“Audre, baby you feel so good.”   

“Christian don’t stop. . .” 

She could feel his lips on her body, their softness a perfect contradiction to his rough hands gripping her thighs.  He gently kissed her neck and nibbled on her ear as his hips rotated against hers.  She was dripping wet as he pumped in and out of her.  As her legs wrapped around his waist she could almost ignore the ringing in the distant.   

“Harder Christian.”  She said moaning as she tried to concentrate on the feeling of him working his way into her body but the ringing just kept getting louder and louder.  Finally he paused in mid stroke staring down at her. 

“Audre. . .what is that?” 

“Who cares, just keep going.”  She said her hands gripping his firm ass trying to get him to do that thing with his hips again. 

“Seriously, what the fuck is that?” 

Audre’s eyes opened and she stared at phone committed to killing whoever was on the other end of the line. 

“Hello.”  She said gruffly into the phone.

“Morning sunshine.”  Her mom said cheerfully into the phone.  She sat up and looked at the alarm clock it was 7am, she let out a sigh. 

“Morning mama.”

“Don’t sound so excited honey.”  Her mom said sarcastically.  “I thought you were going to call.”

“Yea. . .when I woke up.”

“Why aren’t you up already, it’s late.”

“Not for a weekend.”

“Were you out last night or something?”

“Yes.”

“On a date?”  Her mom asked hopefully, Audre groaned she didn’t think she was ready to sacrifice Christian to the wolves quite yet.

“Mama. . .”

“Okay fine I’m not pushing.  I already said my piece yesterday, I just called so you could talk to your father we were talking about you at breakfast this morning.  Hold on. . .ABRAM. . .ABRAM I’VE GOT HER ON THE LINE PICK UP!”  Audre snorted, ‘we were talking about you at breakfast’ was pretty much code for I’m still worried about you so I’m sicing your father on you.

“Hey baby.”  Audre couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her father’s deep rich voice on the other end of the line.

“Morning daddy.”

“How are you?”

“I’m good, or I will be as soon as I have a cup of coffee.”

“So everything’s okay, nothing you want to talk to me about?”

“No, why would you think that?”

“Your mother is worried about you because we haven’t really heard from you.”

“Things have been busy at work.”

“That’s what I told Mattie but she’s convinced that something’s wrong she thinks your depressed-“

“I did not say that Abram, I just said that maybe she wasn’t feeling like her self.”  Her mother said cutting in.

“Mattie can you hang up the phone and let me talk to my daughter please?”

“Your daughter?  You say that like you were the one that spent 10 hours in labor pushing her out through your uterus, funny I don’t remember that happening, I do remember you hyperventilating in the waiting room, that part I recall very well.”

“Mattie why are you bringing up old stuff?  You wanted me to see if the girl is okay, she sounds fine, she’s fine, I’m fine, everyone’s fine.  Now can I talk to our daughter in peace please?”

“Fine, fine, I’m hanging up now.  Bye sweetie, I love you and remember I’m here for you.”  Audre couldn’t help but laugh.

“Love you too ma.”  They both waited until they heard the soft click of the line indicating Mattie had indeed hung up.  “So how are you really doing daddy?”

“This wedding planning shit is getting on my nerves, I mean we’re not younguns anymore.  I’ve been married to her for 40 years already, hell I’m too old and trained to leave now.  I’m like Brooks from Shawshank Redemption- wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have the woman controlling my every move.  What the hell do we need a wedding for?”  Audre laughed.

“You talk a good game but don’t act like you wouldn’t reverse the world for mom if she asked you too.”  Her dad laughed. 

“Yeah of course I would, she’s my girl.”  He said affectionately.  “But this wedding stuff is still out of control, I don’t why she even wastes my time asking my opinion, she just does what she wants to anyways.  Really all she needs to do is put me in a tux and tell me what time to show up.” Audre smiled, for all his grumblings she knew he was still crazy in love with Mattie.  Seeing the two of them and her aunt and brother’s marriages gave her faith that it was possible to find your soul mate.  

