Cougars (17 page)

“That's happened to me from time to time as well. Do you
want to go someplace and grab lunch? We can continue our discussion over a meal,” Jasmine suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Great, I know a wonderful place not too far from here.”

Jasmine and Travis both rose to their feet. As Travis walked out, Jasmine noticed that he had a cocky swagger.

“Damn, he has a sexy-ass walk,” muttered the temptress within her. “When I get around to fucking his cocky ass, it's going to be pure pleasure.”

Early on Saturday morning, Travis got out of bed and decided to head over to the lakefront for a brisk morning jog. As he shuffled along the running path with the bicyclists, skateboarders, and other fitness fanatics, he thought about Jasmine. He had to admit that his boy Alex was right. Jasmine was fantastically sexy in a way that many older women seemed to have perfected. She had a type of seductiveness about her that he was attracted to. Whenever he saw her walking in the office, his dick got hard at the sight of her ass pushing out against the fabric of the skirts she was so fond of wearing. Whenever this feeling came over him, he wanted to approach her from behind, place his hard dick between her ass cheeks and say to her, “Squeeze.” He desperately wanted to have her chocolate legs wrapped around him, but not at the risk of losing his livelihood. He was lusting for her; there was no question about it. Travis just wasn't exactly sure how she'd react if he made advances toward her now that she was his boss.

After running two miles and fantasizing about Jasmine giving him a blow job and then blasting her mouth with a healthy amount of his essence, Travis turned around and headed back to his apartment. When he arrived back home, he showered, changed into his most comfortable pair of blue jeans and then headed out to run a few errands. He had to drop clothes off at the dry cleaners, do a little grocery shopping and take his car in for an oil change. By 1 p.m. he'd taken care of what needed to be done and returned
home. When he entered his apartment again, he was greeted by a stack of boxes that still needed to be unpacked.

“Ugh, I'll get to that later,” Travis griped. He wanted to take some time to really explore the city. Since his arrival, he hadn't really done much. He thought it would be cool to perhaps hit a few shopping malls to pick up some fresh workout gear, grab a bite to eat and possibly catch an early evening movie. He decided to phone Alex to see if he was up for hanging out.

Travis got his answering machine. “Yo, this is gigolo Alex. Your pleasure is my business. I'm not in right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you to schedule an appointment for some personal satisfaction.”

“What the hell kind of message is that?” Travis laughed. “Boy, you need to take that crazy shit off of your voicemail. Anyway, this is Travis calling to see if you wanted to hang out, but I guess you're out of town. Call me when you get a chance,” Travis said and then hung up.

“If I sit in this apartment, I'm going to go crazy,” he spoke to himself.
This is my life in a nutshell. No kids, no woman, and no drama. All I do is work late hours and come home just to rest and start over again. Damn, man, you need some type of excitement in your life. You're starting to act like an old cantankerous man
.

Travis wasn't one to sit around idly and lick his wounds of self pity, even though by the standard of many, he had a wonderful life. He went into his bedroom and flicked on the television just in time to catch an episode of
Family Guy
. He had a few chuckles off of his favorite character, Stewie. When the program ended, he cut off the television and realized that the only thing he truly wanted to do was head to the lab and work on creating the aphrodisiac.

When he arrived at the lab, he was greeted by Sam, the security guard.

“You can't get enough of this place, can you?” the young security
guard asked as he placed a clipboard and an ink pen in front of him. “I need you to sign in.”

“Looks that way, doesn't it?” Travis said, laughing over his words as he wrote his name.

“You and I are the only two people here,” Sam said.

“Is it usually quiet around here on Saturdays?” Travis asked.

“Pretty much. Every now and again someone will drop by just to pick up something they forgot.”

“Well, you'll probably be seeing much more of me on the weekends.”

“Okay. How long do you plan on staying?” the guard asked.

“I probably won't leave until late.” Travis smiled slightly and continued on his way.

