Imagined Love

by Diamond Drake

  “Good morning, beautiful. How are you today?” Richard smiled.

  “I’m good. How are you?” Get out of here, Mr. Phillips!

  “Good morning, sir.”

  “Morning,” Mr. Phillips grunted, eying Richard suspiciously.

  Thankfully, after five minutes of him inventing reasons to stay, Mrs. Phillips called to tell her husband to come home for breakfast. Jade let out a sigh of relief but quickly grew frustrated when an onslaught of impatient customers filled the store. Jade wanted to scream. She smiled, however, when Richard stalled for time so he could be alone with her. At least that’s what she hoped he was doing.

  “I’ve been waiting for you this morning, Mr. Sullivan,” Jade said once the store was finally empty.

  “You have?” he smiled and his entire face seemed to light up.

  “Yes, I have,” she took a deep breath. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in going out with me. I’ve been waiting for months for you to ask but since you refuse to cooperate, I was forced to take matters into my own hands.”

  “Aw, man, now you’re making me look bad. I know there’s no way you’re gonna believe this but I came in here planning to ask you out! I was stalling over there trying to work up the nerve.”

  “Umm huh,” she squinted at him.

  “I swear it’s true, Jade,” Richard laughed. “Wouldn’t you know it? The day I finally decide to go for it, you beat me to the punch. I guess that’s what I get for waiting so long but I just couldn’t imagine a woman as fine as you would be single. To be honest, I’m still kind of skeptical. I’m not gonna get beat down by some big, buff dude for taking you out, am I?”

  “Well, you’re pretty big yourself so I think you could take him.” Jade burst out laughing at the look on Richard’s face. “I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m completely single and have been for a while now.”

  “And why is that exactly? Because I know you don’t have a problem attracting men. I see them lined up in here trying to get to you. Shoot, why do you think I come in here every morning?”

  “For your newspaper, right?” Jade smiled, mischievously.

  “Girl, please, I barely read the paper. I come in here everyday to see you. I think you’re so beautiful,” Richard said, as he stared into her provocative eyes.

  “And yet here you are making me beg for a date . . . something you haven’t said yes to, by the way.”

  “Aw, don’t do me like that,” Richard chuckled. “And trust me. You don’t have to beg for anything. I’ll gladly give you whatever you want,” he winked.

  “Oh, really?” Jade blushed, recognizing the sexual overtones in his statement. “I guess we’ll have to see about that, won’t we?”

  “Indeed we will.”

  They stared at each other for a few moments before Richard asked to take her out on Friday for dinner and a movie. He admitted not being much of a clubber and hoped that wasn’t a problem. It was then he learned Jade was only nineteen and wondered if she thought he was too old for her at thirty-two. She reassured Richard he wasn’t and that in fact she preferred an older man. She didn’t want to deal with the immaturity that came with guys her own age.

  As they exchanged phone numbers Richard asked Jade what kind of men she was in to.

  “What do you mean?” she frowned.

  “Well, do you only date the model type or are you cool going out with a chocolate teddy bear like me? You won’t be ashamed to be seen with me, will you?” he teased.

  Even though Richard was much darker than any man Jade had ever dated, she was very attracted to him. Standing 6’3” tall, he was muscular and rugged and had a manly appeal that got Jade a little hot under the collar. Seeing her go for a dark chocolate man would’ve surprised Katrina. She used to tease Jade by saying she was prejudice for only being drawn to light-skinned pretty boys. It wasn’t that she didn’t find dark men attractive, Jade just had a thing for those “high yellow” men. She couldn’t seem to leave them alone. At any rate, Richard appealed to her and she wanted to get to know him better.

  “I’m sorry to rush off but I’ve been up all night and I need to get some sleep. I’m looking forward to our date, though. We’re gonna have a good time,” Richard said then planted a kiss on Jade’s hand. He leaned in to kiss her cheek as well. Aroused by the scent of her perfume he was tempted to walk behind the counter to give her a real kiss, among other things. “Maybe if I’m a good boy you’ll consider letting me touch those beautiful, sensual lips of yours. They have kiss me Richard written all over them,” he smiled, staring at her mouth.

