Urban Love Prophecy

by Jessica Ingro

  The waitress on duty told us to sit wherever we wanted. Jay chose a booth towards the back where there was no one even remotely close to us. Not that the place was packed at two-thirty in the morning.

  We settled across from each other in the booth. I picked up the menus that sat in a holder on the table against the wall, handing one to Jay and keeping one for me.

  “Oh, they have breakfast and dinner food,” I noted looking over the menu.

  “They have the best grits you’ll ever taste.”

  I made a gagging noise and then took a sip of my water. “Ugh! Gross! I hate grits!”

  “How could you possibly hate grits?” His smirk was downright adorable.

  “Very easily.” My body shuddered remembering the night I threw them up in college. “Never again will a grit pass these lips.”

  My words had Jay staring at my lips. He opened his mouth to say something, but just then the waitress came over to take our orders. I decided on a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake. Jay got a double order of bacon, biscuits with gravy, and grits. Gross.

  “So explain the ‘T’ thing to me. I need to understand.” I propped my chin in my hand and gave him an inquisitive look.

  “What’s there to understand? And why is it that women always want to know more? Sometimes things just are what they are. No hidden meaning or agenda.”

  I waved my hand at him dismissing that thought. “We don’t have enough time to get into the women’s psyche. Besides we were talking about me and why you think the nickname ‘T’ fits me. So why don’t we focus on that for now?”

  Jay laughed and shook his head. “You’re fucking nutty.”

  “Nutty yet lovable,” I agreed with a bob of my head.

  Suddenly serious, he leaned forward and took my hands in his. His thumbs caressed my palms as he rocked my world when he playfully said, “You’re tantalizing.”

  He lifted one of my hands and kissed it. I gasped at the contact and how intimate it felt when his tongue lightly brushed my skin before he retreated. “You’re tasty.”

  His eyes honed in on my chest. “You have great tits and a fantastic tush.”

  His voice dipped lower and had a sexy edge to it. “And you’re totally fucking beautiful.”

  “Wow,” I whispered. I felt my breath coming a little harder and my pulse beating wildly. That was… I didn’t know what it was. I just knew it was all good. So very, very good. Shaking myself from the trance he had me in, I continued, “You came up with that all on your own and that quickly?”

  “Totally fucking nutty.” He shook his head again as if I was downright amusing. “Baby, you do know what I do for a living right? I could whip out a whole verse on the fly.”

  “Oh. Right,” I said with a hint of embarrassment. Maybe it wasn’t as good as I initially thought. Maybe it was just a game to him. I shouldn’t be surprised.

  “So, can I call you ‘T’ without you freaking out?”

  “Yeah. I’ll allow it.” I feigned indifference, not wanting to admit to him that I absolutely loved the nickname now. “Just don’t expect me to say, ‘I pity the fool.’”

  I watched as his body began shaking and then his smooth laughter filled the air. He let go of my hands when the waitress brought out our food, but he didn’t stop laughing for several moments. I was secretly thrilled that I could amuse him. I had a feeling he took life a little too seriously. Or maybe people were afraid to make him laugh because they were intimated by him and weren’t real with him.

  We both dug into our meals and I had to keep myself from staring in disgust at the pile of grits sitting in a bowl taunting me.

  I had a mouth full of burger when he started asking me questions about my past. When I initially met him, I didn’t want to tell him anything personal, but for some reason I now wanted him to know everything. It felt as though we were forging a friendship, and that meant a lot to me. Even if things never went any further, I knew I wanted to keep Jay in my life.

  “So tell me about Tori before her days at Lace.”

  I set my burger down and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “I grew up in the M Streets until I was ten. By then my father had taken the oil company he ran with my uncle Ted to the next level. Once the money really started pouring in, we moved to a ranch outside of town.”

  “Damn. So you come from big money. That why you drive a Lexus?” He raised his eyebrows, and his face registered shock.

