Education of a Jezebel Pt. 08: Core Courses

She stood with her back to the driver's side door, let him lean in for a kiss. "Listen," she said, "I like you. I'd love to hear more of your story, and I'm curious about your views on civil rights. If you want to get together again, let me know. But you have to be the one to call, all right?"

"Okay." Another kiss, he opened the door for her, as the car pulled away she glanced at him in the rear view mirror. Before she'd even turned a corner, her phone buzzed, she hit the button.

"I want to see you again, I'm calling." Tavon said.

Kelley laughed. "Well, I wasn't expecting it this soon, but okay. I'm busy all weekend, I think. Give me another call next week, we'll set up a date, okay?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Kelley strolled into the lobby of the CitySide Club at 12:26, exactly four minutes early, in her best business suit. "I'm here to see Mr. Forester," she explained to the maître d'. He recognized her, she'd dined there with her husband and many a friend in earlier years.

"It's nice to see you, Ms. Nestico. Mr. Forester is already seated." He led her through tables set with lustrous crystal and silverware, a man perched at a window-side table. Her first reaction was that he was dignified. He had hair of smoke pulling back from his forehead, the stomach of his upscale suit bulged, he couldn't have been more than five feet four. They shook hands, as the waiter held a chair for her she asked him to bring a club soda with lime.

"When I was pup," Forester said, "we used to have three manhattan lunches. Of course, that habit died. So did the tradition of taking a nap in your office after lunch."

"Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Forester," Kelley said.

"Oh, call me Matt!"

The first twenty minutes was spent in small talk, he found out she was at least conversant in the sports teams, she listened to a story of a recent acquisition the firm had made.

As the dover sole was served, he said, "Okay, let's get down to business. Why should Williams open up its doors?"

The woman gave out her bullet points, Matt listened attentively. At the end of her eight minute presentation - she'd rehearsed it at least a dozen times, twice in front of Samantha - he asked searching questions about who the current donors were, what the budget of the non-profit was. Kelley carefully recited facts from brochures and the pubic statement they filed with the state, she assumed he'd either already read them, or would soon.

"Okay," he said, "now tell me more about the publicity the firm will receive."

"From your participation in the tours, or from a donation?"

"Both."

As Kelley was just starting her spiel, a group of men passed the table on their way out. "Ms. Nestico, how nice to see you."

She looked up, there was Tom! "Mr. Ainsley, how are you?"

She introduced him to Matt, they chatted for a moment. "Is she trying to steal your money?" Tom laughed.

"Yeah, picking my pocket."

"Well let me tell you, the OpenedDoors tour has really done great things for USPG. We get more mileage out of that and our donation then we get from our sponsorship of the ballet. Well, excuse me, I've got a meeting."

Giving her head a little shake to reorient herself, Kelley returned to the subject of publicity. Halfway through, she could tell she might as well shut up, Matt's eyes indicated he'd decided.

Ten minutes later they rose, headed to the elevator together. "Thank you, Kelley, don't put the money in the bank yet, I have to get the Board's approval, but I think you can count on a donation. Would twenty-five thousand be sufficient?"

"That would be truly appreciated."

"And I'll have one of my guys give you a call to start the process of putting us on your itinerary. Thank you very much." He held his hand out for the closing shake.

"Thank you, Mr. Forester."

"Matt."

Upon her return to the office, Sam called out, "Nice job. I knew you had it in you!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Tom knocked on the door right on time, too early for Kelley, she was still doing her eyes. She grabbed a robe, opened the door. "Now that's how I like my women to greet me!"

"Sit your ass down, I'll be with you in awhile." She strolled proudly into the bedroom, realizing his eyes were following her. She 'forgot' to close the door, knew from his vantage on the sofa that Tom got a glimpse from moment to moment. Just to tease him, she took off her bra and put another one on, her back to him the entire time, twisting just enough so he could see the bulge of her off-centered boob.

They headed to a less ostentatious Italian place. "White or red?"

"I guess white, unless you've got a thing for red tonight." Together they decided on a bottle of non-vintage from Tuscany.

"I want to thank you for your kind words today," Kelley said.

"No problem. I was half sincere." Kelley could tell he was joking, loved his sense of humor. "Hey, you really were trying to get a donation? I mean, you're not his piece on the side, are you?"

