“Of course, you can.”
“Are you sure your parents won’t mind?”
“I’m positive. Have you forgotten you’re family?”
Chapter 17
Today was my last day at school. Luckily, I had to take only one exam. At Kempsville, if your final grade was above a B average, you were excused from taking the exam. AP Biology kicked my butt. I was lucky to get a C in the class. My teacher, Ms. Sion, told me, “It only gets harder from this point if you still want to be a doctor.” She thought I was a bright young lady but that maybe I should go into modeling. One day, I was going to make her eat those words when I stepped foot back into her classroom with my degree in my hand.
It had been six more days since I last spoke to Thomas. I hadn’t seen him at school because our exams were at different times. He kept calling me, but I couldn’t talk to him right now. At this point, Thomas probably thought I didn’t want him. Even Peter was calling me.
I made Maria promise me not to spill the beans to him.
This day was going to go down in history. I was going to have my first orgasm, courtesy of Thomas Cannon. I flew home to get all of the equipment. My hands were shaking as I dialed his number.
“Hello?” a voice answered the phone.
I recognized the voice. It was Ronnie, Thomas’s older brother.
“Hi, is Thomas there?”
“Who’s calling?”
“Alex.”
“Alex, just one moment, please. I’m glad you called. This boy has been nagging me to death about you. Whatever he did, he’s sorry. He’ll do anything to get back into your good graces.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“I hope you two work these things out. I’ll get Thomas for you.”
“Alex?”
“Hey, Thomas. How are you?”
“Hello, Alexis. I’m fine,” he replied with a short tone.
“We need to talk.”
“Why haven’t you returned any of my phone calls? You can’t just call or see me whenever it fits you.”
“Please, just give me ten minutes to explain. May I come over?”
“Yeah, hurry up. Ronnie and I want to go for a run,” he said, playing hard.
Deep down, I knew he was happy I bothered to call.
I arrived at Thomas’s house in seven minutes. The stoplights were kind to me. All of them were green. I took a deep breath as I rang the doorbell.
“Hey, miss lady. It’s so nice you can grace me with your presence,” Thomas said.
“Hello to you too.” I didn’t realize how pissed he would be.
“Tommy, I’m going solo on the run. Besides, I need to run a few errands. Alex, it’s nice seeing you again.”
“You as well.” I waved good-bye.
As he closed the door, I turned back around to face Thomas and his attitude.
“Follow me to my room. I’m watching
Coming to America.”
This is just like in the dream. My heart was racing.
Even though I watched and studied the porno videos and had Maria’s support, I was still nervous.
“I know the way,” I reminded him, lightly brushing up against his chest.
He was trying hard not to crack a smile.
“So what did you need to talk to me about?”
“You know . . . a few things.” I popped in my cassette single, “Just Me and You
”
by Tony, Toni, Tone, into his cassette player.
“Are you happy? Do you want to break up? Is there someone else?” he asked in agony.
“Yes, no, and no.” I gently shoved him onto his recliner chair. I kissed his neck with tiny pecks.
He tried to ignore me by watching the television, but I planned on being the main attraction this afternoon. I took off my T-shirt and jean shorts for him to discover me in a see-through white lace teddy. All eyes in the room were on me.
“Hmm, you like what you see?”
Thomas didn’t answer me with words. His mouth was wide open.
I grabbed the honey from my bag. As I continued to kiss his neck, Thomas felt on my butt. I took off his shirt, shorts, boxers, and pulled the recliner chair all the way out. I poured tiny drops of honey on his chest, and the tip of his python. I licked, and he moaned for more. I took the nine-inch in my mouth for a few strokes and caressed the tip with my tongue. With each lick, his dick got bigger and bigger.
Thomas pointed to his drawer, to get a condom out.
“Don’t worry, I got it all covered,” I replied, holding one up and untying my teddy. I got on top of him and started off slow, but it developed into a fast and deep rhythm. I wasn’t sure if I was having an orgasm, but it felt damn good.
“This is what I wanted to talk to you about,” I whispered, nibbling on his ear.
“I can hear and feel you on this discussion.”
“Let me see if you can feel this.” With all my might, I choked Thomas’s dick with my pussy walls. I don’t know how to describe this, but with each stroke, I felt a pleasurable sensation. It kept building up and up. Finally, it came, the wave of seduction as I call it. My first orgasm.
