The Preachers Son by Carl Weber Read Free Book Online Page B

probably one of them. Not that it mattered. I’d found out all I needed to know. He didn’t have a girlfriend, he didn’t have any kids, and he definitely wasn’t gay. Three points for the home team.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just making conversation. You know how we women can just run off at the mouth sometimes.”
    “I guess,” he replied suspiciously. “Look, I’ll see you tomorrow if you stop by the poetry theater.”
    “Oh, you better believe I’ll be there.” I gave him a wink. “Matter of fact, why don’t you pick me up? Like I said, I really like poetry.”
    “You do?” He looked surprised.
    “Yeah, I do. I’ve been to Def Poetry Jam like four times, and I got all of Nikki Giovanni’s books. That sister is bad.”
    He nodded as if he was impressed, but he still hadn’t said yes, so it was time to be a little more persistent.
    “So what’s up? You gonna pick me up or what?”
    He hesitated like he had no idea what to say. Either that or he was about to hurt my feelings by saying no; but I wasn’t about to take no as an answer.
    “Hey, what are you afraid of? I won’t bite. You did say you like girls, didn’t you?”
    “Yeah, I like girls.” He gave me an ice-cold stare. I guess he was touchy about that subject or something.
    “Well, then what’s wrong with me? I know I don’t have no makeup on and my hair ain’t done, but I just woke up, and at seven-thirty in the morning even Halle Berry don’t look this good.” I placed my hand on my hip and posed, trying my best to show off my slammin’ figure. “Besides, you can’t ask me out on a second date if we don’t have a first.” It was time for the direct approach.
    “So now we’re going on a date?”
    “Yep.”
    “Do I have any say in this?” He chuckled.
    “Yeah, you get to pick out what restaurant we’re going to when we leave the poetry theater.”
    I held my breath as I waited for his reaction. I was relieved to see a smile on his face and even more relieved when he finally gave me the once-over with his eyes, stopping briefly at my titties then my hips. He made me work for it, but I’d finally worn him down. “Okay, how about I pick you up about seven?”
    “Six sounds good. What restaurant we going to?”
    “I hope you’re not allergic to seafood, because I was thinking Red Lobster.”
    “Nah, that’s cool. I love Red Lobster,” I told him as I tried to contain my smile. “I stay over in Forty Projects, Building two, Apartment L.” I pointed in the direction of my building. “Think you can remember that?”
    “Uh-huh, I can remember. Apartment L, like in lake.”
    “I like to think of it as L, like in lucky. As in be on time and you might get lucky .”
    He turned his head, probably because he didn’t want me to see him blushing. Now that I’d reeled him in, I was laying it on thick.
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, Tanisha.”
    “I’ll be waiting,” I told him flirtatiously.
    I watched him get in his car, then I rushed home to get my brother off to school. I also needed to get down to Jamaica Avenue to buy me some hair and a new outfit to wear the next night. The next time I saw Mr. Dante, I wasn’t the one who was gonna be sweating him. He was going to be sweating me.

5
Donna
    It was Saturday afternoon, the one day of the week that Terrance and I always found time to slip away to his apartment, a hotel, or some inconspicuous place to spend some quality time. When we were together on Saturdays, it was as if we were man and wife. Yeah, I’ll admit we spent most of our time in bed getting our groove on—or as I liked to think of it, making love—but making love on the weekend was always more satisfying than the quickies we snuck in during the week. On Saturdays, Terrance always took his time and we tried new things. He would take me to places physically and mentally that I had never been to before and honestly never wanted to come back from.
    As I approached his house, I