by Mia Ford
“Don’t be jealous, Uncle Antonio. I like to spread the wealth, but don’t worry there’s always protection. I don’t do anything unless there’s a glove involved.” I could see that he was embarrassed and the flush in his cheeks made me slap his shoulder in a jovial nature.
“One of these days, you are going to bite off more than you can chew. There’s a man out there that is going to be your final undoing. I just hope that I’m alive when it happens. Do you want to tell me the name of your intended party, so that I can be a good host and bring him to your table upon arrival?” I told him his first name, leaving out the last, in case there was recognition in his eyes.
I was half Italian and I wore that heritage with pride. I even went into the kitchen from time to time with Antonio and let him teach me a few things about cooking. The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. I had the statuesque figure and a body that just wouldn’t quit. That had the makings of an unstoppable combination.
The lighting was sparse and had the atmosphere of romance in the air. The candle that was lit on every table had that certain something. Couples looking longingly into each other’s eyes had me almost begging for someone that would give me that kind of love and devotion. The last guy that I took here gave me a reason to grip the tabletop. I still saw him on occasion when my hunger for a long and agile tongue was more than I could take. He might’ve been young, but his youthful enthusiasm more than made up for his inexperience.
I heard somebody clearing their throat and I looked up from my fantasy world to see that my wet dream had come true. Marshall was dressed in a black tuxedo that made him like a beacon to those women that were not happy in their relationship. I saw some of the girls at other tables using their compacts to get a look at what was a testament to his gender.
“I know that it’s a bit cheesy, but I took the liberty of buying you a rose.” Coming from anybody else, I would think that he was doing something sweet, but this had the earmarks of wanting to get into my pants. “I know and I should’ve splurged on the whole dozen, but I didn’t want them to be outshined by the beauty at the table. This one rose compliments your eyes.” I had a catch in my throat and I never felt like my heart had stopped until that moment.
“I know that it’s customary for the man to order, but I know the owner personally. I want you to experience Italy in the way that I did one summer when I visited some of my relatives. True Italian cooking comes from love.” I held the rose and pretended to smile and smell the fragrance of the petals. I wasn’t much for flowers, but for some reason, this really did send sparks down below my waist.
“It’s very progressive of you to order for the man. I think that I’m going to have to watch out for you. You might be more than I can handle, but I think that remains to be seen. Tell me, what made you so interested in meeting me from my profile?” He was trying to trip me up, but I had done my due diligence and read his profile word for word.
“I think it was the way that you talked about a past love that got away. It had me thinking that I wanted to save you. You appeared to be damaged and in desperate need of some tender loving care. Was any of that real or did you just come up with that to throw your line into the available pool of women circling like sharks?” There didn’t seem to be a reason to sugarcoat anything. He already knew that I was approached by the girls and his playbook was going to have to be revised.
The white dress had a plunging neckline and the gold chain around my neck gave him a reason to look in that general direction. I wasn’t wearing a bra and my dollar sized nipples were standing strong and proud.
I could see the way that he was licking his lips, probably envisioning the way that his mouth would feel when they encompassed both of them at the same time. I would moan and twist in his grasp, pushing my chest into his face and letting him devour me like I had just come hot from the oven.
“I hate to be that ‘guy’, but it was just a story. You already know that. I told you when I met you this morning that I never did find anything close to real love. I search and yet it remains elusive out of my grasp. I want that feeling that has me powerless to resist the eyes that are staring across from me at the table.” He had me mesmerized, as I was staring into those liquid blue pools. I knew the reason why women had a hard time restraining themselves.
He followed that up with a hand on my knee, squeezing lightly and not too forceful. It was enough to catch my attention and send a shiver down my spine. He didn’t try to move any further. This was where most men thought that they have a license to take things to the next level. He was actually waiting for my approval and the proper invitation to take the control out of my hands.
“I thought as much, but I wanted to hear it from you. Don’t you think that you are misrepresenting yourself by telling bold-faced lies to women that are only trying to find something that completes them? I don’t know why you can’t just be yourself. Would it be that bad to let down your guard and let somebody in? You’d be surprised at how easily a woman can get lost in the truth.” I couldn’t break his hold on my knee, no matter how much I wanted to chastise him for his behavior.
“I might come off as superficial, but the only way that I’m going to find what I’m looking for is by being a little dishonest. We all lie to protect ourselves. When we feel comfortable enough to reveal the truth is when there is commitment. I don’t think that it comes as any big surprise that men and women stack the deck when they go looking for love. They say whatever they need to, embellish their profession or leave out certain details like having kids or ex-boyfriends that are a bit more possessive than most.” He did make a valid point and one that had me thinking about my own actions.
“A man like you should have no problem getting somebody into bed. You obviously feel that there’s something missing in your life. Tell me what you see in the mirror every morning and be completely truthful for once in your life. Do you see the suave and debonair man or do you see something ugly?” I was putting him on the spot, but I didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush.
