If Only For One Night Read online

  “Why get second hand information when you can get it directly from the source?” Jaylin queried, as he continued to hold my hand. “Anything you want to know about me, and I do mean anything, just ask.”

  Jaylin was clearly working me, but since I hadn’t flirted with a man since forever, I decided to play along. “Anything at all, huh? I just may take you up on that, Mr. Rogers.”

  “It’s Jaylin to my friends, and I certainly hope so. Please tell me you’re hanging out with us tonight. I’d be very disappointed if you didn’t.”

  “Okay, Jaylin. And yes, I will be hanging out with you guys tonight. Like I told Lamar, I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I’m looking forward to hearing all the dirt you have on Lamar . . . and hearing a lot more about you.” Yeah, I know, it was a bit much, but I was enjoying Jaylin’s and my tête à tête verbal exchange.

  “Excuse me, but would you two like to be alone, because I can leave,” Lamar teased.

  Jaylin and I let go of each other’s hand as Lamar interrupted us. “Man, can’t you see I’m trying to get to know the lady better?” Jaylin was talking to Lamar, but was looking directly at me.

  Lamar started to walk back towards the parking lot. “Jay, you can do that later. It’s not like you won’t see her tonight.”

  “Alright, sounds like a plan. Speaking of, where are we going?” Jaylin asked.

  “I’m not sure yet, but no worries. Wherever we go, you’ll have a good time.”

  We reached Jaylin’s rented 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG 4-Door Coupe first. His choice of car confirmed my first impression of him; he liked to spend money. “No doubt. I always enjoy myself,” Jaylin quipped as he deactivated the car’s alarm. “Lamar, just hit me up when you have a location.” He and Lamar shook hands then Jaylin turned to me. “Giana, I’ll see you later,” he replied, taking my hand and kissing it.

  “See you later, Jaylin.” With that, Jaylin was off, and Lamar and I headed to our own vehicles. “So that’s who you were with in Miami,” I said, watching as Jaylin’s car tore out of the parking lot.

  “Yep, that’s Jaylin,” Lamar replied, just as his cell phone began to ring. He took the call, and looked none too happy when he finished.

  Once I got to my car, I leaned up against it. “What’s wrong, Lamar?”

  “I need to cover another football game tonight. One of the doctors called out sick, and I’m next in line on the coverage schedule,” Lamar stated, annoyance in his voice.

  “Sorry to hear that. Guess you’ll have to cancel your plans with Jaylin, huh?”

  “Yeah. I really hate to do that since I invited him here, unless . . .” Lamar was giving me an all too familiar look.

  “Oh no, Lamar!” I exclaimed, shaking my head from side to side. “I am NOT entertaining your friend for you.”

  “Come on, Giana, please,” Lamar begged. “I promised him a good time, and Jaylin already thinks you’re hanging out with us anyway. I’ll just let him know that it’ll be the two of you. I’ll owe you big time.”

  “Lamar, I just met the guy. I don’t know anything about him, except that he’s your friend, and he’s a big flirt.” I stood with my hands on my hips.

  “And you, Giana, were flirting right back. Don’t try to deny it,” he countered.

  “Okay I won’t deny it, but flirting with him for a few short minutes, and spending a few hours alone with him are two different things entirely.”

  “From where I was standing, you two were getting along just fine without me. Giana, do me this one little favor, okay?”

  If it weren’t for the fact that Lamar was my best friend, I would have easily said no, but since he was, I decided to take one for the team. And the fact that Jaylin was an attractive man didn’t hurt either. “Fine, I’ll do it, but you really owe me for this, and I intend to collect my friend.” Then I had another thought. “Lamar, you haven’t picked out somewhere for us to go.”

  He contemplated for a moment. “Go to The Republic at eight o’clock.” The Republic Bar & Lounge was on West Main Street in Durham. It was a hot spot for urban sophisticates to get together, relax, and unwind. Saturday night was International Party night, and the DJ played international, house, and chill-out music. “I’ll reserve the V.I.P. spot as usual. Use your corporate card for expenses, and have a good time on me,” he continued, beaming.

