Heathens Need Love Too - Chapter Two

"Hey man, I need a favor," Marcus began when his brother Aaron answered the telephone.

"Marcus, no more favors. I'm tired of you always coming to me with your hands out!" Aaron replied.

"Oh I see. So it's like that now, huh? That's what's up."

"No - what's up is that you are a grown man. You're 24 years old Marcus. We're not little kids anymore," Aaron scolded.

"I know A, but I met this beautiful woman and I think she's wifey," Marcus said.

"You thought Alice was wifey. Where is she now, huh? And what does this have to do with why you're calling me?"

"Man, I need to use the guest house for a couple of weeks. I can't let Heather know I'm living like this." Marcus pleaded.

"Living like what?" Aaron asked. "In a nice building, located in a nice neighborhood. What's wrong with that?"

"Come on A," Marcus coaxed. "You know I'm slowly getting myself together. I have that new job at Verizon and in a few months I'll be able to get a bigger place and a nice car. I did everything you and Ma told me I should do and I'm living right."

"You're not living right if you're trying to deceive a female into thinking you have a house that's not even yours," Aaron challenged. "Why can't you just tell her the truth?"

"A, I don't have time to get into all of this man. Just please do this one thing for me. Well, two things. I need to get the keys to the Honda too. I promise I will work all of this out and be out of your hair within a couple of weeks. All I'm asking is that you give me those two weeks, please."

"Whatever Marcus," Aaron said, finally giving in. "But this is it - no more favors. And this Heather had better be worth it. And no shacking up in that house. She can visit, but she better not be planning on moving in or you can kiss the guest house and the ride goodbye."

"Thanks man. I owe you for this!" Marcus said, snapping his fingers and grinning from ear-to-ear.

A few minutes later, his cell phone vibrated.

"Hello?"

"Hey Marcus, this is Heather."

"Well hello there." Marcus had switched to his smooth, midnight hour voice.

"I was just calling to see if you still wanted to have dinner tonight."

"But of course!" Marcus replied. "Where do you want to go?"

"How about Bennigan's on Michigan Avenue?"

"Okay, sounds good. You still want to drive? If not, I'll come get you," he offered.

"Oh no, I'm fine with driving tonight. You can drive next time."

From her tone, Marcus could tell that Heather was smiling.

"I see. So we're already looking at a next time, huh?" he teased in a seductive tone.

"Well yeah - if you want a next time. But I guess we should just see what the evening brings and take it from there, right?" Heather asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Marcus said. "I do hope there is a next time though, but we'll see what the evening brings." He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips in anticipation.

By the early evening, Marcus had set everything up just the way he wanted. He had moved his most essential personal belongings into his older brother's 3-bedroom guest house. Aaron had given him the evil eye but reluctantly handed over the extra set of keys. A busy sports agent, he would be leaving town anyway for at least a week, which would give Marcus enough privacy to get to know Heather without big brother intervening.

Thank goodness he's single and doesn't have a nosy wife snooping around, Marcus thought to himself.

When Heather arrived, she was looking lovely in an all-white linen pantsuit. Her olive complexion was silky smooth and her hair cascaded down her back.

"Heather," Marcus said to her as she got out of her car. "Your car is sweet! Almost as gorgeous as you are."

"Thanks," she replied. "But my car has nothing on these houses. Do you own both of these?"

"No, my brother is a big-time sports agent and he owns the big house. I'm renting this one from him while my house is being built."

"You have a house being built?" Heather asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Oh yes - four bedrooms, six baths. I'm getting older and I'm ready to settle down, so you know, I had to do a little somethin'. But come on in for a few minutes and have a seat. I'll be ready to go shortly."

Heather followed Marcus into the guest house and looked around in amazement. There was a giant mirror on the wall of the foyer. She looked down at the beautiful white marble floor. The living room had large bay windows overlooking a forest-like backyard filled with trees. Crème colored Italian leather furniture added one more touch of elegance to the interior. There was a large, black and white marble fireplace in the living room as well.

Various photos of Marcus posing with children at the Boys and Girls Club were placed throughout the living room, as were photos of him with a woman that looked to be his mother.

"He likes community service, that's a plus," Heather commented under her breath.

While Heather admired her surroundings, Marcus paced back and forth in the master bedroom as he counted to 100. He wanted to give her just enough time to be captivated by the aesthetics before they departed.

"Okay Beautiful, I'm ready," he finally said as he emerged from the back of the house. "I'll show you around when we return for a nightcap."

Heather blushed.

