Chocolate Flava

by Zane

  “Oh, it’s not that bad out,” the other one countered.

  “But the weatherman said it’s going to be really, really bad.”

  “The weatherman’s always wrong.”

  The first one just shook his head in dismay. “Well, you can stay here. I’m going home. You close up.”

  I could hear their conversation getting heated as I walked farther away. I was with the one that said the weatherman was always wrong. Half the time I felt like the grocery stores and weathermen were in a conspiracy. I often wondered if the weathermen got kickbacks from grocery store chains when they announced bad weather and the shelves ended up emptied from nervous shopping.

  I got to the jewelry store, which was at the end of the first level, and was surprised to see that there were no customers at all and only two sales clerks. The store was decorated with helium balloons and banners announcing the anniversary sale.

  An older woman who was standing by the first counter asked, “May I help you?”

  “Yes, I wanted to see what kind of diamond tennis bracelets you have,” I replied. I reached into my purse and pulled out the ad. “I have my ten-percent-off coupon.”

  She grinned at me. I was probably her only hope at making a sale that day and I assumed they made some sort of commission. She moved down to the next case and unlocked it. “Let me show you our top-selling bracelets. I think you’ll agree that they’re lovely.”

  I took one look at the prices of the two she pulled out and said, “Hmm, I think I’ll hold off on those until I find a man to buy them for me.” We both laughed. “What do you have that’s about half that price?”

  About fifteen minutes later, I had purchased a lovely twokarat bracelet, filled out all the warranty information, paid for it, and was walking out the door with it on my arm. I paused when I got to a case containing platinum wedding sets. “Oh my goodness!” I exclaimed. “These are so gorgeous!”

  The sales clerk walked up behind me. “Any prospects for a proposal?”

  I shook my head. “Not a one. I guess I’ve been so busy working that dating has been put on the back burner for a while. Seeing those rings makes me want to go out and find a man right now, though.”

  “It’ll take a rather rich man to afford those rings,” she said.

  I snickered. “Please, I wouldn’t settle for anyone less.”

  I went back out into the mall and debated about continuing to shop. But there was something about a crowded mall that made the shopping experience more exciting, so I wasn’t feeling being there among the few stragglers that were scattered about.

  I decided to grab an espresso from Starbucks and head on home.

  That idea was short-lived. Once I got within view of the exit doors, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was so much rain coming down that I couldn’t even see the cars in the lot. I stopped in my tracks and said, “Shit!”

  I continued through the first set of doors and out into the alcove that led outside. I thought it over. I could make it to my car but I would be drenched. I hadn’t even brought an umbrella with me, which was a shame. I had at least half a dozen at home that were small enough to fit inside my purse. Even so, getting to the car wasn’t the major issue. The amount of water flooding down the street was. A Benz is a great vehicle, but not in bad weather. My previous vehicle was an SUV and I would’ve given anything for it to have been waiting for me in the parking lot.

  “You’re not seriously thinking about going out there, are you?” I heard a deep male voice ask behind me. I turned to look into the eyes of a rent-a-cop; a security guard. “You’re crazy if you go out there,” he added.

  “What do you suggest?” I asked. “That I get stranded here all day? The mall closes in a couple of hours and there’s no telling how long the rain will last.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, they say it won’t be over until the morning.”

  “The morning?”

  “Yes, and even if you make it to your car, you won’t make it out of the parking lot. All the streets are flooded.”

  He smiled at me and I suddenly noticed that he was attractive. Not fine, but attractive. He was of average height and build with dark eyes, a cinnamon complexion, and a goatee. His hair was closely cropped to his head and he wore an earring in his left ear. I always found a man wearing an earring to be a big turn-off. I could never remember if wearing one in the right ear or left ear supposedly made them gay. Dating was traumatic enough without having to worry about that shit.

  “I’m sure the roads surrounding the mall are bad, but once I make it to Route Fifty, I’ll be fine.”

  He chuckled again and folded his arms in front of him. “I admire your determination and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they shut Route Fifty down about thirty minutes ago.”

  “What do you mean? Shut it down?”

  “It’s like a mini-river. They said there’s more than four feet of rain on the highway.”

  “That’s absurd. How can there be that much water on a damn highway?”

  “Ma’am, I have no idea, but it’s there. In fact, if you go inside any of the stores selling electronics and check out the televisions, you’ll see all the madness going on out there with your own eyes.”

  I smirked. “That bad, huh?”

  “Indeed.”

  I played with the tennis bracelet on my arm. “This shit wasn’t even worth it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Um, nothing. Just thinking out loud.”

  “Might I make a suggestion?”

  I glared at him and hoped he wasn’t going to try to pick me up. “No offense, but you’re not my type.”

  A frown came across his face. “Who said you’re my type? Men can suggest more than one thing, you know?”

  I immediately felt embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”

  “What I was going to suggest is that you hurry up and grab one of the few rooms they have left at the hotel adjacent to the mall.”

  “You really think it’s like that?” I asked.

