Love Square

By Akito B. Takahashi

I never would have dreamed that one day I would be writing about someone beside myself. I suppose everyone has experienced these things at least once in their life journeys. But this isn't about me; it's about those who are close to me. Their names are Jamison, Dwayne, and Sarah. The two on the front cover don't have the world's greatest relationship. That's what Dwayne and I are here to solve! We're brothers in Christ, and we'll never let one another down. Even if that person just so happens to be our future wife.

 

This is based on a true story about four individuals who go through some of the strangest events with one another. May the readers not judge without an open heart that yearns for Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Akito B. Takahashi
• Release date: Sep 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223516927

Book preview

Chapter I

O-G

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN a little about myself. First things first, I’m an introvert when it comes to strangers. That means I’ll keep a lot of things to myself and let the readers piece together the puzzles. That’s if they can, of course. Apart from that, I’m a born again Christian.

But what does that mean, you might wonder?

There’s a difference between a Christian and a born again Christian. The former is perhaps your average Sunday churchgoer. All they know are the basics. A born again Christian, however, is a follower of Christ, our Lord and Saviour whom is Jesus.

We not only attend church, but we also establish the law that our heavenly Father hath written and follow it accordingly. For those who still don’t understand, we are not in sin.

With those things in mind, you won’t find any words that I deem as curse words written in this little book. Rather, this story’s not even about me; it’s about my brother and his current girlfriend. Well, he’s not actually my blood brother. But I do consider him one.

Confused? Don’t be. The story’s just getting started. You’ll learn as you read along.

The person I mentioned earlier is named Jamison Allen Carter. We mainly call him Jamie for short. And you guessed it, he’s Black—light skin, to be exact. As for his girlfriend, her name is Sarah Anderson, and she’s Hispanic.

Let’s start from the beginning, when I first heard about the two.

I received a call from my one and only friend, Dwayne Coleman. It was around nine o’clock at night, the usual hour Dwayne would call me, so we could catch up on the latest events circling our lives.

Bro, he said. Something came in the mail today?

What’s that?

These nuts!

We both laughed hysterically. I knew that old joke was coming but was too late to react.

Dwayne Coleman is also a born again Christian. Black, tall, dark, and handsome. If you ever met a man who always seemed joyous, unperturbed by worldly affairs, this was that blessed man. In terms of age, he’s twenty, making me five years older than him.

Dwayne has everything going for him. He’s wise despite his young age, charming, a natural comedian, talented at basketball, knows how to do electrical work, and has a beautiful girlfriend named Sara—without the h. I could go on all day exalting this man if I felt like it. If you ask him how he grew to be this perfect man, he’ll tell you that it’s because of the Lord.

Being a very humble person, that’s just one of his many amazing qualities. Great man, don’t you think?

I gave Jamie a ride to his girlfriend’s house, he said over the phone.

When did Jamie have a girlfriend, and who she? I asked, purposely forgetting to add the word is.

Dwayne went on to mention that our buddy Jamison was in a relationship with a girl the same age as him. Both were eighteen at the time and had apparently met while she was working at McDonald’s. Her name is Sarah, which Dwayne found interesting because that’s the same name as his girlfriend. I also found this interesting because Sara (Dwayne’s girlfriend) is his destined wife.

What the reader should know is that both myself, Dwayne, and Jamison have known each other for approximately five years. Dwayne’s known Jamison a lot longer (four more years to be exact) since the two grew up together in the same neighbourhood. I only arrived in the picture after my family and I moved during the end of summer in the good ol’ Sunshine State, Florida. The day we met, they all found me a little strange because of my faith—but that’s a story for another day.

The important thing is that the three of us share a common theme: We’re all young, Black males that have similar interests.

To be frank, that’s not what makes us brothers. A brother (in Christ) is another individual who shares the same belief that God is our eternal Father. The only bothersome thing is that Jamison is not a born again Christian. We call him a brother, not for what he is but for what he will be.

Tell me about Sarah, I asked.

Nothin’ to say, bro. I never met her.

