Princess For Them

by Kelsey Blaine

  She had called him when he had been racking his brain on who he could call to go pick up Jason, and her voice had sounded so sweet on the phone, asking him if he was going to make it to pick Jason up or if she should take him home until he was available. Joseph would never let anybody he didn’t know take his boy home, especially not a woman who ogled him through her classroom window every morning when he came to drop Jason off, but he hadn’t had a choice.

  He was convinced that she was just like every other single woman in the school, looking for a man to trap into marriage, and he would have said no to her offer if there had been any other possible solution that didn’t leave his boy unhappy, at least Jason was fond of her, that had to count for something.

  So that was why, hours after talking to her and agreeing that she take his son home, he was racing through New York traffic, on his way to Ms. Skye’s house.

  Ten minutes later Joseph was knocking at her door and praying to God that this would be a fast exchange, he didn’t want to be invited in for a drink, or for her to be all caring towards him. He knew the drill, he knew how these women wrapped their little claws around a single man, and Joseph wasn’t interested in any of it, and he was especially too tired tonight to be polite if she tried anything.

  “Hi.” She opened the door with a smile on her face. Her appearance took him by surprise, he was used to seeing her with her hair in a tight chignon behind her head, but at that moment she had it flowing down her shoulders, in disarray, tiny springy hair dyed blonde at the tips that gave her a sensual fierce look. She had on a red silk night dress that barely reached her knees and was covered by a dress robe that made naked images of her instantly flash through his mind. Bloodshot down south and his pants suddenly became too tight on him.

  “Oh…Hi,” Joseph said, struggling to regain his train of thought. “Ms. Skye?” he asked, unsure for a second that this was the same woman he had seen in the morning peeping through the window.

  “Yes, you must be Jason’s Dad.” She smiled at him. She was a beautiful woman, he wasn’t going to deny that fact. He hadn’t paid much attention to her the number of times he had seen her in Jason’s school, but looking at her now, he felt like a teenage boy.

  “Yea,” he stammered. “I am Jason’s Dad.”

  “Great, let me go get him,” she said, closing the door right in his face before he could take a step in to follow her. How rude was she to do such a thing, what happened to being hospitable? Wasn’t she supposed to usher him in and offer him a drink? Where was the seduction he had prepped himself to not fall into? She didn’t seem remotely interested in him, and that suddenly made her intriguing to Joseph, something that hadn’t happened to him since Maggie. He was interested in a woman, interested in this woman. He wanted to know what caught her interest, what she gave her time and effort to, he wanted to know what made her scream in passion and cry in pain.

  “Here you go,” she said as she came back to the door, Jason sleeping peacefully in her arms.

  “Thank you.” Joseph took him from her hands, noting that Jason even in his sleep state was holding on tight and not letting go of Ms. Skye.

  “No worries,” she said, noting his observation and misreading it for something else. “I gave him some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.”

  “You fed him?” Joseph was surprised, Jason usually never ate food not prepared by him or by a family member that he knew, not even when they went out to eat, and he had to at least touch the food before his little boy ate it.

  “Don’t worry, it was vegan,” she hurriedly added, again mistaking his inquiry for concern on the type of food given to his boy. Could she stop trying to be a mind reader for one minute and let him voice any concern he may have without her assuming?

  “Vegan spaghetti?”

  “And cruelty-free meatballs,” she added brightly at him. He didn’t know if she was happy that the cows used to make the meatballs she had just eaten were killed with love, or if she was teasing him and they were made from Tofu. It sounded silly either way to his ears.

  “Well thank you then.” Jason made to leave, this was the last chance for her to ask him to come in for a nightcap he thought, if she had been waiting for him to make the first move, she must be recalculating her next step seeing that he hadn’t. It was the perfect time for any woman looking to get in good with a sexy doctor to do something interesting. Joseph was sure she was interested in him, all women were, and it wasn’t him being prideful, it was fact. And no woman that didn’t want a man’s attention would drab herself in such a sexy nightgown when she knew that said man was coming over to pick up his son.

  He took small steps towards his car, his son in his arms and counting to ten under his breath.

  “Wait,” she called, a wide smile spread over Joseph’s face at being right, and he found himself thinking of excuses to give her why it wouldn’t be a good idea to come in for a nightcap.

  “Yes?” he said turning back to face her, the smile disappeared from his face when he saw what she was holding.

  “You forgot his shoes.” She smiled.

  “Oh right,” Joseph said. “His shoes.”

  ***

  “Skye, do you mind spearheading this month’s parent/teachers meeting?” the principal, Mr. Monroe asked.

  “Me?” Lakisha asked nervously. “But I have never done it before,” she said. She was by her desk, and the kids were partaking in nap time, her mind was already at home where her big bed was when Mr. Monroe had walked in. How was she supposed to spearhead a PTA meeting when all she had ever done was attend it and smile at the parents, occasionally talking to them one on one about their children. She had never addressed them as a group, had in fact suffered from a very acute case of stage fright for so many years until one day she had gone to a conference about it and learned some tricks to help. She, however, hadn’t ever practiced it and didn’t know if she would spill her guts if she had to try it talking to a large group of people after such a long time of avoiding it.

