Hey, remember the mini fic I started to get back into the swing of things? I have a part 2. Here is part 1 if you want a bit of a refresher. Enjoy.
“Yo Reg. Wait up.” I turned towards the voice echoling down the hall. It was Vanessa Parker, our history chair and the person who I bug relentlessly about this man.
“Hey Ness, where you headed?” I glanced at my watch. “Don’t you have freshman US History right now?”
“Nah, free period. I switched with Higgins this semester so he can have the 6th period free to do whatever things old men do. So how’d the meeting go? Did Grimes chew you out?”
Not in this lifetime if he doesn’t want me to tell folks about his performance in the 7th talent show. “No, it was fine. I just left.”
“How was it with Derek? And real talk; when are you two gonna smash? This ‘will they, won’t they-Maddie & David in Moonlighting” thing is getting tired. You want that man and I’m gonna assume that he would gladly get in them guts. The sexual tension is so thick, you can cut it with a fucking knife bruh.”
I glanced at my friend. “You’ve been around these kids too damn long Ness. But as for me and Mr. Jordan, nothing is going to happen. He’s a colleague and that’s it.”
I could feel the side eye without even looking at her. “Uh huh, okay. Hey, I’m going to Sully’s Cafe, you want something?”
Leave it to Ness to change on a dime. It’s one of her best and worst traits.
“Could you bring me my usual?”
Laughing, she nodded. “A bacon egg bagel, extra bacon and a tea? You got to try other things there. They do have other foods besides bacon you know.”
“I like what I like woman. Don’t you judge me.” I stopped once we reached my classroom. “Thanks Ness.”
She waved and kept walking. But not before a parting shot.
“You two NEED TO SMASH!”
I swear, I hate her sometimes.
Later that day, I was in my class finishing up on grading some tests when there was a knock on my door. I looked up and saw Derek standing there, looking like a full course meal.
Nope. Stop that train of thought right now.
“Hey Reggie, can I talk to you?”
“Um…sure. Come in.” I stood, awkwardly, as he walked into the room. “What’s going on?”
As he got closer, I could smell his cologne. Something spicy and woodsy but not overpowering. Maybe it’s his body wash. And now I’m picturing him in the shower….
FOCUS WOMAN.
Shaking myself out of my mini daydream, I noticed Derek looking at me, amused. Like he knew what I was thinking about. He must have said something to me.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I said that I wanted to say that I truly am sorry for earlier.” He stepped closer to me.
“I don’t know what came over me but I really was just playing with you.”
Another step closer.
“I didn’t think you would fall so hard into the leaves.”
One more step closer. He was standing directly in front of me, so close I could damn near see the brand of glasses he’s wearing.
“And I would like to do something to show you how sorry I am.”
“What did you want to do?” That came out way sultrier than I wanted.
“Well, for starters”, and he leaned in and kissed me.
Wasn’t expecting that. And fuck if those lips are pure sin. Usually, this kind of behavior would get a kick straight to the balls but I can’t lie; I wanted to kiss this man. The kiss started off gentle at first but then he decided his tongue needed to be involved. All I could do was grab his shoulders and enjoy.
And now we’re full on making out at my desk. His hands slipped around my waist as I pulled him closer. I needed to feel every inch of this man. Those beautiful hands slid from my waist down my hips and started to lift me off the ground. Whoa…
I gotta stop this.
“Wait…Derek. Wait a minute.” I stammered out. He immediately stopped and stepped back slightly.
“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have done that. Are you ok?”
“No, yes. I’m okay. It’s just…where did this come from?” I had to ask. I mean our relationship was friendly, for the most part. And sure, I might have been having a one sided affair with him in my mind for a while but I wasn’t expecting this.
He huffed out a small sound of disbelief. “Really Reggie? You didn’t know? What am I saying? Of course you didn’t know. How would you since I haven’t said anything. You’re not a mind reader and I should have-DEREK.” I had to hit him with my teacher voice. He stopped blabbering immediately.
“What didn’t I know?”
“How I feel about you. I’ve basically had a crush on you since I started. And at first, I thought you didn’t like me. I asked Dave about it and he all but said that you didn’t.”
