Lessons In Love (Bantu Academy Series Book 1)
Page 3
She continued to smiled, and asked, “Is it okay to video call you?”
“I’ll make sure I’m dressed when you do…”
“You don’t have to…”
Caelum laughed softly. “Hello, Miss Leslie Benson. Thank you for calling.”
“Thank you for inviting me to call.”
He studied the screen for a moment. “Are you in bed?”
“Yes, I’m in my room. I live with my sister, brother-in-law and two nephews.” She explained.
Caelum lifted a brow. “May I ask how old you are?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“I figured somewhere around in that area.”
She stared at him. “Is that good or bad?”
“It’s just right.
Leslie sat back. “How old are you?”
“The big three-oh.”
“You don’t look thirty.”
“How old do I look?”
She grinned. “You look just right.”
Leslie heard a sound, then asked, “Are you near water?”
“Yes, I have a pool and I’m sitting outside in it.”
“You like to swim?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do. I find it very relaxing.”
“Me, too. I did a lot of water therapy when I was learning to walk again.” Leslie explained. “I still do it once a week.”
Caelum stared at her face. “You had to learn to walk again?” he asked softly.
Leslie looked away for a moment, then back to his face. “Yes…”
“That must’ve been very hard.”
“It was. There were days, that I didn’t think I would, even with a cane.” She shared.
“A very beautiful and a very strong goddess…”
She made a face. “I bet all the goddesses love you.”
He laughed softly. “I’ve met many, loved a few…and now I’m looking for the one.”
“The one for what?” Leslie asked.
“The one to make my life complete.”
Sitting up, Leslie inquired, “How is she going to do that?”
“Just by being who she is…”
“What if she’s not perfect?” Leslie questioned.
Caelum smiled. “Perfection is an illusion. Perception becomes your reality…and truth is all that matters.”
“Huh?”
She began to laugh and he laughed along with her.
“No, I’m just teasing,” Leslie told him. “I understand what you’re saying, and I agree wholeheartedly. I want someone who will be honest with me.”
“May I be honest now?” Caelum asked, holding her eyes.
Leslie bit her lip. “Umm…okay…”
“Your energy is incredible…it’s sweet and tender. It’s pure and honest…and it’s as beautiful as your physical being, which is absolutely amazing. You stopped me in my tracks and I’ve been dreaming of you ever since.”
She blinked at him, while the heat began to spread throughout her body, settling lower.
“You have a way with words…” She whispered.
“I only speak Ma’at…the truth.”
“What did you dream of me?”
He smiled and Leslie lifted her sheet to check if her panties were still intact or had they melted completely.
“I dreamed of seeing you smile at me, as though I made you happier than anything in this world.” Caelum told her.
“You’d have to do something amazing.”
“Alright, if that’s what it takes.”
Leslie became silent for a moment and Caelum waited.
“What’s wrong?” he asked after a minute.
She stared at him. “I’m very slow at this Caelum, so I have to ask…”
“Ask me anything, Leslie.”
“I have a tendency to go overboard with things, and I’m really working on that as I begin this new life…” she began.
“Okay…”
“This is probably going to sound very juvenile…”
“Leslie, what is it?”
She frowned at him. “All that you’ve said…does it mean…that you like me?”
Caelum looked at her through the screen. “How about this…why don’t you allow me to show you how much I’m liking you?”
Leslie put a hand to her face. “I mean, I guess I should be able to tell…”
“If it’s in question, then you have every right to ask.”
She sighed. “I just don’t want to assume anything or project my feelings onto you.”
He grinned. “So does that mean that you like me?”
“How about this…” Leslie began, with a twinkle in her eye. “Why don’t you let me show you how much I’m liking you, too?”
“You have a deal, pretty goddess.”
She smiled. “Deal.”
“Will you have lunch with me tomorrow?” Caelum asked.
“Yes, and we can start working on the program for February.”
“I have some ideas, Miss Benson, and I understand that since you teach art, you will have an eye for the visuals we use.”
“I’m excited to hear your thoughts, Mr. Bannaka, since you teach Khemetic history. This should be wonderful.” Leslie said happily.
“I’m excited, too. I love teaching our children, our true history.”
“Tell me something…” Leslie began. “Your last name is very different. Do you know the origins?”
“Yes, I’m a descendant of Benjamin Banneker.”
Leslie paused. “The Benjamin Banneker?”
“The one and only. His grandfather was an African slave named Banna Ka, who is believed to be descended from royalty. The name was changed to Bannaky, then finally to Banneker. My family took on the original spelling.” Caelum explained.
“Do you know his legacy?” Leslie said in awe.
“Yes, I teach black history.” He reminded her.
She looked at him. “Caelum…you are black history…”
Chapter 3
The next afternoon, Leslie was sitting in her new classroom, lost in one of her dreams.
