Overwhelm Me (2 page)

My first day at the club was pretty boring: filling out paperwork for W-2s and getting my picture taken for my badge, the usual. The manager, Mike Harris, was showing me around the clubhouse when he ran into the owner. It was so funny to see Mike go from calm, cool, and collected to stuttering wimp. The owner, Harold Trent, was a stern man with big hazel eyes and a receding hairline. He was only around 5’7, but he commanded a room when he was present.

His daughter, Livey, was with him. She was wearing a white skirt with a pale pink polo top. She was immediately friendly and shook my hand. She stood at five feet even, so I towered over her by six inches. She smiled and told Mike she would show me around since she knew the place better than he did. Mike was flustered. How dare that…that kid embarrass him in front of the owner! I stifled a giggle and followed Livey outside.

“Mike thinks he is a big shot around here, until he comes face to face with my dad,” Livey laughed. “Personally, I think he is a dork.” I snorted with laughter because judging by first impressions, that is exactly what I thought. Mike was around 5’7 and wore a horrible red and blue golf shirt with blue shorts to match. His hair was bleached blonde, and his brown eyes were too small for his face. He had the start of a goatee, but it consisted of about six hairs.

Livey and I walked around the first few holes, conversation came easily for us. It was like we had known each other for years. I told her I wanted to become a P.A., and I had just started my first year in Biology. She had just begun the radiology technology program at the local community college. She was very excited about it. I could look at her and tell she had a big heart and wanted to help anyone she met.

After that day, we saw each other almost every evening at the golf club. She would help her dad with paperwork or whatnot, and I would rent out the clubs to the members. After work, we would go to the mall, the movies, or just hang out. Our favorite pastime was reading through Livey’s gossip magazines and pointing out all of the hotties we saw.

Our friendship was great, and it felt good to have a friend I could talk to about my hopes and dreams, my complainants, and just about anything else. I had only one other person I could talk to like that, but that’s a painful journey down memory lane that I don’t like to venture to often. It is the one thing that Livey doesn’t know about, but I can’t bring myself to talk about it. Actually, I don’t want to tell anyone about it.

Halfway through my first year, I had my fill of Karen. I could not take anymore of her taking my stuff then throwing it on the ground when it was dirty. I complained to Livey about it. She said, “Well, I am getting ready to get my own apartment, and it’s two bedrooms. You wanna be my roommate?” After about two seconds of thinking about it, I agreed. We would move my stuff the following weekend. I knew it was the right decision. I wouldn’t have to pay to live in the dorms, and Livey’s dad paid the entire rent for two years. The only thing Karen did was help me pack.

Maybe she wasn’t so bad, unless you had to live with her.

Livey and I became so close fast. She is like the sister I never had but always wanted. We took joy in turning our first apartment into a home. She decorated in reds and golds in the living room with a modern red L-shaped sofa. The kitchen was done in black and white with even the plates and cups matching. In the hallway, we both hung pictures o as she our edilies. Livey had a picture of her dad the day he took ownership of the golf club. “I love this picture of my daddy,” Livey said, smiling at the fond memory of that day. He was holding her in his arms, a huge grin on his face as he looked lovingly at her. I had gotten to know Mr. Trent since I was his daughter’s best friend. He is a gentle man when it comes to his baby girl. Livey got her eyes from him, along with his stature. It is so obvious that she was a daddy’s girl and he loves every minute of it. Mr. Trent is not someone you want to cross. Mike did it once and he was sent packing the next day.

I hung the picture of my family that was my absolute favorite picture of my family. We had gone to Sears to have our portraits done for Easter. I was only nine at the time, and Jon was eleven.

My mom was seated and had a lovely mint green sleeveless dress that she had made herself.

Her brown hair was curled and held in place with a ton of hairspray. I was behind her with my hand on her shoulder. I had on this awful flower dress that my Aunt Stephanie had given me.