  “Ya darn right it’s gonna be on you.” I laughed. “I will be at The Republic at eight o’clock.”

  Lamar opened my car door and I climbed in. “Thank you, Giana,” he replied, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

  I rolled my eyes at him, closing my car door, and rolling down the window. “Umm hmm. You just be sure to hold up your end of the bargain when I’m ready to call in my marker. ” With that said, I drove off.

  Once I arrived at my 2500 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom Chapel Hill condo, I immediately started looking for something to wear. I knew how Lamar dressed when he went out, decked out from head to toe in designer clothes. Based on what I had seen earlier, I could only assume that Jaylin was the same way. I pulled out a pair of black lace Victoria’s Secret boy shorts from my dresser drawer, then I checked The Weather Channel to see what the overnight temperature was going to be. Since the evening low was supposed to be in the low seventies, I settled on a Victoria’s Secret black halter dress with an asymmetric hem and a pair of Collin Stewart four-and-a-half inch black strappy heels with silver accents. Even though I didn’t wear heels often, I did have a thing for buying them. I figured now was as good a time as any to put my money to good use.

  As I was laying my clothes out on the bed, Lamar sent a text, letting me know that everything at The Republic was all set, and that Jaylin would meet me there at 8:00 pm. I took a quick shower, moisturized my café mocha skin with cocoa butter and shea butter lotion, and got dressed. I put on a little eyeliner, some lip gloss, and some Pink Sugar scented body oil, and then checked myself out in the full length mirror in my bedroom. I liked what I saw. Although I was only 5’3, I was 5’7 ½ with my heels. My little black dress hugged my petite frame perfectly, and my dark brown curled locks hung down around my shoulders. Satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my keys and purse, and I headed out the door.

  It didn’t take me long to arrive at The Republic. As soon as I opened the door, I heard the music pumping, as well as lively conversation and laughter from patrons. I walked to the back of the lounge towards the V.I.P. section, where I knew Jaylin would be. He was sitting on one of the black, soft leather couches in a dimly-lit area of the V.I.P. section. When I saw him, I was floored. He was without a doubt the handsomest man in that place. The man looked like sheer perfection in a Zenga charcoal birdseye wool 2-button 'Fit Mila' suit with flat- front trousers and a Z Zenga black, stretch poplin dress shirt. His outfit was completed by a pair of gray Z Zenga moccasins. Jaylin’s attire seemed to make his gray eyes stand out even more.

  Not surprisingly, women were shamelessly vying for Jaylin’s attention. Some of them were so thirsty, I was surprised they weren’t throwing their panties at him. Since the V.I.P. section was a reserved area, it was off limits to most of them. Jaylin stood up as I approached him.

  As I walked up to him, I noticed some of his admirers were giving me the evil eye, which I found rather entertaining. “Hi, Jaylin. You’re looking very handsome.”

  “Damn, that’s all I get? I thought we were friends. Can I at least get a hug?” he replied.

  “I’m sorry, Jaylin, and yes we are friends,” I laughed.

  I walked the few steps to him, intent on giving him a quick hug, but he had other ideas. Before I knew it, both of his arms were around my waist, and he pulled me into a tight embrace. So tight, in fact, that I could feel the hardness of his muscular chest and the hardness in his pants pressed against my body. That, along with the fact that he smelled really good, did something to me. He placed a soft kiss on my cheek, and then whispered in my ear, “I forgive you, but don’t let it happen again. You clean up nicely, Dr. M
onroe, very, very sexy.”

  Under most circumstances, I would have felt very uncomfortable with someone I hardly knew invading my personal space and speaking to me the way Jaylin did, but I didn’t feel that way in the least bit with him. Part of the reason was because I took extreme pleasure in watching the reactions on the faces of Jaylin’s groupies. The other part was I was flattered because he was undeniably the hottest guy in the place, and I had his undivided attention. “Why thank you Jaylin,” I responded, looking into his hypnotic gray eyes.

