May the Best Man Win by M.T. Pope Page A

in my tracks. “Here take my personal number. Give me a call so we can get together.” He winked.
    After that I got up out of the chair and he did as well. He walked around the table and gave me a very strong hug. I almost didn’t let go. I could have stayed in his arms forever. He was so strong. His scent was strong and masculine. It made me weak.
    I walked out of the restaurant feeling like a million dollars. I knew one day that I was going to be calling shots in his empire. I was going to win him over and then take over.

Chapter 13
    Kardell
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    Moving On
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    As soon as I got in the house my house phone started ringing off the hook. It was my father. I so didn’t want to answer it but I hadn’t talked to him in a minute so I picked up. “Hello.”
    â€œHey, son, how is life treating you?”
    â€œEverything is good, and you?”
    â€œWell, son, your old dad needs a favor.”
    â€œSure, Dad,” I answered, unsure of the favor.
    â€œI need a couple hundred bucks to pay some bills off. I’m in between money right now.”
    â€œWhen did you need it by?”
    â€œTomorrow would be fine.”
    Tomorrow I scheduled myself late so I just told him I would meet him for breakfast at one of my favorite eateries. We hung up the phone within seconds. Again, as I said before, my father and I didn’t have a real relationship. He was in and out of my life as a child and teenager, which was very hard for me to handle. Having only my mom to go to when I had issues that only a male figure could help me out with didn’t help me get through my teenage years easier. Sometimes I’d felt that I wouldn’t be gay if he had been there to guide me when I needed him the most. I now knew that him not being in my life had nothing to do with me being gay. From what my mom told me, which was very little, my dad had some issues and she had some self-esteem issues. She said that was the reason she took him back and put him out on numerous occasions. I felt like she was hiding something because my mom was a very vocal person and she said what she had to say and moved on. I assumed, like a lot of people, she was vocal about what she wanted to be vocal about. She never went into detail when talking about their issues and she always managed to detour conversation into something else when the topic arose. I was sure the truth would come out eventually. It always does.
    Enough about my parents and my issues, it’s time for me to go to bed. I have an early day and a busy one indeed. Thank goodness it’s Friday and I am the boss, because I’m getting in late and leaving early; a wonderful advantage to being the boss. I didn’t do it or get to do it often so I was going to enjoy it.
    I noticed I had a few messages on my answering service, but I decided I would listen to them when I got out of the shower and prepared myself for bed. I turned on some Anita Baker and soaked in the tub for about a half hour before retiring to my bed. I was exhausted, and it seemed like as soon as I toweled myself off and put on my pajamas I was in my waterbed, savoring the softness of my satin sheets.
    I quickly rolled over and picked up my cordless phone, and dialed the code to retrieve my messages. The first one was from my mother, telling me she loved me and that I needed to call her more because I was going to miss her when she was gone. She did this to make me feel guilty. It worked every time. I’d call her tomorrow while I was at work. The next one was from Ronald. Yes, he was still calling me. I listened to the message. He missed me . . . He was sorry . . . Could he come over . . . yadda yadda yadda . . . Delete. That was enough for me to hang up, roll over, and go to sleep.
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    I woke up Friday morning totally refreshed. I decided I would dress down. Blue jeans and a button up would suffice. I was only going to meet my father and head to work for a few hours. Showered, shaved,