by Tiana Laveen
Her expression didn’t let up. Nah, that wasn’t concern—perhaps ‘disturbed’ was a better word.
“I am not a prude. That’s not the problem, Langston. I just don’t think this is appropriate is all, but thank you for askin’ in advance before you just went on and launched into a questionnaire about anal sex or some mess!” She laughed, but he knew she wasn’t impressed or tickled.
“Right, figure I’d ask to be safe. All right.” He shrugged. “We can talk about it later then.”
“Thank you.” She snatched her napkin back off the table and laid it across her lap. “You are somethin’ else! Let me ask you something. Is this how you talk to most women?’
“Yes. I mean, I try to be careful about some stuff, you know, about what I say, but sometimes I can be blunt I ’spose. I don’t mean any harm. Seriously, I don’t.”
“I believe you. I must tell you though, I’m surprised a man like you is single, Langston, even with this bluntness you just demonstrated. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. You’re attractive and funny.”
“I like bein’ with somebody. I like being in relationships but sometimes things just don’t work out. I’ve been in love a few times, have had long term relationships, but I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t always the most faithful guy. I’ve matured now though so that’s no longer somethin’ I struggle with.”
“Well, that’s very honest of you.”
“What about yourself? Why is someone as pretty, nice, and goal-oriented as you single? I mean, you got a kid, but it’s only one and he ain’t no baby so your dating options should be pretty open.”
“Well, I divorced two years ago and it’s been hard.” The woman sighed. “My focus was just on me and my son. I’ve dated here and there, very briefly, nothin’ serious. I just wasn’t ready and I will be honest and let you know I have a hard time trustin’ new people. My ex-husband wasn’t no monster or nothin’ like that. He was just disrespectful and selfish sometimes. He had money, I didn’t. He made the divorce hard and his family never liked me. It was just one thing after another. It soured me towards men a little.”
“Is he active in Noah’s life?”
“Most of the time… sometimes he’s not, I think to try and take it out on me. Like when the child support got increased, he did a couple of no-shows, things like that. He can be vindictive. Overall he’s a good father though so I won’t try to slam him or take that away from him. We had some culture clashes, too.”
“Oh? I thought when I saw Noah he might be biracial like me, but you can never be sure. Is his father White or Hispanic? Asian?”
“He’s Cuban… Hispanic.”
“Ohhh, okay. Ain’t too many Cubans here in Elsa… mostly Mexican.” She nodded in agreement. “You’re from Dallas though so I’m sure there’s plenty of everybody there… far more diversity. I love Dallas… real nice there.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“You think you’ll ever move back?” He felt sad all of the sudden… What if she left? What if they really clicked and this chemistry he felt between them grew to the point of love and she disappeared?
I’d have to follow her then…I can get a job ’bout anywhere. I’d follow the right woman for love. I sure as hell would.
“Well, I had—”
Just then, their food came out. It looked so delicious and smelled absolutely divine.
“This looks good!” She grinned as her plate was presented. “And it’s set up so pretty! Thank you,” she said to the waiter. “This is real nice.”
“You’re welcome. More wine?” He pointed to her mostly empty wine glass.
“Yes, please. This time though, I’d like your house white wine since I have salmon and this soup.”
“Of course. How about you, sir? What would you like?”
“Uh, can I get a beer?”
“Certainly. What type?”
“Grupo Modelo. You got it?”
“We do! I’ll be right back.”
“Aiight, thank you.”
The waiter walked away towards the bar, leaving them alone once more. The woman started talking again, this time about how Noah was adjusting to his new school. He was only half listening… His eyes wandered to her breasts. They weren’t very large, but they looked nice, definitely suckable. She had wide hips and though she was sitting, he thought about those hips more times than he could count… how good they’d feel against his hands as he pushed his dick in and out between her thighs… his eyes hooded as he imagined fucking her, wondering what type of sounds she’d make, if they’d be sexually compatible. He couldn’t help it… he was so damn attracted to her, not only physically, but mentally, too. She liked his jokes, thought he was handsome. She seemed smart, had a good work ethic, and he didn’t mind one bit that she had a son.