  After what seemed like forever, Jaylin finally released me from his grip. “What are you drinking?”

  I thought about it for a second, and told him I wanted a mimosa. Jaylin waved down a server and ordered my drink, Remy for himself, and then he sat down on the sofa next to me. “So, I guess it’s just the two of us tonight,” I said suddenly feeling at a loss for words, which was rare for me.

  “Fine by me,” Jaylin replied. “I’d rather get to know you better one-on-one anyway. “

  I shook my head and smiled. “Earlier you said Lamar told you a lot about me. How much more could you need to know?”

  “I’m sure there’s a whole lot I don’t know about you. For instance, I don’t know if your man knows you’re here with me tonight. I wouldn’t want him rolling up in here starting no shit.”

  “There’s no chance of that, considering I’m single at the moment,” I verbalized, figuring that was his way of finding out if I was in a relationship.

  “Good. That’s very good news,” he replied, moving a little closer to me.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because now I know you have no reason to rush off tonight.”

  “I have no intentions of rushing off.”

  “Glad to hear it. Now, why is it that you don’t have a man?”

  “Honestly,” I started just as our drinks arrived, “I broke up with my boyfriend of five years six months ago, so I haven’t really been looking. Besides, work has been keeping me pretty busy, so I don’t think about it much.”

  Taking a swig of his Remy, Jaylin asked, “You’ve been single for six months, and nobody’s tried to get at you?”

  “I never said that. Yeah some have tried, I just haven’t been interested in any of them,” I said, finishing my first drink. “But enough about me, tell me about you.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Are you in a relationship?” Since he basically asked me, I decided there was no harm in me asking the same.

  Jaylin polished off his drink and signaled to the server again. “Yeah, but we’re not together right now. It’s . . . complicated.”

  The tone in his voice said that I needed to leave the topic alone, and I would—for now. “Okay, so changing the subject, what do you like to do for fun?”

  “I like to do a lot of things, but making new friends is my specialty,” he said.

  The server took our orders, with me ordering Moscato D’Asti this time around, and Jaylin again ordering Remy. “When you say new friends, I take it you mean of the female persuasion,” I teased. “Jaylin, are you always such a flirt?”

  “It depends.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “It depends on who the lady is. And baby, you’re no slouch yourself.”

  I feigned shock. “Why, Jaylin, are you accusing me of flirting with you?”

  “Hell, no, I’m not accusing you. I’m just outright saying it. You were flirting with me just as hard as I was flirting with you,” he laughed.

  After the server handed us our second round of drinks, I replied with a snicker, “Alright, I’ll admit it. I haven’t done it in such a long time and I just wanted to make sure I still knew how.”

  “What? Has it been that long since you’ve flirted with a man?”

  I took a sip of my Moscato before responding. “Yes, it has. I didn’t do it during my relationship, and I haven’t really flirted since the break up, so it’s been about five and a half years. “

  “Interesting?”

  “And what is so interesting about that?” My curiosity was piqued.

  “Because of all the men you could have flirted with,” he said between gulps of his drink. “You chose me. I get the impression that you like me, Giana.”

  I couldn’t help but to laugh. I knew exactly what he meant by that statement, but I decided to play it another way. “Why, of course, I like you. I find you rather amusing.”

  “Woman, stop bullshitting. You know exactly what I mean.”

  “Oh, you mean LIKE you, as in I’m attracted to you,” I kidded. “Maybe a little.”

  Jaylin set his now-empty glass on a side table and ordered another round for us. “Why only just a little?”

  “Because as much as you think I might like you, I’ve noticed certain things about you.”

  “So what is it you think you know about me, Doc?”

  The look Jaylin gave me challenged me to either speak up or shut up, and I was definitely not shutting up.

