“So you said on the phone that you were opening up your own law practice. Where is it going to be?”
“Over on West Adams, off State Street. I got a good deal on the office space, so I had to jump on it; not to mention it’s close to home.”
“That’s right, you live near Dearborn Station. How is that area?”
“I love it,” Todd said. “You can’t go wrong living downtown.”
“That you can’t,” I agreed, even though I preferred the North Side, not as much congestion.
Todd had mentioned in our first meeting that he was from D.C., a Howard undergrad, Northwestern Law, and now a resident of my hometown, Chicago. I was impressed. I like a brother with some letters behind his name, especially someone as sexy as Todd.
“So how long have you been living in Chicago?” I asked.
“Well, including law school, five years now.”
“You like it?”
“For now,” Todd said with a smile.
“What does that mean?” I inquired.
“Don’t get me wrong, Chicago is a great city, but I’m a DC boy. That’s where my roots are. I’ll eventually move back there, considering that most of my family is on the East Coast.”
“Do you have a big family?” I asked.
“Two bothers and two sisters.”
“That’s a big family,” I said. “Where are you in the lineup?”
“Right smack dab in the middle,” Todd replied.
“What a place to be!”
“Who are you telling?” Todd said in mock surprise as he sipped on his Jack Daniels and Coke.
“What about you?” he ventured. “Tell me about your family.”
For some reason I had always hated talking about my family, I guess mainly because my family was a bit, well, different.
“Well, I have a twin sister,” I began.
“Really?” he replied, noticeably interested. “Do you two look just alike?”
“No, thank God, we’re fraternal twins.”
“Ah, I see,” he nodded, “but that must be kind of cool, being a twin and all.”
“Honestly,” I answered, “it probably doesn’t feel any different from anything else, since that is all I know.” I knew what I meant, but I wasn’t sure I was making sense to Todd.
“So it’s just you and your sister, then?” he continued.
“No, I have an older brother.”
“Are you close to your siblings?”
I really had to think about that one. I figured I would have to say no, for reasons that I really couldn’t explain. I mean, I do talk to them, but, well, I don’t really communicate with them.
“Yes, I am.” I hated lying to Todd, but I wasn’t ready to tell him why I wasn’t all that close to my brother or twin sister.
As we continued to talk and I slowly got tipsy on my Chardonnay, I felt a real connection with Todd, something I had not felt in a very, very long time. It was definitely a connection that I wanted to explore further.
CHAPTER 4
THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME
Todd and I headed out of Blackbird and waited outside for a cab. The night was still young and neither one of us wanted it to end, so I suggested we head to my place and chill out a bit. I had some wine, and we both had the desire to keep getting to know one another.
I glanced over at Todd as he stared straight ahead, in his own distant place. He was wearing a pair of dark black jeans and a crisp button-up blue top, and the aroma coming from him almost brought tears to my eyes. He smelled so good, or should I say ‘delicious.’ I smiled to myself as I wondered what would happen once we got back to my place. I was holding strong to my “new thing,” I really was, but I had to be honest, Simone’s odds of winning that twenty bucks were looking real good during the cab ride.
We arrived at my building in about 20 minutes, entered the lobby, and headed for the elevators.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Todd said, breaking the silence as we approached the elevators.
I’d always wondered why people used that saying, as it made no sense at all to me, not to mention my thoughts were worth way more than a penny. Regardless, none of that really mattered. No need to break the moment.
“Nothing really,” I smiled as I looked down, thankful this man could not read my mind.
“Nothing, huh, so what's up with the big grin?” he asked.
My smile turned into a blush. I felt my face get hot, and was hoping that I wasn't turning red.
“Ah, she blushes, now I'm really intrigued,” Todd laughed gently. He leaned back and crossed his arms, waiting for me to spill the beans.
I shifted my weight from left to right, and then back again. Todd made me nervous, but in a good way.
“Okay, if you must know.” I bit my bottom lip, feeling a slight sting of pain. I couldn't believe I was about to formulate my private thoughts into words, so I took a deep breath, cleared my throat, and said, “Well, I was just thinking how I have this, this strong desire, to, uh, sleep with you tonight.” There. I said it.
“Really?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Hmmm.” Todd stroked his goatee as if halfheartedly grooming it.
I looked Todd dead in the eyes. “I can't.”
Todd raised his left eyebrow. “Why is that?”
“Because sleeping with you on the first date would make me look like, well, a ho.”
“A ho?”
“A ho.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“Hmmm.” Todd stroked his goatee again; I guess that was his way of processing his thoughts.
“Does that ‘hmmmm’ stand for a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?” I asked, eagerly awaiting his response.
“That would be a ‘no.'”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“You mean no,” I said, correcting him.
“Exactly,” Todd replied, a smile crawling across his face.
“Interesting,” I said.
“Why so interesting?” he asked.
“Because the average man would think the other.”
“This is true,” he said, “but I'm not your average man.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Hmmm. Well, if that's the case,” I continued, “let me ask you something.”
