In the Life (25 page)

Jackson had been feeling nostalgic lately regarding his music. As soon as he started up the car, some classic Anita Baker started to play. His favorite song by her was Talk to Me, which was presently playing.

"What do you know about this song, dude?" Sherrod said with a smile in between mouthing all the lyrics.

"Come on, man. I love this song. It is one of her best!"

"You would have fit right in my household growing up." Sherrod laughed. “My mom was obsessed with Anita. She used to swear that she sounded just like her.”

“And did she?”

“No, not at all, but my mom did have a bit of a voice. Growing up, the house was full of music. Mom played the piano. My dad could play the sax, but he only broke that thing out every once in a while.”

“You play anything?” Jackson asked.

“I did try to learn how to play the piano and the acoustic guitar. The key word here is try," Sherrod chuckled.

"Oh, what happened?"

"Let’s see." Sherrod leaned his head back and let it rest on the back of his seat. "With the piano, I just didn't have the patience. My mom tried to teach me. I wanted to learn. She ain't try to push the lessons on me or nothing. I remember coming home from elementary school one day and asking her to sit down with me behind her piano. I don't remember what sparked my interest, but she showed me the scales and all, which is just about all I can remember. I can't even play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star if my life depended on it."

"And, what about the guitar?"

"Oh, that was a whole other deal and a waste of money too. Around my senior year of high school, is when India.Arie first came out, I think.  Her song, Ready For Love, was my shit even before she released it as a single. Well, I wanted to learn how to play that song on the acoustic guitar like she was. I figured that the best motivation would be for me to go buy a guitar which is exactly what I did. I went to a pawn shop and bought one for cheap thinking that I would go home and not put the damn thing down until I could master it. I was going to teach my damn self how to play that bitch. Can you guess what happened next?"

"I am guessing that it leads up to you not being able to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star again."

"Smart man," Sherrod said as he patted Jackson on the thigh. The innocent gesture made Jackson get hot. He could swear that the pat had a little squeeze at the end. Or perhaps that is just what he wanted to feel. He wanted Sherrod to grope him or just caress his cheek.

"Well, I guess this is the end of the road for you, sir." Jackson pulled into Sherrod‘s driveway. He wished that the ride had not ended so soon. Why did it have to?

"Yep, thanks for the ride and the conversation." Sherrod gathered all of his things together and then stepped out the car. Before closing the passenger side door, he ducked his head back into the car. "Hey, how come we never talked like this before?"

Jackson thought about it for a moment. They had always been cool at work. They had engaged in the normal coworker banter and occasionally went to the same social functions a coworker held outside of work like birthday or Halloween parties.

"I guess we never caught each other at the right time."

"Never caught each other at the right time," Sherrod repeated the statement over to himself. He bit down on his bottom lip as he tossed the thought around in his mind. "I guess you are right. It's funny how that happens."

"Yeah," Jackson said quietly. Sherrod thanked him one more time before turning to go inside his building.

Chapter 5

The new Kanye West played as Jackson cruised through Chicago traffic on the way to his friend's house. An unexpected but welcomed power outage had closed Bennigan's down early. Jackson had only managed to make twenty dollars before they locked the doors. He wasn't too hurt though. He and Mykel immediately started to make plans for the night. First, they would meet over at Mykel's house, Jackson would pick up him and his roommate Paul and afterwards, they would hit up the club.

Jackson felt good about the night. His wardrobe was simplistic, but still well put together. The black fitted tee that he was wearing really complimented his lean frame. Jackson loved that the shirt was also flattering to his chest. Those occasional pushups were beginning to show some kind of change. If only he did not love sleep so much, he would be doing more of a workout. Possibly, he might entertain the idea of joining a gym. Alonzo had been urging him to go to Bally's with him, but he always passed on the idea. When did he ever have the time? Actually, the right question to ask is when did Jackson ever feel like giving away any of his free time to work the bench press machines?

The music was getting Jackson pumped. He had picked up two bottles of liquor from the store, Patron and Grey Goose. Jackson reached into the black bag that held the bottles and picked up the vodka. He unscrewed the top without taking his eyes off the road. His exit was about to come up. Once he looked around to make sure there were no cop cars around to catch him, Jackson brought the Grey Goose to his lips and took a big sip. The taste was strong, yet very smooth. Jackson took one more swig before tucking the bottle back under
the front seat.

It wasn't a long drive to Paul and Mykel's place. Jackson loved their apartment complex. It was so quiet and there were a lot of stores and eateries in walking distance. Except to drive out to work, Mykel barely got in his car for anything.

Jackson called Mykel once he was outside and they came right on down. They too were dressed in black. Paul had on a black and white pinstriped button down shirt with black slacks while Mykel had on a black and white shirt from Aeropostale. All three of them had their hater blocker shades although Jackson wasn't wearing his quite yet. Mykel jumped right in the front seat and without saying hey, hi, what’s good, or watch out for that tree and started messing with the stereo. He quickly ejected the CD that Jackson had been listening to and popped in one of his own.

"And what do you think you are doing," Jackson asked as his friends got settled into the car.

