I took out my phone and looked at the screen. I didn’t recognize the number, nor the name.

  Mathis? Who’s that?

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “‘Sup, Dale? Wha’cha doin’?”

  My eyes grew wide. I almost gasped. A wave of excitement rushed over me. “Simone?”

  “Yeah, boo. What’s good?”

  “Jus—just a sec…” I quickly wrapped my sandwich back up, tossed it in my lunch bag and fast-walked to my office. Once closed off in my small business space, I leaned against the door and slapped my hand over my mouth.

  When had she snuck her number into my phone? It could’ve been any day during the last two weeks. Man, she’s good.

  I brought the phone to my ear and held my breath a second before speaking again. “Hi, Simone.”

  “Did I catch you in the middle of some important nerdy cloud meeting?”

  I chuckled. “Nah, no meetings on Fridays.” I dropped the phone from my ear, just to glance at her ID name again. “Why Mathis?”

  “It’s my last name. Figured since I knew yours and a lot of other things I probably shouldn’t know, I should at least share my last name with you.”

  Things she probably shouldn’t know? I’m sure that was shade-shot toward the pic of Evelyn shamelessly offering herself to me. “Okay, I feel like I need to explain what happened this morn—”

  “I met him on Facebook.”

  “Who?”

  “Jordan.”

  My chest tightened and jaw clenched. Her ex? Why would she bring him up all of a sudden?

  “I’m ‘bout to tell you a story, then afterwards we’re gonna get back to the sexy chica in your DM. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  She cleared her throat and began her story. “Jordan was the one who talked me into taking my artistry to the next level. I’d never even considered tattooing until he put the thought into my head. I spent a year as his apprentice, perfecting my craft. I don’t remember the exact day it happened, but we started sleeping together. Soon after that, it became more than just sex. It got so deep between us that we were basically living together. He was my everything. We vibed hard, ya know. Then one morning, our relationship turned to shit.” She paused and breathed out a heavy sigh. “While half asleep, I answered his phone. Not on purpose though. Our phones were side by side on the nightstand and I thought it was mine. At first, there was no response, just breathing. After the third ‘hello’, the woman on the other end said in a pleasant tone, might I add, ‘can you please send my husband home for his daughter’s birthday, you dirty whore?’”

  My mouth fell open.

  “Yoo,” she huffed. “That shit woke me all the way up. I jerked up in bed and was like, ‘you got the wrong number.’ Her tone changed after that. She said, ‘bitch, I called my husband’s phone!’ I hung up and realized it was his phone. That meant I had been dating a married man, something I told myself I would NEVER do. Bruh, as soon as he got out the shower, I was in his face, spitting brimstone and fire. At first, he denied it. When he realized I wasn’t buying his lies, he came clean. He told me that it was no big deal, that his wife wouldn’t come between us. I got the ‘we’re separated and getting divorce’ spiel—yada-yada.” She sucked her teeth and groaned. “Till this day, I can’t believe the balls on that muthafucka. I’m not the type to snoop through my man’s phone, or smell his dick when he comes home late, paranoid that he’s still hooking up with his fuckin’ wife. I’m not that chick! But if I stayed with him and tried to make things work, I would’ve become that chick. If I couldn’t trust him, I couldn’t be with him. Besides that, I’m no man’s side piece. So, I made the logical choice for my sanity and broke it off. His response to that was to fire me. Petty ass response in my opinion. Never knew he was such a fuckboy.”

  “Sometimes we don’t know people like we think we do. And sometimes we see the red flags but ignore them because being with the wrong person is better than being alone.”

  “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

  I fell silent as my mind drifted on Evelyn. Before, I just ignored her. But now she was a problem. I had to take care of it so I could move forward with Simone.

  “It wasn’t all bad though. During my apprenticeship, I picked up a lot of contacts in the industry. A week after he fired me, I got a call from the owner of a spot in Manhattan. After I accepted the job, my career took off. I was in a good place. I thought I was done with Jordan. I thought I would never hear from him again, which would’ve been fine with me. Then out of the blue, he started calling and leaving messages, reminiscing about how good things were between us. Again, yada-yada.”

