ASCENSION (3 page)

“This is traveling light
.
” Sh
anda
laughed
as
her eagle eyes searched for potential prey,
“
Judging by how hot it is
here
I won’t be wearing many clothes anyway.”

Shanda stopped
walking
to
read a
text
message
. It was her dad checking
on her again.
Ever-since her abduction
by that psycho Freddie her father
dogg
ed
her every move.
She
text him back to assure him she was fine then
went to catch
her friend.
In the distance a
man approached Selange
with a flirtatious smile and
Shanda quickened her step to
run interference.
Her best friend was married but
s
uckers like this persisted anyway
despite the huge rock on her finger
.
If he knew who she was married to he’d back-off in a heartbeat. Shanda closed the distance and interrupted the man in midsentence, “She’s not interested, she’s married so bye-bye!”

T
he good-looking
guy smiled, “Really
?”

Shanda
swiveled her head,
was this jerk for real
?

“Yes,
maybe you don’t understand English, a
dios, arriverderci, bye-bye!” Shanda replied in exaggeration.

Selange shook her head disapprovingly at her girlfriend
’s lack of manners.
“Shanda
calmarse
, this
is
Franky
my
driver.”

“Oh
, sorry
.”
Shanda said sheepishly.

Franky laughed and reached for the suitcase
to
escort
the women to the car. Shanda
was
mortified.
God
she felt
stupid. How
was
she
to
know
the fine piece of meat
was Selange’s
driver
?
Men
were always hitting on
Selange
. Shanda felt
obligated to intervene, especially since she was married but now she felt stupid for rushing in when her friend apparently didn’t require any assistance.

She walked quietly beside
Selange
hoping the fine driver hadn’t taken offense. She
smirked,
too bad he’d get over it. Meanwhile she kept pace with Selange thinking how effortlessly beautiful she looked. The amazing thing about her best friend is she didn’t have an ounce of conceit.
Then again, it’s
why
she loved
the girl
like
a sister and
became
overprotective
when the vultures circled.
It’s
true
S
elange
’s married but
girlfriends
watched each other’s backs,
no matter what!

Selange’s husband
Alfonzo
, damn he was
hot
!
Literally a walking
specimen
of testosterone
.
The man was the definition of
sex appeal. He wasn’t on
e of
those
okay looking men you pass on the street and think, cute –got potential. No, Alfonzo was the
tall
impeccably dressed dude, the one with the
confident
New York swag who caught your attention at first glance.
He’s the dude in a crowd exuding charisma with male
model
looks
and a ripped
body
to match, except with the
‘
do
not fuck
with
me attitude
’
that
put
even
bad
-ass
motherfuckers on edge.
Selange on the other-hand was
more demure; a beautiful brown swan with curves where they count and a femininity that attracted men like dogs in heat.
Together they
were a striking
pair
; a contrast between hard and soft. Their
genes produced
one
adorabl
e
kid
Shanda was proud to call her godson
.

Shanda missed the
routine sleep-overs and the girl talk.
Most of all she
missed
Selange’s presence and that’s why she decided to come for a visit
.
She noticed the
warm glow
o
n
Selange’s
cheeks.
Married life
really
suited
her
.
Shanda suspected
making love to
someone
as fine as
Alfonzo
must
be like
winning the
fucking
lottery
.
S
he
didn’t have the honor of seeing
Alfonzo naked but it
’s
apparent he was well-endowed if the sizable lump between his legs was any indication.

Frankly, Shanda felt a tad
jealous
. Selange had a husband who treated her with respect and adoration. The man worshipped the ground her
size seven
feet walked on and he wasn’t fronting either
;
e
ventually phony motherfuckers slip up
and
show their true colors
.
Alfonzo hadn’t
tripped once…n
ot one
misstep
.
Shanda sighed,
p
ushing
twenty-eight
years old
the prospects
of snagging a good man
with a fraction of Alfonzo’s qualities
grew
difficult
and desperation
set
in.
She wanted marriage and kids, but also a
healthy
relationship with
a man
appreciative
of her
G
od-given gifts. Until then, she
’d continue to
skinny-dip in the man pool
and maybe
catch herself a
killer shark instead of a
nother
limp ass tuna.
For now
she
celebrated being single
with a vengeance
.

Sha
nda switched
mode
s
of thinking;
concentrating on
men
led to thoughts of sex and subsequently got her horny.
Her eyes drifted to the driver as he
loaded her luggage in the trunk. He was
a
fine dessert. Sh
e
licked her lips
then discreetly r
eadjusted her low-cut
blouse
to
expose more cleavage
.

“What are you doing?” Selange whispered
conspiratorially
.

“What?
Y
ou
already
have
a fine ass man. I’m trying to get one
,
too
,
”
she quipped
.

B
emused
Selange smirked, “I bet you are.”

O
utside the
air conditioned
terminal
the weather
was warm and humid
.
A glowing
sun
b
egan
t
o
set
across
a blue
horizon
. T
he
kaleidoscopic view was breathtaking.
The smell of the ocean air, so clean and unpolluted was a welcome change from the emission filled oxygen of New York.
Beautiful palm
trees
and tropical foliage
dotted the
landscape
an
d Shanda knew she
arrived in paradise.
T
his vacation
i
s
exactly
what she needed
. She smiled
, “This is going to be fun.”

“
I’m glad y
ou’re here,
your timing is perfect.”

Shanda detected sadness in her friend’s voice, “You
okay
?”

Franky
held
open the
car
door for the women and waited until they were seated before rushing around to the driver’s side.
His stern expression
was
antithetical
to his usually
cheerful
disposition.

“
We’ll talk
later,
”
Selange
replied
.

Franky
tried to
avoid
eye
contact
with Shanda
as he adjusted the rearview mirror.
H
is boss’ wife was a
classy
woman.
H
er friend
on the other-hand
,
not-so-much.
Some friendships
were inexplicable.

“
Seatbelts ladies,” he said over his shoulder
then started
the engine.
If anything happened to his passengers,
especially Mrs. Diaz, he’d be in hot shit
!

T
he vicinity around the arrival terminal was congested; car horns honked indiscriminately, people scurried across the pedestrian walkway pulling
rolling luggage without concern for the driver’s waiting anxiously to pass.
Franky remained
hyper-alert
, peripherally watching for anything or anyone unusual approaching.
He was able to finally maneuver throu
gh
a parted
opening of pedestrians and merge
onto
the circular roadway le
a
d
ing to
the highway. The ride was smooth, unobstructed and relaxing as he drove in silence listening to his
passenger’s
idle chit-chat
in amusement
.
The
basic
topics
were
,
s
hopping,
hair,
what was happening back home
,
men and
complaints about men
. He smirked
–women
!

He glanced in the mirror and drank in the image of his boss’ wife sitting comfortably in the seat. Her long legs were crossed at the knee exposing the sh
apely contours of
her
calves.
She wore a
tan chiffon halter dress and her
wavy
ebony
hair hung across her
shoulders
.
I
n the fading glow of
the
island sun she looked
ethereal. She looked up
and their eyes
locked in friendship.
She smiled and
a
dimple formed on the lower corner of her
mouth
, “You’re too quiet Franky, where’s the wisecracks today?”

Franky shrugged, “I guess I’ve depleted my supply.”

She leaned forward
close to his seat
and he inhaled her
floral
scent
. He
grew faint
from an attack of
noxious
desire and forced the
toxic
thoughts away.
This was his boss’ wife. He was
her
b
odyguard
and
nothin
g more. His jaw clenched irritably
at th
e
knowledge
but accept
ed
the truth,
nonetheless.