Imagining Us

Chapter 14

The couple that sat diagonally from her cut a stunning picture. Alicia, with her glowing brown skin and short tapered coily hair, and Jamie with his deep brown skin and well groomed, close-cut beard.

He wore a cream, high-collared wool sweater with rust colored pants, and the cream, off the shoulder sweater dress that Alicia wore was either planned or coincidence. Knowing Alicia, Esi was leaning more towards planned. However they managed to coordinate, they looked great. For two persons who had just recently started dating, they seem so in tune with each other.

They had met up with him after the comedy show which featured an up and coming comedienne from Baltimore.
The atmosphere in the Downtown Manhattan jazz club was warm and dark, filled with overtures of soft jazz music. The stage was lit with subtle blue lights contrasting the dull yellows over the dining table. They were waiting for the 9:30 set to start.

Esi closed her eyes briefly and let the notes wash over her as she lightly tapped her feet against the wood of the booth table. The four of them were pressed in a semi-circular booth against the east wall. Jamie's broad shoulders had to angle to fit as comfortably as possible. Not that Alicia minded as she was forced to curl under his arms and press up against him in order to properly see the stage.

Lauren sat next to her, hands tightly clasped together. Her head was turned slightly towards the stage where the musicians played. For some reason, she barely made eye contact whenever Jamie or Alicia spoke. Again, warning signs ran through Esi's mind, and she was determined to pull Lauren aside and get to the bottom of it.

"So Esi, what part of the UK are you from?" Jamie asked out of the blue, a hint of a southern accent lilting his words. Esi's head snapped to him.

"England," she answered. He furrowed his brow. She knew that sometimes people thought that England was the UK so she had answered more specifically. It didn't help that Alicia's eyes were boring into her, encouraging her to continue the conversation.
"I'm from North London," she paused, trying to quickly come up with a question to ask him.

"You're from Georgia right?"

A proud smile took over his face. "Atlanta born and bred...go Hawks."

"Oh, you're into basketball—

"Into?" Alicia's voice cut in. "The man breathes it. If I didn't lo—." Her eyes widened at the slip, and Esi saw that Jamie was trying to control himself, whereas Lauren stiffened next to her.
Alicia cleared her throat. "If I didn't enjoy his company so much—she kissed him on the cheek—I would chuck the tv."

He kissed her square on the mouth, and if others weren't there, it would have progressed to more.

Alicia beamed at him, and even though Esi was happy for her friend, an unexplainable feeling of jealousy ran through her. It didn't make sense because she didn't think that she was ready nor did she want one. At least that was what she kept telling herself.

Jamie continued to talk about various topics—from sports to travel. They bonded over the fact that his grandparents were from the Caribbean country of Guyana. Cue a teasing quarrel about whose roti was better—Trinidad or Guyana. Then, the topic moved to movies and tv shows—it was like a crash course in becoming friends within minutes. Esi liked the fact that whenever there was a lull in the conversation that he would pick it up. It wasn't pressuring or forceful, he always turned the topic to encourage her to share her thoughts. 

She was vaguely reminded of her conversations with Porte—whose text she still hadn't answered. 
Across from her, Esi could see Alicia, face lit up with pleasure and pride, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lauren's clear disinterest. Maybe Esi's facial expression changed because Alicia followed her gaze.