  “And what did you do about that?” I asked genuinely curious.

  “I left my past mistakes in the past and kept it moving. I got no room in my life for fuckboys. I admit it hurt like hell to cut him out of my life ‘cause what we had was deep. Well, guess it was only deep for me, not so much for him. I was a fool in love. I will never be a fool again. That’s not to say I turn my back on love though.”

  “Glad to hear that. Everyone deserves a second chance to love.”

  She laughed. “You sound like a sappy Valentine’s day card.”

  I chuckled with her. “Yeah, that was a pretty corny line.”

  “Okay, we’re getting off topic here.” The sound of her clapping her hands radiated through the phone. “The ball is in your court now. Let’s go.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can tell you’re holding whatever happened between you and that Kardashian-looking chick close to the vest. I bet you haven’t talked to anyone about it. That’s why you’re so pressed about that text. Believe me, getting it off your shoulders will make a world of difference. No pressure though. If you don’t wanna talk about it—”

  “No, I do. I should.” Sighing, I settled behind my desk and ran a hand down my face. “Don’t really know where to start.”

  “Start wherever. Twenty-five minutes before my next client comes in. Till then, I’m all yours, and I’m all ears.”

  Reclining back in my chair, I stared up at the ceiling. “I used to work at a newsroom. That’s where I met Evelyn. She’s a high-profiled anchorwoman for the network.”

  “Hol’up, pause. Just out of curiosity, how old is she?”

  “Uhm, late thirties, maybe.”

  “Ahh, so you got a thing for older women.”

  “I got a thing for mature women. There’s a difference.”

  She burst out laughing. “I hear that. Okay, go on.”

  “In the beginning, it was just sex. I was the fill-in guy, someone to occupy her time while she was in between relationships. She would call, I would come, and we would fuck. Sometimes for hours, sometimes for days.”

  “Daaayum,” she breathed out. “Somebody was blowing that back out on a regular.”

  I snickered. “Our relationship was a secret, of course. I understood why. She didn’t want anyone to know she was screwing the newsroom’s IT guy. At that time, I was okay with being that guy. She was beautiful and talented and the fact that she enjoyed my physical company made me feel special. After a few months of being her lover, I started developing feelings for her. She let me know she liked me too, but not enough to get into a serious relationship with me. So, I remained discreet and available to her, even when she started publicly dating other guys. She became a bad habit for me.”

  “Ugh, this is pissing me off! Ole’ girl was using you, treating you like some insignificant sex toy. Going out with other dudes when she knew you were feeling her…” She let out a strangled groan. “Bitches like that boil my blood. Okay, I’m done. I won’t interrupt anymore.”

  I smiled. “Yeah you will, and you know it.”

  She sucked her teeth. “Proceed with your story, sir.”

  “One evening, we attended the annual banquet for the network. There were a lot of VIPs and CEOs there. We arrived separate, of course. I came alone, but she came with a date.”

  “Skank ass cunt!” Simone grumbled on a hiss.

  “See, told you.”

  “Keep going.”

  “At the banquet, I met a guy named McKenzie Ratford. We started talking about cloud technology and cyber security. We basically talked all night. I remember Evelyn shooting eye-daggers at me the whole time. She’d sent me several texts, telling me to meet her out back.”

  “Out back for what?”

  “She grew bored at functions like that. She needed a pick-me-up.”

  “Are you fuckin’ serious? She was there with a date and she was trying to get a quickie from you?”

  “It was nothing new.”

  “Like… goddamn. Y’all were freaks.”

  “I ignored her. Mainly because I felt some kinda way about her being there with another guy.”

  “Obviously,” she scoffed.

  “But also because I’d finally met someone who spoke my language. McKenzie had a lot of knowledge about the technology field and I wanted some of that knowledge for myself, so I stayed glued to his side all night, picking his brain. Before he left the party, he threw me for a loop. He offered me a job with his company right there on the spot—the third biggest tech giant in the world. That’s the company I currently work for.”

