Slender Bridge

by Katrina Clemons

  “No, I want to take you out on a real date. Not to some pizza place either.”

  “Hey, I happen to really like pizza,” she playfully hit my arm. “So where to?”

  “It’s going to be a surprise.”

  “I like that,” she gave me a quick peck. “So when is this date?”

  “How about tonight?”

  “Tonight? You don’t think that is so soon?”

  “It’s only four in the afternoon.”

  “Do you know how long it takes me to get ready?”

  “But you’re naturally beautiful so it shouldn’t take so long.”

  “You’re about to sweet talk these panties off,” she teased. “So how about this? You head back to the dorms and do what you have to do.”

  “And what about you?”

  “I’m going to go to my seamstress and get into my dress.”

  “I thought I was coming with you?”

  “No, let us both have surprises for each other tonight.”

  Chapter 8

  I checked my phone. It was 7:00 p.m. It was almost time for our date. We were going to meet in front of the science building at 7:45. I had a few surprises for her in store. I booked a reservation at a great restaurant. I looked it up online and saw these great reviews. The prices were a bit high, but I’ve always saved money and had funds on hand. I’ve also made money with Aaron. Every now and again, he’d have us host an event. It was an easy $2000 or so, so I went along with it. Although I had a full scholarship which included room and board, it didn’t really put money in my pockets and sometimes I needed spending money. Dates like these reminded me why I did need money.

  Finally, it was time. I waited for her in front of the science building. I was anticipating for her to come late as women usually did, but a minute after I got there, she came up. My mouth dropped when I saw her. She now had long, black, wavy hair with some light brown highlights. Her dress was long and fit her body well. It was either green or blue, I couldn’t tell, but I don’t care. All I know is that she looked great.

  “Wow,” I told her while looking her up and down. “Just wow.”

  “Do you like this mermaid dress?” she asked in a playful voice.

  “Is that what it is?” I took her hand and spun her around. “I won’t lie to you, but I don’t really care.” She laughed. “You look…” I drifted off. “I can’t even collect the words to tell me how good you look. You just glow.”

  “Thank you,” she spun around one more time. “Aren’t you glad that I made you wait to see the dress?”

  “Yes I am,” I licked my lips.

  “Don’t,” she said out of nowhere.

  “What?”

  “Don’t you look at me like that.”

  “Like how?”

  “Stop looking at me like you want to fuck me.”

  “I can’t help it.”

  I extended my arm out and we began walking out of the campus. People were staring at us. I’m sure we looked like we were going to a red carpet or something. I was dressed in a casual suit myself. It’s what I bought back at home in Brooklyn. My father would tell me that I should always have a suit, just in case of a special occasion. I fought with him throughout the whole process, but when we were finished, I was glad that I did.

  “So, I know that this whole restaurant thing is supposed to be a big surprise,” she said.

  “Yes?”

  “Is there any way that I can get a clue?’

  “Oh my gosh. How could I forget?”

  “So, you’re going to give me a clue?”

  “God, no,” I took out my phone and smiled when I saw the notification.

  “What are you looking at? Why are you smiling?”

  “Because part one of the surprise is almost here.”

  Just then an all-black car pulled up. It was sleek and luxurious. I walked up to the back passenger door. I opened it and gestured for her to come over.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, looking confused.

  “It’s our ride.”

  “What? But it’s so fancy.” She bent over and peeked inside. “This is like a Mercedes,” She remarked.

  “It is a Mercedes,” I told her and she opened her eyes wide. “Now get inside, we have a schedule to keep.”

  We got in and within seconds, the car pulled off. We drove for what seemed like miles. I tried to make small talk with Simone, but all she was interested in was where we were going. She couldn’t keep the conversation going without veering off into what we were about to do.

  “But what if I’m overdressed?” she asked.

  “Look at what I’m wearing. If you’re overdressed, then that would mean that I’m overdressed too.” I chuckled. “Just relax, we’re almost there.”

  Sure enough, the Mercedes stop in front of the restaurant. Simone’s jaw dropped open.

  “This is where we’re going?”

  I didn’t bother to answer her question. I just got out and came around the other side to open the door for her. When she put her hands within mine, she had the biggest smile on her face.

  “Wow, I really don’t know what to say.”

  “That’s a first,” I joked and she poked me with her elbow. “Are you ready?” She nodded her head excitedly and we went in.

  The online photos of this place didn’t do it justice. It was like a palace. I’m really glad to be in this suit and Simone in her dress. We fit right in. When the maître d’ saw us, he greeted us with a warm and inviting smile.

  “You are both looking lovely tonight.”

  “Thank you so much,” Simone spoke first.

  “Do you have a reservation?”

  “Yes under Benjamin Wood.”

  The maître d’ looked at down at his tablet. He swiped his fingers in a few directions and then smiled.

  “Of course. Right this way.” He walked in front of us and we followed. When we got to the table, he pulled out Simone’s chair.