He went into an area of the facility where a number of books on chemistry were shelved. He pulled several down and went back to his office. He opened them up, pulled a writing pad from his desk drawer and began jotting down notes. He'd been working nonstop for well over three hours when he was startled by a knock at his door. When he looked up, he saw Jasmine. She looked fantastic in her straight-leg jeans, brown low-heeled shoes and dark-brown poplin shirt. Her hair was styled perfectly and the red lipstick she had on made him want to feel and savor her taste. She leaned against the frame of his office door with her arms folded across her chest.

“You're a real workaholic. But you probably already know that.” Jasmine inhaled deeply, then released her breath slowly.

“I can't help that. I've always been this way. I'm very disciplined,” Travis said, sitting upright and tapping the eraser side of his pencil on a page of one of the open books.

“Have you even stopped to get something to eat?” Jasmine asked. What she really wanted to do was eat him. His intelligence was just as seductive to her as his physique.

“No, I haven't. I'll get around to it soon enough. I wanted to present you with some possibilities when we meet next week,” he explained.

“You don't have to try and impress me, you know,” Jasmine said.

“But I want to,” Travis said, trying to create a ripple in the waters of his desire for her.

“You're just spinning your wheels. I'm already impressed with you.”

Travis chuckled, trying to downplay the fact that she didn't catch his drift. He paused for a long moment to access whether or not he should risk being more bold and straightforward.

“Why are you toying with me?” Jasmine took a courageous leap forward.

“What do you mean?” Travis asked, wanting to make absolutely certain that they were on the same page.

“Are you really going to sit there and make me spell it out for you? You know what I mean.”

“So I take it that it's no accident that you're here on a Saturday looking like a million bucks.” Travis allowed her to see him undress her with his eyes.

“What, this old outfit? It's been in my closet for ages. Do you really like it?” Jasmine stood erect, then slowly turned around so that he could see all of her.

Travis could feel an erection building up from deep within. He brushed his fingertips across his lips as he thought about his next move. “You don't want to engage in that type of recreation with me, Jasmine. I'm too much for you to handle.”

“There you go again talking shit that you know you can't back up.” Jasmine moved toward him and stood in front of his desk. “Are you trying to flirt with me, Mr. Adams?”

“No. I'm trying to fuck you, Ms. Sallie,” Travis fired back.

“Well, that's a good thing because I have an insatiable appetite for young, strong, and cocky guys like yourself. Honey, I'm a grown-ass woman who'll take you to levels of pleasure that you can't even read about.”

“Oh, now see, you don't know me, Jasmine. You talk a good game, but you'll be singing a different tune when I have your knees pinned to your ears.”

Jasmine smirked at the thought of that. She felt herself getting turned on in much the same way as she had when they first met in New York. “Well, if you have the knowledge, skill and expertise to make this pussy sing a different tune, then I need to forewarn you.”

“About what?” Travis rose from his desk and walked around the front of it. He rested his behind against the desk and spread his legs apart. He wanted Jasmine to step between them so that he could glide his hand around the curvature of her ass.

“I will eat you alive, Travis. I will make your toes curl and your body quake. I will blow your mind sky high,” Jasmine said as she stepped between his legs.

Travis raised his arms and made a motion to caress her ass, but Jasmine grabbed both of his wrists. She leaned forward and pressed her knee against his Pride. She slid her cheek across his and stopped when her lips touched his ear.

“If we go here, we must be discreet. No open displays of affection in the office. No disrespecting each other and no one—I mean
no one
but us will know about our little secret. This arrangement isn't about love. It's about mutual satisfaction. If you can't handle those terms of engagement, then we'll pretend this conversation never took place. Have I made myself clear?”

Travis tilted his lips upward to her earlobe. “I may seem like a spunky, energetic and inexperienced cub to you, but trust me,
baby, on the inside I'm a grizzly bear who knows how to make a green-eyed cougar like you growl with unimaginable satisfaction. I can handle your terms; just make sure you keep your emotions in check.”

