by Zane
“Yardley, we need to talk,” she said after she was seated across from me at my desk.
“Roxie, for the last time, there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yardley, you and I belong together. We’ve got that fire and desire Rick James and Teena Marie were singing about.”
I laughed. “You seem to have the fire and desire with several people, like Felix,” I stated nastily. “Why don’t you call him up and beg him for some more of that dick action he was giving you on my balcony.”
“I don’t want Felix. That was a mistake.” She got up, walked around the desk, positioned herself behind me and started massaging my shoulders. “Come on, baby, let me make it up to you.”
I pushed her hands off my shoulders and stood to face her. “Roxie, you don’t get it. We’re through. In fact, I have my mind on someone else.”
Roxie pouted. “Oh, I get it. You’ve already replaced me. You’re such a bastard. This is the second time you’ve hurt my feelings over another woman.”
I was stunned. “Come again?”
“Back in high school? At your sixteenth birthday party? You dogged me out for that hooker.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “This isn’t hardly the same thing. The woman I’m seeing now is definitely not a hooker.”
“Seeing? You’re already seeing her?”
“Yeah, you could say that,” I responded.
“Damn, you didn’t waste five seconds. Did you?”
“Why would I?” I went to the door and opened it; hoping Roxie would take the hint and leave. “Roxie, for what it’s worth, I really did care about you. However, those feelings are all gone. I’m determined to see where things can go with the new woman in my life.”
“So, who is she?” Roxie asked, being nosy.
“She’s someone I’ve been interested in for a very long time. The opportunity to feel things out has come about and I’m jumping on it. She’s beautiful, sweet, fun-loving, and everything else I crave in a companion.”
Roxie smacked her lips. “I bet she can’t fuck you until your toes curl like I can.”
“I bet she can,” I replied sarcastically.
Roxie smirked. “Aw, I get it. You haven’t even taken the coochie for a test drive and you’re already whipped. I hope she’s a dud in bed. That’ll be what you fucking get.”
“Roxie, this is my place of business. You can’t be in here cursing. I have to ask you to leave. I have patients with appointments who’ve been waiting while we deal with this nonsense.” I waved her out the office. “Have a nice life.”
Roxie paused as she passed me and ran her tongue across my lips. I didn’t reciprocate. “You’re going to miss me. Let’s hope you come to your senses before I do find someone else.” She grabbed my dick through my pants, then let it go. “This is far from over.”
After she walked out, I slammed my office door. I was pissed. How dare she think that I would still want to have anything to do with her?
I called the bank and asked for Rayne. She sounded lovely on the phone and I asked her, “So, what are you doing tonight?”
“Nothing,” she replied.
“How about dinner and a movie?”
“What time?”
“You name it?”
“How about eight o’clock? Is that too late?” she asked.
“No, that’s perfect. See you then.” I was about to hang up when it dawned on me. “Hold up, I need your address so I can pick you up.”
Rayne gave me her address and then we said our goodbyes. The rest of my day went smoothly. I had nothing but pleasant thoughts about seeing Rayne on my mind.
Twenty-one
Rayne
Valentine’s Day
Yardley and I had been seeing each other for a couple of weeks. Even though we were taking things slowly—meaning we weren’t sexing each other down—I felt myself getting emotionally attached to him. I’d never dated a man who could stimulate me on so many different levels. I felt so comfortable with him and found myself opening up to him with ease.
No matter what topic I brought up, he was knowledgeable on the subject; even makeup, which had completely shocked me. Actually, I was a bit panicky when we’d gone to Nordstrom’s together and Yardley seemed to know more about the MAC cosmetics line than me. For a brief moment, I wondered if he might’ve been one of those metrosexual men that Ricki Lake had been discussing; one of those “iffy” men. After what had happened on my date with Kahlil, I was much edgier about men being sweet, acting sweet, and talking sweet. This book had also just hit the market about men being on the downlow—black men in particular—and sisters were starting to scrutinize brothers closely.
I’d actually sat at home one evening making a list of all the men I’d ever dated and any behavior patterns they’d had that could’ve been signs of loving to intake dick as much as I did. I’d come up with a list of five possibles; men I’d crossed paths with that might’ve been slapping dicks with friends. I was disgusted. As far as Yardley, I’d decided that he was definitely all man and probably simply knew a lot about makeup so he could purchase it for women he was feeling. Since he was feeling me, I was hoping he’d hit the MAC counter hard on my behalf before it was all said and done.
Don’t get me wrong. I could afford my own stuff but it was always nice to receive gifts as well. For years, I’d never wanted birthday gifts or Christmas presents. I wasn’t used to receiving them. Momma never felt the need to buy me things. She was too worried about buying things for herself. She wasn’t like traditional mothers—single mothers especially—who’d save up money to layaway toys and clothing to make sure their children were happy. I’d never believed in Santa Claus. The first time I’d come home from prekindergarten excited because the teacher had read a book to us about Santa Claus, Momma told me, “His ass don’t exist! Don’t be expecting nothing special for Christmas ’cause I’m flat broke!”