  “If you don’t mind, I would like to do that,” I stepped in.

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Mmm, such a gentleman,” Simone boasted. She sat down as I gently pushed the seat in.

  After our orders had been taken, we started talking about our future. I finally let her in on how disappointed I was about Dwayne. She just nodded her head as I spoke. When I finished, she just smiled.

  “What is it?” I questioned.

  “You know, with the way that this world is going, I don’t think you’re up with the times.”

  “What do you mean? I have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and all of that nonsense.”

  “That’s good that you have it, but how do you use it? Is it helping you? Is it helping your brand?”

  “My brand?” I was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is, that this is a new era, this is a new day. The old days of getting drafted are pretty much about to be over. You have to get in another way.”

  “You’re trying to say that I can’t get in the old fashioned way?”

  “I’m sure you can. I think what I’m trying to say is that you can’t think that it’s only one way to get in the NBA. Look at you, you’re going to wait for a big game to come along and hope that you get seen by a scout, and that’s good, but it’s slow. You need to be doing more.”

  “But I’m playing the best that I can.”

  “Yeah, but besides us at the school, who else really knows?” She shot a look at me. “Do you know how many clips of you are out there on the internet?”

  “Probably a few.”

  “And none of them are from you. None of them lead to you. Do you realize all the clips about you playing ball go to someone else? Everyone goes to watch a video of you but it’s on someone else’s page or on the school website, but there is nothing that leads directly to you. You need to start branding yourself.”

  I was really shocked to hear that. I’ve never heard anybody tell me that before. All I ever heard was that I needed to play hard and that maybe I w
ill get seen by someone important, but what Simone was telling me was that I had to have my face out there. I had to put myself out there and have them come to me.

  “That is pretty smart,” I nodded my head slowly. “I never thought of that. One of these days, we’re going to talk about that.”

  “We can do that now.”

  “Now, it’s about you and me. Let’s leave basketball out of this.”

  “What about you and me?”

  “I don’t think that I have to state the obvious. I like you.”

  “You do?” she batted her eyelashes at me. She was always joking.

  “You know that I do. The more I hang out with you, I can see that it’s more than a physical thing.”

  “Physical? Are you really attracted to me?”

  “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

  She didn’t answer me. Luckily for her, our food came in. She just started picking at her grilled chicken salad. She wasn’t even really eating it, but she just made sure that her face was concentrated on the plate. I leaned closer.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She still wasn’t looking at me. She then took a deep breath and dropped her fork. “Don’t get me wrong, I know that I’m cute. I might even be pretty but sometimes the way you look at me…”

  “What about it?”

  “You look at me like I’m so sexy.”

  “But you are,” I told her seriously. “I don’t get it that the woman that sketched and designed that sexy dress for herself could not think that she herself was sexy. You are so beautiful and should be so confident.”

  “I don’t know,” She sounded so unsure.

  “You know what drew me to you on the first day that I met you?”

  “No, what was it?”

  ‘It was your confidence. You just told off those girls and walked away like nothing could phase you. What happened to that girl?”

  “She’s still here.”

  “Good, because I really liked her.”

  “I like you too.”

  The rest of dinner went great. She got up briefly to use the restroom a few times. I guess the sparkling cider was getting to her, but aside from that, we were having a great time. She told me more about her fashion line and how it would be for all sizes. She was an English major but she wanted to go to a fashion school before she started her fashion line.

  “So, what about you?”

  “What about me?” I shrugged my shoulders. “You already know my plan. I’m going to get into the NBA.” She nodded her head very slowly. “Are you going to be like others and ask me what my backup plan is?” She shook her head ‘no’. “Why not?”

  “Because plan B distracts from plan A,” she stated brilliantly. “But there has to be something that you want to do besides, just basketball.”

  “To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought,” I confessed. “I guess if I even think about it, it feels like I’m betraying a dream.”

  “So let’s put it this way. You’re in the NBA but now you’re about to retire, what are you about to do?”

  “I don’t even know how to answer that question because that thought rarely crosses my mind.”

  “Well, you better get to thinking about it or you just might end up on one of those awful reality shows.”

  “Not even!” I chuckled out loud.

  “You might be on there looking for love.”

  “Hopefully not. Hopefully, I have that situation taken care of.”

  “You hope to be married?” She sipped on her drink slowly but never took her eyes off of me.

  “I do want to be married.”

  “And you want kids?”

  “Yup.”

  “That’s so sweet and rare for guys our age. Our generation isn’t really into that,” She smiled.

  “Well, I am. And I’m into you too.”

  Our check arrived and I thanked the waiter. I looked at the receipt, preparing for the worst, but there was nothing there but a note.

  Your dinner was on the house. We are all big fans.

  There was a smiley face at the end. That was one huge advantage of being in a town like this. If you played on the teams, people really knew you. I knew I was getting spoiled with all this treatment, but I heard that the football players were like gods amongst men. They got almost everything. I went into my wallet and put three $20 bills in there. The service was impeccable and I needed to find some small way to thank them.