"Not yet, I expect him to offer next week."

"Don't expect anything, I hear he's gay," Tom laughed.

"Really?"

"Probably not, I haven't seen him in any of the gay clubs."

Kelley feigned dismay. "You're not gay, are you?"

"I am NOT gay," Tom assured her. "Wait, you're not secretly a man, are you? I guess I could switch if I had to..." She wanted to throw a dinner roll at him, if it had been Applebee's she probably would have. He was fun!

"Okay, so, I've made a decision," she seriously proclaimed.

"You're going to go lesbian."

"Stop it. I want you to mentor me in classic rock. I listened to a few more B,S & T albums this week."

"I wish you'd have told me. I would have advised you to stay away from anything after 1971. Oh, maybe Nuclear Blues. What did you think?"

"I pretty well knew their first album."

"Blood, Sweat and Tears? Or Child Is Father To The Man?"

"Isn't Child a later one?" Kelley asked.

"Nope, that was the one they started with." For five minutes they discussed the band.

"Okay, who should I listen to next?"

"Do you like Country?" Tom wondered.

"I don't puke."

"Then the Eagles."

"No, somebody I've never heard before."

"Okay, ever hear of Joe Jackson?" Tom offered.

"Did he have any hits?"

"Steppin' Out, Is She Really Going Out With Him."

"Nope."

"You'll recognize them when you hear them, I'll play them when we get back to your place."

"What makes you think you're coming in?" Kelley joshed.

"Okay, then my place. But you'll have to uber home..."

In her living room after dinner, with cold drinks at their hands, Tom told the speaker to play Jackson. "So what genre is this?"

"Some call him Alternative, others New Wave. Damned if I can ever figure it out, and the writers in Rolling Stone keep mixing them up."

Yes, when Steppin' Out played, Kelley recollected it as one of those songs that comes on the radio and you say 'I like that' without ever trying to name the artist. And as the fifth or sixth song was played and Tom described the influences and objectives of the piece, it made sense for Kelley to place her back at his side, for him to scoot around, for her to twist her head over her shoulder to get a kiss, to find that he had his left hand on her breast in a friendly clasp. Her hand went to his knee, then thigh, when she leaned forward he put his hand inside the back of her blouse, unsnapped the bra adroitly.

Even though the actions were taken in no haste, even though for a very long while there were no utterances of passion, do not think that it was less than erotic, 'just sex.' Kelley continually anticipated his next move, he had been erect for her almost since they entered the house. Garments were discarded gradually, even as they were still listening to the rock, it started getting serious.

Kelley kneeled in front of the sofa, the phallus was stroked, sucked, he begged her to stop lest he fail to pay her the attention he wanted to. As she rested with her back to the cushion, he stooped in front of her, attacked her womanhood with his tongue and hand, she resisted and resisted and resisted, building herself up, delaying until she had no more resistance. The loud yelps were wrung from her body, in her throes she wasn't really aware she was beating on his back with her naked heel.

In a kneeling position he wiped her slit with the tip of his dick, slid his massive girth inside. Her outburst intensified anew, his pushes and pokes, along with his finger on her button, spasms flew, one after another. In the end, she had nothing left, he was still pumping when she relaxed.

"Boy, you were up there for a long, long time," Tom said, "I was starting to get a little worried, thought I might have to get you oxygen or something."

"And I thought you were good last week," she weakly smiled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I let go a few minutes ago, I didn't think you'd mind."

She sensed she was still filled with the schlong, it seemed all the way in, not hurting, just providing a sense of inflation. "But you're still hard."

"That's the beauty of Vitamin V, I keep going as long as I think dirty thoughts." He scanned her body from hair to hips. "And there's plenty there to give me dirty thoughts."

Kelley realized in this position, her breasts were pointing in their natural fashion. "Do you mind that one of these isn't straight? Sometimes I think it's the left one, other times it's the right. But they don't point the same way."

"Does it upset you?" Tom asked.

"No, I guess I'm used to it. But it does make me think I'm odd sometimes."

He bent, admiringly kissed both breasts an inch above the ring. "I noticed it last week, really enjoyed it, it makes you unique, just like your face does."

Tom shifted a bit, his knees were getting a bit tired from carrying his weight. "Would you like to go some more?" he volunteered. "I think I'm good for another few miles if you want."

