I had my eyes closed while I spoke, so I could remember that first chocolate moment. When I looked at Max again, I found him staring at me so strangely. His whole face was completely red and flustered, and he grabbed his water and took a quick gulp, only to end up coughing. I quickly patted his back, grabbed his napkin, and handed it to him.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yeah… Sorry about that. Damn water went down the wrong pipe.” He wiped his mouth, quickly collecting himself as he looked back at me.
What the hell brought that on, I wondered.
“My grandparents were British, so they would send us packages during our birthdays when we were kids and also during the holidays. They would send us tons and tons of Cadbury chocolate…best I ever had. Our mom would take our chocolates and put them in a safe to lock them up from us so we wouldn’t eat too many at one time. But I was the crafty one out of the three of us—there was me, my brother and sister. I ended up making a duplicate key, and we’d sneak in and steal our chocolate. We’d run to our father’s study where the safe was hidden, and we’d get our chocolate and hide it in our rooms.”
I found myself dying laughing over his antics; sounded exactly like something I would have done as a child. “And you never got caught?”
“Nope. I think our parents knew we were sneaking chocolate, but they never said a word about it.”
We continued laughing and talking, but when the waitress brought out our dessert, all laughing ceased, and I simply stared at what she set on our table. The dessert was like nothing I had ever seen. Have you ever had one of those out-of-body experiences? Where your soul just leaves your body and you’re floating overhead, looking at yourself? Well, I didn’t have one of those—this was something that would never be documented…ever.
The dessert filled a huge champagne glass, topped off with whip cream, dark cherries, and chocolate shavings. I could see the different layers of whipped cream and what looked like either chocolate pudding or mousse, along with dark cherries. I couldn’t do anything but stare in shock, my mouth gaping over what I was seeing before me. I looked over at Max, who was obviously trying to suppress his laughter by covering his mouth.
“Please tell me you don’t eat this entire thing by yourself,” I said.
He shook his head, still holding his hand over his mouth, while he looked back and forth between me and the dessert. I honestly didn’t want to eat the damn thing; it was too beautiful to disturb. Grabbing my purse, I took my phone out, and like an idiot, I took a picture. No one would have believed me if I told them how gorgeous it was. As I snapped the picture, Maxleaned into my view, his head beside the champagne glass and a goofy look on his face. I started laughing as I put the phone down, and soon we both grabbed our spoons to dig into the decadent confection. I found out that the chef used chocolate mousse rather than pudding, but I honestly didn’t care; every bite I took was like heaven on earth.
As we ate, every once in a while, I would look over at Max, and it seemed he was watching me while we ate. My gaze fell to his lips, and I stared as the spoon entered his mouth. I couldn’t help but watch him, taking in the way the spoon would enter his mouth, only to slowly exit from between his lips and then he’d lick off the remaining cream. His movements were so sensual, I had to cross my legs and squeeze my thighs tightly together. The sensation I experienced while watching him perform such a seemingly innocent act intensified each time he licked his full lips.
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” Quickly, I got up from the table and made a hasty retreat toward where I thought I’d find the bathroom.
Thank God for signs, because I wouldn’t have known where the hell I was going.
When I got inside the ladies’ room, I quickly went to the sink and turned on the faucet, then grabbed and thick wad of paper napkins from the dispenser. I wet them all, wrung them out, then unbuttoned my blouse. I swear I had never felt such heat before in my life. I softly dabbed myself with the cool paper, but it wasn’t helping calm my nerves. It only made me even hotter. My God, I needed some relief, and this was not the place to be doing it.
“You’ve got to calm yourself down, Sarah, before you go back out there. Lord knows that man makes you hot, but you can’t let him know that. Take a deep breath, girlfriend, freshen yourself up, and go back out there with a smile.”
Looking into the mirror, I breathed deeply, then went to the bathroom stall to use the toilet, came out, and hastily freshened up before I went back out into the dining room.
But instead of waiting for me at the table, Max stood near the podium. “I went and paid for our lunch already. I don’t have long on my lunch break, so we must head on back.”
I nodded. Leaving was a great idea because I honestly couldn’t handle watching him eating anymore of that dessert.
Chapter Three
I never dreamed I’d have another lunch date with Max. That day at the café had completely unnerved me, and thinking back, I swore he was playing with me while we ate that dessert. In fact, now that I thought about it, I knew he had been playing, gauging my reactions.I figured I must have disappointed him, because I didn’t hear another word from him, but about two weeks later, he came over to my desk and said, “Hi, Sarah, want to have lunch with me today?”
“Sure, I’d like that. I’ll meet you at the elevator around eleven thirty.”
He smiled and walked away from my cubicle, and behind me, Darla hummed something silly. I didn’t say a word, but rather continued on with my work, hoping the morning would fly by so I could go to lunch again with Max.
When eleven thirty came around, I went straight to the elevator, purse in hand, and waited. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long because he came around the corner, wearing a beautifully tailored dark blue suit and a brilliant smile on his face.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
Nodding with a smile, he went to push the button on the wall as the elevator doors opened, and we got in.
