by Roy Glenn
“From where I’m standing, sorry isn’t even a word I can associate with you.”
He ran his tongue along the lace of her bra. Mike reached behind her back. He unhooked her bra with one hand, then slid it off of her arms slowly.
“I was mad at you for not calling me. Now I feel bad about it,” Mike said, pausing for a moment to admire her body. Her breasts were firm, and her nipples grew harder as he ran his tongue across them. Now on his knees, Mike placed his hands around Shy’s waist. Shy grabbed his head as he kissed her stomach and tongued her navel.
“Don’t feel bad, baby. I was mad at you too. I came here to curse you out because I thought you were trying to play me. You see how that turned out.”
Mike pulled down the zipper on her skirt and eased it down as Shy wiggled her way out of it. She kicked out of the skirt. Her panties were black lace to match the bra. Mike again ran his tongue along the edges of the lace and down the inside of her thighs. Mike began to tease Shy, running his tongue up the seam of her panties. Shy moaned quietly as he slid them off.
Suddenly Mike stood up. He smiled at Shy then picked her up in his arms and carried her off while he kissed her. He carried her up the stairs into the bedroom and laid her down on the side of the bed. Mike knelt down on the floor and started kissing her left leg until he got to her thighs. He sat down on the bed and massaged her thighs while he stared into her eyes.
“I haven’t done this in a year,” Shy said, then giggled, “so be gentle with me.”
Mike didn’t answer. He simply leaned forward and kissed her thigh and continued to massage the other. The closer he got, the more Shy would squirm. Mike started working his way up the other thigh, while he brushed her hair with his hand. Mike sucked her lips gently. He glided his tongue slowly along her lips. First one side and then the other, while he made circles around her clit with his index finger.
“Oooh, that feels so good.”
Mike very gently slid one finger inside of her, moving it in and out slowly, then in small circles, keeping pace with his other finger, still making slow circles around her clit. The circles became smaller and smaller. Mike massaged her clit lightly.
“I can feel you, Shy.”
“You’re going to make me cum.”
“Shhh.” Mike looked up at Shy and smiled. He slid his tongue around the edges of her pubic hair, then he parted her hair and spread her lips. Her back arched as Mike stuck his tongue inside her, moving in and out slowly and gently as Shy had requested. She moaned and rotated her hips. He spread her lips with two fingers and with the tip of his tongue made small circles around her clit. As the circles got tighter, her clit got harder; her moans got louder.
“What are you doing to me?” Shy reached out, holding his head in place. Her stomach muscles tightened; her thighs pressed together, as she arched her back and screamed in ecstasy.
Mike lay beside Shy. She rested her head on his chest. Shy stroked his chest, fingering one nipple as she kissed the other. She got up on her knees started kissing her way down Mike’s stomach. Shy sat up in the bed, straddled Mike’s body, placed her hands on his chest, and slid down gently on him. Mike grabbed her hips and began moving her slowly up and down until his entire length disappeared inside her.
“You—are—so—hard.”
They looked in each other’s eyes, as Mike held on tightly to her hips. Shy grinded her hips in a slow, almost methodical motion. Now it was Mike whose back was arched. He reached for her face and pulled her toward his. Their tongues met, entangled in their passion. Shy opened her mouth wider and slowly began to suck his tongue. She leaned back slightly and swayed side to side, rubbing her nipples against his. Mike returned his hands to her hips and planted his feet on the bed. He arched his back and quickened his pace. Shy moaned as she placed her hands on his chest. She sat up straight and ran her fingers through her still wet hair, as each pulled harder, faster. Shy screamed; Mike followed. Their motion became fluid as they melted into each other. She collapsed on top of him, their movements slowed, but neither one stopped moving.
They made love in much the same manner well into the morning hours. Mike no longer had any doubts; Melinda was out. Shy left no room for any other choice. They were incredible together.
“If I smoked, I’d definitely want a cigarette now,” Shy said. “I tell you what. A woman shouldn’t take a year off and try to make a comeback with you.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Black said sarcastically.
“No, not at all.”
“I’m gonna get something to drink. Do you want something?”
“Just some water. What time is it anyway?”
“Quarter to three,” Mike said, leaving the room to get the water.
“Yeah, just some water. We got a plane to catch in the morning. That is if you’re still coming with me,” Shy said, loud enough for Mike to hear her.
Mike returned carrying a tray with two glasses and a pitcher of water.
“You are still going with me?”
“You didn’t think you were just going to come over here, have your way with me and leave. I’m not that kind of man,” he said, trying to sound innocent. “You’re stuck with me now.”
“Stuck with you, huh?”
“For as long as you can stand it,” Mike said, getting back into bed. Shy curled up close to him. He leaned over and kissed her softly. They lay quietly and held one another for a while. Shy looked at Mike smiling.
“What?”
“You’re just fine that’s all. Most good-looking men are too busy being into themselves to satisfy a woman. It’s kinda scary.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems like we’ve known each other for years. It just didn’t seem like the first time we made love. It was like you could sense what I wanted you to do.”
“Do you want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you were meant for me and I was meant for you.”