More of them followed, by Thomas and I doing it from the back, from the side, and the good ol’ missionary position. Afterward we both lay there on the bed, breathless and hardly able to move.
“Wow, that was fun,” I said, kissing him on the lips.
“Damn, girl, you know how to give it to me on a huge platter.” He grabbed my butt.
“I’m still confused, though. Why did you wait so long to talk to me?” Thomas wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Look, baby, the truth is I didn’t like it the first time we had sex. It hurt for one thing, and you came in less than five minutes. No, three minutes. Plus, my inexperience didn’t help the situation either. I’ll tell you what I did like, though.”
“What’s that?”
“I liked when you were touching my clit and massaging my breasts.” I moved away just in time so he couldn’t touch my left breast.
“They’re off limits,” I said, teasing.
“Alex, don’t play with me. Those are my breasts. I paid for them.”
“These are homegrown, not homemade.” I giggled.
“It’s so ironic. I was telling Ronnie you might be upset because of prom night. I told him how long I lasted. He was surprised you didn’t hold out much longer.” He laughed.
“You certainly made up for it today.” I rubbed on his chest in a circular motion
“I was nervous too, which probably explains why I came so fast, not to mention, your tight vagina. Look, Alex, I don’t know where this relationship is headed, but I think I’m beginning to fall in love with you. If something is bothering you, come talk to me. I can’t stand it when I don’t hear from you.”
“Deal,” I said, sealing it with a kiss.
Mission accomplished.
Chapter 18
Ma and Pop gave me a party at the house with a gift of a two-bedroom condo in Virginia Beach. I didn’t mind at all that it was twenty-five minutes away from school. In fact, the commute was my time to meditate and relax. My classes started at 7:30 in the morning, so I was going to beat the everlasting traffic across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Plus, if the bridge tunnel was too backed up in traffic, I could’ve always used the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel.
Tonya and Carissa had the nerve to show up at my door. Both were drunk as a skunk. I got one of my cousins to slam the door in their face because he wanted to do it far more than me. I couldn’t hinder his fun.
I couldn’t figure out what Tonya was celebrating, because she didn’t even graduate. She received an A+ in dick-sucking and an F in government. I would’ve had my head down low, stayed out of everybody’s way who graduated, and get my behind in gear for summer school. Worst of all, Tonya had to pay for the classes.
I looked down at my graduation picture. It was all a blur walking across the stage, handshaking the principal, and receiving my high school diploma. It felt as if I was floating on thin air.
Ever since the age of thirteen, I couldn’t wait to pass the twelfth grade. I wanted to be grown and not have anyone, not even Ma, tell me what and when to do things. Now, it was bitter-sweet. I was happy, but scared. What if I failed all my classes or, worse, didn’t like college? I could change and waste a lot of my parents’ money. Then, I would fear death. Would I be cut off from my family forever? Would I be seen as an outcast? I didn’t want to disappoint them or myself.
“Honey, what’s wrong? You have those straining lines on your forehead.” Ma took a seat on the living room couch right next to me.
“I’m worried about school and my future just to name a few.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s normal to be anxious and nervous. I had the same feeling when my behind and six suitcases showed up at Virginia State University.”
“Hampton is so competitive. What if I don’t measure up?”
“Get the doubt out of your mind. You’re a smart cookie with a GPA most students would kill for. You’re going to make your father and I proud,” she replied, rubbing my hair.
“Ma, this isn’t high school anymore. I’m going to have to prove myself all over again. What if I don’t graduate from Hampton University? What if I don’t get accepted to any medical schools?”
“You will pass with flying colors. Girl, you worry too much. I have to take the blame for it because you get it from me. Medical schools are going to come knocking on our door. Excuse me, I mean
your
door. Baby, what have I always told you?”
“To believe in myself and take one day at a time.”
“Excuse me, I didn’t hear you.”
“To believe in myself and take one day at a time.”
“Amen to that.”
“Thanks, Ma.”
“You’re welcome. Remember, when you get down and frustrated, get on your hands and knees and start to pray. Cast your cares unto Him.” She pointed two fingers up into the air.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“By the way, I made an appointment for you a week from Thursday to go see Dr. Morales.”
