Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset (26 page)

“Shit, good men are hard to find too.”

“Who are you telling? When I find one I’m going to knock him over the head and drag him to the altar caveman style. It’s bad enough I have my granny calling me at least once a week, asking me when I’m going to get married. Every week I disappoint her and my mother. It’s a lot of pressure.”

“I don’t know anything about that, shit my daddy is still having babies.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish that I was, he got one of his little side chicks knocked up and has turned his life upside down.”

“Oh no, how is your mom?”

“At first she acted like she was alright with it, and then she showed up on my doorstep with luggage. She says that she wants a divorce and I believe her. She’s never talked about splitting up with my father no matter what he did, but she’s fed up.”

“Damn, I thought that they were going to be together forever.”

“Me too, it’s shocking but I’m glad that she is moving on with her life. It’s better late than never. Watching her feelings get trampled over throughout my life made me cautious with men. I don’t put anything past their asses because they can be scandalous.”

“With no damned remorse. They will sleep in your bed when they just got out of someone else’s,” Nina chimed in. Her eyes looked distant, she wasn’t talking about men in general anymore, she was talking about Daniel. She finished off her second glass of wine and sat it near the edge of the table so that the waiter would know that she was ready for another.

“I know that I said it already but I’m really sorry,” Kalena explained.

Nina fanned her hand, “You don’t have to apologize to me anymore. Daniel is going to be out of my life and me and you are going to be just fine.”

“I would like that.”

Nina smiled and said, “Yay! Something good has come out of this horrible mess.”

“That’s a positive way to look at it.”

“I’ve been working on that with my therapist,” she laughed, “Oh, but I do have to say one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re even.”

#Chapter6

“Keep it up and you may not be able to get rid of me.”

Crystal

On the other side of town, Crystal walked out of her house. Her arm was linked with Jason’s and her other arm filled with the dozen of red fully bloomed roses that he brought her. She was enamored already.

“You’re getting off to a great start Mr. Shultz.”

“I’m glad that you’re enjoying yourself, I hope that the night only gets better.”

He walked her out to his BMW SUV and opened the door for her. She slid inside seductively and gave him a coy smile when he closed the door. ‘Oh yes,” she mumbled to herself, ‘If you keep this up, I’m going to give you some.’

She watched him walk around the front of the car and get inside. He had a walk that said he was very sure of himself. His confidence was through the roof, it was sexy. Men that were confident were hot as long as it didn’t begin to get cocky.

“So where are we going?” Crystal asked.

“We are going to Hecho En Dumbo in the East Village,” he said with a smile.

“Nice, I see that you have taste.”

“I’m just doing my best to try to impress you and of course I have taste, I asked you out didn’t I?”

“See, now you’re just trying to get on my good side.”

“Is it working?”

“I don’t know yet, ask me again after I’ve had a couple of drinks.”

“I’ll make sure to do that.”

She looked at his hands as they navigated the car, his ring was gone from his finger. He no longer wore it. If she knew him better she would have asked him how he felt about that, but it wasn’t an appropriate topic for a first date.

“So tell me about yourself,” Jason said, “What kinds of things do you enjoy outside of work?”

“I enjoy reading whenever I can,” she said, “I wish that I had more time for it.”

“What kind of books do you like?”

“Romance,” she grinned, “It’s a great escape.”

“Do you have a favorite author? Are you one of those Ann Rice fans? Did you enjoy Fifty Shades?”

“Ann Rice doesn’t write romance,” Crystal laughed, “She writes gothic fiction, Christian literature, erotica. That’s not romance. Also, I haven’t read Fifty Shades yet.”

“What? I think that you’re the only woman on earth who hasn’t read those books.”

“You’re probably right, but I tend to like books with black lead characters. Well at least black women characters.”

“Okay then what do you like?”

“Um authors like Lena Skye, CJ Howard. They write BWWM Romance” she asked.

“What in the hell does that stand for?”

“It stands for black woman white man,” Crystal said in a sultry voice.

“Oh really? I like the sound of that.”

“I figured that you would,” she giggled.

“Maybe we can act some of those scenes out,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“If this night goes well, maybe we can.”

