Behind the Shadows of Deception-Chapter 16
As soon as Mya entered the house, she tossed her keys on a nearby table and headed straight for her bedroom with Rambo following behind her. She checked in on her other two dogs before entering her room. Sitting on her bed, she reached for the phone.
“What are you doing right now?” Mya said as soon as she heard the phone pick up.
“Last time I checked that wasn’t how you say hello?” Eve smirked.
“Hey heffa, what are you doing right now?” She repeated laughing.
“I just put Shaun to sleep. Now, why do you want to know what I’m doing? Why you all up in my business?”
“I need your advice.” Mya admitted.
“My advice?” She paused as if it was a crazy thought. “Hold on a minute.” She actually put me on hold on, Mya groaned while waiting. When Eve returned she was not the only one on the line. Mya heard another voice.
“Hey Mya.” Vanessa simply greeted.
“Nessa? I knew she was going to call you.”
“She said you need girlfriend advice.” That was the only time they had a three-way call. It was like a ritual.
“I went on a date tonight.” Mya began.
“So what else is new?” Eve interrupted. “Well, unless you had another bad date with that Darien guy then I’m all ears.”
“No, let me finish. I went on a date with JC.” Eve had to make a comment once again.
“Girl, that isn’t new either.” She said.
“It might be if you let her finish.” Vanessa spoke up and Mya thanked her.
“To him it was never a date. We were always hanging out before, ya know.” Vanessa quieted Eve before she could say a word.
“Where did y’all go?” She asked.
“He took me to the arcade. I had fun.”
Eve couldn’t hold her tongue anymore. “I swear that boy wants to take you to the crazy places. Regular people go to dinner or to the movies. Is he not normal?”
“He is normal.” She thought about it for a minute as her mind drifted to what occurred in his basement. He was very normal. “Oh for now on I’m only responding to Vanessa.”
“So what do you need advice on?”
“I don’t really need advice. I just need to vent. Usually, I would write this down but…JC is trippin’ girl.” Mya finished. She had been talking a mile a minute and knowing her friends they probably didn’t start listening until the end.
“What happened?”
“After our date, he took me back to his house…Shut up Eve.” She said on instinct as if she knew a sly remark from her was on its way. “Anyway, he played this song for me. It was something else, can’t really describe it but damn was it beautiful. It had me though. And next thing I knew we were in his basement making out like rabbits on top of his piano.”
“Ha!” Eve laughed loudly. “And you told me to shut up when I was right on the money.”
“Because I didn’t need you telling my story for me.” Mya replied before finishing. “And he is tripping because he’s trying to make a little kiss out of something that it’s not. I just want to chill and I don’t want anything to do with relationships right now.” To that admission Vanessa asked if she had told JC.
“Yeah I told him, but I don’t think he heard it.”
“So why’d you kiss him?” Eve asked. “So what shoot me because I’m curious.” She said to Vanessa’s objections.
“That’s why. I was curious.”
They both quieted as if they were thinking the same thing. “If you could do it again, would you?”
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Hell yes.” JC replied.
“So I don’t understand the dilemma. You say y’all had a good time, yet you’re still mad.”
“Yeah. I’m mad because I did what you said and it didn’t work.” JC mumbled as he mindlessly flipped through the pages of Mya’s journal. He wasn’t really reading it so he closed it and put it aside.
“Well, where did you take her?” Justin asked to which JC responded, “To the arcade.”
“That’s it? I thought I told you that romance was key? You can’t set the mood with little kids running around man!” Justin scolded him as if he was one of the little kids he had spoken about. “That was your problem right there.”
“You don’t know Mya man, she would’ve gotten all suspicious if I had taken her to dinner. But I should have done that since all she wants to do is chill.” He hated that word now.
“She told you that? And that’s why you’re mad?”
“Yes!” JC was happy that he finally understood. “And because she blew me off.”
“What do you mean?”
Back to square one. “I didn’t take her to dinner but I did manage to set the mood by bringing her back to my house. I had the romance in gear. I even played a song for her.”
“She didn’t like it?”
“She loved it but now I think the kiss was too much for her.”
“You kissed her and she rejected you?”
