Lookin' For Luv

by Carl Weber

  “I know, I know. That’s what I wanted to apologize about.” Keisha took a step closer and had trouble looking Antoine in the eye. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

  Antoine pulled out a chair. “Keisha, why the hell did you tell Shawna I was your boyfriend?”

  “I was jealous,” she admitted, still avoiding eye contact. “I been trying to get you to go out with me for three years. You always said you were too busy. But you made time for her, Antoine. You’re always making time for her, and that really hurt me. How come you couldn’t make time for me?”

  Antoine was blunt. He was not in the mood to be sympathetic. “I don’t know, Keisha, but I really don’t think you’re my type. I’m really a pretty low-key guy, and you’re a very vocal woman. I don’t think I could date a gossip.”

  Keisha leaned forward in her chair and looked Antoine in the eye for the first time.

  “I’m a businesswoman, Antoine. Part of running a successful beauty shop is being the local gossip. What do you think keeps all those girls coming back every week? Now, you’re a smart guy. I would think you’d be able understand that.”

  “Hmm, I never thought of it that way.” His frown softened just a bit.

  “Well, it’s a fact in my business. But when it comes to my personal life, I’m very discreet. And as far as being your type, that really hurts. One of the things I always admired about you was that you were honest. If you didn’t want to go out with me, you should have just said so. It’s not as if I’m the kind of person who would fly off the handle.”

  “Oh, you’re not that kind of person, huh? Is that why I have fifteen stitches in my head from your hair dryer?” He rubbed the spot where she had cut his head.

  “Listen. I’m not normally that crazy, but my cousin LaSondra is always doin’ something stupid, and she just set me off that day. I worked on that woman’s braids for six hours and personally went to Brooklyn to get the hair she wanted. Well, that bitch had the nerve to try to pay me in food stamps. Honey, I’m sorry, but I tried to shove that hair dryer straight up her ass.”

  Keisha’s language made Antoine shake his head disapprovingly. “That still doesn’t explain why you went off on me. I was trying to help you. Mrs. Dinkins in Three B was calling the police. But the next thing I know, you’re on top of me, banging me in the head with that hair dryer.”

  “Antoine, when you came running up behind me, I thought you were LaSondra’s man, Jeffrey, coming to beat me up. By the time I realized it was you, you were already - knocked out cold.” She couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

  “Well, you sure can be dangerous.” Antoine lightened up, rubbing his head as he laughed.

  “Look, I just wanted to say I was sorry. I know your girlfriend’s probably on her way, and I don’t want to cause you any more problems.” Her voice was kind as she stood to leave the table.

  “Thanks, Keisha. I appreciate that, but Shawna’s not coming over tonight.” Keisha’s apology had begun to change Antoine’s opinion of her. He didn’t really want to be alone and thought Keisha deserved a little kindness. “Listen, why don’t I buy you a drink? It took a lot of courage to apologize like you did.”

  “Sure, I’d really like that.” She smiled as she sat back down and moved her chair a few inches closer to Antoine’s.

  Time passed quickly as Keisha and Antoine enjoyed each other’s company. Antoine was grateful for the chance to laugh, considering the mood he was in when he first arrived at Benny’s. Now he was feeling relaxed as Benny approached the table.

  “I’m getting ready to close in ten minutes. If you two would like one more round, now’s the time to ask.”

  Keisha answered for both of them. “No thanks, Benny. I think we’re getting ready to leave.” Then she gathered the courage gained from a few drinks. “You know, Antoine, you should come back to my place for a nightcap.”

  During the course of their two hours together, Antoine had consumed several drinks and was not concerned with good judgment. He had been too busy admiring Keisha’s cleavage. Although he still considered himself Shawna’s man, his drunken state had weakened his defenses considerably.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he slurred, standing to help with her coat. They left Benny’s arm in arm, helping each other stumble to the door.

  Walking out into the frigid night air, Keisha leaned against Antoine, telling him they could keep each other warm. Antoine, hunched over against the wind, wrapped his arm around her as they walked toward the apartment building.

