

“Like what?” Brett asked curiously.

“Stuff like why I decided to bring my
boyfriend to my ex-boyfriend’s wedding and the bitch he left me for.”

 “Sounds deep. But uh, since you were
wondering, I’m cool with going. I know about your history with your ex and know
you’re not thinking about running back to that jerk.”

“Shit, I’d be a damn fool if I left you
for him. What we had is over with and I’ve moved on. And the only way to make
that official is to show him…and you.”

“Show me what?”

“I have to show you that there are no
feelings between me and Carl. I could never date a guy like that ever again.”

Brett stopped at a red light. He turned
and said, “Baby, you don’t have to prove anything to me. I trust you and know
that you’re not like the rest of those females out there. And I will never do
anything to hurt you in anyway.”

Sabrina considered his words as tears
began to rim her eyes. So many times she heard those words and not once had
they been true. She believed those words when Carl told her he wouldn’t hurt
her and six weeks later he was cheating on her. Sabrina’s heart dropped at the
thought of enduring heartache like that again, especially with such an amazing
man like Brett. She just could not go through that again. Ever.

“I hope what you’re saying is true. I’ll
be damned if I have to go down that road again and—”

“Sabrina, baby, you have my word. I’m
not that type of guy. I don’t play with women’s emotions. I’m 100% real with
you.” He wiped her tears and asked, “Do you trust me?”

Sabrina paused. “I guess I do.”

“Sabrina, I don’t need you to guess. I
want to know that you can without question because if not, this relationship
will not work without trust.”