“I don’t know about all that.”
“You will. All you got to do is stick around.”
“So, you ready to tell me about whatshername?”
Mike looked at Shy, frowned, and rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tell you my broken heart story on two conditions.”
“What are they?”
“I’ll tell you mine. If you tell me yours.”
“That’s cool. What’s the second?”
“This.” Mike placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her closer to him. “I’m glad you’re here.” And he kissed her delicately. Here in his arms was everything he had always dreamed a woman would be, but never thought possible. Shy touched his face gently with both hands. The way she looked at him made him want to spend every minute of the rest of his life with her. Share everything with her. Tell her everything. But he really didn’t want to talk about Regina. She inched closer to him, her hands sliding across his chest. Shy gave him what amounted to a peck on the cheek. “So. You wanna go first? Tell me how whatshername broke your heart.”
Mike shook his head and smiled. “Her name is Regina. We broke up on the day that Bobby married Pam. Regina and I introduced Bobby and Pam to each other. I was Bobby’s best man and she was Pam’s maid of honor.”
“How long were you two together?
“Five years.”
“What happened?”
“Prince.”
“Prince?” she asked curiously.
“Yeah, Prince.”
“You’re gonna have to break this one down for me.”
“Well first let me ask you a question. Do you like Prince?”
“Before I answer, is this a test question? Like does the future of our relationship depend on my answer? because if it does, I refuse to answer until I get more info,” Shy said jokingly, but she was serious. She wanted this to work.
Mike laughed, “No, it doesn’t.” But, in a strange kinda way, it did.
“In that case, I like him. Why?”
/> Mike smiled. “You do? What’s your favorite?”
“Automatic.”
“Hmm, I’m going to have to torture you now,” Mike said, quoting a line from the song.
“What about you?”
“Anotherloverholenyohead.”
“It fits you.”
“Anyway, Regina hated Prince. Since I knew she didn’t like him I wouldn’t listen to Prince while she was around. If she was riding with me, I would take the CD out before she got in the car. For some reason that day, I left the CD in. She got in the car and went ballistic.”
“You’re telling me y’all broke up over Prince?” Shy asked, looking at Mike like he was crazy.
“No. That’s just what started it. Regina was a bitch. No, that’s not fair to say she was a bitch, at least not at first. She was very aggressive, you know. If she saw something, she wanted she went after it with a vengeance. I met her and Pam at a party out on the Island. I was there to collect some money for André. Party was all right, so I stayed. It wasn’t like anybody was going to throw me out. Anyway, I was standing outside talking to this lady that I had just met. I saw her and Pam sweatin’ me. Then Regina stepped up and started talking,” Mike paused and took another sip of water.
“To tell you the truth, I really can’t say what it was. Pride more than anything else. That was just a strange day. She said a lotta things and I said a lot. We were both off the chain with it.”
“Well, what happened?”
“Like I said, it started with her tripping about the Prince. That one lost me completely. Then she just kept throwing smart remarks at me; you know, trying me. At first, I was cool. But she just kept coming.”
There was an uneasiness in his voice that Shy had never heard before. He turned away as he spoke, looking at the ceiling more than he faced Shy. She could tell it hurt him to talk about it. He almost seemed vulnerable, a crack in the invincible armor he displayed to the world.
“You really don’t like talking about this, do you?” Shy asked.
“No. I really don’t, but a deal’s a deal. Anyway, she finally admitted to messin’ around. I couldn’t say nothin’ about that because I was out there too. She was givin’ him my money. It wasn’t the money. I got more money than I know what to do with. Like I said, it was my pride. But then she told me that she had a late term abortion because she was mad about me and Bobby going to St. Thomas with some ho’s … I mean women. That pissed me off. You know, it was just the accumulation of things.”
“Time out. She aborted a baby because she was mad?”
“Yeah,” Mike said.
“I bet you wanted to kick her ass?”
“No. Pam made me dance with her instead.”
“That’s why you don’t dance with anybody.”
“See, that dual degree is useful. You’re pretty … smart,” Mike said, smiling at Shy. They both laughed. Mike got out of the bed and walked slowly toward the window. “I guess I should really be thanking her because she taught me a lot about myself that day.”
“Like what?”
“She told me that I was an arrogant, self-centered, egotistical asshole. Who didn’t care about anything but myself and my boys. She said the only reason that I took the time to have sex with her was because I got off on making her cum.”
“Was she right?”
“Yeah, she was, on all counts.”
“I don’t see all that when I look at you. Of course, I don’t have as much experience as she did. But I see a self-confident black man, who is not afraid of anything or anybody. I can see you being down for your boys and all that, but that’s called loyalty. I bet y’all been through a lot together. I think she went off because she was jealous. Because it wasn’t her getting married.”
“I guess. Can we talk about you for a while? I hate talking about this. That’s why I never talked to anybody about it,” he said, rejoining her in bed.
“That’s why you went first. I figured it would pump me up hearing your story. I talked about mine before, but it doesn’t get any easier, even after a year.”
“Don’t try to wiggle your way out now. What was his name?”
