Black Silk (42 page)

“I’m going to give it another year. If nothing changes, then I’m out. Add it to the long list of other things that didn’t
pan out.”

“So what are your other options?” he asked.

“Pray! And hope for the best.”

“I hear you.”

“So, Guy. What do you do for a living?”

“Well, right now I’m looking,” he said, but immediately noticed that not-another-broke-brother look on her face. “No, no,
no, it’s not what you think. I play pro basketball over in Europe, but I’m tired of being away from my son. I have enough
change put away to start my own business, so I’m looking for a second career of sorts.”

“Okay!” She dragged that word out like she had before when he tried to give her his number. “You know I can’t stand a lazy
brother who won’t live his life.”

“The feeling is mutual. I like a sister who does her thing. Can’t take a sister sitting around waiting with her hand out.
Those are the ones that get nada.”

“Nada?”

“Not a damned thing!” They shared a brief laugh.

“Okay!” Terri said, giving him a high five. “Hard as I work, I’d be damned if I let someone sit around and live off me.”

“I feel ya!”

“You seem to be a pretty cool guy.”

“And you’re way too nice, plus you’re cute. Yo, you wanna come to my mom’s party?”

“Do you see how I’m dressed?” Terri asked with horror as she opened her arms to show her jean shorts and a white spaghetti-strapped
halter with
DELTA SIGMA THETA
stitched across the front. “I just ran up to the store because the alarm was set off. I’m not prepared for a party.”

“You said you didn’t live far. How long could it take you to get dressed?”

Terri briefly contemplated his offer, biting her bottom lip the whole time. “Nah, I better pass. Maybe another time. Thanks
for the offer, though,” she said as she playfully slapped his leg. With the exception of their quick little handshake, that
was their first touch. Guy felt something, a connection. He wanted to see more of this sista. He believed in fate: his car
breaking down, Terri just riding by. As far as he was concerned, this meeting was no coincidence.

“There is not going to be another time. My mom will only turn fifty-five once. Plus, I know she’ll wanna meet the woman that
saved her only child from catching pneumonia.”

“Only child! Spoiled!”

“Only child, yeah! Spoiled, a little.”

“So you’re used to getting what you want?”

“No! I want you to come to this party with me, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening. Here, get off on this exit,” Guy
said as he pointed to the Beaver Ruin sign.

After a few more turns they were pulling into Guy’s mother’s driveway. They sat in the car a few minutes and enjoyed the sound
of the rain pounding against the windshield and the wipers slapping back and forth.

“So… will I hear from you soon?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you. You better get out of those wet clothes before you get sick.”

“Do you wanna come in for just a second and meet everyone?”

Terri opened up her arms again to show how inappropriately she was dressed and twisted her lips.

“All right, you can slide this time. Thanks for the ride.”

Funny how one minute you can be total strangers with someone and feel so close to them the next,
Guy thought as they made serious eye contact.

Terri shifted in her seat and said, “ ’Bye, G.”

“Okay, Terri. Call me.”

Guy let himself out, jogged to the side door, and disappeared. Terri sat for a few minutes and tried to gather herself. It
had been a long time since she had that I-like-that-boy feeling. After a few minutes of sitting there smiling, she shook it
off, put her car in reverse, and drove home.

Guy and all his relatives were laughing and talking loud when Terri walked in. The CD blasted something by Carl Thomas. There
were a few older people playing cards at the kitchen table, and a few of the younger ones were playing dominoes on the island
that separated the dining room from the great room.

Guy didn’t notice her but Terri spotted him right away. He was straddling the arm of a love seat with a handsome little almond-colored
boy standing between his legs.

That has to be Jordan,
she thought.
He looks just like his father.

Terri was standing in the doorway when Uncle Willie pounced on her.

“Come on, gurl. Lemme see whatcha got,” Uncle Willie said as he did his version of the George Jefferson dance. The one where
he frowns up and acts as if he is about to fight, arms flailing all around and feet sliding every which way.

“No, thank you,” Terri said, never bothering to move.

The younger kids who were playing dominoes at the island stopped what they were doing and shouted in unison, “She ain’t ready,
she ain’t ready, she ain’t ready…”

Guy turned around to see what the commotion was all about. He chuckled at the sight of a confused-looking Terri. He decided
he’d try to rescue his new friend. He made his way over to Terri and smiled. Uncle Willie was still dancing. Guy tapped him
on the shoulder and asked if he could cut in.

“What?” Uncle Willie turned around as if he was really about to fight. “Boy, don’t get knocked out on my sista’s birthday.
I ain’t know who you was grabbin’ all up on me.” Uncle Willie cracked a smile, exposing about five missing teeth.

“I see that you met Uncle Willie,” Guy said to Terri.

“G-man, this you?”

“Yeah, she’s with me, Uncle Willie.”

“Got damn, boy. You got taste like your uncle. Ya auntie use to have an ass—I mean—look like that. I don’t usually like women
with all they hair cut off but… give me ya number,” Uncle Willie said as he extended his hand.

“Watch out, man,” Guy said as he playfully pushed his uncle to the side.

“Boy, don’t make me pull it out,” Uncle Willie said as he placed his hand over his pocket for the same elusive knife he had
been pulling out for the last ten years.

“Ima take you to the barber shop and cut that mess out of your head,” Guy said, referring to Uncle Willie’s Jheri curl, which
wrapped around his bald top.

