You Belong To Me

You Belong To Me

                                                    By Ursula Dukes

Copyright © (2013) by Ursula Dukes

All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, people, or places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the result of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places, or people, either living or dead is purely coincidental.

For my friends.

It was her first day on the job and already he found himself infatuated with her beauty.

He knew that he had to have her, and the special way that she had smiled at him only solidified his beliefs, she wanted him too.  You belong to me, he told himself.

At that moment, his obsession had begun...

Danielle gazed out of the window and into the incredulous pink a
nd purple sky and thought to herself,
another gorgeous sunset and once again I am looking at it alone
.

The internet dating site she signed up with was hardly producing any results and the men that were responding had
barely lived up to her expectations. Not only were most of them just looking for sex, some were also on the hunt for a woman who would support them financially.

Although she had no issues going
Dutch
for a date, she drew the line at having to always pay for the entire meal, drinks and tip included. At least not on the first date anyway. So that pretty much left her with no dates at all. When she found that she wasn’t getting matched up as often as she liked, she decided to give things a break and found herself checking her emails from the dating site less and less. She had her work, a home that she loved, and her best friends Shayla and Jason to keep her occupied.

“Maybe you’re trying too hard." Her best friend Shayla had told her one night after Danielle h
ad returned home from a disastrous date.

"You’ve got to let things happen and good things will happen Danielle, just maybe not in the time frame that you’re expecting. So have some patience girl, you do know what they say don’t you?”

“No Shay what do they say?” Danielle asked sarcastically as she rested her head on her friends shoulder.  

“I’ll tell you what they say; they say good things come to those who wait. And I know you’ve been waiting a long time, but believe me, no good deed goes undone. So keep
on doing what you’re doing and before you know it, someone who is perfect for you is going to come knocking, of this I am sure. And you could use some knocking anyway.” Shayla smirked.

“What the hell does that mean?” Danielle asked, the expression on her
face serious.

“Damn girl you really do need a man. What I mean is that you need to participate in the knocking of boots you know… some hot sex?” Her best friend joked.

Danielle let out a chuckle. “Oh Shay leave it up to you to bring that up. But you’re right, I need to be more patient and hopefully with some good karma and thoughts, a decent man will come my way. Besides, I have you and Jason to keep me company.”

“Well we are more than happy to keep you company Danielle, but we draw the line at the sex par
t sorry.” Her friend playfully stuck out at her tongue.

“You are daydreaming when it's time to go home?” Victoria inquired. 

Victoria was like a mom to Danielle. Her own parents had passed away some six years ago. And when she had decided to pack up and
move to Vermont, Victoria and her husband Joe were the ones who had interviewed her for the inventory/accounting job at the family owned general store. 

Short and a bit stocky, Victoria wore it well and worked hard too. She was in her late fifties and ha
d no problems telling people her age. “Why should I be ashamed?” Victoria questioned.

“Everybody gets old and age is just a number. Besides, I neither look it nor act it,” she'd said with a grin on her face.

She was right, she wore her all gray hair in a very stylish bob and had beautiful big brown eyes that were as welcoming and warm as the sun on a crisp autumn day.

Danielle looked over at her friend. “Hm-mm? No, I'm just gazing out at that gorgeous sunset,” Danielle sighed.

“Hey, any plans this weekend?  How's the internet dating going?”

By simply watching her roll her eyes, Victoria knew that her dear friend was not having a good time.

“Hey if you’re not doing anything this weekend, Joe and I are having that 'loyal customer' dinner party we’ve been telling you about. Its tomorrow night and we'd love for you to come,” Victoria said excitedly.

“Ah Victoria, you know I'm not good at those things and besides, everyone there will be with their spouses. I would feel so out- of- place.”

“Now come on Danielle there will be plenty of single guys there. One in particular now that I think about it, yes! His name is Mitch and he's a great guy.”

“Oh and by great you mean he's ugly right? Or has some type of debilitating disease? No thanks I'm all set.
” Danielle gave Victoria a sly grin.

“Dammit Danielle, do you honestly think I would do that to you?” Victoria asked with a slight smirk.

“Just what are you laughing at then?”

“Oh nothing,” Victoria chuckled.

“Although, it would be funny to see the look on your face if I did set you up with a guy who had quasi-motto like qualities.”

“Hahaha very funny, you just be lucky that you’re married to a great guy.”

Victoria's husband Joe once had the body of a quarter back. But now, being almost sixty, he sported a receding hairline and a belly. Besides her own father, Joe was the gentlest, most caring man Danielle had ever met. Both he and Victoria would give the shirt off their backs to anyone who needed help. That's the kind of people they were and Danielle not only admired them, but she loved them just as much as they loved her.

“You don’t know how hard it is out there,” said Danielle.

“Listen, just because I've been married to a great and sexy guy for twenty- five years doesn’t mean that I don't know how hard it is to find the right one, believe me. So come on, what have you got to lose? Nothing. And you've got everything to gain! Plus you'll get a free meal, some drinks, and a chance to get to know the locals.” Victoria beamed.

“I already know the locals Vic,
that’s why I can't get a date.” Danielle frowned.

“No Danielle, you can't get a date because you spend all day stuck here in the office.”

“That's the way I like it Vic.”

"Well you're never gonna meet people if you continue to do that. You have to come out
of your shell, talk, flirt, giggle, and laugh."

“I laugh; I laugh with you and Joe every day.”

“Well that may be so, but you need to spread yourself around, get to know people on a personal level and not just me and Joe.”

“Alright, alright I'll go, what ti
me?”

“Oh Danielle that's great. Okay be at our place around four, that way you can help me prepare everything.”