  I nodded my head and twirled a fry in my ketchup. “My mom died when I was a teenager. It was unexpected. A brain aneurysm. It sucked. Anyway, my dad started dating and subsequently marrying women who got younger and younger. I think he was just trying to alleviate the pain of losing my mom. I used to watch my parents together and dream about having that kind of love. It was magical. He looked at her like she hung the stars and the moon. And she thought he could do anything.”

  “I can’t imagine it’s easy to move on from losing a true love,” he noted. His mouth pulled down into a frown.

  “Yeah. We both floundered a bit when she passed.”

  Appetite now gone, I dropped the fry and pushed my plate away. It was always so painful to remember how great life had been with my mom in it. She kissed my boo-boos. She rocked away my bad dreams. She gave me advice on boys when I hit puberty and when I had my first crush. When we were all together, I felt safe. Loved. Cherished. I’ve been lonely ever since. Because not only did I lose my mom, but I lost the dad I knew and loved as well. Now I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again.

  “What?” Jay asked when he saw my eyes filled with tears. The look of tenderness and concern showing in his beautiful features had me completely breaking down.

  “My dad is dying,” I choked out as hot tears spilled over and down my face.

  Jay slid out from his side of the booth and into mine. He wrapped me up in his arms and let me cry silently into his shirt.

  I sniffled and wiped my nose on a napkin after I settled down. “Sorry. I don’t really talk about this much.”

  “Hey,” he said softly and his fingers on my chin turned my head until I was forced to make eye contact with him. “You don’t have to talk about it. Just know that I’m always here if you need a shoulder to cry on.”

  The sincerity and truthfulness behind his words couldn’t be missed. It was threaded through each and every word he spoke to me. I admired that. There was something to be said about a tough guy being sweet and sensitive.

  “Thank you,” I whispered. He turned his body further towards me, caging me in and making me feel protected. My eyes fluttered closed when his hand cupped my face, and his thumb moved back and forth gently over my cheek.

  “You do know you’re beautiful, right? And your mom would be proud to see what a special woman you’ve become,” he whispered in my ear. When he was done speaking, he pulled back fractionally and stared into my eyes. Blue meeting green in an effort to communicate how genuine that statement was for him.

  My breath hitched, and I fought hard to swallow past the lump that was building in my throat. He said the most perfect things at just the right time. In that moment, I really wanted this man beyond just in my bedroom. I wanted him in my life.

  He leaned away and settled on my side of the booth, propping his foot up on the opposite side and stretching his arm along the back of the seat.

  “What other songs did you like? Or is it presumptuous of me to assume you liked more than one song on that CD?” I was grateful for the lighter topic, since the chemistry between us was starting to feel a bit combustible.

  “Not at all. I liked most of them, but ‘The Struggle’ spoke to me. I felt like you gave me a glimpse inside you. It was humbling to be given that opportunity. To hear how you struggled to be the son your mother would be proud of and the man that a woman would want to spend her life with. The man a daughter would want to call father. It was really very beautiful.”

  I watched as something passed over his face that was both breathtaking and raw. Before I had a
chance to put my finger on what it was, it was gone. Replaced with a serious look that made me cringe a little. I wanted the playful Jay back. Not the one that appeared to be lost in thoughts, and not all of them good.

  “Although I have to say the song about fucking your best friend’s girl one night and then hitting an entire sorority the next was just as inspirational,” I deadpanned. “How did you possibly fit them in all in one night? Inquiring minds want to know.” I winked and hoped that would break the mood. It worked when he threw a fry from my plate at me.

  “Brat.” He laughed with a half grin on his face.

  “Really, though, is that true? Did you really have sex with that many women in the span of one night?”

  He looked uncomfortable for a split second before answering. “Maybe not all of them, but there were quite a few.”

  “Huh. So you’re a stallion then?” Growing up with horses I knew that stallions were often bred more than once in a day. If this story was true, I could imagine him going all night like a real thoroughbred. That thought was a little too much for my brain to comprehend.

  “I haven’t had any complaints. And I’m certainly hung like one.”

