Goldie pulled into the driveway soon after Marcus had revealed to me that the two of them had recently slept together. I had told Marcus that I wasn’t going to say anything to Goldie about the news he had just dropped on me, but this was an agreement I made before I knew what he was going to say. I was in a very strange situation, because Goldie and I were dating and living in the same house, but we weren’t “officially” a couple. All the same, we were having sex, and it’s inappropriate to be having sex with multiple partners. Moreover, it’s just plain tacky to be dating someone exclusively and then go sleep around with someone else. I’m sure Marcus knew that after he told me the two of them had slept together, there was no way I could just let that slide without mentioning it.
By the time Goldie arrived, I was furious; but I have an uncanny ability to internalize my anger. I played it off as if nothing was wrong. It was getting late, and Goldie and Marcus were about to go back to Marcus’s place before they went out to the club that evening (as was the original plan). I let things play out just as they normally would have done, but I was planning a surprise of my own when Goldie came back to the house.
They were gone for about an hour when my phone rang. It was Goldie calling frantically, “Christopher, did Marcus really tell you we slept together?”
I didn’t know what to think. Marcus had just told me not to say anything to Goldie, yet he obviously couldn’t wait to tell him what we discussed. I figured he was trying to play damage control, and I could hear him yelling something in the background. Goldie sounded distraught and angry. “Yes, he did tell me,” I said to him calmly. “We can talk about this when you come back.”
“And he told you not to say anything? So, you’re keeping secrets from me now? This is some bullshit! I knew I shouldn’t have left the two of you alone. How can I even trust you when you’re going to talk about me behind my back like that?”
All I could think was, has this nigga lost his damn mind? He just accused me of keeping secrets from him and talking about him behind his back when he has the nerve to cheat on me while he is living in my house? He didn’t even know how the conversation came about, and THIS is what made him angry. I was trying to be calm, but after hearing this foolishness, my mouth just dropped. All I could see was red. “Keeping secrets from you? Talking about you behind your back? Are you crazy? You got the nerve to bring your ‘hoes into my house and parade them around me, and then you want to accuse me of doing YOU wrong? And why shouldn’t you have left us alone? Because you knew I might find out? You know what, if that’s how you want to handle it, you can come get your shit right now. I don’t need this. I don’t need you living in my house, driving my car, running up my bills, and then going around fucking any and everybody you feel like.”
“But he’s lying, Chris!”
“How am I supposed to know that? Why would he sit up in my house and tell me something like that?”
“So you’re going to believe HIM over me?”
“I don’t know who to believe,” I was screaming into the phone at this point. “I don’t know if I can even trust you.”
At this point Goldie was no longer talking to me, but he was yelling at Marcus about trying to sabotage his relationship, then he came back to the phone. “I’m going to call you back. This is really fucked up! This is all a lie!”
When I hung up the phone, I was starting to shake. My mind was telling me that I needed to get out of this situation as soon as possible, because I had just brought drama into my normally drama-free life. However, my heart was hurting. Most of the events that I am discussing are the drama-filled negative events, but every day was not like that. Most of our days were filled with love and affection for each other. Despite everything, I really did have strong feelings for him, and we had been dating for a while at this point. I decided to follow my mind this time and use the opportunity when he was away to go into the guest room and pack up his stuff.
I like to respect people’s privacy, so I had given the guest room to Goldie to keep his belongings. Although he never slept in there, he did keep his clothes, file, and personal effects in that room. When I walked into the closet, it was a shamble; clothes and papers were everywhere. There was junk under the bed, in the cabinets, all over the place.
As I started to clean up, I noticed something very strange. There was a photocopy of someone’s driver’s license and social security number under the bed in a stack of papers. Again, I wasn’t born yesterday. I knew that Goldie had no business whatsoever with this information. He already had a very shady background manipulating people for money, and now the thought of him being involved with identity theft made me very nervous. Just then, I thought, Oh My God, he could have MY information too! I started going through everything to make sure he hadn’t written it down or copied it. I had always left my wallet lying around on the counter, the nightstand, or in the bathroom. He could have written it down or copied it at any moment. My trust level had dropped to zero at this point, so I went to the garage, grabbed a few boxes, and just started tossing his stuff inside.
In the middle of my packing, the phone rang again. I answered, and it was Goldie calling back out of breath. “Chris, you need to come pick me up,” he said panting.
“Why can’t Marcus bring you back? You left with him,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Because his dad called the police,” he said. “We were outside in the front yard fighting. I had to kick his ass for lying on me like that. Then, his dad came out and called the police, so I ran to the corner store. Man, can you just come? I’m at the Valero.”
“Fine,” I replied then hung up the phone. My mind was set that I needed to put him out, but there was the fact that he didn’t know I was putting him out that stood in the way. Not to mention the fact that I just couldn’t, with a clear conscience, throw anyone out in the street with nowhere to go. I pulled on my shoes, hopped in the car, and drove out to Hiram Clark.
Goldie must have seen me coming from a few blocks away, because he was waiting near the drive when I pulled up to the Valero station. He jumped in the car immediately, clothes tattered and torn. I was giving him the silent treatment, but he was obviously still worked up from the night’s events and felt the need to defend himself. “Chris, you have got to believe me, this is all a lie.”
“Really? Why would he lie, Goldie? What would he gain from telling me something like that?”
“I don’t know, man. Maybe he’s just jealous because I’m dating you and not him,” he replied.
“You know what, that’s a crock of shit. You mean to tell me that he thought that telling me something like that would make you date him instead of me? So tell me this; did you sleep with him or not?”
