They Say Love Is Blind (5 page)

She laughed. He was not letting that go. "Because...I'm a procrastinator. Okay? Time seems to slip by me despite my good intentions. Besides," she continued shyly. "If you didn't hear me breathing heavy in the morning you'd have to rely on the hoochie Mama from the bus to titillate you."
He chuckled. "Or I can just wait for the bus driver to take off real fast and cause you to fall into my lap again."

Tory squeezed his arm in good humor and he sighed. "Tell me about yourself; everything. I want t
o feel like I know you--more tha
n I already do."

As they walked the remaining eight blocks, arm in arm, Tory explained about being an only child. She thought he was so lucky to have such a big family. She hadn't really been anywhere exciting, not much further then the same city
where
she had been born and raised. Her job was pretty boring which made it tedious.
She spent all day on the telephone doing customer service and filling orders for a major department store.
And her love life...well she didn't even bring that up.

Lee was the one to stop when they got to the bus stop; Tory had been so preoccupied answering his questions that she had forgotten all about leading him and it seemed that it was he that was now leading her.

"Tory, I can't believe th
at you've never been further tha
n Kentucky!" He led her to the bench and they sat down. She winced. Her feet ached and her body was tight.

"Not having a car has made that difficult." He just raised a brow.

"When will your bus arrive?" She dug into her bag for the bus schedule. "Less than ten minutes."
He reached for her hand. "Tired?"

She smiled shyly. "Yes. This is quite a walk for me." She looked at her hand in his; hers brown and his much paler.

"You were limping near the end. Maybe next time we can meet...some place closer?"
"Oh." She tried to stay very cool but her heart was beating a mile a minute. "Like, where?"

"Well, I don't go out all that much. But I do like live music. Club Kat is right across the street..." She glanced where he gestured. She could hear a live band playing. It wasn't what she would normally listen to but the beat was hard and it made her want to move her body. She turned to him in time to see an expectant, hopeful look on his face. Was that a look of insecurity? How is it that a man as sexy as him could ever be insecure? She gripped his hand.

"That sounds like fun, Lee."

He seemed to relax. "Tomorrow is Friday; how is that?"

"Can I ask you a question
first
?"

"Certainly."

"What's your full name?"

He gave her a twisted smile. "I'm so sorry. I've asked you out for a date and you know nothing about me." The bus rounded the corner and Tory's smile dropped. "Let me introduce myself before that bus whisks you away. I'm Leandro Eduardo
das
Torres...or just Lee Torres." He frowned and cocked his head, standing with her hand still clasped in his. So, give me your phone number and I'll call you later tonight."

"Just call it out to you?"

"Yes." He smiled. "I have a great memory." She did as he asked and watched him repeat it once before nodding his head. The bus pulled up in front of them and she reluctantly slipped her hand from his grip.

"Bye,
b
ela
."

Her body tingled at that word. "Bye
, Lee
." She climbed onto the bus and watched him until the bus
rounded the block. A date. Oh G
od, a date with the sexy man from the bus; Leandro Eduardo
das
Torres! She closed her eyes, collapsing back against the seat.

Tory got home and didn't know what to do with herself. He said he'd call tonight. She changed out of her work clothes—especially the shoes, putting on her furry slippers. Then she sat curled up in her armchair with her cell phone right at her finger tips. She replayed her entire evening with him, blushing when she said something foolish, tingling when he did something sexy.

"
b
ela
..." She said quietly and then the phone rang. She jumped, sending it falling to the floor. "Oh no!" She leaped up and went scampering for it, hoping that it hadn't shattered! It rang again and a relieved gust issued from her lungs.

"Hello?" She said, trying to sound calm.

"
Ola
, Tory."

It was him! "
Ola
, Lee."

"Were you busy?"

"No." She started pacing nervously. "I was just relaxing." She sat down quickly and pretended to relax.
"Thank you for coming out. I enjoyed spending time with you."

"Thanks for inviting me." She said shyly.

"Tomorrow, meet me at the club. I'll be outside waiting for you. Is that okay?"

"Okay. That sounds great."

"Did you want to meet right after work...or did you want to go home first...?"

"Umm. How about right after work? Then there's no chance of me missing the bus and leaving you waiting." He chuckled.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Then I should see you a few minutes after six."

"Okay.
Adeus
, Tory."

"
Adeus
Lee." She hung up the phone and shook her head, a smile still on her face. She could not believe how things had worked out.

CHAPTER 4

The next day, Tory intentionally missed her normal bus. She wore a dress that complimented her curves and slipped on comfortable heels. Even though her feet protested due to all of the walking she'd done this week, she figured it would okay since her bus stop wasn't far from any of her destinations. Besides, bigger girls looked great in heels; especially if they knew how to do a model walk, and she'd practiced perfecting that long ago.

When she saw the bus rounding the corner, she stood up from her seat on the bench, her heart pit
ter pattering in anticipation of
seeing Lee again. Her cheeks grew warm as she remembered the fantasies that she'd had about him the night before. He was sitting in his regular seat and Tory hurried to grip the pole since she'd figured out the bus driver's game.

"Hi, Lee." She said shyly.

