by Tiana Laveen
Scarlet…
She took a deep breath and deliberated over the dilemma as she retrieved the flowers from the front door, sniffed them, then set them down on the coffee table.
Scarlet wanted him though. What kind of person would I be to call up one of my best friends and ask her advice about a guy that dissed her and came for me instead?!
But she told me it was cool, and he had a point earlier today on the phone. He doesn’t even know her. It’s not like they were dating or anything…
But her saying she was fine with it may have been total bullshit. We say that kind of crap all the time, knowing damn well we feel some kinda way…
But Scarlet is well versed in these sorts of things…
Sky paced her floor in a panicked state, so much so that she wondered why she didn’t burn a hole in it. Phone back in hand, she peered out her window to see if she could catch a glimpse of him. Almost out of view sat a shiny red and white vintage car, looking to be a Mustang. It had never been there before…
She swallowed.
Just do it.
She dialed Scarlet, a part of her hoping and pleading within that the woman didn’t answer.
“Heeey, bitch.” Sky smiled into the phone, so happy to hear that voice. Or was she? The jury was still out. This could be a murder trial.
“Hey, Scarlet, please don’t be mad at me, but I need your advice.”
“If it’s about using name brand lube for anal sex versus that cheap 99 cent shit, the answer is still yes. That’s not something you want to cheap out on, Sky. A mothafucka will have your ass feelin’ like it’s been lit with kerosene if you don’t take the proper precautions.”
“Stop it.” Sky laughed, a bit relaxed at the woman’s jabs. “I’m serious.”
“Do I need to roll a blunt for this? What’s happened?”
“Shit. Scarlet, I don’t really know how to say this, but uh… that man, Mr. Zander, has asked me out. I blew him off, I’ve been so tired and busy, and then of course… I cared about your feelings as well. On top of that, I also honestly didn’t think he was really serious. Well… I was wrong. He is waiting for me outside in his car!”
After a few moments of hairsplitting silence, Scarlet cleared her throat. Sky could hear what sounded like a lighter being struck, then smoke being exhaled.
“Mmm hmmm, you know I’m pissed about this, right?” The woman chuckled. “But it is what it is. Now, putting that aside and sliding on my real woman panties, I’m ready to lend a hand. Like I told you that night, he chose you. I could see by how he was looking at you before he even reached our table that he was digging you, but you didn’t even seem to notice. Before I do my friendly duty though, I only have one question.”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you keep yo’ ass at home that night?! You fucked up my whole get rich scheme, Egyptian pyramid, gold diggin’ in the Nile arrangement up! I coulda been set up for life! You don’t ever go nowhere with us any other time!”
Scarlet burst out laughing, and so did she, but she knew the woman was half-serious.
“Girl, I don’t know, but I do know that I have about seven minutes to throw on some clothes, lipstick, run a brush through this mess on my head, and act as if I couldn’t care less about him stopping by. Should I go out with him or not show up? He can’t take a hint.”
“Alright, Bambi, with your innocent, naïve self. First, I want you to put me on speaker phone as you go on and get ready. We need to lay out some ground rules.”
“So go out with him? All right, I’m on it.”
Sky made a beeline to her bedroom and began the grooming process. Her underwear was discarded on the floor and replaced by a prettier set. As an outfit, she selected a button-down copper colored tunic top and a pair of chocolate leggings to go with it. She finally sat on her bed to lace up her mocha heels.
“First things first. He is going to try to fuck you. Don’t do it, bitch. I’m warning you … and this isn’t the jealousy or Hennessey talking. It will be enticing, trust me, but you have to resist. No matter how tempting it is, with men like this guy, they want to chase your ass. Make him work for it. If you give it up too fast, they’ll see you like all the others. Think about it. Women throw themselves at men like him.”
“Like you did?”