  “Well, you can either do that, or case you out a spot on one of the benches throughout the mall. You could possibly make it to your car and sleep in there, but you’ll freeze unless you have a lot of gas to burn to use the heat.”

  “So people are checking into the hotel?”

  “Like crazy. I was over there a little while ago and they had a line.”

  “But the mall isn’t even that crowded.”

  “True, but this is a big mall and there are still plenty of people to fill up the hotel. They had a convention there to start with, so there weren’t that many rooms left in the first place.”

  I contemplated my options for a moment and decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “Thanks for the heads up,” I told him, before heading back inside the mall. “I really appreciate it, um…” I eyed his name badge. “Thanks for your help, Victor.”

  “You’re most welcome.”

  I kept walking and he followed me.

  “Do you have a name, miss?”

  “Connie. Connie Wilkes.” I held out my hand to shake his. “Thanks again, Victor.”

  With that, I picked up the pace so I could get to the hotel as quickly as possible. The thought of sitting on a bench, leaning to one side with drool falling out of my mouth was appalling.

  I lucked out and got one of the last two rooms available. It was a suite, but you only live once, and it was fly as all get out. The entire hotel was slamming. I would have to recommend it to people from out of town from then on. I went back downstairs. The restaurant was packed and I wasn’t that hungry so I decided to have a drink in the lounge and then grab something to eat later.

  Pickings were slim at the bar, not that I was trying to get my flirt on. I just wasn’t used to sitting at a bar alone. I always ventured out with friends or co-workers; never alone. It felt strange but, at the same time, it gave me some time to think.

  Surprisingly, I found myself feeli
ng guilty about the way I’d treated that Victor fellow. He did seem awfully nice and it wasn’t his fault that his income for the year was probably less than what I made every month. Everyone is not meant to be successful and people measure success in different ways.

  I finished my Blue Hawaiian and made my way back up to Room 1218. I plopped down on the king-sized feather bed and flicked on the television. There was no regular programming on the local stations; all of them were doing extensive coverage of the flood. Flat roofs were caving in on some of the stores and people were stuck on highways and side roads, trying to make it home safely. All I could think was thank heaven I wasn’t one of them.

  I ran my fingers over my bracelet. “You better last me a long, long time,” I said aloud.

  There was really nothing on cable. HBO was showing sports highlights and the movie on Lifetime was a repeat of one that I had seen before. I suddenly felt tired and decided to take a nap.

  I took off my boots, jeans, and sweater and climbed under the soft comforter. It was always hard for me to take naps during the day. At least, without masturbating first. I started masturbating almost daily during high school and never stopped. I got back up just long enough to get a large bath towel from the bathroom so I could place it between my legs to cause friction on my clit. If I had known that I would be spending the night out, I would’ve come prepared with at least one of my smaller vibrators. They never fail.

  Normally, the men I fantasized about when I was masturbating would be faceless, just dick and tongue. There would usually be two or three of them doing me at the same time. But this time it was strange. My lover had a face: Victor’s. His body was Victor’s body and his dick was Victor’s. I couldn’t help but wonder if Victor’s dick was as juicy as I imagined it to be.

  As I rubbed my hardened nipples and gyrated my hips around the towel, I imagined him eating me out royally and then flipping me over so he could fuck me from behind. My fantasy about him was so good that I came within minutes and it was one hell of an orgasm.

  I was lying there, catching my breath, when the loud ringing of the telephone startled me.

  I picked it up on the second ring. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Connie?”

  I recognized the voice immediately and couldn’t believe it. “Victor?”

  “Yes. I was just making sure you got checked in okay.”

  “How did you get my room number?” I asked.

  “I don’t have your room number. I just asked for you by name.”

  “Oh,” I said, feeling like an idiot. Of course he didn’t know my room number. “Well, as you can see, I did get checked in. Thanks again for your help.”

  He was silent for a moment before saying, “You’re welcome. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

  “Hey, hold up!” I practically yelled into the phone.

  “Yes?”

  “Isn’t the mall closed now?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you’re off duty?”

  “I got off about fifteen minutes ago.”

  And I got off about two minutes ago, I thought to myself, and grinned.

  “You obviously can’t go home either, so what are you about to do?”

  “The food court in the mall is closed as well so I was just going to get something from the hotel restaurant and then chill out in the security office.”

  I don’t know what came over me but I wanted to know more about Victor. More than that, I wanted to fuck him.

  “Victor, I haven’t eaten either but the restaurant is crowded. I was down there earlier. Why don’t you come up to my room and we can order room service.”

  “Uh, uh, sure,” he said hastily. “That would be nice but…are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. I’m in Room 1218. Give me about ten minutes and come on up.”

  “Um, okay.”

  We hung up and I put my clothes back on, replaced the towel in the bathroom, and made the bed. I was refreshing my makeup when a knock came at the door.

  “Come in, Victor,” I said after opening the door and stepping aside. He looked like the cat that had just swallowed the canary. “I guess the last thing you expected was for me to invite you up.”

