“It’s that obvious, huh?” I smiled, not being able to contain the fact that I was on cloud nine.
“Is it a man?” Delores asked.
“Yes…It’s
Cedric,
actually,”
I
whispered as I poured a cup of coffee for a man at the counter.
“Cedric? The Cedric? Blue Eyes? I thought he had a girlfriend?” 343/727
“No, apparently, they had broken off after that picture I showed you was taken.
It’s a long story.”
I tried to condense it as best I could and relayed what happened Christmas night to Delores.
“Honey, I don’t know how you resisted doing the deed with him. That guy is the hottest thing on two feet and he rescued you, at that. I have to give you credit. I would have been all over him like Ben Gay on an old person.” She laughed.
“Yeah, tell me about it. Believe me, it wasn’t easy. I am not sure how much longer I’ll be able to behave.” I winked.
*** Nervous anticipation consumed me at home that night. I brought home takeout sushi and forced it down, my excitement taking away my appetite. A glass of wine was 344/727
definitely needed, so I opened a bottle of cold Pinot Grigio and poured myself a large one.
After I had loosened up, I wanted to feel sexy for my Skype session with Cedric, so I perused my closet for something cute to wear. I decided on a pale pink tank top that had a thin border of pink sequins on the top.
My house was warm, so the tank top in the middle of winter wasn’t totally inappropriate. I put on a tighter sexy pair of jeans and left my feet bare.
In the bathroom, I ran a blow dryer through my already dry hair to touch it up, did up my eyes and put some lip-gloss on.
It was only 8:53. I decided to go onto Skype to see if Cedric had sent me an invitation to be added as a contact. He did. His user name was CedricCallahan99. I accepted the invitation, of course and could see that he was not online yet.
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I finished my glass of wine and sat on my bed, breathing in and out slowly to try and relax and put on some soft music, closing my eyes.
As it got close to 10:00, my nerves started to act up again.
It was 9:55 now. I began to wonder if I was supposed to call him or him call me. I decided it was best if I waited for him to call me. The minutes dragged on.
When 10:00 rolled around, my heart really started pounding.
Jesus, what is wrong with me? I wasn’t even going to be with him. We were thousands of miles apart. I couldn’t stand the anticipation.
At 10:05, I jumped at the sound of Skype telling me that CedricCallahan99 was online. Ahhhh!
My excitement was short-lived because it was 10:08 and he still hadn’t called, so I convinced myself that maybe he was 346/727
waiting for me to call, since he appeared to be online. I impulsively hit the ‘call with video’ button.
After three times, the ringing stopped and I could see the video start to load. My pulse raced at the unexpected sight of what I was met with.
CHAPTER 20
CEDRIC
I sat by the Santa Monica Pier, taking in the sights and the ocean as I ate some of the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. It was nice to be in California in December, but I wished she were here with me. I have another couple of hours before my afternoon meeting at KLAG-TV and decided to drive down here to clear my head first.
It hasn’t even been two days and I was falling harder for her than I could have imagined. I missed feeling her next to me, sleeping next to her. Immense sadness came like a wave crashing in the ocean nearby when I realized that I was tricking myself into believing that she might not leave me if she found out the truth.
I wanted to stay in denial forever.
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I needed more time with her; I would regret it forever if I left her behind and wasn’t ready to leave her, even though it might be the right thing to do.
I needed a cigarette, but am trying to make a commitment to be a better person for her. She doesn’t strike me as the type to appreciate me blowing smoke in her face…or for that matter, what I am really doing, I suppose, blowing smoke up her ass.
Amusement ride music and the sound of children laughing faded into the distance as I walked to my rental car and sped onto the freeway back toward Los Angeles.
*** I arrived just in time to meet the news director and general manager at KLAG.
After a station tour, we went over some new theme music tracks for their 349/727
shows and they showed me footage of their on air talent.
I met with a few of the top personalit-ies one on one to critique each’s presentation individually behind closed doors.
The last meeting was with news anchor Brandi Brady, an attractive petite redhead who anchored the 5:00 newscast. After viewing her demo, I have to say, I was very impressed with her top-notch look and deliv-ery and asked her who represented her.
“I’m a free agent right now, actually.
Do you know any takers?” Brandi crossed her legs in front of me and licked her lips flirtatiously. I could tell when a woman was sending me signals.
“Actually, J.D. Westock is always looking for new talent to represent. It would be a conflict of interest for me to entertain representing you myself, since I am a consultant for your employer KLAG, but I am 350/727
sure one of our other agents would be happy to set up a meeting with you.”
“I was hoping to set up a meeting with you, Cedric,” Brandi replied firmly, her eyes glancing down, sizing me up, slowly.
“Oh?” I said, knowing full well what she was getting at from the way she looked at me and licked her lips.
“I am very impressed by your knowledge and would love to hear more about what it is you do at J.D. Westock. You have quite the reputation. I was hoping you’d let me show you around tonight. I could meet you at your hotel after my shift is over.” Well, fuck, could she be more direct?
“That’s nice of you Brandi, really it is, but I’m going to have to pass. I have another meeting tonight.”
“Ok, Cedric. Well, I better be going, I need to get ready for the broadcast.” Brandi exited the room, looking back at me flirtatiously.
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“Bye, Brandi.” I watched her walk away. If this were three months ago, Brandi would have likely ended up naked in my bed tonight. It wasn’t that she wasn’t appealing, but I was so wrapped up in Allison, I had no desire for anyone else.
*** After a sushi dinner at Koi with the station management, I finally made it back to my hotel room.
All day and night, all I could think about was Allison and lying in bed talking to her on Skype tonight.
One day in Cali was enough; I couldn’t get back to Boston fast enough and I had two more days here, with meetings at two other stations.
I logged into Skype to turn my status to online and figured I had a few minutes to jump in the shower before calling Allison.
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I took off my suit jacket and was about to unbutton my shirt when I hear a knock at the door. I stupidly opened it without checking the peephole and was surprised to find Brandi Brady standing there in a tight red dress with ample cleavage.
Shit.
She pushed her way in before I could tell her I was not interested.
“I heard your meeting wrapped up. I thought I would come over and keep you company.” She started touching my shoulder suggestively and I instinctively moved back.
“Brandi, um… I appreciate that, really I do…but—”
Brandi cut me off. “Look…I am going to be direct with you, Cedric. When you walked into the station today, I couldn’t believe how hot you were, that I could be so attracted to someone. I have never wanted to fuck someone so badly in my life. I want nothing more than to experience that with 353/727
you tonight. There I said it. This isn’t about business; it’s about pleasure. No strings attached. No one has to know.” Tell me how you really feel.
I wasn’t really sure what to say to her as she sat on my bed looking up at me. I actually felt sad for her. I hate to think that I would have taken advantage of her a few months ago, but I probably would have, as pathetic as this situation was. But now, tonight…I really only felt sorry for her and there was no way I would fuck up my situation with Allison for a cheap thrill.
“Brandi, wow. I am so flattered, believe me. If this were a few months ago…things might have been different, but I am sort of involved with someone right now, so…”