Despite the difficulty I'd had in procuring permanent housing, I had one bright spot in my life (aside from school of course)----Damon. He was sweet, caring, and totally understanding about my situation. So you will find yourself asking this question: "Why in the hell did she dodge his calls???"
I'll be honest, I've never really had the BEST self-esteem about myself, no matter what I've managed to accomplish in my 31-odd years of life. I can be very self-depreciating at times, much to the chagrin of those closest to me. While I mean it in jest, it does have some undertones of honesty. This has transferred over to all relationships with men who have found me attractive for one reason or another, and I have a sneaking suspicion I've lost out on a lot of great guys this way.
So for the first week or so after I meeting Damon, he and I would talk about once a day. Then the calls started coming more frequently, and I started to freak out a little, so I ignored his calls for the next week or so. One night, Beth and I were riding the Blue Line to West Chicago to eat at a little Mexican joint she'd found online, when my cell phone rang.
"Ugh, it's him again! Good lord, how often can you call someone and get ignored before you get the hint!" I fumed.
Beth just smiled at me. "You're gonna do him."
I looked up, shocked and repulsed. "WHAT! I don't even wanna TALK to him, let alone sleep with him!"
Beth threw back her head and laughed so loud she attracted annoyed glances from our fellow riders. "Mark my word, before the week is out, you will find yourself and your body thoroughly and completely physically exhausted at his apartment one night, and will come back to tell me the dirty details of your escapade."
I ignored her, listening closely to the voicemail Damon left. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, thinking of you. Call me back."
"Sure," I said out loud to the voicemail (a habit I have), "yeah, you were wondering how my boobs are," I said disgustedly before deleting the message. We hopped off the train and down the steps to the street. We were both caught up short by what we saw.
I'm a huge proponent of immigration, inclusion, and diversity. I wanted to be an anthropologist at one point because people fascinated me so much. But I was not prepared for what I saw when Beth and I got down to the street.
"Um, Beth, WHERE are we exactly?" I said glancing up at a Spanish-language billboard.
"The map online said Wicker Park," she replied glancing down at a manhole cover that was stamped 'Tenochtitlan'.
"Are you sure the map didn't say 'Mazatlán'?" I asked with a squeak in my voice. We stood and stared in amazement at the street, the people, and the transformation that had seemingly taken place. It was as if when we stepped off the train we stepped into a little town in Mexico. We walked slowly down the street and marveled at the lack of English billboards, street signs, and store-fronts. How is this still Chicago? This doesn't even look like my idea of the United States anymore!
Remember, I grew up in Pittsburgh, which, while ideas of diversity are on the upswing, still has it's moments of ethnocentrism, and downright discrimination. Seth and I fume at least once a week when we get angry stares and whispers in Wal-Mart. So you can imagine my shock at seeing such a remarkable transformation.
So a little black girl, and a bespeckled red-headed white girl in an OTEP T-shirt were way out of place. But we found the restaurant easily, and after we ordered our meals (from a menu completely in Spanish----despite my 6 years of Spanish class, I just pointed out to the waitress something I thought was pretty tame) and Beth turned the conversation back to Damon.
"I'm telling you, you're going to do him. Or should I say, he's going to do YOU," she said with a wink before sipping from her water glass.
I sat back in my chair and gave Beth a look. "I am not going to sleep with him," I said to her evenly. "That would require a certain level of commitment I'm am not yet ready to undertake," I said tilting my chin up.
Beth snorted. "Please, don't be a prude. Straight girls are always so prudish," she said waving her hand.
My mouth dropped open in shock, "I resent that! We are not. At least I'm not. Not completely. I'm just a tease. There's a difference," I said to her.
Just then our waitress brought out our food, and the conversation was suspended as we dug in. I was treated to an explosion of flavors and textures, all of which were new and exciting. I'd never had mole poblano before, but I was addicted after the first bite.
"You're a prude," Beth said simply, forking up refried beans, "you're a prude and you know it."
"Whatever dude," I replied sipping my iced tea. "You'll see. I want rid of this guy, he's annoying me."
We finished our meals, and hopped on the train back to the hostel. By the time we got back, I'd just about forgotten about Damon and his phone call.
Maybe he'd heard me, or felt my displeasure. The next day, I was surprised that I had no phone call to dodge. Same thing the day after that. I found myself oddly put out. "What the hell?" I said out loud staring at my phone the second night, "Not a single call from him in 2 days? What's the matter with him?" We were in our seafoamPJs, lounging around.
Beth looked up from her magazine, "Will you make up your fucking mind?" she said exasperated. "Either you want to talk to him, or you don't, which is it?"
I looked at my phone, scrolled to his number, and hesitated before I pressed the call button. I looked at Beth. "If I screw him, its all your fault, you know that right?"
Beth turned back to her magazine, and I heard her mumble, "I'll take the fault with pleasure, especially if it means that he'll screw some sense into that brain of yours."
Ignoring Beth, I stepped out into the quiet hallway. I looked at the number, took a breath, and pressed 'SEND'.
"Hello," came the warm reply from the other end of the phone. Smooth as silk, and deep as a ravine, I had to lean against the wall to keep myself from falling on the floor.
"Hey Damon, it's Gene," I said brightly and evenly.
"Hey girl, how you been? Been trying to get in touch with you, but I guess yo' schoolwork keeping you busy."
I don't sweat much. But damn if his voice didn't have sweat beading out of every pore in my body.
"Um, yeah, it's been busy the past week or so," I lied. Stay cool, I told myself. And my knocking knees. "I got kind of worried about you, I haven't seen any calls from you for the past few days," I ventured.
He chuckled, a deep, soothing sound that made the fine hairs on my arms stand up. "Yeah, I thought you was tryin' to play me, so I just stopped trying," he said laughing.
I felt myself flush red. "Um, no, it's just been a little crazy. But how are you? What's been going on?"
"Nothin' much. Working, relaxing. Hoping to see your pretty face again," he said to me with the hint of a growl at the end of the sentence.
Damn him. Damn him and his sexy voice. And his growl. "I was wondering that myself. What do you have in mind?"
"How about dinner? I'll pick you up tomorrow about 7 or so, me and you will go out and have dinner at one of my favorite spots," Damon offered.
"Sounds like a plan," I said lightly, with a hint of a smile on my face. "I better get to sleep, it's late and I have class in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow at 7."
"Okay baby doll, sleep good. I know I will now that I've heard from you," he said with a smile in his voice before hanging up.
He'd reduced me to a puddle on the floor. After I managed to gather myself and hang up my phone, I slipped back into my room. Beth glanced up at me. "You're going to screw him."
I looked back at her, blew out a breath and said simply, "I just might."
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