The Rebound

He saw her and another girl coming out the back door of the student union. He was talking with one of his fraternity brothers when, with a three-piece suit in the ninety-eight degree Louisiana heat, he skipped across the street to her.1

“Hey miss lady can I have some of your time?” he said. She said hi and listened to what he had to say. There was no hesitation between them, just smiles and compliments. There was chemistry, not too much, but just enough for her to give him her name and number. She continued on her way with her friend while he watched her walk into the distance.2

“So, how do you know Mi Mi?” Brandon, his frat brother asked from behind.3

“Who?” Brandon pointed in the direction of the young woman. “She told me her name was Jamila.”4

“Yeah, but everybody calls her Mi Mi. Last time I checked she had a serious relationship.”5

“Well, it must not be that serious.” He showed Brandon her number in his phone. Brandon shrugged and gave him a gesture of approval. The two men then went out to lunch and talked about sports and frat business and all the while, he thought about what he could possibly say and ask to get to know her, to get to know Jamila, to get to know Mi Mi. 6

He had never called a woman on the same day that he received her number, but for some reason this was different. The phone rang. She picked up. “Hello, may I please speak to Jamila?”7

“Speaking.” She said. She sounded so cool. Not like ‘I’m too cool for you’ cool but more like ‘I’m chillin’ cool.8

“This is Carlos. I talked to you earlier today.”9

“Hi, how did the rest of your day go?” He had never been asked that and actually felt that the person genuinely wanted to know. Maybe it was the many days that passed where he was intrigued by her presence that made him so delighted by her personality. To know someone who just seemed to want to talk to someone. He asked her about herself, you know, the simple things; her favorite color, blue, the types of movies she liked, everything, the types of foods she liked, everything, her birthday, November 14, 1984. He was six years her senior, which is why she would call him ‘old man’ for the rest of the conversation. He liked her so far. He invited her to come by his apartment later that week, nothing serious, just to chill. 10

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked. 11

“Actually, I do.” 12

“It’s ok with her for you to have women other than her in your apartment?” she asked. 13

“I’m pretty sure it’s not, but she stays in St. Louis, and we are in Grambling.”14

“I guess, let me know when, I’m about to do some exercising.”15

“You exercise at night?”16

“Yeah, twenty-five crunches before dinner and twenty-five after.”17

“Aight, well I’ll talk to you later.”18

“Okay, bye.” Yes, he liked her and she liked him. She thought he looked good and his personality was just icing on the cake. She was trying to be cautious because she did not want to fall especially for someone with a girlfriend.19

Girlfriend… the concept seemed so demanding to her now. She was going through some old photos of her relationship’s past. She missed her relationship, not the romantic part but the friend part. Her ex-boyfriend, Clayton, was truly her best friend. He knew her worst fears and ultimate goals and yet she knew almost nothing about him, she thought about this as she rummaged through the pictures. Maybe he was never really a boyfriend, she thought, he was just a boy. She got to thinking more, and concluded that he never really cared for her and nor she for him. Three years… she became increasingly upset just thinking about all of the time that she committed to the relationship and went into a fit. She ripped up almost any and every picture of them and put the shreds in a small tin container the he had bought for her when they went to Wal-mart one time. She then sat at her desk, licked up and down a grape swisher sweet, split it down the middle with an eyebrow shaper, and emptied out the contents. She reached into her desk and pulled out her pencil case half filled with weed. Jamila put the green in the sweet, rolled it, and put it in the microwave for six seconds. She took the pail and her blunt and walked to the football field. 20

After struggling to get through the gates of the stadium, she preceded downs the stairs towards the field as the sun began to descend. When she made it to the fifty the sky was filled with pinks and blues. She took out her lighter, lit her blunt, took the last picture of them out of her wallet, set it on fire, and put it with the rest of the pictures in the pail. She was cool now. She was not mad or hurt… just cool. She watched the pictures burn until it became dark and the flame was her only light. High and content, she was hungry and so she went to the cafeteria… alone.21

