The Affair

I woke up in my dorm at the sound of my cell phone ringing. I looked at the caller ID it was Gabrielle, my girlfriend. I answered the phone "yeah, what's up" I said "Nothing I just wanted to call and tell you that I will be in town tomorrow sometime in the afternoon. I have some family stuff to handle plus I have something to tell you.” “You called me at 2:00 in the morning to tell me that you’ll be in town tomorrow. “Baby I love you, but this could have waited until tomorrow. I have an 8:00 class tomorrow” I said. "I could have I just thought you would want to know” I know that had she not told me that she was coming I would have been upset, but it didn’t matter she wanted to talk now any way. Gabrielle and I go to two different schools. I go to Southern University in Baton Rouge, and she goes to ULM in Monroe. We don’t get to see each other very much so we value the time we do have together. “I will see you tomorrow my last class is over with at three, stop by my dorm then.” I told her. I hung the phone up and was so excited to see my baby that I didn’t fall back asleep until about 3:30.

Deet-Deet-Deet-Deet-Dee-. My alarm woke me up at about 7:30. As usual my roommate was not fazed by my alarm. “Hey, Craig don’t you have a class at eight as well”? No response. I got ready and left out the door. The morning in a dormitory has a weird kind of rhythm alarms going off, the showers going, people running up the halls, the yelling. This was my second semester I kind of got dependent on it; it helped me wake up in the morning. I had one last stop to make before I headed to class. I knocked on Donald’s door to wake him up he also has an 8:00 class. “I’m coming man just give me a sec.” Donald said. I waited in the hall for a couple of minutes. Finally Donald emerged from his room ‘sorry, sorry I just had to brush my teeth”. Donald and I always walk to class together. He is really my only close friend here. “Hey my girlfriend is coming in today” I said to Donald. “Cool man for what” he asked. “I don’t know yet. She just said she had family stuff to take care of” then Donald gave the condescending look that I have seen a million times before. “What is it” I asked “I am sure she is cool people man, but you are a young man. This is the prime of our lives; you don’t need to be tied down right now. That was okay in high school, but this is college my man a totally different game, but hey I am happy for you, that whole thing that you got going on. I will see you later” I had heard this speech from him plenty of times before, especially when we go out. I walked up stairs to my class and turned the corner, my class is right there on the corner. I pulled on the door, it was locked. I looked around and I saw this girl walking down the hall I ran to catch up with her “hey, hey wait up a minute” She turned around, and said “yes” “aw I was wondering if you knew what happened to the Biology class that meets today” “it was cancelled, I didn’t know that you were in that class”. Yeah I am I never see you, I’m sorry I don’t know your name” I said “Sabrina Narvarte, and you are?” she said to me. “My name is Vernon Morgan, nice to meet you Sabrina”.

“How are you doing in the class?” she asked me “okay, but I want to pull my grade up. What about you?” “ I have an A” “I am impressed, that is a hard class. “Not to me, Biology is my major “well no wonder you think it is easy.” “hey, are you hungry?” “yeah, I’ll probably go eat a pop-tart or something in my room.” “I just can not allow you to do that. I will buy you breakfast”. We walked to her car it was a new car. I was starting to get the feeling that her family has money. She took me to the Waffle House. “Order what ever you want” she said to me. I ordered waffles, bacon, hash browns, and orange juice. She ordered a a breakfast sandwich. “is that all you want?” I asked “yes I not that hungry” “well I don’t get to eat this well very much. Thank you very much” “its’ no big deal. I live off campus, so I don’t have many friends” “you don’t have to buy my friendship” I said. “Thanks, tell me about yourself Vernon” she said. “First, no one calls me Vernon. Call me V. There isn’t much to tell I grew up in, Dodson that is up north, I am a Marketing major, I have a younger brother named Travis. I really don’t know what you want to know How about you tell me about your self”. She sat there for a minute and didn’t say anything. “well I am from Texas, I am mixed. My dad is Venezuelan and my mother is black, I don’t have any siblings, both of my parents are doctors. My mother is an obstetrician, and my father is an nuero surgeon, I am a sophomore. “why did you decide to got to Southern?” I asked “my mother went her kind of a family thing.” “What about you” she asked me “kind of the opposite. I wanted to go to a black college, but I wanted to make my own path. Both of my parents went to Grambling so next choice” I looked at my watch and saw that my next class was about to start in a little bit. I asked her to drop me off on campus. As I got out of the car said “thanks for the meal” “it was nothing, really. I guess I will see you next time V” “Yeah see you later”.

