Cafe Romance (14 page)

Lifting her up gently, he hugged and kissed her again and again, until she slid back down to the wet shower floor. He lowered himself as well. In her ears he whispered passionate words that stirred her flesh as well as her mind. Like a hot-blooded young virgin, wanting to run away from her chaste past, she slowly caved into his manly and charming ways. She delighted in his manly take-charge mannerism, as he wasted little time grabbing a soft washcloth and further soaped her luscious body down.

After they rinsed themselves off, the two stepped out of the hot shower to dry off.  He devotedly dried her off first, and then it was her turn to dry him off. As they stood barefooted together, he caressed her as she gazed upon the reflection of his nude muscular body in the full length mirror mounted on the bathroom door facing his well-defined back, legs, and firm ass. What an eye full, she thought with delight, as her body ached with desire.

After a pregnant pause, he went after her with another magical kiss. Again and again, he probed and ravished her succulent lips. And in a very short time, he began to feel heady from her passionate and willing response.

As the steam from the hot running shower behind them continued to fill the bathroom with a mist like fog, he took a bottle from a nearby shelf and rubbed scented lotion all over her body
...
slowly and deliberately.

She, in turn, dabbed some lotion on her hands and rubbed him all over too, tenderly, and teasingly. She nearly passed out from excitement when he backed her up against the warm teak wooden wall, pressing his weapon of desire against her, telling her how lovely she was, how soft she felt in his arms, how madly in love he was with her. With beads of sweat running down their hot bodies she pondered what it would be like reaching that mind-dazzling summit with him? Then quite abruptly the fantasy ended.
God!
All of my epic dreams seemed to end
prematurely
, she vented in frustration.

Sitting up in the bed she hugged herself tightly. Her skin felt hot to the touch even though the air-conditioner was on. Not wanting to be up throughout the night, hot and bothered, she got up and mixed herself a rum and coke on crushed rocks. She returned to bed, falling asleep within minutes of her head hitting the soft satin covered pillow.

C
omfortably seated in his cushy recliner a TV blared in the background but Kurt’s mind was anything but focused on it. He was conflicted again, torn between woeful thoughts of his estranged wife and exciting thoughts of this beautiful and foolishly brave Yvette Roberts.
What did it all mean
, he thought? It frightened him to think what would have transpired had he not happened upon the scene to secure this angel-on-earth’s well-being.
What in hell’s name is wrong with this young demented society of ours
, he pondered? 

Reaching for the remote, he aimed it and clicked his final option for the evening. The tube answered in black and a sudden silence. Setting the remote down, he leaned back in silent repose, wondering what a woman like Yvette was doing this time of night and who she might be doing it with. Probably sitting in some lucky man’s lap, gazing down on him with love-struck eyes. Surely she was married and with children, he reasoned. Ten of them, at least. A fine looking woman like her had to be the committed type. If not, how could he explain the gaze she gave him, when her guard was down? Perhaps he was putting too much into this, he tried to convince himself. But his curiosity had been piqued. No committed, happily married woman, with children, would ever gaze upon another man and complete stranger with such a look as the one she gave him, unless she was unhappily married. But what if he was wrong about her? What if she wasn’t married?

I
t was day three of his job service training. Kurt remained attentive and keenly interested in what was being taught, and he took ample notes. Class usually lasted six hours, five days a week, with an hour for lunch. Still, he longed to get into the business of actually working. Once he completed his four-week training he would be assigned to one of the three job service centers in the area. In addition, he would be given his own 8' by 10' office with a desk, filing cabinet, computer terminal, telephone, voice mail, and a three-tier wooden cabinet full of policy manuals. Wanting to make a good initial impression he buried himself in his studies, leaving little time for recreation or socializing. It was the same tactic he used to get through four years of college, his efforts finally accumulating with a BS degree in the Social Sciences, and with honors.

F
or Yvette, a late riser, morning had come surprisingly quick. After a reviving shower she walked over to her closet to select something exciting to wear to work. The task was no easier than the night before. She forged on, with little success. She had already changed her mind three times about what to wear to work. One would have thought she was dressing for a social affair rather than spending another day at the office. She eventually settled on a form fitting dress in a floral print with spaghetti straps. 

Standing before the full-length mirror she sprayed scented deodorant under her arms, then picked up a can of foot deodorant and generously sprayed both her feet. Slipping into her pantyhose, she took her bra in hand and shook a small amount of powder into each cup of the bra, and put it on.

Reaching upward, she took the shapely dress off the hanger and slipped it over her head. After a few adjustments she reached for her shoes to put on.

Walking over to her oak dresser she rummaged through her jewelry box until she came upon a pair of light blue topaz diamond earrings and put them on. As a final touch, she put on lip balm that had just a trace of red coloring in it. If only my brave Knight could see me now, she thought. Oooh, the things I would do to him, she imagined.

By the time that thought had passed, she was satisfied with her appearance. Glancing down at her watch, she had less than twenty minutes to ride across town, and she still had yet to purchase gas for the car.

Grabbing her purse, she descended the staircase hurriedly, tossing her things in the passenger seat of her red Corvette and drove off, stopping at a gas station three blocks later. Fortunately, her wait at the pump was brief. As she drove out of the gas station, she popped a mint into her mouth and turned on the satellite radio, and continued on to work. She had less than twelve minutes to make her appearance. Fortunately for her, the morning traffic was light.

A
cross town Kurt cruised through heavy traffic unobstructed on his high-end European-made bike. He was working out of the local job service center. His preliminary training was behind him now and the business of assisting people with job services engrossed his time.