Caelum walks into the room, where she’s sitting. He smiles at her as he approaches, and she can tell that he’s come to fulfill all of her sexual fantasies. In jeans and a shirt, Leslie’s riveted by the way his big body moves.
“Hello, goddess…”
“Hello…” She whispers.
Standing before her, he lifts her face and lowers his mouth to hers. At the first contact, Leslie feels the warmth below, and when he pulls her into his arms, she melts.
“I want to love you, Leslie…” he whispers against her lips.
She looks up into his eyes and feels her heart beating.
“I’d give anything to have you love me, Caelum…”
A knock on the door startles her out of her vision and she walked with her cane, over to where the man of her dreams stood on the other side of the glass window. Quickly she opened the door, seeing his hands filled with bags.
“Hello, goddess.”
Leslie smiled. “Hi, Caelum. What’s all this?”
“I brought our lunch.”
Leslie led him inside, over to her desk. “Thank you for being so thoughtful and picking it up.”
Caelum sat the bags on the desk, then turned to her. “I am here to serve you.”
Leslie inhaled the food. “It smells delicious.”
He grinned and began unpacking the bags. “I hope you like food for the soul.”
She looked at the first dish. “It looks like sweet potatoes.”
“It is.”
Leslie waited while he unpacked the rest, then Caelum then moved around the desk, and pulled out her chair. Sitting on the seat, Leslie smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Retrieving another chair from the corner, Caelum sat on the opposite side of Leslie’s desk, and handed her a cloth napkin with silverware wrapped inside.
“Real cutlery?” Leslie asked.
“A man brings a
goddess his best.” He replied, opening his own napkin and placing it over his lap.
Leslie opened her own napkin, watching him. “I am so impressed.”
“This is just the beginning.”
Leslie glanced down at the spread. “Then I can’t wait for what’s next.”
Caelum opened all the dishes and laid them out before her.
“Please enjoy, pretty goddess.”
Looking at the food, Leslie could tell that this wasn’t from a restaurant. It had the look and smell of homemade.
“Where did you get this?” she asked.
“From home…”
She looked at him. “You made this?”
“No, my mother and grandmother.”
“Your family cooked this?”
He nodded. “Every dish…made especially for you.”
“Are you kidding?”
“No, not at all.” Caelum stared at her.
Leslie’s face showed her surprise and he smiled.
“Is it to your liking?”
“As much as I daydream, I’ve never imagined anything like this…”
“I’ve never imagined anything like Miss Leslie Benson.” He said softly.
She flushed at his words. “You’re making me blush.”
“I know.”
Leslie began filling the plate that he’d placed in front of her, to busy herself and calm her body. When she was done, he filled his own, then waited for her to begin. Tasting the food, Leslie moaned.
“Oh, this is so good.” She purred.
“I’m glad you like it. The Queen Mothers will be happy to hear that.”
“Please thank them for this wonderful meal.”
Caelum also began to eat, then nodded. “They’re on point.”
“You told them that you were bringing this to me?”
Pausing, Caelum looked at her. “Yes, I requested this meal.”
“I don’t know what to say…”
“Just enjoy it.”
Nodding slowly, Leslie went back to her lunch.
“I enjoyed talking with you last night,” Leslie told him.
“It ended too soon. We have to do it again.”
She smiled. “I agree.”
The couple ate their lunch, watching each other over the meal.
“Now tell me about your art class, since I didn’t get to that last night.” Caelum urged, looking around the space after he was done. “The room looks great, by the way.”
“Thank you. I’m really loving it.”
“I know you’re going to be a great teacher.”
Leslie hid a smile. “I hope so. It means a lot to me.”
“After what you’ve been through?”
“Yes, art therapy helped me so much, that I wanted to share it with our children.” Leslie explained. “My nephews love it and I hope my students will, too.”
“Did you do all the pictures in here?”
“Most of them. My nephews did a couple. They’re going to be surprised when they see them displayed around the room.” She answered.
“I can see your passion in your work.”
“The pictures are my journey from when I was in the wheelchair, through the procedures and now, my new life walking again.” Leslie said quietly. “You can see the pain in some of them and the joy in others.”
Caelum got to his feet and walked over to the drawings, then began to study them.
“Now that you’ve explained it, I do see it.” He pointed to one. “This was early on?”
She nodded. “Yes, before I connected with my sister.”
He moved on to another. “More recent?”
“When I got the job here.” Leslie replied.
“When you study the children’s drawings, what are you looking for?” Caelum asked.
“I encourage them to draw what they feel, and then we discuss it.”
He nodded and pointed to one of the pictures. “What did you feel here?”
Leslie looked at the dark drawing. “Pain.”
“Can we discuss it?” He inquired.
“You want to know about my pain?”
Caelum walked back over to where she sat and retook his seat.
“I want to understand you, the good and the bad.” He said, watching her.
Leslie sat back in her seat, holding his gaze.