  As she rummaged through her purse to find her keys, Keisha heard a horn from the street behind her. Turning around, she saw Shawna rolling down her car window.

  “Antoine! Antoine! Over here, baby!”

  Keisha couldn’t believe her bad luck but followed Antoine to the car nonetheless.

  “Hey, baby.” Antoine gave his girlfriend a kiss as she stepped out of the car. He had all but forgotten about their earlier fight.

  “Phew, you tryin’ to get my man drunk and take advantage of him?” Shawna looked at Keisha, gritting her teeth.

  “No, actually she was telling me how happy she is for us,” Antoine replied.

  Keisha was happy that Antoine had corrected Shawna but knew her plan to seduce him was ruined for the night. She took a few steps back and listened angrily to Shawna’s love babble.

  “Antoine, honey, I had to leave work early. I couldn’t take you being mad at me. I love you so much, baby, and it’s gonna kill me when you go to Virginia in two days.”

  Antoine took Shawna’s hand, and Keisha was disappointed to see the happiness on his face. He turned to face her and didn’t notice the disappointment in her eyes.

  “Keisha, I want to thank you for tonight. I had a wonderful time,” he said sincerely.

  Antoine kissed Keisha’s hand and let it go. As he headed for the door, he realized Shawna was not following. He turned around to see where she was.

  “Come on, baby, let’s get in the house out of this cold.”

  “I’ll be right there, honey. I just have to get my bag out the car.” Shawna smiled and winked at Antoine. She waited until his back was turned, then looked Keisha straight in the eye. Her voice sounded evil as she hissed, “You better keep your hands off my man, bitch.”

  Keisha was stunned but tried to keep her voice down as she replied, “What you need to do is put those gorilla braids back in your hair and get rid of that ten-dollar weave, hooker.”

  Shawna gave her a sickeningly sweet smile and walked to her car.

  “If you’ll excuse me, my man is waiting.”

  “You got him, let’s see how long you can keep him.” Keisha growled her challenge.

  13

  MAURICE

  Maurice Johnson pulled his white Mercedes sports car in front of the Tropicana Casino Hotel. As he stepped out of his car, he handed the keys and a twenty to the head valet “Good to see you again, Clif.” He winked at the balding man.

  “Good to see you too, Mr. Johnson.” Clif watched a beautiful young woman step out of the passenger side. As she straightened her tight black miniskirt, he couldn’t help but notice her ample breasts, which seemed even larger in proportion to her tiny waist. Clif thought she must be a model or something. He was impressed. Mr. Johnson always showed up with the finest women.

  Champagne strutted in her spike heels to the front door and waited for Maurice, who was having a brief conversation with the attendant. She was in awe as she gazed at the elegant facade of the hotel. Maurice had the kind of money to visit a place like this so often that even the parking attendant knew him by name. She made a mental note to grab some matchbooks inside, because nobody back home would believe she had been there.

  Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, Champagne made sure her long weave was still impeccable and opened one more button on her silk blouse. She wanted to be sure he saw enough to stay interested, because he was just the sugar daddy she’d been looking for. As she was checking herself out, Maurice w
alked up behind her and slipped a hand around her waist.

  “You look beautiful,” he whispered, grinning. Champagne couldn’t help but notice he was staring at his own reflection in the mirror as he said it.

  Taking her hand, Maurice led her through the door and into the stunning lobby. Captivated, she admired the lush floral arrangements placed throughout the huge room. She ran her hand over the back of the velvet sofa and admired the huge Oriental rug at her feet. The hotel was a far cry from the dingy old Men’s Club where she worked.

  “Shall we, my dear?” Maurice guided her up the escalator and into the casino. It seemed to Champagne that glamorous people filled every corner of the room. She stood tall with pride, walking in on the arm of this handsome man.

  I wish that fool guidance counselor could see me now, she thought. He had the nerve to tell me that every dropout becomes a welfare mother. Well, this dropout is about to be set for life.

