Love in the Lineup

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  As quickly as he’d appeared, Angel was suddenly gone, disappearing stealthlike beneath the pool’s deep warm flow. Roshawn shivered at the loss of his touch, spinning herself in a circle to see where he might appear next. She continued to kick her legs slowly, her arms fluttering in sync to keep her afloat. Just as a wave of nervous anxiety swept through her, Angel resurfaced behind her, clasping her tightly around the waist as he pushed her toward the side of the pool. Grasping the pool’s edge, Roshawn panted her excitement as Angel pressed his body against hers, his chest brushing powerfully against her back and buttocks.

  Angel reached round to kiss her mouth, pulling her head back against his chest as his lips moved feverishly against hers. Roshawn lost all sense of presence, feeling as if every inch of her flesh, every fiber of muscle, every drop of her blood was swimming in pure ecstasy. He leaned her forward, his mouth moving against the back of her neck, his tongue licking the moisture from her shoulders as she moaned with pure pleasure. As he pressed his hand against her, his fingers dancing intimately between her thighs, he took her from behind, his rigid body moving urgently against hers. The sensations raging through them both were intense, waves of lust and pleasure coming in a maddening rush before both dropped beneath the blanket of water, allowing it to swirl around them.

  As the sun lifted slowly in the morning sky, Maria looked out the rear door, her head waving from side to side, her eyes rolling in disbelief. Searching a closet in the laundry room she found two lightweight blankets and pulled them from an upper shelf. Easing quietly outside she smiled down on the sleeping couple, their naked bodies curled closely together against a cushioned patio chair, Roshawn’s head against his chest, Angel’s arms embracing her tightly. Dropping both blankets around them, she reached for the clothes discarded on the other side of the pool, and headed back inside. Breakfast would soon need to be ready and there was much she had to do to prepare the lovers for their return trip back to the United States.

  * * *

  He could hear the two women laughing easily together. He and Roshawn had only been a touch embarrassed when they’d been awakened from their sleep to find that Maria had found them exposed, covering their nakedness as they’d slept. Together they’d gone inside the home, trying to tiptoe toward the back stairs and Maria had called out to them, announcing that breakfast was on the table and they would be late for the airport if they didn’t soon get a move on it. She had chided them playfully, then had gone about her daily chores humming happily. And now she and Roshawn were laughing and giggling like they’d known each other their whole lifetimes.

  He had called his father only to discover that the old man had been given frequent updates since Roshawn’s arrival. Maria had called him daily to share the going-on in the house and Israel was tickled to death that his son and Roshawn had finally given in to what he had believed was inevitable. Angel shook his head, a slight smile pulling his full lips upward.

  They only had another two and a half hours before it would be time to leave for the airport. Some quick maneuverings, with just a touch of begging and pleading had netted them tickets on the same flight. Both he and Roshawn had been thrilled that the return would be easier than their arrival had been, only one connection and plane change before landing back in Phoenix.

  For the moment though, Angel needed to revive his muscles, to reinvigorate life back into them. Although he had thoroughly enjoyed his time with Roshawn, soon he would have to return to his game and redeem himself for the horrendous loss from the week before. He heaved a deep sigh as he thought back to the defeat, his swing sending the bat sailing above the ball as it had landed snugly in the opposing catcher’s mitt. Angel could still hear the whir of it as it had buzzed past him and out of his reach.

  He looked around the immaculate exercise room, his personal sanctuary whenever he was home. The room was large, a variety of expensive gym equipment decorating the space. At one end a large rack of free weights, barbells and a weight bench filled the corner. A treadmill, stationary bike and stair climber were situated room center. One wall was completely mirrored and a flat-screen plasma television was positioned on another. A sophisticated sound system was the last adornment in a far corner.

  Stripping his T-shirt from his body, Angel turned to the mirror beside the bench. He raised his arms and flexed his biceps. They bulged obscenely and he smirked, admiring his reflection. He had done this often as a little boy, when his muscles had only been a fleeting wish. His father had laughed, then had cautioned him not to ever let his looks swell his already large head. Angel chuckled at the memories as he struck a bodybuilder’s pose. A few more smirks in the mirror, a few more poses, and he was laughing out loud at the absurdity. Quiet from the other room made him look quickly over his shoulder to ensure neither Roshawn or Maria had sneaked up on him without his knowing. He would have been truly embarrassed if either had been watching his performance. He relaxed and posed one last time when Maria’s voice rippled through the air.

  He reclined on the bench to prepare for some chest presses knowing that there was nothing like pumping a little iron to stretch out his muscles after an extended period of just lounging around. After three sets of lifts, he was perspiring nicely, sweat beginning to bead against his brow and torso. Thirty minutes later he had moved from one station to the next with ease and he felt good, extraordinarily energized. In the distance he could still hear the two women chattering about everything and about nothing and it renewed the smile upon his face.