“I’ve told you about the accident, when I was sixteen. I was riding in the car with some friends after a football game. The driver lost control and we crashed. I woke up in the hospital, paralyzed from the waist down. “
Caelum listened quietly.
“My mother was devastated, because I was all that she had.” Leslie shared.
“So your sister is your father’s daughter?”
Leslie shook her head. “No, my mother left Sydney and her father, when Sydney was little and ran off with my father.”
“Wow…uh, okay.”
“Yeah, my mother is not the epitome of motherhood.” Leslie said wryly. “I never even knew about my sister, Sydney, until I was twenty.”
“What?” Caelum asked.
She sighed. “It’s a long story, but in the end Sydney’s husband found me and brought us together. They’ve done everything for me and I love them to death.”
“Where’s your mother?”
“She’s in prison.”
He blinked. “I’m sorry…”
Leslie began to clear away her desk of the food items.
“She embezzled money and held my brother-in-law at gunpoint.” Leslie said softly. “So suffice it to say, we don’t have a good relationship. Actually we have no relationship at all because she’s still a bitter, angry woman.”
Caelum stood and walked around the desk, then stopped her actions, by taking her hands. When Leslie lifted her eyes to look at him, he moved closer, then wrapped her in his strong arms.
“I just want you to feel comforted,” he whispered, and Leslie returned his embrace. “Is this okay?”
With her face pressed against his chest, Leslie inhaled his scent and held him tighter. She felt Caelum’s big hand on her back, as he rubbed her gently, and felt a level of comfort that she’d never felt before. In Caelum’s arms, Leslie felt completely safe and protected.
“I didn’t know that I wanted comfort, but yes…it’s perfectly okay,” she said, burying her face in his shirt.
They stood that way for a moment until Caelum moved back. Lifting a hand, he touched her face.
“I wasn’t trying to bring up memories like that during the lunch hour.”
“It’s alright.” She smiled up at him, then joked. “At least I can walk now…even though I still need my handy-dandy cane.”
Caelum stared down at her.
“May I tell you something?” He asked, and she nodded slowly.
“You don’t have to put that beautiful smile on for me.” Caelum began firmly. “I can both see and feel your Ma’at…your truth.”
Leslie remained silent as he continued to study her face.
“I feel your attraction to me, and it’s mutual.” He continued. “I can fulfill that for you, or I can make all your dreams a reality. It’s your choice…you have all the power.”
“You know that I dream a lot…”
“I don’t care, as long as I’m in them.”
Her eyes darkened. “You are…”
Caelum smiled. “I’d love to take you out on Friday.”
“On a date?”
“Yes, Miss Benson, may I take you out on a date this Friday evening?”
“Where?”
He looked at her. “My friends and I go to a little club in Hollywood.”
“Your friends will be there?” Leslie asked concerned.
“What’s wrong?”
She moved away and began clearing her desk again.
“I don’t go out like that, because I don’t like people staring.”
Caelum nodded. “No one will stare at you,” he assured her.
“People always stare.”
He began to assist her in packing up the lunch. “Then we can do something else,” Caelum offered.
“I don’t want to take you away from your friends.” She didn’t look at him.
“The whole point was to be with you.”
Leslie turned to him. “Since I started walking, I usually stay close to my family. I feel safer that way.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Leslie.”
“Can I think about it?” she asked.
He agreed. “Whatever you want, it’s good with me.”
She smiled. “I’ll tell you tonight, when we talk again?”
“I’ll call you this time.” He replied.
“I’ll be waiting.”
With the bag all packed, Caelum checked his watch.
“I better get back to work.”
“Yeah, me too.” Leslie agreed.
Caelum looked down at her. “Thank you for having lunch with me.”
“I enjoyed it immensely.”
“Then we can do it again, sometime.” He suggested.
“I’ll supply the food.”
“I don’t mind.”
She grinned. “This would be hard to top. I can’t just order food that good.”
“I’ll make it for you whenever you like.”
“You cook?”
He laughed. “Yeah, do you?”
“I try.” Leslie responded on a chuckle. “But you have to remember that I was in a wheelchair…”
“I’ll make sure you’re taken care of…” Caelum pulled her closer. “Just tell me everything you want.”
“I have a list.” She said with a secretive grin.
Lifting a brow, he asked, “Do you now?”
“I’ve been making it for a long time, and I’ve read a lot of books.”
“About what?”
“Lots of things…”
His hand tightened on her waist. “Maybe you can tell me about some of them tonight?”
“Okay…”
Caelum reluctantly retrieved the lunch leftovers and headed to the door. Watching him go, Leslie gave him a soft wave, before he walked out and closed the door behind him. She moved slowly to her seat, and sat with a sigh.
“Oh, Caelum…”
She couldn’t believe that he’d brought her lunch, prepared by his family…and when he’d held her in his arms, she’d never wanted to leave. In fact, she couldn’t wait to be in his arms again. Caelum had invited her out with his friends, and that had scared Leslie.