by Teneka Woods
Vaughn nodded.
“Have you figured out what you’re gonna do to get more involved?”
“No. My mama said they got a art club though. She looked it up online.”
“I think you’ll love it, man. It’s the perfect way to meet other artists. Have you made anything new?”
“I draw every day,” Vaughn told him.
“I hope I get to see more of it. When’s the last time you saw your brother?”
He shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. It’s been a while.”
“How is he doing? Have you talked to him lately?”
“Good I guess. He stay out in Crosby now. With his friends.”
“That’s cool,” Nate nodded. “He’ll probably be shocked the next time he sees you since you’re slimming down.”
Vaughn chuckled. “Yeah.”
When Leticia emerged from the women’s locker room Nate gave her a recap as usual of what he and Vaughn did that morning. Leticia wanted to make sure her son was still cooperating and not giving Nate any problems.
He watched them as they exited the gym, and Nate hoped it wasn’t his imagination, but Vaughn seemed to walk with a little pep in his step.
THIRTY-TWO
She hadn’t completely made it in her apartment door when Nate called to tell her to come over. Her knee ached, she smelled like dog, and all she planned to do was shower and relax on the sofa. It was adoption photo day at the shelter and she’d spent the last three hours photographing every kitty and pooch in the building. She’d asked the director’s permission to jazz up the photo shoots with simple props and accessories from her personal collection—a plaid throw blanket for the cats to lie on, a beret to add to a dog’s head, a ball to wrestle with—just to make the fur babies that much more endearing to potential adopters. The day turned out to be more exhausting than she imagined. One particular pup—a 70-pound chocolate Labrador—was all too eager to play with Tora, his tongue lolling and his tail wagging as he jumped all over her. Even the young girl assisting Tora was having trouble containing the friendly animal. Neither of them noticed the leash that somehow wound itself around Tora’s ankle, so when Tora tried to get away she was tripped up and fell knee-first on the cement floor.
She packed an overnight bag because she had no intentions of returning home and subjecting her knee to another three-story climb.
Nate opened the door and a frown creased his forehead. “Tora, why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come out to meet you.”
“I did call. You didn’t answer.” God, he looks so good, she thought. There was something fresher about his face, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Maybe I didn’t hear the phone ring.” He stepped aside for her to enter. “Were you able to find a close parking space?”
“Yeah, thank God. Because my knee is throbbing like crazy.”
“Why? What happened to your knee?” He grabbed the bags from her shoulder as she limped over to the couch.
“It happened at the animal shelter today. I got tangled in a dog’s leash.”
“And hurt your knee? Why didn’t you let me know? I wouldn’t’ve made you leave your apartment if I knew you were in pain, Tora.”
He said it in a tone like he was really upset she didn’t tell him.
“Which one is it?” he asked. She pointed to her right knee and he sat down beside her. He gently lifted her leg and placed it across his lap.
That’s what’s different, she thought to herself as she watched him examine her knee. His sideburns were gone and his beard and goatee had been trimmed way down.
“It’s a little swollen right here,” he said, poking the area lightly with his finger. “I’m gonna get an ice pack for you.”
“Do I smell some cooking going on?” she said when he left the couch.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “It’s just a little somethin’-somethin’ I put together. Stuffed chicken breasts, pasta, garden salad. Y’know… something light.”
“It smells really good.”
“Thanks. I figured we didn’t need another junk food night.”
She laughed. “What are you trying to say?”
He returned to the living room with a Ziploc bag filled with ice cubes. “That you make it hard for me to stay focused, but I’m determined tonight.”
The look on his face made her believe he wasn’t just talking about his diet.
He suggested she turn sideways on the couch to stretch her legs across his lap. He placed the baggie on top of her knee. “The chicken should be ready in about another ten minutes,” he said. “You hungry?”
“Mmm-hmm.” The bag was cold. “I don’t know how you expect me to keep this on my knee. I’ll end up with freezer burn.”
“No you won’t,” he said. “I know how to do it. Just relax.”
She propped a throw pillow behind her head and did just that.
“What were you doing at the shelter?” he asked.
“We’re getting ready for the fall adoption campaign, so I was helping out with the photos to update the web roster.”
“Is this like a second job or—”
“Just volunteer work. I try to go there at least three times a month; no less than two. I help out wherever I’m needed. We clean the cages, clean the animals, assist with playground time.”
“You really love animals, don’t you?”
“I really do,” she smiled. “They’re like children to me. Sweet and innocent and just so loveable. We always had pets when I was growing up. My daddy is a dog lover, but I prefer cats most of the time.” Then she laughed. “And what’s so funny about my dad is that he always named our dogs after his favorite classic cars. We had a German Shepherd named Fleetwood, a Boxer named Regal. DeVille was his favorite of them all, I think. She was a Pit Boxer mix.”
