Our first date…

“I used to hate my name,” JaShel admitted the day she finally allowed me to hear her say more than her usual sarcastic replies. It had only taken me a week after meeting JaShel just for her to talk to me. That was seven days longer than I was used waiting to get what I want, but my initial impression only improved the more I got to know her. From that point on, I spent more than half the summer working two jobs: days interning at the phone company, nights trying to get a minute alone with JaShel. Convincing JaShel was a cake walk compared to trying to get Mrs. Jackson to agree to it. Even after I shaved a few years off my age (along with my goatee and moustache), her mother wouldn’t allow me alone with her baby.

“Y’all go as a group and come back as a group,” Mrs. Jackson said as we left her house.

As soon as the door was closed, Tony laughed. “What? She thinks we won’t fuck as a group, too?”

Everyone laughed. Everyone except JaShel. Immediately, I stopped laughing when I picked up on the drop in her mood. Quickly, I took her hand and gently squeezed it to let her know that everything would be OK.

The evening started at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes. My game was off but I didn’t care since JaShel’s legs were the cause of my distracted mind.

“Jay! Get in the game, man!” Eric snapped. “You bringin’ down our average!”

“Shit, E! Chill!” I called over my shoulder as I approached the lane. Trying to concentrate on my last chance at bowling redemption, I rolled the ball with all my might.

STRIKE!!

When I returned from my personal triumph, JaShel was waiting by the ball return.

Down boy! You know I can’t walk when you’re trynna play!

“The girls and I are getting some food. Y’all want anything from the snack bar?” JaShel asked.

“We’re good. Get what you want,” I replied, reaching into my pocket to give her a $20 bill.

Her smile was all the thanks I needed. Before I could fully enjoy the view of JaShel’s legs and ass as she exited the bowling area, Tony called me.

“What?!?” I snapped. Pissed at the interruption, I turned to face my ecstatic cousin.

“Aye, dawg, let me know when y’all ready to go to the room. The hotel is out by the airport,” Tony grinned. “I already got the drinks and the…”

“Hotel?!? Drinks?!?” Eric cheered then quickly sobered up. “Did you forget these girls are underaged, not to mention so are we!?”

“My gal ain’t!” Tony smiled. “She’ll be 18 in two weeks!”

“You idiot! Twenty-one is the legal drinking age!” Eric retorted.

“Yeah, but 17 is the age of consent so she ain’t gotta drink! We’ll just fuck all night!” Tony whooped while trying to get Eric and me to high five him.

“Are you serious, Tony? A hotel room and liquor?” I’m sure my lil cousin misread my disappointment as pride. And who in the hell bought liquor for him with his barely 18 year old ass!?

“Yeah, dawg. My gal said she’s ready to go. I told her to make sure her friends are down cuz we can drop they no fun havin’ asses off on the way,” Tony explained. “E, you down?”

“Only because of what JaShel’s mama said,” Eric replied.

As much as I hated what JaShel would think if our first date involved the delinquency of minors and a queen-size bed, I wasn’t exactly in a rush to end my time with her. I would never see JaShel alone if I fucked up on the first night out so I promised myself that nothing would happen if she genuinely didn’t want it to. And believe it or not, fucking JaShel wasn’t even on my mind. Not that night. JaShel was definitely an upgrade from my usual fuck buddies. I knew that before I ever put my tongue between her lips. She’d already seduced my mind and, surprisingly to me, my heart.

“Eric’s right, T,” I said. Both Eric and Tony looked at me, in shock. “If you really need to get with girlie tonight, let’s take JaShel home and we’ll call it a night,” I suggested.

“Ah, man! Are you fuckin’ kidding me, Jay?!?” Tony exclaimed. Behind him, I saw the girls heading our way.

“Let’s see what they say and go from there,” I compromised.

“Bet!” Tony agreed.

JaShel’s friend, Angela, who was paired up with Tony, walked straight up to him. “We gotta talk.”

Tony rolled his eyes as he was no doubt about to receive the news that he was not gonna fuck his gal all night tonight.

“Who’s idea was the hotel?” JaShel asked, looking from me to Eric.

“Tony’s,” we replied in unison, sounding like we didn’t want her to tell our mamas what badness we were up to.

“Figures,” piped up JaShel’s other friend, Nina. “Typical nigga to fuck a girl her first night out with him,” she said, looking directly at me.

“Excuse me but like we said, the hotel was Tony’s idea,” I stated, gesturing between Eric and me. “You shouldn’t assume we were all in on this.”