  “That’s pretty damn awesome, Dale.” I could hear the smile in her voice. She was genuinely happy for me. “That kinda luck doesn’t swing by for everyone.”

  “I know! I had no idea I was auditioning for my dream job that night. I was psyched. The catch about having to move to New York didn’t even phase me. I was ready to go!”

  “I’m sure that didn’t sit well with ole’ girl though.”

  “When I told her about it, she instantly dismissed it as something he offered me because he was tipsy. There was no way I could get a job like that by just being me. And that’s when it hit me. She would never support me, like I did her. I was nothing but a sexual plaything to her. Nothing more, nothing less. So, I parted ways with her and started my new life.”

  “Well, judging by that text she sent you this morning, I don’t think she’s ready to part ways.”

  “She’s been leaving VMs and texting me for months. She claims she’s ready for a relationship with me. I know it’s bullshit and she knows it’s bullshit, but she keeps trying. She bored again. That’s all this is. I’m not a prick, but she’s about to turn me into one.”

  “Nope, I don’t think it’s boredom. I’mma tell you what she’s going through. She’s reminiscing about how good that D was.”

  Smiling, I blushed.

  “She realized that she fucked up by not treating you better. They never miss the water ‘til the well runs dry. Have you talked to her?”

  “Once or twice to tell her to stop contacting me, but she won’t stop.”

  “That’s because you’re reacting to her. She wants your attention and every time you give it to her, she takes that as a sign that you two could crawl back into the sack again. I’m going to tell you like a friend told me. The Block option is free, easy and extremely satisfying.”

  Block her? Ugh, why didn’t I think of that? “Just a sec.” I went to Evelyn’s number in my contacts, scrolled down to Block this Caller and tapped on it. And just like that, the deed was done. “You’re right. It is satisfying.” Later, I’d be sure to do the same with my social media outlets. “Thank you for listening to me.”

  “Anytime. Hey, what’re you doing for Valentine’s Day?”

  Valentine’s Day! Wait—is that—? I lurched forward in my chair and clicked on my calendar. Fuck me, Valentines is less than a week away! I’d been so drunk on Simone, I hadn’t considered the one day that could possibly make this thing between us real. Ugh, idiot! “I—I honestly hadn’t thought about it, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’d love to take you out.”

  “Oo, nice save.”

  “Simone, I don’t want you to think I’m some absentminded guy—”

  “No. I think you’re a great guy or I wouldn’t be asking you out.”

  Hold on, she’s asking me out? Oh my God, that’s totally what’s happening right now! The rapping behind my chest increased. Beads of sweat formed on my brow. “Whoa,” I breathed out on a shaky sigh.

  Excitement carried her voice when she spoke again. “So, are we’re doing this or what?”

  “Oh hell yeah, we’re definitely doing this!” I tried to sound as excited, but only managed to sound like a dying cow. Jesus, I was nervous. “I’m still trying to feel my way around New York, so I’ll have to count on you to choose the restaurant.”

  “What if I wanted to hit up a restaurant in Paris?”

  “Paris, France?”

  “Yeah, why not?”

  Funny. Before I scored this job, taking a trip to Paris would only be a dream, but now it was actually doable. I could take her on a romantic excursion to France, and it wouldn’t even break the bank. “If that’s what you wanna do, we can do that.”

  Her charming laughter tickled my ear. “You’re too cute. Seriously though, I’m craving a home-cooked meal. Think you can make that happen?”

  Well, this just took an unexpected turn. “Uhm… yeah, I can totally make that happen.”

  “Your place?”

  “My—my place.”

  “A’ight, it’s a date.” Her voice muffled for a second, then she sighed. “Dale, I gotta go. My client just walked in. Talk more tonight?”

  “Okay.”

  “Cool. I’ll be home ‘round eight. Later.” The line beeped and then went silent.

  My thoughts whirled into a tailspin. I have a date with Simone, at my place. I didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified.