“Now I know where his daughter gets it from with the unusual pet names.”
“You’re probably right,” she laughed again.
When the food was done he told her to stay put and that he would make her plate.
“What should we watch this time?” he asked when he returned to her side. “Power again?”
“Sounds good to me.”
His sheets were soft and smelled like lavender. He said he’d changed them while she was taking a shower. That was an hour ago and she lay in his bed wondering how she was going to fall asleep without a TV. He didn’t have one in his bedroom and she was used to watching television until she dozed off at night.
She turned over on her side, but the light from an outdoor lamp shining through the blinds forced her to turn back. There was no curtain covering the window, which she thought was strange considering how carefully decorated the rest of his apartment was.
She hadn’t thought to pack her night mask, either. She would rather have the couch, but he insisted she sleep in the bed because of her knee even though it was feeling much better than when she first arrived. After dinner Nate had spent a few minutes massaging her leg and neither one of them would admit they were turned on by the small gesture. She smiled as she recalled how he’d teased her calf and she’d turned into a giggling, squirming mess all over again.
“Oh, you’re still up?”
Tora turned towards the door where he was standing. No shirt. Black boxer briefs. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me, she thought.
“I just came to get another pillow,” he said.
Her eyes followed him as he went to the opposite side of the bed. Have mercy. Them GQ models ain’t got nothing on this man.
“You comfortable?” he asked.
“Oh yeah. The bed is wonderful. Just having trouble going to sleep without a TV to put me to sleep.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t like televisions in the bedroom.”
She couldn’t even look him in the eye for staring at his chest. “Why not?” she asked.
“For me, the bedroom is a place for only two things.”
In her mind her tongue was tracing the
creases in his abs. She finally looked at him. “And what’s that?”
“Sleep and sex,” he said.
She cleared her throat. “I see.”
“You’re welcomed to join me on the couch,” he said.
“So does this mean no sex occurs on your couch?”
His laugh was loud and unexpected in the quiet room. “Well… these couches are only a couple years old and… no, they haven’t seen any action.”
She left the bed, pulling his blanket behind her.
They were watching TV for only a half-hour before she started yawning. “I guess I can return to bed now,” she said, and stood.
“Aww, man. I was enjoying you sitting next to me. Now the couch is all cold.” He gave that puppy dog pout again, and she fell for it.
“You don’t have to sleep out here if you don’t want to.”
His eyes searched hers and she knew he was wondering what exactly she was proposing.
“We survived sleeping together a few days ago,” she shrugged.
“And you have no idea how much pain I was in, either.”
“Pain? Why were you in pain, Nate?”
“Because I had the beautiful, sexy woman I’ve been fiending for since I first laid eyes on her alone in my apartment, sleeping next to me on my couch and I couldn’t touch her.”
Her pulse quickened at the intense way he gazed at her as he confessed.
“Telling me to lay down next to you in a bed just to sleep…” he shook his head. “I’m not even gonna put myself through that.”
It was a bad idea because there was no way she would be able to lie next to him either without feeling a tug in her loins.
But maybe that’s exactly what she wanted. It had been two years too long.
“I don’t want you to have to give up another comfortable night of sleep on account of me, Nate.”
The way he lay there on the couch looking up at her, one arm resting behind his head, she was tempted to go and get her camera.
“Tora,” he finally said, “please don’t play games with me.”
“I’m not—”
“If I come in there, I’m making love to you.”
A quiet breath pushed past her lips when the heat that began at her knees rushed to her head. She didn’t expect he would be so blunt.
“It took forever just to get you to hang out with me, you tell me we can’t be anything more than friends, and now I’m supposed to share a bed with you like it’s nothing?”
“I mean…” she shrugged again, at a loss for words. He was right. She had said there couldn’t be anything between them, and she was trying her hardest to not give in on her promise to abstain from casual sex. He didn’t deserve that if he was seeking something more than a platonic relationship.
“How do you like your eggs?”
The question came out of left field. “What?” she said.
“I make breakfast every morning. How do you like your eggs?”
“Oh,” she chuckled. “Scrambled is fine.”
He turned over on his side and pulled the blanket up to his shoulder. “Good night, beautiful. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Who am I kidding?
She was no longer sleepy. Instead, she lay wide awake in the dark, Nate’s declaration replaying in her head: ‘If I come in there, I’m making love to you.’
Why was she doing this to herself? She wanted this man as much as he wanted her. There was no denying that. She knew there were no guarantees in life and she needn’t be too proud to put aside her list of standards, especially when there was a man in the next room who sent her mind and body into a tizzy whenever she was around him.
Yes, she wanted to make love to him, too, but there were a few things she needed to know.
She sat up in bed. “Nate?”
THIRTY-THREE
He hoped he wasn’t imagining things. His heart leapt to his throat when he heard his name called from the bedroom.