  He was thrilled that Roshawn was so at ease with his family. His family was important to him. Everything he did, he did for the benefit of his father and his tía Maria and the many aunts, uncles and cousins that fruited his family tree. He paused for a brief second, midstride on the stair-stepper, a wide smile blossoming across his face.

  The day before he had driven her to the country, the lands that bordered the outskirts of Santo Domingo where almost half the country’s population resided. Generations had farmed the lands there, living off the crops and livestock to support themselves. The original lands owned by his grandfathers and their grandfathers had been farmed so long that most of the soil lacked the necessary nutrients to sustain a crop for long-term farming. Angel’s financial success had enabled his relatives to afford fields of grazing cattle that had become a viable source of income for them to build on. They supplemented that with growing bananas and tobacco and the family as a whole was thriving.

  His cousin Tito had welcomed them both warmly, ushering them from the car to the stables and two waiting mules loaded with supplies that needed to be transported from one side of the vast acreage to the other. Tito had led the way, chattering his excitement as he and Roshawn had followed willingly behind. Roshawn had been a great sport, coaxing and coddling the stubborn beast when it had grown weary itself of the journey, digging in its hoofs to be left alone.

  Before leaving, Roshawn had improvised a game of catch with a gathering of children who’d come to see them, laughing and cheering excitedly. She had emptied her handbag of chewing gum, mints, and even a chocolate bar, which she’d divvied into equal portions for them all to share, promising to send more as soon as she was able. On the return trip back to the city he’d driven along the southern coast toward Lago Enriquillo, which lay near the borders of neighboring Haiti. Roshawn had asked questions and had celebrated his homeland with her genuine interest in knowing about it and him.

  Angel transitioned back to the bench to do one more rotation of arm curls with a heavy set of free weights. Roshawn’s beautiful face smiling down at him pulled him from his reflections.

  “Did you work out all them muscles?” she asked leaning to press her lips to his.

  He grinned. “Even some I didn’t know I had,” he answered, dropping the fifty-pound weight to the floor. His hands fell to her hips as Roshawn straddled his body and sat down on his lap. One muscle in particular quivered ever so slightly.

  “We should probably go get ready to leave,” Roshawn said
, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers dancing against the back of his head. “Or we’ll be late for our flight.”

  He nodded, his gaze brushing the canvas of her face with light, even strokes. “Thank you,” he said softly.

  Her head tilted as she looked at him curiously. “For what?”

  “For coming after me.”

  Roshawn smiled. “I’d do anything for the right man.”

  Angel grinned back. “Am I?”

  She kissed him, their mouths lingering in the moment before she answered, her words singing sweetly in his ears. “Without a doubt.”

  Chapter 18

  As they pulled into the driveway of her home, Roshawn had a feeling of contentment that she’d never before had. The flights home had been picture-perfect and even one stomach-churning moment of turbulence had been easily dismissed with Angel holding tightly to her hand. But as she stepped from the vehicle and took note of Ming’s new car and a second familiar Chevy pickup truck, the dials on her parental radar suddenly spun into action. She tossed Angel a quick glance as he pulled her luggage from the trunk and followed behind her toward the front door.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, noting the concerned expression that had crossed her face.

  “I’m just wondering why my daughter is entertaining company when she’s not even supposed to be here.”

  Angel nodded his head slowly, a heavy palm dropping against her shoulder to calm the rise of anxiety that had swept through her. As they made their way through the front door, they could hear Ming giggling, the sound of her laughter coming from the family room. The CD player was on full blast, the heavy beat of 50 Cent singing “Candy Shop” spinning over the airwaves. Stepping into the room, Roshawn could only shake her head as her daughter lay on the chenille settee in a string bikini that was more string than fabric. She lay parallel dancing with a tall young man who seemed even taller when you took into account the full foot of afro that sat atop his head. Neither noticed as Angel and Roshawn stood staring at them, the young man grinding his hips against her child as if he were trying to drill for oil.

  Roshawn snapped off the music. “Ming, I know you have completely lost your mind.”

  “Mommy!” Ming cried out as the two of them jumped to their feet, shock registered across their faces.

  “Does your father know you’re here by yourself with this boy? And Dixon, what, pray tell, are you doing in my house groping my daughter?”

  The young man sputtered, no sound coming past his lips as he looked from Roshawn to Angel and back again. “I…I…”

  “She asked you a question. I think you need to answer it,” Angel said, moving to take a seat against one of the high bar stools. “And I think you should answer it very quickly.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Bradsher. We didn’t mean…” The young man paused, sweat beginning to bead against his brow.

  Roshawn shook her head, her gaze still locked with Ming’s.

  “We weren’t doing anything wrong, Mommy. I swear.”

  “That’s not what it looked like. Did you have your father’s permission to be here alone with Dix, Ming?”

  “No, but…”

  “Does he even know where you are?”

  “He…I…we…” Tears filled Ming’s eyes.

  “I didn’t think so. That was your first mistake. And where the hell are your clothes? I know damn well your father didn’t buy you that swimsuit and I sure wouldn’t have.” Roshawn slammed her purse to the counter. “Don’t answer that. Just go change. Now. Then we all need to have a serious talk.”

