The next several days were the same as the ones before. She and Thom would work at the call center, and then head to the gym, after which they would grab a light dinner. Thom’s admirer was not at the gym on Tuesday, but Wednesday Thom spent just as much time checking him out as he did working out himself. In fact, Temi was becoming annoyed with the entire situation and wished Thom would just go talk to him.

            “Oh, I can’t do that,” Thom shook his head as they entered the gym Thursday after work.

            “Why not? It’s not as if you haven’t been giving one another googly eyes anyway.” Besides, perhaps if they spoke to one another, Mr. Hot-Stuff would join their little team and help her keep the workouts going. He could challenge Thom, and being the showoff that he is, Thom would rise to the occasion.

            “We are NOT making googly eyes,” he dismissed her.

            “Thom, you are the least shy person I know. Since when have you had a hard time talking to guys?”

            “I don’t have any difficulties,” he retorted. “It’s just from time to time a gal likes to be pursued.”

Temi didn’t know what to say about that, and besides, after a quick glance around, it didn’t appear that Thom’s new dreamboat was here anyway. She supposed he was right; she liked being pursued herself. Or more accurately she liked the game. The chase, the teasing, the aloofness, followed by more chasing before the catching. The only trouble now was that she was between chases. There wasn’t anyone pursuing her, and she’d yet to find anyone worth pursuing. She sighed, “Okay, let’s get this party started. We have drinks with the ladies in two hours.”

Her usual gathering with the ladies would be plus one tonight; she’d decided to invite Thom. She knew Kenya and Sherica might have a problem with his coming, but since Thom was a part of her daily life these days, she felt she couldn’t leave him behind. Temi also felt that once they got to know Thom, they would love him as much as she did.

            “Treadmill, here we come!” Temi sighed again as Thom cheerily hopped off to the row of treadmills.

              “Girl! Your braids are poppin’! Who’d you get to do your hair, and can you have them hook up my goddess over here!?!” Thom always knew how to make an entrance.

            Kenya gave Thom the biggest smile Temi had ever seen, all pearly whites with glistening pink gum. “Thank ya, baby. My girl, Sally, hook me up during a block party last weekend.”

Block parties. Temi couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to a block party. The good citizens of Chesapeake didn’t have too many of them… or any. In fact, Temi couldn’t remember attending a single block party in Tidewater! Thinking back now, the last one she attended was on her grandmother’s block in Kentucky. Her uncle was graduating from the police academy, so she and her father had gone to Lexington for the graduation; her mom had been too bogged down with grading final exams to join them.

Block parties were a funny thing. One neighbor hears that you’ve got something to celebrate, so they offer up some grilled chicken or a fish fry. Only, rather than cooking it and bringing it by your home, they bring the grill and or fryer to the curb and cook it on the side of the street. Now, of course when there’s good old-fashioned southern cooking going down, there has to be music! Doesn’t matter who brings it or what it is; it will happen. Then neighbors walking by will smell the food and hear the beats. They’ll come out to see what’s happenin’ and before you know it, they’ve joined in. There’s more grilling, people dancing in the streets, drinking, popup hair salons as braiders and barbers bring their trades outside. What would start off as a small gathering between two neighbors could quickly turn into the street being blocked off and the entire neighborhood flocking to the site of grilled food, music, and laughter. And no one dared call the police either; there was really no need. On every occasion when Temi had attended a block party, and the police showed up, they’d merely grab a plate of food and join in the banter with some of the neighborhood people. It’s the only time she could think of when the black community and the police could hobnob and relate. “Where the hell did you find a block party?”

            “Girl, you been hangin’ with whitey too long,” Kenya began then winced as she remembered that Thom is whitey. “No offense, brutha-man.”

            “None taken, gorgeous,” Thom tapped his fruited toothpick on the rim of his cocktail glass before taking the cherry between his teeth.

            “They still be havin’ block parties out near Norfolk State. Usually, a bunch of college kids in attendance, but you know I don’t mind flirtin’ with the children.”

Tahleeah raised a brow, “Children?” The college students couldn’t be more than three years younger than her.