“Bitch, I will hang up this mothafuckin’ phone faster than your twenty-two-inch Brazilian body wave weave can spin and leave your Golden Girls, Rose Nylun behavin’ ass in the lurch.” Sky burst out laughing. Scarlet was the only person who could insult her this way and get away with it. She knew it all came from a place of love. “Now be quiet and listen. Back to the sex… if you drag it out way too long, they’ll lose interest. You have to find a happy medium.”
“I do that anyway with most guys I date. You know me.” Sky shrugged as she got to her feet, grabbed her brush off her vanity, and made haste to comb her hair in a decent style.
“Nuh uh, no way, sweetie. You got it wrong. You think this is going to be a cakewalk, but it’s not. I’m telling you, I’ve dealt with these sorts of men before, okay? Everything is a test to them… a game. He needs to know that you want him; that will get him on the hook and right before he thinks he has the deal sealed, you have to pull the plug… make him leave there frustrated and wanting you. See, men like Lazarist Zander can have just about anything and anyone they want. Now, here’s a bit more about his history. He didn’t have shit growing up, so he’s not one of these mothafuckas walkin’ around here who’s not in the land of reality, that silver spoon shit. This man climbed his way to the top.”
“Like King Kong on the Empire State Building… Yes, he mentioned very briefly that he was just a poor kid from Brooklyn.”
“Right. So, that’s good, but remember, keep it sassy with a dash of trashy. In other words, swallow the innocent act and let your freak flag fly, but only at half-mast. He is looking for excitement but not too much, because as a hunter, he is in the market to find his next main squeeze. This man has been officially single for a while now. I imagine it’s by choice or he hasn’t found what he’s looking for. If you want to secure the bag, baby, leave him panting.”
“So, seduce him… Girl, I got the game of seduction on lock!” Sky chortled. “I got this. Thanks for your help.”
“Awww, you’re sweet and trusting, Sky… good Lord.” Sky wrinkled her nose at her friend’s words. “Bitch, ain’t a damn thing you can do or say that he hasn’t seen, heard, or done before. You just have to do it better…”
“Do it better… all right.” Sky grabbed a pair of small gold stud earrings and placed them in her ears.
“One more thing… I heard he is a major freak in bed, Sky… I mean, he is on some other shit. That white cane he walks around with at the club ain’t just for show, if you catch my drift. If you’re only used to that missionary, patty cake bullshit, you better read up or something because this mothafucka is going to want it all… everything on the menu and frequently… and he’s intense. His ex-wife was in the adult film industry like I told you, and word on the curb is that many of his ex-girlfriends were models and the like – so be warned. He is used to a certain level of, shall we say, experience.”
“And how do you know I’m not experienced?” Sky put her hand on her hip. “You don’t know what I do behind closed doors, Scarlet.”
“I know that Scarlet rhymes with harlot, and Sky rhymes with shy. ’Nuff said. But you don’t need to worry about that right now anyway. You’re just doing the seduction. But when the time comes, if he’s into threesomes, call me, bitch.”
“Girl, bye!” Sky burst out laughing and disconnected the call before spritzing herself with a bit of perfume. She exited her bedroom and looked out the window one last time. The red and white car was pulling away from the curb. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she dashed towards her front door, grabbed her purse from a stool sitting right next to it, and called his number.
“Hello, Sky…” he responded. “I almost didn’t answer. It’s be
en seventeen minutes. I’ve left. What is it that you want?”
She could not believe this motherfucker!
Okay… just play it cool…
“I got dressed to go. I am actually at the elevator on my way down.”
After a brief silence, the man loudly sighed in what sounded like extreme annoyance.
“All right. I’m circling around the block. Stand outside and I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay.”
And then he hung up. Moments later, she was outside her apartment building, looking for the red and white vintage car. Soon, he pulled up as promised. She walked up to the car, but the man promptly got out and opened her door.
Wow… chivalry isn’t dead after all.
“Thank you.” As soon as she got situated in the car, he returned to the driver’s side.
