So Gone (15 page)

“
Well, that's kind
of you, but I don't have a wife. This is my niece, and that’s my sister that
you see at my house,
”
he clarified.

“Oh, I'm sorry,
” I
apologized, brightening up.
“
I’m Molaysia Alexander.”

“Pleased
to meet you,” he said, extending his hand. I took it, briefly enjoying the
strength that I felt in it though his grip was gentle.

I blushed like one
of my female students encountering the star of the football team. “Uh, come to
think of it, I do have a project for you if you’re interested. I need a new
light fixture in my bathroom as soon as possible.”

“That won’t be a
problem. Do you mind if I come in and take a look at what you want installed?”
he asked, as he bent over and picked his niece up.

I led him upstairs
to the bathroom in the hall and showed him the fixture that I wanted replaced.
He told me to go to Home Depot and purchase the one I wanted and he would be
happy to put it in for me.

“Wonderful,
I'll do it tomorrow. Is that too soon?” I asked as I read his credentials on
the back of the card.

“Tomorrow
is fine.”

“So
, you build
mansions and all, huh?
”
I asked, looking up at
him. The card slipped from my hand and fluttered to the floor. When I leaned
down to pick it up, my eyes were level with his crotch. Something big and thick
made a print in the front of his pants. I gulped and quickly looked off before
he thought I was some kind of freak.

Surprised at
myself, I rose to my feet trying to hide the lustful thoughts that ran through
my mind.

“
No job is too big
for a man with hands as skilled as mine,
” he replied
confidently. All I heard was
big
.

I giggled.

“Did I
say something funny?” He lifted an eyebrow and rubbed his chin.

“No,
pay me no mind.” I quickly recovered. Then I asked how he liked the
neighborhood so far.

That
sparked a pleasant conversation that went on for another fifteen minutes
. After Rocco said
goodbye, all I could think about was the myth that tall men are well endowed. I
admonished myself for fantasizing underneath Rocco’s clothes. Goodness! I was
acting like the female version of Blunt.

The next morning
when I was done handling the school’s business on my computer, I was free for a
while. I pulled Rocco’s card from my black Gucci handbag and called him from my
IPhone. For some reason, I felt nervous as I waited for him to answer.

“Hello.”
His voice was as thick as homemade maple syrup. I felt a flutter in my chest.

“Hi,
Rocco,
” I said, clearing my throat. “
This is Molaysia. I
was calling to let you know that as soon as I leave work, I’ll stop by Home
Depot and get that light fixture. I also want you to change the locks on my
doors.
”

“I can
do that if you'll allow me to take you out to dinner,” he said.
“That's if you
don't have a man.”

“
Is that a question?
” I teased.

“Is it
that transparent?” He laughed.

“Yes,
but to answer your question,
I just recently ended a three year relationship. It did
not end nicely, but I do still love him. I won’t lead you on like I don’t. I’m
just taking it one day at a time.”

“Ok, I understand.
And I admire your honesty. Excuse me, can you hold up for a minute, Pretty
Lady?”

“Sure.”

While on hold, I
grabbed a bottle of baby lotion from the top of my desk. I applied it to my
hands and arms. I reached over and turned down the picture of me and Blunt. Our
entire relationship was a big lie.

Still holding the
phone to my ear with my shoulder, I could hear construction noises in the
background. I heard Rocco yell for someone to bring him some nails. He gave
orders to two more people before he returned to me.

“I’m sorry. I was
talking to a few of my employees. I’m actually on top of a roof right now. Me
and my crew are building a high school.”

I went quiet for a
moment imagining his sexy body with hot beads of sweat dripping from it. I
rubbed my forehead and tried to snap back to the conversation. What was going
on with me?

“Okay. I will let
you go. Be careful on top of that roof. And dinner sounds nice.” I glided my tongue
over my top teeth picturing Rocco as a sirloin steak.

“Fa sho’. I’ll see
you later on, Sweetie. Make sure you let your ex know that you’ll be going out
to eat tonight, so he won’t be blowing your phone up,” he teased.

“I’m one hundred
percent single, so I won’t be having that problem,” I assured him.

“I’m just joking.
Be sweet and text me when you get home, so I can come over and handle that
job.”

“
Okay. Sounds like a
plan. Talk to you later,
”
I shouted over the
loud sounds of the equipment in the background.

Mere seconds after
hanging up  from Rocco, I received a call from a number that I did not
recognize.
This better not be one of Blunt’s side bitches calling me with
some bullshit because I am not in the mood for the extra today,
I was
thinking as I took the call.

The caller turned
out to be Vincent, Leesha's friend from work. We went through the
preliminaries, and then he asked if it was cool if he came by to visit me when
he came to Atlanta.

“We'll
have to see,”
I hedged.

He pushed onward to
a new topic, and everything was going smoothly until he asked if I wore thongs.
Coming from a relative stranger the question wasn't just inappropriate, it was
downright disrespectful.

“Do you
really want to know,” I asked in a sultry tone.

“Hell
yeah.”

“Well,
ask your mama!” Click.

Leesha
cracked up when I called and told her about it. “Sorry, Girl. Damn, I thought
Vincent was smoother than that,” she apologized.

“Not,”
I reiterated.

I hung
up the phone and hoped that my dinner date with Rocco wouldn't turn out
anything like the phone call with Leesha's friend had.

Rocco came over
shortly after I texted him to let him know that I was at home. He wasted no
time replacing the light fixture and changing the locks. I insisted that he let
me pay him for the work, but he simply would not accept pay.

