By: Zuri Lovelace
They ended up on the lowest level of the club. Arguably, but obviously, assisted by the liquor, she was pinned up against a body, vibing to the sounds of Top 40 and hip hop, with some old school gems thrown in. She was in her element!
Now, she and her best friend Ciara dodged their fair share of men throughout the night; some old, some with no rhythm, some lame and some just plain unattractive. But finally, she found someone she didn’t immediately want to dance away from. She couldn’t even see him at first, because he came towards her from behind but she could just tell by the way he touched her that this… was….different. When she did get a glimpse of him, she saw a tall, caramel-complected man. Lankier than she expected but his face was chiseled and he was actually dressed like he wanted to make an impression. She would never expect a guy like him to even look her way, let alone approach her to dance. They moved in-sync through so many songs she lost count. With every song she began to get comfortable exploring his body with her hands. She let his face caress her neck. With the lights changing and the music booming, she never danced that way with anyone. Not even in the deepest corners of her fantasies.
Then, the lights started coming on. You know, the “get your bags and your coats and get out of here” lights. Thankfully, the DJ had mercy on the crowd and let the lights dim one last time. This was her chance. She wanted to make sure she left an impression on him, he would be sure to ask for her number! Before she knew it, he had turned her around and pressed his lips to hers. His hands slightly brushed her ass and he had her in a tight embrace. Her hands gripped tightly to his shoulders. They were locked in a session that bordered on inappropriate, even for sweaty club standards. They finally pulled away from each other and could look each other in the eye. He leaned down and yelled in her ear over the music, “You got some moves girl!” She smiled coyly. He reached in his back pocket and motioned to his phone. She eagerly put her number in there and gave her phone to him so he could do the same. “What is your name?” she asked. “Derek!” he said. They engaged in some small talk from a while and then he told he had to go find his friends. They hugged each other and he slipped off into the crowd. Then the lights came up for real this time and it was as if she had been snapped out of a trance. Her friend was tugging on her arm, hard; she was clearly ready to go.
The whole ride home she was on cloud 9. Something about Derek and the way he handled her, made her feel…different inside. Funny as it was, she could actually see something developing with him. Like she could actually hold a conversation and tolerate him outside of the club.
A few days went by and she finally heard from him. She smiled a huge kool-aid smile. They started off texting every day and soon they were talking on the phone. Their conversations lasted all night. For so long she sat around as her friends talked about having long, passionate conversations with a ‘special someone’ and finally, she felt like she was close to having that. It was finally her moment!
Their consistent conversation continued for several months. She had better conversations with him than half the guys she had met in the last several months. He never once tried to come at her disrespectfully, ask her for “pictures” of herself or make her think he was after one thing. She never once questioned his genuineness.
She felt a sense of security with him, which was odd since the last time they saw each other, was that first meeting at the club. Her friends often questioned this, “You guys STILL haven’t met up?” “How do we know he is real?!” She just drowned out their negative comments; she knew what they had. They tried to meet up a few times, but it just hadn’t worked out. She didn’t think anything of it, she was busy with school and he was busy with culinary school and work. In her eyes, it didn’t change their intense connection. Or so she thought.
Valentine’s Day was right around the corner. She did not expect for anything to happen or for them to do anything, they were only in the beginning for goodness sakes. But one night while they were on the phone, he brought it up. “I want to do something special for you. Something special with you.” Her spirit smiled on the inside. Could this be her first real Valentine? They made plans to do dinner and movie, very cliché but she couldn’t care less and they planned for the weekend before Valentine’s Day. She prepped all week; hair, nails and picked out the perfect outfit. The anticipation grew each time they spoke. All they could talk about was how they couldn’t wait to see each other. Although she kept very quiet about her plans, she was bursting with excitement.
Finally, the day had arrived. As she was getting ready, she heard her phone ring. She saw it was Derek and eagerly answered the phone. “Hey,” he said in a low, monotone voice. She had never heard him speak that way before. “Something happened and I am not going to be able to make it..” Those were the last words she heard before the voice trailed off in her head. She relinquished her shock enough to mutter an “Oh yeah I understand.” and a “Definitely, we’ll plan for next week.” She sat down on her bed and didn’t move for a while. She was so looking forward to finally seeing Derek and bringing to life all of those phone conversations and the feelings that came with them.
All of that anticipation, shot down in less than a minute. A week had gone by and she decided to reach out to him again. But their conversations never were the same. Soon they became so infrequent that she wouldn’t hear from him for weeks on end. Eventually the communication stopped altogether. She didn’t understand where it came from. They had cancelled plans numerous times before, that never stopped them from talking. For a while, she questioned what she did wrong and what she could have done differently. Ultimately, he faded from her memory and she went on about her life. Looking back on it all, she can do is laugh at her naivety. She was young and wanted to experience “love.” She mistook lust for love. Everyone knows you cannot find love in the club, no matter how good that Usher song is. She definitely knows much better now and would never mistake the two again. Or would she?
Poundcake Proverbs 