“Where are we headed today?” I asked.
“Oh, just to the park. Thought since it was such a wonderful day out, we might as well spend our lunch hour outside. We’ll grab something to eat off of one of those food trucks.”
“I’ve heard of those…heard they do serve some good food.”
We walked out when the doors opened and made our way outside to the clean, crisp air and sunshine. The walk did me good, because honestly, walking back and forth from my desk to the sitting area where we get our coffee was nothing compared to going outside in the open. It kind of cleared the mind of the daily grind, even if it only lasted a couple of minutes a day.
“How’s your day going so far?” I asked him when we got to the stop sign and waited for the traffic light to change.
“So far, so good, even though it’s been a hectic morning. However, I hope it will get better this afternoon.”
“I hope so too, because I can only imagine what you may have to deal with.”
When the light changed, we walked along with everybody else across the street and toward the entrance to the park. I had never eaten from a food truck. When I was young, I’d had the impression they were those nasty looking things construction workers hung out around while chowing down on three-day-old sandwiches. But I was surprised to see that some of the trucks served some really good gourmet food, while a few sold traditional food, like hotdogs, as well. At first, I had a tough time deciding on what I had wanted. But with my stomach growling like it was, I decided to try some Jamaican jerk chicken, which the lady was nice enough to let me sample. I immediately fell in love with the spicy dish.After we both got our food, we walked over to some picnic tables situated beneath bright orange umbrellas.
“That smells good. What you got there?” I smiled while taking another bite of the chicken.
I looked over at his container and saw some grilled fish tacos that looked just as good as my food did. Once again, the lunch led to a lull in conversation. I could never understand how two people could sit
there and not say a word to each other while they ate; it was totally inhuman not to talk while eating lunch.
“So, what would you like to talk about?” I asked, breaking the silence.
He looked at me for a moment while taking a sip of soda from a bottle. “Let’s talk about chocolate.”
Well, that’s great, I thought. A topic I could really sink my teeth into. “What would you like to know?”
“Did you enjoy that dessert we ate last time we had lunch together?”
“Actually, I did. I never had anything so delicious in my life, much less that extravagant. But I want to thank you taking me there, as well as treating me to that dessert.” I took another bite of chicken, but the way he stared at me made me wonder what else he could have been thinking. “What’s wrong, Max? You look like you want to say something else?”
“I was wondering if you would like to go out on an actual date with me sometime.”
Talk about a shock to the system! I never thought he would have went there and asked me out on a date. Plus, this was the man of my dreams, the man I had been eyeing for years from afar, and the man who could instantly make my entire body feel hot.
Girl, you better answer before he decides he made a mistake! “You can’t be serious, can you?”
“Why can’t I be serious about asking you out on a date?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that, well, it’s kind of shocking that you would ask me out.”
“Why do you find that shocking? I mean, I’ve wanted to ask you out for a very long time now. I didn’t know if you would go out with a white guy, so I never bothered to ask you out.”
Now I had to laugh a bit, because honestly, there I was, scared of even confronting this guy anywhere in the office, and come to find out, he had been trying to pursue me. Who would have thought this would happen to me, of all people?
“I don’t know what to say,” I told him, then repeated my earlier statement. “In a way, I’m kind of shocked.”
I wasn’t about to tell him exactly why. No…I would leave that for another time.
“So, what do you say? Would you like to go out with me?”
Honestly, how could I pass up a date with this gorgeous hunk of a man, who basically inhabited every wet dream I ever had these last few years? “Sure, I’d love to go out.”
His smile was brilliant and sweet, as he took my hand in his. God, why did he have to touch my hand like he did? I swore a thousand sparks went through my body, and my panties grew wetter with his touch.
“How about this Friday? Once I get things set up, I’ll let you know what time I’ll pick you up,alright.”
“Sure thing. Just let me know when.”
And we continued eating our lunch until we were both full…or so I thought.
“Want to share some dessert?”
I nodded, and he took our containers to toss them in the trash. He made his way over to the trucks, as I continued drinking my water to cleanse my palate of the jerk chicken I had eaten. After a couple of minutes of waiting, I saw him coming toward me with a covered plate in one hand and two forks in another. When he sat down, he handed me a fork and took the paper towel off of the plate to reveal the most decadent piece of chocolate cheesecake I had ever seen in my entire life. I wondered where in the hell they got the damn thing—a cheese wheel the size of a wagon wheel? It was thick and looked so rich I knew once I took a piece with my fork it would just stay there.
“Dig on in,” he told me, and I was happy to oblige.
I used my fork to take a piece off the end. I honestly didn’t mean to make that moaning sound when I let the creaminess play against my tongue. Really and truthfully, I couldn’t help it at all, because honestly, when I taste chocolate, it’s more like an orgasmic experience for me. Especially when my taste buds know the chocolate is that of good quality like it was in that cheesecake. I couldn’t help but take another bite, and then another and another, before I realized it, when I went back for another forkful, there was nothing left. I looked over at Max, who had been eyeballing me the entire time. The look on his face was that of shock, and I could tell he must have gotten into what I was doing as much as I was, because a light coating of sweat had formed on his face.