Mom insisted that I wear it. My dad was seated beside mom with his hands on hers. He had his best suit on, a grey tailored suit that he wore every Easter, and his favorite gray tie. His blue eyes were sparkling, and his hair was a chestnut brown, like mine. Jon wore his white polo shirt with khakis. We all had genuine smiles on our faces. It was the year before my dad was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

I snap out of my daydream, and realize I am still looking at that picture. A single tear falls down my cheek. “I promise you, Dad, I will not give up. I will make it, just like I said I would.” I head to my room to call my brother. I am feeling very homesick right now and long to see them soon.

“Alley cat! How were your finals? Did you fail miserably?” my brother jokes with me. Jon and I are the spitting image of each other. The only difference is that he is three inches taller, and he has dad’s blue eyes, where I got my mom’s green ones. “Jon, you know if I did that, you would kick my ass for sure!” I tease him back. “How is everyone doing?”

Jon sighs, “Mom is doing the best she can. She is working all the time and keeping herself busy with yard work. I went over yesterday to cut the grass for her. Jamie and Henry are doing great!

The apple of their daddy’s eye!” I hear . They have r smile in his voice when he talks about his children. Jamie and Henry are three year old twin boys and are a handful to say the least. Red hair, bright blue eyes and smiles that could stop your heart. I love my little nephews, and I miss them dearly.

“Give those boys kisses from their Auntie Alley Cat. I’ll call Mom at work and check on her. I love you, Jon.”

“Will do, Alley Cat. Take care of yourself and come home soon! Oh, and by the way, I would kick your ass if you failed. Love ya, sis!” he says and hangs up. I immediately dial my mom’s work number.

“Hi, sweetie! How are you?” she answers the phone.

“Good, mom, glad you have caller ID at work because that might have been awkward if it had been your boss,” I say, giggling.

My mom laughs and says, “Yes, I’m sure he would not have appreciated that! Anyways, how were your finals, baby?”

“They are done and over with now, thank God! I think I did really well, mom.” I beam, not able to hold my cheesy grin back. “Livey and I are going out to celebrate tonight, I’m thinking Peachtree Tavern.”

“Okay, sweetie, but take a cab, will you? For my sake!” mom says with concern etched in her voice.

I sigh. “Mom, I promise not to drive, okay?”

“Good girl! Well, honey, I hate to cut this short, but I have so much work to get done. Call me later, okay?” Mom says, sounding a bit exasperated.

“Sure, mama. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Bye” I hang up, feeling a bit better after having talked to my brother and mom. I wish I could call my dad.

I shake my head, gather my thoughts and go to the bathroom to take a shower. I undress and let the water run until it’s hot enough for my liking. I glance in the mirror, thinking once again about the beautiful man I knocked down today. I see the flush creep up on my cheeks. Why do I keep thinking about him? “Marshall, get a grip! You are not going to see him again,” my subconscious rears her ugly head. I sigh. “Well, I can at least think about him,” I sneer back at her. I step in the shower and let the hot water fall on my back. It is so soothing. I look down at my pale skin. I really need to get some sun this summer. I won’t have another summer off for some time after this year. I finish washing, get out, and vow to get a tan this time around. I wrap the towel around me and look in the mirror again. I brush out my hair and throw it in a bun. The humidity down in Atlanta is just dreadful, and my hair does not cooperate. I walk into my room to pick out what I am going to wear tonight. I think to myself, “I will have fun! I will not think about the delectable man again.”

Livey is finally home from work, taking her shower. I decided that we would party the night away at the Peachtree Tavern. I have spent the last four hours thinking about Mr. Dark and Mysterious, even though I willed myself not to. I think about how no one has ever made me feel this way, not even the only boyfriend I ever had. I think of how his hair would feel through my fingers and what was under that navy pinstripe suit. “No matter,” I think out loud to myself. “I am going to have a good time tonight!” I peer into my closet to see which outfit I should wear this evening. I choose a plain scoop neck royal blue mini dress with my favorite strappy silver heels. Damn, I can pass for downright hot tonight. I smirk in the mirror at my vanity. I decide to wear my hair down and wavy only because my straightening iron decided to die on me. Sweet Livey helps with my makeup. I always love to be her canvas. She settles on a natural look for me: a touch of blush, a bit of mascara, and some pale pink lip gloss. I frown as I think about Mr. Hotness. Too bad he couldn’t see me like this, instead of sprawled on the ground, looking like a fool. Who knows? Maybe he will show up tonight. I know it won’t happen, but it sure is nice to think about. The only problem is when I think about him, I feel like I need to change my panties. It makes me feel alive with desire.

