Who Do I Run To? (5 page)

“Thank you. It is one of my favorites from BBW.”

“BBW?” he asked with a confused look.

“Bath and Body Works.”

“Oh, okay. It smells good,” he said and they went to the dining-room table to eat. They made small talk and finished their breakfast. He had a mean appetite that was for sure, because he had a huge omelet, four hotcakes, six strips of bacon, four links, and a tall glass of OJ.

“I see you are not shy,” she joked.

“I’ma grown-ass man,” he kidded.

“So
, where are we going this evening?”

“Someplace I’m sure you’ll enjoy,” he said and winked.

“Okay,” she smiled. She didn’t want to push. She just would wait. She cleared the table, and he yawned. “You tired?”

“Yes a little
. Still on Iraq time, so I’ma little thrown off,” he said and yawned again.

“Well
, my sister is on her way, and we’re going out for a while. You should go get some sleep, because I don’t want you yawning on our date,” she said, and they giggled. He enjoyed her smile, and she enjoyed his laughter. They couldn’t help but look at each other. Janiece was so embarrassed about her eyebrows. She tried to avoid eye contact, but she couldn’t resist looking at him.

They paused for a moment and were silent, until Janiece heard her sister downstairs blowing her horn
. She went to the window. Isaiah followed her into the kitchen, because he was getting ready to go across the hall to get some sleep. She grabbed the phone off the wall, and told her sister to give her five minutes. She noticed the black Avalanche again while looking out the window.

“Do you know who that truck belongs to?” she asked.

“The Avalanche—”

“Yeah, it’s back in my guest parking stall.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My sister told me it should be cool for me to park there. I can move it,” he said.

“No, no
, it’s fine. I was just curious who it belonged to.”

“So I’ll see you later
?” he asked and touched her cheek. She liked it when he touched her face. His touch was so tender. Even though she and K.P. had a healthy sex relationship, the tenderness was gone, and she missed that.

“Yes,” she said softly. “Six o’clock
, right?”

“
Right and I will be on time. I only stay across the hall,” he joked.

“I’ll be ready,” she said with a smile. She was getting excited in more ways than one, and she knew she had to calm down. He yawned again
. She could see how tired he was, so she insisted he go get some sleep. “Come on, go get some rest now,” She urged him.

“Okay, but call me if you want to. You have my number
, right?”

“Yes, but I want you to sleep, because I don’t want you tired later.
Call me when you get up.”

“Cool,” he said and opened the door.

“See you later,” she said and closed the door behind him. She ran and slipped on some clothes, grabbed a light jacket, her purse, and keys, and smiled as she locked her door. She looked over at Iyeshia’s place, and then floated down the steps.

Chapter
Seven

When she got in the car her sister immediately started drilling her. She wanted to know every detail, so Janiece gave her the rundown, blow by blow. They spent the whole afternoon together getting beautified. They both got their hair, eyebrows, nails, and toes done. They ate lunch and shopped a little. Janelle ended up getting a few items for herself and Janiece, and she didn’t hold back on the spending.

They made it back to Janiece’s condo about a quarter of five, so Janiece had to rush up the stairs so she could shower and get ready. Since her hair was done
, that was going to cut down on her getting-ready time, and she was so relieved. Janelle poured them both a glass of wine, and turned on the smooth jazz station while she helped Janiece get ready.

“No
, Jai, don’t wear the black ones. Wear the brown ones,” she advised.

“You don’t think that will be too much brown
?” Janiece asked holding up the brown boot next to her clothes.

“Yeah you
’re right. That will definitely be taking the brown a step too far,” Janelle said, and they both agreed. Janiece was happy, and she let it show. She walked around in her underwear bobbing her head to the music, sipping on her wine, and smiling. Janelle looked at Janiece. Her sister looked so much like their father that Janelle couldn’t help but think about him.

She didn’t want to ruin the moment, so she decided not to comment on their resemblance, because usually when they talked about their parents
, they would end up crying. So, Janelle decided to bring up another topic to get her mind off of her parents.

“I’m so happy to see you getting all dolled up for a single man,” she said and sipped her drink.

“Well, you never know. K.P. lied about being single when we first met,” Janiece said, reminding her of how he had lied to her about his home situation. It took him four months to come clean.

“Well
, now you know better. If you find out this man is married or lying about being single, kick his ass to the curb. If I had known Mr. Paxton wasn’t single, I definitely would not have allowed you to leave my housewarming with his fake ass,” she said and they slapped five.

Janiece polished off her drink and went into the bathroom to do her makeup because it was twenty minutes
’til six. Janelle stood in the doorway to keep her company while she fixed her face and didn’t like what she saw.

“Jai, what brand is that?”

“I dunno. I got it at Walgreen’s up the street,” she said trying to read the label. It was old, and the words on the label had worn off.

“Hold on,” Janelle said and went for her purse. She pulled out her makeup bag and began to take out her Mac, Lancôme
, and Clinique products.

“Sit down
. Let me introduce you to the real stuff,” she said, and Janiece let the lid down on the toilet and sat. She was feeling kind of bad because this part she thought she had under control, but when she got up to look in the mirror, she realize she didn’t, because she was looking better than she had looked in a long time.

She could tell that she really had on shadow, and the different colors of shades. Her makeup always looked different in the compact, but once it was on
, it all looked like the same color. Her lips had that pretty frost look that she had seen on other women but never managed to achieve. She felt glamorous and pretty.

“See
? I told you to stop buying that cheap mess at Walgreen’s.”