“Yeah basically, with some line about how she had let the mood get the best of her.” JC mimicked in his best female voice. “Where do females get those from? It’s all B.S.” He sucked his teeth.
“In her case, she writes songs so probably from there.” Justin laughed.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“So if you’re anything like me you don’t believe in rejection.”
“Damn right.” JC answered. “I’m all about persistence.” They said in unison with a laugh. “So how should I go about this?”
“That’s easy act like Chris.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Be persistent…act like Chris. These were the words that JC used to coach himself while in the car and now while standing before Mya’s door. He knocked once and waited. She had yet to come to the door.
“Maybe she’s busy.” JC told himself as he raised his hand to knock again. “I should’ve called first.
Suddenly he heard a noise travel from the back of the house to where he was. Curious, he strolled to the backyard where he had found Mya resting in one of her lawn chairs as she watched her three dogs run around.
“Hey Mya.”
“JC what the hell-” She turned to him eyes wide and chest heaving from the shock. “…is wrong with you coming up on me like that! Ya know, it’s times like this where I wish I really owned a gun.” Mya relaxed in her chair.
“Why?”
“So I could shoot you.”
JC laughed. “Shoot me where?” Mya glanced over him from head to toe as he took a seat in one of the chairs beside her.
“You don’t wanna know.” She finally answered.
“Ouch.” JC cringed. He really didn’t want to know but her gaze said it all.
“What are you doing here?”
“What have you been doing?” JC asked instead.
“I asked you first JC.”
“Ok.” JC sighed giving in. “I just came to see you that’s all.”
“Mmm hmm and I got those messages you left on my voicemail too. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had ten messages all because I didn’t call you when I got home after leaving the studio last night.”
“It was late. I was worried.”
Mya sat up tossing him a blank stare. “JC it was 9 pm.”
“But because of daylight savings it gets dark early.” JC replied.
“You are ridiculous.” Mya shook her head. “You are getting worse than Chris.”
“Good.” JC smiled, as long as things continue to go my way. “So back to my question, what have you been doing?”
“Hmm, I just got done dance rehearsal about an hour ago-and before you ask, no I’m not preparing for any performances just keeping this body in shape, ya know?”
“Yes I do.” She threw a sideway glance at his reply.
“Anyway, after that I came home and my babies wanted me to play frisbee with them so that’s why I’m out here. And now I’m tired as hell. I could really use something to drink right now.” Mya pushed herself up into a standing position.
“You want something?”
“That’s okay. I’ll get it.” JC followed after her.
“I can get it JC I’m halfway to the kitchen.”
“No Mya I wanna get it for you and now I’m two steps ahead of you.”
“Okay whatever.” Mya threw up her hand surrendering. “I’ll just sit my ass back down then.”
“Good, now what do you want…you got water and juice?” JC yelled from the kitchen. She told him water.
“Here’s your water, with a lot of ice just like you want.” He placed the glass in her hand.
“I never told you I liked a lot of ice.” Mya mumbled while taking a sip of the refreshing water.
Don’t fuck this up JC, he told himself. He was supposed to keep the use of her journal discreet and here he was basically bragging to her how much it was helping him get with her.
“Oh that feels nice.” Mya all but moaned while knocking back a huge gulp of water.
JC on the other hand was not as thrilled. “Mya please don’t do that.”
“Do what?” She put the glass aside.
“That.” He pointed accusingly at the glass of water. “And don’t moan while drinking like that it’s too erotic.”
“Wow no one has ever told me that the way I drink is erotic.” Mya giggled and JC realized that he didn’t want her doing that either. Her laugh was seductive as well.
“You seem to notice the not so obvious things about me.”
“Hmm what I can say, I’m very observant.”
“Yes you are.” Mya smiled picking up her glass again. This time she sipped it slowly.
She didn’t want to give him anymore ideas considering that she felt she had led him on enough already. She had indulged his flirting and flirted back. She fell asleep in his bed too. And at the top of the list was the kiss they shared in his basement.
“I’m so tired I could fall asleep right here but I think I’m going to go up to my room.”
“I can take you up.”
“JC I can walk.” Mya started to protest but he was already standing up lifting her from the chair. “Damn, I let you have one kiss and you’re sprung.” She teased without knowing that she was dead right.
