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  No pictures anywhere.

  The only thing prominently displayed is the team autographed brown pigskin football in the center of the dresser.

  Encased.

  When I met Eric four months ago he presented himself as a recent divorcé trying to get custody of his three kids from an angry and drug-addicted baby momma.

  “It’s been a long battle in the courts. The system doesn’t look out for men. I just want to take care of my children,” Eric told me with sadness in his eyes.

  Commendable.

  Upstanding.

  He had his shit together.

  I fell for it.

  Why would he lie? He had nothing to prove to me.

  Besides, he was a tight end for the New York Giants.

  Whatever that is.

  I am not a football fan.

  I only know the basics about the sport, and if given the choice I’d rather watch the Cartoon Network on Monday nights.

  Family Guy.

  American Dad.

  Hell, even King of the Hill.

  But, it was his dazzling smile.

  Thick succulent lips.

  Beautiful perfect white teeth.

  And charming personality that won me over.

  We were at the New York Urban League’s annual dinner. He asked one of his down-low friends, Omar, to introduce him to someone.

  Someone nice.

  Cool.

  Easy-going.

  Omar called me.

  Me and Omar have been friends for a little over three years. I met him when I used to date the reality television star Dexter Holmur. He was a contestant on the show Survivor. He almost won, too, but in the end it came down to him and the beautiful blonde from Oklahoma. America, and the other Survivor contestants, decided to give the bubbly, breast-enhanced blonde the million dollars.

  “Okay, Omar. I trust you. I hope this is not some favor you’re doing for a lonely, depressed, and bitter gay man. I can’t do it anymore. I am not at that place in my life.”

  “No, trust me, you will like him.”

  Omar refused to give me any details about Eric.

  I begged.

  Pleaded.

  “Just show up. I guarantee you’ll thank me,” Omar said.

  Yes, oh yes, oh yes.

  When Eric walked in.

  No, he strolled.

  That black man confident walk.

  Slight pep in his step with a pimp.

  Hands controlled.

  Dipping slightly behind his back.

  I felt my body shiver.

  Every reactive hormonal cell in my body cheered.

  Standing ovation.

  Eric was everything I’d been praying for in a man ever since I knew I was gay.

  Fine.

  Fine.

  Fine.

  His tailored black Armani suit hugged his body.

  Clinging to each of his muscles.

  His eyes pierced me from across the room.

  Calling my name, “Chase, Chase, Chase.”

  Omar had done well.

  Very well.

  I knew Eric was the one for me.

  I could tell.

  It’s like you know what you know that you know.

  And, I knowed.

  Eric made his way over and introduced himself.

  “Hello. Eric Sanderfield. Nice to meet you.” His thick burly hands gripped mine.

  “Chase Kennedy,” I replied. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” My insides flipped outside.

  Oozing with lust.

  I smiled cordially. Trying to conceal my sexual thoughts.

  Eric smiled with his eyes.

  I noticed the glint as he winked.

  The entire night we talked.

  In his car.

  On the way to his penthouse apartment.

  In his living room.

  In his bed.

  In my ear.

  His hard rough voice reverberated inside me just as I pumped inside him.

  Slowly.

  Tenderly.

  Easily.

  I took my time.

  “I just want you to stay in me,” Eric whispered.

  And I wanted to.

  I was caught up in Eric. So fucking caught up I am now crawling on top of a pile of football cleats and running shoes.

  Hiding in a closet hoping this ordeal will be over soon.

  I can’t believe this shit! What the fuck am I doing? This has nothing to do with me. He fucked up. She is mad at him, not me.

  I then quickly assess the situation over my loud, rapidly beating heart.

  Okay, so maybe I’d rather be in the closet than going toe-to-toe with an angry, neglected, dejected and hostile black woman.

  With my back against the wall I pull out my Apple iPhone.

  Palms sweaty.

  Fingers shaking.

  I push the speed dial button of the only person I can call in a crisis like this.

  My best friend, Ashley Colby.

  “Come on, Ashley, pick up, pick up.”

  “Hey boy,” Ashley sings in the phone.

  “Ashley, you’re not going to believe this. I’m trapped in the closet,” I whisper.

  “What!?! What’s going on?”

  “I’m at Eric’s and his wife is trying to break down the door to get in.”

  “Oh no, Chase. You are R. Kelly right now!” she laughs.

  “Ha, ha, very funny. What should I do?”

  “Boy, get out of there.”

  “I can’t. She is screaming at the top of her lungs and won’t leave. She thinks he’s in here with another woman. I doubt very seriously things are going to go well if she sees me.”

  “Wait a minute. Did you say his wife? I thought he was divorced.”

  “I know. That’s what he told me.”

  “Hold up. Let me turn off The View. This is much better than the drama between these bitches.”

  “Shit. I need to come up with something quick.”

  “Well, I suggest you get out of the closet, introduce yourself, and tell her the beef she has is not with you, but with him. And then you get the hell out of there.”

  “I don’t think she is the reasoning type.”

  “Where’s Eric?” Ashley asks.

  “I don’t know,” I say and peek my head out of the door. “I can’t see him. I am so sick of this shit.”

