Lessons From a Younger Lover

by Zuri Day

  “Yeah, we’re going to start doing things together again…for Isis.”

  “She told me.”

  “She told you…when?”

  “Last week when she called me.”

  There was a slight pause, and then, “Why didn’t you tell me she called you?”

  “I didn’t want to make a big deal of it—one of those woman to woman conversations. She wanted me to know that you two would be getting together, and that she now had a man in her life, so I shouldn’t worry.”

  “Like you were worried, anyway. You know I don’t want her. She doesn’t need to be calling you. I’ll get her straight about that too.”

  Gwen and Ransom made plans to meet for dinner and then ended the call. As she waited for Ransom to come get her, however, she couldn’t help but wonder: was Ransom mad that Jake was with Isis…or Brea?

  55

  “I don’t think the baby’s mine.” Adam leaned against the whiteboard in Gwen’s classroom and fiddled with the markers at its base. “That girl was sleeping with some of everybody.”

  “Well, you’ll know the ABCs when you get the DNA,” Gwen answered abstractedly. She didn’t want to take work home this weekend and was trying to grade papers.

  “Besides, there isn’t any hard, fast rule against fraternizing in this workplace. Folks better not start tripping.”

  Gwen’s ears perked up and she put down the pen she’d been using. “What exactly is going on?”

  Adam started to say something and then caught himself. “Nothing much,” he shrugged. “You know how they try and get a brothah down. But if they try and pull anything, I know I can count on you to have my back.”

  Gwen leaned back and crossed her arms. So now we’re getting to the real reason for this visit. “Why would you think I need to have your back, and why would you assume I’d support you?”

  “Aw, c’mon now, Gwen. You know you’re my girl. We go way back.”

  “Yeah, we go so far back that you let a girl with three years’ experience oversee this worker who’s put in a decade.”

  “Oh, baby, you know that was just—”

  “You being an asshole—yeah, I know. I wondered why things had changed all of a sudden, why first Joanna and now you suddenly wanted to be friends.”

  “What’s Joanna got to do with this?”

  “I don’t know, you tell me.”

  “Far as I know there’s nothing to tell.”

  “I’d say there is, or you wouldn’t be standing in here doing the opposite of the Dixie Chicks and trying to make nice.”

  Adam looked toward Gwen’s open classroom door and lowered his voice. “See, it’s like this. Even though we’re in the twenty-first century, some people still aren’t happy when they see a brothah with a white girl. Not saying I’m the daddy or nothing, but me and Joanna kicked it a little bit. And now, there are a few teachers with their eye on my job. Might be trying to move a brothah out the way.”

  Part of Gwen wanted to rub it in Adam’s face, that after months of trying to make her life a living hell, Adam was feeling some heat. But her mama hadn’t raised her that way, so she asked the obvious question. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll…” Adam’s answer was interrupted by the sound of chimes from Gwen’s cell phone.

  Gwen looked at the ID. “Hey, Ransom, I’m sorry. I’ll be there in an hour, promise. Do you need me to bring anything?” Gwen laughed at Ransom’s reply as she hung up the phone.

  “I’ve got to give it to my brother,” Adam said. “I didn’t think you two would last once the newness wore off, but it’s been what…six months? Do you think this might get serious? I mean, you know, marriage and whatnot?”

  “What I think is that it’s time for me to get to these papers and you to get back to your office.”

  “Okay, Ms. Andrews, I can tell when I’m being dismissed. But I really need to talk to you. Maybe I can come over one evening, just to talk.” Adam licked his lips as he gave her the once-over. “But my brother better handle his business, ’cause if he lets you get away, I’ll be right there to catch you.”

  Gwen shook her head as she watched Adam saunter out the door. Adam’s level of cockiness never ceased to amaze her. Here he was in the middle of a scandal—a baby on the way and about to lose his job—still licking those lips and acting like he was oh, oh, oh, oh Johnson!

  56

  Gwen leaned back and let the wind fly through her hair. It was Valentine’s weekend, and she and Ransom were in his Jeep, on the way to their favorite Palm Springs paradise. For this outing, he’d suggested they do casual and laid back, which was fine with Gwen. She’d packed a bag full of jeans, tank tops, and lots of lacy underwear, not that she thought she’d be wearing them long if Ransom had any say in the matter.