“Then bring it,” Jasmine said as she stepped away and looked at him with her seductive green eyes.

“Close the door then,” Travis said.

“Oh no, baby, nothing is going to happen in this office. Besides, I want some foreplay. I have tickets to a Frankie Beverly and Maze concert tonight. You need to go home and prepare for it,” Jasmine said.

Travis was about to ask for additional details when his cell phone rang.

“Go ahead, answer your phone. There is no need to dodge your phone calls.”

“It's not like that. I don't even know who this is. The number is blocked,” Travis said as he picked up the call, fully expecting to get someone who'd dialed the wrong number.

“Hello?” Travis answered, wanting to end the call as quickly as possible.

“Travis, it's me, Alex.”

“Alex? Whose phone are you calling from and why do you have the number blocked?” Travis asked.

“Travis, listen. I'm in trouble.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble? What's up with all of that noise I hear in the background?”

“I need a huge favor from you, man.” Travis turned his back to Jasmine for a little more privacy.

“What's going on, player?” Travis could sense the urgency in Alex's voice.

“I'm in jail, man.”

“Jail? What the fuck did you do to wind up in jail?”

“I'll explain it to you later. I just need you to come and bail me out of this hell hole?”

“How much is your bail?” Travis asked.

“Twenty-five hundred dollars,” Alex said.

“Twenty-five hundred dollars?” Travis spoke through clenched teeth.

“I'll get it back to you. I promise. Just come and get me out of here, dawg,” Alex pleaded.

“Okay, what police station are you at?”

“The one on Seventeenth and State Street,” Alex said. “Hurry up, man. There are some crazy folks up in here.”

“Okay, I'll be there soon,” Travis said and hung up the phone.

“That didn't sound too good,” Jasmine said.

Travis stood with a perplexed look on his face. “No it wasn't. You remember my friend, Alex, right?”

“Yeah, the pilot,” Jasmine said.

“Well, he's gotten into some type of trouble and has been arrested. He needs me to come bail him out of jail.”

“Wow. Does he get into trouble often?” Jasmine asked.

“No. I've known him for ten years and nothing like this has ever happened.”

“You should go. We can hang out some other time,” Jasmine said, genuinely concerned.

“He's like a brother to me,” Travis said as he scribbled his cell phone number down on a piece of paper. “Here's my number. Give me a call so that I'll have yours. I'll call you back as soon as I get a chance,” Travis said and walked out. As he rushed down the hallway he stopped, turned around and rushed back to Jasmine. He pulled her back inside his office, shut the door, and kissed her passionately.

“I just had to know what your lips tasted like,” Travis said.

“You just broke one of the rules. No open displays of affection at work,” Jasmine reminded him.

“It takes two to tango, Jasmine. You're just as guilty as I am.”

“That may be, but we can't allow this sort of thing to happen here.” She smeared away her red lipstick from his lips. “Go see about your friend. I'll be around.”

Travis kissed her forehead, then turned and rushed out the door.

After Travis left the office, she called him as promised so that he'd have her cell phone number. He didn't call her back until after 8 p.m., but by that time she was at a concert with her sister, Lauren, enjoying herself. She told Travis to give her a call the next day and they'd talk then.

Late Sunday afternoon, Jasmine was lounging around her house wearing black silk pajama shorts and a matching camisole. She'd rented a movie
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
and looked forward to seeing what all of the hype was about. She removed a slice of sinfully delicious chocolate cake she'd picked up from a nearby bakery from the cake plate on her kitchen table. She walked into her family room, placed the disc in the player, grabbed her favorite throw and then started the movie. An hour later, Jasmine was completely engrossed in the film and didn't want any interruptions unless someone was gravely ill. Just as the movie was reaching its climax, she heard her cell phone ringing on the nightstand in her bedroom. She was going to pause the movie to see who was calling her, but she decided to return the call later. At the conclusion of the movie, she was nearly in tears.