by Ayo Campbell
Then, one of them stirred, just a little. And then the other responded, while one shifted – and then Vanessa was facing Justin, his arms around her, her hands on his chest. Then she took a breath, reached up, and removed his sunglasses. A small smile flicked across his lips, and she smiled back. And when their lips brushed, Vanessa felt that stirring in her ignite, and though she felt so very confused, she melted as he took over, willingly and eagerly kissing back.
The taxi driver sat quiet.
Like any woman or girl who had just experienced a surprise, and yet not unpleasant first kiss, Vanessa floated to her bedroom. She was aglow inside with a feeling that she didn’t understand.
She had never really been in love. She had been in hope a few times, but those relationships let her down hard, and so when she landed at Tula’s, she brought with her no expectations nor desires. And while opportunities had come her way, she never felt as though a dishwasher aspiring to be a waitress could have brought much to any relationship.
The customers she had seen in the club, and at Kitty’s, were people who had established something; they had made their way and so were making plans with another. What plans could she have made with anyone? And so, while she had her fun, she avoided entanglements.
But that night, as she lay her head on her pillow, she wasn’t thinking of accomplishments or plans. She was alive and wiggly inside with a sort of strange thrill that she couldn’t understand, but liked – and she thought it would be nice to keep feeling that way.
The next morning, however, with the clarity of dawn, she felt – different. She didn’t want to think about the kiss. So, she went through her morning with an air of confidence.
The Thursday morning breakfasts were so pleasant for her. This time, she went about the room meeting the children and chatting with them. She expected, as it had been that last Thursday morning, Justin wouldn’t be there. But he was. He glanced up, nodded, and then went back to his crossword. Vanessa couldn’t help but freeze when she saw him. Then Collie burst out laughing, and ran to the kitchen, calling out, “Hey, Bootsy! You win!”
At first Vanessa was mortified. But then she caught herself. She refused to fall into such high school antics, and so she grabbed the coffee pot, filled her cup, and then filled Justin’s. She leaned across the counter, studying is puzzle. He glanced up at her. A small flick of a smile crossed his face, and then he turned the paper so that she could see.
“Twelve down,” she said, “transform.”
That next Wednesday at the club, Kitty actually sat at their table with a drink in her hands.
“So, guys,” she began. “I want to invite you to a party.”
“A party?” Vanessa said.
“Yeah. A kind of Boston coming-out party. See, I got this vocalist coming to town next Saturday, Kelly Fadden?”
Vanessa thought a moment, then shook her head.
“She burned up Kansas City and Baltimore,” Kitty said, “and she is on her way to The City, by way of here. She is hot, and I got her. So, I want to give her the best chance. Jazz Review and Offbeat are sending reviewers, and I want to give this girl a sophisticated audience, so I’m inviting real people only. I don’t want any of those trendy hipsters who couldn’t tell Ella from Billie. I want people who know the scene – the jazz scene I mean. Say that you’ll come.”
“But,” Justin said. “I don’t even know who Ella and Billie are.”
“That’s okay,” Kitty said. “You’re cute, and your girlfriend’s in the groove. Say that you’ll come. There’s going to be a swell after-party.”
“Oh, Kitty,” Vanessa said, clutching the woman’s hand and beaming. “We’ll come. We’ll both come.”
Vanessa floated through the rest of that evening. She was where she needed to be. She was in with Kitty, and she knew that she’d have her sympathetic ear. She also knew that it was, in part, because of her consigliore’s wise council. And so, as soon as the house went down for the second set, Vanessa kissed Justin, right then and there at the table.
They snuggled the whole cab ride to Roxy’s, and after their good-night kiss that was a kiss that felt as if it were only natural, Vanessa paused, looked at Justin, and then, feeling that she could do no wrong that night, she took his hand
“It’s not much,” she said, scanning her tiny bedroom and the single bed.
“I don’t care,” he said, simply.