All day, all I was thinking about was seeing Gabrielle. After class I ran straight to my dorm and took a shower, put on a little cologne, clean up the room. I made it at least decent. I sat in my room for an hour then I got a call. “Hello” “hey Vernon I am down stairs come on. When I got outside I saw her. She was more beautiful than ever. “Let me take you out to eat baby” “to where?” she asked. “I thought that maybe I will take you to this Spanish restaurant uptown. The food there is really good, I hear. Its call Rincón de amor.” “Sounds nice” she said. As we walked to the car Gabrielle threw me the keys. “You drive” I caught the keys and got in the car. I started the car up. “Why did you have to come here?” “It is my grandfather, he is sick so my mom is putting him in a nursing home. It was kind of tough for her she couldn’t do it alone, and my father had no one to take his place at work. Missing one day of classes shouldn’t hurt too much”. “I guess not baby” “Vernon I asked you not to call me baby. Babies need to be taken care of. I don’t need you to take care of me” “I know that, it is just a term of endearment” I said. We arrived at the restaurant at about eight. I pulled out the chair for Gabrielle. After we sat we looked at the menus I already knew what I want to order. The Waiter came to the table “are you all ready to order” “I am I would like the large Steak Quesadilla. What would you like Gabrielle” “I would like to try the Carnitas. We sat there and waited Gabrielle told me about her classes and how things were going on at school. We only waited fro about ten minutes. “it smell good” We don’t talk while we are eating. She doesn’t think that it is mannerable. The whole time we sat there looking at each other. “after dinner we talked some more. I got up and we were walking to the car. I moved in to kiss her. “VERNON, we are in public.” She told me in a stern voice “sorry” I said to her. I was upset, but I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t love her so I sucked it up and acted like it didn’t bother me.

We went up to the room. I turned the lights off and laid her down on the bed. I kissed her on her neck and caressed her thighs. I slowly began to undress her. I loved making love to her, at the exact moment that I thought that she said “Stop, I have something to tell you” “what” I asked in an exhausted manner. “You remember me telling you about my friend Janice” “Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?” “She got pregnant, and she is dropping out of school and I don’t want that to happen to us.” “we can do other things” I said. No I don’ t want us doing anything sexual at all. It could lead to something more.” “so we are not doing anything at all” “yes” “Gabrielle, I need intimacy, I need to touch you kiss you, make love to you. Do you understand.” I said. “Yes, but we still are not doing anything” “we are never having sex again?” “of course not. When we get married”. “just hold me, and watch TV.”

I was hurt I put a lot of things that she does on the back burner because I knew that she would be there and give me intimacy. So we sat there for a while watching TV. I had fell asleep. Then Craig walked in. “wow, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything” Craig said to us. “trust me you didn’t interrupt anything” he grabbed something out of his closet and left. “I thought that he wasn’t here on the weekends.” Gabriel said to me. “he is gone he stays lost for the weekend partying. He won’t be back till Sunday."