  “I guess we’ll have to see about that,” Jade said, gazing into his big, brown eyes.

  Later that afternoon, when Tamara came in for her chili dogs, Jade gave all the details of her interaction with Richard. She thought it was a good sign that the store remained empty the whole time the two of them talked and Tamara agreed.

  “So, beauty queen,” she said with a devilish grin, “are you planning to spend the night with Richard. He is cute, girl.”

  “I don’t know about all that. I mean, I’m attracted to him, I can’t lie. And it has been a long time since I’ve had . . . well, you know. But it’s just the first date and I don’t really know him, so no. I ain’t trying to be acting like a hoe.”

  “Girl, please, you a grown woman. If you feel like acting like a hoe then act like a hoe,” Tamara laughed. “You beautiful and young and you got this hot guy trying to get next to you. So I say go for it. How long has it been anyway?”

  “Uh, it’s been almost two years.”

  Tamara pretended like she was going to faint. “Beauty queen, please tell me you lying. You ain’t really been letting your kitty cat starve like that, have you? Oh, lord, I can barely go two hours without it. I’d be in a mental institution somewhere if I had to wait two years!” she laughed loudly. “Girl, you better dust that thang off and let Richard give it some nourishment. You can’t be walking around with a anorexic twot like that. It ain’t healthy.”

  “Girl, you so stupid,” Jade laughed.

  “Yeah, I know but you need to listen to me on this one. Oh, before I forget, won’t you and some of your girlfriends come join us for happy hour at the saloon across the street. We go over there a couple of times a month for a few drinks and to hang out a little while before we go home to our kids or men or whatever.”

  Jade explained that she didn’t really have any girlfriends. The only women she was friendly with were Mrs. Phillips and Gabrielle. After all the stuff she’d endured with Katrina and Tawny, making friends wasn’t high on her list of priorities. And her experiences with other women since moving to California hadn’t exactly been positive ones. Cassandra was the first of many to hate Jade without bothering to get to know her. However, she had a good feeling about Tamara and hoped a real friendship was building between them.

  “Now that’s just too much! You don’t drink. You don’t have sex. So what in the world do you do for fun, woman? Umm uh, I’ll tell you what, bring your butt to the saloon tonight and come hang with me and my girls. We gone laugh and dance and have a good time, okay? You might even find somebody to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation on that twot of yours to get you date ready!”

  “Nut,” Jade laughed, as she shook her head.

  15

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jade was all smiles for the rest of the day as she thought about her upcoming date. It wasn’t until she got home that rehearsing for the step show came to mind. Landon was going to be furious but he’d just have to get over it. She had a date and wasn’t canceling it for anybody! Fortunately, Gabrielle had made plans for them and he wanted to take the night off as well. They both agreed to practice hard over the next three days so they could fully enjoy their dates. Though, Landon cautioned Jade not to enjoy hers too much.

  Richard called every day leading up to their date and they talked for hours. However, at the end of each conversation Jade didn’t feel as though she knew him any b
etter. He told her about his job as a software quality assurance engineer but she had no clue or real interest in what that actually meant. Then he mentioned his four-year-old daughter only to say she lived in Colorado with his ex-girlfriend. When Jade asked questions about her or why he and his ex had broken up, Richard’s answers were very vague making it clear he wasn’t willing to discuss it. Yet, he had no qualms about asking personal questions about her life, particularly her sex life. At first Jade didn’t mind sharing things but the more reluctant he was to the do the same, the more tight-lipped she became, especially about her sex life. So a lot of time was spent talking about their favorite movies, music, books, and food. Jade really did enjoy laughing and joking with Richard. He seemed like a nice guy and she hoped he would open up and let her get to know more about him.