  “You know, they say the men who brag the most are the ones that shouldn’t be bragging.”

  “Oh, Tori. Now you’re testing me. If you want me to show you, baby, it can be arranged.”

  Yes, please, my inner slut begged again. She certainly was demanding to be heard tonight. And really I never let her come out and play. It might not be all that bad if I allowed it just this once.

  The waitress cleared our dishes and left the check. When Jay went up to the front to pay, I reapplied some bubblegum flavored lip gloss and tried not to yawn too much. Maybe I was an old lady like Kim suggested. There was a time I could stay up until four in the morning and not think twice about it. Those days seemed so far away.

  My hair was swept over my shoulder and Jay leaned in and spoke in my ear. “You ready?”

  I nodded and allowed him to take my hand and help me up. Once we were in the car and driving away, I closed my eyes and fought falling asleep.

  “Tired?” Jay asked as he fiddled with the radio.

  “Mmmm,” I barely answered. Between the late hour and talking about my mom, which was always emotionally draining, I was wiped.

  “Next time I’ll bring you home. I don’t like the idea of you driving while you’re this tired. Maybe I should follow you.” We pulled into Lace’s parking lot, and he parked next to my car.

  “I’ll be fine. I don’t live too far from here anyway.” I was really disappointed that breakfast went by so quickly. I felt like we barely had time to get to know anything about each other. I wanted to know more about his life and his struggle to become the man he was. I felt like all we did was talk about me, and horse around a little.

  “Come here,” he said when he turned in his seat. His hand shot out and wrapped around my neck before pulling me to him. I had no time to react. All I knew is that my stomach dipped as his soft lips met mine. The kiss started out slow, but I needed more from him, so I parted my lips and he wasted no time swooping in and claiming me with his tongue. From that point, things got a little wild. His hand wrapped in my hair and angled my head, taking the kiss deeper. One of my hands latched on to his head to unnecessarily hold him to me, while the other held onto his shoulder for dear life.

  His tongue felt incredible gliding against mine. He tasted of bacon and Jay. That was the only way I could think to describe it. The taste had to be unique to him. I loved it. And boy could the man kiss. I could spend hours with my mouth to his. Drinking from him.

  Tiny whimpers rising from the back of my throat made him groan into my mouth and pull me tighter to him. When we broke apart, I was leaning well over the console, practically on my knees. We stared into each other’s eyes for several moments, both breathing heavy from our make out session.

  Needing a moment to gather my wits, I looked over his shoulder and realized the windows had begun fogging up. I started giggling softly, but it quickly escalated to a full out laughing fit. Not even in high school did I ever make out in a car and steam up the windows.

  I finally sobered and glanced over to see him watching me with a grin on his face. God, he really was beautiful.

  “I better get going,” I said reluctantly.

  “Drive careful, baby,” he said softly. His hand settled on my neck, and he pulled me in for another kiss, but this one stayed soft and sweet. He licked his lip when he pulled away. “Tasty.”

  That got quivers in multiple different regions of my body.

  “Bye,” I murmured as I got out of the car.

  The whole way home my skin felt like electricity was running just underneath it. Each time I would relive the kiss in my mind, I got butterflies that started in my stomach and ended as a pulse between my legs.

  It was amazing that one simple kiss could affect me like this. Well, it wasn’t so simple in the end, but it was beautiful all the same.

  Chapter Five

  My eyes flew open and I jumped out of bed like it was on fire. My heart was pounding and adrenaline was pumping through my veins.

  What the hell?

  I squinted and looked around the dimly lit bedroom. The sun was peeking through the edges of the dark curtains that I had purchased in an attempt to keep the room as dark as possible. Sleeping during daylight hours was a major downside of working nights.

  At first glance, nothing seemed out of place and my extreme reaction didn’t make sense. Then the pounding started and I remembered why I had jolted awake so abruptly.

  Slipping a silk kimono over my satin and lacy baby doll nightie and shoving my feet in a pair of slippers, I shouted towards the door. “Be right there!”