That little shit. I’m definitely telling that story from 7th grade now.
Derek continued, “But then I noticed a change in our working relationship, a friendship. Now that didn’t make me think I had a chance in hell but for some reason, today it felt different between us. Like today was the day I should say something. And after talking to Dave again.”
I chucked, “Yeah, stop doing that.”
He smiled, “He said I should go for it. Some grand gesture to get your attention. And that was…this. I’m sorry.”
Wow, I didn’t not expect any of that to come out of his face. I’ve seen this man command an entire gymnasium of kids to complete silence and he flustered over me?
Derek started to say something but I gently placed my hand over his mouth. Fuck those lips are soft.
Seriously me? Focus.
I gave him a gentle peck on those lips (because I had to. Don’t you judge me). “You don’t have to do any big thing for me. Although I do appreciate the take charge thing that you did. And for the record, I do like you. Maybe too much. I was trying to keep it professional.”
That confession earned me a huge smile, showing the cute gap in his teeth.
“So, with that being said…do you want to go out with me?
Another smile. “Talk about taking charge. But yes Ms. Taylor, I would love to.”
I know, I know; they could be just friends…yadda yadda yadda. But I choose to believe otherwise.
Don’t you judge me.
Can y’all believe Joshua Jackson has a dark skinned black girlfriend that he’s definitely gonna impregnate and marry (I speak it into existence!)? Can y’all believe how blessed we are?
I’ve spent all of today considering whether to post this on here in light of this weeks Tumblr habit of deleting blogs that post external links, but i’ve decided that if my blog gets taken down, i want it to be in a blaze of glory and for a link that was to a good cause. This will be a bit of a long post but please do read it.
Most of you know i have a 3 (nearly 4) year old son, who i affectionately call Superpup. Well through his preschool i met what seemed like a very lovely couple, parents to a little person who he became good friends with at school. They seemed like a lovely couple, until middle of the summer holidays i get a message out of the blue from my friend, the childs mother, saying that she had split from her husband. As Superpup loves to play with this child we arranged playdates, and i was shocked to discover a history of almost a decades worth of abuse; physical, mental, emotional.
Anyway, flash forward 4 months, one custody battle later, and my friend has just today been awarded a safe and secure bedsit (single room apartment) in sheltered accommodation. Its warm, dry, and high security which means she finally feels safe for her and her child. But… this is where the gofundme i’ve set up comes in; the british social services (Welfare services) are horribly slow in actually providing support. The room may be warm and dry, but doesn’t come with any bedding, soft furnishings, food, small appliances… anything to make it feel less of a prison cell. I’ve helped all i can, but money is tight for me too, i brought her some groceries but that will only last her until Monday… and her welfare payment doesn’t get into her account until 28th. She’s also still got to pay a nominal rent for her new accommodation. She’s had to give up her job as she worked nights, and doesn’t have any childcare.
Normally i wouldn’t get as emotionally involved, but this time is different; she’s 1000′s of miles from her family as is actually from one of the Southern United States. This time of year is especially hard for her as she’s away from her entire support network during Thanksgiving – which is traditionally the most family orientated holiday in the US – and i’m going to cook her and her child dinner on Thursday (and attempt to cook my first ever Thanksgiving dinner!), and would love to surprise her by showing her what we could raise for her.
So, i appeal to Tumblr’s sense of family, each little fandom is its own family and we look after each other here, so i beg you, please… if you have any way of helping out here, please donate, and even if you can’t donate, please signal boost.
There was no malice or volume to the words, just confidence. If you hadn’t been standing next to him at the bar you wouldn’t have even heard him. He was propped against the marble and cedar, his thick thighs straining against the pants of the well-tailored suit. It was dark, as were his eyes, but even in the dim light of the lounge you could tell it was expensive and custom made for his frame. That tall, massive, and sturdy frame. Your mouth felt dry suddenly and you wished the bartender would hurry up with your drink.
“I’ll make an exception this time. Bring me my money and bring it now.”