"No, I'm done for now, probably. Let's rest for awhile."

They laid lengthwise on the couch, his beautiful appliance filling the crack of her ass, she covered them with a throw. They searched for something they'd both like on Netflix, settled on an urban fantasy. Sometime later, Kelley realized she was being roused. "The movie's over, I like the way you snore," Tom said.

She wiped her eyes with a thumb. "Oh. I think it's time for me to go to sleep."

She stood, realized she was naked, was about to cover herself and thought 'what-the-hell.' "Are you staying?" she asked.

"If you don't mind."

"Of course, come to bed."

The following morning Kelley proved she could cook a decent breakfast, although she managed to burn the first slices of toast. They hung out in the apartment, teasing each other, until it was almost lunch time. Kelley wanted to ask if he wanted to do something that night, it was only when he was dressed and almost out the door that he told her, "A most lovely evening and morning. I'll call you early next week, is that okay?"

"Sure," she said and tried to keep a calm face. "Talk to you then."

Chapter 25

Kelley had no idea what to do with herself. She had all of Saturday afternoon and evening, all of Sunday. Sitting over a bowl of soup warmed from a can, she wondered. The only people she could reasonably call were Ashley (she supposed Don would be in the mix as well,) Samantha, Tavon and Kurt. And with all of them, there'd be at least the confusion of sex or the outright expectation.

And at the moment, she didn't want sex or anything like it. Between the evening and the morning, she was sexed out. There wasn't a horny bone in her body, not after Tom got through with her. She wondered if she'd left a horny bone in his body, or was he sneaking off to make love with some other lady; and what did she have that Kelley didn't?

No, that was the nutso in her speaking; settle down, she told herself.

She wondered how her dad was getting on. Let's find out. She dialed the home telephone number, the one that had been her family's since even before she was born. "Hello?" a matronly voice answered.

It shocked her, this wasn't supposed to happen. "Oh, hi Joan, it's Kelley."

"Dear, how are you? Your father and I were just talking about you last night."

A minute or so was spent in chitchat, then Joan revealed, "Your father's not here, he went down to the Elks club. Oh, he told me he's going to the hardware store, but I know better. Do you want me to have him call you when he gets back?"

"Oh, no..." Then Kelley decided she might as well talk to Joan, she'd be a part of it from now on anyway. "I'm at a loss tonight, I was thinking of coming down and spending time with... you guys." She'd almost said 'Dad,' stopped only because it might possibly offend Joan.

"Oh, that would be wonderful! I can make a pot roast. What time will you be here?"

"Say, five or so. You sure I'm not putting you guys out?"

"Of course not. We had nothing of importance this evening. You could never impose on us, this was your house long before I ever met your father. We'll see you soon."

Forty minutes later Kelley was in the car, driving out of the city into the mountains. It was one of those crisp autumn days that provides faith, she stopped by a state park on the way for a brisk walk through the red and gold leaves and pondered.

Okay, so what if Tom was going out tonight to get laid by some other bimbo. So what? She had no claim on him. She didn't want any claim on him! She didn't really want a steady boyfriend (although if she did want one, Tom would make a good one!) She'd tried the steady boyfriend routine with Andrew, see where that got her? And if she wanted to get laid herself by plenty of guys, she needed to step up that project, didn't she?

As she was just minutes away from her home town, she got a call from Tavon. "Hi, I was wondering what you were doing tonight? Thought we could go to a movie."

"Sorry, I'm visiting my Dad tonight. Another time? Give me a call, okay?"

Her Dad was waiting for her on the front porch swing, beer and cigarette in hand. "Joan tells me I can't smoke in the house anymore," he groused.

Hugs all around, Kelley found Joan absolutely ecstatic on this, her first visit to the revamped abode. Kelley's room was unchanged, the old ragged comforter was still on the bed, clippings from her college newspaper hung on the bulletin board, a picture of she and Luciano resided on the desk. She'd not noticed that before for some reason, Kelley hid it in a desk drawer.

The rest of the house was subtly changed, a La-Z-Boy rocker was in the living room, the china closet held a set of antique dishes that had never been there before. But the changes weren't significant, except that the house had been fumigated, the stench of stale tobacco was abated. Since both her parents smoked, Kelley wondered why she'd never taken up the filthy habit.