  Ransom glanced over at her, his lips forming into a slow smile. He took in Gwen’s lanky frame, ensconced in a pair of snug black jeans and a T-shirt that had been Isis’s Christmas gift. It read: No. 1 Teacher. As Ransom continued to glance at her, he realized she was definitely his number one as well.

  “What?” Gwen asked, after Ransom had glanced over for the third time without saying anything.

  “You are so sexy.”

  Gwen leaned over and kissed Ransom on the cheek. On second thought, she leaned over again and placed her tongue in his ear.

  “Watch out, girl!” Ransom said as the Jeep swerved slightly before he regained control. “You want me to have a wreck out here?”

  “No, I want you to have me out here.” Gwen’s eyes widened as she heard her own voice. As God was her witness, she didn’t know who had just said something so brazen. But she’d been feeling that way lately…brazen and free. Even though Brea’s presence still sometimes unnerved her, she was almost back to the confidence she’d felt before the arrival of Miss James. “Wait, what are you doing?”

  Ransom had pulled off the road and turned down a narrow pathway partially hidden by overgrown bushes. He turned off the engine and looked toward Gwen. “Get up.”

  “Why?”

  “So I can have you…with your fine, sexy ass. Get up!”

  “So you can…Boy, what are you…?”

  Ransom sighed, jumped over his car door and reached Gwen’s side of the Jeep in four long strides. He opened the door and kissed her passionately. As he did so, he reached for the buttons on her jeans and began undoing them.

  “Ransom, wait! I didn’t mean what I said back there.”

  “Too late to take it back, Butterfly.” He pushed Gwen back gently, and began working the jeans over her butt, and pulling the pant legs off her.

  “Wait, Ransom, what if someone sees us?”

  “We’d better give them a damn good show.”

  The next thing Gwen knew she was out of her seat and nestled between Ransom and the hood of his car. His erection throbbed against her as he sucked her nipples through the tank top.

  “Mmm,” he moaned, burying his head in her chest while he held her against him with one arm. With the other, he unzipped his pants and took out his engorged manhood.

  Gwen instinctively opened her legs to receive him. Ransom lifted her up and guided his shaft with his hips until he was fully inside her.

  Gwen couldn’t help the moan that escaped her. They stayed still a few seconds, feeling the wind and fading sun against their skin, the pulse of Ransom’s dick throbbing inside her, the feel of Gwen’s tongue inside Ransom’s ear—the very act that had started it all.

  Ransom slowly withdrew to the tip, and then thrust in again. He repeated the slow, torturous act, and then a third time. The words from one of Ransom’s lessons wafted into her mind. Long. Slow. She was almost in a frenzy with desire, her hips grinding against him, trying to increase the speed. Ransom continued his slow and deliberate thrusts: harder, deeper, resting inside her.

  Finally, Gwen could take it no more. “Ransom, please. I want…I want it.”

  Ransom smiled with both pleasure and pride. “You
want this, huh, you want this? Well come on, Butterfly. Let’s ride.”

  Two hours later, Gwen stood happy and content underneath the stream of hot water pouring from the powerful showerhead. Ransom had insisted he shower first, so he could then make sure their dinner reservations had been handled. Gwen was so happy, she was almost giddy. She never in a million years dreamed she’d do something so risqué as make love on the side of a highway. It had felt so…freaky and…sexy! It was something Chantay would do. Gwen couldn’t wait to tell her.

  Gwen finished her shower and quickly toweled herself dry. She was wearing her hair in its natural curly state, a style Ransom liked. “It suits you,” he’d said. She took a band and tied the wild locks away from her face so she could do her makeup. She kept it simple: a light foundation and powder, a hint of blush, mascara, lipstick, and she was done.