The two of us went back and forth about how Jamison had called merely to get a ride to his girlfriend’s house. Dwayne, being the perfect man that he is, inclined to give it to him. That’s despite her living approximately twenty minutes away from us. And who could blame him for doing so?

Just like me, Dwayne loves helping anyone he can.

Our conversation would eventually turn to something else. As much as we love Jamison, the three of us hardly have the time to hang out monotonously like we used to. Dwayne’s working for a big-time electric company called Acme Electric Services. While Jamison’s doing an under-the-table job with his mother’s boyfriend, whom he calls his stepfather.

That’s just what happens once certain children graduate high school. They either go to college, go straight to work for someone else, or both.

The following week, I received another call from Dwayne. We greeted each other with our regular jokes, always trying to be a little spontaneous. Something to know about our phone calls, Dwayne mainly calls me when he’s out on the road. I couldn’t help but ask him where he was now.

Just finished dropping Jamie off at his girlfriend’s house, he said.

Again with our buddy Jamison going to his girlfriend’s this late. Years of experience have taught me that if a man sleeps over at their woman’s house, it tends to mean they’re doing something immoral. Supposedly, after every time Dwayne drops him off, he spends the night there and then calls an Uber to return home. He would drive there himself, but the recent damage to his car wouldn’t allow him to get that far.

And for those who aren’t familiar with an Uber, it’s essentially this generation’s convenient way of calling a taxi.

Things can get quite expensive after totaling the monthly cost of using an Uber. Not just for that, but also for traveling about ten miles to and from certain places. For Jamison to be spending that sort of money (on a minimum wage salary) showed me how much he loved her. And for Dwayne to take him there without charge emphasized how much he loves him.

Believe it when I say that gas was still pricey back then, even before inflation. And with the money we were earning, every mile counted.

I proceeded to inquire a little more about this Sarah girl. Dwayne, however, still hadn’t learned of her traits. As far as he knew, she was Hispanic, lived with her aunt, and shared the same name as his own girlfriend. Considering I don’t meddle in people’s business, I decided not to ask any further questions.

Whenever Jamison and I spoke, I would ask him then. That time came a lot quicker than expected.

Three weeks later, with Dwayne driving Jamison to Sarah’s house almost every week, the three of us managed to meet at our local basketball park. We each arrived in our own separate cars. Back then, I would always give the two rides when they were younger. To see people grow up and become old enough to legally drive is an invigorating feeling.

Jamison hopped out of his black, two-door coupe. It had been a few months since I last saw him in person. Still light skin, very muscular, and an uncanny smile that could warm the heart of the most hateful man on earth. Dwayne walked toward him, shook his hand, and said, What’s good, Buff Neck?!

A Buff Neck is an urban term used to describe a muscular individual that has a brawny neck. It’s the nickname our neighbourhood gave Jamison because he had muscles growing in every portion of his body. Ever meet those men with box-shaped heads and bodies that put the Hulk to shame? That’s who Jamison was.

I approached him and shook his hand, stating every single nickname we’ve ever given him in the past: Aye, what’s up, O-G, double O-G, triple O-G, Buff Neck, Super Saiyan, J-2, Jamie?!

The two boys laughed at how quickly I said all that. This was the standard protocol when hanging out with guys like us, and it still is today.

After hyping one another up and making jokes left and right about what we’ve been going through these past few months, we began shooting hoops in the basket. Dwayne had been going through some things with his girlfriend. At the mention of Sara, it reminded me to ask Jamison about his Sarah.

Tell me about Sarah, bro.

You mean my girlfriend? Jamison asked.

There was only one Sarah. Dwayne and I would have thrown the basketball at him if it wasn’t for his charming smile.

She’s alright, he said. We’re thinking about moving in together.

I looked at Jamison as if he were insane. I may have never had a girlfriend, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know how committed one had to be in order to move in with someone. Girlfriend or not, living with someone else was a big stepping stone in many relationships. Jamison calmed my thoughts when he stated that they were merely thinking about it.

Here’s something you should