  Blue Riding Hood

  During the next few days, I was trapped on a rollercoaster of madness.

  I had no idea what I was going to cook for Simone on Valentines and that special day was right around the corner!

  Every morning, I peppered her with questions about what she liked to eat, so I could get a better idea of what to serve her.

  Her answer was always the same. “I’ll eat whatever you cook as long as it’s not shit.” She said it in amusement, but it only increased my anxiety.

  The day before Valentines, I was a nervous wreck.

  That morning, when the train arrived at her stop, she dropped her hand on my knee and squeezed it to make me stop shaking my leg like a junkie. “You’re freaking out, I can tell.”

  “Yeah? What gave it away?”

  “Chill, okay. It’s not that deep.” She kissed me on my temple, something she’d never done before, then headed for the exit.

  This time I didn’t follow, even though I wanted to. I just watched her. Partly because I was still stunned.

  Did she just kiss me?

  She paused at the door. “I won’t be on in the morning. Got the whole day off. See you tomorrow at six.” And then she was gone.

  I touched my temple. My skin tingled where her lips made contact. She freaking kissed me!

  *****

  Valentine’s Day came like a flash!

  I left work three hours early to prepare. As soon as I got home, I started cleaning. Not that there was much to clean. I made sure everything was in its proper place on a daily basis or I get a little wacky.

  Hashtag OCD.

  I hurried into the shower, expecting it to be a quick one. But Simone sashayed into my thoughts, where she’d taken up permanent residence. The image of her full breasts and statuesque frame teased my mind. I imagined her lips on mine. My body hardened. My hand traveled south. My stirring erection filled my grip and the jerking began. Didn’t take me long to get off. It never did when I thought of her.

  Once I was all fresh and clean, I pulled on a pair of pants and a button-down shirt. I stepped in front of the mirror. Hope I don’t look too… nerdy. I unbuttoned the first two buttons, showing a glimpse of my neckline. Hope this doesn’t look like I’m trying too hard to be appealing. Shit! Maybe I should change into something less… formal. Jeans and a cool anime t-shirt. Nah, then it would look like I’m not trying at all. I huffed out a sigh. I didn’t have the time mull over what to wear. Gotta get dinner going.

  “Alexa, play my Chill Out or Die playlist.” The soulful tunes wafted through my apartment. I grabbed the bouquet of red roses I bought and began separating them. I placed a single rose in various places around my apartment. On the entertainment stand, on the kitchen island, on my bed, on the toilet seat, right outside the front door and anywhere else I could think of. It may seem a little sappy and less romantic than handing her a full bouquet, but it was my way to show her that I cared for her. I hope she picked up on the gesture.

  Humming along with the music, I shuffled into the kitchen and donned my ‘hug the cook’ apron. I found myself in a good mood, somewhat confident about what I was going to cook.

  And then it all fell apart.

  I overcooked the couscous and I hadn’t even got started on the vegetables. The steak was a no-brainer. I could cook that in my sleep. But the jumbo shrimp… I wasn’t sure how I should prepare it to go along with the steak.

  Oh my God, what was I thinking?

  I should’ve taken Grammy’s advice and cooked spaghetti. I make great spaghetti! My only saving grace was dessert, the Tiramisu I had made the night before.

  But I can’t just serve her dessert and steak!

  A knock on the door jarred me.

  Shit, is it six already? I checked the time. It was five twenty-five. She’s early! Why was she so early? Ahh, nothing’s ready! The wine probably wasn’t chilled enough. Dammit, Dale! You screwed the pooch on this one.

  Another knock sounded.

  “Goddammit!” I rushed to the door and yanked it open. I blinked rapidly and had to swallow back a gasp at the sight before me. “Wow.”

  Simone stood there, looking absolutely stunning.

  She had on a short black velvet dress. It clung to her curves, reaching only inches past her hips. Draped over her shoulders and head was a blue cape with a hoodie attached, its fabric matching the dress. Black stockings covered her thighs and a pair of leather boots climbed up her legs.

 

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