“I knew you were better than that, Jayson,” said JaShel, smiling at me, revealing a small dimple-like indentation in her right cheek.

“In fact, if you don’t want to go to the hotel, we can take y’all home,” Eric offered, looking more at JaShel than his own date.

You cock-blockin’ muthafucka!

“No, I want to hang out,” JaShel replied, looking at me. I smiled back as Tony and Angela returned.

“It’s time to move this party!” my cousin boisterously broadcasted, almost drowning out the overhead announcement of someone’s nachos being ready at the snack bar. “Turn in your shoes and meet us at the car.”

Quietly, we did as we were commanded. JaShel and I trailed behind Eric and Nina. From the looks of it, their night wasn’t going as expected; no surprise to me. Before we picked up the girls, I made it clear to Tony and Eric that JaShel was with me. That bullshit Eric spat at the pool was to protect what little pride he had. Tony filled me in that he was there the day that Eric asked JaShel out. My ego was healed a bit when Tony said that she had already shot him down. “You can’t get through your algebra assignments without my help. You wouldn’t be smart enough to know if I was playin’ you or not!” Tony repeated to Eric and me, followed by our laughter at Eric’s expense. I didn’t even have to try to rub it in his face that I could get JaShel but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the slow replay of Eric picking up his face.

Poor Nina. It’s not her fault that she got Eric by default since Tony’s been hooked up with Angela since the day we ran into the girls at the pool. Thankfully, Nina had her own vehicle since she opted out of the hotel portion of the night. “I’m not in the mood to fight off Stick Boy’s hands. I’m goin’ home, girl,” she said to JaShel as we approached Nina’s car.

“What about Jashel’s mama?” I asked with alarm. “She said we all had to come back together.”

“She can tell her she’s spending the night at my girl’s house,” Tony offered with Angela holding him from behind while they leaned on his car. Quickly, she popped him upside the back of his head.

“Yeah, that won’t look suspicious,” Eric scoffed.

“I’ve got a better idea,” JaShel said as she turned to me. “Gimme your cellphone.”

Looking confused, I handed her the phone. “Woman, what are you up to?”

“Shh!” JaShel put a finger to my lips before speaking into the phone. Playfully I planted kisses on her finger as she spoke. “Mama? … Yeah, I’m OK. I was just calling to tell you I’m spending the night at Angela’s house. I didn’t want you to stay up too late waiting for me to come home.” Before I could protest, she raised her eyebrow at me. “Yes, Mama, I know. Love you.” Handing me back my phone, JaShel said, “Let’s go.”

“To the hotel?” I asked in disbelief.

“I promised Angela’s mama I wouldn’t leave her alone,” she smiled at me then winked at her friend.

Nina rolled her eyes at us. “So I’m free to go, right?”

“Yes, please. GO!” Eric urged, verbally pushing her to her car.

“Fuck you, Eric!” Nina spat as she walked away.

“That’s why y’all mad now,” Tony laughed. “Both of y’all need to get to the hotel and fuck all that anger out!”

“Fuck you, Tony. Take me home. I’m not gon’ be the fifth wheel tonight,” Eric stated.

“You got gas money cuz yo’ crib ain’t on the way, dawg,” Tony said replied matter-of-factly.

“You know I got you, T,” Eric chuckled. “Just hit up the Shell around the corner from my crib.”

While Angela, Eric and JaShel all walked around to the passenger side of Tony’s car, my cousin pulled me aside.

“Yo, Cuz. You got any rubbers on you?” he asked.

“Get some at the gas station,” I laughed. “How you gon’ get a hotel room to sleep with a girl but not have any condoms?”

“I figured she’d have some,” Tony shrugged. “But you right. I can get some at the gas station when we drop off E. Hey Jay?”

“Yeah, T,” I said, looking at my young cousin.

“Don’t be trynna make yo’ gal scream louder than mine, ya hear me?”

Shaking my head, I climbed into the backseat of the car, indicating that I was done with the conversation. Before we pulled out of the parking lot, Eric’s cell phone rang.

“Stop the car!” Angela screamed.

Tony slammed on the brakes, causing the entire car to lurch forward. After I checked to see if JaShel was OK, I looked up to see Eric getting out of the car. “Where’s he going?”

“With her,” JaShel smiled as she looked straight ahead at Nina’s car blocking us, allowing Eric to jump in before she sped off. “She must’ve changed her mind.”

