The Fight Within (19 page)

“To a second date, and a third, and a forth and fifth.” He offered a devilish grin. And then, their drinks clinked together, sealing the declaration just like so…

‡

“F
or littering.” He
kept close to the woman as they navigated his favorite walking path in Central Park. Out the corner of his eye, he shot her another glance, sizing her up. Treasure wore an oversized chocolate brown kimono-style shirt, matching leggings and leopard print flats. He took notice of the corresponding leopard print bangle around her wrist, edged in gold.

…I bet that cost a mint.

“They charged you with littering?!” She burst out laughing again, placing her hand over her mouth in disbelief.

“Yeah.” He snaked his hands in his pockets, not certain what to do with them. It just so happened he was in the city to pick up his new boxing gloves, and he knew from their conversation on the phone the previous evening that she would be in the vicinity around the same time. She proclaimed to have some shopping for a client to take care of. He’d given the woman a call that afternoon, not for a traditional date per se, but one nevertheless.

He’d been thinking about her, wanting to see her, smell her hair and skin, feel her against him. So, he made the call. The visit would be short, a quick bite for the mind…a coming together for a snack-sized conversation. Much to his surprise, she agreed to meet him at the park, and now here they were, overdosing off each other’s energy. She smelled like cherry blossoms, the kind that grow in Asia, the leaves turn into a red paradise and sweet delight for the senses.

“Some bastard put those flyers all over my car, you know, the advertising bullshit like refinancing your house and car washes,” he explained, pulling himself away from his fascination with the woman. “I knocked ’em off and they hit the ground. Before I knew it, I was in some sorta trouble. The police rolled up on me, threatened to get me for littering. I asked him what about the fucker that littered on my car! Wrong response…”

“Sean.” She shook her head at him as they continued to walk side by side. “You are a mess. Is that what you really said to him?”

“Yeah, verbatim. I was like nineteen; it was a long time ago.” He scratched behind his ear. His mind drifted somewhere dark and dirty.

I want to lie down right here, right now, rip her fucking pants off and jam my tongue in her goddamn pussy. What do you taste like, Treasure? She looks so damn good…smells so nice…

“So anyway, what about you, huh? Any close brushes with the law?”

“Yeah, but I’d rather not get into it right now.” She offered him a crooked grin, politely excusing herself from the inquiry.

Pausing, he gave her a look. “What do ya mean you’d rather not get into it right now? Not this again!”

“No.” She chuckled, placing her hand on his shoulder in a soothing sort of way. “It’s not what you think. It happened when I was a kid. I’ll tell you, but it makes me really sad is all because it’s tied to another event. It’s nothing crazy like murder or anything like that. I just don’t want to bring myself down is all. I’m in a good mood, would like to keep it that way. Is that cool?”

“So, it isn’t top secret, right? You’re not a stalker or some shit like that, right?” He raised a brow. “’Cause I’m known to drive women insane with my unbelievable charm and vicious stick and moves.”

“Stick and moves?”

“In the bedroom…my stick, you know? My skilled thrusts are my moves.” He burst out laughing as he pointed to his crotch, causing her to turn away and redden right before his eyes.

“I’m not a stalker, but you’re obscene.”

She liked it. He could see the mischievous twinkle in her eyes born from his haughty words. He shrugged and wrapped his fingers around hers, held her soft hand, not giving a damn to resist the temptation a second longer. The woman kept walking by his side, glanced at their linked hands then stared back ahead, accepting his claim upon her.

“On the phone last night, you mentioned your mom wanted you to pick her up and take her to the store since your dad was asleep. I bet you two are close.” She stated.

“We are. My whole family is close actually. I have one brother; he’s a year older. We’re pretty tight.”

She nodded in understanding.

“My dad worked for the city and so did my mom. She was a receptionist. I go over my parents’ house all the time. I see my brother a lot, too. He’s a fireman. Being with all of them is the highlight of my week.”

She smiled. “I love that, that’s nice. Seems like you’re a family man.”

“I am. Family is important, even if you have to create your very own.”

“Yeah… and speaking of own, do you want children?”

“Yeah, but they don’t have to be biologically mine just like I told ya.”

“Well, that’s good because, well, even though we aren’t together or anything, it’s important to get this sort of information out of the way.”

“What sort of information?”

“I can’t have any more children, Sean.”

He paused for a moment, took a good look at her.

“Okay, it’s cool.”

“Don’t you want to know why?”

“Yeah, just out of curiosity. Not because it’s a big deal to me or anything like that.”

“Well, I can’t have any more children due to a medical situation. My doctor told me after I had Asia that that was it. I have endometriosis, which also led to my tubes being blocked.” She sighed, took a deep breath. “At the time I was diagnosed, I was upset, but now,” she shrugged, “I’m just blessed to be fairly healthy and have the two children that I
do
have.”

