“My mother used her married name. My brother has my last name.”
“And you’re Zavion…”
“Zavion Slater.”
“It has a nice ring to it. Zavion Slater. Zavion and Asia Slater.”
“You’re moving a little too fast, aren’t you?”
“Just testing it out to see how it sounds.”
Zavion eased up and let out a laugh. “So your criteria for picking a mate will be based on how both names ring together?”
“Yes, sir. That’s right. And guess what?”
“What?” Zavion asked, pulling Asia to him.
“Zavion and Asia Slater has the ring.”
Zavion laughed again but this time he reached down and kissed Asia. Asia held on tight and put as much into the kiss as Zavion. He was the first to pull away.
“Maybe we should go to that party. People are probably wondering why we’ve been standing in the middle of the block looking at each other for the last fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t see anyone looking. You’re afraid that one of your brothers might see you? Oh, I don’t know if you’re even frat.”
“I am. I’m an Alpha. That’s how I met Keith.”
Asia smiled. “An Alpha man and a b-baller. So are you a freshman, and is this your first season with the team?”
“No, my third.”
“Third?”
“I’m a junior. Grandma told me that I had to graduate before I could join the NBA.”
“I’d like to meet your grandmother. She sounds like a jewel.”
“She is. Maybe you’ll get the chance to meet her some day. Now let’s go to the party.”
“Okay, Mr. Slater.”
27
“Work it, girl. You know you’ve got the Midas touch.”
“Be quiet and enjoy, Big Daddy. I’m going to rub some more oil over your body. Say my name if it feels good to you.”
Giant red candles surrounded by a cluster of red and white small and medium-sized candles, lit up the room, emitting an aroma that had Victor in a trance. The room smelled of wild cherries and vanilla mixed with the scent of musk from the oils that Sheila heated and massaged into Victor’s naked body. The oil was held in a small vase that sat in a wrought iron holder, kept warm by a small well filled with candlewax that was lit and placed underneath.
A large sculptured mirror hung on one wall of the bedroom, while the rest of the room was furnished with handcrafted antique white furniture trimmed in gold. A king-size bed hugged the middle of the room, a large armoire sat on an opposite wall, and an elongated dresser sat under the enormous mirror. Two high-back winged chairs covered in a yellow silk cloth set in an antique white frame sat to either side of a small fireplace that kept Sheila and her lover, Victor Christianson, warm on cold nights. It was the room of a kept woman because Sheila’s salary was barely enough to pay the mortgage.
Victor’s arms lay at his sides, his face turned to one side. Eyes closed, Victor moaned as Sheila massaged oil from the top of his shoulders down the well of his back, moving further down until she stopped to give his buttocks a deep tissue massage. Victor moaned again.
“I don’t hear you,” Sheila whispered.
“Sheila, Sheila, Sheila,” Victor whispered.
“Say my name so I can hear you,” Sheila shouted.
“Sheilaaaaaaaa. Sheilaaaaaaaa.”
“Yeah, Momma is going to make you feel so good. Now turn over and let me finish my work. Oh, oh. You aren’t pointing at me because I’ve been a bad girl, are you?”
“Sheila, come on, baby. Stop talking and get to work. Big Daddy needs your hands to work its magic and whatever else you got up in your bag of tricks. All of my muscles are throbbing. I’ll say your name louder if you need me to.”
“Raise the roof then, Big Daddy; you and Momma are getting ready to put the fireworks on blast.”
“SHEILAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
There was a knock at the door followed by the doorbell. Mimi hesitated, took a deep breath, and then walked the few feet to answer it. First she looked through the peephole, in case the face staring back at her was Victor’s instead of the person’s she was expecting. It was Brenda’s face that stared back, and she opened the door.
Brenda still had her youthful good looks. They were both in their late-thirties, but time had been extra good to Brenda. Brenda was covered in a lightweight trenchcoat, but from the gold that dipped around her neck and hung from her earlobes, she smelled like success.
“Hello, Brenda,” Mimi said, stepping aside to let Brenda pass through.