I awoke the next morning Gabrielle was getting dressed. “are you leaving” I asked. “yes, I have to get back to school, plus my mama is ready to hit the road. I will call you when I get to school” She walked out the room and I went back to sleep. When I am sleep I don’t tend to get engaged into a conversation. I woke up about 11:30, I sat up just thinking about what had happened. I had not had sex in six months going on seven. I hate to be one of those guys that kind of makes it about sex, but I am not ready to get married, and I want to have sex. It isn’t that I don’t want to marry her it just I can’t provide for her. Plus I know that she won’t be ready to get married for years to come. She is big on marriage. So I got up and went to Donald’s room. I knocked, no answer. I knocked again, no answer. I knocked one last time. I began to walk off when I heard “do you know what time it is?” “it is about noon, it is time to get up, I have something to talk to you about man anyway man".

We were washing cloths and I told Donald about the Gabrielle situation. “I told you that, that whole serious relationship in college thing was not going to work out. Sorry about that man.” “whoa, whoa, who is saying it is not working out. I just have a small problem.” “you listen to me man, you are the most moral guy that I know, guys need sex, man. How long did you wait before you and her actually had sex.” “about two years” I said in a coughing mumbled voice. “What? Come on man it is me I am being serious” “Two years” I said in a much more clear voice. “Okay was that easy” Donald asked me. “No, it wasn’t” “well if that wasn’t easy, but you knew that you eventually would. Now she is saying she isn’t going to have sex till marriage. If, and only if you two don’t make it to marriage then you are facing a situation where there is no guarantee that you will have sex with her ever again. I personally don’t think that you can do that.” “well thanks for the support Donald” I said. “stating a fact man, stating a fact.” I took my cloths out of the dryer and we began walking back to the rooms. “Listen the sigma’s are throwing a party I’m going do you want to, it will make you forget about your problems” I agreed to go to the party.

We arrived at the party late we had to hitch a ride. I was never the party type I hung out outside for a while in a group not really talking much. I eventually got bored with that and went inside I bumped into this girl “sorry” I said to the girl I had made her spill her drink. She turned around and I saw that it was Sabrina. “hey V” she said to me “hey Sabrina, I am really sorry, what were you drinking I get you another glass” “don’t worry about it. It was only water. I don’t drink alcohol, it isn’t very lady like” “Unique view. Well what are you doing here?” I asked. “my friend Dana forced me to come. I needed to come anyway. I need some friends, Dana and you are my only real friends” “doubt that you will make life long friends at this party” “wanna go for a walk, I don’t really like it here”. We walked down the road and talked. Eventually we stopped at a café. She asked me if I wanted anything I told her no I didn’t like her buying me things all the time. She ordered a slice of cherry pie. “do you like cherry pie V” “it’s ok” I replied. She lifted the fork up to my mouth “you should taste this pie it is like nothing that you’ve ever had” I took the fork from her and tasted it. “that pie is good” I said. My phone rang It was Donald “hey man I got a ride back to the dorm. Where are you” I am a couple of blocks away I be there in a minute.” I told Donald. “I’ll give you a ride back.” Sabrina told me. “hey Donald go ahead I have a ride”. Sabrina ordered another piece of pie. “look at that couple kissing, isn’t that romantic. Expressing your love for someone in the open for all to see unashamed.” “Yeah it is”. We began walking back to her car. ‘do you like anyone down here at school” Sabrina asked me. “No, I don’t like anyone here at school. What about you?” I asked “no my last boyfriend was in high school. We broke up because well to not make myself sound slutty, but he wouldn’t touch me. I mean we are not twelve. We are in a mature relationship and intimacy is apart of that.” “I totally understand”. We began to walk back to her car. as she drove me back to the dorm I notice that she sits straight up. "You sit straight up that seems uncomfortable” I said to her. “Sorry, I was taught ladies sit straight up” “now I feel like I have to sit straight up too”. “no men don’t sit straight, they lay back relaxed” “Wow” I said. “achoo” I head as Sabrina sneezed “you have the cutest sneeze. All soft and lady like” I said “now I feel embarrassed” Sabrina told me. “no need” I told her. When Sabrina dropped me off she looked at me while smiling and said I really enjoyed spending time with you. At that moment I noticed that she had the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in my life. “I did too”.

To be continued