“Just put me on the couch, I’ll take a nap. Oh and can you bring the babies in please?” JC did as she requested. By the time he returned she had fallen asleep.
“Damn, she must’ve been really tired.” JC sat beside her gently placing her jean clad legs across his lap. He thought about leaving now that she was asleep, yet decided against it. He wanted to be here, with her, even if she wasn’t much company.
“Hmm, what to do, what to do.” JC looked around the living room mindlessly and lightly kneaded the muscles of her calves. He stretched his arm into his bag rummaging through it for something to read. His hand grasped a solid object, an object that should have never been in his bag in the first place.
JC flipped to the middle of the book where he had left off. He knew it was stupid to attempt to read her journal while she was only three inches away. Still, he was anxious to see what he could find in her journal to move their relationship to the level he so desperately desired.
As of now they were stuck between friends and not quite lovers. Of course that was only in his mind. However, according to Mya, the only line they had crossed that placed them between friends and lovers was kissing. Still she was quick to maintain that line, thick but imaginary, between them.
JC began turning the pages.
April 20, 2002 (11:05 pm)
Just finish a performance over here in Germany, it was…
“Not important right now.” He turned more pages.
May 02, 2002 (10:36 pm)
Kris kissed me tonight and I must say that it was the most…
“Eww. Hell no.” That was one entry he was happy to skip.
June 16, 2002 (3:21 am)
I’m usually not up this early on a regular basis but I can’t sleep. I have to get something off my chest that has been bugging me for some time now. A friend of mine (he actually dances for me) claims that’s he’s been “feeling me” as of lately. But I try to think nothing of it because I have this thing against friendships evolving into relationships. It’s like why ruin a good thing? If a friendship has been going so well why ruin it by entering dangerous territory that being a relationship that may not even last 15 minutes? Honestly though I have no feelings for him so we won’t even be crossing that line. I won’t even let my pinky toe touch it.
Still, I’m not gonna front I have overstepped my boundaries once. I was young then, just about to come out with my first album, and I knew nothing about the dangers of dating friends. Anyway there was this guy that Eve and I both had a crush on. Mine was just a high school crush I believe but he pursued me anyway (I have a habit attracting the worst kind of guys). It started off good at first because we were already friends. But it didn’t last long because we had different perspectives on life. I was young, ready to launch my career. He was older than me but as immature as it sounds, he only wanted to chill (and I mean sitting on the couch watching TV type of chill). He wasn’t gonna hold me back and I told him that. Needless to say, it ended badly, mostly because I had taken a stab at his pride. He moved on though, became Eve’s boyfriend and stuck her with a child. Even though he doesn’t talk to me much anymore, I’m glad I got away when I had a chance. That could’ve been me instead of Eve. He was a good friend (that I didn’t have anymore) but he’s at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to being a good boyfriend.
“So that’s why she had fed me that bullshit line about letting the mood get the best of her. She doesn’t want to lose me as friend aww…that’s too bad.” JC closed the book. He planned to become more than that whether she liked it or not. After all he was all about persistence.
“What are you doing?” Had she awaken? No he must’ve been hearing things. She was still sleeping peacefully beside him. Of course he desperately wanted to believe that until he saw her sitting up against the armrest rubbing her eyes.
“Why are you up, you haven’t even been asleep for thirty minutes? Go back to sleep.” He panicked.
“How can I with your fingers digging into my leg?”
‘Oh sorry.” JC removed his hands releasing her leg allowing her to fold it beneath her bottom.
“Mmm hmm, what were you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“JC I’m not stupid or blind I saw you reading something.” He glanced away tossing the journal into his bag.
“No you didn’t Mya.”
“JC?” Mya leaned her head slightly to the right; her gaze asking if he really thought she was stupid. “You hiding something from me?”
“Yes.” JC admitted and Mya flew over to his side of the couch.
“What is it let me see?” She bounced up and down on the cushions. “You ain’t got anything to hide from me.”
“That’s what you think.” JC replied pushing her eager hands away from his bag.
Mya fixed him with a suspicious stare. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.”
She giggled, “You’re a damn liar.”
“I know Ms. Harrison, I know.”