“I’m going to be on my best behavior.”

“No one likes a pushover, I want to see a little bit of that bad streak,” Crystal teased.

“Alright, you asked for it. We’re going to rob a few banks before we have dinner. You can be Bonnie and I’ll be Clyde.”

“I think that you’re taking things a little too far. Let’s do stuff that won’t land me in jail, I’m way too pretty for it.”

“That’s true; they would love you in there. Not even a prison uniform could hide all of those curves.”

“So you’ve been checking out my curves?”

“Definitely, from the very first day that I met you. I couldn’t help but notice them.”

“Have you always liked women with meat on their bones?”

He grinned, “I like what I like. I’ve dated thin women and I’ve dated larger women.”

“Are you trying to call me fat?” she asked.

“Nope, you’re perfect.”

“Smart man.”

‘There is a reason that I’m a principal, I didn’t get my job by saying and doing dumb stuff. But in all seriousness, you’re far from fat. You’re a great size.”

“I appreciate that, I could stand to lose some weight but I like myself.”

“You should, you’re perfect.”

Crystal smiled at his words, he was sweet. She wasn’t used to being complimented so much by a man on the first date. She liked it a lot. This felt too good to be true.

“Alright, keep it up and you may not be able to get rid of me.”

“The feeling is mutual, I’m just glad that you came out with me. I wasn’t sure if you were going to say yes.”

“What? You couldn’t tell that I liked you?”

“I could tell that you were mildly interested, but I didn’t know if you liked white men or not.”

“I guess I’m similar to you in that respect. I like what I like. I haven’t dated many white men in my lifetime, but it’s not because I haven’t liked them, it’s because so few ask me out. I’ve just always thought that I wasn’t you all’s type.”

“What’s our type?”

“You know, thin and light.”

He shook his head, “Nope, I’m all about that bass, no treble.”

Crystal laughed at his song reference, “I see that you’re a Meghan Trainor fan?”

“I can’t help it, I have to listen to popular radio stations. It’s important that I know the kind of music that the kids listen to. I can’t be out of touch.”

“I know exactly what you mean. It’s difficult to connect with them if you don’t know anything about what they like.”

“Exactly.”

She smiled at their conversation. He was really easy to talk to and they had a lot in common when it came to their careers.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked.

“I was just thinking about how easy you are to talk to, it’s nice to be able to connect with someone when it comes to my job. I try not to talk about the kids in my program so much, but it is hard because they’re such a big part of my life.”

“I understand what you mean. People’s eyes glaze over when you start to talk about your job.”

“Exactly, you get me,” she said as she reached over for his hand.

He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers; they rode in silence and enjoyed one another’s company until they arrived to the restaurant.

                                                                        ***

“So did you like the restaurant?” he asked.

“I loved it,” Crystal said as they walked along the Brooklyn Promenade. Everything felt perfect and wonderful. She was enjoying his company much more than she had her last few dates. He was the kind of man that she needed to be with. He was mature, he loved working with kids, and he was stable.

“I’m glad.”

They stopped walking and looked at the river, Crystal slightly shivered.

“Oh no, you’re cold,” he said as he pulled her in close to him, her back against the railing.

She lay her head against his chest and inhaled deeply, “You smell so good.”

“It’s Issey Miyake.”

“I wondered if it was, I’ve always loved the scent but it smells even better on you. The cologne meshes very well with your body chemistry.”

“You mesh pretty well too,” he said as he wrapped his hands around her waist.

“Oooh, someone is trying to get mannish with me.”

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all. This is way better than robbing a few banks.”

Jason placed a kiss on her forehead. Crystal closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his warms lips against her cool flesh. “Mmm again, again,” she said.

He laughed as she lifted her chin to kiss him. She was ready to take things to the next level. He was everything that she wanted, and it was time to get the party started.

She crushed her mouth to his, his response was instantaneous. They forgot that they were out in public, well Crystal was aware but that only heightened the experience for her. She thrust  her tongue onto his and he gently played with it with his own as she plunged one hand into his hair, pulling him in closer. The only thing that was between them was clothes, she wanted more.