“Why?” My heart was beating fast. I was so careful not to leave steamy magazines, condoms, eatable watermelon panties or K-Y Jelly lying around in my room. “Listen, baby, before your summer starts to sizzle, I want Dr. Morales to examine you, since you’re having sex. Now, I don’t like the fact you’re doing it. The only thing I can do is educate and inform you of the risks and hope you make wise decisions. Besides, I’m far too young to become a grandmother.” Ma shrugged her shoulders.
“What makes you think I’m having sex?”
“It’s called
mother’s intuition
and
raging hormones.”
“I don’t want Dr. Morales asking me a lot of questions. Thomas and I use condoms every time. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation right now.” I shook my head and took a deep breath.
“Girl, don’t be embarrassed. Now, your father is another story. He would be ready to kill Thomas. I wouldn’t dare tell him. This is between you and I.”
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt for me to get on birth control.”
“You’re right about that. Not to mention, you’re due for an annual pap smear. I know you can get caught in the moment. How do you think you and your brother got here? Please, please, please . . . always use a condom. I don’t want our lives to play out like a Lifetime movie.”
Three hours later, Pop came running in the house. Jason and him got up at the crack of dawn to go fishing. “Vivian, I caught it,” he proclaimed, holding up the biggest flounder I’d ever seen up close.
“Caught what?” Ma inched toward the dripping piece of meat.
“The getaway flounder.”
“Ma, you should have seen him. It kept trying to get away, but Pop had it hooked. Some guy offered him five hundred dollars to take it home, but he refused the offer. I’m going to jump in the shower and get ready for the basketball game.”
“All right, baby. I must say, my son is a little hustler to raise three thousand for the cancer charity game in such short notice.”
“You’ve always taught me to help the less fortunate. I’m hoping more people will donate today,” Jason explained.
“For months now, other fishermen and myself have been trying to catch it. I’m grilling this guy tonight. Viv, I want steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy to go with it. I’m going to take a shower too, because I smell kinda ripe.” Pop smelled his armpits and headed upstairs.
“You smell like fish. You stink, Pop,” I said, holding my nose.
Ma walked into the kitchen. “Are you going to the game with us?”
“I didn’t plan to,” I said, following her.
“Alex, you can’t stay mad at Jason forever.”
“That’s easy for you to say. He didn’t use ten of your bras to make a rope for the tree house. Those bras, I can’t even find anymore at Victoria’s Secret. Look, I’ll go, because it’s for a good cause. I already gave Jason a hundred dollars, so I need to get my money’s worth. He’s lucky to have the fingers he used to mangle up my bras. If one of his precious video games is even missing, he’s ready to have a hissy fit on the floor. Pop and you spoil him.”
Ma looked me up and down. “He’s not the only one who’s spoiled. I want my children to have everything and all the opportunities I’ve never had.”
Chapter 19
Three years of late-night study sessions and crack-of-dawn classes were starting to affect my red eyes. To say the least, I was tired and stressed. Ma and Pop had been a great help with my expenses. I got to eat and have a roof over my head. Pop already warned me that if my grades slipped, so would the money train off the railroad track.
Lately, all I heard coming from his mouth was money. Restaurant sales were down due to the new healthy eating wave. At this very moment, Pop and his team of cooks were working on new baked and grilled chicken and fish entrees. He’d decided to give his menu a whole new look. Also, the restaurant was being renovated. Ma kept reminding him, “The customers are going to eat it up.”
To avoid being lonely, Maria moved in with me, paying the utilities. We got along well, trying hard not to bump heads. She respected my space, and I did the same for her.
Thomas had a change of heart and attended Morehouse College. The extra five thousand a semester had him under the influence of saying yes to the Admissions Department. I was thrilled, as long as he was happy with the decision. A week before he left, we both decided to continue on with the relationship but
maybe
see other people. The rule was to let the other person know if there was someone else.
For the first year, we were visiting each other back and forth. I had the middle-of-the-month weekends and he had the outer ones. We couldn’t get enough of each other.
After a blissful three hundred and seventy-six days, the frequent flyer miles were wearing me down. Now, I was lucky to see him once every two months. Lately, I was either getting the answering machine or him telling me he’s busy and will call right back. He didn’t even call right back. In fact, he’d call two or three days later, in between shoving a meal down his throat and his next class. Why do men do that? If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. Call right back. This little consideration of decency would’ve saved me a lot of time talking shit about Thomas. He wasn’t the same any more. Our lives were going in two different directions. At times, I couldn’t help wondering if his penis was going into another direction as well.