            “Umm-hmm, girl,” Kenya picked up on Tahleeah’s irritation but ignored it. “If I am old enough to have birthed you… you’s a baby.”

Tahleeah rolled her eyes.

“Artemisia, sweetie, you know I love you,” Thom jumped in before Tahleeah could have words with Kenya, “but maybe you should change up your look.” He tugged on one of her Temi’s braids. 

Temi had been wearing cornrows in varies styles for years. They were so low maintenance that she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She looked at Kenya’s hair and for the first time gave the look real consideration. She’d always liked microbraids but wondered about the stress they inflicted on the hair follicles. Then there was the time involved… “How long did it take to get your hair done?”

“Mmm,” Kenya sipped her wine. “About six hours.”

“Six hours! Kenya, that’s damn near a workday!”

Kenya rolled her eyes. “This girl’s been out of the loop for a minute, hasn’t she, Sherica?”

Sherica nodded. “Temi, six hours is nothing. Besides, think of it this way, six hours and you won’t have to have it done again for two to four months depending on how well you keep them up.”

Temi had to admit Sherica made a good point; taking Thom’s hand, she kissed it and promised to give the idea serious consideration. Thom beamed at her.

The rest of the evening was spent with Thom cracking up ladies and completely winning them over, just as Temi knew he would. They talked about his love life, the hot guy at the gym, and his impeccable sense of style; he was wearing a pair of mauve slacks with a light blue floral dress shirt, no socks and soft leather loafers. The brown leather blazer which hung on the back of his chair matched his loafers. It wasn’t until Thom and Temi were getting ready to leave that the conversation turned to Temi’s love life.

            “Temi, wait,” Tahleeah raised her right hand to stop them from leaving, but was looking down at her cell phone. Temi looked at Thom who shrugged and then they turned their attention back to Tahleeah. “Hey, what are you doing this Saturday,” Tahleeah looked up at them.

            “Nothing,” Thom shouted before Temi had time to consider the question. “Why? Anything… or anyone… she should be doing?” Temi looked at him, her brow furrowed together in both questioning and dismay.

Tahleeah smiled. “Carlos just texted that his cousin, Facundo, would love to meet you Saturday afternoon.”

            “I’m sorry,” Sherica chimed in. “Did you say the boy’s name is Facundo?” When Tahleeah nodded she continued. “What the hell kinda name is Facundo?”

Temi didn’t mean to smirk at Sherica’s question, but she was wondering the same thing herself.

“Facundo is Spanish, Sherica.” Tahleeah’s voice clearly depicting her irritation. “It means eloquent. The perfect name for an attorney, don’t you think, Temi?”

Again, Thom spoke on her behalf. “An attorney? Oh, absolutely,” he clasped his hands together. “So, tell me, matchmaker, what is Facundo like? Is he tall, dark, and handsome? What practice does he work for? Where would he like to meet?”

            “Thom, this would be my date not yours,” Temi chided him.

            “Oh, of course it is, honey,” he waved a hand in her direction, “but as your best friend, it is my job to make sure you’re prepared to land this hot tamale. Or…” He gave Artemisia a devilish grin, “…give him a little nibble.” Then as an aside to Tahleeah, “I just love Latinos.”

Tahleeah’s smile widened. “Okay, how about this. Thom, give me your number, and I will give you all the information I can dig up. Then, you get Temi ready to jump back in the saddle.”

            “Why can’t you just give me the information?” Temi protested as she watched Thom and Tahleeah share their contact information.

            “No offense, Temi, but look at him,” she motioned toward Thom with an upward palm. “He is your fashion angel! Again, no offense, Temi, but you’ve been stuck over the last few years; wearin’ the same old tired jeans and tops.”

Surprisingly, Thom took more offense to this than Temi. “Ho, now, bitch. Artie is not tired, she’s classic. Now, I will admit she needs to spice up her come-hither game, but guys like low key more than you think.” Temi smiled at Thom. “Don’t worry, beautiful. After we hit the stores, Mr. Eloquent, will be struck speechless.”

