A Good Dude (40 page)

When they got back to Candace’s apartment, Leila was ready for her afternoon nap. Candace made her a bottle, but she fell asleep in Tino’s arms before the microwave dinged.

Candace had to go to work that evening, so she needed a few winks herself, especially after the night she had with her
former
-virgin boyfriend. Tino said he was sleepy, too, and Candace was glad he wanted to stay. She climbed into bed wearing only panties and a bra, and Tino followed in boxers and a T-shirt.

Candace didn’t think he’d go from virgin to horn-dog overnight, but Tino’s hands were all over her as soon as they were under the sheets. She giggled when he sucked the back of her neck and smooched behind her ears. He undid her bra and gobbled her breasts like candy. Tino tongue-lashed the small of her back as well.

He climbed on top and they kissed passionately. His hair was down, and it fell in her face, but Candace didn’t care. Tino sucked her neck and licked from her throat to her belly button. When he wanted to go further Candace didn’t stop him. He pulled her panties off and sucked between her legs like a puppy lapping milk.

Candace was too taken aback to enjoy it at first. She closed her legs, almost squishing his head, but Tino put a hand on each thigh and pushed them apart politely. He looked up at her, his lips moist.

“Am I doing it wrong?”

“Nuh-no, Tino. It’s fine.”

“Tell me what you like, so I’ll know,” he said, but that was easier said than done. After a few seconds, Candace couldn’t speak at all. She laid her head back on the pillow and moaned, or
screamed
, she wasn’t sure which. She grabbed hold of his hair and rocked her hips with his tongue, and when her eyes rolled back this time, she truly believed she was in heaven.

Celestino.

Someone gave this boy the right name.

When he was done, Candace tried to return the favor, but Tino assured her that would not be necessary. He said he was excited enough already, and Candace could see that he was.

“I just want to be inside you,” he said.

“I love you, Celestino.”

“I love you, too.”

* * *

She woke up at 4:29 p.m. The alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet. Candace sat up rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
What woke me up
, she wondered. But then it hit her: She woke up all by herself, exactly one hour before she had to leave for work. And she did it with inadequate sleep. That was a first for her. Candace took it as a sign of maturity, as evidence she’d become a responsible person.

As if agreeing with her, the alarm went off a few seconds later. Candace shut it off and then rolled over and threw an arm and a leg over her boyfriend.

“Time to get up,” she whispered.

“
Nunnnh
.”

“Tino.”

“I don’t want to go to school today, Mommy.”

“Boy, get up, I’m not your mommy.”

He rolled to face her. His hair was messed, and he had fresh stubble on his chin. His eyes were dark, and alluring. “It’s time for you to go?” he asked.

“Yeah, sweetie. Some of us have to work on the holidays. Others get to go home and play video games all day.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Do you want me to call your job and demand they let you stay home?”

Candace giggled. “Yeah, right.”

“So, how’d I do?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, in bed.” He blushed and looked down at the sheets. “How’d I do?”

“Tino, you don’t have to impress me. You don’t think you’re competing with anyone, do you?”

“No,” he said. He looked up at her and smiled. “I just want to know if I’m doing a good job. I mean, if I’m passing or not, you know?”

Candace grinned. “Do you hear yourself? Tino, you’re such a nerd. You want me to grade your bedroom performance?”

“I just want to know if I’m passing.” His coy grin was infectious. It made Candace happy just to see his dimples. She placed a hand on his cheek.

“Well, I would give you an ‘A’, but you haven’t given me a full-body massage yet.”

“I can give you a massage,” he said eagerly.

“It’s too late now. You already turned in your test.”

“Where do you like to be touched?” he asked. Candace was the one who blushed then. “Mmm.

Everywhere
.”

“You have to like some places more than others,” Tino said.

“Mmm, I guess my butt, maybe.”

“Your booty?”

“Then my breasts.”

“I like your booty.”

“Are you talking about touching with your hands or lips?” she asked.

“They’re different categories?”

“Oh, yeah.
Totally
different.”

“I’d better get a notepad.”

Candace giggled. “Later. I have to go to work.”

“We’re going to finish this conversation.”

“Okay.”

“So what’s my grade?”

“I’d give you an ‘A’,” she said.

His eyes brightened. “No shit? You’d give me an ‘A’?”

“There’s something you don’t understand, Tino.”

“What?”

“What you do to me, to my body, that’s only about thirty percent of it. How I feel about you and how much I love you, that’s what makes our intimacy so special. If I didn’t like you, you could do whatever you wanted to me physically, but it wouldn’t mean a thing.”