“Ricardo.”
“What was he, Puerto Rican? Or did his people just love Lucy.”
“They probably loved Lucy. Anyway, we were together for almost three years. I loved Ricardo. I met him on Fordham Road. I was window shopping when he walked up behind me. I was looking at a dress, and he starts telling me that the dress was all wrong for me. We spent the rest of the day together. Everything was wonderful. We went everywhere together, did all kinds of things together. He’s an investment banker. Wall Street type, very businesslike, very serious, but we had fun together. But he wasn’t real. He made a fool out of me. One night we were at a club and out of the blue Ricardo tells me that he could never see me again.”
“Why?”
“He was getting married the next week,” Shy replied sarcastically.
“Get outta here,” Mike said laughing.
Shy hit Mike on the arm. “It ain’t funny.”
“I’m sorry, Cassandra. It was just the way you said it. Go on.”
“Thank you. Anyway, he got the nerve to tell me that the whole time I been calling myself in love with him and even before I met him, he had another woman. I started trippin’ then.” You could almost feel her anger building. “Then he tells me that she’s not at all like me. She was an investment banker, very straight laced. She worked at the same brokerage house he did, her parents live in New Rochelle, and they got money and whatever. And she’s this and she’s that. Like she’s better than me. Then he flips, says, ‘but we can still see each other after a while’.”
“No, he didn’t go there,” Mike said, holding back the laughter.
“Black, I got so mad. I got up, pulled out my gun and I was about to kill him,” Shy said, as she sat up in the bed and started motioning with her hands. “But E saw me, and he ran up on me and grabbed the gun. By that time Tony and Jack’s big ass rolled up,” Shy said with a smile. “I told them what was going on. I was crying. I said, ‘this bitch mutha fucka gonna marry some other bitch and wants me to be his toy.’ Jack snatched his ass up out of his chair. Then him and Tony dragged Ricardo outside. I never heard from him again. I never asked them what they did to him.”
“Probably beat him down. Jack’s a big boy,” Mike said, trying not to laugh. “I know you must have been hurt.”
“Yeah, I cried for weeks. Thinking I wasn’t good enough for him. I trusted him, Black. That’s why it’s so hard for me to let you in, much less trust you.”
“I know how you feel. I got a little problem with trust too, Cassandra.”
“So, what we gonna do?”
“I don’t know what you’re gonna do, but I intend to make you earn my trust and if you’re smart, you’ll make me do the same. Because I plan on seeing a lot of you and for a very long time, Ms. Sims.”
“Oh really. Well if that’s your plan, come on with it. I’ll be right here. And by the way, you don’t have to worry. You’ll have to earn my trust too.”
Mike thought that this probably would have been a good time to tell Shy about Melinda. What better way to start building her trust than to tell her about your so called woman. Especially since he planned on cutting her loose anyway. Mike didn’t have any problem being honest with Melinda about Shy. Why was it so hard to tell Shy the truth about the woman with the rolling eyes? He tried to justify not telling her. But every reason he came up with sounded too lame. Actually, he had no reason. Maybe he just wasn’t ready to give Melinda up yet. That’s how the trouble starts. It can’t be that hard. Bobby broke clean. Bobby doesn’t mess around at all on Pam. Is there a secret to monogamy?
“Cassandra.”
“Yes, baby.”
“I love it when you call me baby.”
“Did you want something, or do you just like saying my name?”
“I got something else to tell you.”
“What’s her name
?”
“Melinda.”
“The woman with the eyes at the club?”
“That’s her.”
“I kinda had a feeling that you knew who I was talking about. So tell me, who is she and what is she to you?”
“What did you say?”
Shy started to repeat herself. “I said …”
“No, I heard you. It’s funny, but that’s exactly what she said when I told her about you.”
“Oh, you told her about me. What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t have to tell her much. She already knew all she wanted to know about you. She really didn’t care about you. She just wanted to know if I was having sex with you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her that I had thought about it.”
“What did she think about that?” Shy asked with a self-assured smile.
“She really didn’t care about that either. She just wanted to know if I was going to stop having sex with her. At the time I didn’t have an answer.”
“Well, what about now?” Shy asked, but she was no longer smiling.
“Now I can’t think about making love to anybody but you. My relationship with Melinda is based totally on sex, nothing more. For a long time I didn’t want anything else from a woman. I want a complete person, not just an object to have sex with.”
“What’s the matter? You don’t like having sex?” Shy joked.
“What do you think?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Saturday afternoon Shy and Mike arrived in Baltimore for her family reunion. Mike went to baggage claim to get their luggage while Shy went to rent a car. Once Mike secured the bags, he went to meet Shy at the car rental agency. When he reached the counter the attendant handed Shy the key and told her where to find the car. “Perfect timing. I hope you don’t mind, but it’s red,” Shy said as they walked away.
“No, I don’t mind. I hope you don’t mind driving, Cassandra?”
“You’re kidding.”
“I hate to drive.”
“You just don’t want to drive a red car.”
“No, I really hate to drive. Besides, you know the way.”
“Okay. I’ll drive.”