“Could It Be?”

Relationships can be funny. All relationships. Sibling, parental, platonic, romantic, professional. All have their potential ups and downs. This is even more so with new relationships. Communication in relationships is key. Saying the right thing at the right time can make life-long friends. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time could be detrimental to one’s health. And so we have the story of “Could It Be?”

During my freshman year in college I took an African American studies class. A few days into the class I struck up a friendship with a fellow student. We’ll call him Guy. Guy was cool. Even tempered, mature, smart and ambitious. A little older than the typical college freshman, he had already established his own business. We had a few things in common but mainly we could relate to each other’s life experiences.

Guy was not shy about his personal life. He openly, but respectfully, discussed the challenges he faced in his marriage. You could tell that he did love his wife, but he felt that it was not completely reciprocated. He spoke of her fondly, but you could sometimes sense a bit of anxiety when he spoke to her. From what I could tell they were climbing the ladder to success with clear targets in mind.

As a college student I had the much needed opportunity to be blessed with a full time job at the school. In fact, I had a job there before I started classes. Man free tuition was great! Being one of the younger employees on campus was somewhat unique in the sense that I got to see higher learning from two different perspectives. An employee with employee benefits and a student with student benefits. Let me just say this: if you’ve never worked at a college (especially as a young man at the age of 18…) you have absolutely no idea what you are missing. Just ask somebody!

As a result of spending so much time on campus I met a diverse, broad, cross-section of people. I had my fair share of interest from the ladies, no more than any other male on campus, but my youth made me the target of a lot of “motherly affection” from the more mature female employees. My older male co-workers always found humor in the way our older female co-workers treated me. I did not mind the attention at all.

A couple of years after working there I saw a new girl in one of the Student Services departments. We’ll call her…..Girl. No other way to say this, but Girl was fine as hell. Radiant cinnamon caramel skin. Soft, inviting eyes. Beautifully dangerous smile. Shapely, sensuous and voluptuous. Everything in the right place. Although she never disclosed her age I guess that she was five years my senior.

Girl was manipulative, needy and insecure. I knew from the get go that she was out of my league but I never let her know it. Noticing the way that I interacted with the other ladies in her department, Girl set out to show her superiority by faking attraction to me to take my interest from her office mates. She would rush to speak to me and hold long conversations to command my time. She would walk down the halls, ask me to walk her to class. We’d hang in the cafeteria. All for show. I knew it, but hey, what did I have to loose? Oh, I was actually in a relationship at the time. And as I said, Girl was fine as hell! So….

Girl actually had a boyfriend too. Shared pictures of him. She wanted to know what my girlfriend looked like. And hey, my girlfriend was sexy as hell too and I think Girl took that as a challenge. We did have some cool, meaningful conversations and really enjoyed each other’s company. This went on for the entire semester.

When I would go to class I would tell Guy about Girl but never mention her name or give details. Just the usual guy talk. I’d share hers and my latest adventure. Or talk about what may potentially happen in the future. Guy would laugh and share the latest about his wife. Then we would talk about what would happen if my real girlfriend found out. It was all innocent though.

The semester was coming to a close. We were preparing for final exams. Girl and I weren’t talking as much. Seems her boyfriend was causing a her some emotional challenges. Me and Guy would often talk after class discussing the latest topics. One day after a group study we were walking to our cars. He told me his wife was supposed to meet him at school but she was late. Myself and a few other classmates were waiting with Guy when a car pulls up. Out walks one of the finest silhouettes you may ever see.

Guy looks and me and says,”I’d like you to meet my wife”. Could it be? To my astonishment, I realize that Girl is Guy’s wife! Girl introduced herself as if we never met. I respond in kind. Guy is completely oblivious to the situation. At that moment I wondered if I had said ANYTHING that may have tipped him off. I wondered if he knew all along that I had been talking to his wife. He gave no indication that this was the case.

Guy and I kept in touch some time afterwards. I never saw nor spoke to Girl again. By the way,, she never mentioned that she was married. I felt bad knowing that Girl had shared her infidelity with me and “quasi” flirted with me while I was a friend of her husband. So glad I never mentioned her name or any other potentially incriminating details. And this was only the beginning of this story.

Remember earlier I said that saying the wrong thing at the wrong time could be detrimental to one’s health? Please come back to read the humorous continuation of this true story.