  Looking Jaylin squarely in the eyes, I answered, “Since you did say we were friends, I’m going to be completely honest with you. From what I can tell, you’re a player, a very smooth talking one, but a player nonetheless. Don’t get me wrong, you’re a very handsome and charismatic man, and some, possibly many women, may fall under your spell. However, in my opinion, you are very transparent.”

  Jaylin moved a little closer to me, lifting my chin with his finger. “What you call transparent, I call it keepin’ it real. The ladies know where I stand from the jump. And as far as me being a player, I can’t help it if they know what time it is and still want to be a part of Jaylin’s world.”

  “Jaylin’s world? I take it this is your world, and we all just live in it.”

  “You said it, I didn’t,” was his smug reply.

  I moved away from Jaylin as our drinks arrived. “Yes, but you didn’t disagree with me either, which tells me you like to have things your way.”

  “Damn right I do,” he said, raising his glass. “So, Giana, since you haven’t dated in six months does that mean you haven’t had sex?”

  “Man, that’s rather forward of you, considering we just met.”

  “We met a few hours ago, and we are adults here, so are you going to answer the question or not?”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  Jaylin shrugged. “Just curious.”

  “You mean nosey,” I countered. “But I will answer your question. No I haven’t been with anybody in six months.”

  “Hold up, you really ain’t had no dick in six months? Damn! The only way I wouldn’t be getting no pussy would be if I was dead, and maybe not even then.” Jaylin was finding my plight extremely comical.

  “Dang, you have a potty mouth,” I joked. “Glad you’re finding this funny. And the reason I haven’t had sex in six months is because I’m not seeing anybody at the moment,” I noted.

  “And? What does seeing anybody have to do with it?”

  “For me, it has everything to do with it. I would like to be in a relationship before I have sex again.”

  “If everybody thought like that nobody would be fucking,” Jaylin laughed.

  I rolled my eyes. “Jaylin, I’m not a fan of casual sex, and I don’t do one-night stands, okay? Is there something wrong with that?”

  “Are you telling me you never hooked up with somebody just for the hell of it?”

  I gave a loud sigh. “No, I’m not saying that. I’ve had a couple of hook ups, as you put it, but they weren’t good experiences for me. The only thing I got out of them was regrets. And as far as having a one-night stand, I’ve never had one before.”

  “Maybe you should have one. At least with a one-night stand, if the sex is bad, you don’t have to worry about seeing that person again. The way I see it, if the pussy is whack, I ain’t coming back! Now, if it’s good, that’s a different story.”

  “You have such a way with words,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Giana,
when was the last time you had good sex?”

  I couldn’t believe I was actually having this conversation with him, but oddly I felt relaxed enough talking with Jaylin. Maybe it was the alcohol. Nah, who was I fooling, the drinks I had were like water to me. I sat there for a minute, and truth be told, I couldn’t remember when last I had good sex, which was really sad when you think about it. “Actually, I’m not sure.”

  “What do you mean you’re not sure? You only broke up with your ex six months ago, or was sex with him really that bad?”

  I sat back on the couch, crossing my arms in front of me. “It was okay.”

  “Just okay? You were with him for five years, and it was just okay? What was wrong with him?”

  He sure asked a whole lot of questions. “I don’t even know if I should tell you,” I remarked, a little apprehensive.

  “Tell me. I just want to know why you would put up with whack-ass sex for five years, that’s all.”

  “Okay, fine, but if you laugh I swear I am going to hurt you, badly.”

  “Is that a promise or a threat?” The look in Jaylin’s eyes said that he hoped I meant what I said.

  “Alright already,” I laughed. “There’s really not that much to tell. My ex-boyfriend had this little problem. . .”

  “He had a small dick?” Jaylin interrupted.

  “No, actually, he was very, uh, very well-endowed,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed now.

  “Head game was lousy?”

  “It was okay, nothing to brag about, but that wasn’t the main problem.” I felt the heat rising in my face.

  “So what then? Was he a two-minute man?”

  “Actually, it was more like . . . thirty seconds,” I said, barely loud enough for him to hear because I was uncomfortable.