She walked to him. Her chocolate flesh gleamed in the street lights filtering through the shades.
Justin said nothing. He took her firmly by the waist and kissed her as he had kissed her in the cab; strong, commanding, and firm. Vanessa felt herself melting. His hands against her slim waist were strong and rough as he pulled her to him. His chest was so taught and so warm. His tongue in her mouth knew where to probe. She felt his arms were like tree trunks that could bend and wrap. His hands began exploring her; her back, her thighs, her rear. She tingled at his touch, feeling goose bumps sprout all over her body.
She broke the kiss and wrestled open his shirt. She was overwhelmed by his strong odor of sweat and work, but in that odor she found something so foreign and so enthralling. She inhaled deep. His hairy chest was sculpted. She attacked it, licking and kissing and nibbling his man-nips. His hands glided up her flanks, along her ribs and along the sides of her breasts. He held her there and she felt her own nipples stiffen. His hands roamed up along and behind her neck. He undid the clasp and then her halter fell away like water.
She licked up to his mouth and kissed him again, long and hard. He cupped her breasts sending shivers through her, as her hands explored his chest, his sides, his oh so firm butt, until she reached around with one hand to his crotch.
Then she smiled and pulled away from the kiss staring him deep in his eyes. The warm, stiffening thing she held through his slacks felt so real. She looked at him. He grinned. She stroked the hard thing and it grew.
“Oh my,” she breathed then giggled. “Oh baby.”
“Will this do?” He grinned. “It’s all natural.”
“Oh yeah,” she said, taking a breath. “Oh yeahhhhh.”
Suddenly, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He placed her in the center then stepped away. Vanessa’s breath began coming quickly as she watched him undress. His was long and a little thick, and he was only halfway there. She quickly fumbled off her dress.
Then he was naked. He crawled onto the bed and knelt between her eagerly open thighs. He leaned forward and she grabbed the monster and guided it between her moistening lips. He lay on top of her and entered her all at once, slowly yet so firmly. Vanessa cried out in bliss as his thing pushed aside the walls and he slid deeper and deeper into her, so wet and so willing.
She wrapped her thighs around his as if to pull him in as deep as she could. She arched her back as he began to kiss her neck. His firm chest against her tender breasts sent a new rush through her loins. The man could easily crush her and she felt suddenly so small and vulnerable.
But he didn’t crush her. He held her as if she were a Dresden doll. And yet every inch of his body that pressed against hers felt as if it were one massive muscle rippling and flowing across her delicate flesh. Then he began to thrust and she sighed in bliss.
He was strong but in control. He started her slowly and Vanessa shuddered as her walls closed as his dick slid away. He teased her lips with his swelling knob, and when she pulled him back to her, he plunged inside and her pussy parted, every nerve ending inside beginning to catch fire.
He was hard and hot, and her juices were oozing as he began thrusting in and out. Her insides slicked, and she tightened herself to wrap around him. He sighed and smiled and kissed her long and deep.
He caressed her breast with one hand. Her flesh and nipple were electrified by his calluses. He was so rough and so hard. She had been with athletes before, but they were nothing like this man. Unlike those pretty gym bodies, Justin’s body and muscles and flesh felt as if they had been sculpted by years of hard labo
r, and now those years of hard labor were delighting in her, and delighting her most wonderfully.
He moved to suckle her breast and she shivered. He began thrusting faster and she clutched him and moaned aloud. They found each other’s rhythm. He was so thick inside of her. Her clit swelled, and he seemed to know because he shifted just so, so that when he rammed her his pelvis mashed her hood. Vanessa wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight and pressing herself against him. She was in a sweat. He nibbled and sucked her nipple and she wailed.
They began to go at it like animals. But he was a sly one; he would bring her close to the edge then back off, bring her near again and then ease away. He did that over and over and over, each time bringing her closer.