“You know mom.”

“Yeah I do and you do too.  She’s concerned about you, does she need to be?  Do I need to be?

“I’m fine daddy, I promise.”

“Good, you sound good.”

“I’m doing good actually, right now things are good.”

“I’m so happy to hear that.  So when do you get home?”

“Um, I get in the night of the 18th.”

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No I’m renting a car, I have a super early flight out on the 20th so it’s easier that way.”

“Why are you staying such a short amount of time?”

“I have work, it’s a crazy time right now.”

“Okay, well what time should we expect you at the house?”

“Um, I’m getting a hotel room-“

“What?  Why would you come home and stay at a hotel?”

“I figured it was easier this way, you know with me coming in late and leaving early and all.”

“I don’t like that, that’s not right Audre you should come home, stay with your family.”

“Dad-“

“Audre, I don’t ask much of you.  I know your mother can be overbearing but I don’t care, I don’t want to hear about you staying in a hotel and trying to hide out from us.”

“I’m not hiding daddy.”

“I’ve known you all your life girl, I know your M.O., I haven’t seen your face in months.  You want your mother to get off your back, staying at a hotel isn’t going to do it.”

“Okay, okay, you’re right.  I’ll cancel the reservations.”

“Good girl.  I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait to see you either.”  Audre said honestly, she did miss her dad, her whole family actually.

“Love you baby.”

“Love you too daddy.”  They hung up and Audre looked at the clock again, she was officially not getting anymore sleep, she might as well make good use of the morning.  She dialed another number waiting until she heard the line pick up followed by a string of curse words.

“WAKE UP HEIFER!”   Audre yelled into the phone.

“Why, why are you calling me?”

“Spin class!  This was your idea remember?”

“Hmph.”  Jenelle grumbled in response.

“If you get up now we can get the good bikes in the front.” 

“If I get up now we can also beat the Saturday rush at OHOP.”

“Meet you in 45 minutes.”

“Yep.”

50 minutes later Audre and Jenelle were sitting in a booth at the Original House of Pancakes.  When Audre lived in the south she practically lived off of the Waffle House, when she moved to Chicago she learned to live with IHOP but then she discovered the magic of OHOP and no other breakfast place compared.  She even loved how the waitresses all knew her and could remember every single order without a notepad.  It was just like cheers without the alcoholism.  After Ms. Gladys (the waitress) left, Jenelle turned to Audre expectantly.  Audre tried to play dumb.

“What?  Why are you staring at me?”  Jenelle rolled her eyes.

“Don’t act stupid heifer, what happened on your non date?  I want the scoop.  And don’t lie because I can tell.”  She could tell, she was like a human lie detector, Audre hated that about her.  Jenelle made an impatient hand motion indicating for her to get on with the story.

“Okay, okay.  I had fun.  It started off kind of rough, I think he was trying to purposely get me all riled up by paying more attention to the waitress than me, talking in Spanish-“

“He speaks Spanish?”

“Pretty fluently from what I can tell.”

“That’s pretty hot.”

“Yeah well the waitress must have thought so too because she was all giggly and flushed.  I started to get really annoyed.” 

“Even though he was fully within his rights since you had repeated declared it a non date.”  Jenelle said, Audre glared at him.

“Shut up.”

“I’m just sayin.”

“Whatever.  Anyways he started slagging off art history majors and it was just not going well but then we just. . .leveled with each other, laid all our cards on the table and it just went from there.  We ended up talking for hours, we were practically kicked out of the restaurant.”  Audre got a far away dreamy look in her eyes as she thought about Christian, the truth was that she couldn’t remember a time in her life where she had had so much fun just flirting and getting to know a guy.  She looked up as Ms. Gladys refilled her coffee cup, she winked at them and called them her sweeties before moving to the next table, Audre loved that.  When she looked back over at Jenelle she was smiling smugly at her.  Audre gave her an exasperated look.