  Gwen stepped from the bathroom into the bedroom and stopped short. There was a beautiful silver-colored dress lying across the bed, and a jewelry box next to it. Below was an equally beautiful pair of silver shoes, with colorful crystals outlining the straps. Gwen hurried over to the bed and picked up the dress. The fabric was as she’d imagined, silky soft. She rubbed it against her skin and knew it would feel amazing to wear. She picked up one of the shoes. They were her size, eight narrow. She knew they would fit her perfectly. Eyeing the jewelry box, she called out the name of the man behind all this. “Ransom?’

  When Ransom stepped around the corner, Gwen almost stopped breathing. She had never seen him look so handsome. He wore a pair of black Calvin Klein slacks, which hugged his hips and flared out to accommodate his muscular thighs. A pale yellow shirt was open at the collar. She admired him, thinking that Ransom should wear colors more often.

  Gwen swallowed, and tried to remember the English language. “Uh, baby, what’s all this?”

  “This,” Ransom said as he prowled into the room, “is a special occasion. Do you like the dress?”

  “I love it! When did you have time to get this? How did you know my size? Everything is beautiful and so…so…perfect.” Unexpected tears sprang up in Gwen’s eyes. She blinked rapidly to hold them back.

  “Here, let me help you.” Ransom held the silk dress as Gwen stepped into it. The fabric and design hugged her body, emphasizing her long torso and pooch of a booty. The skirt flared with a row of tiny pleats, placing the emphasis on the lower half of the dress, and taking attention away from her small breasts.

  Gwen walked over to the full-length mirror. She turned this way and that, and then twirled the way Isis might if she wore a new dress. “I love it!” she gushed. “I feel like Cinderella about to go to the ball.”

  “You look better than Cinderella could ever dream of looking,” Ransom replied. He reached over and picked up the jewelry box. “Because I said we were going casual, I didn’t know if you would bring anything that would go with the dress.”

  Gwen’s hand shook slightly as she opened the box. Inside was a double-stranded tennis bracelet, with small yet brilliant diamonds set in platinum. “It’s beautiful,” she gasped. “But it’s too much, Ransom. You’ve already given me so many things.”

  “It’s just the beginning,” he whispered. “Now slip into those pretty slippers, Gwen-derella. Dinner awaits.”

  Ransom led her past the restaurant where they normally dined, to a set of doors she hadn’t noticed before. He opened one of them and stepped back. “After you.”

  Gwen walked in and indeed felt as if she was dreaming. Any minute she knew the waiter standing behind the chair would turn into a mouse, and Ransom’s Jeep into a pumpkin. A night like this only happened in fairy tales, didn’t it?

  The private dining room was awash in flowers: roses, irises, lilies, alstroemerias. The table for two had been lavishly set with bone china and Waterford crystal. Ransom pulled out a seat and Gwen sat down. As soon as he’d joined her at the table, the waiter walked over with a bottle of pricey looking champagne. He presented it to Ransom, who nodded. He and Gwen drank of each other with their eyes while the waiter filled their glasses, placed the champagne in an ice bucket, and then disappeared soundlessly.

  Once the door closed, Ransom picked up his glass. “To Gwendolyn Marie Andrews, my butterfly.”

  “To Ransom Blake, wait. What’s your middle name? I know this skews the moment a bit but it just hit me that I don’t know it. I’m assuming Miss Mary is how you know mine.”

  “No,” Ransom replied. “Your endearing neighbor did not divulge this information. I did some digging around, back when we first met and you were playing hard to get. Turns out somebody who knew somebody had a yearbook with your full name inscribed inside. That’s how I know it, Ms. Gwendolyn Marie. And to answer your question, mine is Noel.”

  “Ah, because of your birthday in December?”

  “That’s right. This Sag was almost a Capricorn. But my mother always called me her gift.” Ransom picked up the glass he’d put down during this exchange. “Now, where were we?”

  “Wait a minute. What about Ransom? You know, I’ve always wondered about your first name, don’t know why I haven’t asked about it before. It suits you. But how did your parents come up with such an unusual choice?”

  “It’s simple, really. Somebody used the phrase with my mother once, when she was pregnant. About something being worth a king’s ransom. She liked the name. Then she looked it up and liked the meanings: redemption, deliverance, rescue….”

  Gwen took a deep breath. “To Ransom Noel Blake, my warrior knight, my…” Gwen choked up again. “My everything.”