It had been a while since he had to wear a shirt and tie on a regular basis but it was a refreshing change of pace, he thought. Only two days earlier he had gone shopping at a nearby mall to replenish his sparse wardrobe and returned home in a cab with six complete suits, six new shirts and six pairs of shoes and several printed ties. Having a little extra money certainly made the necessities of life more accessible, and more than affordable. 

His first client was a young Hispanic woman named Maria Lopez who had quit high school five months shy of graduation. At fifteen she had gotten involved with a dropout five years her senior. He was a roamer with a criminal background. Shortly after meeting him, she found herself facing the prospect of motherhood. But by the time she had given birth to her beautiful baby boy, her baby’s father Lester, the very one who said that he would love her and cherish her for all time, had hooked up with a more mature and experienced woman. It did not take long for Maria to learn that the two were shacking up, the new woman’s swollen belly carrying his other bastard child.

After years of getting nowhere with her spiraling out of control life she decided it was time to make a change. Today, at the young age of twenty-two, the mother of two boys sat here before Kurt hoping that he could help change the direction of her life in a positive way.

Though she was here to conduct business, she could not help but notice how handsome and well-groomed her counselor appeared, and how soft-spoken and well-mannered he was. Muscular looking, too, she noted. Probably a great dancer and even greater lover, she dared to ponder.

He was definitely one of the most attractive and most refined men she had come across in her travels, and in her short promiscuous life she had come across her share, though most of her men never amounted to anything. Still, she figured everyone hits the jackpot once in a while.

As he spoke she hung onto every word he formed with his full lips. Having lived her adolescent years in New York Maria knew a northeasterly accent when she heard one and she made it a point to ask him what city he hailed from. "Trenton, New Jersey," he replied, then continued to ask her what she wanted to do job-wise.

“God, I would love to get into the fashion scene. That’s my dream. That’s what I really want to do,” she answered, as she bent her head and studied his hands.

After a long thought-filled pause, Kurt leaned forward on his forearms, saying, “That’s a good start, and a good dream. Now, if you really want to make that your goal, I suggest that you research that particular field, then meet the movers and shakers in that field, and learn all that you can from them.”

“You really think I can do it?” she said, perking up.

“Yes, I really believe you can do it, but you have to believe in yourself.”

“Well, you certainly seem to believe in me,” she said, studying his eyes.

“I have no reason not to,” he answered reassuringly.

Kurt’s positive feedback made her feel good as a person. It also made her feel foolishly young and attractive and strangely weak in a girly way. It was apparent to her that his presence and manly mannerism commanded such feminine attention. With great restraint, and wanting to make a good and lasting impression upon him, she did not want to stop playing the wholesome ‘
down home’
lady role she had presented herself as

“You don’t know how much your encouraging words mean to me. Thank you!”

“Just trying to keep it real and positive,” he replied.

“Look, on the up and up, I think I ought to tell you that next month I am expecting a substantial settlement from my son’s father, who was killed in a truck accident over a year ago, God rest his soul. I just want you to know that I am serious about getting my act together and making something out of myself. I hope to with this settlement money. I know I need to, for my children.”

“You’re right,” Kurt smiled, as he reached for her hand to shake and signal that the session had come to an end. “And stay positive!” he reminded her, as he gave her instructions on how to use the computer out in the lobby to search for jobs.

Though their meeting was brief it turned out to be a memorable one for her. On a professional level, he had been polite and quite positive about her aspirations in the business world. On a personal level, she found him extremely attractive and at every opportunity, during the interview, she had made it a point to fix her gaze on him and rather flirtatiously at that. She was curious about him and his thoughts. But Kurt gave her few clues. Sure, she could have easily crossed her shapely legs and given him an eye full of prime-time thigh to drool over but she wasn't going to be accused of not having a heart. The last time she displayed her wares in this manner the waiter nearly tossed his serving tray.

Though she was unable to gauge by his response, or lack of it, whether or not she had had an effect on him, she was not left undaunted. If he held an interest in her, she felt he had shielded it behind the state’s ethical code of conduct, professionalism, and behavior. If only they had been in another setting, she thought.

As she left his office, she hoped he had gotten an eye full of her curvaceous body, for which she was glad was wrapped in a short form fitting dress. Few men could gaze upon her and not desire her. If her past track record meant anything, she had yet to meet a full-blooded man who could completely ignore her. But she was quite proud of herself. She had been lady-like and on her best behavior, for the most part. But their paths would cross again, she reasoned. The next time she would probe his mind.

It was almost noon, Kurt noted as he returned to his office. Sitting down he reflected on a client he had seen just before Maria. Brad Walker was his name. Ex-army man. Brad had not worked in two years, but had been enrolled in an electronics course during that time span and had recently completed it. Brad had been wise enough to follow up on a lead Kurt had given him several days before and as a result was now on the verge of becoming full time employed. He was so happy that he stopped by to update Kurt. This was what it was all about, helping others improve their situation. After he straightened up his desk, Kurt took off for lunch.

It was 12:15PM when Kurt arrived at the parking lot of
Café Le Soir
, the dainty looking gourmet restaurant he had passed by every day on his way to work. Slowing his bike, he brought it to a complete stop, and looked around.

Unable to locate a designated area for cyclists anywhere on the lot he promptly dismounted and walked his bike over to a nearby light pole and chained it there. Parked nearby were a collection of late model luxury cars
:
a Mercedes Benz, a Lexus, three Cadillacs, four Lincolns, and a spanking brand new Infinity. This was far from being your run of the mill steak-and-seafood restaurant that just happened to be located by the bay, he rightfully concluded. Word around town
:
this was the number one eatery in town and a favorite nighttime restaurant for yachtsmen, executive types, lawyers and celebrities. Not that he was above eating at mom and pop eateries, it was just that he could now afford to eat at any public eatery he wanted to, regardless of price.  Besides, he wanted to dine alone today and at the gourmet level. .