  “Yes, that was definitely the last thing I expected, but I appreciate it. I’m not too keen about hanging out with the other security guards when we’re not working and I hate eating alone.”

  “Me, too,” I said. “Have a seat and I’ll get the room service menu out.”

  He eyed the bed but decided to sit at the desk chair instead. “So have you called your man to let him know you’re stranded and won’t be home?”

  I laughed. His fishing around for information wasn’t exactly subtle.

  “I don’t have a man. I’m always working.” I sat on the edge of the bed, about two feet from where he was sitting. “What about you? Have you called your woman?”

  “I got divorced a few months ago,” he replied. “She wasn’t the one, after all.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” I glanced over the menu.

  “It’s for the best. The only thing I regret is not being able to see my kids every day.”

  “How many and how old?” I asked, thinking, “Baggage time.”

  “I have two girls, ages three and seven.”

  “That’s cool.” I handed him the menu. “I already know what I want.”

  “What’s that?”

  I started to say “the dick” but instead said, “I’m going for the chicken noodle soup and turkey club on wheat.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll take the same.”

  “I’ll call it in,” I said. “Hey, want to share a dessert? Something like the key lime pie? I know I can’t eat the whole thing.”

  “Sure, I’ll share it with you.”

  Room service was as quick as lightning. Victor and I had a wonderful conversation while we ate. He actually turned out to be quite interesting. As it turned out, he was only a security guard on the weekends and also worked as a paralegal for one of the largest law firms in the country. That meant he had some intelligence, which impressed me. He’d taken on the second job after his divorce became final to be able to cover his child support and alimony.

  I told him that I was the head of development for a large architectural agency. I learned to draw at an early age and became obsessed with it, so becoming an architect was the only thing that seemed logical.

  After we ate, we were both full and started yawning. Victor offered to leave but I beckoned him to stay. In fact, I climbed up on the center of the bed and patted the comforter for him to join me.

  He took off his shoes and loosened his tie before lying beside me. It was almost time for The Sopranos and OZ to come on HBO. I never missed an episode of either.

  While I sensed that Victor knew I was somewhat interested, I was under the impression that he would be reluctant to make the first move. It would have to be on me, so I started caressing his thigh. He flinched at first and then relaxed.

  “Victor, can I ask you something?”

  “Ask away.”

  “Have you had sex since you’ve been divorced?”

  He looked uneasy but finally replied, “A few times, but that was just to release some tension. Besides, I felt guilty afterward because I didn’t have feelings for the women.”

  “So you think there’s something wrong with casual sex?”

  “I think it depends on the situation and the parties involved. As long as both people are on the same page, it’s definitely not a bad thing. But when one person has higher expectations than the other one, it can be the beginning of a major problem.”

  “I’m feeling you on that,” I said. I moved my hand up higher and started caressing his dick. “I’d like to have casual sex with you tonight, Victor. I have no expectations, no hopes, no nothing. I just want to release some sexual tension myself.”

  He didn’t respond but his dick did. It was getting harder by the second until it filled my palm.

  “Are you attracted to
me, Victor?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I thought you said I wasn’t your type?”

  “I made a mistake,” I said, feeling like an asshole for my earlier comment. “I just have this defense mechanism that I keep in place to ward off men. It just activated a little too quickly this time.”

  “Well, it’s obvious that I’m feeling you. My hard dick speaks for itself, but you’re going to have to convince me that you’re feeling me.”

  “Ooh, a challenge. I like that.”

  I straddled his hips and darted my tongue in and out of his ear before nibbling on his earlobe. I pulled my sweater off and unzipped my jeans. “What if I told you that earlier, right before you called, I was lying up here in this very bed masturbating and fantasizing about you?”

  He laughed. “I would say you’re full of shit.”

  “No, really. I was, and guess what? I came really, really hard.”

  He blushed. “Are you for real?”

  I took his left hand and slid it down the front of my jeans, so his fingers could explore my crotch.

  “Feel my panties. Feel how wet they are. That’s the result of thinking about you doing all sorts of nasty things to me.”

  “What nasty things?”

  “Um, like tasting me, doing me from behind. Those kinds of nasty things.”

  “Sounds quite interesting but, you know, no fantasy can ever measure up to the real thing.”

  “No, never,” I agreed. “Victor, tell me, do you eat pussy?”

  “Not normally, but there are exceptions to every rule. You suck dick?”

  “Like a master,” I boasted. “Would you like for me to suck yours?”

  “Is the sky blue?”

  “It wasn’t today,” I said teasingly.

  “Okay.” He laughed. “So maybe that was a bad analogy, especially in the middle of a flood.”

  “It’s okay, Victor. I’ll forgive you, this one time, and suck your dick anyway.”

  I climbed off him and came out of my jeans, my bra, and panties. One thing about me; I’ve never had any hang-ups about my body like some women. Lights on or off, I’m willing to show the goods. Shelly and I even went to a nudist colony one summer. It was an unforgettable experience and I looked forward to going back.