“I stand in front of the mirror every morning and I see the insecure little boy that I was in high school. The one that weighed less than 110 pounds; didn’t have any muscle tone and had to watch as those jocks and athletic types take their shot at every girl. I should’ve seen that I needed to be something that I wasn’t. It wasn’t until I got into college that I began to hit the weights. I actually slept with girls that didn’t give me the time of day in high school. It was kind of liberating to know that they had no idea that I was that meek and thin little kid that was more like wallpaper.” His story had a ring of truth and I looked for anything that would indicate that this was just another story and there was no sign to the contrary.
He took his hand away from my knee and placed both of them on the table just as the food arrived. The Alfredo with the cheese sauce was one of my favorites. It was steaming from the plate and the aroma caused me to close my eyes and be transported back to Italy.
“Doesn’t it feel better to get it off your chest? I know that it makes me see you in a different light. You have given me a chance to see underneath the bravado. That has proven to me that you can change. Maybe you were telling the truth about never finding love. I don’t know if we can build on the lies that you perpetrated on your profile. I’m willing to look past that, but only if you don’t try to fool me again. I’ve been once bitten and twice shy.” I took a forkful and I savored the moment, knowing that this dish was almost better than sex.
“I find myself at a loss for words. I would say that your beauty blinds me and makes me speechless, but that would only be just another line. I do find you sexy and you have this raw sexuality that oozes out of every pore. You can’t tell me that you didn’t wear a bra because you forgot. You obviously want men to look and crave you like the last piece of chocolate cake in the fridge.” He wasn’t wrong and like him, I was a wallflower in high school. I didn’t develop until I was out of high school.
“I’ll te
ll you a secret. I was exactly like you and I find myself guilty as charged. I found those certain guys that I liked in high school and I made them see me for the first time. I slept with them not because I wanted to, but to make a point.” I’d never mentioned this to anybody and for me to confess this sin had me feeling a little out of sorts.
“I didn’t know what to expect this evening, Gillian. I thought that I was barking up the wrong tree and that you were going to call me out for all the heartache that I caused. You seem so well put together and sane. I can’t say that for some of those dates that will remain nameless. I’ve had some disastrous ones. The one that comes to mind most recently is being set on fire. She was not what she claimed to be in her profile. She liked to set fires and I had to chase her around my home with a fire extinguisher.” The vivid image that came to mind made me cover my mouth with my hand to stop myself from laughing out loud.
“You poor thing, it must be quite the hardship to be you. Let’s cut all the nonsense and get down to the meat of the matter. It’s obvious that you want to sleep with me, but that’s not going to happen until I get to know you better. Patience is rewarded. Trust me; being with me is an experience that you will never forget. I leave them panting and wanting more. I am very well aware of kegel exercises. I’m doing them right now and I could probably break a walnut. I can see the way that you are looking at me. You’re thinking that I might be worth the effort of waiting.” The dessert came and the molten lava chocolate cake was something to die for.
I left there feeling like my body was on fire. We stopped in front of our two respective cars and he kissed me lightly on the lips. I pushed away from him, with one finger in the air and I wagged it back and forth like I was taking exception to his overly anxious ways.
“Let’s not start something that we won’t be able to finish tonight. I’m sure that you’re going to go home and put the palm sisters into motion. They never talk back and they always do what you say. Don’t look so shocked. I like to tell it the way that it is. Some women might keep things to themselves, but I know how men think. They will do anything and say anything to get pussy. A warm place to sink their cock for the night is what keeps them coming back to a bar over and over again.” His mouth was open.
“I have never heard any woman talk like you have. You have this sense of being and it doesn’t hurt that you have a body that probably could go all night. If this was any other date, I would probably cut my losses and turn my attention to somebody else. I think that I would like to see how far this goes. This time, let me choose the venue and I have a knack for coming up with unique things that give a girl the idea that I’m not just phoning it in.” He tried to reach for me and pull me in with his hand on the small of my back, but I put my hands on his chest to prevent him from going any further.
“You say one thing and you do another. I don’t know why, but I’m willing to give you a chance to play by my rules. Don’t call me. Girls might wait for your phone call, but this time you’re the one that’s going to be waiting.” I backed away from him. I got into my car and drove with one hand on the steering wheel and my eyes on him standing there like he didn’t know what to make of what happened. It didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was a good start.
Two days later and I wanted to see how he was faring. I decided to stop by using Jason’s car, considering that he did owe me a favor for landing the big fish of Marshall Peters. The commission check was quite something and gave me the chance to buy that new leather jacket that I had my eye on.
I sat there in the car at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning thinking that I was going to catch him with his pants down. His car was on the road, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t pick up some strange piece of ass in the evening hours. I took out my high-powered binoculars and zoomed in on the house from overlooking the hill. I wanted to be out of the way, so that nobody would notice me, especially at this early hour.