“Oh she changed her mind alright. Girl, you know that call was from Nina. Eric couldn’t get out of here fast enough!” Angela deduced. “And I doubt they’re meeting up with us.”

“Cool. Straight to the hotel!” Tony announced.

“After you stop at the gas station, right?” I reminded him, putting my arm around JaShel.

“No doubt,” he replied, looking back at me in the rearview mirror.

Minutes later, Tony pulled into a Shell station. “You want me to get anything for you, Cousin?” he asked as he turned around to look at JaShel and me.

“I’m good, T,” I smiled. “In fact, you pump the tank, I’ll go inside.”

“Ah’ight,” Tony replied before we exited the car. “Get me a couple of packs, man. I don’t want to run out, ya hear me?” he laughed as he put a $20 bill in my hand.

“Right,” I laughed back. As I headed into the convenience store, I nodded my head to the cashier before heading to the refrigerated section. Not a big drinker myself, I wanted to make sure my guest and I would have enough refreshments. It was bad enough my cousin was threatening a Fuckfest for the entertainment.

“Can you hand me that Mountain Dew Code Red, please?”

I turned to see JaShel behind me, smiling like she had a secret she couldn’t wait to share with me.

“Sure,” I smiled, reaching for the closest two-liter bottle of the requested carbonated drink.

“Um, I’m not gonna drink that much, Jayson,” she laughed.

“Just making sure you won’t die of thirst,” I chuckled. “Actually, I didn’t want to assume you’re going to drink what Tony brought. In fact, I was gonna take my chances with Sprite and Pepsi so I’m glad you came in to pick what you really wanted.”

“Did you get the condoms yet?” she asked, looking up at me innocently.

“Huh? What? Condoms?” I stammered, nearly dropping the bottle of soda on my foot.

“Jayson, I know what’s up with Angela and Tony. They’ve been goin’ at it for a minute now. When Tony said ‘two packs’, I’m sure he wasn’t talking about gum,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

Don’t cover up the Girls, Baby…

“Oh, yeah, I was just about to get those,” I said looking at JaShel curiously. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, I’m a virgin,” she replied quickly as she walked toward the checkout counter.

Not the question I was going to ask.

Stunned, I reached the counter just as JaShel asked the cashier for three boxes of Magnums. “These are with him,” she stated, smiling back at me as she exited the store.

Quickly, I paid for my purchase and ran out to the car. The entire ride to the hotel was silent. I know why I was on mute but even Tony and Amina were hushed. I was so busy trying to see where things were going after JaShel’s announcement that I didn’t notice that we weren’t headed toward the airport. When Tony made the exit to get back to JaShel’s street, I got worried.

“Tony, where are you going?” JaShel asked, expressing my thoughts.

“Your house. Takin’ y’all home,” Tony replied curtly as he navigated through JaShel’s neighborhood.

“Angie, you OK?” JaShel asked, touching her friend’s shoulder.

Angela’s only response was her constant staring out of the window. Once we pulled in front of JaShel’s house, Angela leapt from the car and stomped down the street.

“ANGELA!” JaShel called out as she exited the car to check on her friend.

“What’s goin’ on, T?” I asked, taking off my seatbelt and positioning myself more comfortably in the middle of the backseat.

“Man, fuck that stuck up bitch!” Tony snapped back.

Before I could question my cousin any further, JaShel reappeared at the window. “Goodnight, Jayson.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I exclaimed as I got out of the car to halt JaShel’s retreat into her house. “What do you mean goodnight? Did I do something?”

“It’s not you. It’s not even Angela and Tony. I thought I would be cool with just hanging out with you but I know what they were going to be doing would be on your mind and I’m not ready for that yet and…”

“Whoa, Baby, slow down!” I chuckled, reaching for her hand as I led her to her porch steps. Sitting down on the top step, I said, “Baby, I wouldn’t do anything you’re not ready for, especially now that I know that you’re a virgin. If you wanted to come home, I would make sure you came home safely. Your mom put me in charge of you tonight. I wasn’t about to mess that up on the first night.”

“First?” JaShel half-smiled.

“Yeah, first. Hopefully we won’t have so many indecisive people with us next time,” I said gently squeezing her hand in mine. “So when can I take you out again?”

“Look Jayson. You’re older and probably have a girlfriend back in New York and even if you didn’t, you don’t need to waste your time and money for a hotel on me because that’s just not on my plate right now,” JaShel explained as she rose to go into the house.

“Who says I’m wasting my time?” I asked, looking up at her. “JaShel, if at any time I thought you were wasting my time tonight, you wouldn’t’ve known about the hotel.”