Langston was good with talking to children and teenagers, and since he knew sign language, he imagined he and Noah could have some pretty good conversations. As long as Yaz made time for him, too, he was good with it. She seemed like a good mother, and that was just another turn on.
“And then his other friend is on the football team, but he has to get his grades up.” The woman went on and on as they ate. He nodded here and there, pretending to be completely engaged but his horniness for her was taking over.
I’m gonna try to not make a move on her tonight after the movie… I gotta try to control myself. Man, this is some bull. You know she ain’t gonna let you hit it on the first date so don’t even go there. I tried to test the waters earlier with the sexual conversation trick… she ain’t fall for it. I wish she would let me fuck ’er tonight, damn! I would eat her pussy so good her soul would look back and wonder how she got over!
“Langston?”
“Oh! Huh?”
“I asked you how is your venison?”
“Oh, it’s good! Real good! How about your salmon?”
“Perfect. Wanna taste it?”
“Naw, I told you I don’t really do fish like that. Glad it’s good to you though.”
I’ll be good to you too if you just let me…
“Oh yeah, that’s right. So anyway, then Noah told me he might be interested in the basketball team but the coach is a jerk,” the woman continued on, and he drifted away in dirty thoughts once again…
This has potential. Yeah, this right here might just go somewhere. I hope that now that I’m really ready to settle down though it don’t all backfire. She got a controlling ex it seems… He don’t want no smoke. I’ve had problems with ex-husbands and ex-boyfriends before, but this her baby daddy too, so ain’t no way of him not bein’ in the picture. That’s all right though, as long as he stays in his lane, knows his place. All I know right now is that he was a fool to let this woman go. All she needs is to be able to trust me. She needs someone who cares, and she needs a little romance. El amor es la respuesta…. (Love is the answer)
And I’m just the man for the job…
CHAPTER EIGHT
A Golden Opportunity
YASMINE FLIPPED THROUGH the clothing on the clearance rack at Target. She’d travelled over thirty minutes to get there, and soon realized she’d been spoiled while living in Dallas all of her life. Being a small place, Elsa didn’t have much. The people were fairly friendly, but the most fun you could find as far as shopping went was the Dollar Tree. She’d asked her Uncle Sonny on more than one occasion why in the hell did he move there twenty years ago, but his answer was always the same: “There was a golden opportunity I couldn’t miss…” Whatever the hell that meant.
She sighed and continued on, looking for a white cardigan that fit just right. It was time to give her wardrobe some sprucing up and the weather was cooling down a bit. Pushing her cart further ahead, she kept thinking about her plight in life.
I don’t hate it here; it’s just different is all. At least I can get to civilization in about a half hour in any direction. It’s fine. Noah is getting more one-on-one attention now that he’s in a smaller class at least.
The thought of how Langston wore his entered her mind. They’d been out several times now, and each date always seemed to top the last. He made her laugh until she felt sick… he was sexy and kind. She kept trying to find deeper flaws in the man, but not many surfaced. She could say however that he didn’t always take criticism too well. He’d drive her crazy with his indecisiveness—like finding a mutually agreeable place to eat, as if there were so many damn choices in Elsa. He drove her up the wall with that. He could be oblivious to how he came off, saying things at times in an insensitive manner, but she knew he didn’t mean no harm. He also could be impatient, but then, he also acted as if he had all the time in the world to offer her a listening ear.
He definitely had far more positive attributes than negative ones. For instance, the man was generous to a fault. She’d witnessed friends and family calling him often for favors and the man didn’t hesitate to help if he could. That showed just how big his heart was, and she loved that about him. She’d never met a fellow like Langston in all of her life.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Sliding it out, she read a text message from Langston.
This man must’ve been reading my mind! I think about him, and up he pops!