“Just say it.”

“I don’t know what to say, I just haven’t seen you this into someone in a long time, maybe ever.”  Audre shook her head.

“Whatever, we’re just having fun.”

“Just having fun huh?  So when are you going to tap that?  Or are you going to be a traditionalist and do the whole 3 date thing?”

“What’s wrong with being a traditionalist?”

“Nothing, if that’s what you want and you’re not doing it just to follow some played out rule.”  Audre let out a sigh.

“Honest?”

“Honest.” 

“When he kissed me last night I was about 30 seconds from losing it.”

“Really, it was like that?”  Jenelle said leaning in.

“He did this thing with his tongue-“  Audre paused as Ms. Gladys came back and set down their breakfast she started blushing just thinking about it.   She closed her eyes trying to will away the tingly sensation she was starting to feel.  “Anyways, it was memorable.  Besides, I wasn’t the only one out last night what happened with you and that guy you met at the car wash?”  Audre said, deciding to shift the focus.  The thought of being intimate with Christian was already infiltrating her dreams she didn’t need to be consumed by it when she was awake too.  Jenelle shrugged.

“Well things were going well as long as I let him talk about car detailing or the latest edition of XXL magazine. . .I don’t know.  He was smart I could tell, he just didn’t enunciate very well which was distracting.  I think it was the diamond grill but I can’t be too sure.”

“He had a diamond grill?  Isn’t that a bit odd for a 30 something year old to have a diamond grill. . .especially in Chicago?”

“Well. . .he’s 22, kind of channeling that Lil Wayne thing. . .and he’s from East St. Louis.”

“Oh he’s a youngun.”  Audre said, she wasn’t too surprised Jenelle’s policy was as long as he was old enough to buy her a drink; she was willing to consider him.  “Well then I guess it’s good he wasn’t rocking the Jheri Curl too. . .he wasn’t rocking the Jheri Curl too was he?”  Audre bit back a giggle. 

“No, I draw the line at Jheri Curls and Fila tracksuits.  I do have standards you know.”  Audre went into a full on laugh and Jenelle joined her.

“So are you two an item now?”  Jenelle scoffed.

“I don’t think so.  About 12:30am when I was fixing my heel that got broke while I was running out of the club-“

“Why were you running out of the nightclub?”  Jenelle rolled her eyes.

“Gun shots.”  Audre’s eyes widened and Jenelle shrugged her shoulders.  “I know girl, I don’t know what the hell I was doing there.  So anyway when all that happened I sort of had this moment where I realized that maybe I need to rethink the type of guys that I date.”  Audre rolled her eyes in response.  Audre and Jenelle went for complete opposites, if the soundtrack to Audre’s dream man was Jay Z’s “Excuse Me Miss,” Jenelle’s dream man’s would be “So Hood”.  It was probably one of the many reasons they got along so well, they were never in danger of stepping on each other’s toes. 

“So I take it the date ended abruptly.”

“Well if by abruptly you mean in bed, then yes it did end abruptly.”  Audre choked on her orange juice.

“You slept with him?”

“No I didn’t sleep with him, I fucked him and then dropped off into a deep 5 hour coma like sleep.”  Audre burst out laughing.

“I can’t even believe you!”

“Why not?  Maybe that whole Mother Theresa thing is working for you but I’ve got needs.  And there’s just something about that type of guy that does it for me, he definitely had it going on.  His body was beautiful, girl he put it on me for sure.  I would still be asleep were it not for your ass.”

“That’s what friends are for.”  Audre said smirking.  “But seriously, you need more than sex to make a relationship.”

“Of course, you need compatibility, the ability to laugh together, communication, a mental connection.  All of that is crucial.  But bad sex is a definite deal breaker.  That’s what worries me, I don’t want to end up with some accountant type guy who’s weak in bed and into vanilla sex.”

