For Beth or Worse

Chapter Five

Life has a way of letting things fall into your lap at the perfect moment. It has been two weeks now, and things between Marcus and me are looking good. I have found a man who ticked all my boxes. Who would have thought that dating outside my race would be the answer to my relationship problems?

Marcus: Hey sexy. I've got a big surprise for you...

Me: What? Tell me!

Marcus: Sure. I'll tell you as soon as you get home from work. Have a great day. Love you.

Great. My anxiety is about to go into overdrive. What surprise could he possibly have? I held my face in my hands. I hope it's nothing too dramatic. I got up and went to the photocopier. What if he's going to introduce me to his parents? Well, it would be over a video call, so would it count as a meeting?

Wait. I'm getting ahead of myself here. I just realized Marcus and I have never video-called each other. So apart from the pics he's sent me and the messages we exchanged, do I really know him?

"What's wrong?"

A little yelp escaped my lips, and I'm sure I just had a mini heart attack.

"Monique, are you trying to kill me?"

She placed her hand on her hips. "Seriously? I've been standing here longer than a minute. Where did your mind go? What's up?"

"N-nowhere...I mean my mind is still here. It went nowhere."

"What's up with you?" She asked with a concerned look.

"Me is fine... I mean, nothing is with me."

Her brows furrowed, and she gazed at me. Her stare was burrowing a hole through me.
She gritted her teeth like a pit bull that's ready to attack. "Spill it!" She whisper-shouted.

"I have a black boyfriend." I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for her words to attack me. They never came.

I squinted my eyes opened. Monique's jaws were on the floor. She moved her lips a few times, but no words came out. She was either shocked or disappointed. I couldn't tell which.

"I have to get back to work." She said as she marched back to her cubicle. Was she angry? I wouldn't read her expression. Was she disappointed, and what was there to be disappointed about? She should be happy for me, right?

I finished copying my papers and walked over to her desk. Before I could begin apologizing, she started talking.

"How could you?" She hissed, trying not to be overheard.

"What did I do wrong?" I asked innocently.

She folded her hands across her chest. "I have this report to turn in, and then we're going out for lunch, and you best believe you're going to give me every little detail."

*****

Monique watched me impatiently as I sipped my drink. We were sitting I Starbucks, and once we finished eating, I was supposed to provide her with details.

She grabbed the drink from me. "Start talking!"

I took a deep breath. "So Marcus and I started when I got back from the club the night we went out."

Monique smirked. "So two guys in one night, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't like that. We met on Match.com. We started texting, and it just took off. We have been talking every day since then."

She leaned closer. "What does he look like?"

I beamed as I whipped out my phone and showed her Marcus's Match.com profile picture. She squinted her eyes at the photo.

"He's cute, but what does his body look like?"

My spirits dropped. How do I tell her that I've only seen his profile picture. Does this relationship even count. All of a sudden, I wasn't feeling too confident about my first black boyfriend.

"Beth?" She bugged her eyes out at me. "I asked you a question. What is his body like? Is he slim?....is he fat?"

My mind was going around in circles. There were endless possibilities as to what he might look like. Maybe he was really short, or really skinny, or really hairy. I hated hairy guys. What will my parents say? Will I still like him after physically meeting him? What was thinking? I shouldn't have texted back. All this stress is going to drive me nuts!

"I don't know. I haven't seen his body!" I shouted.  

Monique glanced around the restaurant. A few persons were looking over at our table. They were probably wondering why I was freaking out.

"Will you keep it down?" Monique whispered. "People are starting to stare."

I took a sip of my drink and exhaled shakily.  My overthinking was going into overdrive, and I was trying not to let it get the better of me.

"I've never seen him before. I've never heard his voice. We've only communicated through text messages."

Monique's mouth was agape. "Wow. That black boy magic is strong. You fell in love by only texting? I need to meet this homie."

I covered my face. Saying this all out loud made it feel somewhat real but very stupid.

"So where is he from?"

"He says he's from Jamaica."

"Hmmm." Monique smirked. "You got yourself an island boy. So when are you going to Jamaica to meet your new family and have some mixed babies mon."

I laughed at Monique and her weird Jamaican accent. "I don't think that's how Jamaicans talk. You sound like a drowning British."

"Ouch." Monique held her chest. "So you're a Jamaican expert now, huh?"

I rolled my eyes at her. She was always overexagerating. We chatted about Marcus and how beautiful of an island Jamaica was. For some weird reason, I decided to let Monique read through our conversations.

"Hmmm...boy got jokes."

"Ah. Do you know?"

"Alright, alright.  You got a game."

Her random comments almost made me regret giving her my phone. Monique grabbed my arm.

"You gave him your home address? Are you crazy?"

"No. I'm not crazy. Isn't my boyfriend supposed to know where I live?"

"Define boyfriend." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Well...." I couldn't find words.

"Exactly!" Monique was getting angry. "He couldn't be a murderer preying on single, lonely females. Now, he has your home address and your work schedule. He might even be at your apartment waiting. What did his last message say?"

I covered my mouth as I read the message Marcus sent this morning.

'I've got a big surprise for you. I'll tell you as soon as you get home from work.'

Oh my God! What if she's right. What if I just invited my own killer into my life?

Monique decided that I should stay at her place tonight until I'm sure everything is okay at my apartment. We headed back to work and for the remainder of the day, I was worried sick. What have I gotten myself into? Maybe I'll need to find a new apartment after all this is over.

Even though I know giving Marcus my home address was wrong, in the back of my mind, I wanted our relationship to be true. I wanted my first black boyfriend, and I really hope everything he said was true. I just couldn't imagine him as a murderer. He sounded genuine and thoughtful and caring.

"Are you ready to go?" Monique pulled me from my thoughts. I didn't even realize that the time had slipped away.

"Yep." I nodded grimly.

I hated not being in my own space, and even though Monique and I are best friends, I know the next few days are going to be like unbearable.