by BWWM Club
*****
He called her Saturday night just to find out if she was all right.
“Or are you calling to find out if I remember our date tomorrow?” Rosa asked teasingly. She was very tired but she did not mind talking to him; his deep voice sounded calm and unhurried over the phone and Rosa relaxed on the bed as she spoke to him.
“That too,” he admitted with a laugh. “How was it tonight?”
“Hectic,” she told him. It had been a packed night and a very long day that did not seem as if it would ever end.
“I was thinking about a picnic instead of a real restaurant setting,” he told her. “I figured you spend most of your time catering to people, I want to do the catering.”
“That’s sweet,” she told him softly, really appreciating his being so tolerant. “Isn’t it a little too cold for a picnic?”
“Not where I have in mind,” he told her mysteriously.
“Do I need to be concerned?” she asked him.
“No need,” he answered promptly even though he knew she was joking. “I promise to be a perfect gentleman.”
“Okay, I will certainly take your word for it.” She said with a smile.
He said goodbye and hung up the phone. Rosa found herself still smiling, a warm glow settling inside her. She was definitely looking forward to tomorrow.
Chapter 2
He took her to a building that was not occupied. It had been bought by his parents and was just there because they had not decided what they wanted to do about it yet. It was located in a prime part of town and had tremendous potential.
“This would be a perfect place for my restaurant,” she eagerly went from one room to another leaving him following behind her with an amused expression on his face. She was definitely a butterfly, he thought to himself. He had picked her up at her small apartment and had sent her an admiring look as he took in her faded jeans molded to her shapely figure and the dark green sweater she had worn with it. Her hair done in corkscrew curls were loose around her small face and she looked like a teenager.
He had the picnic basket in his hand and placed it on a table in the main room. She was right, he realized, it had tremendous potential.
“This would serve as a perfect office,” she indicated a large room to the back. “Oh John, this place is perfect!” He watched her animated face and felt the pull of attraction getting stronger. She was truly beautiful.
“Can we get to the time when we can actually start the date?” he asked her in amusement. He had brought along a thick blanket as well and spread it over the hardwood floor.
“I am sorry,” she apologized, turning to look at him. He was looking so handsome, in clearly expensive designer jeans and a black sweater that looked great on him. “It’s just that I get carried away when it comes to my dream.” She smiled at him.
“Have a seat,” he indicated where she should sit and Rosa complied; crossing her legs in Indian style. “What are having? Sweet and sour pork?” she teased him.
“I find that to be highly offensive,” he said with mock gravity as he opened the picnic basket and started taking out the food. “It's shrimp fried rice and honey roasted chicken,” he told her with a boyish grin.
“Very funny,” she said making a face at him. She kept looking around the building, mentally placing each piece of furniture and equipment and seeing the décor unfold in her mind. She had to make it happen.
“Your enthusiasm is contagious,” he commented as he served her a plate packed to capacity. “I am actually seeing this place with your eyes.”
She looked at him as he filled his plate. “I am glad.” She started eating and her eyes widened in appreciation. “This is good stuff.”
“Glad you like it,” he grinned. “Actually made it myself.”
“A handsome rich man who cooks,” she murmured. “What is such a treasure like you being single?”
“I could ask the same about you,” he passed her a glass of wine.
“Unlike you I am not rich, I am just a working class girl who wants to find a way to fulfill her dreams,” she told him with a shrug. “I was actually kinda intimidated by you. I said to myself: he’s rich and handsome and has been out with his share of beautiful rich woman so what would he see in me?” she gave him a direct look. “It’s actually a question: What could you possibly want with me?”
He replaced the glass on the rug and gave her his full attention. “I have been out with lots of women and I have even had sex with quite a few but I am looking for something that’s missing; someone who is not into me for my parents’ money or what they think I can do for them.” He told her honestly.
“And you think that person is me?” she asked him arching one perfectly shaped brow.
“I am willing to find out,” he told her softly; holding her gaze with his. Rosa felt it again; that insistent pull of attraction. She had chalked it down to the fact that she had not been with a man in so long that her body was responding to being starved of lovemaking.
He changed the subject, diffusing the tension that was spreading in the room. “How long have you had this dream of yours?”
She told him about her first easy bake oven and watching her mother in the kitchen and how from a very early age and how through high school that dream had remained.
“What’s your dream?” she asked him curiously as he listened to her in silence.
“My parents’ dream is for me to take over from them when they retire.” He said cynically.
“What’s your dream?”
“To become independent like you,” he smiled at her crookedly.
“We all need to have a dream John,” Rosa pushed aside the empty plate. “Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream and we as people need to have a dream and to follow through with it. I grew up on the side of town that drug dealers and pimps hang out. I was determined to be a sister who was different and I needed to make my parents proud and most importantly to make something for myself.”
