Man counted backwards from ten, and when he reached one, he heard the full weight of an unconscious body collapsing into the mattress.
“Works like a charm every time,” Man said as he slid from under the bed. “Dammit!”
Roger hadn’t dusted or swept under his bed in what looked like forever as Man found himself covered in grey powder, dust balls, and lint. Now, I need a shower.
Covering Roger with a blanket, he stripped down and took his time with a hot shower before he changed into the slacks he’d bought at the store. The shirt he’d purchased didn’t fit as well as he would have liked, leading him to check out Roger’s closet. He found a nice green shirt with a coordinating tie. The man scrutinized himself in the mirror.
“Snazzy,” he said with a smile.
One last glance at the sleeping Roger, who was out for the night, filled him with a sense of foreboding. Not only was he talking to the package, he was planning to open it as well. This was totally out of the norm, but Shanice Olleh awoke something in him that felt light. It had been a long time since the weight of his existence felt buoyant. He felt light.
Another look at the poor sap on the bed was given before he gathered his things. Roger would wake up in the morning with one hell of a headache followed by a bought of explosive diarrhea. Some water and electrolytes, the jerk would be right as rain by Monday morning. He took the car keys, the flowers, chocolates, and Roger’s cell phone. As a precaution, he cut the land line from the outside. It appeared that Roger was also taking some precautions as Man spotted the box of condoms.
“Better safe that worried,” he said as he took three and saved them in his backpack.
What are you doing Man?
He wasn’t certain. All day, he had been driven by some force leading him to this night. Earlier, when he arrived at the bookstore, he’d spotted Shanice getting a box out of her car. He’d gone to cut the brake lines, so she would crash into a pole coming down the hill near her apartment. It would make it easier to fulfill the order with little to no issues. However, after seeing her up close with those fantastic brown eyes, he changed his mind and disabled the car. She wouldn’t be able to drive it at all tonight.
You never talk to the contract.
You never talk to the contract.
You never talk to the contract.
“Oh, shut up!” he told his inner voice. Man wanted to do more than talk to the contract. He wanted her. The desire to have her was so strong that he hoped, almost prayed, that she would say something stupid, which would kill his desire to spend the night in her arms.
He was wrong.
Oh so wrong.
Shanice walked into the Bistro wearing a dress that inserted a key and turned on all the lights in the ballpark. He found himself standing on the pitcher’s mound, ready to play ball. Please be stupid. Please be stupid. Please be stupid.
“Roger?” She said with uncertainty.
“Shanice,” he responded, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. The bouquet of flowers wedged between them like a cautionary barrier keeping their bodies from touching. “These are for you.”
“Oh, they are lovely and refreshing. Men don’t do this type of thing much anymore. It is nice to see chivalry is still alive,” she said with a smile.
Her smile was so bright, it loosened three of the buckles strapping down his heart. His heartbeat picked up, he felt nervous and excited. It had been a long time since Man had been excited about anything; not even a job in a public place.
“Shanice, the menu here is limited. I am more than willing to take you for a decent meal. I’ve also had the coffee here. What you guys sell in the bookstore is far superior to the cup of Joe she serves,” Man, now pretending to be Roger and assuming his name, said to her.
“That is sweet, but...,”
“I tell you what. You pick the place, drive your car over there to meet me, and I treat you to dinner,” he said to her. Knowing the car was disabled, he wanted to allow her the feeling of being in control of the evening. To a certain extent, she would be with the final decision being in her court later tonight. He just planned to do everything in his power to ensure the balls were in her hands as well.
Her forehead furrowed when she looked into his eyes.
“You!” She exclaimed.
His eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?” he said.
“You were in the bookstore earlier. I remember those eyes. I looked up, and you were gone. What were you doing, checking me out before our date?”
Man smiled sheepishly answering, “Yes, I was actually. Forgive me, but I was curious about what type of woman would consent to a blind date in this day and age.”
“You thought I had a big crooked nose with bad skin and no personality?” she asked him.
“I didn’t know what to expect Shanice. If I can be honest, when I saw you, my heart actually skipped a beat. Even now, it is hammering in my chest just being this close to you,” he told her. “Here, feel.”
Grabbing her hand, his warm fingers enclosed over hers, raised her hand to his chest, and placed it over his rapidly beating heart. The rapid thudding against her fingertips made her heart almost match the rhythm of his. She looked up into those blue eyes as they pulled her in.
“You are dangerous. I can feel an element of endangerment all around you. Warning bells are shooting off in my head, yet I haven’t moved from this spot,” she whispered.
Warning bells were going off inside his as well. If Janie decided to walk across the street to check on them, he would be screwed. He wanted...no needed this evening with Shanice. And I am going to have it.
“Shanice, you are right. You are in danger with a man like me, but I am in jeopardy as well with a woman like you stealing my heart. So, I guess we are the pair,” he said with a smile.
She squinted her eyes.