He quickly grabbed hold of the napkins and wiped his brow. “I think we better head on back to work.” He took hold of our plate and sprinted toward the trashcan, disappearing before I could even get to my feet.
* * * *
When I made it back to the office, I noticed Max’s door was closed and the blinds were all down. I didn’t want to make a scene, so I didn’t bother going to the door. Maybe he had to get back to work or something, but it was kind of weird of him to leave me so abruptly like he did. I went about my business, continuing where I had left off before I left for lunch. For the next little bit, every now and then, I would look up to see if maybe the blinds would open up, but they never did. Finally, about ten minutes later, the blinds were up but the door remained closed for another five minutes or so beyond that.
I had to find out what had happened, so grabbing my coffee cup, I got up to walk past his door, and that’s when it hit me. But at first, I didn’t think anything of it, because it smelled like air freshener, but it was what was mingled along with the scent of fresh linen. As I drew in a deep breath, I clearly smelled the odor of sex. That hot, sweaty, heady scent slowly drifted through his open doorway. I didn’t bother to look inside, because I didn’t want everybody else looking my way, as well.
When I got to my desk, I had pressed a button that I never thought I would be pressing, even though I’d programmed his number into my phone a long time ago. Looking over, I saw him grab the phone, and before he could say a word, I whispered, “Mr. Taylor, I think you should open a window before you open the door next time, because the aroma of more than your air freshener is wafting throughout the office.”
He looked back at me, and I could see his face grow redder by the minute. He set the phone down, quickly got up, and closed the door.
“How did you know what I did?” he asked me, coming back on the line.
I had to smile a bit. “Let’s just say I know. Goodbye.”
After that call, I really didn’t think I would hear anything else from Max, but a few minutes later, my phone rang.
“Hello, this is Sarah.”
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“The same thing I’ve been doing most of the day. I’m working. Don’t you think you need to be doing the exact same thing?”
“I need to know.”
“About what?”
“About what you know happened.”
“Where?”
“In my office, that’s where.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw him standing there in his doorway; his shirtsleeves were rolled up, revealing muscular forearms.
“Like I said, I just know these things.”
He didn’t reply, and I had hope that maybe he would stop bugging me, but then he said, “You know, I thought about you while I was in here.”
And then he hung up, and honestly, I sat there with the receiver against my ear in shock. But the feeling didn’t last long, because a moment later, Darla scooted her chair closer to mine.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
Quickly hanging up the phone, I nodded and returned to typing up my report. Maybe that’s why he looked so flustered at lunch. I had to admit, the whole thing was hilarious as hell. Imagine that I was able to make the man so on edge, just by eating dessert. Maybe that was his vice…his desire for desserts…or maybe it was just his thing for chocolate. I knew my obsession with chocolate was nothing big, but I didn’t know how deep his was. Maybe he had like a fetish or something. I’d have to find out about that later on.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to get home. My hands were killing me from all of the reports I had to type up. I just wanted to take myself a warm shower, get my cozy pajamas on, and grab a glass of wine. Today had been one of those da
ys that made me want to sit back and think about all that had happened. But thinking would have to wait until I took me a shower.
I find showers very therapeutic, especially after such a long day. I think the only reasons I bought my place was because of the kitchen and the shower. The fresh smell of lavender hit my nose once I squirted some of the gel onto my sponge and began lathering it up. I never rushed taking my shower; I didn’t care whether or not I looked like a prune after I got out. I stayed in there until the hot water was completely gone. Hell, water was free there—I didn’t have to pay a dime—so I always used as much as I needed.Thinking about what had happened at lunch that day made me smile; I knew he went into his office to jack off. I wondered how thick and long he was and if he said he was thinking of me, what could he have been thinking? Man, my imagination could run so wild at times.
After the shower, I dressed in my favorite pajama top—I never wore bottoms unless it was too cold in my apartment to go without pants, ran my fingers through my dark brown hair, and plopped down on my bed to figure out what I was going to watch on the television. I knew I should eat something, but honestly, I wasn’t hungry for food at that moment. I was hungry for Max.
Chapter Four
Thankfully, I had the next day off, which should have meant sleeping in for as long as I wanted to, but that was not the case today; I had a class to go to.
No, I’m not taking any college courses or anything. Those days are long gone.
As you know, my love for chocolate knows no bounds, and a few years back, I decided to go to the source. I had been going to Ode au Chocolat so long, I’d practically become part of the owners’ family. Charlotte and Andre Lamoure were the proprietors of the little chocolate shop, and every day off, I would visit them. The moment I stepped inside their shop, the wonderful bouquet of odors from the different chocolates hit my senses, awakening me to so many possibilities.Charlotte was expecting twin boys, and she and I had grown so close, she had even decided to name me godmother.
Her Chocolate Fantasy Page 3