He was oozing, and she knew that he was holding himself back. She cried out and began to thrust and meet him, clutching his cock with her pussy as hard as she could. He began grunting as he pounded her, and each new plunge made delightfully gross, slopping sounds. Still she clutched him with her arms and her legs and her pussy and fucked him back for all he was worth.
Vanessa had never been very vocal in bed, but in Justin’s arms, she was a mass of gasps and moans and cries until at last, when he near forced her to her climax, she was screaming in ecstasy. He was so thick that the damned thing would tickle her clit as he rammed her. She felt wave after way of bliss as he guided her through the longest orgasm of her life.
He was still rock hard, moving in her slowly as she lay panting clutching him close to her with her arms, her legs wrapped around his thighs as though to pull him deeper.
But to her delighted surprise, he was nowhere near finished. She was amazed that he had such stamina. He lay back and she knew what he wanted. She got on top of him guiding him slowly into her. She took over. She rode him hard, squeezing him with her pussy, her own juices dripping out of her as she nailed him. He lay smiling, gazing at her. She gave him a show. She played and mauled her breasts for him, even pulling first one then the other to her mouth and licking her own nipples.
And when he finally let loose, he was deep inside of her and he shot a gallon and her pussy filled with his lovely, slimy goo. She collapsed on top of him, still thrusting and humping. They kissed as lovers kiss. They lay a while, an exhausted, tangled mass of sweat and cum.
After she caught her breath, Vanessa went down and licked him clean. But that simply made him hard again, and to her joy they went around and around again. It was nearly four in the morning before they were both spent.
“Oh wow,” she sighed.
Chapter 6
In the morning, Vanessa woke to Justin lying by her, simply staring at her with his enigmatic blank expression. She sighed deeply, her chest heaving. He gently caressed her breast. Their lips met. The spoke no words as they slowly caressed and made love once again.
As Vanessa was drifting back down from her cloud, Justin slipped away. She listened to him shower. Then he dressed, and stole away. From the diner, she heard the coffee machine working, but by the time she had washed and went to the counter, still naked, he was gone. They had never said a word.
She wasn’t confused. She didn’t regret, nor was she excited. She didn’t think about the experience. She was a satisfied woman who simply wanted to be alone with a hot cup of coffee and absorb and enjoy the sensation of being a satisfied woman. She took her mug and went back to her apartment, curled up on the settee, and gazed out at the growing dawn through the bars of the windows.
She heard Bootsy and Collie open the diner and fire up the kitchen. In time, another busload of children invaded. She let the noise of the controlled chaos wash over and warm her as she sipped. She waited until well after the children were gone before she dressed and went to have her breakfast.
“So,” Collie said, warming her coffee, “how’d it go last night?”
“It went well,” Vanessa said. “Kitty invited us to a private show next Saturday night.”
“Us?”
“Justin and me. We’re gonna need to find us a dishwasher.”
“I wish I’d have know that when the kids were here,” Collie said. “One of the kitchen aids is real good with the machine – can’t cook for shit, but he’s a mean dishwasher.”
Justin was back that afternoon for his coffee. Vanessa was a little amazed that she didn’t blush when she saw him, but then she began to realize that she was seeing him as two different men; there was the scruffy Justin who haunted her diner and made snide comments, and then there was the classy Justin who took her to Miss Kitty’s and – and with whom she had made love, and liked it.
And it seemed that Justin’s mind was working that way also. He never gave her any sideway glances, he never made suggestive comments, and he never looked at her as a man who had been naked with her would have. He didn’t have that air of conquest, and he never gave her any sort of knowing look. He just chatted about the news, the weather, and the Red Sox. And, as far as Bootsy and Collie were concerned, the two were just Wednesday night Jazz Club friends who were looking for a way to talk with Kitty.
So, the week went. The weekend was a crush, and the cash they took in was substantial, but then so were the bills. Again, that Saturday night, Vanessa had enough left over to pay Bootsy and Collie, and give herself a very small something. She wondered how her mother had eked by so many years like that, and yet still amassed the small fortune that she had.