"It's okay. I don't bite," he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the house.

The ride to Bennigan's was quiet and peaceful. Marcus and Heather enjoyed the warm summer breeze as the wind massaged their bodies and soothed them both. Occasionally, they looked at one another and smiled.

When they were at dinner, they finally had a chance to talk.

"So what did you think of Pastor Franklin when you met him?" Heather asked sincerely as she passed Marcus the bread basket.

"Pastor Who? Oh yeah, the pastor. Well, I waited and waited to meet him. One of the ushers said she would tell him I wanted to speak to him, but then we found out he had a family emergency and had already left out of another exit in the church."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I hope that everything's okay." Heather said, growing worried.

She took a slice of lemon, squeezed it into her glass of water, took a sip and then continued. "I can't tell you how thrilled I was to find out that you are a Christian."

Marcus almost choked on his bread.

"Well you know - what else is there?" he said, at a loss for better words.

"I know, right? I meet so many guys that don't go to church and barely even believe in God. And you not only have a church home but were willing to visit mine. And you're willing to go again next Sunday."

"Uh, yeah" Marcus replied awkwardly, wishing they could talk about something else.

"About my church home," he continued. I'm not really happy with it. I mean, I go to get the word, but I'm just not feeling it there, you know?"

"I understand," Heather answered. "But don't let that stop you from going to church. You like my church, so feel free to become a member and we can start going to service together on Sundays."

Marcus's discomfort began to show on his face.

"Oh I'm sorry," Heather replied. "I'm getting ahead of myself again."

"It's cool," Marcus replied.

"I do feel a need to tell you one important thing though," Heather said, taking a deep breath afterward.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Well, I'm uh - I'm celibate."

Her words didn't fully register, but Marcus responded to the odd confession he thought she had just made.

"My kinda woman!" he told her, chuckling as he raised his glass to toast her. "I celebrate every chance I get - even when it's not a holiday. What shall we celebrate this evening?"

"No Marcus," Heather corrected. "I'm celibate. I don't have sex. I'm holding out until marriage."

Marcus spit out the lemonade he was drinking, wetting two thirds of the table.

Heather's eyes grew large as she grabbed her napkin and began trying to soak up the mess.

"My bad," Marcus said, embarrassed. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Something went down the wrong pipe."

"Marcus, did what I just said bother you? It's okay if it did. I want us to be open and honest with each other."

"Oh, no. I mean, if you celebrate, then you celebrate. We can always be friends," Marcus said, wishing their entrées would arrive soon so they could eat and she could drop him back off at the house.

"I was hoping we could be more than friends," Heather laughed, touching Marcus gently on his arm. "You are so funny!" Her hazel eyes sparkled as she looked at him.

Marcus struggled to understand. "You want to be more than friends but you celeb - I mean, you're celibate."

"There's more to having a relationship than having sex Marcus. I thought you were about much more than that."

Heather began to grow irritated. "Look, let's just eat and talk about something else. Then I'll take you home and let you digest all of this. If you want to go out with me, fine. If not, I'll understand."

"That's what's up," Marcus said, staring down at the empty bread box.

When the food arrived, they ate in silence. Marcus's thoughts shifted to Mary, that hot teller at his bank who had given him her number after he cashed a check one afternoon. She seemed eager to please. He made a mental note to give her a call.

After dinner the drive home was uncomfortable as both Marcus and Heather avoided making eye contact.

"Marcus, this evening didn't exactly go the way I had hoped," Heather said when she pulled up to the front of the guest house. "But I really do want to see you again."

"Oh yeah, for sure," Marcus replied all-too-quickly, giving her a peck on the cheek before exiting the Benz. "I'll buzz you some time during the week. Be good, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Heather said, fighting back the tears as she drove off.

Marcus stood there and watched the beautiful woman drive away. He thought about her elegance, class and calming spirit, all wrapped up in one stunning package. But he was distracted when his cell phone vibrated.

He didn't recognize the number that came up, but decided to answer anyway.

"Hello?" he asked, wondering if it was Heather calling to say she had changed her mind and wanted that nightcap after all.

"Hey there sexy," an unfamiliar woman's voice replied.

"To whom and I speaking please?" he asked in his business voice.

"This is Mary. I was wondering if you're free tonight. I know it's Sunday night, but I'm feeling lonely."

"Mary!" Marcus sang, suddenly becoming excited. "I've been thinking about you all weekend, lady. I was going to call you but things have been so hectic on the job for me lately. I'm sure we can work something out."

"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say," Mary replied. "Your place or mine?"