  “You need to pull yourself together.”

  “Why do I keep getting the fucked-up types? Just when I think everything is going well it all goes downhill. What did I do to piss off God?”

  “Well, right now is not the time to…”

  “Shhh,” I cut Ashley off. “I hear someone coming into the room.” I inch further into the closet.

  Cleats in my ass.

  Pants and shirts blocking my view.

  The door flings open. I scream and drop my phone.

  “Chase! Chase! What’s going on?” I hear Ashley yelling.

  A black shiny shoe steps inside.

  I notice a navy blue pant leg.

  I hear some voices coming from a walkie.

  I sigh as the policeman reaches out his hand and pulls me to my feet.

  I reach down and pick up my Apple iPhone. “Ashley, I’ll call you back. The police are here.”

  Chapter Two

  I spend a grueling hour in Eric’s apartment with the police. They want us to recount the story of what happened. I know this is it. We are about to be exposed.

  Revealed.

  Our secret splashed across the newspapers.

  Newsday.

  The Daily News.

  The New York Times.

  News broadcasts will feature us on the five o’clock news.

  I will be the joke of every comedian’s late-night rant.

  Conan O’Brien.

  Jimmy Fallon.

  Jay Leno.

  David Letterman.

  I keep wringing my hands. Wiping them on my jeans.

  I nervously bite my bott
om lip.

  I am not going down for him, I say to myself.

  I glance over at Eric. He is calm.

  Cool.

  Collected.

  “We had a late night with some girls,” Eric tells the police officer. “I am in the middle of a divorce. Me and my boy just wanted to party and have some fun. You know what I mean?” he joked and smiled at the officer.

  The tall dark policeman grinned. “Where are the girls?” He asks, staring at me. I look over at Eric. My heart is attempting to leap out of my chest. I can feel the perspiration dripping from under my arm.

  “The girls…” I say. I start biting my bottom lip again.

  “They left early this morning,” Eric jumps in, stammering. “I put them in a cab for the airport because they had to get back to Atlanta.”

  “Yeah, Atlanta,” I mumble. Damn, he is good, I think. The policeman grins at me and winks.

  My head drops. I won’t allow myself to look in his eyes. I know he knows the truth.

  It’s obvious.

  There are no signs of women being here.

  It’s just two men.

  Alone in an apartment.

  And me, hiding in the closet.

  Yeah, we had some girls last night.

  Bullshit.

  I take a few deep breaths and lift my head. For the first time I get a look at Eric’s wife. She is stunning. Her freshly curled hair, manicured nails, and fabulously done make-up does not give the impression of a drug-addicted woman.

  The police have her in handcuffs. She’s jumping up and down, stomping her feet, and spewing curses toward everyone, especially Eric. “With your no-good trifling ass. This ain’t over,” she screams repeatedly as the police lead her into the elevator.

  “Can I leave now?” I ask the policeman.

  “Uhm, yeah. I think we have everything we need.” He smiles wider at me. His dark lips reveal his dark gums. I stand and make my way toward the door, walking past him. He flips through his small black notepad. “If we need anything further we have your contact information.”

  Chapter Three

  I hop into a yellow cab in front of Eric’s building.

  “I need to get uptown to One-hundred Thirty-ninth Street and Adam Clayton Powell!” I bark at the cab driver. “And make it fast.” I slam the door as Eric is speaking to me. He is relentless.

  Begging for forgiveness.

  “Chase, I’m sorry about this. I’ll call you later.”

  I can’t believe this big-ass football player is in the middle of the street pleading with me.

  The cab squeals off and I sink into the seat. The driver is dodging and weaving through traffic.

  I am flustered.

  My head is starting to ache.

  My stomach is flipping with bile that needs to be released.

  I rest my head against the window.

  I am dog-tired of men. As much as I want to believe in love and finding the right man, I never seem to be lucky in getting either.

  Before I started dating Eric I had my fair share of men. Terrell was a man I met while I was in Stew Leonard’s grocery store in Yonkers. We kept giving one another the eye before he brushed up against me.

  I knew this game.

  I was a willing participant.

  You see me.

  I see you.

  You make a move.

  I do too.

  We were in the produce aisle and he asked if I could help him pick out a ripe watermelon. “I’ve been trying for twenty minutes to get the right one,” he said. His muscular arms were protruding through his T-shirt.

  Horny, I obliged.

  Ten minutes into our “selecting” watermelons, Terrell was rapping his game.

  “Listen, I just moved to New York from Atlanta.” His southern twang danced in my ears. “It would be great to have some company for dinner tonight.”

  I thought about it for a second. His pick-up line wasn’t original, but he was. “Sure, I can make it.”

  I was smitten.

  The Georgia Peach was looking to mingle with a BIG New York Apple.

  After Terrell made a wonderful dinner of sautéed chicken with pasta and asparagus, he topped it off with a strip tease show for dessert. I love a man who can move his body, especially in bed.