“Are you always this passionate?” he asked her huskily and Rosa did not miss the double entendre as his eyes went to her full red lips slightly parted, revealing her white teeth.
“What are you doing?” she asked him, her hands trembling slightly as she rubbed her palms on her jeans.
“You are the most alive person I have ever met,” he told her; gaze holding hers in a mesmerizing stare. “I love the way you express yourself and the way your face lights up when you talk about something close to your heart. I have grown jaded and cynical Rosa and I don’t like it. I want what you have; a zest for life.”
“What are you saying?” she asked him. Her throat was closing up and she could barely get the words through the blockage. He was crowding her and he was not sitting too close to her.
“I want to see you again,” he picked up a slim hand and raised it to his lips, lightly touching his mouth to her skin. But that light touch triggered something so potent that Rosa felt it deep inside her gut and she wanted to pull her hand away.
“I don’t know,” her flesh was tingling where his mouth had touched her and even though he had let go of her hand, she still felt his touch burning through her skin. “I am very busy and I don’t know when I will be able to do this again.” She was making excuses and she knew it but her head was spinning and she needed time for it to stop spinning.
“I am not taking no for an answer,” he told her with a slight smile.
“I don’t expect you would,” Rosa said dryly. She was getting back to her old self again and she wanted to give them a little distance. “It’s getting late and I have work tomorrow.”
“Okay,” he started packing up the things and she helped him. “You don’t mind me calling you?”
Rosa told him no and they gathered up the stuff with the intention of leaving. “Can we look at this place one more time before we go?” she pleaded.
He nodded and he tagged along behind her as she went from room to room; lingering as if assessing where she would put what.
“I know what you mean, I want my own too,” Rosa had a feeling he was not talking about the same thing as her and her heart rate quickened. He was taller than her and even in her heeled boots she came to his shoulders. “I want to kiss you, may I?”
She nodded wordlessly and as if in slow motion she watched his head descended. He was not touching her otherwise and she felt his breath feathered on her face. She did not touch him either but lifted her face to his. His mouth touched hers lightly and Rosa’s lips parted as she leaned into him. His tongue delved inside and his arms went around her waist to pull her closer to him; she splayed her hands against his solid chest and he deepened the kiss. Rosa felt her knees going weak and she curled her fingers into his sweater as she held on for leverage.
His mouth moved over hers hungrily and Rosa felt her body responding; on fire for him. She pulled away from him and would have stumbled backwards if he had not reached out to steady her. Her mouth stung where he had kissed her and her body was vibrating.
“You feel it too,” he said it like it was a statement, not a question and without answering Rosa pulled her arm away and headed for the doorway.
He took her home and did not mention it again; maybe giving her time to catch her breath. He told her about the neighborhood he lived in and Rosa realized how far apart they were; not only to do with culture but to do with the way they were financially.
He dropped her off at home with the promise to call her soon.
*****
“I hope you are not going to blow him off Rosa, the man is trying and you can’t do much better than John Yang,” Hayley told her friend reproachfully. They were in the restaurant where her friend had come over to find out how the date went yesterday. It was past the lunch hour and the place was a little slow so she had time to sit with her friend.
“We are different,” Rosa protested. She had told Hayley he had prepared a picnic dinner for her and they had talked.
“You are supposed to be different,” Hayley told her. The girl oozed self confidence, which she should. She was very attractive and was one of the kindest people Rosa knew. “John happens to be a nice guy, not like some stuck up rich dude who thinks the world revolves around them.”
“He called me last night to make sure I was fine.” Rosa admitted. “We kissed Hayley.”
“Give me details!” Her friend grabbed her hands and leaned forward.
“I am absolutely not going to give you details,” Rosa said firmly. “Only to say that it was one of the most mind blowing kisses I have ever experienced.”
“Oh my,” Hayley said fanning her face, pretending to be hot. “So you see, you two were meant for each other.”
“We’ll see,” Rosa muttered, looking up as the chef indicated for her to go into the kitchen. “I have to go.”
“Wait!” Hayley held her hand. “When are you going out with him again?”
“Don’t know yet, Ms. Nosy,” Rosa said fondly. “I will let you know.”
“You better,” her friend warned with a friendly wave.
*****
“How about Wednesday night?” John was on the phone trying to plan another date. “We could go to the theater?”
“Really?” she said in amusement. “In my circles, we say movies.” She was at her desk trying to sort out the schedule for the following day.
“All right, movies then,” he told her with a laugh. She was looking forward to seeing him again and his phone calls were becoming something she treasured. He had been trying to make a follow up date with her but her schedule had been crazy for the last week. “How about it?”