  “Are you ready to go?” I got up and extended out my hand. She just put her hand within mine. We walked out holding hands and it felt right. It felt like we were a couple for a while and this is just something we do all the time. We got outside and I took my phone out.

  “What are you doing? Are you ordering another Uber?” She gave me a slick smile.

  “Not just any Uber, but an Uber XL.” I laughed. “That’s how we got that luxury car.

  “I can’t lie, I was very impressed but I’m not expecting that treatment, all the time.”

  “Why not? If I got it, I will get it for you,” I looked at her. “You’re not some basic chick.”

  “Thank you for that,” She smiled. “But please don’t order an Uber.”

  “Why not? I want us to ride back in style.”

  “I’m flattered, but I have a surprise for you. So, I need to get the Uber.”

  “I’ll pay for it.”

  “I’m glad for the suggestion, but I got this.”

  When the Uber pulled up, I opened the door for her. I was curious to where I was being taken to but I was being as patient as I can. The comforting smile on Simone’s face was reassuring.

  “This place?” I started.

  “Yes?”

  “Is it outdoors?”

  “Wait and see B-Wood,” She winked at me. I shrugged my shoulders and just leaned back.

  We weren’t on the road for long. We stopped and I looked out the window. We were by some houses, but I still was confused. Was she bringing me to a house party? I got out of the car and then opened the door for her. She thanked the driver and he was on his way. I looked at the houses, trying to figure out which one we were going to go into. I saw a house down the block that had people sitting out in front of it. I guess that was it and took her hand. I started walking towards the house but she pulled her hand away.

  “What are you doing?” She was looking at me like I was crazy.

  “I’m taking us down to that house. I thought we were going to a house party. Isn’t it that it right there?”

  “I don’t know what that is, but that is not where we’re going.”

  “It’s not?”

  “No, we’re actually going there.”

  She pointed across the street to where a hotel was.

  Chapter 9

  I’m surprised that I didn’t notice it at first. There it was. It was a tall, huge building, with some trees in front of it. It had bright lights that said that it was a hotel.

  “A hotel?” I had to make sure that she was pointing to the right place.

  “Yeah, I know it’s not as fancy as the restaurant, but it’s something nice and I can afford it. Are you ready?”

  I nodded my head. “We’re really going in there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you feel like you have to do this.”

  “And how are you doing that?”

  “By having dinner.”

  “Oh dear,” she sighed. She reached out and touched my face. “Dinner was great but that’s not why I’m bringing you to a hotel. I’m doing this because of you.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she put her fingers over it. “And you are not pressuring me or anything. I appreciated you looking out for me, but I can make my own decision. And this is something that I want to do. Would you like to?”

  “Let’s go.”

  We checked into the hotel and took the elevator straight to the room. She opened the door and I followed her. It was a pretty fai
r sized room. There was just a TV and a queen size bed. We walked further and saw a door that led to the bathroom. It was all back with a white sink, white toilet, and all glass shower.

  “Now that’s pretty fancy,” She joked. “I’m going to pop in there real quick if you don’t mind.” She walked in. I made my way to the TV and sat on the end of the bed frame. I located the remote and turned on the TV. I went straight to the sports channel.

  “Good evening, we are here to bring you up to date with all that college sports stuff. We cannot believe the buzz that we are hearing. It’s not even draft season but there are rumors swirling around that a certain NBA team has been looking for someone to hire. It might be through free agent hire.” The anchorman went on but I had a clue of who he was talking about. He might have been talking about Dwayne. When I saw them shoot in front of the university, I got the message, Dwayne was probably going to be gone.

  “So,” Simone came out wearing all this all black lacy dress. I blinked twice slowly because I was sure that my eyes were playing tricks on me. “You mind if we just take it straight to bed?”

  “Just like that?” I turned off the TV.

  “What are we waiting for?”

  “I just remember you saying that you didn’t want to have sex unless it was your boyfriend.”

  “I did say that.”

  “So once we do this,” I stood up and held her hands, “you know that is going to make me your boyfriend?”

  “I’m cool with that.” She kissed me.

  She started to take off my clothes and I wrapped my hands around her waist. I pulled her close for a kiss. I could feel her heartbeat because we were pressed up against each other so close. I kissed her neck and walked her over to the bed. I grabbed and squeezed her because she felt so good. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I was down to my boxers. I was so turned on, that I couldn’t contain myself. I put my knees in between hers so that I could open them. She then took a long deep breath.

  “Are you sure that you’re ready for this?” I had to make sure. “I don’t want you to rush anything because of me.”

  “Would you…” She grabbed me and put me inside of her. “I’m ready.”

  We started off slow and smooth. She felt so great and I didn’t want to finish quickly, but she felt so right. Everything felt better than I thought it would. She was so into it and that made me want her even more.