"What's going on, Jay?" Paul was the first to address Jackson. In return, Jackson held out his fist and dapped him up. Jackson looked back to Mykel who was still fiddling with the stereo.

"Mykel?"

"It's Rihanna's new album. You heard it yet? It came out Tuesday."

"Naw. She got a new one? I can‘t keep up with that girl," Jackson responded as the album intro started.

"It's good, dude. It's all we have been listening to for the past few days," Paul shared enthusiastically.

"Wait, where is the alcohol? You been to the store yet?" Mykel looked around the car in search of the booze. Jackson started backing out the parking space.

"Yeah, it should be under your legs. And remember that you owe me some money for that Patron."

"Yeah, yeah. You ask for cups?" Mykel reached under his seat and retrieved the bag.

"They in there," Jackson said casually as he looked for his turn to get back on the interstate. Mykel pulled out the three cups. He got one out for Paul, put his between his legs, and placed Jackson's in the cup holder. He poured a generous amount of Patron in each one. Everyone grabbed their cup. Jackson once again kept his eyes out for the cops. A toast was made for the night and they all drank their shots. It took Mykel two gulps to get his down, but Paul and Jackson sent theirs back with ease and were already ready for more. Mykel played bartender during the ride.

The club they picked for the night had two sections. When you first walked in and got past the metal detector, there was a bar immediately in front of you and a few steps away was the first dance floor. They played a little of everything in there. For most, it was just a walkway to the next room which was much bigger. That second room was devoted to hip hop. In there, club goers had the option of staying downstairs on the dance floor or travel upstairs to chill on the balcony area with your drink. The club had five bar areas total with three of them being located in the hip hop spot.

Jackson was troubled by the musical selection being played when they first walked in. He looked back at Paul and Mykel and they looked back like there was nothing wrong.

"They are playing Kirk Franklin's Lookin' For You? Are you serious?"

"What? I like this song." Mykel sang along with the words.

"Yeah, I do too, but they are playing it in the club!"

"Well if you can't grind to Jesus what can you do?" Paul joked. Jackson was too disturbed to laugh although he did get the joke.

"Oh, I am going to need a drink." Jackson made his way to the bar. On the wall, he eyed a chalk board which highlighted the bartender's specialty drinks and their prices. He located his favorite drink, a Fucked Up.

"What can I get you?" The very sexy bartender leaned forward so that he could be heard over the music.

"Can I get three Fu… F'd Ups?" Jackson caught himself from saying the drinks true name.

"Three Fucked Ups?"

"No!" Jackson blurted out. "You can't cuss when they playing gospel music!"

"But you can drink, huh?" The bartender flashed a killer smile while he grabbed three plastic cups and filled them with ice.

"Hey! Everything in moderation. That is what the good book says, don't it." Jackson reached for his wallet so that he could have his money ready by the time the bartender was finished with the drinks.

"Well, I don't exactly recall what it says, but ordering three Fucked, I mean F'd Ups, don't exactly scream moderation now do it?" He pushed the finished drinks forward as Jackson was about to hand him his cash. The bartender put his hand up and rejected the money.

"No charge, homey. Just this once, but don't tell nobody. You do have to give me your number and make sure you stop back around here before you leave."

"My number? In exchange for three drinks?" Jackson wanted to seem as if he was going to give the bartender a hard time about it, but he wasn't buying it. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket to save the number. Jackson recited his number and learned the bartender's name was Tracy. He took a sip from his drink and found out that Tracy had made them very strong. He pulled out a ten dollar bill to tip him. Promises were made to come back through before he joined his friends.

Jackson passed them both a drink. They seemed to not have noticed the scene at the bar. Jackson spotted Alonzo right away when he entered the through the doors of the hip hop room. He scanned the immediate area that he was in to see if Sherrod was around. He was nowhere to be found. Jackson made a mental note to ask him about that later, but for now he was gonna dance!

Chapter 6

"Could someone please make the room stop spinning," Jackson requested as he walked into Paul and Mykel’s kitchen. They seemed to be fairing much better than he was. Jackson could not remember much from the club the previous night. He could recall the sexy bartender and asking Alonzo where Sherrod was. Apparently, the gay club was not the happening spot for a brother on the down low. But past all that, Jackson's memory was hazy. That Jamie Foxx song rang true. He had one too many drinks!

"Wassup sleepyhead?" Paul said immediately going into one of the kitchen cabinets. Amongst the collection of hot teas, honey, and sinus medicine, he pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. He tapped two pills into his hand and retrieved a glass of tap water. Jackson eyed the pills as a means of redemption. He gladly took them off of Paul's hands.

"Were yall going to wake me up anytime soon?" Jackson stumbled into an empty chair. He laid his head in his hands. Boy, was his head hurting. Strange thing was that he barely ever got a hangover from drinking. He must have been mixing light and dark liquor big time.

"It's only one o'clock and you ain't got to be to work until five. I should know because I was debating whether I should catch a ride from you," said Mykel. The bowl of Apple Jacks in front of him had not stopped him from talking even if he was speaking with his mouth full.