She had told him Wednesday was her slowest night so she usually left early if she did not have anything left to do. “That’s tomorrow!” she exclaimed.
“If I tell you in advance you are going to say you have a lot of things to do, help me out here Rosa, I am trying and I want to see you.” He told her softly.
“I want to see you too,” Rosa admitted.
“So I will pick you up at seven thirty. At home or the restaurant?” he asked her.
“At the restaurant.” Rosa said with a smile. “I promise I won’t allow anything to get in the way this time.”
“Good,” he said briskly. “See you then Rosa.”
Rosa hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She actually had a date and with a man she found very attractive. She had spent a lot of time thinking about the disparities in their various lives but she had pushed it aside; she had a tendency to over think things and she was not going to do that again. She was going to go out with him and have a good time; wherever it took them then she would deal with it at that time.
*****
The movie was a romantic comedy and he had bought them a huge bucket of popcorn and cherry pop. The theater was not very full and they chose seats near the back. He had picked her up at the restaurant promptly at seven and Rosa had changed into blue jeans and a black sweater, scraping her corkscrew curls on top of her head and adding a little bit of lipstick to highlight her full lips. He was wearing black jeans and a gray sweater.
She found herself laughing as the movie took on a comedic flavor and was quite unaware John was staring at her. He had the popcorn in his lap and she would reach over and scoop up the pieces in her hands and put it in her mouth.
He was enjoying the view and was aware that he was not watching the movie but was watching her. She was so alive that it was like seeing a color picture unfold before his eyes. He had been thinking about her a lot; especially after the date they'd had last week Sunday. Her lips had tasted like honey straight from the nectar and had jolted him so bad that he had been pretty shaken up. He had wanted more but he realized it had been too soon. She had gotten to him and he did not expect that.
“Aren’t you eating?” she asked him as she turned to look at him. “You are making me look bad because I am the only one eating here.”
He scooped up a handful of popcorn and put it in his mouth. “How about that?” he asked her teasingly.
“Not much better,” she told him with a narrow gaze, digging her hand into the bucket and scooping some out and holding it up against his mouth. He ate it out of her hand; his eyes holding hers as he did so. Rosa caught her breath as he finished the popcorn in her hands and licked her palm; his tongue lingering over the soft skin. She wanted to move her hand but she felt paralyzed as his tongue touched the softness of her skin. It was like they were the only two people in the theater; the sound around them muted. He held her hand against his mouth and took her fingers, one at a time to his tongue.
“John,” she said helplessly, not knowing what else to say as he caught one finger inside his mouth and pulled it inside, his tongue touching her. “We are supposed to be watching the movie.”
“This is much more interesting don’t you think?” he murmured against her fingers. Her breath caught inside her throat as his tongue lingered on her finger. He used his teeth to nip the pad of it and Rosa jumped in shock, the passion running through her body like wildfire.
"John stop," she whispered in an agonized tone.
"I cannot," he told her huskily. “You are in my thoughts Rosa and I cannot get you out," he continued his onslaught on her fingers. Rosa had never felt anything like it in all her life.
The movie had ended and they were not even aware of it until the lights came on and people started filing out. He let go of her hand and they sat there trying to gather themselves before leaving. Rosa's heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to jump right out of her chest.
They were the last people to leave the movie theater and when they got outside, he took her hand as they strolled along the sidewalk. His car was parked in the theater's parking lot but he took the opposite direction. It was a c
lear moonlit night with the stars dotting the sky with dazzling beauty. The air was crisp and clean and even though it was cold, it was not unbearably so.
They passed a park with the swings moving eerily in the darkness.
"I am delaying the time when I have to take you home." He told her with a little laugh.
"Are you now?" she said softly as she walked alongside him, her hand tucked into his. She had recovered somewhat from the onslaught of emotions in the theater; she was still chalking it down to her not being with anyone for so long. There was no logical reason why he should have such an effect on her.
They found a little café where he bought them hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream on top. The place was small and quiet and he found a corner table for them to sit. He laughed at her as he wiped away her whipped cream mustache and licked his finger after.
"Were you born in China?" she asked him curiously as she stirred her hot beverage with the cinnamon stick.
"I was born right here but I spent most of my holidays in China where I was supposed to get to know my culture," he told her with a charming grin. He looked like a rogue with his ebony hair falling onto his broad forehead. She was itching to push it back but refrained from doing so, touching him was like lighting a stick of dynamite.
"And did you?"
"Somewhat," he admitted, settling back against the vinyl covered seat and giving her his full attention. He had such beautiful eyes, she thought, like liquid pools of darkness. "China is a large place and many interesting sights, I would like to take you there sometime." The casual way he said it had her staring at him sharply.