Days passed and it was now Friday, the day Carlos arranged for Jamila to come over. He cleaned his place and put some food in the refrigerator. He called her and told her that he would pick her up at five. It was now three o’clock. He had two hours just to sit around and do nothing but think. Thinking is not good for a man with a girlfriend that had another woman coming to his apartment. It only brings guilt. Just as he was about to call her to see if she wanted to come earlier, his roommate had come in. He saw the place. “You must have somebody coming over?”22

“Yeah, a girl.” They paused.23

“Here you go again.” He walked off into his room and closed the door and Carlos went after him.24

“Winston it’s not what you think. I just want some company.” He said. Winston came out of his room.25

“She is not here yet, so you are going to say that you just want some company. You just got out of the shit with her and you had to give her a ring so she'd chill out!”26

“I know.”27

“No, you do not know that is why you are having ‘company’.” He sighed. “What does she look like?”28

“Aw man she is the cutest little dark skinned girl, dimples, black hair, nice toned figure.”29

“Sounds nice, her name?” 30

“You might know her, Jamila, Mi Mi.”31

“Bullshit!” Winston burst out into laughter. “No, you’re lying.” Carlos shook his head. “I had heard a rumor, but I guess it’s true.”32

“What is it? School has not been in session three days how are there rumors already?”33

“Let me tell you something about the girl who you are about to have in your apartment…” It is funny how small the world is. Winston along with his past girlfriend during freshman and sophomore year went on breakfast double dates with Jamila and her recent ex-boyfriend, so he knew a lot about her, not only from his interactions with her but also from talking with her ex. She was perfect, sometimes selfish and whiny, but overall perfect. He told him how she was “THE eye candy”. He was sure that she had plenty of offers to be unfaithful, many of which would have been to her benefit, but she was no cheater. She was very sexual, loved sex, very spontaneous and experimental with it. Carlos sat mouth partially open. He knew that there was something about her, but damn, he now knew that she was a rebound, guaranteed not to work out, not that it could because he had a whole fiance, but it was a given now, she could really only be company. He liked her, hurting her was not an option. 34

“Welcome to my humble abode.” Carlos said opening the door for her. She walked in to see Winston watching television from the couch.35

“Oh my goodness, hey Winston.” She was excited to see him. He had been to Iraq for an entire semester. “When did you get back?”36

“About a month ago. So the rumors are true?”37

“What rumors?”38

“Your relationship?”39

“Wow! I did not know people talked about us like that, but yeah, we all have to die sometime and relationships are no different.”40

“True that.” Mi Mi and Carlos then went to Carlos’s room. His room was truly of an older man that was not ready to be an older man. His room spoke twenty-two and he was definitely twenty-seven. He had fraternity paraphernalia surrounding the room along with a dresser top filled with different watches and colognes. She was slightly impressed but more amused than anything. She was not big on material things, but if someone wanted to buy her something, she would not object.41

They watched television while having casual conversation in between popcorn and grilled cheese sandwiches. They were very compatible, had lots of chemistry, but they both had stipulations, secrets. “You have a very pretty smile.” He said.42

“Thank-you.” He was stuck. “What? Do I have something on me?” He shook his head, chuckled, and without thinking kissed her. It was a long kiss, not like several kisses in one, just one long kiss. The type of kiss that a person feels throughout their entire body. The type of kiss that causes a person sitting up to lie down. The type of kiss that allows a person’s bare hand to touch another’s bare back and stomach. The type of kiss that leads to the exploration of the opposite’s body. It was the type of kiss that causes trouble. “I am not going to have sex with you.” She said.43

“Ok.” He said and they continued to kiss.44

After they regained their composure, they sat and watched television for a while and fell asleep. Nothing intimate, but they just fell asleep, as childhood friends do when their mother says its ok to spend the night. When they woke the next morning they stayed under the covers and talked for about an hour before Carlos got up to take his shower and take her back to campus. She got back to her dormitory, took her shower and thought, I can do this, chill out with different guys, find out what I like and who likes me… Yeah I can definitely do this.45