I was the opposite of Momma. I had a very giving heart. I was always the giver and generally, my mother had become the main receiver. I did a lot for Chance as well and she appreciated it; unlike Momma. In fact, one time Chance decided to treat me to a day at the Red Door Spa and I was in torment when it came to allowing it. Chance finally convinced me by stating that “a person who always gives must also learn to receive because otherwise, they’ll never know how special they make others feel.” Chance could get deep like that sometimes. She was also an excellent poet with a collection of poems to rival many of the greats. I used to try to encourage her to do spoken word at some of the local clubs but she wasn’t even having it. Crazy as she was and as much as she loved to run her mouth, she was shy in front of crowds.
Speaking of running mouths, she and I were sitting at our desks on Valentine’s Day doing just that.
“So what are you and Ricky doing tonight?” I asked as I watched a pair of lovers walking down the street through the picture window of the bank.
It was amazing. People who fought like cats and dogs on other days would be filled with adoration on Valentine’s Day—if only for one day.
Chance had spotted them also and commented, “Aw, aren’t they cute?”
“Yeah, they are,” I replied and sighed. I couldn’t wait to see Yardley later on. “Again, so what are you and Ricky doing?”
“Probably the same thing we did last year.”
“Which was?”
“Don’t you remember?”
“No.” I smacked my lips. “Why would I keep tabs on what you and Ricky do?”
Chance giggled. “We’re going to do some role-playing?”
“Role-playing?”
“Yes. This year we’re going to try something we saw on cable.”
I had a feeling she was about to give me a visual I wouldn’t care for and decided to avoid it. “Never mind. Don’t tell me.”
Chance got up and came over to my desk. “But I want to.”
I shook my head. “But I don’t want to know. The fact that you came over here to whisper tells me
all I need to know. For the record, I didn’t know you did role-playing last year.”
“Oh yeah, girl. It was the shit. We pretended to be panthers.”
“Panthers?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Yeah, panthers.”
“And the point of that was?”
“They had this special on the Discovery Channel about the mating rituals of animals and the panther segment turned us both on, so we acted the shit out. The neighbors down the hall actually called the police. They thought some wild cats were loose in the building or right outside.”
“You’re joking,” I said, laughing. “You two were making the noises and everything?”
“Yes, and it was so hot. I came about ten times in an hour.”
“Humph, yeah right. Now I know you’re making the shit up.”
Chance eyeballed me and slapped me on the arm. “Rayne, have I ever lied to you?”
I slapped her back. “You’re not seriously asking me that, are you?”
We both giggled.
“Okay, so maybe I’ve lied to you once or twice,” Chance said. “But, hell, everyone fibs about something from time to time.”
“Like the time you told me that Shea could throw her tits over her shoulder.”
Chance stood up and started jumping up and down, smacking her thighs. Then she decided to get loud on a sister. “I swear, Rayne, she really did it!”
“Okay, calm down already,” I said, searching the bank for our boss. Sure, we spent a large part of our work day goofing off but we didn’t need to make it obvious. There were busy periods when a lot of people would come in all of a sudden but for the most part, the teller windows were the only ones with a constant flow. I didn’t see him around so I continued, “I found that shit hard to believe. That’s all, Chance.”
“We have to look ole girl up so she can do it for you.”
“That’s quite all right,” I said with disdain.
We were referring to an incident with one of our college classmates, Shea. She had these huge tits and wore something like a 40-I bra. I’d never heard of anything above a D until I’d seen Shea’s tits. Anyway, Chance swore up and down that one night, when Shea was drunk, she’d taken off her bra in front of a group of them and had literally thrown one tit over each shoulder. I’d been elated that I’d been out on a date that night.
Chance came to her senses and went to sit back down at her own desk. About thirty seconds later, she said, “I guess you’re hooking up with Yardley.”
“What gives you that impression?”
She grinned. “Well, for starters, he just walked into the door with a big ass bunch of balloons and a dozen roses.”
I was so busy trying to kill this fruit fly that was annoying me, I hadn’t even seen him come in the door. “Oh my!” I exclaimed as his sexy ass approached us. He was wearing a navy Ralph Lauren double-breasted suit with a crisp white shirt and an incredible solid red tie; the color of love.
“Excuse me. I have a delivery for a Ms. Rayne Waters,” Yardley said, once he was beside us.
I blushed and decided to play games. “I’m sorry, sir, but there’s no one employed at the First Community Bank by that name.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
I stood up and reached for the flowers and balloons. “However, since you’ve obviously put a lot of time and effort into making Valentine’s Day special for her, I’d be happy to accept those gifts on her behalf.”
Yardley and I stood there, eyeing each other seductively, oblivious to everyone else in the bank.
Chance broke us out of our reverie with her cynicism. “Speaking of role-playing.”
I rolled my eyes at her, then concentrated on Yardley again. He assisted me with setting the flowers on my desk and attaching the balloon strings to my desk chair. Then he took my right hand. “Has anyone told you that you’re loved and deeply appreciated today?”