He left the sofa and walked down the carpeted hallway to the room. Easing the door open, he was relieved to find her sitting up in bed. It was real.
“Come here,” she said. She sat Indian-style on the edge of the bed and smoothed the sheet over the space next to her.
He took a seat and looked at her.
She exhaled and said plainly, “Nate, I want to make love to you, too.”
He was grateful the only light in the room was from the courtyard outside because she couldn’t see how his body went hard.
“But we need to talk.”
Huh?
She reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. The plunging neckline in the cream satin pajama short set she wore gave a little peek of her breast as she leaned forward and Nate wondered what they had to talk about when he would rather get straight to the loving.
“Nate, it’s best we go ahead and get this out of the way now. To put everything on the table.”
She was making him anxious because he didn’t know where she was headed.
“I’m at the point in my life where I want something meaningful.”
Nate waited.
“What I’m saying is… I’ve made the decision that the next person I’m intimate with will be someone who’s looking for the same thing I am. Back in the day, I didn’t have a problem with casual flings and hopping in bed with people just to get off.”
His heart dropped to his lap. How many men has she hopped in bed with? He ran his hands down his thighs.
She turned her body to look squarely at him. “Nate, what do you want? Are you looking for a relationship with me?”
He cleared his throat. “Well… I’ve been telling you since the beginning I wanted to know who you are. I don’t mean that in a casual way.”
She nodded. “But I just want to be sure we’re on the same page.”
He reached for her hand. “Tora, when you walked through the doors of that sandwich shop, I knew I had to have you.” He leaned forward and kissed her neck. “I told my sister and my mama that you were mine.”
“Really?” she giggled.
He kissed her soft lips. “Yes.”
“Before you even knew my name?”
“Maybe I knew it then. That’s why I’ve been so obsessed with you.” She closed her eyes as he kissed her neck again. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Can I make love to you now?” He guided her hand down to his lap. “See how you got me?”
She massaged the outline of his penis and returned his kisses. “Yes,” she said.
He lifted the satin top over her head. Her breasts were only big enough to fit in the palms of his hands, but they were beautiful and he took his time to savor each one.
He moved her over to the center of the bed before pulling down her shorts and underwear, and when she spread her legs he couldn’t help smiling down at her.
He loved hairy pussy, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d saw one.
Nate first explored her body using only his hands. He caressed and teased and rubbed it down before retracing the entire length of her with his tongue. Her skin went from warm to hot, and when the scent of her arousal was in the air, he knew she was ready.
He stood to remove his own shorts and to grab protection from the drawer in the nightstand. Once they were protected, he united his body with hers, and inside her smoldering center is where he remained for the rest of the night.
THIRTY-FOUR
“Okay, I’ve never seen you so anxious to leave work in a long time. What’s up?”
Tora laughed as she placed the sign posts back in their boxes.
“You’re walking around cheesin’ all day and everything. Did you hit the lottery and ain’t told nobody or what? What’s really going on?”
“First of all, if I won the lottery I wouldn’t be standing here working that’s for sure,” Tora said.
“Well… something’s definitely going on and you’re not telling me. So, spill the beans, girl.”
“Why does something have to be going
on? I can’t just be in a good mood and excited about going home after a long day of work on my feet?”
“Nope, because whatever it is got you glowing like a light bulb. You weren’t walking around glowing like that last week.”
Tora shrugged and smiled. “I’m just excited to be going home to my man, that’s all.” She grabbed the boxes and headed to the back of the store for the storage room.
“Girl, what?”
She laughed as Candace came following behind her.
“Hold up. What did you say? Your man?”
“Yes. My man.” Tora set the boxes on the metal shelf and turned to face Candace. Candace’s eyes bounced left to right as if she were watching a fast-swinging pendulum, and Tora couldn’t help laughing again.
“What exactly do you mean, Tora?”
“Nate,” Tora said. “We’re officially dating.”
Candace turned away, beckoning Tora with a wave of her hand. “Come… come in here, girl. I need to sit down for this one.”
Tora giggled and followed Candace to the office.
“This is a complete surprise,” Candace said once they sat down. “How did you go from, ‘we’re just friends’ to ‘he’s my man’ in a matter of days?”
“We had a conversation,” Tora said. “I told him what I wanted, and he agreed it was what he wanted, too.”
“Which is?”
“Something serious. I’m not looking for a casual partner.”
Candace grinned and reached across the desk to give her a high-five. “Congratulations for coming to your senses.”
“I’ll admit I could no longer stand it. He’s too fine and sweet and beautiful for me to ignore. And oh… after what he did to me the other night and the next morning, I regret I was wasting my time looking for guys on Soul Meet.”
“Wait… are you telling me you were out gettin’ your groove on and I didn’t know anything about it?”
“Well, sis, did you really expect me to stop the man in the middle of his downstroke so I can give you a call?”