  “Yes Skye, you,” Mr. Monroe was a no-nonsense principal who somehow put all the teachers on their toes without having to say anything. What was strange was that he had taken interest in her the moment she had joined the school. Lakisha felt like most times he talked to her like he was grooming her for a managerial position—the vice-principal had recently resigned as a result of relocation, and a lot of teachers had been sucking up to him to get the position—but she didn’t know for sure. “I want to see how you relate to the parents,” he finished before he walked off, his steps stiff and constrained by his plaid suit. He was a tall man with warm brown eyes and thinning gray hair, and when he walked he sometimes reminded Lakisha of Mr. Bean, if Mr. Bean was a pre-school principal who never smiled. However, he was the best boss Lakisha had ever had, and she was grateful for that every time she thought about it.

  “Ms. Skye,” one of the students whispered, jogging her out of her memory. “I want to pee pee.”

  Lakisha looked over to see Jason standing in the middle of the classroom, the blanket she had laid down for him to sleep on forgotten.

  “Oh Honey, c’mon.” She smiled at him, taking him by his hands and leading him to the other side of the room where the toilet was housed.

  Yesterday had been a fun time with the little fellow, they had made spaghetti and tofu meatballs together, and then eaten it while watching Moana. She had tried not to remember the fact that he wasn’t her child and instead enjoyed the time she had spent with him. When he had fallen asleep in her arms, she had held him tight and sang to him not wanting to let him go until his dad had come to get him.

  Jason’s dad was more handsome in person than he was from afar. He had smelled of clean soap and had had an expectant look in his eyes like he had been waiting for her to do something, Lakisha feared she let him down. However, her crush on him had been completely cleared with their encounter. Lakisha was very good at reading people based on the first impression, and the first impression she had had of Jason’s
dad was that he was a rude and ungrateful person who, it seemed to her, had felt too proud to show proper gratitude. She was aware that he probably had a lot of girls throw themselves at him and therefore felt like he didn’t need to be nice to women, but that was never an excuse, not as far as she was concerned.

  “How does Juliet do in class? She seems very timid when she has play dates.”

  “Do the other kids bully my son? He’s so incredibly shy.”

  “Has Aaron said anything yet? He just stopped talking to us.”

  “Sharon showed us the butterfly she made in class, she’s so talented, should we push her into an accelerated program?” Parents crowded around Lakisha after she was done with her presentation.

  She looked different from last night, her hair was back in its too tight bun, she had on a white chiffon shirt buttoned to her neck, and black pencil skirt. She was completely covered yet the image of her in her red silk night shirt wouldn’t leave his head. She had given a speech earlier about how the school approached education, an upcoming field trip, and some hogwash politics as far as Joseph was concerned that was aimed at suckering parents to donate some money to the school. She had sounded so confident that if not for the slight tremor of her hands he wouldn’t have guessed that she was nervous. Now she stood calmly answering parents’ questions, her voice it seemed, had the power soothe all the parents’ worries.

  When she was done, he saw her excuse herself and move towards the open door that he knew led to a hallway, and without thinking for a minute on what he was doing, Jason stood up from his perch on a desk and followed her.

  “Dr. Noel.” One of the annoying women that always ogled his butt when he walked past her, came up to him, her breasts spilling from her too tight latex dress.

  “Hello Mrs. Hart,” Joseph said, trying to be nice. He had been told that sometimes he came off as rude to some people, or that he was too short with people.

  “Please, call me Isabelle,” she smiled sensually, “and I am a Ms. Now.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Joseph said absentmindedly, not really caring about what she was saying, his thoughts were with Lakisha and where she could have gone to.

  “Oh, it's quite alright you see,” Isabella said in a low register as if trying to make her voice sexy at all costs. “We just grew apart and he could no longer satisfy me…sexually.”

  “Hmmm,” Joseph supplied, anything to get this conversation to its destination so he could be out of here.

  “I have been meaning to talk to you,” she said when she saw he wasn’t interested in knowing more about her sex life. “I have noticed some sort of hypopigmentation on my body, doctor, and I was wondering if you could take a quick look at it and put a girl’s heart to rest.” Joseph was trying to look past her to where Lakisha had exited from, but every time he moved, Isabella moved as well, putting her breasts smack dab in this direct line of sights.

  “I’m sorry Mrs. Hart, but I am a heart surgeon and not a dermatologist.” He held her firmly but gently and moved her to the side so his path was clear. “Now if you would please excuse me, I have to go.” And just like that, he hurried out of there almost like he was running.

  ***

  “Shouldn’t you be interacting with parents and finding out their needs?” the voice startled Lakisha out her thoughts and back to reality. She looked back to see Jason’s dad framing the door. Quickly she turned back to wipe her eyes, she didn’t want him to know that she had been crying.

  “Are you…crying?” he asked, his voice sounding closer as he closed the distance between them.