“Okay.”
I took three slow steps toward Todd and leaned in with my lips inches away from his neck. I could smell the intoxicating aroma of his cologne, and it made me melt like an ice cube on a hot summer day.
“So,” I whispered, “since you're not the ‘average man’ then tell me – if I were to kiss you here, would you think I was, you know, a ho?” I gently kissed Todd on his neck, slowly turning it into a seductive lick as I made a circle with my tongue.
Todd looked down at me and smiled. “That would be a ‘no.’”
“Hmmmm, okay,” I sighed. “Well, what if I did this?” I allowed my tongue to trail up his neck towards his chin and back down again.
Todd let out a sigh as he quickly gathered his composure. “Nope, not at all,” he said, eyes narrowing.
I then took my right hand and slowly glided up Todd's chest. I unbuttoned the two middle buttons, sliding his shirt over to reveal his erect nipple. I looked up at Todd and he looked down at me. Todd licked his lips, then said, “Still ‘no.’”
“Well, that's good to know, but, what if I took it one step further?” I asked.
“You could do that,” Todd said with confidence.
I took Todd's left nipple in my mouth and began sucking it ever so softly. I circled it with my tongue three times before devouring it with my mouth. Todd let out a small moan. I stopped, looked up, and asked, “Well?”
Todd smiled, raising one eyebrow. “Nada, still not a ho to me.”
I took a step back, stared directly into Todd's eyes. “So none of the above would makes me a ho, huh?”
“Not in my book.” Todd li
cked his lips like he had something sweet on them. I smiled and I looked down to see the bulge in his pants growing larger. I glided my hand over him, felt it throb. I was wet.
The elevator came, the doors opened and we stepped in. Our stares were intense. I looked at Todd; he looked at me. I leaned back against the wall as I pressed button “22” for my floor. The elevator began to slowly climb.
“So,” I challenged him, “if none of that makes me a ho, then what would?”
Todd smiled, stroked his goatee for the third time and then stepped close to me. I felt his manhood hard up against me. “This!” Todd said, grabbing me around my waist and quickly pulling me against him. In seconds we were devouring each other like the starving homeless. Todd's left hand was squeezing and groping my breast as his right hand slid down my stomach to my throbbing love zone only to come back up on the inside of my thigh and under my skirt. Todd pulled off my thong as I quickly unbuckled his Kenneth Cole belt and released the five-O-one button holding it all together. Todd's manhood pushed hard against his zipper, so with one smooth move I unzipped him and released the caged beast.
The elevator continued to go up as I went down, down to pleasure Todd with my hand. I needed to know what I was working with before the main attraction began. I glided Todd out of his jeans and was pleasantly surprised and relieved at the same time. I began to stroke the shaft of his penis as I gently kissed his neck and chest. Todd began to moan as his eyes closed and head fell back against the elevator wall.
I made my way to his face, then our lips connected as we began to kiss deeply. Todd grabbed my arms and quickly pushed me up against the opposite wall as he pulled my right leg up onto his hip, dipped down, and slowly entered his hard throbbing penis into me. I felt a surge of excitement race through my body as Todd reached down and grabbed my left leg, bringing it up to him as he pushed deeper inside me. We moved in rhythmic sync as I clamped my legs tighter around his waist, so tight that Todd let go of them and braced his hands against the wall in front of him. I grabbed his arms as his thrusts pushed deeper inside me. Our kiss was magnetic, sensual, and erotic. I felt the sweat rolling down my chest and into my belly button. We locked eyes as he took his right hand and put it under my ass, and pushed himself even deeper inside. I let out a loud moan, feeling myself racing to my climax. The elevator was slowly moving up, up, up to the 22nd floor. The anticipation of someone entering the elevator made me even more excited and nervous all at once.
Todd began to kiss my chest, my neck, and my face. “I'm gonna cum,” he wheezed, out of breath. “Here I cum!” he repeated, thrusting faster and faster and harder and harder. A warm sensation surged throughout my body.
“Oh, god, oh, god, oh fuuuuuuuuuuuck!”
I climaxed, then Todd. Our bodies went limp as my legs dropped back to the floor, right then left. Todd leaned his heavy body against mine trying to catch his breath as if he had just run a 100-meter dash in nine seconds flat. The elevator finally hit the 22nd floor and the doors opened. Todd looked at me and smiled.
“Thank God for slow elevators,” he said.
“Amen to that,” I said as we laughed together.
CHAPTER 5
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER
I was watching one of my favorite movies, The Thomas Crown Affair, when I heard a faint knock at the door. It was Sunday evening and I wasn’t expecting any company. The faint knock came again as I jumped up from the couch and headed for the door. I opened it to see my older brother, Raymond Edwards.
“Hey Sis,” Raymond said in his usual sheepish voice.
“Hey.”