“You are good,” she said to him.
“My lady, you have no idea,” Man said with a grin. “Let’s get out of here. Go get a fancy dinner, have a great conversation, maybe a couple glasses of wine, and enjoy each other’s company.”
“Okay,” she told him. “Let’s do it.”
Her heart too was running amok right along with her thoughts as she crossed the street to the parking lot beside the bookstore. For a second, she briefly considered calling Janie to let her know the plans had changed, but Janie was too nosey for either of their comforts. Besides, if the evening went well, who knows?
Chapter 5- Dinner and a Show
Shanice chose The Innkeeper’s Lantern for dinner. A good meal and a decent bottle of wine could be indulged for a reasonable price without breaking the bank. She liked to come here on the evenings Rocky would have a sleep over at a friend’s house. The grilled chicken was perfection, the steaks were even better, and on occasion, a nice piece of fish was perfectly pleasing to the palate. Coming here was a rarity, but she often would forgo many things to treat herself to a night out once a quarter.
She almost decided against going when her car wouldn’t start.
“Let me take a look,” Man said to her, doing a good job pretending to be Roger.
He got the vehicle started but quickly pointed to the dampness on the ground. This portion of his plan had to move fast before Janie came outside. He held his stomach.
“Shanice, leave it. We can call a repair shop in the morning. I don’t feel at ease with you driving that tonight. Ride with me. You can call a friend from the restaurant to give you a lift home if you aren’t comfortable with me driving you to your place after dinner. But right now, I am starving,” he told her.
She could almost see Sugar Bear pointing her finger at her for getting in his cute little convertible. I need this evening. I want this evening.
“Works for me,” she said as he escorted her over to the little red convertible, opened the door then placed the flowers and chocolates on her lap. He looked cool and relaxed behind the driver’s seat as he put the car into gear, giving her a wink as they sped off down the road. He made a l
eft on Butcher, a right onto Baker, driving up Candlestick until he reached the eatery on the outskirts of town.
“This is interesting,” he said to her eyeing the old brick building.
“It is a historical building that’s been here since before the civil war. It was used during the Underground Railroad as a landmark for slaves fleeing to the north. If the Innkeeper’s Lantern was not burning, the slaves knew it was not safe to come to the building,” Shanice told him.
Man extended his arm for escort as they walked into the building, which surprisingly was extremely modern inside.
“What happened if the lantern was burning?”
“If the lantern was lit, the fleers would come around the back of the building into the store room to rest, change clothing, get shoes, and bit of bread to carry them further. Believe it or not, still to this day, this place maintains a clothing drive for the less fortunate,” she said with a smile.
She isn’t stupid.
“How do you know all of this?” He asked her as they took a seat at their table.
“Well...” she said with a cock of her head. “Today was my last day of class. I am officially done with college. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in History today.”
“Congrats,” Man said to her. “We should celebrate this milestone in your life.” Calling over the waiter, he ordered a bottle of wine.
He was too smooth.
It was too easy.
Too convenient.
Her car.
Riding with him.
It was just too...much.
“So, tell me, how do you know Janie?” She asked him with an uneasiness creeping up her leg under her dress.
“I am not on a date with Janie. Therefore, I don’t want to spend my time with you, talking about her. She is a friend, nothing more, nothing less. I met her in the hardware store where she was buying some bulbs for the bookstore. I told her about my trip to Holland. We struck up a conversation on various bulbs. She and her husband have dinner on Friday nights with my cousin Orlando, which is how we actually know each other,” he told her.
That portion was true. He learned that today listening to the actual Roger talk to his cousin in the hardware store.
“Oh, so what do you want to talk about?” Shanice asked.
The waiter returned with the wine, took their dinner orders as she waited for his answer.
“You,” he said flatly.
“Me? There is nothing to talk about,” she told him.
“A fine-looking woman like you consented to a blind date. That’s a story right there,” Man said to her.
“No story. I have lousy taste in men. I played high school sports and spent time with too many women to ever believe that was a viable option for romance. So instead, I educated myself, took a job in a bookstore to keep a roof over my head, and when I looked up, five years had gone by,” Shanice told him. Intentionally, she omitted the part about Rocky. It seemed that Janie had as well.
“So, you have been hiding out in small town Americana for five years? It must get lonely,” he said to her.
“No, not at all. Ethan is my cousin, so I have family here. I love my job and thought about starting the Master’s program in Library Science at Valdosta State in the Fall,” she said with that same look she gave him in the book store.
Forget dinner. Let’s just go to your place.
“I heard that,” she told him.
Did I say it out loud?
“No, you didn’t. I read it on your face. I can also read that you are hiding something,” she said to him.
Rule of thumb in his line of work was to stick as close to the truth as he possibly could. The more he talked to Shanice, the more he liked her. He also enjoyed her directness. It was refreshing to the normal cat and mouse games women liked to play with him, not knowing that he was a lion, and they never had a chance.