  “Have you ever gambled before?” Maurice’s question snapped Champagne out of her fantasy.

  “I played a little twenty-one with my girls, but I’ve never gambled in a place like this.” She tried not to sound as inexperienced as she was.

  “Well, pretty lady, let me show you how to play craps. And I just know you’re going to be my little good-luck charm.”

  “Now, Maurice, you know I’m just a working girl. I can’t afford to be gambling my hard-earned money away.” She giggled, batting her long eyelashes.

  “No need to worry. I think this will get you into the game.” He pulled a wad of bills from his pocket and handed two hundred dollars to Champagne. Squeezing her waist, he guided her toward the blackjack tables.

  Champagne smiled to herself. With two hundred dollars in her hand, she was starting to like Maurice more and more, and the night was still young.

  After an hour of gambling she discovered two hundred wasn’t much in a casino. Maurice left the table with fifteen hundred dollars more than when he started. Champagne had not been so lucky. She lost the two hundred dollars in a matter of minutes.

  Maurice took her hand. “I’m sorry your first try at the tables wasn’t more successful, baby.”

  “That’s okay. I’m not worried about me, ’cause I came here with nothing. I’m just sorry I lost your money.”

  “But I want to make sure you leave here with something to remember our first date, so why don’t we go and find you something nice in a lobby store?”

  They strolled arm in arm to the dress shop, where she halted, staring at an elegant black cocktail dress.

  Maurice noticed the dress and also noticed that the shop was closed for the evening. He plotted his next move. As usual, his plan was falling into place almost too easily.

  “Champagne, you really like that dress, don’t you?”

  She turned to face him.

  “That is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.”

  “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, so I think that dress is made for you.” He touched her face lightly, and his eyes wandered down her voluptuous body. “Why don’t we go get that dress?”

  “Maurice, do you realize how much that dress costs?” she asked, wide-eyed. “It’s a Versace dress. I saw Naomi Camp-bell modeling one like it in Vogue last month. It’s got to be at least a thousand dollars!”

  Patting the breast pocket of his suit, he smiled. “I just happen to have fifteen hundred dollars right here. The only problem is, it looks like the shop is closed until tomorrow morning.”

  Champagne’s pout let him know he had the fish on the hook. She couldn’t hide her disappointment but didn’t want to ruin the fantastic evening.

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just go check out the gift shop.” She tried not to sigh.

  “I do have another idea, sweetheart. We could get a room, order room service, and pick up the dress tomorrow morning as soon as the dress shop opens.”

  Champagne’s face brightened to a smile. She didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around Maurice’s neck and plant a big kiss on his lips.

  “Thank you so much, Maurice.” She pressed her body against his.

  “Oh, baby, this is nothing. Nothing at all.” He slid his hands a little lower around her hips.

  As they finished the last few bites of their lobster dinner, Maurice poured another glass of white wine for himself and Champagne. He took a sip and gazed at her.

  “So tell me. Why did you become a stripper?”

  She put down her glass and looked him straight in the eye.

  “I’m a high school dropout with two choices. It’s either work a minimum-wage job and always be struggling, or strip for a hundred dollars an hour. Which would you choose?”

  “Fair enough. It’s not that I have a problem with it, it’s just that I don’t know much about it. I’ve never really been to a strip club,” Maurice fibbed.

  “Get outta here! I didn’t think there were still men like that. So if you don’t know that much about it, what do you want to know?”

  “Well, why don’t you just show me what you do?” He gave her a sly smile. He knew it was time to make his final move.

  Without missing a beat she walked to the radio next to the bed. She searched for a station that played R&B and stopped the dial when she heard the first few lines of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.”

  “This is perfect.” She laughed as she turned and took a few seductive steps toward Maurice. He pushed his chair away from the table and took a seat on the bed, where he had a full view of Champagne as she started to gyrate her hips.