  After a few in-home dates I asked Terrell why we never went out for an official date. “I like to entertain at home,” Terrell responded. “I’m not much of a social person.” True indeed, he wasn’t. After enough pestering, Terrell relented and we went to the movies. While we were watching the upcoming previews a couple in front of us was engaged in a conversation. “I hope these motherfuckers don’t talk during the movie,” Terrell said, agitated. I jerked my head toward Terrell in shock. “They heard me.” He stood and balled his fists. His large knuckles were darker than his light brown skin and looked like they had met many faces in a fight. “They better shut the fuck up. I’m trying to enjoy the movie.” I sunk in my seat and put my head down. Lord, just let me make it through this night. This is over, I said in a prayer to myself.

  Then of course there was Carlton.

  A flashy dresser.

  Drove a black Lexus.

  And lived on the top floor in Lenox Terrace Towers on One-hundred Thirty-fifth Street. He was a practicing attorney and loved to look good. All he talked about was his new Armani suits.

  Ferragamo shoes.

  Silk handmade ties.

  And extravagant trips he took around the world.

  I thought Carlton would be different. He was educated.

  Well-traveled.

  Cultured.

  And, he took care of himself.

  Carlton was perfect for me.

  On our first date we went to Houston’s Restaurant.

  The entire evening he showered me with compliments. “Damn, you are sexy. You are a catch. I want to be your man. I want to take care of you.”

  When the bill arrived for the meal Carlton patted his pockets. He searched frantically in his pants and suit jacket. “I think I left my wallet at home,” he said.

  No problem.

  I picked up the ninety-seven-dollar dinner tab. But then it became a trend. Every time we went out Carlton seemed to have misplaced his wallet, or didn’t have his credit cards on him. After the fourth outing I left him sitting at the dinner table. I excused myself. “I’ll be right back. I have to go to the restroom.” I made a beeline straight for the exit and never saw Carlton again.

  Yet, here I am again in a situation with a man who presented himself to be wonderful. But, like my best friend Ashley always says, “Just because it look good, don’t make it so.”

  As I sit in the backseat of the cab I make a vow that this is it. I am not going to be anyone’s fool anymore. No more lies.

  Games.

  Or, bullshit.

  I am going to take care of me. It is high time I become first in somebody’s life. I look out the window into the sunny blue sky. I point my index finger upward and mumble, “I am finally going to look out for number one—me.”

  My cell phone rings. I reluctantly pull it out. I hope this is not Eric calling to beg some more. I am not in the mood. I glance at the screen. It’s Ashley. “Hello.”

  “Chase, are you okay?” Ashley asks.

  “I really can’t believe this. I am in the cab on my way home.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Ashley, I really don’t want to go over it again.”

  “I keep telling you, you got that Good-Looking-Gay-Man-Successful-Disease. You’re attractive, wealthy, and with a wardrobe to die for, but just like us women, you keep picking the wrong guys.”

  “Dante was a good man,” I whine in the phone defending myself. I don’t want to believe what Ashley is saying about me. “And so was Braxton.”

  “Dante was a functioning weed head and Braxton had a little dick,” Ashley says. We both laugh.

  “I guess you’re right,” I say. “Ashley, he had the smallest dick I’d ever seen
.”

  “There you go,” Ashley says. “You got to laugh at yourself.”

  “I am tired of meeting broke-down men who are living paycheck-to-paycheck, baby daddys, married men, and wannabe rap stars,” I sigh as the taxi whips past other cars.

  “I keep trying to tell you I know the perfect thing for you,” Ashley says.

  “Please, don’t tell me about dating some young boy. You and I are both thirty-eight years old. I can’t date any man under thirty. I am too old for that. And so are you.”

  “Chase, I’m telling you,” Ashley sang in the phone, “you get a young man between twenty-one and twenty-five and they will be loyal to you. All you got to do is get them some new sneakers, some jeans, and pay their cell phone bill. They will not put you through all this drama and they know how to put it down.”

  I envy Ashley’s sexual inhibitions. She isn’t afraid to explore her womanly needs and desires. It’s nothing for her to pick up a young boy and turn him out. At times I want to live life on the edge, and of course seek out my own sexual pleasures. I don’t want to continue to live vicariously through Ashley. It is time for me to open my mind to new experiences.

  “You realize you are paying for sex. That’s not something I am into,” I say as the cab zips up Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. “Besides, it seems desp…” I catch myself.

  “It’s all right,” Ashley laughs. “At least I know what I’m getting and I’m being satisfied at the same time. It’s my money, my life, and my pussy. I can’t sit around hoping and waiting for Mr. Right to show up. I tell you, Chase, if I meet another brother who after four or five humps tells me he’s done, I’ll scream.” I laugh out loud because I am quite familiar with Ashley’s sentiments. Men are eager to brag to me how they are ample lovers and can go the distance. With the anticipation and hopes of being satisfied, I am often met with disappointment.

  “I tell you what,” Ashley says, “turn around and go back to Eric’s apartment. Call up little-dick Braxton, or better yet, invite drug-addicted Dante over to your place and then you tell me if you won’t at least consider a younger man.”

  There is a cold silence on the phone. Ashley has summed up my dating life. For the first time in a long time I am at a loss for words. “Do it for you,” Ashley pleads. “You deserve to have love, and a good life.”

  Chapter Four

  For the next six months Ashley’s words play over and over in my head.