“Well you’re an accountant type gal and your sex life definitely isn’t vanilla.  Besides, vanilla can be good sometimes.”  Audre said seriously Jenelle laughed.  “What?”  Audre said frowning.  “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing it’s just that well. . .have you had anything other than vanilla sex?”

“I’ve had good sex.”

“Yeah good vanilla sex.  Don’t forget I know you girl, you’re idea of switching things up is doing it with the lights on.”

“Whatever, just because I have been handcuffed to a steering wheel doesn’t mean I haven’t experimented.”  Audre said pointedly, referring to a particularly kinky affair Jenelle had with a police officer a couple of years back.  Jenelle smiled wickedly.

“Hey don’t knock it til you try it.”

“I wasn’t knocking it, I just think you can’t compare my exploits to yours, I may not be swinging from the chandeliers but I can get pretty wild.”

“Okay tell me about it.”

“Tell you about what?”

“This kinky sex you had, tell me about it.”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Why?  It’s not like you don’t tell me everything else.”

“Well. . .”  Audre paused thinking.  Jenelle looked at her watch, timing the seconds why whistling the theme to Jeopardy.  “Okay well once, Greg and I had sex in the kitchen.”

“In the kitchen.  That’s your kinkiest experience.”

“That’s pretty crazy, do you know how unsanitary that is?  I mean, food gets prepared there, I had to bleach the counters afterwards.”  Jenelle threw her head back laughing.  Audre’s frown deepened.

“Okay so maybe I’m vanilla.  But I’m stepping out of my comfort zone.”

“For sure, Christian definitely doesn’t seem like the type that does vanilla.”  Jenelle said thoughtfully, Audre paused.

“You don’t think he’s into a bunch of weird freaky shit do you?” 

“I don’t know define freaky.  I mean he is an artist type and all those tattoos could indicate he has a thing for pain, plus you know how white boys get down they’re into all sorts of stuff that we would consider freaky.”  Audre rolled her eyes.

“That’s just a stereotype.”

“Some stereotypes are true, most black Americans can do the electric slide, many women confuse booty calls for relationships, plenty of gay men are stylish, and a lot of white boys are freaky.  Just because something is a stereotype doesn’t make it untrue.”

“That’s just wrong.”  Audre said shaking her head.

“Why?  Personally I hope the shit is true.  I like nasty smuttiness.”

“Well I don’t.”

“How do you know, you’ve never tried it.”

“I’m not into getting tied up and playing master and the slave girl.”

“That’s because you’re a control freak.”

“No.  That’s because I saw Roots and it didn’t look like fun.”  Jenelle rolled her eyes laughing.

“You gotta loosen up Audre.  Sex is a great thing and being handcuffed and spanked by someone you trust while wearing edible panties isn’t a bad thing.”  Audre grimaced.

“Can we please not talk about this while I’m eating eggs?”

“Fine.  All I’ll say is you should open your mind up to new experiences.”

“What like you?  You always say that you’re going to rethink the types of guys you date but then you always show up with a guy that looks like he’s a member of G Unit.”

“I know but this time I mean it, I’ve been telling you to try something different maybe it’s time to take my own advice.  So we should both pledge to venture out of our comfort zones.”

“You and I like what we like, there’s not anything wrong with that you know.”

“I can’t speak for you but I’m not ashamed to admit that liking what I like isn’t always a good thing.  There is something seriously wrong with the fact that I’m 31 years old and spent last night in a car that looks like it was on an episode of Pimp My Ride.”

“What’s Pimp My Ride?”

“Exactly.  It’s a damn shame I even know what that shit is.”  Audre laughed.  “I’m serious, I’m done.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Well you get to see it next weekend when you come as my date to the 100 Black Men black tie event.”

“Say what?”

“Their annual event, Casino Nights, you have to come with me.”

“I have to come with you?”

“Yes because you are going to be my wing woman to help me snag a nice man, there’s going to be at least 100 of them so one of them has to work out right? Besides I endured a talking penis for you.  You said you owed me one so I’m cashing it in.”  Audre let out a sigh.