“Oh so now I'm the help and the dinner guest?" She laughed

“Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. Now get out of here and go shopping fo
r something sexy, see you at four tomorrow.”

With that, Danielle finished straightening out her desk. While organizing the invoices for the following Monday, she came across Mitch's name on an order for lumber.
How weird is that
? She thought to herself.
I mean I know I must have come across his name dozens of times, but I guess that I just never paid attention. That’s what you get for rarely coming out of the office and out onto the sales floor Danielle,
her conscience scolded her.

Strange that now it's
the first name on the list. Just a coincidence I'm sure,
she thought as she said goodnight and headed out the door.

The sun had almost completely set by the time Danielle reached her home. Unlocking the door, she smiled as she gazed at the early evening light that lingered and bounced off the shiny hardwood floors in the living room. It was the month of May and with the unseasonably warm temperatures, signs of spring were sprouting all around her country-like cottage. 

The small cottage she rented suit
ed her tastes just fine; she loved the bright and airy enclosed sun room that was attached to the front of the house. “It is so very welcoming,” her landlord told her when she had first viewed the property.

Once through the sun room, the living room was a
lso inviting with soft beige walls, and a flagstone fireplace that was incredibly warming and soothing when lit. Thinking of the lit fireplace made her smile as she thought of the past cold winter nights that were now just a memory, at least for the next few months anyway.

 
After putting her keys and purse onto the side table, she went into her kitchen to grab something to eat.
I just love this big old country kitchen. It's such a shame I haven’t been able to use it to its full capacity. I seldom have guests over and when I do, it's usually take out Chinese. I need to change that, I really do,
she thought to herself and made a sandwich.
It would be so nice to have company to cook a gorgeous meal for.

Everyone drinking wine, and hanging out in the kitchen. I
mean after all, the kitchen is where almost everyone at a dinner party ends up; there is plenty of laughing, drinking, eating, and sometimes even crying. The kitchen can be a very comforting place.  Who knows, maybe things will work out with this Mitch guy and I’ll finally have someone to cook and entertain for. Now wouldn't that be delicious!

Okay you’re thinking way ahead of yourself girl get a grip; you haven't even met him yet.

He might be ugly, he could be a downright asshole or worse, he might not even find you attractive.
Her conscience suggested. 

Okay I doubt he's an asshole if Victoria wants to set me up with him. And I'm only thirty one for goodness sake; I mean I don't look my age.  At least that's what people tell me. But it seems very diffic
ult to find a man who can appreciate a woman with what I like to call, a real woman's body.

Danielle Martins had curves; she had curves in all the right places. She and her best friend Shayla would often compare her figure to that of Hollywood starlets fro
m long ago, back when starlets had figures and weren’t ashamed to show them off. But still, some men tend to believe that any amount of body fat on a woman is bad.
Those men are definitely not for me!
She thought to herself.

While glancing at herself in th
e living room mirror, she let out an approving smile. She was of mixed race and proud of it. With her mother being African -American and her father Italian, she carried the gorgeous features of both races. From her long loosely curled, if not slightly wild jet black hair, to her golden- colored eyes and creamy tan complexion.
Well if he doesn't find me attractive it’s his loss,
she thought to herself.

Beep, beep
. The sound of her cell notified her of a text message. Sliding her finger across the screen, she read the message aloud.

“Hey girl what’s up?

Heard you have a hot date tomorrow you go girl, it’s about time.

Be there in five minutes to take you shopping because I know you don't own anything sexy, ttys.”

Sliding her cell closed Danielle knew who the text was from, her good friend Shayla. Danielle met Shayla almost five years ago when she'd moved to Vermont from Connecticut. She had just finished unloading the trunk of her car when a very exuberant voice called out, “Hey looks like we’re gonna be neighbors and since I'm all out of sugar and coffee, the neighborly thing to do would be to invite me in for a cup!”

Danielle couldn't say no, she actually welcomed the conversation and Shayla seemed to be about the same age as she. Shayla was a tall and gorg
eous brunette with striking green eyes, and for all appearances,  she seemed normal.

Gosh the time has flown by
, she thought as she grabbed her purse and keys and waited for Shayla. Once Shayla literally walked into her life that day, Danielle knew that she would never want her to walk out. They had spent nearly the entire night drinking coffee, and talking. Talking as if they've known each other all their lives. Not even when Shay met her current boyfriend Jason, did their friendship weaken and Danielle was glad of that.

She loved Jason too. Shayla and Jason were the perfect match. Even though people often mistook them for brother and sister, they enjoyed the shock value of it all. Especially if they were out in public and decided to kiss. Jason being six
foot four still towered over Shay and his dirty blond hair and light brown eyes made him quite attractive.  Shay and Jason were her best friends.

“So, spill it girl!” Shayla blurted out as soon as she saw Danielle.

“Well hello to you too!”

“Oh yeah, ye
ah hi.  Okay so tell me, how did this all come about? How do Victoria and Joe know this guy? From the store? What’s going on? You’re leaving me out of the loop.” Shayla shined with excitement for her friend.

“Okay, okay one question at a time.
Yes, Vic and Joe know him from the store and around town and I guess he's one of their loyal customers. And no, I'm not leaving you out of anything Shayla. You found out before I did so it looks like I'm the one out of the loop.” Danielle couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well it just so happens that I had to run into the store to get some batteries and was hoping to chat with you, when Vic told me that you had already left for the weekend. She also told me that I should help you shop because you had a hot date and
you know me, once I heard that I just had to text you.  Danielle I am so happy for you! Now we can all double date; you and Mitch and me and Jason.”