The interior looked practically brand new. He takes good care of his toys…
When he sat down, she took note of how far his seat went back, but for good reason. The man had incredibly long legs. In fact, he appeared to have a basketball player’s build, with a bit more meat on his bones.
“You look very nice,” he stated as he took hold of his steering wheel and entered the stream of traffic. “But of course, I’d expect nothing less. It’s not too hard to polish up perfection,” he complimented, a slight smile on his face. He kept his eye on the road.
“Thank you. So uh, where are we going?”
“It’s truly up to you. I had something planned but I have no idea what you like and don’t like. That’s why I’m here, so I can eventually answer those questions.” He chuckled, causing her to smile. “So, if you’re hungry, I can make some suggestions. If you’d prefer to just have a coffee or drink, we can do that, too.”
“Actually, I already ate, but a drink somewhere sounds good. I like a bookshop with a café that isn’t too far from here.”
“So, you like to read?” His brow rose as he ran his finger along his chin.
“Yeah, I enjoy it when I have the time. The bookstore is called, ‘Topos Bookstore Café.’ It’s on Woodward Avenue. I figure we can browse, get some drinks and talk there.”
Soon, the man was speaking to his phone, asking for directions. She found it rather interesting that he simply didn’t ask her where it was…
More odd human behavior for her studies. People were incredibly strange indeed. As she mulled that tiny tidbit around, she surveyed him from head to toe. Her stomach somersaulted. The damn thing was having a physiological response to his entire aura…
No wonder women flock to him. He’s the perfect balance of sexy, aloof, warm and cool. I should have been a psychologist. Or a forensic profiler. Damn, I’m good. She grinned to herself as she crossed her arms and looked out the front window.
“What is making you smile?” he questioned as he approached a red light.
“You’re a little unusual.”
“Unusual? You don’t know me yet. What makes you say that?”
“My brief interactions with you thus far have been highly unusual, Lazarist. You’re demanding, conceited… yet there’s something about you that comes across as approachable and kind, too. I like examining people. You’re an interesting study.” She shrugged.
“An interesting study…” he repeated and bobbed his head, as if mulling it over.
“Let me ask you something, Lazarist.”
“Yes?”
“Now, don’t get defensive.” At this, he burst out laughing but didn’t comment at her disclaimer. “Why do you believe that your time is more valuable than mine? Why didn’t you ask me for the directions to the bookshop? And what makes you think it’s all right to come to someone’s house without calling first?”
“Okay. First of all, I don’t think my time is more valuable than yours. I distinctly told you that I’m busy, too. That was not negating your needs, just stating a fact.”
“No, but you said—”
“Hold up. Let me finish!” He put up his finger, his voice slightly raised. “I told you that if I could blow off some executives, which I did, you could ditch some responsibilities, too. When I arrived at your place, I could smell the Asian food and hear the television. You weren’t doing anything so—”
“Yes, but you didn’t know that!”
“I did know that, because like you, I study people too! It doesn’t make sense! Number one, Sky Jordan, if you are a dance choreographer and you are at work by 7:00 A.M. and not finished until 5:00 P.M., you are going to be pooped. Nobody makes plans after a day like that unless it is waaaay later that night, after they’ve rested. You are using your body for hours at a time and before you ask how do I know your work hours, I looked you up and saw that you run a dance studio and those are your hours of operation. Furthermore, what the fuck does it matter if you were in your apartment writing a goddamn thesis on how to end world hunger or jerking yourself off to monster elf porn? Fact of the matter is that I did tell you I was coming by… on the phone, earlier today.
“I didn’t just pop up on you like some jack in the box. So that answers your third question even though you stated originally that you wanted to ask me something but it was actually three questions. Now, in reference to your second fuckin’ question, doll…”
She could now hear the Brooklyn accent pouring into the bastard’s words, now thick and heavy. Up until now, he’d been speaking rather professionally. The mask was off. And oh, how quickly it fell…
“I don’t ask people for directions because everyone’s mind works differently. I prefer maps and verbal directions from a navigation device. It’s just a preference, nothin’ personal. We’re here.”
