Page 9 of Say He's Ready
I pulled the card from my back pocket and smiled. This was sheer luck that my business got the call and we didn’t have anyone to handle this issue but for me. Without that luck, I doubted I would have found her or even had the nerve to call. I played a good game. I would have held the card in my mind and probably backed out even with it still being intact.
“I washed the card, and it’s ruined. I didn’t know how I was going to find you to make his appointment,” I replied slipping my hands back in my pocket. Malone kicked me softly and I ignored him. He didn’t want me to find some girlfriend, he wanted me to make Teaghan my girlfriend.
“Oh,” she responded with a disappointed expression. Her lip tucked, and her hand went to her back pocket. I wanted to tell her that it was more than that, but I didn’t, too much had already been said. Of course, I was happy to see her for far more than an appointment but with saying that I would be admitting that I was ready to throw myself back in the dating pool. Right now, I was only interested in sticking a pinky toe in to check the temperature.
“Is this the problem area?” I asked cutting the stiffness in the room. Rubbing my low cut I smiled because that ‘oh’ meant I had been on her mind also. That was a relief because it had been a good minute since I took off on the pursuit of a woman. I was probably just as rusty as the pipes I was about to check out. But her body language let me know I wasn’t that far off.
“Yeah, I think it started in the kitchen and jumped over to the bathrooms and then the rooms. I don’t know. It’s a mess. Forgive me in advance for the mess you may encounter.”
“Cool, I’ll start here. Don’t worry, I’ll get it right,” my admission carried a lot of weight because I was speaking on more than just the plumbing issues of her building. I would get it all right if she wasinterested. Better yet, if I would stop playing games and admit to myself that I was interested. If we didn’t get together, it would be no fault of hers.
She leaned up against the door jamb as I rolled up my sleeves and started to remove the needed tools. She didn’t have to wait on me, but I also didn’t mind her watching me put in work. I grabbed my neck at that filthy thought. I was acting out of character and ashamed that she had me out there like that.
Lusting over women wasn’t something I was proud of. In total, I’ve had 4 girlfriends in my lifetime, but I would add her to the roster with no reluctance. Images of her swollen lips grazing mine, the cuff of her ass in my hands all made for a beautiful picture that I wanted to capture.
Teaghan
‘Lord, this man believed in fate, and I know I’m done for,’I thought to myself… I wondered how I managed to call his business out of all the plumbers in the phonebook. Yes, I still used a phonebook with my uber classic ass. I didn’t really do social media with all the hacking, negativity and faking. My privacy was important to me and sometimes it came with more negativity than I could personally deal with. Social media served as a tool but definitely had the power to deter you from the most important things in life.
Human interaction was needed. A simple touch could change someone’s mood. A real hello, or ‘I’m praying for you’ could save a life. My energy was just different and that was the one thing I held dear to my heart. My energy was sacred like the first boy being born into a family. I didn’t fuck around with bad vibes and sketchy people. Nothing was allowed to touch my sanity
“You might want to pull up a chair,” he said bringing me back to reality. Whatever reality was for now. Currently, I felt like I was caught in some fantasy or between the pages of a book that was bound to end with a happily ever after, marriage and a baby in a carriage. I was in my own head ready to orbit in his atmosphere.
“Oh, forgive me. I’m just standing here like don’t have some work Icould do, but thank you again,” it was weird to say but I loved a man that was good with his hands. The idea of a man not being afraid to roll his sleeves up and get dirty excited me to the core. It was certainly what I was missing in my life. All these pretty fragile men were a waste of time and probably the reason I hadn’t been married or even felt it was possible.
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, it’s my job you know?”
“It’s the polite thing to do.”
“Are you always polite and nosy?” he asked as my lips curled into a grin. He followed suit as I stopped and stood to look in his eyes again. I hadn’t had this amount of eye contact in a long time. Each glare made me melt and become a puddle of nothing but mush and sappy feelings.
“Three hundred and sixty-five days, sir,” I joked.
“Of course,” he laughed shaking his head, tossing a bolt to the side.
“Would you mind if I took Malone with me? I don’t mind.”
“Malone, you want to go with the nice lady and talk her head off?” Malone didn’t hesitate to grab my hand and leave his father behind, “that’s cold-blooded son.”
With a cute switch, I left the doorway and found my way to the front. Fanning myself as I traveled the long hallway, I needed a piece of ice to slide down my chest. I was having a full-blown heat stroke watching him work. His muscles bulged on his smooth skin with each turn of the wrench. It was so rich with not one tattoo or imperfection in sight. He was a work of art. So many emotions came to the forefront with one look at him. Yep, he was that painting that you didn’t quite understand but it held so much beauty. You couldn’t look away until you figured it out. Masculine tones of brown, delicate hues of yellow and undertones of black from the mystery.
I was in over my head. It was clear and in the way he watched out for his son that that’s who meant the most to him. I could never see myself coming in between that bond. I didn’t want to either, that was something I felt was dope. It was rare to see a father taking care of business. And not just scratching the surface. Fathers taught lessons, taught them to lead and to respect. No gift could amount to that. It took a real man to boss up and show the world it was more than a word.
“Let’s go find something to get into,” I said still holdingMalone’s hand. Me and Malone already had a relationship from school. He was always well mannered and clean which said a lot. He was in no danger with his father. However, I was. I was ready to let my love run wild again. Missy had been preaching for months that it was time for me to get over the hump I was in. It was easy for Missy to say, but hard to do after all the times I had my heart stomped on. I tried to live right and give good energy, but it was never returned. That would turn anyone off. How could you trust the modern-day man when they took pride in turning hoes into wives? Good girls, wholesome women, working women didn’t stand a chance. I didn’t stand a chance in this new dating world.
My work was my boyfriend and it was time to come to terms with that. I loved kids but not in the mushy gushy way but in the pure innocence of a child. My heart extended to them farther than I knew possible. I loved kids in a way that required action. It was my passion to actually do something whenever one was near. It didn’t matter the social status, the relationship they had with their parents or if they needed me. The words I had for kids were never empty, always full of hope and promise.
“Your job is cool. You got computers, TV’s, and cool toys.”
“It’s for kids like you who come visit me. Kids get bored. Do you get bored?”
“All the time. I’m too smart for school. Can I play? I left my tablet in the car.”
“Of course, go play and have a ball until you pass out.” Malone lit up like a Christmas tree after that statement. This was the reason I was able to wake up with a smile on my face and get ready for work no matter how the day before unfolded. I loved what I did. Seeing kids smile when I entered a room made life complete.
It was seven years ago that I decided to change my major from law to pediatrics. Kids were the future and they needed someone to understand them. Grown people needed help also but it started as a child. I believed wholeheartedly in the ‘it takes a village’ idea. My village extended all over and was only extending further with the influential work I was doing.
“You know him?” Missy asked barely above a whisper as I made it tothe front office. Today had been a complete disaster and we were up to our ears in reschedules. I was glad she didn’t leave when everyone else decided they had better things to do. There was no way I would have been able to get home before the sun went down. We had twenty appointments to reschedule.