“I get it,” he said. “Your pleasure variable is directly linked to the emotional bond you develop with your partner.”

“You’re such a
nerd
,” she said, and kissed him on the nose.

* * *

Candace left at 5:30 p.m. She dropped the baby off at Trisha’s house but didn’t tell her friend about her and Tino. As juicy as the story was, she felt her and Tino’s relationship was much more than some locker room sex story. It was more than she could put into words.

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET

Candace didn’t get home until ten till midnight. By then the temperature had dipped to a chilly forty-three degrees in the great city of Overbrook Meadows. Candace stepped out of Trisha’s apartment and pulled a hoodie over her head. She had Leila totally bundled, lest any devious breezes brush her daughter’s face. The baby looked like a larva in a cocoon. Candace held Leila under her jacket, as she made her way down the stairs.

And then she stopped.

Something moved down there. There wasn’t much wind, and Candace didn’t think what she saw was a floating plastic bag. She was sure that what she saw down there was a shadow. Not a shadow coming, but a shadow leaving, as if someone standing down there suddenly stepped into the darkness.

A ripple of fear tap-danced down her spine, but Candace didn’t know why she felt that way. This was a big apartment complex. A lot of people lived there. It was very possible someone simply walked by. And there was nothing wrong with that. People are free to come and go as they please.

But still.

Something didn’t feel right. Candace had half a mind to go back up to Trisha’s, but what then? Would she ask Trisha to abandon her three boys for a minute so she could walk her down the stairs? Or maybe Trisha could get all of the kids bundled up so they could go as a family.

Candace sighed and started down the stairs again. This time she kept her eyes on the spot where the shadow had been. She was sure she wouldn’t see anything, but if someone was hiding around the corner down there, another movement might give them away.

She stopped again.

Are you serious? Do you really believe someone’s down there? ‘Cause if you do, you need to go back up
. But that was just it. All she saw was a shadow. She might not have even seen that.

There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Candace held onto her baby tighter and calmly made her way down the rest of the steps. At the bottom, she peeked around that suspicious blind spot before heading to her car. There was nothing there. No neighbors, no stray dog, no branch blowing in the wind, and damned sure no boogeyman. But what did she expect?

Candace loosened her tense muscles and stepped quickly to her Nissan. She unlocked the back door and settled Leila in her car seat. Candace jumped into the front seat and locked the doors before anything else.

“Dammit!” She banged her fist on the steering wheel. “What the hell is wrong with me?” Her words bounced around the quiet confines of her vehicle. She hated feeling like this. Fear is worse than physical pain and heartbreak put together.

She put the Sentra in reverse and casually backed out of the parking spot. Even with her headlights shining she couldn’t see anything around that damned corner. She put it in drive and left Trisha’s apartment complex without incident. Thirty seconds later she pulled into her own parking spot across the street.

Candace got out and unbuckled Leila from her car seat. She didn’t feel any of the apprehension she felt across the street.

But then she heard footsteps.

You’re supposed to hear footsteps
, Candace told herself.
This is a big complex, just like Trisha’s. It’s late, but it’s also Christmas night. A lot of people are off work. Neither shadows nor footsteps should be cause for concern
.

But these footsteps were different.

They weren’t the casually walking
oh-la-ti-da-I’m-offfor-Christmas
feet. These feet were moving
fast
, almost jogging, and they were definitely coming towards Candace. She looked in that direction, but could see nothing in the darkness. Just buildings and trees. Bushes and cars.

Candace quit trying to reason with this madness. She positioned Leila in the crook of her arm like a football and slammed the car door closed. She turned and scanned the landscape one last time. Still, there was only darkness. But out of the murk the feet kept coming, faster now.

Candace nearly screamed. She turned and sprinted like an Olympian to her stairway. She was only up two flights, but she felt like she was climbing a downwards escalator. Her heart shot up her throat and rattled there. Beads of sweat blossomed on her forehead despite the frigid temperatures.

Candace made it up the first flight and rounded the corner for home. She took a split-second to look behind her, and she saw him then. But just a glimpse. Her pursuer was tall and dressed in black. Those were the only details that registered.

Candace hopped the final steps three at a time. Leila bounced awkwardly against her body. Candace had never been more afraid in her entire life. She was more than terrified. She didn’t know what this man wanted from her, and she really didn’t care about her own safety, but Leila was innocent. Her baby didn’t deserve anything but love. And the goon behind her hadn’t come to spread good cheer.