“Accompanying
me to dinner is pay enough,” he stood firm.

I
smiled up at him, appreciative of his generosity. “Thank you again, kind Sir,”
I said as I walked him to the door.

He strolled over to
his place to get cleaned up and dressed while I dallied to the shower to do the
same.

When Rocco arrived
to take me out to dinner, I opened the door confident in my appearance. My hair
was swept up off my shoulders in a bun. My black Ann Taylor mini skirt hugged
the contours of my hips, and my silver backless top was sexy without being
overly revealing. A pair of three inch open toe,  black and gray satin
stilettos completed the ensemble. The flowered fragrance of Coach’s Poppy hovered
over my physique.

Rocco smiled at me
approvingly. He wore black Armani slacks, a silver button up shirt, and some
square toe casual Prada shoes. His muscular body looked hot and tempting
underneath his gear.

The last time I was
at church, the minister told the congregation that a blessing was coming our
way. I think I had found mine. I stepped outside and followed him to a
milky-white four door Mercedes Benz G Class SUV. He opened my door like a
gentleman, something Blunt hadn't done since our courting days. I pinched
myself to be sure that I wasn’t dreaming.

Not far from the
house, Rocco pulled into a BP gas station to gas up. I got out of the car and
sashayed into the store for a pack of gum. Chewing gum always seemed to relax
me when I was nervous.

I slung my hips
from side to side as I walked around the car to ask Rocco if I could get him
anything while I was in the store.

“Naw. I’m good,
Molaysia,” he stated while pumping his gas and staring at my ass at the same
time.

I turned back
around and opened the door to the store. The older Arab at the checkout counter
gave me a wide smile and spoke. I returned his greeting with, “Hello.”

I walked over to
the section with the gum and grabbed a pack. As I stood in line behind five
other customers, Devin walked into the store with some chick who I didn’t
recognize. I sat my anger towards his dad aside. “Hey, Devin,” I spoke and gave
him half a smile.

“Hey,” he spoke
back with his li’l bad butt. He went straight towards the candy aisle and was
grabbing all kinds of candy. He and the female were soon behind me in the line.

I turned to Devin
and asked, “How have you been doing, Baby?”

“I’m aight. This my
daddy girlfriend, Mika, and we live with her now. I don’t live with my mama no
more,” he blurted.

I gazed at Mika,
unconsciously sizing her up. She had a caramel skin tone, big, pretty eyes, and
full lips that men likely found sexy. Her hair was cut into a long bob, and she
wore little makeup.

I found myself a
little jealous. It was a lot easier to imagine Blunt being with one of the
dusty broads that he normally chose. I played it off as best I could.

I smacked my lips
and laughed. “That’s what’s up. I’m happy for you all. I hope you are behaving
at school and making good grades.” I switched subjects.

Mika gave me a
smile. “Actually, he has been doing better in school, and his grades have
improved. I spoke to his teacher, and she said he’s doing really good. And
what’s your name?” She raised her eyebrow and looked at me curiously.

“I’m Molaysia. I’m
sure that you’ve heard my name before.” I had to let her know who the hell I
was even though it was kinda messy of me.

She nodded her
head. “Yes, Blunt has mentioned you several times.”

“How’s the baby?” I
asked catching her off guard.

“He’s doing good.
He’s getting bigger every day. Listen, Molaysia woman to woman, I owe you an
apology. I knew that Blunt had a woman before we started seeing each other. I
was wrong for that. Please forgive me.”

I waved her off.
“Girl, don’t worry about it. I was sick and tired of him giving me headaches.
I’ll let you deal with that now. Make sure you keep some Tylenol handy because
he’s a handful.” We both kinda giggled.

 “Shut up,” Devin
said from behind me.

I looked over my
shoulder as I handed the cashier a ten dollar bill. “I’m going to send up a
special prayer for you tonight, Devin. You should learn to be kind,” I
suggested.

“I’m gon’ tell my
mama what you said to me. She’s gon’ beat you up when she sees you, too,
”
he smart-mouthed me.

“
Boy, I'll stomp a
mud hole in your mama.
” The words came out
involuntarily, but I meant every syllable.

On my way out of
the store, Devin threw a piece of candy at me. “You ole’ stank booty hoe,” he
called me. I whirled around ready to give him a beating that was long overdue.

Mika snatched him
up and tried to make him apologize, but his ornery butt was as stubborn as a
mule.

“Somebody
better teach that baby hoodlum some manners and respect,” I strongly urged
Mika.

She
just shook her head like she was exasperated from trying. They're building his
cell now, so it will be ready by the time he's thirteen,” I predicted with a
scowl.

As I returned to
the car, I admonished myself for letting a child get under my skin. I was not
going to allow a belligerent little runt to ruin my evening. I pushed Devin to
the back of my mind and put on my happy face.

My heels were click
clacking against the pavement, and I knew I looked fabulous. I winked at Rocco
and slung the SUV’s door open. Then, I noticed Blunt sitting in his whip
directly behind us. My heart skipped a beat.

Blunt’s car door
swung open. He planted his fresh all white Adidas on the pavement and his body
rose from his ride. Our eyes met. His pupils were red which warned me he was
ready to clown.

Rocco was standing
outside of his Lexus on his cell phone. He spotted Blunt stalking towards me, 
and he must’ve been able to tell from his expression that all hell was about to
break loose. He shoved the cell phone down in his pocket and hurried around to
my side of the car.

I hopped in the
Lexus and locked the door. Blunt peered through the window with a maniacal look
plastered on his face.

At that moment, I
realized that he was crazy.