She smiled as she texted him back…
Suddenly her phone rang and she quickly answered it while scooting towards the cleaning supplies section.
“Are you at work?” came his sexy voice. She could hear the roar of outside machinery around him.
“I just got off actually. Decided to run over here to Target. What about you? Oh… excuse me,” she apologized after she realized she’d cut an older woman off with her cart.
“I’m still workin’. In the truck right now, ’bout to make another delivery. I told you I have a competition on Friday over in Laredo. I’ll be gone till Saturday mornin’. Hey, you know what? You wanna come with me? It’s less than a three hour drive. That way we can spend a little time together, too.”
“Boy, now you know I can’t do that, Langston. I gotta work on Friday and then—”
“Why can’t you come? Noah is almost fifteen. His birthday is in two weeks. He ain’t got school on Saturday or anything and you said he was responsible. I was stayin’ home by myself at nine or ten and look how I turned out?”
“If you don’t want me to say somethin’ sassy you better keep on truckin’ wit’ that line of logic.” She chuckled.
“Fine, let’s talk about schedules then. You said you work Friday mornin’ and after that you’re off. I was plannin’ on headin’ out ’round one or so. I’ll have you back by nine the following morning. That way you’ll be here in time for work. So, what do you say?”
She chewed on her lower lip, turning the idea over like pancakes on a griddle. But Mama ain’t raise no fool. She knew the man’s wicked plans… Langston wasn’t slick. He’d been trying to get her in bed since their first date, perhaps even since the first time he’d laid eyes on her at the store…
In the movie theater during their first date, his hand kept creeping higher and higher up her thigh. She’d finally slapped it away and swallowed down a laugh. Next, when he’d dropped her off, he tried to find excuses to get into her house and stall, talking about he had to use the bathroom. She’d let him in and he had the nerve to come back out with his damn shirt off and flexing his muscles, pretending like he was hot and just needed some air. That trick had almost worked…
On their second date, the man had taken her out to lunch and wouldn’t stop the sexual innuendos, licking his lips as he eyed her like she was a savory pork chop meal. On the third date, he drove her to a little park where he’d illegally snuck in a bottle of wine for them to share. She’d gotten tipsy while they listened to good music in his car and before she knew it, the passenger’s seat was leaned back and some heavy pettin’ was going on. She had to beg herself to tell him to stop; it had been a close call. The man’s dick was bulging in his pants and five more minutes of that, she woulda been in the throes of screwin’.
This motherfucker had it in for her, and she was becoming weaker and weaker… He was so damn hard to resist. If they happened to be alone in a hotel room, she knew that would be her undoing. He was working her over like a steak, tenderizing her for the kill.
“Well?” He broke her away from her thoughts.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Langston. It’s not just Noah. Yes, he can take care of himself for one night but—”
“You know what, Yaz? I’m tired of this, all right? You’re makin’ excuses.”
“What? I am not!” She pulled over near the dusting spray, parked her cart, and put her hand on her hip.
“Yes you are. I know what this is about.”
“Oh, really? What’s it about?” She pursed her lips, ready for this lover’s quarrel. It had been a long time coming.
“We been playin’ cat ’nd mouse for a month now and Tom is gettin’ tired, Ms. Jerry.” She rolled her eyes. “Now I don’t mean no disrespect but my God, we’ve got ridiculous chemistry, we have fun together, we talk multiple times a day. This is a golden opportunity.”
“If one more person tells me about a golden opportunity I’m going to scream! You and Uncle Sonny can go where the sun don’t shine! Oh wait, we’re already there… in Elsa.” She shook her fist in the air.
“What are you talkin’ about?” the man stated with an attitude.
“Neve’ mind…”
“Well, anyway, the point is, you’ve never seen me at one of my shows. I think we’re gettin’ pretty serious and now you wanna try and get out of this ’cause you don’t want to seem like a floozy… cheap, I guess.”
