He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. When he looked at me it was like there was something slowly smoldering behind that blue and he smiled all the time making his eyes squinty in the corners. It was obvious he worked out. I felt the muscles in his arms and the flat surface of his chest the first time I met him when he whisked me into his car. I don't know if he intentionally did that, letting a little bit of his ego show, or if he was just trying to keep me dry underneath the umbrella.
When Mrs. Ogawa called a
nd told me I was hired I immediately called Joshua to tell him and thank him.
"So, as I see it you owe me diner." He said over the phone, his deep voice making my knees melt.
"I'd like to but I haven't gotten paid yet. You may have to wait about two weeks before I can afford a fancy meal from McDonald's." I teased.
"Then I guess I'll just have to pay for everything until then. Have you eaten already?"
"No." I looked in the mirror and thought I looked a fright.
"Great. I'll pick you up in half an hour and we'll go celebrate."
"You know, I'm not dressed very fancy so can we keep it on the simple side?"
"Natasha, you're going to learn I don't keep anything on the simple side."
That was it. End of discussion. He was on his was to pick me up so I threw on a simple dress, put my hair in a ponytail, added some red lips and that was all she wrote.
When he showed up he had a bucket of fried chicken, a bottle of Cristal, two straws and a big blanket. Driving for about thirty minutes out of the city we pulled into a beautiful park in a lazy suburb called Manooka.
"Is this simple enough for you?"
"It's perfect." I said, feeling my cheeks flash red as he looked at me. After he laid down the blanket, he took me by the hand, pulled me close to him and kissed me. I wasn't sure if it was the quiet of being away from the city or the unconventional gesture of laying out a picnic for me but I kissed him back with everything I had.
Maybe it was because I hadn't been kissed like that in a very long time. Who am I trying to fool? So things progressed and we made love there, on the soft picnic basket as our food got cold and the Cristal got warm. I was sure I had blown any chance I could have had with him. No guy wants to spend too much time and energy on a girl that puts out so quickly. But I felt better than I had in a long time.
If I never saw him again that was okay because I had a new job and the pay was better and there would be other men and other picnics and maybe no limos or Cristal but that wouldn't be the end of the world.
You can imagine my surprise when he called me the very next night. I tried to play it cool, like "oh, hey, hi, uh, what's your name again?" But when he told me he had a little time before work to visit I found myself saying sure come on over.
"You work at night?" I asked.
"That is when I can get things done without interruptions of phones and meetings and all that."
Sure. Made sense to me. Why more businessmen didn't do it I couldn't tell you. So, like a whirlwind I ran through my apartment picking up clothes and dropping dirty dishes in the sink. I fixed my hair and put on a shirt with a lot of buttons and a pair of jeans.
I had decided that the previous day’s exhibit was a fluke. A one-time thing. I wasn't that easy and no matter how he looked at me, no matter if he took me into his strong, firm arms, no matter that I couldn't stop thinking about it all day I was determined to be a good girl.
We didn't make love again. But instead he kissed me like we had never been intimate together. He pulled me close and I could feel his heart pound in his chest beneath a breastplate of muscle. I knew what he was doing. He was making me want him. And I did. I could barely see straight by the time he left. But I wasn't sure if that made me happy or upset or mad.
No. I couldn't tell Diamond any of this. Little did I know that it would be Diamond telling me a few things about Joshua that I didn't know.
JOSHUA
This was different. If I had to predict the actions of Natasha Morgan to my future protégé at this stage in our relationship I would have been completely wrong. That doesn't happen. Not to me. I could tell that my luck had gone from good to great. How could a woman who has completely blind-sided me with her behavior be great luck? I had met my match.
After our lovemaking out in the open just steps from the kiddies playground in a slightly secluded alcove that was private enough for a picnic but not so much to be pleasuring such a passionate partner I had resigned myself to the fact that my relationship with Natasha would burn fast and fizzle quickly.
It was just a matter of hours after dropping her off that I had begun to plan my exit strategy. It would be full of drama. I'd forget to return a phone call or two. She'd be promised an evening out where I wouldn't show up or call. A few dozen roses to work she'd forgive me and welcome me completely thinking her sex was enough to keep me coming back.
Do you know how many women thought this was the key to getting a man like me to marry them? To just give it up like they would to any bar-back, valet or grocery bagger that gave them a wink made me wonder what mothers were teaching their daughters these days.
So you can imagine my surprise when the next time I saw Natasha she had locked up the candy store.
"I'm sorry about last night." she said. Her voice was adorably embarrassed. But I have to admit I thought it was just another act. "I got caught up in the moment. I haven't been on a date in a good while, let alone anything else. You must think I'm just big ol' whore."