"Good morning." He smiled. "Let me put your money in and you can sit down here by me." His hand was held out and she dropped the coins into his waiting palm. His movement was sensual and slow as he rose from his seat, absently clutching the pole as he slipped her coins into the feeder. In the process he managed to brush her backside as she stepped around him in order to sit down.
She perched herself into the empty seat next to his and when he sat down, his hand reached out and lightly brushed her shoulder, than he sat down and looked at her. "You weren't limping today. Do your feet feel better?"

"Much."
"Good, I don't want to be forced to remove your shoes and give you a good rub down tonight." Every muscle in Tory's lower body tightened. She watched Lee's playful expression. He was such a flirt! Did he even know how much his words affected her? By the look on his face, he did.

"That would be my pleasure." She said seriously, giving him back his own line.

He suddenly chuckled. "I'm looking forward to tonight."

She smiled, enjoying the game of seduction and double entendre. "Me, too,
Lee." She was suddenly serious
. "It was all I could think about last night..."

He licked his full lips and she had to force herself to remember that she didn't need to be at work fully turned on with no outlet
! Lee tilted his head slightly.

"I think that we're going to have fun tonight. I did some research on the net and found that the band that's playing tonight is Reggaeton and they have a lot of Ska influences."

"Reggae...Tone? I know Reggae, but never heard of reggaeton."

"Really? Wow, girl, I'm going to have to show you something." He said with pleasure. "Reggaeton is

like...dancehall music. It would be more like a hip hop reggae. You've heard of
Shaba Ranks
, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"That's reggaeton.
Mix Beenie man with Lil Wayne.
"

"Ooo, that's going to be nice."

He licked his lips again and then grabbed his duffel bag and stood. "This is my stop. I hope you're up for some dancing tonight, because I can dance all night long!" He was halfway down the stairs before he called over his shoulder. "See you tonight,
Bela
."

"Bye Lee!" Her brow was raised doubtfully...dance all night? Damn! Maybe she could take a pain pill since her feet were already sore. Still, the idea of dancing the night away with a sexy Latin guy was appealing despite the corns developing on her feet!

~***~

Work went super slow. At lunch she tried to select something to eat that wouldn't talk to her later during her date, which meant no onions, fish, or bean burrito. She settled on a ham sandwich and a cup of chicken noodle soup just to make sure that her stomach wouldn't be doing any embarrassing growling.
When Tory finally stepped off the bus across the street from Club Kat, her eyes immediately searched for Lee and there he stood near the entrance. No cane in sight, he stood patiently waiting for her arrival. It sent a thrill through her
--
that, as well as the fact that he looked really sexy. He was wearing black slacks, a casual t-shirt and a black jacket. She hurried across the street and when she was just a few feet from him, he smiled broadly and greeted her first.

"Tory. Hello."

"And how did you know it was me before I even said hi?"

He offered her his arm. "Remember, that I can see pretty well with my other senses. Are you ready for some reggaeton? It's taking all of my will power not to stand out here and dance...but then people would throw me money."

She put her arm through his. "They wouldn't even know that you can't see."

"No. You can be my cane again. And I got our tickets online when I checked the itinerary."

"You use the computer?" He mentioned that earlier but she hadn't had time to ask him about it.
"Yes, all of the time. Actually, the computer is essential for my job." She led him into the entrance of the club and through a small crowding of people as he spoke. "I use a system called JAWS that reads the material for me.
But most computers have an automatic text to voice program built in.
"

"Ohhh, gotcha."

"I have a little British woman that reads to me on a daily basis." He joked.

"Your computer has a British accent?"

"Or any accent I want
it to have
."

"Did you name her? I bet you have a name for her."

He chuckled. "I do actually. Her name is Nancy. Nancy has quite the sexy voice when she's reading a Dr. Suess book for me to transcribe." Tory couldn't help but to laugh. Lee had a great sense of humor. He looked at her. "Of course, it's not as sexy as that laugh of yours."

She blushed and didn
't know what to say. "Thank you," s
he finally replied.

"
De nada
."
They reached a window
with a
coat check and a girl with a blue Mohawk and five facial piercings greeted them.

"Welcome to Club Kat. For two?"

"Yes. I paid online." Lee responded. He gave his name and she slid two tickets to them. Tory retrieved them and then led them down a short flight of stairs. The music was already loud before they had even entered the room and the beat was thumping! She liked it already.

The club was popular,
that was evident. Even at barely
six
thirty
there were a lot of people on the dance floor. It was a mix of all kinds of people; black, Latin, whites and there was no specific age. She saw younger college age men and woman just as she saw more mature couples. The one constant is that they loved moving their bodies wildly to the reggaeton beat. She led him to a small round table that wouldn't be large enough to hold her elbow.

He sat down and briefly placed his hands on both sides of the round table before leaning towards her and speaking over the loud music. "Do you want a drink?"

She didn't drink much since she didn't do much socializing and drinking alone was no fun.
"A wine cooler would be nice."

"Do you like sweet wine?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm not a wine connoisseur or anything. But I would like something sweet and fruity."
He nodded. "Is there a waitress or just a bartender?"

"Both." She looked around and waved a waitress over. "One is heading our way now."

"I'm going to order you something good. Trust me." The waitress was young and cute wearing an extra short tube skirt and a tan that could not be natural.