“Wow!” JaShel said, looking hurt.

“Baby, let me explain,” I started, tugging on her hand to invite her to rejoin me on the step. Once she was next to me again, I continued. “True, I am older but I’m not trying to get into anything serious while I’m here. If I just wanted sex from you, I wouldn’t’ve come after you when you said goodnight. Baby, I’m not gonna take what isn’t given to me willingly. To be honest, I was cool with the idea of just talking and chillin’, watching TV while we made fun of my cousin and your girl in the next room.”

Hearing JaShel laugh put me at ease. It was amazing that the littlest things she did made me so comfortable. “That’s good to hear. I would hate to see what’s left of you after Mama was done tearing your ass up for letting something happen to me!”

Laughing, I said, “She sounds like my Ma.” Before I had a chance to talk to JaShel about my favorite lady in my life, Tony walked up on us.

“Yo Cousin, I’m gon’ check on Angela. You cool here?” The look I gave Tony let him know I wanted to stay a while longer. Taking my hint, he walked back to the car. “Hit me up when you’re ready to bounce.”

Taking her hands in mine, I looked at JaShel. “I want to know more about you since you’re not as bad as I thought you were the day we met.”

“I wasn’t bad,” she said, gently elbowing me in the ribs.

“You weren’t interested either, remember?” I joked, throwing her words back at her.

“Well, with a name like mine, I can’t say yes to just anyone,” she smiled. There it was. Pearly white teeth, slight indentation in her right cheek. Soft sexy lips inviting me to kiss them. “Actually I’m not as bad as you would think but that’s probably because you don’t know me yet,” JaShel said quietly.

“Is there something you don’t want me to know, Miss Mystery Woman?” I grinned as I leaned back on my hands.

After thinking for a moment, she smiled back. “My name.”

“Your name? What’s wrong with JaShel Jackson?” I asked, curiously.

“My first name is the problem,” she replied. “JaShel is my middle name. My first name is Janet.”

Janet JaShel Jackson.

“I love your name,” I said, staring into her warm brown eyes. I couldn’t help imitating my favorite R&B singer as the beautiful young lady with a similar name sat beside me. “Miss Jackson, if ya nasty!”

“See?!” JaShel half-chuckled. “And that is one of the reasons why I hate it! Just because my name is Janet Jackson, that doesn’t mean I’m nasty. Not saying she is but… well… you know what I mean!”

JaShel sounded offended and I was instantly sorry for upsetting her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything,” I apologized sincerely.

Waving her hand in front of her face, she said, “No, I’m sorry. The whole reason why never let people call me Janet is because I bite their head off about that one line. Mama didn’t know another Janet Jackson would set herself up as one of the sexiest women alive only for her name to be synonymous with all things erotic. That’s that Janet. Not this one.”

“I see how difficult it must be to go around as Janet Jackson. Guys probably give you the hardest time,” I stated.

With a name like that plus a body that won’t quit didn’t exactly fit the side of JaShel I had seen. Quiet, demure, polite, flirty. Nothing screamed sex about her but like the original Ms. Jackson sang, “Let’s wait a while.”

The better part of that night found me alone with JaShel, talking until my cousin came back to take me home. I didn’t even try to convince her to go to the hotel with me that night. I knew I’d have more opportunities in the future because at the tender age of twenty, I found my soulmate.

“I’d love to stay but it’s late and like I said, I don’t want to mess this up on the first night.” Kissing her cheek, I said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Jayson,” she smiled. As I walked down the path, I looked back to see JaShel in the same spot on the top of the stairs. I stopped and looked at her a bit longer. “Woman, get in the house.”

“I’m not your woman, sir,” she laughed. “I’ll go in when I’m ready. Or when Mama tells me to.”

“I’m not leaving until you get in the house, JaShel,” I said sternly. “And just so you know, you’ll be the reason why I’m late for our breakfast date tomorrow.”

“Hold up, Mr. Clark,” she said as she rose from the steps and walked toward me, dusting the dirt off the ass of her short short skirt. That damn girl had me growing harder with each step that brought her closer to me! “I don’t recall you asking me out so how can I be making you late?”

“Baby, I can’t go to sleep ‘til I get home and I can’t go home until I see that you’re safely back in the house.” Kissing her full on the lips, I continued. “Now go in the house. I’ll be back in the morning, OK?”

