I kept her going for about five minutes, trying to convince her I had actually bought a car, but then she saw a shopping bag in the back that happened to contain women’s underwear and cosmetics, so I had to admit it was Yolanda’s. She didn’t believe me at first, and I had to show her the damn registration with Yolanda’s name on it.
Still, the whole thing made her smile, which was all I really cared about.
I made sure the car was unlocked and that Yolanda’s package was stowed inside the apartment. If someone were going to break in, it was best they didn’t have to bust a window to do it. With nothing obvious inside, they’d just move on to the next car, anyway.
I could hardly sleep that night. By the time I was done getting the car situated in the apartment parking lot, Tria was dozing in front of the television again, so I didn’t try to convince her to stay up for a little action on the couch. With a smile on my face, we just went to bed where I held her and welcomed nervous anxiety in my chest.
One! One day until I can have sex! Ha! Ha! Ha!
*****
The vision that came out of the bedroom sucked the air from my lungs.
I wasn’t sure if it was a sweater or a dress, but the way her outfit clung to her from top to bottom, completely hiding everything but her long legs, was about the sexiest thing I had ever seen in my life. When she spun around in a circle, I could see the lower neckline in the back, which made it all the more enticing. The dress was dark blue and trimmed with silver around the high front neckline and Tria’s wrists.
I was pretty sure I could get it all off in one motion, too.
Her hair was partially pinned up, but she had left large, swirly rings hanging around her face, and she had on a lot more makeup than she usually wore, which accentuated her deep brown eyes and perfect, pouting mouth.
Elissa came out from behind Tria, smiling and blushing at me as she watched my reaction to her handiwork. The chick still couldn’t look me in the eye, but I didn’t feel much like teasing her at the moment.
“Well?” Tria said softly when I still hadn’t managed to utter a word. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re fucking gorgeous,” I replied instantly. “The clothes are nice, too.”
She giggled and blushed, and I reached out to take her hand in mine. I kissed the back of her knuckles.
“Your chariot awaits!” I informed her, which earned me more giggling.
“I’ll just get myself the hell out of here,” Elissa said. She smiled broadly toward Tria, gave her a little wave, and then disappeared out the door.
The giggling ought to have annoyed me, but it didn’t. Tria’s whole face lit up when she smiled and laughed, and I’d do almost anything to put that look on her face.
It had been so damn long since I actually drove a car, I had a pretty difficult time parallel parking. The car was still partially sticking out—one tire a good two feet from the curb while the other one was about a quarter inch away—when I gave up and just left it as it was.
Tria held in her giggles, but her eyes still shone bright. I tried to glare at her, but it didn’t work.
“I think I’m a little out of practice,” I said.
“How long has it been since you were behind the wheel of a car?” Tria asked.
“Um…quite a while.” In fact, the last car I drove was my Lexus, which I had sold for thirty grand in cash over nine years ago. I blew through the money in about four months, mostly on dope.
“I’ve never eaten Mediterranean food,” Tria admitted as we walked through the doors.
Aladdin’s was a small place in a strip mall, had about twenty tables in it, and was hardly ever crowded. I was never quite sure how they managed to keep the doors open, but they had been in the same spot forever. Though I hadn’t been there since high school, the place hadn’t changed much. The décor was dark red and gold and there were candles and little vases filled with plastic roses in the middle of each table. There was a huge case right when you walked in full of incredible looking cakes.
“You’ll want to save room for dessert,” I informed Tria as she eyed the chocolate. “They have the best cake in the world here.”
We were shown to a table near the back where it was quiet and cozy. I helped Tria figure out the items on the menu, and we ended up sharing a plate of falafel, pitas, stuffed grape leaves, and baba ghanoush. Tria didn’t like the grape leaves, claiming they had too much vinegar or something, so I ended up with all of them. She loved the falafel, though, and thought she might even have a recipe for it in one of the books she had checked out from the library.
“Is this what you ordered when you came here with your family?” Tria asked.
“Not usually,” I replied. “I liked stuff with lamb in it.”
“You weren’t a vegetarian then?”
“No, not until later.”