Raymond was four years older than Mila and me, but he looked more like ten. For as long as I could remember my brother had been doing drugs. Started out with an innocent joint here and there while in high school, but now at age 38, he had moved to bigger and more effective ways of getting high – you know, the ones that make you forget to bathe, brush your teeth, and eat. I looked at my brother with his dirty clothes and gaunt face, the picture of an addict. A very handsome man, but it was getting hard to see it after years of chemical abuse and a lifetime of nights on the streets.
I took a deep breath. I wasn't feeling like company right then, not to mention the fact that, if Raymond was at my doorstep, he needed a hot meal, a few bucks, or a warm bed to crash in for a while. I gave him a smile to show that I was happy to see him; he returned one to me.
“You wanna come in?” I asked as I stepped back to let my brother in. He entered and walked hesitantly over to my burnt orange leather chaise and sat down. I took my spot on the couch waiting for him to talk, to tell me what was on his mind. Raymond always looked nervous; he was never comfortable around people outside his so-called “drug family.” He carried the burden of guilt for allowing a drug to take over his life and isolate him from his family and true friends – although my family, come to think of it, had actually isolated him. My mother, father, and twin sister just decided one day that they couldn’t help him anymore.
Maybe they just got tired of trying; I was out of answers.
“So, so, what's new, Sis?” Raymond stammered, rubbing his hands together as if it were 20 degrees and he was standing in front of a fire barrel trying to stay warm.
“Nothing much, just working on a new campaign.”
“Well, you look good, Sis. Healthy, I mean,” Raymond said, nodding his head. “Picked up some weight too, I see. You always were a little thin, but now you’re looking like a woman.”
“Thanks,” I said, thinking that was a backward compliment if I’d ever heard one, but I’d take it.
“So how are you, Raymond? How are you holding up?”
“Ah, well, not so good, Sis. Lost my job yesterday.”
“You lost your job at the Sox stadium? What happened?” I asked with obvious concern in my voice.
“I came up short, so they thought I was pocketing some of the money.” Raymond shook his head. “I swear I didn't take nothin;’ they just didn't like me, Sis.”
I looked at Raymond, wanting to believe him but knowing deep down inside he had taken that money for his habit. Lying becomes a way of life to an addict; it’s a means of survival on the streets.
“So now I'm, I'm a little short on my rent this month, you know, over at the Charter House. If you’re one day late they’ll kick you out, no questions asked.” Raymond was trying his best to explain his unfortunate situation in a way that would make him out to be the victim and draw sympathy from me.
The Charter House was a place over on Roosevelt and Canal Street where drug addicts and homeless people can rent rooms by the week. The place wasn't the cleanest, but it was better than sleeping on the streets.
“I don't want to lose my room, Sis. It’s getting cold outside, ya know?” Raymond said, rocking back and forth on the edge of the chair.
“How much do you need?”
“Not much, not much at all. I think one fifty will get me by. I could even buy some groceries, ya know.”
Groceries to a crackhead come in small plastic baggies complete with a glass pipe. Judging by the look of my brother's 150-pound frame, I guessed he hadn't bought groceries in a long time.
“How about I go over there and pay your rent for you and then I'll take you to the grocery store myself?” I offered, sitting up on the couch.
“I, I, I don't want to put you out, Sis. I can handle it myself, ya know. I'm a grown man.”
I heard the desperation in my brother’s voice and wondered if this was going to be his way of life from now till the end. Seven rehab attempts and a near-death experience hadn't yet shown my brother that there is a better life out there. I know that you have to let an addict decide when he wants help, and until that happens he will continue to live a life of self-destruction.
“Let me go get my purse.”
“Thanks Sis; thank you so much,” Raymond said as he wiped the snot off his nose with his sleeve.
I walked to my room wondering what had gone w
rong, how Mila and I had turned out okay, but our older brother hadn’t quite made it. I stood in the middle of my room and said a little prayer for him as I picked up my purse, pulled out 150 bucks, and headed back to the living room.
I handed Raymond the money and he quickly stuffed it in the pocket of his dirty, stained jeans.
“Thanks Sis, I really appreciate this. I’m gonna pay you back when I get my new job.”
“That’s fine, Raymond.”
I walked Raymond to the door and opened it for him; he took two steps out into the hallway, but quickly turned back around. “How's Mom and Dad?” My heart sunk upon hearing Raymond say those words; I knew how much it hurt him that they didn't want anything to do with him anymore, I mean, how could they tell their high society friends that they had a son living on the streets, strung out on drugs?
“They’re good. I um, I'm going to see them next week.”
“Good. Well, maybe tell them I said ‘hi’ and that I've been thinking about them.”
“I will.”
Raymond looked deep into my eyes. “One day I'm going to pick myself up, Sis,” Raymond said as tears formed in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away before they had a chance to dance down his face.
“I know you will, Raymond. I know.”
He turned and walked down the hallway and into the elevator. Each time he left me, I always wondered if that would be the last time I would ever see him alive.
CHAPTER 6
I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR
My mother had a way of interrogating me. I swear, this woman should have worked for the FBI. She knew how to find your weak spot and go in for the kill.