  On Friday evening Richard arrived at Jade’s front door with a bouquet of red roses. After a big hug, she introduced him then quickly left the apartment before Landon could grill him to death or insist upon having a double date. Once they were in Richard’s black ’89 Ford pick up truck he asked if her brother was always so overly protective. Jade simply said yes, deciding it was best to skip the whole explanation about who he really was. Her plan was to only be as open as Richard chose to be which, not surprisingly, wasn’t very. During dinner at Red Robin’s Hamburger joint he asked why she seemed so quiet and Jade answered honestly. He admitted not being much of a “confessions” type of guy but apologized for coming across as if he was unwilling to talk to her. Richard also said he didn’t think of himself as being all that interesting and assumed others would feel the same. However, he invited Jade to ask him questions and promised to answer truthfully. He figured it would benefit him later on so he told her his daughter’s name was Mya and that his ex-girlfriend broke off the relationship once she realized marriage wasn’t in the cards for them.

  “Was it just her you didn’t want to marry or are you not the marrying kind?”

  “Oh no, I’d love to get married one day. I just haven’t found the one yet. My mom was pushing me to marry Veronica when she got pregnant but that didn’t make any sense to me. We had been together for about a year and realized our relationship wasn’t really going anywhere. And it wasn’t that we didn’t love and care about each other because we really did. It was just something missing. We didn’t have that thing, you know? On paper Veronica and I were perfect for each other and I think that’s why we tried for so long to make it work even though we both knew it wasn’t what we wanted after a few months. Then we decided to have one last night together before going our separate ways and Mya was the result. Veronica had already moved to Colorado before she even knew she was pregnant. So there was really no reason for her to move back to be involved in a relationship we already knew didn’t work. Now she’s married to a man she adores and we both take care of our daughter.”

  “Do you wanna have more kids?”

  Richard didn’t really want to get into that but he could sense Jade needed to feel close to a man before she went to bed with him. And he definitely wanted to get into that! “No, I can’t have more kids. Before my relationship with Veronica, I was involved with someone who got pregnant and we decided not to have the baby. I didn’t like the way I felt after that. And once Mya was born I knew I didn’t want more children so I had a vasectomy to eliminate the possibility.”

  Jade wasn’t sure if she believed Richard. She wanted to, but a vasectomy seemed like such a drastic thing for a man his age to do. However, he hadn’t given her a reason not to trust him so she chose to believe what he said.

  They spent the next hour laughing and having fun with one another. Richard and Jade talked about going to see an upcoming play and perhaps going to San Francisco to catch a baseball game. Jade wasn’t surprised to learn he was really into sports as most men were. She was shocked to find out how much Richard loved watching cooking shows. It was an obsession of his. He confessed that he’d always wanted to be a chef but didn’t think it was practical and chose to get into a field involving computers. On weekends, however, Richard spent most of his time making new recipes to try out on his friends. His place was the spot where all the guys convened to eat and watch the game or play cards or dominoes.

  “I wanted to cook dinner for you tonight but I thought it might give you the wrong impression to have you over at my house for the first date. I wouldn’t have wanted you to be uncomfortable.”

  “Thank you for being considerate. I appreciate it.”

  “So you would’ve been uncomfortable then?”

  “No. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere with you if I didn’t feel comfortable. Plus, I asked you out, remember?” she smiled.

  “That’s true. So you wouldn’t be upset if I said I wanted to skip the movie and rent a few videos instead. I’ll give you dessert later. Oh, wait, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Richard said, responding to Jade’s raised eyebrow. “I really do have a homemade chocolate cake.”

  “Umm huh, sure you do.”

  “Well, come back to my place and I’ll prove it.”

  They rented a few movies and went to Richard’s townhouse which was only minutes from Jade’s apartment. He headed straight for the kitchen to show her the cake he’d made especially for her. It had “welcome Jade” written on it which she thought was really cute and quite obvious he was expecting her to be at his place. Richard smiled guiltily when she mentioned that. However, he seemed intent on showing Jade he could be trusted and she liked that.

