someplace. What day are you talking about?”
“Well, I’ll be back in town on Friday. Let’s say Saturday.”
“Saturday’s fine.”
“You like Caribbean food?” he asked.
“Oooh, yeah.”
“What about eight o’clock at Bahama Breeze?” he asked.
“Let’s say three o’clock at Bahama Breeze,” I replied.
“Three?”
“Yeah, I feel more comfortable that way,” I said.
“Okay, I can respect that.”
“I was thinking of the one in Alpharetta,” he suggested.
“That sounds good to me,” I replied.
“Well, let me get back to my grill. I just wanted to see what you were up to. I’ll let you get back to your movie.”
“Yeah—oh, shoot,” I yelled. I left Tangie and Stephanie on the phone. “Okay, Darryl, I’ll talk to you later.”
I ran back upstairs and picked up the phone I had left on the bed. “Hello? Hello? Tangie, Stephanie?”
“Yeah, bitch, we’re still here. Must’ve been a man,” Tangie said.
“That was Darryl, the guy I met last night.”
“Really? Details, please,” Stephanie said.
“Well, there’s nothing to tell. He seems cool. We’re getting together next weekend for dinner.”
“Really?” Stephanie replied with excitement.
“Yeah, we’re gonna meet at Bahama Breeze.”
“Oh that’s a nice place,” Stephanie said.
“Yeah,” Tangie replied. “They make some good-ass drinks.”
“They sure do, especially the tropical ones. They are so strong,” I said.
“Don’t drink too much on your first date,” Stephanie added.
“For real,” Tangie laughed. “You might wake up next to his ass with a strange taste in your mouth.”
We all burst out laughing.
“Oh hell no, I won’t. That’s why I told him we’d meet at around three o’clock.”
“Three o’clock?” Stephanie replied, surprised.
“Yeah, he might be cute, but I don’t want his ass to get any ideas as the night goes on.”
“That’s smart,” Tangie said with a slight yawn.
There was a moment of silence.
“Are you guys gonna watch another movie?” Tangie asked.
“No, I have to clean the kitchen before going to bed,” Stephanie replied.
“Yeah, I’m going to do my toe nails,” I said.
“Well, I’ll talk to you guys later,” Tangie said before hanging up.
I hung up the phone and changed into my nightclothes before polishing my toes.
CHAPTER 7
Tangie
After school, I had a parent-teacher meeting with the parents of one of my newest students, Tina Washington. Tina is a straight-A student and very well behaved, so I was confused as to why her parents wanted to meet outside of the normal PTA process. Nevertheless, I waited while reading my Essence magazine and sipping a Pepsi. Minutes later there was a knock at my door. When I looked up I saw a short, huskily built woman walking toward me. I got up and smiled as I greeted her.
“Hi, I’m Ms. Jackson. You must be Tina’s mother.”
She smiled with her hand extended. “Hi, nice to finally meet you. I’m Gloria Washington.”
“Have a seat, Mrs. Washington. What can I do for you?” I asked as I put my magazine away.
“You mind if we wait on my husband? He should be coming in any minute.”
“No problem,” I replied as I pulled out my grade book. “Can I get you anything to drink while we wait?”
“No, thank you,” she replied.
I heard loud footsteps coming down the hall. Mrs. Washington and I both looked in the direction of the noise as it got louder and louder. Appearing through the door was a tall, light-skinned gentleman with thick, black curly hair and drop-dead gorgeous looks. He was dressed in a long-sleeved, golf-style shirt that showed off his muscular physique. I was about to jump into club mode and scan the rest of his physical attributes but caught myself.
“Uh, hi. I’m Tangie Jackson.” I extended my hand.
“Good to meet you—I’m Walter Washington,” he replied.
“Have a seat, Mr. Washington. Okay, what can I do for you guys today?”
“Well, we just wanted to get an update on how Tina is doing. Since this is her first year at Stephenson, we just want to make sure she’s adjusting,” Mr. Washington said.
“I see, and indeed she is,” I replied. “As you can see, her grades are very good and her conduct is equally good,” I said as I handed them both samples of Tina’s work.
Tina’s mother smiled. “See? I told you she was fine,” she said, looking at her husband.
I smiled.
“Tina talks about you all the time, so my husband thought it’d be a good idea to meet with you personally,” Mrs. Washington continued.
“I completely understand,” I replied.
“So, is she getting along well with the other students?” Mr. Washington asked.
“As far as I can see, things are fine. She works well with other students and she participates in all of the class activities. To sum it up, she’s one of my best students.”
I noticed Mr. Washington’s eyes scan downward toward my breasts as he nodded in response to my comments about Tina.
When I got up to show them Tina’s work that was displayed around the classroom, I felt Mr. Washington’s eyes on my ass. When I turned around, my intuition was correct. He wasn’t paying any attention to a word I was saying. He was too busy watching me.
When our eyes met, he gave me a cunning smile while Mrs. Washington looked at Tina’s drawings. Instead of turning my head I stared directly at him, determined not to be intimidated. I get hit on by many of my students’ fathers but this situation was different. The guy was fucking cute. When he turned his head I quickly looked him over, my eyes stopping at his midsection. It was obvious he had on boxers by the way his penis hung down on the right side. As he took a step forward, I could see how his pants clung to it, showing its thickness. The situation began to feel weird. My heart began to race and I felt a hot flash on the back of my neck. While they continued to look over Tina’s other work, I walked back over and grabbed my Pepsi off my desk and took a sip to cool off.
“Did my daughter do all this?” Mr. Washington asked as he walked toward me. I nodded as I took another sip. By the time I swallowed, he was standing in front of me holding one of Tina’s projects. “Are you guys going on any field trips anytime soon? If so, I’d love to chaperone,” he said.
“I don’t think we’re going to have anything going on until after the Christmas holidays.”
“Well, if you do, give me a call. My wife works rotating shifts at the hospital so one of us should be able to help out,” he said as he gave me a business card.
I wanted to reach for it but hesitated and composed