Livey interrupts my erotic daydream. “Hey! Earth to Allie!” she teases. I shake my head and look at her.

“Sorry,” I mutter, “I was just thinking about someone…thing, something,” Shit, didn’t mean to let that slip.

“Oh, girl! You still thinking about that hottie you bumped into this morning?” I had to tell Livey, she knows almost everything about me. I told her how I looked like such an ass knocking him to the ground and how he didn’t get angry with me for doing so. “Allie, you are a total catch! You know that, right?” Livey exclaims to me. “You have killer legs, a beautiful body and face, and your mind is as big as your heart!”

“Yeah, but I stumble and trip over these “killer legs’ all the time,” I say to her. “Why couldn’t I have been born with grace?”

Livey cocks her head at me, grins and says, “Sugar, we all can’t be perfect, so don’t go tryin’ to be.”

I smile warmly at my best friend. “You’re right, ‘Suga.’” I try to imitate her accent. “Now, go get dressed! I’m ready to have a good time!”

An hour later, we are stepping out to meet our friends Cindy and Jasmine. Cindy and Jasmine are a couple of darling girls. I met them through Livey, and they are just as Southern as she is.

Cindy has dark chocolate brown eyes with hair to match. She is long and lean, keeping toned by hitting the gym every day. Jasmine has beautiful caramel skin, her kinky black curls laying on her shoulders. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of green I have never seen on another person. She is about an inch taller than Livey.

“Hey there, Dr. Marshall!” Cindy shouts as we get close to her Range Rover.

I giggle, “I‘m not going to be a doctor! Close enough though.” The girls run up to us and give us both a big bear hug, like they haven’t seen us in years.

“Damn, girl! Look at you!” Jasmine says, her light green eyes twinkling. “You clean up pretty good! Now, are you ready to hit the town?”

“You have no idea how much I need a good time tonight,” I say with a laugh.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Cindy rings out. She opens the driver’s side door and smoothes her canary yellow maxi dress down. “Let’s get this party started, ladies!” We squeal like teenagers as we head down Peachtree Road.

The line is long at Peachtree Tavern, but moves fast. A trio of guys are staring us down already.

“Those guys are totally checking you out, Livey!” I exclaim to her. “Whatever, it’s you they are looking at!” Livey pokes back. I roll my eyes at the thought. In all honesty, I’m not interested. My mind is still on the wonderful specimen of a man from this morning. I can’t understand why I’m still thinking about him. It was a split second meeting, for goodness sake! Yet, I imagine the blue eyes staring at me, and I start to get hot and bothered right there in line. I know it’s silly to think, but my heart hopes he just happens to show up tonight. I am vaguely aware that we are at the head of the line now. We walk in and the place is lively and packed! I think this is just the thing to get Mr. Hotness off my mind.

All of us head straight to the bar. The bartender winks at us and asks us what our passion is.

Cindy gets a vodka and cranberry. Jasmine decides on a Miller Lite, as does Livey. I am feeling the need to get wasted, so I ask for a Long Island Iced Tea. The bartender gets our drinks, and we pay in cash. We weave our way through the crowd and find a table that doesn’t have any glasses on it. We sit and clink our glasses together. “Cheers, to my baby girl, Allie!” Livey shouts over the people and the music. We tip our glasses up at the same time. The cold alcohol feels so good going down my throat. I don’t normally drink, but after a day like this one, I think I deserve it. We finish our drinks in five minutes tops. Jasmine stands and says, “Next round is on me!” As she walks her way back to the bar, the three of us start to people watch.