He nodded in understanding and held her hand a bit tighter.

“Speaking of moms, brother and sisters ’nd everything, what about yours?” he asked.

“That’s a good starting point for some other things about me you may be interested in, too,” she offered, making him feel as if she gave a damn, wanted to open up a bit as he so desired. He wished to know all about her, and there was no better time than the present.

“Yeah, tell me about them.” They began walking again.

“Well, I could start out like you did, and talk about this or that, but I’d rather start with the truth.” Her voice lowered an octave or two. He turned and looked at her, concerned for her well-being, and she’d only just begun. “My mother is someone I don’t really know. She never let me get close enough to know her…and here I am, ruining my good mood.” She laughed mirthlessly. He squeezed her hand… an involuntary reaction, letting the woman know, ‘all is well…’

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Treasure. I don’t want to spoil your day or nothin’ like that.”

I’ll throw you a lifeline lady, because I feel something for you.

“I should though. So, I will.” She shrugged. “Not everything can be avoided, nor should it be, honestly. So anyway, let me back up for a moment. I have two brothers. One is older than me, Turner, and one is younger, Jacob.”

“Middle child, huh?”

“Yes.” She grinned. “Turner lives in California now and Jacob lives in Oregon. My mother is still here in New York. I barely see my brothers and we rarely talk, too. I don’t know, Sean.” She shook her head. “I’ve always felt sort of isolated, even when growing up, living at home. My mother took care of me, don’t get me wrong. She wasn’t mean to me per se, but it always felt more like she was a friend of the family, babysitting, versus raising children, if that makes any sense.”

“I can understand what you’re saying. That’s kinda fucked up.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is.”

“Sometimes,” he said upon a sigh, “it seems like a person can do more harm by being there than not being there. So…” He paused for a moment, slowed his trek until they both stopped. “You think she didn’t want you?”

“I think…” She looked for a moment at the ground, then met eyes with him… Such beautiful eyes she had. “I think my mother just wasn’t cut out for motherhood and had her own demons she battled on a daily basis, Sean. I think she was afraid to love and be loved. I know that now as an adult, but as a child, I spent the majority of the time trying to get her affection and acknowledgement. Fact of the matter is, she just doesn’t like me.” She smiled sadly as they continued to walk the path, still hand in hand.

“She never
did
like me. I was tolerated. It wasn’t anything I did, she never made me feel like I was a bad kid or anything like that, but she was emotionally absent. Vacant.”

“Was she that way with your brothers, too?”

“Yes, it was the same I believe with all of us but with me it was more pronounced. Regardless, I think that’s one reason why they moved away and never looked back. They don’t understand why I even deal with her. Nevertheless, I do talk to my mother a few times a month, stop over as well. They are awkward visits though.”

“I bet.” He couldn’t imagine having a mom like that, and felt all the more fortunate for having the woman who birthed him in his life.

“I remember one time, someone didn’t even know she was my mother and asked who she was at a dinner function we were at for a high school dance recital of mine. I was getting an award from my dance class.” She chuckled, though it was obvious the conversation was far from funny.

“You danced?” He couldn’t help but grin.

“Yes.”

“I bet you were good…” He took a look at her shapely legs once again, her leggings hugging them in all the right places. He sucked his bottom lip as the revelation spurred his imagination and did nasty things in her honor.

“Yeah, I was pretty good if I say so myself. Anyway, it was the way she was sitting I guess, her body turned away from me, which threw people off. I don’t know. Besides, I look just like my father and my mother hated my father.”

Sean’s tongue thickened as he searched for the right words to say. He was now filled with regret for encouraging the woman to open up like a can of Ragu pasta, expose her guts. Though he told her she could drop it, he had still pushed her a bit, and now the woman stood totally exposed. He sometimes forgot, on days such as this, that not everyone had a set of parents like his own.

So enmeshed in family life he’d become, it became something he occasionally took for granted. He wished he could clone his mom and dad, as annoying as they were, and pass them out like trinkets to people in need. This was one of those cases…

“Why’d she hate him?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.

“My father was madly in love with my mother, everyone could see it. I think she tried to love him back, but she became very paranoid, thinking he was cheating all the time. He wasn’t, Sean. He worked hard to support his family is all. I know I was just a little kid then, but my father was the real McCoy… a good guy. Something must’ve happened to my mother, I’m not sure what, but she changed from being barely there, to being very negative, downright cruel as time went on.

“One day, he left. She kept telling him to. She told him she didn’t want him, wanted a divorce. He tried to make it work, but she kept pushing him away. He gathered me and my brothers up one night and said he was leaving. Oh, I cried my heart out, Sean! I was a daddy’s girl! But then he hushed me, put his finger over my lips and told me to calm down, that he’d be back. He said he was going to get us an apartment for him, my brothers, and me and come get us the following week. My father never made me a promise he didn’t keep. Never.