Sunday was slow, and so she closed early. She flopped in front of her television, feeling her wet belly and thinking how she so wanted to get out of it all. She had an appointment with Arty that next morning, and she reminded herself to ask him about helping her find a new manager.
It was after eleven, and she was debating if she really wanted to watch the news, when she heard the bell over the door jingle. She froze. She thought first that Bootsy or Collie had forgotten something, but then she heard more than one set of footsteps.
Her eyes darted about her room. The only land-line in the building was in the kitchen, and her cell was in her purse in the office. She looked to the window, but the bars that had made her feel so secure keeping the night out now kept her in. There were no locks on any of the inside doors, so she knew that she had no choice but to confront whoever it was. Slowly, quietly, carefully, she got the baseball bat from under her bed, and then crept to the office. The door to the diner was open, and she saw a man standing in the darkness, just looking around. She sprang into the room and snapped on the lights, bat at the ready.
“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded.
He was average height, white, a little stocky, and wore a trench-coat. He had dark hair cut short, and he looked pale. He turned to her and grinned.
“You must be Momma Ellen’s girl,” the man said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I asked, who the hell are you?”
Vanessa raised the bat, then saw the other two. They were much younger, dressed in jeans. One had a denim jacket, the other was in leather. They both wore dark glasses and sneers.
“It’s okay,” the man said. “My name’s Jake. I was a business associate of your mother’s. You are Ellen’s daughter?”
“I am. What kind of business?”
“Financial – oh, would you put that silly thing down, please. I’m just here to talk with you.”
“Talk about what?” she said, still holding the bat at the ready.
“I do not like to talk while under threat,” Jake said, shaking his head. “Gentlemen.”
Two nine millimeter pistols were pointed at her.
“What the fuck do you want?” she shouted, not backing down.
“I gotta say, you got spunk,” Jake said. “So, we play it your way. If that hunk of wood makes you feel more comfortable, so be it.”
He made a motion, and the guns went away, but the thug’s sneers had turned to grins. Jake held up his hands as if in surrender, then went behind the counter.
“What I want,” he said, drawing himself a soda. “Is what I’m owed. You see, Momma El
len and I had an arrangement; I would help her along when times got rough, and she would pay me back, little by little, every Sunday night. The problem is, I’ve been out of town a while. Missed your mother’s funeral. So sorry about that.”
The boys chuckled, hands deep in their pockets. Jake sat with his soda at a table.
“How’d you get in here?” Vanessa asked.
“I got keys,” Jake said. “So, anyway, while I was gone, your mother’s reimbursements added up, along with interest. Aren’t your arms starting to hurt?”
“My mother would never take money from some low-life loan shark.”
Jake reached into an inside pocket. Vanessa raised the bat. The man worked slow. He pulled out a sheet of paper, opened it, and laid it on the table. Vanessa glanced. It was some kind of ledger.
“Your Momma was a meticulous bookkeeper,” Jake said. “If you match that up with your mother’s accounting, you’ll see the history of my loans. Take it. That’s yours.”
Vanessa’s heart raced. She remembered the odd deposits in the ledger. She thought quickly about how much she had stashed. She was prepared to hand it all over to avoid a broken kneecap – or worse. But she wasn’t going to just cave.
“Any business you had with my mother,” she said. “Is over. You want to make a claim against her estate, probate court is on New Chardon Street.”
All three intruders burst out laughing.
“You don’t understand,” Jake said. “My business was with Roxy’s. Everything that I gave her was like an investment in this diner, and now I seek a return on that investment, as per agreement. Now, you, as the diner’s proprietor are responsible for that return. Now, I’m a fair man–”
“How much?”
“I know that I caught you off guard here. I’m sure that you’ll want to compare my notes with your Momma’s records, then you’ll need some time to come up with what I am owed.”
“How much?”
“Ten thousand.”
Vanessa’s stomach dropped.