“I haven’t dated in a while either, which is why I agreed to this evening. If you think I am hiding something, it is because I am trying desperately to not come across as that guy who wants to jump your bones,” Man said as honest as he could.
Her eyebrow arched, “do you?”
“Do I what?” He asked, watching the waiter bring their food.
“Is that your plan? Give me food and wine, provide me a ride home, make an excuse to come in to use the bathroom, then put on the seduction routine?” She wanted to know.
“No, not at all,” he said to her.
Shanice thanked the waiter for dinner as he placed it before her on the table. She extended her hands and asked for his. As she took hold of his hands, she bowed her head and blessed the meal. Man still held her hands when she finished. The feel of them inside of his own warmed the coldness which forcibly settled into his insides years ago.
“Shanice, my plan is more direct and participatory. My idea is to give you a ride home and kiss you so thoroughly in my car that your legs buckle when you stand up. Before you even leave the sidewalk, I will kiss you again. This time, I will hold you so close that you will melt into me, cling to my shirt, and almost beg me for more. Finally, being the gentleman that I am, I will walk you to your door and kiss you one last time on the cheek,” his expression was so direct, as to leave no stone unturned.
“That’s it? What happens next in this little story of yours?” she wondered while trying to keep her heart from exploding out of her chest.
“I don’t know. Let’s get to your front door, then I will let you decide how my little tale ends,” he said with a grin as he cut into his steak.
“You are good,” she said with a smile.
“Again, you have no idea,” he told her.
“Oh, I am getting the picture,” she said.
“Good,” Man said to her as they finished the meal. He may have been a bad man, but he wasn’t a bad person. They were both adults. She needed what he had, and he was more than happy to share every inch of it with her. The terms for her to surrender to the idea had to be put on the table first, giving her time to decide how she wanted to play along. He didn’t care if she wanted to play hard to get, he’d go along with it to a point.
All he wanted was a night with her. To drown in her eyes. To come alive in her arms. To sleep beside her warmth. To feel...wanted. She makes me feel wanted. I like that about her.
Shanice eyed the man closely. He was good-looking, but that little niggling feeling at the back of neck made her question her judgment. Her judgment wasn’t talking to her... something else was. Five years is a long time without the touch of a man. This man wanted to touch her. He even said so. He put it out there, even telling her how he planned to approach it, to give her the option of saying no or to avoid the situation all together.
I like that. No pretense.
The thing she liked most about him was that he wasn’t in an immediate hurry to rush through dinner. The conversation was light as he talked to her about his foray into amateur photography. She spoke with him about butterflies and her love of them, but not catching or pinning them to boards on display. Knowing enough about insects from the decomposition of remains, he was able to chat with her with some knowledge without coming across as a total egghead, although Roger was some sort of science professor. They even shared a dessert and after dinner coffee.
The subject of calling a friend to come pick her up for a ride home never entered the conversation. She offered to leave the tip since “Roger” paid for dinner with a card, leaving a generous tip himself. A lively discussion continued as he argued with her on the benefits of living in a rural area over a small town as he drove her home. Shanice provided directions to her apartment as she argued back with him on the benefits of small town businesses contributing to the stability of the middle class. He pulled the convertible into her parking space, took a moment to let the top up while he countered her argument that small town businesses only contributed to the small town in which they were housed.
“Why are you letting up the top? Are we expecting rain?” She wanted to kno
w.
“I don’t want the prying eyes of your neighbors seeing us when I kiss you goodnight,” he clarified with a smoldering in his eyes.
“Sorry, but I don’t kiss or do anything else on a first date,” she boldly lectured.
“Neither do I,” Man said as he reached for her, pulling her towards the console, and allowed it to become a wedge between them. He leaned in, just enough for their mouths to almost touch, and waited for her to come the rest of the way. Her lips were soft as they made contact with his, her mouth opened slightly as his tongue slipped inside, gently touching hers. Shanice moaned a little as he deepened the kiss while his hands remained immobile on the console.
Man stopped kissing her and leaned over to the back seat to grab his backpack. In a flash, he was out of his door and around the side of the car, taking her by the hand to help her out of the low slung red vehicle. He also grabbed the chocolates and flowers. The building wasn’t very well lit, which worked in his favor as he moved them to the shadows. Shanice never had a chance to speak as he pulled her body close to his, feeling the powerful, muscled body against her own. He felt like a long-lost soldier finding his way home as strong arms held her tight as he kissed her again, this time more passionately.
Leaning into him, she didn’t want the kiss to end. Greedy hands grabbed at his shirt and clung to the man she barely knew. Her mouth came at him, kissed him back hungrily, getting closer with each deepening of the kiss, and felt his desire for her.
“You are good,” she mumbled into his mouth.
“Yes. Yes, I am,” he said planting a feathery light kiss on her cheek. The backpack dangled from his arm.
Blind Date (Venture, Georgia Book 3) Page 3