JaShel stared at me, mesmerized. “I already have plans for tomorrow but thanks for asking. I’ll see you later.” Her hasty retreat into the house left me feeling a bit shook until she reached the top of the stairs. “Next time, ask me what I’m doing instead of assuming I’ll go along with your idea. Thanks for the evening, Mr. Clark. I had fun. Call me some time.” And into the house, she disappeared.

Grinning all the way to the car, I knew this girl would be my wife. I had never before met anyone that called me on my shit like that. Nobody but Ma!

“Whatchu so damn happy about, Cousin?” Tony said, smiling back at me. “She gave you a hand job while I was gone?”

Sighing, I said, “Man, you wouldn’t even understand. If sex is all you want from women, ain’t no point in me trynna explain why I’m so damn happy.”

Starting the car, Tony said, “Ah’ight Big Cuz, enlighten me. Maybe I can figure out what the fuck went wrong with Angela tonight.”

“Basically, I’m really feelin’ this girl, T,” I smiled as I sat back in the seat, almost forgetting to fasten my seatbelt as Tony screeched around the corner. “T, how bad you wanna get a ticket tonight? Slow ya roll, Cuz!”

“My bad,” Tony said as he fumbled with the radio until he found his favorite hip-hop station.

“I’m not gonna be here long and I don’t want to hurt her but it’s just something about her, Tony,” I said staring off into the distance. Oncoming headlights started to put me in a trance as I thought of JaShel. “I like how she doesn’t take any shit from anyone, including me! Even if we don’t hook up while I’m here this summer, I can’t see her not being with me somewhere down the line but I’m not even trippin’ off that. I won’t lie; I wanna smash it, but she’s worth the wait.”

“Find out if she’s crazy, Cousin,” Tony said as he pulled into the parking lot next to Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. Turning off the engine, my cousin looked at me as he sparked an “L”. “Jay, her girl is definitely off! I know I talk a lot of shit but real talk, my mama didn’t raise me to disrespect women, Jay. You know that. But if a gal is down, I’m doing all I can to make it happen, ya hear me? Angela set up the whole group date so JaShel could hook up with you. She asked me to get us a room and a lil sumthin to drink. None of that was my idea, Cousin, I swear! After I took care of all of that, I was running a lil short on cash and I didn’t want to use my credit card for condoms so I asked Angela for the money to get them.”

“What’s wrong with that?” I replied, reaching for the blunt my younger cousin was hogging up. “Well except that I gave her girl a twenty back at the bowling alley. Hell, even still, if neither of y’all had any condoms and you’d already got the room, the least she could do was get the rubbers to protect her damn self! But then again, T, if she got pissed about that, I can see her point since she went through the trouble of ‘setting me up’ with her girl.”

“Fuck you, Jay!” Tony exclaimed, snatching the blunt after I ashed it.

“Cuz, if you’ve been spending all the money from the jump, of course she’d be shocked to hear you ask her that. Sounds like she was in it for the money. Even still, you could’ve dropped her off at her house instead of letting her walk alone in the dark, though,” I said as Tony passed the “L” back to me.

“Yeah well, she didn’t give me a chance with her jumpin’ out like that,” Tony replied quietly while I puffed. “I was going to talk to her when you walked JaShel to the door. I knew you would be gone for a minute and I could find out what was really bugging Angela.”

“You think it’s something other than her being asked to spend her money on her baller boyfriend?” I laughed.

“Yeah, I do. From the time I picked her up all the way to the bowling alley, she was quiet. I was trynna talk to her all night but she didn’t want to talk about anything. I told her that I got the room and the drinks. No response. We get to the bowling alley and she’s all into her girls, forgetting about me but I’m like, ‘It’s cool. We’ll see what’s up when we get to the hotel.’ I got us a room with the bedroom set off from the living room area so we could all have some privacy. If she just wanted to fuck, I wanted to be ready. I was thinking of her. How could she take that the wrong way?”

“I don’t know, T,” I shook my head. “I know it’s late but maybe you could call her and find out what’s up.”

Sighing, Tony flipped open his phone and called Angela.

“Hey, are you OK? I was gonna take you home like you asked. … Because we needed them and I didn’t want to put that small ass charge on my credit card! Baby, if you didn’t have the money, you could’ve just said so! … What do you mean it was too late? We had to get them on the way to the hotel! … What? When? Angela? ANGELA!”

“What’s goin’ on, T?” I asked with concern.

Tony puffed a couple more times before putting the roach out in an overflowing ashtray. After a moment of silence, Tony quietly replied, “She’s pregnant.”