She puttered with Joan in the kitchen as the dinner was prepared, the older woman's clipped accent was explained. "I was born in Germany, stayed there until I was four years old. My father was an American soldier who was stationed there in the Cold War. After he left, my mother figured she'd been left behind, just another woman caught. But my father actually came back and got us, and after he got out of the service he came to this area to work in the mills."

The evening was without rancor, Kelley found she had no harsh feeling for the woman who'd moved into her mother's house, her mother's place. It was good, her Dad needed the company, they seemed happy enough.

"So, how's Andrew?" her father asked.

"In the rear view mirror. He's lost all interest."

"Anybody else?"

"A couple of hopefuls. Nobody to bring down here to let you interrogate them. It may be some time before that happens." She noticed that Joan's eyes became bright at that information, a tiny smirk flowed over her face.

Later, over dishes, Dad in the living room, Joan remarked, "If I was in your shoes, I'd be playing the field myself. And I understand that 'playing the field' means something quite different in this day for a city girl. Have fun, dear, it won't always be this easy."

Kelley filed that information away, wondered if Joan hadn't played the field a little after her husband died. She wondered what that was like for a woman in her late fifties.

The next morning after church, Peggy grabbed her arm. "I'll walk you home, I told Mike to take the kids to Burger King. So how have you been?"

"Pretty good."

When they were out of earshot of anyone from the congregation, Peggy again asked, "So, really, how have you been. Did you get over the promiscuous bit?"

"Yeah, you talked sense into me." She fed Peggy details, about Don and Nick and the wild weekend, about Tavon.

"Are Black lovers good? I've always wondered, and Mike wants to see me with one."

"Not this one," Kelley revealed. "He's the college professor type, I have to do all the work. Maybe we should go out and get a couple of gangstas." The women's laugh made a man on his porch wonder what they were yakking about.

"Then there's Tom." Kelley told her friend about the amazing man who'd asked her out, stayed over twice.

"So it could be serious?" Peggy inquired.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure he's got another girlfriend. And I don't know how serious I want it to be yet. I've only been divorced five months!"

On her way home that evening, the sun drifting to the horizon, Kelley felt much better about her life, how it was working out. A return to your roots will have that effect.

She got the call from Tom on Monday evening. "It occurs to me that you haven't seen my place yet. Why don't you come over Friday night?"

"You kicking the dancing girls out?"

"Do I have to? You might enjoy hanging out with them."

"Yeah, let 'em stay," Kelley laughed.

Since Tom insisted he was a bad cook, they'd walk to a first-rate restaurant just a block from his place, she should bring an overnight bag. "And just to let you know, I don't have plans for Saturday either. If you'd like to put me down for then, too, I wouldn't complain, exactly." Kelley didn't tell him he was on for Saturday, exactly, but she assumed he assumed she'd said yes.

And as luck would have it, Tavon called within an hour. "There's a lecture on Saturday afternoon on the African Diaspora. Thought maybe you'd be interested."

"I'd love to, but I already have plans. Keep me in mind, though."

~~~~~~~~~~

At work, Samantha said, "There's a convention about non-profit administration. New York. We're both going." Kelley wondered what was going on, this was the kind of thing Sam always took for herself. But the boss wasn't giving out much information, Kelley didn't press.

After work, Sam and Kelley went to happy hour at Axis. As it often happened on such an occasion, they were hit on by the suits. Kelley gave her phone number to two of them, around 7:30 drove home. Her cell rang, there was Kurt. What a surprise, she hadn't heard from him in over a month. "Hey, babe, what are you doing tonight?"

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking I could meet you and we could have some drinks."

"I already had happy hour, so I'm good. But that doesn't mean you can't stop over."

"Be there in half an hour," he said.

"I'm not home yet. Make it an hour. Don't be early!"

In the remaining minutes of her journey, Kelley mentally went through her closets and drawers, wondering what a girl should wear for a bang buddy. An hour and twenty minutes later she was sitting in her living room in a see through babydoll, a very brief g-string, feeling like a fool, thinking she'd been stood up. She'd give him ten more minutes, then she'd change into her pajamas and he could go hang dick! The knock came with four minutes to spare, although she knew she would have given him another ten, then another fifteen. Her libido was putting all kinds of ideas in her brain!