“Nellie
, you know I can’t afford to buy those expensive name brands you be wearing,” Janiece said, frowning at her. She knew her money was too tight to be spending on expensive cosmetics.

“Yes
, you can. Just put a few dollars to the side and buy one item at a time and eventually, you’ll have a complete makeup kit. Plus, it’s quality, so it stays on longer, meaning you don’t have to reapply it as often. Three tubes of this cheap stuff is one tube of this, so you can afford it,” she said, and it made more sense.

“Well
, I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” she said pushing past her to put on her clothes. Her hair and makeup was done, and now she had about a good seven minutes to put on her clothes, perfume, and jewelry.

“Well
, here, don’t say I never gave you anything,” Janelle said, giving Janiece her bag of makeup.

“No
, Nellie, you’ve done way too much for me, already. I can’t take your makeup.”

“Chile
, please, you know I’m like momma. Everything I buy, I buy two of them, and every item in that bag I have another one at home. So you’ll be doing me a favor. Now I can use the other ones before they’re no good. You don’t know how often I throw out unused cosmetics and fragrances because I have them over a year and they are no good after so long,” she told Janiece.

Janiece
had no idea. She was still spraying perfume and using makeup that she had way longer, so she made a mental note to go through her things and get rid of the old stuff too.

“Yeah
, well, you do have the Josephine Hawkins disease—buy two of everything. I’m so glad I didn’t get it,” Janiece said as she checked herself in the mirror. Finally, she sat on the bed and put on her boots.

“Oh
, before I forget,” Janelle said and went into the bathroom and came back with her purse.

“Here you go,” she said handing her
sister some money. It was folded, but she could see the number on the corner.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“You know, cab fare. You can never be too sure,” she said and smiled.

“Thank you
, Nellie. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I can’t wait ’til I’m able to treat you and be as generous to you as you have been to me,” she said giving her a hug. Her sister was the best, and she was glad to have her.

“Jai
, you don’t have to think twice about doing anything for me. Don’t even think about paying me back. I did everything that a sister would do. I love you, and you can come to me for anything. If I have it, it’s yours, so don’t ever feel like you can’t come to me. I’m your sister, and I know if the roles were reversed, you wouldn’t hesitate to do it for me,” she said, and she was right. Their sisterhood was strong. Janiece would give her the world if it were hers.

“Thank you
, Nellie. I love you, and you have to know that I will—” she tried to say, but Janelle cut her off.

“No
, you won’t. Consider it a gift and I don’t want to hear another word about it,” she said sounding like their mom again, and Janiece knew she meant it. Again, Janiece tried to say something, but there was a knock at the door. “You want me to get that?” Janelle asked, smiling.

“Yes
, and please, Nellie, don’t embarrass me,” she begged.

“Chile
, please, I am not gon’ embarrass you,” she said and went to open the door. Janiece did her final checks in the mirror and decided to give Janelle a moment before she went into the front. She fluffed her hair and checked her nose for monsters, then went into the living room where they were. Isaiah was looking fine as ever. He had a fresh haircut and shave, and his clothes were hanging on him as if he were a male model. If Janiece didn’t know any better, she’d say he had gotten a facial, because he was looking so fresh and fine.

“Hey,” she said after checking him out. He was about to have a seat, but immediately went back to a standing position when he saw her.

“Hey, yourself, beautiful,” he said taking a good look at her. His eyes gave her a look of approval, and she was pleased at his reaction, because she went through a lot of trouble that day to make sure she looked perfect. Janelle was smiling too because her sister looked awesome, and she was pleased with her date. She automatically pictured them as a couple.

“You can have a seat,” Janiece told him, because he was still standing and staring at her like she was a stranger.

“Thanks,” he said and sat on the sofa.

“I see you’ve met my sister
, Janelle?”

“Yeah
, she frisked me at the door,” he joked, and they all laughed.

“Honey
…, trust me, you got off easy. By the way, I need the make and model of your car, including plates, and oh, I’m going need your mom’s maiden name,” Janelle teased, and they laughed again. Janelle did like this guy, but she would have liked anyone to keep her sister away from the two-timer.

“Would you like something to drink?” Janiece asked.
He had to be either thirsty or hungry, because he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her.

“No, no
, thanks. I’m good.”

“Well
, I’ll have a bottle of water,” Janelle said, looking at Janiece like, why didn’t you ask me?

“Okay sure
—your Majesty,” Janiece teased and went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water for her sister. When she came back, she didn’t sit. She just stood, because she was anxious to get going and be alone with Isaiah. Janelle noticed her standing and got the hint.

“Well
, I guess I’ll be going so you guys can leave,” she said taking her jacket from the back of the chair. She dug around in her purse and got her keys. Janiece walked over to the hall closet to get her jacket. When she had her purse and keys in hand she was all set.

“You ready?” Isaiah asked Janiece and she nodded yes. He got up from the couch
, and they all left together. Janelle and Isaiah went down the steps while Janiece locked her door. They waited at the bottom for Janiece, and when she reached the bottom they said their nice-to-meet-yous, and Janiece walked Janelle to her car.

“Giiirrrrllllll, he is too fine,” Janelle said to her sister.

“I know, right? He’s looking even better tonight, girl. I had no idea he could get any finer than he already was.”

“You better call me first thing in the morning, you hear me? I want to know if he tastes as good as he looks
,” Janelle teased.

“Girl
, stop it and get your nasty behind home. Call me as soon as you make it,” Janiece said, and waited for her sister to get in the car. Then she walked over to the truck, and Isaiah got out and walked around to open her door for her. He helped her in, and closed the door. She smiled, and he went around and got into the driver’s seat.