Sure enough, she’d been so involved in giving it to him, a perfectly constructed rebuttal, that she hadn’t even noticed they’d reached their destination.
She reached for the door handle, but the man was out of the car and on his feet faster than she could move. He swung her door open, looped his arm around hers, and helped her out of the car.
“You’re an asshole,” she said coolly as he took her hand and walked towards the shop.
He opened the front door on her behalf, allowing her to move in front of him. The scent of freshly brewed coffee soothed her, taking her to her happy place. And then she felt his hand along her lower back.
Leaning low, he whispered in her ear, “I like you, Sky… I imagine you probably called your friends and told them we were going out. If they gave you any advice, asked for or unsolicited, ditch it. I don’t come with instructions…no one can figure me out so don’t even try. Any books you may have read about human behavior is also out the window and I’m not one of your pupils… this isn’t a rehearsal…this is real life…”
CHAPTER FIVE
I Can Read Between the Panty Lines…
THE SMELL OF old and new books permeated the air. Lazarist watched from a distance as his prey … er … his date perused the narrow aisleways of Topos Bookstore and Café. It was a small place, but not claustrophobic. It was quaint, likeable. He’d never been before and told her as much as she went about her way, removing a book from a shelf here and there, flipping through the pages of various novels that caught her eye. He cocked his head to the side as he watched her flip her hair over her shoulder and slowly finger the pages of a hardback with a velvety green cover. Curiosity drove him further. He wondered what interested her, what her favorite genre was, and he hoped and prayed it was erotica.
She loitered in the Historical Fiction section for quite some time, much to his dismay. In fact, he was surprised, assuming she’d be more into romance or something like ‘50 Shades of Grey.’ After all, when he’d first seen her, she’d had on a black leather studded dog collar around her neck. All kinds of dirty fantasies had invaded his mind at such a sight.
She placed the book slowly back on the shelf, then shifted her attention towards another display. Her face wrinkled in surprise and her beautiful eyes widened. He heard a slight gasp of excitement escape her lips as she plucked a purple colored p
aperback from a lower ledge. He closed in on her, brushing his chest ever so slightly against her shoulder. Her perfume called to his cock, making it twitch in the confines of his briefs. He hooked on the image of her lips and imagined the delicate skin surrounding his dick sliding in and out of her mouth, against the soft pallet of her wet, pink tongue, until he was balls deep, his sack resting against her chin as she gagged and swallowed his cum. As if sensing his gaze on her, she peered up at him with those almond shaped dark brown eyes, thick black lashes a mile long.
I wonder if she cries when she orgasms… I bet she’s a screamer, too…
“Did you find anything of interest?” He casually leaned against the case and crossed his ankles.
“Yeah, this is ‘Island of the Mad’, by Laurie R. King. I’ve been wanting to read this for a few weeks now… I’m lucky it’s in here, actually.”
“What’s it about?” She paused for a spell, as if challenging his invitation to a discussion about such things. Then, her facial expression relaxed, replaced with a smile.
“Sherlock Holmes re-invented. Takes place in Sussex in 1925. A wealthy woman comes up missing. From my understanding, this is a really good one. It’s been highly anticipated. It delves into all sorts of things, like Mussolini.”
“Mussolini?” He leaned closer to her, peering down at the open page. “You’re talkin’ my language now. I may have to check that out.” He ran the side of his thumb along the edge of the book. Her eyes focused on the slowly moving digit, then she looked him in the eye.
“Well, you can’t just jump right in. You need the backstory. It’s part of a series… I’ve been reading it on and off.”
I can’t just jump right in… you need foreplay… I need to get to know you first, huh? You going to play with me on and off… make this hard. I can read between the lines of your novel of life, Ms. Jordan.
“So.” He clasped his hands together. “I’m going to look over here…” He pointed in another direction of the store. “I’ll get a book or two and then hopefully we can secure a table soon and sit down and talk. Sound good?”