Addicted

Jason looked so gorgeous with the sunlight shining across his face and the breeze blowing through his curly hair. “So, how’s work been going, Boo?”

“Hmm, it’s okay. I’m trying to finish up the blueprints on the new civic center.”

“I’m so proud of you. You’re really coming into your own.”

“I’m proud of you too, baby.”

I started picking at the grass, pulling blades of it up and tossing it aside. I was trying to figure out a way to talk to him about sex. I was so scared. Kind of like the people on talk shows who bring their lovers halfway across the country to tell them something because they didn’t have the nerve to tell them in the privacy of their own homes. “Jason, I think I have a problem.”

“What problem is that, Boo?”

He was sitting there munching on some seedless grapes, intently watching me for a reply, and there was no way in hell I could come out and tell him I had been fucking another man, so I settled for a different approach. “I don’t think my fascination with sex is normal. Some pretty strange things have been happening lately.”

I knew immediately he would get nervous. The mere mention of sex always made him nervous. He started looking away from me, pretending to be spellbound by a flock of birds. “Strange things like what, Zoe?”

My big chance had finally arrived. It was time to come clean and confess everything. “Jason, I’ve been mastur—”

“MOMMY!” Jason was up off the ground before I was, rushing to see what was the matter. Kyle had indeed fallen off the jungle gym and scraped a knee. After I cleaned the wound with a towelette and put a bandage on it from the first-aid kit Jason kept in the Land Rover, Jason gave him a piggyback ride around the playground area to cheer him up.

So much for coming clean. I had the other two kids help me gather up all the picnic items and put them in the truck. On the drive home, Jason came up with what he thought was the solution to all of my problems. “Zoe, about what you were saying before, I think you’re just stressed out from working too hard.”

“But I never got a chance to tell you what I meant.”

“I know, but we can’t discuss it in front of the kids. We’ll talk about it later.” My heart felt like stopping. “Like I was saying, I think you’ve just been working too hard. Why don’t you call up Brina and plan a girls’ night out or something? I’ll watch the kids.”

Little did he know, in the past few months I had barely gotten any work done at all, since I was spending more time at Quinton’s loft than at the office. “Okay, Jason, maybe I’ll do that.”

I decided hanging out with Brina wasn’t such a bad idea. It had been ages since we spent some time alone, just the two of us, and I was hoping she would be more receptive to my problems than Jason. I needed someone to talk to, and my husband was obviously not the one.

After we got home, I called Brina and left a message on her voice mail, telling her I wanted to get together that night. She called me back while I was soaking in the tub, and Jason brought me the cordless. He acted like he was embarrassed to look at me naked and handed me the phone with his eyes averted.

Brina and I decided to meet at a club downtown about eleven. I threw on a white spandex dress with white heels and pushed my hair up in a bun. Jason kissed me good-bye and told me to have a nice time. Then I was on my way.

When I got to the club, the Zoo, it was pandemonium in its finest form. I’ve never seen so many people sweating to get into a club before in my life. I waited on the sidewalk, opposite the red velvet rope where people were lined up awaiting a chance to get in, and looked at every car that drove by, wishing Brina would hurry the hell up. I was going to suggest we go someplace else when she got there because I didn’t think we had a prayer of getting in the place anytime soon.

She finally came strutting up the sidewalk about eleven-thirty, having parked around the block where I didn’t see her pull up. Girlfriend wasn’t playing either. I thought my dress was bordering on hoochie, but Brina’s was straight-up slutty. Hell, I’m not even sure you could call it a dress. Less than 30 percent of her body was covered, so it was more like a rag. Girlfriend had her torso, her arms, her legs, and half her ass exposed. She was sporting that black hoochie mama shit too.

“Damn, ’bout time, Brina! I was getting ready to go home and take my ass to bed.”

“Sorry, Sis.” We hugged and kissed each other on the cheek. “I was trying to make sure I had everything in the right place before I left out.”

“Not much to put in the right place. Your ass is half naked.” She gave me a slight punch in the arm, and we both laughed.

“Zoe, shaddup, Sis!”

“Brina, look at this line. We have a better chance of getting in a Michael Jackson concert. Let’s go someplace else.”

“Hell, no. We’re going up in this bitch right here. Follow-me, Sis.”

I followed her and thought she had lost her damn mind when she bypassed the entire line of people waiting and walked straight up to the bouncers instead. “Hey, Snake, ’sup, Boo?”

Damn shame she knew the man! I knew why he was nicknamed Snake right off the bat. His muscular arms were covered with snake tattoos, and to be honest, his face resembled a boa constrictor, but that’s neither here nor there.

“ ’Sup, Brina? You’re looking mighty fly tonight!” She gave him a peck on the lips, and I wanted to hurl.

She pointed at me. “This is my best friend, Zoe. It’s her first time here.”

He shook my hand and held it while he gave me the once-over. “Nice to meet you, Zoe.”