This time you heard the bite to his voice. Beneath the beautiful accent that made you tingle a little more than you cared to admit, you could hear what could only be described as a controlled growl. The bartender, one that seemed to be there expressly for his service, gulped and disappeared into a door marked Employees Only. The man, the cowl of anger now dissipated, rotated until his lower back rested against the bar rail, his hand wrapped around a tumbler of amber liquid. He took a sip and the scowl returned. Before you had a chance to draw another breath, the glass in his hand shattered against the bank of liquors neatly arranged behind him. He roared a name, one you couldn’t quite make out through his rage, and the shaky bartender reappeared as pale as a ghost.
“I specifically asked for a double shot of Suntory Hibiki 17 year. This is not that.”
The heavy leather envelope in the shaken man’s hands bulged in his grip. It looked as if he couldn’t lift his eyes, looked as if he was blinded with fear. “We…sir…it is no longer in stock.”
The laughter pushing between a set of beautiful lips was sinister. The calm confidence was back in his voice when he spoke. “I find that to be humorous. Now, I’m sure we both recall when I last visited this hell hole, I ordered a case to be here for my demands and needs. Is that not how our last encounter went, Charles?”
You couldn’t keep your eyes off of the thick digits tapping the cool marble. They were elegant, well-manicured, and made your mouth water. The bark of his voice snapped you back to the present.
“Answer me!”
“You are correct, Mr. Adebayo. It would appear that some of the other staff may have taken it upon themselves to sell it to the general public.” His gaze still hadn’t lifted.
“If my math is correct? $700 per bottle at six bottles per case. You now owe me an additional $4,200.”
He beckoned with his fingers and the oxblood leather envelope was dwarfed in his palm. “This is all of it?”
He tossed it to a figure behind him, a bulky man with gold slugs and a headful of neatly braided locs. “Count it. If it’s short? I’m taking my pound of flesh and we both know that’s not a figure of speech.”
You felt rooted in place, the drink in front of you now warming amid the quiet chaos of the room. People tried to pretend as if they were not entranced by the power and danger radiating off the man standing next to you.
“Charles, you know I’m very possessive when it comes to things that belong to me.”
You knew his gaze had landed on you when heat spiked in your skin. You met his eyes briefly and saw a measure of desire that you’d never experienced. He stepped closer to you, bringing the spice of his cologne and bass of his voice with him. One finger glided down your bare arm.
“For example, if this beautiful creature here belonged to me and you dared breathe in her direction? I’d have you scalped. What belongs to me belongs to me no matter how small or large. Do we have an understanding?”
Mr. Adebayo, as you’d heard him called, let his finger travel in the opposite direction against your forearm. From behind him you heard the equally calm voice of his right-hand man tell him the count was correct.
“Sir, can we make an arrangement for the additional funds? A week to gather it perhaps?”
His attention shifted. It was as if a light dimmed in his eyes. “When have you ever known me to cut deals that do not benefit me? You have until the end of the night. Leave it with her. I’ll be back by closing.”
You opened your mouth to protest. He quieted you with a look. “I want to see you here. You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?”
A quick glance over his shoulder let you see the henchmen shake his head in the negative. You relented.
“Good. I’ll see you at 2:00am, beautiful. Give her anything and everything she wants.” And like that he was gone.
one last post of me as cinderella. took sort of a step out of my comfort zone and got professional pictures done at katsucon. i don’t know when i’ll be able to dress up like this again, but at least i’ll have this as a momento.
I love the clothes from Volante Design (“Superhuman Streetwear”); their latest is the “Starfleet 2364” line of men’s and women’s jackets inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms.
The jackets are made of heavy denim and are basically extremely well-styled/tailored biker jackets (like Volante’s excellent Hacker
jackets), partially or fully unzipping them and folding down their
lapels takes them from “cosplay” to “cosplay adjacent” in an instant.
They’ve got loads of interior and exterior pockets, and are
double-stitched and come in “Command Red, Operations Gold, or Sciences
Blue,” sized 37 – 51, 55 (men), and 33 – 45 (women). They’re made in
Chicago, retail for $315, and will ship by December 14th.
For anyone who doesn’t know, I have several published stories available on Kindle/Nook. These stories are by far my best (my favorite is Exodus, but my readers’ favorite is The Tower). Have a look!
JackburtonSays 