“Floozy? What is this, 1956?” She chuckled. “Cheap? Let me tell you somethin’, Paul Bunyan. Nothing I do is cheap, you got that?” She smirked, wishing he could see her right now so he’d get a whiff of her attitude.
“Well, you sittin’ over there actin’ like this is the middle ages and you have to save your virtue before approachin’ the king’s court. This some foolishness right here if ya ask me… Playin’ these crazy games. This is silly and I’m ret to call a spade a spade. I’m grown, you’re grown. Come on now, stop teasin’ me and let’s just do this and naw, I ain’t just talkin’ about sex because you think that’s all I think about!”
“All right, you think about it ninety percent of the time. Is that better?”
The man emitted a loud sigh on the other end of the line.
“If you don’t wanna have sex yet, fine, Yasmine, we won’t, but at least come with me and try ’nd enjoy yourself. Damn.”
“You sittin’ on this phone takin’ stuff out on me.”
“I ain’t takin’ nothin’ out on you… ’cause you won’t let me take nothin’ out on you. If you did, you’d be happy right now.”
She smirked at his nastiness, but kept on track with her train of thought. “You’ve been cranky lately because you haven’t had many carbs. Now I know it’s cause of this show. I had no idea you had to be that strict with your diet right beforehand. Is this the real you? Mean and controllin’?”
“It’s a contest, not a show, and yeah I have been cranky ’cause of that but that’s temporary. I ain’t mean and you know it. I’m just lettin’ you know that I’m frustrated ’cause you won’t let shit flow right. You keep interrupting what is supposed to happen because you live inside of yo’ head all day. That’s good for business, but it ain’t good for us. I’ll be back to myself soon. I always celebrate with some food right afterwards but all of that is beside the point. I’m just tryna have fun with you, spend some time with you, you know? If I ain’t like you as much as I do, I wouldn’t even care. I can be wit’ somebody else, but I don’t want somebody else, Yaz. I want you…”
She was the one sighing now as the manipulative bastard worked his evil magic on her.
“All right.
I’ll come. But don’t try to sleep with me, Langston. I’m not ready. In fact, you make sure you get a hotel room wit’ two beds, ya hear me?”
“Fine. Two beds. I gotta get back to work. I’ll call you later on tonight. Kisses and hugs, baby.” Then he disconnected the call.
She stood there holding her phone and shaking her head. The man was probably sitting in that truck gloating that his dreadful plan he’d weaved had worked. This was at least the third time the sneaky scoundrel had flipped and twisted a situation in his favor and before she knew it, the damage was done. She smiled, then burst out laughing as she wheeled her cart forward, plucked a pack of yellow dish sponges from a shelf, and tossed them in her buggy.
I’m gonna make sure that I wear my granny panties so I don’t do nothin’ I might regret. Too bad I’m not on my period. I coulda used that as an excuse for myself, too! He’d stick his hand down there and run into a big ass pad. How ya like them apples?! Serve his ass right! But now I ain’t even got that as back up. My kitty don’t wanna say no, but my mind is screaming ‘Keep away.’ Oh, please Lord don’t let me fall into temptation! Langston Lopez chapter 7, verse 12, Woman – thou art loose…
CHAPTER NINE
Flexing the Love Muscle…
THE LARGE COLISEUM was packed wall to wall. Langston breathed slowly, in and out, before turning his gaze out into the audience. He didn’t expect to see Yaz in the sea of people, but he was hopeful.
It doesn’t matter. I know she sees me… She’s somewhere out there.
She’d been reluctant at first, but after he’d began the car games, riddles, and sing-alongs on the drive over, she got right in the swing of things, matching his silliness two for one. She’d even offered to help slather him down with the tan spray and oils when they got to their destination and, if he said so himself, she did an excellent job on his hair. There was something special about a woman’s touch… He missed it when he didn’t have it. What he loved most though was how big her eyes got when she saw him in his little white Speedos…