  Unfortunately, the pounding didn’t stop. At all. It just kept its steady pace of annoyance. Fantastic.

  I staggered to the front door where the culprit was located. The door swung open and I saw a fully dressed Kim standing there.

  “What the hell, Kim. You know I didn’t get home until late.” I glanced at the clock and saw it was barely eight-thirty in the morning. “I’ve been asleep for like three hours!”

  “Excuse me, Miss Priss. I thought you would want to know that someone is towing your car. Do you have outstanding tickets or something?” She gestured over to the parking lot where there was indeed a giant, hairy man pulling my car up onto a tow truck.

  I quickly shuffled to the parking lot, screaming “Wait, wait!” over and over again. Gorilla man just looked at me with one eyebrow raised while the car continued its ascent. I caught him just as he was finishing up and about to throw his clipboard in the truck.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I huffed as I skidded to a stop in front of where he stood with his arms crossed in an unfriendly gesture. His eyes honed in on the cleavage that was now uncovered thanks to my kimono falling open during my hasty jaunt to save my car. I grabbed the ends of the robe and tightened it around my waist.

  “Ahem,” I continued and drew his attention to my face. It was easy to read in his that he liked what he saw. It made me cringe. “What do you think you’re doing with my car?” I semi-repeated.

  “It’s not your car. This car here belongs to one Mr. Lawrence Watson. I have strict orders to return it to its owner.”

  Annabelle. That bitch! She wasn’t satisfied taking my money and my apartment. No… She had to take my car too. I was sure to pay the car insurance for the year upfront when my cousins gave me money to live off of just so this didn’t happen. God, I was going to rip every fake piece of hair out of that witch’s head when I finally got my hands on her.

  “Look,” I said, trying to be calm and rational. I was really hoping I could plead with Gorilla man and make him see reason. “Lawrence is my father. He gave me that car. It’s mine.”

  “If he gave you the car then it should be in your name. It’s not, so I’m taking it.”

  Beyond frustrated and close to losing it
, I got desperate. I couldn’t let her take my only means of transportation. I needed to get to work in order to support myself. So in my moment of desperation, I let my robe fall back open putting all my goods on display for him.

  Hey. I wasn’t proud of it. I actually detested myself for doing it, but sometimes a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do. I was learning I wasn’t above manipulating a situation if need be.

  His eyes started at my slipper-clad feet and slithered up my bare legs, over my silk and laced covered torso, ending on my mostly bare breasts. I felt defiled just from that look alone. I was going to take a long shower and scrub myself raw when this was done. Then hopefully, I’d jump in my car and pay my stepmother a little visit.

  “Please,” I lowered my tone to near breathlessness. Maybe I should have been an actress. “Please don’t take my car. I need it.”

  I watched in horror as he licked his chops like I was a juicy steak. Part of me was concerned that he’d offer to let me keep the car for a blow job or something as equally demeaning. I might be desperate, but there was no way in hell I’d ever go there.

  “Sorry, lady. I got my orders. You’ll have to take it up with the owner.”

  “Fine!” I growled and stomped away. Kim followed after me. I hadn’t realized that she was watching that little show.

  I went inside my apartment, slammed the door and went right for my phone. Stabbing the buttons with my fingers, I dialed Jeff. He had to have dug up some dirt on my bitch of a stepmother by now that I could use against her.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I cursed when it went to voicemail. Could this day get any worse? “Jeff. It’s me, Tori. Listen, the wicked witch of the west just had her minions fly in and take my Lexus. I need to know what you’ve found. Call me back.”

  “Shit!” I yelled and threw my phone on the table. It skidded across the surface and fell on the floor.

  “Uh, Tori? Maybe you should take a deep breath and calm down,” Kim suggested.

  I whipped around and stalked towards her. “I will not calm down! She has taken this too far! All I wanted was to be with my father in his final days and keep on living my life like I had been. But nooooooooooooooooo! That bitch couldn’t stand the fact that I was always going to be more important than her. Well, fuck that!”