“You know at least one of those 100 is probably going to be Gregory right?  He’s a member.”

“Oh, damn girl you know I didn’t know but I guess it seems like the kind of thing he would be a part of.   I’m sorry you don’t have to go.”  Audre thought about it for a minute, she wondered what she was so afraid of.  So what if she saw Greg, she was over him right?

“You know what, you’re right I owe you for the talking penis.  It’s a great networking event.  I’m not going to hide out and not go to things just because there is a chance Greg could be there.  Besides,”  She said taking in a breathe.  “I think I’m seriously past all that’s happened.”  Jenelle smiled.

“Good for you.  Besides the worst is over right?  I mean, you already saw him propose to the leaky eyed one at your friend’s wedding while you were wearing a tacky ass bridesmaids dress, it couldn’t possibly get worse could it?”  Audre nodded, trying to push away the feeling of dread that was bubbling at the bottom of her stomach.

“I guess not.”

“And it’s a great excuse for us to go shopping today, get a killer dresses that will make Greg and every other guy there drool all over themselves.”

“Yeah sure.”  She said distractedly as she cut up her banana nut pancakes.  Jenelle bit her lip.

“Look if you don’t think you’re ready to see-“

“I’m ready.  We don’t even know if he’s going to be there, he’s such a workaholic he could be at the office that night anyways and if he is there then I’ll deal.  Besides I would pay money to see you pick up a ‘vanilla’ guy.”  She said laughing, she looked down at her purse as she heard her phone ringing, she thought for sure it would be her mom calling about something else but smiled when she saw the number.  “Hey you.”  She said smiling.

“Hey gorgeous.  Did I wake you?”  Christian said, she closed her eyes just hearing the sound of his voice after the way he kissed her last night sent a shiver down her spin.

“No I was having breakfast with Jenelle.”

“Tell her I said hello.”

“Christian says hi.”  She said to Jenelle who was sitting there with a self-satisfied look on her face.

“Did you dream about me last night?”  Christian asked teasingly.  Audre blushed and quickly stood up walking away she didn’t want to give Jenelle anymore material to tease her about. 

“No.”

“Liar.”

“Whatever, you are so stuck on yourself.”  Audre said indignantly.  Christian just started laughing as she shook her head.  She heard honking in the background.  “Where are you?”  She said changing the subject.

“In the car on my way to open up the shop.  I was calling because I wanted to make sure I book you for our next date, so you can put it in you Blackberry.”  Audre laughed.

“No matter how many times you tease me you’re not going to get me to give up the crackberry.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”  He said laughing with her.  “So Wednesday night, are you free?”

“Yeah I think so.”

“Good pencil me in then.”

“Okay.  What are we doing?”

“Ever been to a roller derby match?”  Audre wrinkled up her nose.

“Roller derby?  No.”

“Don’t sound so skeptical, my friend Predator has a match on Wednesday I want you to come.”

“You have a friend name Predator.”

“Well, her name is Margaret, but she prefers Predator.”

“Um. . .okay.”

“She’s my business partner Juanpa’s wife so you’ll get to meet them and some of the guys that work down at the shop.”  Audre’s eyes widened, they had only been on one date and it took her most of the night to even acknowledge that it was a date, now she was going to start meeting his friends.  Was she even ready for that?  “It’ll be fun I promise, very casual atmosphere.”  He said sensing her hesitation.

“Well it’s definitely something new, that seems to be happening a lot lately with you.”

“Yeah isn’t it great?”  He said.

“Yeah it kind of is.”  She said grinning. 

“Okay so Wednesday night, I’ll call you this week with the details.”

“Sounds good.”

“Later Audre.”

“Later Christian.”  She hung up still smiling almost forgetting how apprehensive she had been about the possibility of seeing Greg.  That chapter of her life was closed and she was excited about the prospect of the new one that was just beginning.