Thursday night Thom slept over, the first guy to sleep in Temi’s new luxurious bed… absolutely no action and not how Temi ever envisioned sharing her bed with a man. However, when they got back to her place, it was late, and Thom wanted to go through her closet before he made a shopping plan. By midnight, Temi felt it took so much effort to just pull back the covers. She wasn’t sure how long it took her to fall asleep, but she knew it was quick… a swift and dreamless sleep.

Mmm. Her mind stirred a bit from its slumber. Mmm… what was she was smelling? Temi rolled from her back onto her right side and tossed her arm to Thom’s side of the bed, but all she felt were cool empty sheets. She opened her eyes to confirm he was gone. Then she ran her hands over her face and sat up. She glanced at her alarm clock… 6am… thirty minutes before her alarm would sound. Sitting up now, she could hear singing coming from the kitchen and her mind, through its fog, began to recognize the scent wafting through her cracked door as coffee. Stretching with satisfaction, she took in a few more seconds of comfort before rolling over and turning off her alarm. She was awake, so she may as well rise.

Thom smiled when she entered the kitchen in her robe and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Good morning, my dear. Breakfast will be ready in twenty. Why don’t you go shower, and we can break our fast together?”

Temi nodded and lazily lumbered to the bathroom.

A minute shy of twenty, Temi reentered the kitchen. In the mind fog of the earlier morning, she had not noticed that Thom was wearing different clothes. Dressed in tan slacks, a flamingo print dress shirt and a cardigan. His dark hair was still wet, parted on one side, and lacked his usual hair product that normally flipped his bangs back. Despite not being his normal style, he was still quite attractive.

            “Good morning, Artie. I hope you like steel cut oats and parfait.”

            Temi frowned at the beautiful table setting. “Where did you get the oats and the yogurt?”

            “Oh, when I went down to my car to grab a change of clothes, I decided to pop over to the store and pick up a few things.” He pulled her seat out for her, “Please sit.”

            Temi sat down as he inched her seat to the table. “Thom? Umm… did you not sleep well?” He must have gotten up very early to go shopping, shower, get dressed and begin breakfast all before she woke up.

            “Of course! I swear, that bed sleeps like a dream; best night’s sleep I’ve had in weeks.” He sat down next to her at the table and took a sip of his coffee.

            Temi watched him quietly for a moment. Then she reached out with her right hand to hold his left. “Thom, are you okay?” She could tell he was getting ready to give her one of his panned ‘I’m so fabulous’ responses, but seeing the look of concern on her face, he relented.

            He sighed. “It’s silly really,” he refused meet her gaze. “It’s just. I’ve never slept with a woman before.”

Temi resisted the urge to laugh. ‘He’s never slept with a woman before,’ she turned the phrase over in her mind. He made it sound as though they had done something lewd or improper. Dear, Lord, it wasn’t as if they’d had sex, hell they were both wearing clothes and slept on opposite sides of the bed. “Thom. Umm… I don’t think anyone will consider what we did last night as sleeping together unless they mean it very literally.” She was hoping to make him feel better, but somehow it appeared to have failed. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Thom concentrated on his breakfast with more attention than it required, but as Temi was intent on getting to the bottom of his concerns, she watched him unwaveringly. He had no choice but to answer her. “Fine.” He looked her in the eye. “This morning, when I woke up, we were cuddled together in the middle of the bed. There. You happy?”

            “Thom, seriously. Is that all?”

            “No!” He stood up from his place at the table and stormed across the room to pour himself another round of coffee. “I liked it, okay!?!”

This time, Temi couldn’t help it. She laughed. She couldn’t believe Thom seriously thought that last night, in any way, was a threat to his gayness.

            “Artemisia,” his voice was stern. “Artie, this isn’t funny!”

Temi got control of her laughter and sighed a good-humored sigh. “Yes, it is. Thom, we’re friends. I love you; you love me, we love one another like brother and sister. It’s natural to take comfort in someone you trust.” Then she eyed him closely. “At any point in the night, did you have the urge to wake me up for a bit of hanky-panky?”

            “Oh, dear God,” his face screwed up in disgust, “no! Oh, how could you even ask me that?”

            “Hmm,” Temi nodded. “I will try not to take offense to that, but on the plus side, I think you’re fine.” Then she motioned him back to the table. “Sit. Let’s finish our breakfast."