  Ming turned to Dix, the young man’s gaze trying to offer her a hint of support.

  “I think I should be going,” he said softly, moving as if to take his leave.

  “I don’t think so, son,” Angel said, pointing to the chenille settee. “Take a seat. She means you, too.”

  “Yes, I do,” Roshawn stated, glaring at the boy, his mahogany complexion having paled substantially. She shook a finger in his direction, wanting to say something, but then stalling, the words seeming to catch in her throat. “I’ll deal with you in a minute, Dixon,” she said finally. She turned toward Angel. “You two need to excuse me for a minute. I need to speak with my daughter.”

  Turning an about-face, Roshawn headed down the hall behind Ming. The boy on the sofa closed his eyes, his hands cupped in prayer in front of him. As Angel stood staring at him, the man couldn’t help but smile, a very slight bending of his lips pulling at his expression, remembering well what it felt like to be a teenaged boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  In the other room, Ming was muttering under her breath as she tossed a T-shirt and a pair of jeans over her bra and panties. The string bikini lay discarded on the floor where she had stepped out of it. As her mother entered the room, closing the door heavily behind her, Ming dropped to the edge of the bed, the two women staring intently at one another.

  “I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Ming finally muttered for the second time.

  “It was wrong, Ming. It was wrong because you were going out of your way to keep it secret. If you didn’t think there was anything wrong with your behavior then why did you feel you needed to be secretive about it?”

  “Because you know how Daddy is. He doesn’t want me with Dixon at all so I knew he’d throw a fit because I wanted to be alone with him.”

  “Ming, you and Dixon have only been dating for a few weeks. He picks you up, takes you out, and the two of you are alone and your father knows it, deals with it, and gives his approval. Don’t try to make excuses about you two sneaking over here to be alone in this house, damn near naked, when you know neither your father or I would have approved of that.”

  “We just wanted to swim in the pool and hang out. That’s all.”

  Roshawn heaved a deep sigh. “I think we need to schedule an appointment for you to see a gynecologist.”

  “I don’t need—”

  “You need to make sure you know your options and you’re protected,” Roshawn said, interrupting her.

  “But, I—”

  Roshawn’s gaze was cutting, the girl’s words dropping to barely a whisper before she could finish her statement.

  “I wasn’t born yesterday, Ming. I was eighteen once, too. Eighteen and in love with the most incredible boy and by the time I was nineteen we had you. So, please, don’t think I’m so naive that I would even remotely believe that you and Dixon aren’t having sex. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have needed to sneak over here to be alone.”

  Ming hung her head, a tear falling against her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to disappoint you and I wasn’t going to deny that Dix and I are having sex. But I’ve already been to see a doctor. I know what my options are.”

  Roshawn nodded. “Ming, you’re eighteen years old now. There are some decisions you need to make for yourself no matter what your father or I might feel about it. But, you know how we feel. And, you know what we’ve taught you. Yes, I am very disappointed. And, I don’t know that you’re responsible enough to be sexually active. If you were, then you wouldn’t be acting like such a child. You wouldn’t be lying to me and your dad. And you wouldn’t be sneaking around. But that doesn’t matter, because you made the decision to do what you’ve done and now you have to deal with the repercussions. Did you at least use some form of birth control?”

  The young woman nodded her head. “Yes, Mom. I’m on the pill and we used a condom.”

  “I’m sure the doctor told you nothing is a hundred percent fail-safe. Have you even considered what could happen? What you would do if you became pregnant? Have you thought about STDs?”

  “Mom, Dix loves me and I love him. We’d get through it.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you could get through anything if you had to, Ming. But why put yourself in that position at all?”

  Ming swiped at the tears that watered her cheeks. “Please, don’t hate me.”

  Roshawn shook her head as she wrappe
d her arms around her child’s shoulders and hugged her tightly. “Don’t be ridiculous. I love you, Ming. I only want the best for you. And you know perfectly well that I would never hate you. But I really need you to use your head and be smart about the decisions you make for yourself.”

  “Are you going to tell Daddy?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  Ming smiled slightly. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not going to tell him because you are. If you think you’re mature enough to be having sex and sneaking around to do it, then you’re mature enough to tell your father that you’ve been caught.”

  Ming dropped back against the mattress. Roshawn came to her feet, staring down at her. “You have a choice. You can call him now and ask him to come over to discuss this, or we can go there. But either way, it’s a conversation you’re going to have with your father.”

  * * *

  Back in the family room the two men were still sitting on opposite sides of the room. Dixon’s head hung heavily in his hands as he imagined the absolute worst that could possibly befall him before he’d be able to make it back to his dorm room. Angel was still sitting casually watching him as if he had swallowed his own canary and was only waiting to see in which direction the feathers were bound to fly. As Roshawn stepped back into the room both looked toward her, one smiling sweetly, the other’s expression molded out of hard, cold fear.