  “Thank you so much for the cake and the roses. That was really sweet,” she smiled. “Wow, that’s a lot of liquor you have there, Mr. Sullivan.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not a big drinker. I cook with some of it but the majority is for my guests. Would you like me to make you something? I can fix anything you’d like.”

  “No thanks. I don’t drink.”

  Richard eyed her suspiciously and made Jade laugh. She explained that it was actually her father who turned her off from alcohol. When Jade was about nine years old Miles began making her taste different drinks and she thought they were gross. So in high school, when kids were sneaking alcohol, she already knew she didn’t like the taste and didn’t have a desire to drink. Seeing how stupid and out of control people acted when they were drunk made it even less appealing.

  “That’s pretty impressive. Well, everything except your father turning you into an alcoholic child.”

  “Shut up,” she said and they both laughed.

  Jade was about to leave the kitchen when Richard grabbed her hand and asked for a hug. The strength in his arms and chest and the scent of his Lagerfeld cologne got Jade a little excited and she tried to pull away but he held her tight.

  “You feel so good,” he whispered. “And what is this scent you wear? It’s the sexiest stuff I’ve ever smelled in my life. I swear,” Richard said, as he inhaled the fragrance on her neck. “You turn me on, Jade, you know that?” He felt her body tense a bit then let go of her. Richard led her to the living room and offered her a seat on the couch. “Listen, Jade,” he said, taking a seat next to her. “I’m gonna be up front, okay? I’m extremely attracted to you and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to make love to you. I want to very much, but that’s not the reason I brought you here. So please don’t feel uncomfortable or afraid because I would never hurt you or do anything you don’t wanna do. I’m not that kind of man and I need for you to know that.”

  “I never thought you would hurt me, Richard. I’m just a little nervous. It’s been almost two years since I’ve been with a man.”

  “Two years? Why, baby? I know it’s not from lack of opportunity. A woman as fine as you could have a different man every minute of the day if you wanted to! So what’s going on? Do you not like sex?”

  “It’s okay, but it’s not really about just having sex for me. I’m more of a relationship type of chick. I like the comfort of being with someone who actually loves and cares for me and wants something more than just taking me to
bed,” she fidgeted. “I’m sorry. I’m just . . . nervous.”

  “You don’t have to be nervous with me, Jade,” Richard said then caressed both of her hands.

  That only made her more fidgety. “Sorry. Like I said it’s been a long time. And then there’s the fact that I’m slightly intimidated by you.”

  “What! Why on earth would you be intimidated by me? I might look all big and gruff but I’m a teddy bear. I just wanna cuddle and kiss you and have fun being playful with you. I’m in to you, Jade.”

  “Well, when I look at you I see an older, more experienced man who’s used to being with women who know what they’re doing. And then you have me, this girl who hasn’t had a lot of experience and the little bit that I did have wasn’t exactly earth shattering if you know what I mean. So I guess what I’m trying to say is . . .”

  “You’re afraid you won’t please me?”

  “Basically, yes. Plus, I’m not in the habit of going to bed with men on the first date.”

  Richard felt a bit overwhelmed and thought it might be better to get some cake and watch a movie. Jade liked the idea as well but things didn’t quite work out that way. Ten minutes into the movie she could see him staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Then Richard moved closer and went from holding Jade’s hand to kissing it. The next thing she knew, he was planting kisses on her neck.

  “I thought we were supposed to be watching TV.”

  “I tried, but you so damn sexy I can’t seem to focus on anything else. And this sensual scent you got on is driving me wild! What is this stuff?” Richard asked, kissing her neck again.

  ‘It’s called Skin Musk Oil. It’s one of my favorites.”

  “Mine too,” he smiled. “I’ve never smelled a perfume that just makes me wanna make love. This stuff brings out the animal in me. And it makes me curious to know if you smell like this everywhere.” Then, quite unexpectedly, Richard ran his finger between her toes and smelled it. “Nope, that still smells like feet!”