I shook my head. “No, not a soul.”
He lifted my hand to meet his lowering head and kissed it. “Now they have.”
“Awwwwwww,” Chance cooed. “Rayne, you better hang onto him, girlfriend.”
“I think I might do that.” I gave Yardley a big hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for making today special.”
He ran his fingers through my hair. “Imagine, today’s not over yet.”
“This is true and I have something special to give you also.” I reached up, caressed his hand and then kissed the inside of his palm. “I’ll have to give you mine tonight. It wouldn’t be appropriate to give it to you in public.”
He licked his lips and started to back away from me. “In that case, I’ll see you tonight.”
I winked at him. “Oh yes, you’ll see a lot of me tonight.”
Yardley and I kept staring at each other while he exited the bank. Once he was outside, he blew me a kiss through the window. I blew one back at him.
“The two of you sound like you’re on one of those late-night soft porno flicks,” Chance commented. “It’s mad cute, though.”
“He’s mad cute,” I said, looking forward to seeing him again in a few hours.
“He’s mad fine. You don’t call a man that looks like that cute. He surpassed that a long time ago.” Once again, Chance had invaded my space and started whispering. “Since you’re talking all dirty and thangs, I guess you two are doing the nasty.”
I pushed her away from me gently. “Yardley and I have only been dating a couple of weeks.”
“So? You were ready to give it up to Basil on the first date, ordering that raunchy outfit to wear and all that. Poor man couldn’t handle it.”
Chance was riding my last nerve; bringing the Basil fiasco up on the regular. He was cool as a friend but his balls had to be cobalt blue, being a virgin at his age.
“Don’t remind me again. Basil’s a sweetheart but most women in this day and age want to sample the goodies before they settle down.”
“True. It’s wild how times have changed. Men used to be the only ones talking such stuff but now the chicas are demanding to window shop before they buy, too.”
“Honestly, I think women have always felt that way. It’s only more acceptable now, thank goodness. We still have a long way to go because some women are automatically branded a whore if they don’t have any inhibitions.”
“Yeah, men do seem awfully intimidated by aggressive women.”
I swept my fingertips across the rose buds. “Let’s hope Yardley isn’t because I plan to get aggressive on him tonight.”
“Aw, sookie sookie now.” Chance laughed.
I bit my bottom lip. It was time to see if Yardley could live up to the imaginary sex I’d been having with him in my mind. While we’d only been dating for a couple of weeks, the time we’d wasted not speaking also counted, as far as I was concerned.
“Then again,” Chance added. “Some of the married women in that church you’ve been dragging me to seem to think sisters need to be celibate before marriage.”
“Chance, ignore them. Every woman has to live their own life and it’s easy for married women to say that nonsense because they have someone to lie next to every damn night.”
“This much is true, chica. This much is true.”
“Marriage may or may not ever come. So what? We’re supposed to do without? Please, not in this lifetime. I’m not one of those women who have to fornicate every day, but I do need some action every now and then.”
“Fornicate?” Chance giggled. “Girl, you’re beginning to sound like your old self again. I was getting concerned. It’s been a while since you’ve had some. I was afraid you were either going to listen to those chicas at church or start switch-hitting.”
“Switch-hitting! Not as long as they sell vibrators because those jimmies never fail.” I threw a pen at Chance. “It’s been a while but everything happens for a reason. If I’d really turned Basil out or Kahlil had really been about me instead of Oliver, I probably wouldn’t have talked to Yardley when he approa
ched me. God closes some doors so we’re forced to walk through other ones.”
Chance threw the same pen back at me. “Damn, now you’re getting spiritual about getting the dick.”
I picked up my entire pen cup and threatened to throw it at her. “You worry about your role-playing, panther ass.”
Life is just one damned thing after another.
—Elbert Hubbard
Twenty-two
Rayne
There are times in life when you wish you could crawl into a hole and drown everything out. Times when you wish you were someplace else, anyplace else, than where you currently are. That’s exactly how I felt when I left work an hour early to go home and get sexy for my Valentine’s date with Yardley. Not because I didn’t want to see him. I wanted to see him, every inch of him, in every sense of the word. However, I didn’t want, or plan, to see my mother sitting in the hallway in front of my apartment door when I arrived home.
“Momma, what are you doing here?” I asked the second I stepped off the elevator and spotted her.
“Baby!” she exclaimed, jumping up and exposing her black satin panties underneath the skimpy lime green dress she was wearing in the cold February weather. “Surprise!”
She spread out her arms to embrace me and a chill ran up my spine. I gave her a slight hug and then pushed her away from me.
“Momma, again, what are you doing here?”
She smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Check your attitude, missy. I came all this way to see my one and only kid and this is the treatment I get? The older you get, the meaner you get.”
I wanted to tell her that I’d inherited the mean streak from her but didn’t feel like getting into a fight. “I’m sorry for coming off like that,” I lied as I unlocked my door. “I had no idea you were coming; especially not today. After all, it’s Valentine’s Day and I assumed you’d have plans with…Um, what’s his name again?”