“Oh no, that’s my love jones,” Uncle Willie said as he walked off, no longer smiling, and patting the side of his greasy hair.

“Well, all right then. Uncle Willie is something else,” Terri said as she followed Guy back toward the sitting area.

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you surprised to see me?”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect to see you. You look nice,” Guy said as he glanced down at Terri’s yellow strapless sundress, which
exposed her coffee-brown shoulders.

“You don’t look bad yourself,” Terri said as she reached up and pulled a black thread from Guy’s shirt.

“Thank you. What made you change your mind?”

“I got home and decided not to have another boring Saturday night.”

Since he wasn’t able to tell how tall she was in the car, Guy was surprised at how short Terri was. He was six foot five inches
tall, she was maybe five foot even. But her beauty was not to be denied; whoever made up that saying that good things come
in small packages must have been thinking about Terri.

“Well, I’m glad you did,” Guy said with a big grin.

“I can tell. Stop cheesing.”

“Whatever. Come on over here and meet my mom and my son.”

Terri followed. She was not nervous like she was every time she met one of her previous boyfriends’ parents. Maybe it was
because Guy wasn’t her boyfriend.

“Mom, this is Terri, the young lady who rescued me today.”

“Hi, I’m Thelma. Thank you for picking up my baby. I told him to get rid of that piece of junk.”

“It’s a classic,” Guy stated flatly.

“A classic piece of junk,” Thelma whispered to Terri as they shared a laugh. “Did you eat?”

“Not yet. What do you have?”

“Oh, Boney, I like this girl. Ain’t too cute to eat. Fix her a plate.”

“Boney? I thought you said everyone calls you G.”

“Whatever! And this fellow here is Jordan,” Guy said as he reached down and picked up his son. Jordan didn’t speak, he just
laid his head on his father’s shoulder.

“Hi, handsome.”

Jordan lifted his head and waved.

“He’s sleepy. Give him here,” Thelma said as she took her grandson. “Terri, I saw my brother dancing with you. Don’t pay him
any mind. He snuck out of the mental hospital about a week ago. Go on and get yourself something to eat. I’m going to put
this lil’ rascal to bed.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Terri said.

“Yeah, girl. We’ll talk,” Thelma said as she walked off.

“Okay. ’Bye, Jordan,” Terri said, waving at the sleepy child.

Guy led her into the kitchen, where Terri instinctively took over. She fixed both of them a plate, and they headed for the
quietness of the sunroom, which was adjacent to the kitchen.

Before they knew it two hours had passed and all the guests were gone. Guy walked Terri out to her car, and they hugged; he
stole a kiss on the cheek. She promised she would call when she arrived home. He headed back into the house, and turned on
the television in the sunroom, and soaked up the scent that she left behind. After Terri called to say all was well, he drifted
off to sleep.

The rain was coming down hard. Guy heard a knock on the window of the sunroom. He stood up to answer, wearing nothing but
his silk boxers. Terri’s yellow sundress was soaked. Her hair dripped little drops of rain into her chocolate face. She was
breathing hard as she motioned for him to come out onto the deck. He followed her outside as the thunder exploded and the
trees cracked. As the moon illuminated the night, Guy found himself standing on the deck in only his white silk boxers, which
the rain had made practically see-through. Terri pulled a lawn chair from beneath the table and motioned for him to sit down.
He was a little confused but decided to let her take the lead. Terri’s nipples clearly showed through the sundress, and the
rain made the thin fabric cling to her body. She lifted her dress as she straddled Guy and stuck her tongue into his mouth.
With the rain rolling off their lips and sliding into their mouths, her breathing became heavy. He rubbed his hands down her
back, over her ass, and felt her heat as his fingers grazed across her love nest.

It was raining hard but the wetness he felt was different. It was thicker, warmer, juicier. Terri rolled her hips slowly back
and forth on his lap as she ran her tongue across the wide of his face. She ripped the top of her dress apart, tearing the
buttons off as she pushed his head down toward her firm breasts. As he sucked on her nipples, she moaned and ran her fingers
through his hair. Her hands found their way down to his already growing manhood. She stroked her fingers up and down until
his moans matched hers. Guy pushed her dress up around her waist and lifted her enough to enter her. She gasped, held on tighter
as she felt her emptiness being filled with his rocklike manhood. Guy closed his eyes and moved with her. One arm was still
around her waist, the other stroking her ass. Terri’s moans became louder as she buried her head into his shoulder. The rain
was coming down harder as Guy stood up with Terri still in his arms and laid her down on the glass table. He stood between
her legs, grinding a long, slow grind. She wrapped her legs around his waist and slowly ran her fingernails down his rippled
chest. Terri reached up and pulled Guy’s head down so that they were eye to eye and began speaking in French,
“Faites-l’amour moi,”
then she let out a soft scream and held him tighter. Guy let out a moan and the thunder rocked the night.

“Boney… Boney… Boney…” Thelma called out to her son.

“Yeah, Ma!”

“Wake up. Telephone. It’s Terri.”

Guy grabbed the phone and heard that familiar accent. “Hello, lady. I was just dreaming about you.”

“I dreamed about you last night, too.”

“Was it raining in your dream?”

“Don’t remember, but I did feel some thunder.”

_________________

by Jacqueline Powell

She comes every night except Wednesday. I feel her voice vibrating through the wall. Her moans rise like the sun at dawn.
Slow and inevitable. I don’t know what he does to her… but I’d like to.