I had my hair in a ponytail, wearing a pair of black jogging pants and a blue spandex top that had me looking like any other jogger that might find their respite by putting their feet on the pavement.
He finally emerged about an hour after I arrived. He was wearing this ratty old bathrobe that looked like it had seen better days. He picked up his paper, glanced in my general direction, but there was no way for him to know that I was there. He lived in one of those double duplexes that had a more conventional feel.
He didn’t look like I remembered. He was not shaved; his hair unruly and there were bags underneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. I could hope that was due to my influence in his life. I was worried that some buxom young barmaid was going to step up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist.
I had the window down and I could feel the cool breeze. It made me know that I was alive. I hadn’t called him in two days and I wanted him to feel what it was like for the female gender. This did not look like an act. This was necessary to see him fall from grace. I had arranged for us to meet later that afternoon. Once I found out where he lived, I went to the small shops in the area and had discussions with the owners. I knew how to flirt information out of any man. It didn’t take long to find out that Marshall had a habit of going shopping for his supplies on Saturday afternoon at precisely 2:00 PM.
The door to his condo was wide open and his ears perked up like he was a dog trained to sniff out anything that would make his alarms go off. He rushed in and grabbed the phone with a look of anticipation on his face. Once he started to talk, his expression changed like it wasn’t exactly who he was hoping for. I could read lips a little bit and I could ascertain that he was talking to his mother. I wondered if they really did have a good relationship.
My phone began to buzz in my pocket. That initial vibration and looking at his handsome but disheveled face had turned me on something fierce. I let it buzz for a few seconds, closing my eyes and letting my mind drift with images of his naked body to fuel my fantasy.
I could’ve easily let my fingers do the walking, but I had already done that a couple of days ago. He wasn’t the only one that could use what god gave them to give themselves pleasure. I had the advantage with several interesting implements. I had an addiction and I would go to the local sex shop and get my thrill by buying things that I really didn’t need. I was exactly the same as those guys, but my habit didn’t cost more than the gross national product of Lebanon.
I finally sighed, shivered in place and let the excitement slowly diminish to a simmer. I turned on the speaker portion of my phone and the voice that greeted me was somebody that wasn’t very happy.
“I know that you said that you needed a month to complete this transaction. There might be a problem.” I didn’t like that word. Problems were made to find solutions. “I think that you may have noticed that there was one in our little group that wasn’t saying much when we met. Julia has misgivings and has been thinking about telling him what we are up to. I’ve tried to talk her out of it, but she won’t listen to me.” I could tell that Lillian was at her wit’s end. I was worried about Julia and the way that she kept looking away during our conversation in my office.
“It might be time for an intervention. Get her over to your house on some pretense. I’ll be there to confront her with you. I have some news of my own, but I think that it should wait until everybody is present. It’s nothing to worry about, but it does change things. I’ll explain when I see you. Send me a text message to confirm the time that I should show up at your place.” I hadn’t told them that he had caught me, but I didn’t want to make them think that all was lost.
“I hope that you have things handled. I haven’t been able to sleep since the moment that I met him. My husband knows that something’s wrong and it’s only lucky that he is an international salesman. He’s always on the road and right now he’s in Australia for a few weeks. I try to keep a stiff upper lip, but it’s hard when we talk almost every day and there’s this tension in the air. I’ll feel better when Marshall gets his comeup
pance for making my life a living hell.” I could feel for her, but I also knew that it took two to tango. She was as much to blame for this indiscretion as Marshall was for seducing her with words and then actions. He needed to be held accountable and I was just the girl to do it.
“I’m a bit busy at the moment. I’ll be more than happy to discuss this in depth when I see you. I understand how hard it was for you to resist him. He knows how to read people and tell them exactly what they need to hear. His charm is unmeasured and those dimples and blue eyes really do set the stage for an erotic play.” In the last two days, I had vivid and very explicit dreams of him in various positions.
“Be careful and he has a funny way of making you think that everything is innocent and then it turns into an afternoon delight. He preys on weakness. He filters out what he doesn’t need to know and zeros in on the feeling of neglect or that desperate need for something more than a 5-minute wonder.” I could see through the picture window in his condo and I saw that he was drinking coffee alone.
I looked at the bedroom window and the curtains didn’t flutter like somebody was afraid to get caught taking that walk of shame.
“I have to go.” I looked in my rearview mirror and a police car was no more than a few feet away. It did not have its lights flashing, but it must have been informed that there was somebody suspicious lurking about. The man stepped from his vehicle. He was wearing a shiny badge that I could tell that he took pride in.
There was no point in denying why I was there. I had no idea how long he had been sitting there before I noticed him. I didn’t try to hide the binoculars and then his crotch was right in front of me.