  They clinked glasses and as if by magic, the waiter appeared with their first course.

  By the time the fifth and final course was set to arrive, Gwen was as bubbly as the champagne. Tonight she’d discarded her two-glass rule. She and Ransom were working on their second bottle.

  “Come here,” Ransom said, his eyes at half-mast, his voice as silky as the dress Gwen wore.

  Gwen rose without hesitation and plumped down in his lap. “Ooh, I think I’m a little tipsy,” she giggled.

  “It’s okay.” Ransom eased his hand between her legs and fingered her paradise. Of course, as was the rule, Gwen wore no panties.

  Gwen’s intake of breath was audible. The alcohol had heightened every one of Gwen’s senses. Even though they’d made love just hours before, Gwen felt she could ravish him right there. “Baby, let’s take dessert back to our room.”

  “Hmm,” Ransom nibbled Gwen’s ear. “We’ll enjoy a different type of treat when we get there.”

  He pulled his hand out from under her dress and took her hand in his. He began examining her nails, her palm.

  “Am I going to live a long time?” she asked, as he traced what was known as the lifeline on her left hand.

  Ransom looked deep into her eyes. “You’re going to live forever.” He continued to stare at her and stroke her palm with his thumb. Gwen shivered involuntarily and pushed her thighs together to stop her nub from throbbing.

  “Gwen.”

  “Yes?”

  “Why don’t you wear any rings?”

  Gwen shrugged. “Just never was much of a ring person, jewelry person for that matter.”

  “Well,” Ransom said as he reached into his pocket. “We are getting ready to change that.”

  Gwen’s heart began to beat rapidly. No, he couldn’t be about to do what I think he’s about to…no!

  But yes, he was about to. Ransom lifted her off him and kneeled before her where she stood.

  “There simply are no words for what you mean to me,” Ransom said softly. “I’ve been looking for you a long time, a queen to make my castle complete, with me and my daughter. And now I’ve found her. So…you know the drill, baby. Will you do it?”

  “Will I do what?” Gwen whispered. She still couldn’t believe Ransom was down on one knee!

  He rose and took her in his arms. He cradled her butt with his large hand. “Will you give me this for the rest of our lives? Will you m
arry me?”

  Ransom barely waited for the answer. He swallowed Gwen’s yes in his kiss.

  57

  Both Ransom and Gwen were floating on clouds. For the first time in eight years, Gwen called in sick, so that she and Ransom could have an extra day in their self-made paradise. They would have taken yet another day, but after finding out the reason for Ransom’s delay—that he and Gwen had gotten engaged over the weekend—Brea had demanded that he come and pick up Isis “right now.” And then she’d called Adam.

  “Yo, Adam, it’s time that we make that little scandal happen so Ransom can see Gwen for the ho she is.” Adam and Brea had concocted what they felt was a foolproof scheme to shame Gwen out of California. Only she and Adam were involved. As Brea had anticipated, women could not be trusted. To back out of any involvement, Carol had used some flimsy excuse about Gwen being Kari’s teacher, and Joanna couldn’t focus on a damn thing past her growing stomach. Their pulling out suited Brea just fine. Why send two girls in to do a woman’s job?

  “Hold on, now, Brea. What’s the rush? There’s still that little rendezvous between me and you that needs to happen.”

  “I told you I’m gonna let you have some pussy, boy, damn! Is that all anything is ever about for you? Well, peep this. Your girl ain’t at school, right?”

  “Right, she’s home sick.”

  “Wrong, she’s with Ransom. They went to Palm Springs over the weekend and got engaged. The only reason she ain’t calling in tomorrow is because I demanded that Ransom come get his child.”

  Adam began pacing his office. Not only had Gwen refused his advances, but she was now straight up lying on top of it. And his brother had actually gone and popped the question? Adam was still pissed from when Ransom floored him in front of the very woman he was trying to impress. Brea was right. It was time to put an end to the nonsense and get both Gwen’s and Ransom’s heads out of the clouds. Adam smiled. He was getting ready to bring both of them down to earth with a thud. He relished the thought.