  Loosening his tie, Maurice showed his approval as she began to slowly unbutton her silk blouse.

  “Mmm, baby, you sure know how to turn a man on.”

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” she purred as her blouse slid down her shoulders and dropped to the floor. She ran her hands up her hips, then over the fullness of her breasts, which were covered by a black lace bra. Reaching behind her back, she unhooked the bra and bent over slightly, so Maurice could see her breasts swinging as the bra fell forward.

  As she continued the seductive sway of her hips, Champagne caressed her long, smooth neck and loosened the clip in her hair, which fell in soft waves to her shoulders. She adjusted to the beat of a new song and reached to unzip her skintight skirt. Maurice sat up a little on the bed.

  “Goddamn! You’re not wearing any panties. That’s so fucking kinky.”

  “You like it, don’t you? Well, you haven’t seen kinky yet.” She danced closer and shook her full hips in front of him.

  He put his hands on her hips and pulled her nearer. She kissed him full on the lips, letting her tongue explore his mouth as she stood straddling his legs. Reaching down, she unzipped his pants and released his throbbing penis. He leaned back and let out a sigh of pleasure. Sliding herself down onto Maurice, Champagne began to gyrate in his lap.

  When I get done with him, she thought, he’s gonna wanna give me the world

  Two hours later Maurice woke and glanced across the bed at Champagne to be sure she was still asleep. He was reassured by her deep breathing. She would be asleep for hours. He slipped out from under the covers. Tiptoeing across the room, he dressed in the bathroom. He inspected his image in the mirror to be sure there were no lipstick stains, then checked his watch.

  Shit. It’s almost two, and it’s going to take me at least two hours to get home. Sylvia ’s going to have a fucking fit.

  Sneaking past the bed, Maurice stopped to take one more look at Champagne. Even in her sleep she looked good. He considered waking her for round two and maybe even giving the girl a ride home. The thought passed quickly.

  Nah. Let her get herself home. She’s just another whore willing to do anything for a guy with some money.

  He slipped out of the room, hoping his wife would be sound asleep by the time he got back to New York.

  14

  KEVIN AND ALICIA

  Kevin and Michael had spent an enjoyable afternoon at Laser World playing laser tag
and eating pizzaburgers while Alicia went shopping with one of her girlfriend. Although the prospect of becoming attached to this child was very frightening to Kevin, he had become very fond of his girlfriend’s son. All his worries about Michael trying to make things difficult for his “daddy’s replacement” turned out to be unfounded. Michael hadn’t shown a hint of anxiety about his mother having a new boyfriend and actually seemed happy to have a man to spend time with him. This was something his own father didn’t seem too interested in doing, so Kevin was glad to fill that void. He was looking forward to introducing Michael to Mama in the near future.

  The two sat contentedly in Alicia’s living room, waiting for her to return from the mall. As they waited, they played video games. Kevin’s lack of skill was evident in the number of times Michael had beaten him in less than an hour. Each time he beat Kevin, Michael would do a victory dance. After his final win he immediately dropped the game’s joystick, jumped up on the sofa, and raised his hands triumphantly.

  “I’m the greatest! The greatest of all time!” he yelled, laughing at Kevin.

  Kevin tackled the boy, and they began to play-wrestle on the sofa until the phone rang. Michael jumped up when he heard the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, baby,” Alicia said, “have you been a good boy?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “What’d you guys do today?”

  “We went to Laser World. Then Uncle Kevin bought me this cool video game called Legends of the Boxing Ring. And my Mike Tyson beat the shit out of his Muhammad Ali.”

  “Michael! What did I tell you about using that kind of language? Wait until I get home. I’m gonna tear your butt up.”

  “But, Mom, Aunt Teresa uses that word all the time,” he pleaded.

  “And if you were her son, I’m sure she’d let you too. Now put Kevin on the phone and go to your room. I’ll be home in about an hour.”

  Taking the phone, Kevin watched the boy mope to his room. “I hope you’re not as mad with me as you are with him.”