Peeling Back the Top Layer 🇯🇲

16| Forget your troubles...

Precisely what I need. The night air, happy people, and good vibes. This combination does the trick in taking my mind off my troubles, if only for a few hours.

I also get to meet some of Chaunard's friends and find out that his cooking skills are exceptional. He prepared the majority of the food here tonight and I must say, he did an excellent job.

We join the group of about 30 people seated in random spots in the backyard around 8:00 pm. It's a huge space that allows everyone to have a comfortable breathing room. And the music isn't as loud as I'd imagined, given that I couldn't hear Chaunard clearly when he called. It's at a decent volume that adds to the vibe without drowning out the chatter too much.

He introduces me to a few of his friends before finding us a spot of our own. That's when his best friend Marco, who is hosting the cookout, offers to serve me some food but Chaunard chooses to take care of it himself.

He returns with my request for a sample of everything, from fried fish and bammy to jerked pork and barbecued chicken. It's all packed with flavor but I'm particularly impressed with how moist and juicy the pork is. Usually, when it's jerked it's dry and trashy.

Marco hands me a bottle of sorrel beer, telling me, "Nuh mek him cook fi yuh enuh. Di man will tie yuh wid him food." His statement amuses everyone within earshot.

"So how it go tonight? It nuh done gone bad already?" I ask, eyeing Chaunard as I do.

"No man. Dis good. Him naw go waa tie so much crosses to him. But me a warn yuh though! Yuh see all him curry goat! Dat will mek yuh empty yuh bank account and sign ova house, land and car gi him." Marco embellishes his statement with a kiss of his fingertips Italian-style.

"I don't know how dis man sweet when mi can't even boil water," he adds.

Chaunard covers his face in mock embarrassment as we all crack up at his friend's comedic exaggeration.

"Den how mi hear seh a you mek di dumpling put in a di soup?" Natalie, another friend asks.

"Nuh mek dem trick yuh. Yuh cyaa nyam my dumpling dem! Yuh woulda lose two teeth. Dem tight like virgin pussy."

We erupt in another fit of laughter with his comparison. It's not just what he says, but the way he makes these statements and the gestures that accompany them. He is quite the storyteller, regaling his guests with colorful accounts of his childhood with Chaunard and their other friends.

My mood improves considerably as the night progresses to the point where I lose track of time. An unexpected yawn prompts me to check my phone and I squint my eyes in disbelief when I realize it's 2:00 am. By this, the crowd has thinned and only a few people are left helping to clean up. And they're chatting happily while they work.

"Mi see yuh a look round. Yuh ready?" Chaunard asks, tying the mouth of a garbage bag filled with paper plates and food scraps.

"Whenever you are," I tell him.

"Alright, mi ago wash mi hand dem and fawud."

He isn't gone for long but when he returns, Marco teases that he was about to take me home. "To how long yuh gone mi tink yuh lef enuh bredda! Mi jus a tell Kelsie fi seh mi can give her ride if she want."

"Wah kinda ride? Yuh fuck around too much enuh dawg," Chaunard says, leading me to the gate and telling the few people left goodbye on the way out.

"Thanks for tonight," I tell him when the car pulls up outside my house. "I didn't realize how much I needed it."

"Anytime... I like your company." He gives me a dazzling smile that makes me swoon. As I walk up to my front door, I can't help but wonder if I have the same effect on him. Is he even sexually attracted to me or is he just being a shoulder I can lean on after my breakup?