“Yes,” he paused. “But that was a long time ago before you and I ever started talking, and it was only once. He lied to you and said it happened recently.”
“Well, I don’t care anymore. I’m not about to deal with this shit and any of your other bullshit. I can’t trust you anymore. I started packing your shit up at the house, and when we get back, you can finish. You need to find some other place to be.”
There was silence for a few seconds, and then tears started streaming down his face. “Chris, how can you do this to me? I don’t want to be anywhere else. I want to be with you. I love you man. Do you think I would fight my best friend if I didn’t love you?” Goldie could hardly get the words out through the sobbing. It was out there now. For the first time, those three words had been spoken between the two of us, and they changed everything.
If nothing else, saying I love you calmed me down a little. I was still angry, but disarmed. When we got back to the house, the guest room was as I left it, half packed with the photo copy of the driver’s license and Social Security card on the bed in plain sight. When I saw it, I immediately asked him about it. “So, what is this about,” I asked, handing him the paper? “Did you steal this guy’s identity? Why would you even have this?”
Goldie and I instantly sparred with a bout of facial expressions. His was a look of questioning disbelief as if he were trying to say, I can’t believe you went through my stuff. Mine, on the other hand, was a look of parental authority stating, this is my house, and I can do what I want, now answer the question.
His eyebrows acquiesced as he began, “This is a guy that was staying with my ex and me. I made a copy of his information, because I didn’t trust him an needed to make sure I could find him again if I had to.”
“How long ago was this,” I asked?
“About three years ago.”
“So, why do you still have it?" I had a feeling he was lying to me, so I decided to test him. "You don’t need it anymore. Tear it up and throw it away right now,” I demanded. He complied.
After we both had calmed down considerably, we sat down and talked about what had happened that day. After all, the day started off beautifully with Goldie in a great mood. He was feeling so good that he wanted to do something nice for the important people in his life, so he decided to detail our cars. That was a gift he could give for free, since he wasn’t working. Neither of us would have imagined it would end the way it did. I could tell that he had a genuine fear that he was about to lose me. He begged me to reconsider and let him stay.
Through our conversation, I came up with my own set of demands. In order for us to move forward, he was going to have to get a job. A real job which didn’t require him taking off his clothes or manipulating other people. He agreed.
We had had a long day, as I lay in the bed that night with Goldie’s arms around me, he held me like it was the last time he would ever see me. I could feel the tenderness of his embrace as he pulled me closer to him and said, “You know, I meant what I said. I really do love you. I want to be your boyfriend, Chris. I want us to be official.”
I turned in the bed and kissed him. “OK,” I replied. “Then let’s make it official.”
The next day, I was in my office working, when Goldie came in to hand me the phone. “Who is this,” I mouthed to him.
“Marcus,” he answered. “He wants to apologize.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I actually couldn’t believe that Marcus would even call Goldie again after the previous night nor that he would have the balls to ask to speak to me. Reluctantly, I took the phone as if a gun were held to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey Chris, I’m really sorry about everything that happened yesterday,” Marcus began. “I didn’t mean for it to go that far.”
“Well, what did you mean then,” I snapped? “Do you mean for me to just accept your apology too? After you come to my house, laugh with me and hang out with me, then lie to me and tell me that you slept with my man, how am I supposed to take that? I think it’s insulting. Not to mention the fact that you made me promise not to say anything and then you turn right around start running your mouth.” I added that last part in there out of spite.
“I know how you must feel, man. And I didn’t mean to lie. It was true; I just wasn’t accurate about when it happened. I didn’t mean to try to break you two up. I just wanted to be honest and put it all on the table. It wasn’t my place to even say anything to you though.”
“Well, I don’t trust you anymore. You lied to my face after I asked you twice. I’d rather you not come back to my house anymore, and don’t call me again.” I handed the phone back to Goldie. That was the first time in a long time that I had returned to my normal self and removed the cause of drama from my life, and it felt great. I didn’t want to know his reasoning behind his actions. I didn’t want to hear an apology, as if that would make things better and return them to normal. I just wanted to be rid of him and any reminder of the entire episode.
Over the next few weeks, Goldie was the perfect boyfriend. He found a job rather quickly through one of my contacts. Since I was working from home, I let him take my car to work. If I ever had things to do during the day, I would just drive him to work. He worked close enough that he could come home for lunch everyday. I noticed a distinct change in his demeanor. He was happy to be in a relationship, and he took pride in having me as his boyfriend. With his first paycheck, he surprised me. He went to the mall and bought me a pair of brown and white Pumas. I have to admit that even I was happy until that weekend.
Now that Goldie was making honest money, he had disposable income, which he chose to dispose of in the wrong way. That weekend, he asked me to come to the club with him. It was so cheesy, but he wanted to dress alike and I indulged him. Well, we weren’t matching exactly, but we wore similar styles, enough that you could tell by looking at us that we were a couple. I even wore the Pumas he bought me. Goldie had this glow of pride like I had never seen before. It actually made me happy to see someone this happy to be with me. It was as if he put me upon a pedestal and I was the most important person in the world.
While we were out, I ran into Shiloh, and old acquaintance I met through one of my close friends, Kaila. I had not seen Shiloh in a while, so I took some time to ask him how he was. I introduced him to Goldie, but it turned out that the two of them had already known each other. By the end of the night, I would find out how they met.
I’ll leave you here for this week. Stay tuned, still to come:
- Meet the Parents
- The House Party
- The Hurricane
- Lesbian Crack Heads
- And much more…