He pulled away quickly, “I’m so sorry but I have to ask. I don’t want to offend you, and if you say no, I’ll completely understand.”

“Yes, I’ll go home with you,” Crystal said, “But condoms are mandatory.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, “Condoms aren’t a problem. Would you mind doing something a little different?”

“How different?” Crystal asked cautiously, “You’re not going to ask me to beat you or stomp on your balls are you?”

“Whoa, nothing like that,” he laughed, “However, I like to role play, would you mind role playing with me?”

“Hmm that’s a possibility, what do you have in mind?”

“Teacher and principal,” he grinned.

“That has the potential to be a lot of fun. I’m down for the cause,” she said.

He smiled, “See I knew that I liked you, let’s get the hell out of here.”

Less than an hour later they were at his home. He lived in a beautiful new gated community. It was an absolute dream, it felt like the suburbs.

“Wow, how long have you been living here?” she asked when they drove through the gates.

“Only for about a year, it’s phenomenal. I wanted a homey feel while living in the city, this was the perfect solution.”

“I’m a little jealous.”

“Well the house next to me is for sale, you could always move right in. I’ll vouch for you.”

“Thanks but these houses are too much for just me. If I moved here I would want a family to come with me.”

At the mention of family his mood slightly changed. He thought of his wife, he obviously still missed her terribly. Jason always thought that he would get remarried, but the idea of someone else taking his wife’s place seemed disrespectful. His adult son encouraged him to find another partner, but it felt like a betrayal to the love of his life. For now he was content with dating. Remarrying wasn’t an option until he found a woman that he couldn’t be without.

They drove up to his beautiful bay front home. It looked just like all of the other houses surrounding it but she was still impressed. The beautiful light beige bricks and stark white porch was inviting.

They pulled into his three-car  garage and sat in silence for a little while. “Are you ready? You know that you can always change your mind.”

“I have no intentions on changing my mind. Let’s get inside and do this. I want to get to this role playing sir.”

“You’re my kind of girl.”

Ten minutes later they were in his master bedroom. “Alright,” he said nervously, “let’s begin.”

He went to his closet and pulled out two big duffle bags. He pulled out dildos, vibrators, wigs, handcuffs, floggers, and so much more. ‘What the fuck?’ Crystal began to think as he pulled it out.

“I’m sorry is this just too much for you?” he asked.

“I’m not about to use toys that you’ve used with other people. That’s disgusting.”

He nodded without flinching, he didn’t seem offended at all. He went back to his closet and pulled out another bag. It was more toys but all of them were inside of the original packaging. “Will these work for you?” He asked.

“How about we just keep it to role playing and save the toys for next time,” she suggested.

Jason tried to hide his disappointment but she saw it. She wasn’t about to get into some weird shit with his ass, and she definitely wasn’t going to let him handcuff her.

“Okay, I can understand that,” he said, “but could you do one thing for me?”

“Umm okay.”

“I have this wig, it’s brand new and still in the original box. It’s auburn and long, would you consider wearing it?”

‘He’s really into this role playing shit,’ she thought to herself. Wearing a wig wasn’t that big of a deal to her so she didn’t mind. “Sure, give it here and I’ll put it on in your bathroom.”

He hastily went back to his closet and located the wig; he handed it to her and kissed her, “I’m looking forward to seeing you come out of the bathroom.”

“Make it worth my time,” she grinned.

“I’m going to do that and so much more.”

Crystal walked to his master bathroom and closed the door behind her. She was a little bummed that she was messing up her hair, she’d just gotten it done. Her hair was natural, but she kept it straightened. She wasn’t wearing her sew-in, it was all hers and if she sweated it out, it was going to look like a bush. She sighed, the things that women do for men.

She adjusted the hair on her head and she had to admit that she looked pretty cute. The wig that he got was human hair and very well made. It creeped her out a bit that he had gone out and purchased it, although she wanted to take it home with her. What kind of man goes out and buys wigs? What man has a larger toy collection that a woman? She shrugged; maybe it was a white guy thing. She’d dated white men, but she’d never slept with one. She was going to have to call Nina and see if her boo was into that kind of weird shit too.