  “How may I help you, Dr. Noel?” she asked, turning back to face him, a false smile plastered on her face, the only thing giving her away were her red eyes.

  “Don’t try and change the subject,” he said, his tone sounding like he was talking to an old friend. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong with you?” He touched her face gently with his hands, moving it around to make sure she wasn’t physically hurt. “Tell me your symptoms, I can help,” he said. “I am a doctor.”

  “I don’t need a doctor,” she whined, trying to get away from him but he wasn’t having any of it.

  “Let me be the judge of that,” he said. “What are your symptoms?”

  “My heart.”

  “Very good, that’s my specialty,” he said, sounding confident. “How does your heart feel?” He brought out something from his back pocket. Lakisha didn’t have to turn her head too much to realize what it was when the next thing he did was to put one end in his ears and the other end on her chest.

  “My heart…” Lakisha began to sniff, tears threatening to fall again as she talked about her problems.

  “Yes, your heart dear, how does it feel?”

  For some reason him calling her dear made her heartbeat race. “My heart…” she said again, she half expected him to be impatient and exasperated with her present slowness, but when he looked up at her, all she could see in the depths of his blue eyes was a concern for her wellbeing.

  “It’s ok,” he said. “Take your time.”

  “My heart feels broken.” She burst out in tears, unable to hold the hurt in any longer. It seemed to register to Jason’s dad what she was really going through, and without any warning, he pulled her into his arms and held her there while she bawled her eyes out, no questions asked, just his ‘dear, dears’ mixing with her gentle sobbing.

  “I’m done now,” she said when she could cry no more.

  “You sure?” he asked her. “Because, I could go another round.” She laughed.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay,” he said, letting go of her. She moved away, her body instantly missing his body heat, but she disciplined herself not to reach out.

  “Wanna talk about it?” he asked softly.

  “Don’t know if I should,” she said. She had never shared it with anybody and didn’t know if she should share.

  “I’m a good listener,” he smiled at her. “Plus, I can start this sharing process if that makes you feel more comfortable.” He continued when she didn’t say anything for a few minutes.

  “How do you want to start?” she asked, her curiosity peaked.

  “Well, I’m gonna tell you the reason I cried the last time I cried, and then you can tell me the reason you cried the last time you cried, deal?”

  “Deal,” she chuckled.

  “This is an embarrassing story,” he said prepping up. “Promise not to laugh.”

  “That’s not a promise I think I can keep,” Lakisha said already laughing. Jason’s dad was friendlier than he had been the last time they had been together, she didn’t know what it was but she felt very comfortable in his presence.

  “Very well. The last time I cried it was because the tooth fairy stole from me.”

  “What?”

  “True story. She took my teeth from under my pillow and didn’t pay for it.” He looked so serious, Lakisha began to laugh again.

  “It's not funny,” he said, infusing feigned hurt into his voice. “You promised that you wouldn’t laugh.”

  “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. It’s the least of what I expected.”

  “What did you expect?” he asked as he closed the gap between them, his voice was a very low register.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered. She didn’t know why her heart was beating faster all of a sudden, maybe she really did have a heart problem and he needed to put that stethoscope back on and check her. Her palms got sweaty and she didn’t want to think about the other part of her body, a part that hadn’t been touched in a very long time, that was throbbing expectantly. “Definitely not that though.”

  She willed her mind to stay on course as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. He was so close to her, she was sure he was going to close the gap and join their lips, but that was something that wasn’t supposed to happen. She didn’t have a crush on him anymore, the other night had proven that he was no gentleman, right? So why was she having all the symptoms of a deep
physical attraction to him?

  “Well,” he said, his breath soft whispers on her skin. “I have shown you mine, show me yours.” His palm came up to slowly caress her cheek, so casually like they were having a normal conversation and there was no sexual tension filling the room.

  “I...umm...” she said.

  “Yes?” His thumb was playing with her bottom lip now.

  “I can’t, umm…”

  “Go on.” He brushed his palms against her already hard nipples, through the blouse that she had on, so slightly but Lakisha felt it all the way down to her pussy.

  “I can’t have, umm…”

  “Tell me what is breaking your heart Ms. Skye.” His lips were a hair's breadth away from hers. “Let me take the hurt away.

  “I can’t have children,” she blurted out, revealing a secret that not even her parents knew about. “It's my fault that I can’t have children and I love them so much,” she said, all in one breath. “There, my sob story. Happy?”

  “No.” And then his lips came down crashing on hers, hard.

  ***

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said as he let go of her lips finally to trail tiny kisses on her neck.

  “Why not?” His breath was hot on her neck, sweet sensations like she had never felt before.

  “Because I could get in trouble for this.” How could something so good be so wrong? His lips were taking away every pain she had been feeling only minutes ago after being surrounded by parents that loved their children. She had been jealous of the love and care that they felt knowing that she would never get to feel that way about any child she bore herself. It was one thing to be barren, but another thing to live with the realization that she was the reason for her barrenness, that she had been stupid and would forever pay the consequences for the rest of her life.