White Freshman, Black Coeds Ch. 16

Saturday, 10/8

Last night at work I talked a guy into taking my Saturday evening shift. He didn't do it out of the goodness of his heart though, and it cost me $15 for him to take it. He balked at just doing it as a favor that I'd repay someday, so I offered him $10 to do it. He countered with 20, and we met in the middle at 15. I think he knew I was desperate, though I hadn't told him exactly why I was trying to get it off. $15 hurt though, because minimum wage back then was only 5.15, so besides missing 6 or 7 hours of work, I was having to pay him 3 hours' worth of work to take the shift. But with what we typically made in tips, and the little bit of mileage reimbursement Domino's paid us, it wasn't that bad.

I slept in till 10, exhausted from the escapades with the girls. Plus I didn't sleep well, my dreams replete with visions of what they might've gotten up to after I'd left, or maybe today. But that was all okay because I'd had my time with them last night, and today I'd have my first real date with Nia! And though I'd felt comfortable with her sexually, this dating thing felt different.

Would I be able to pull it off well enough, come across as someone she'd like to be around, make her laugh? (I'd had a short relationship with a girl in high school senior year, not sexual at all, but she'd dumped me for another guy. Partly because I wasn't "fast enough" for her, but what stung the most was when she'd said, He makes me laugh. I was funny, but too shy to talk much to her to let her see that.)

Thursday afternoon Nia and I had talked on the phone just about her spending the night with me Saturday night, and then maybe we'd do something together Sunday. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to just like date her first, before our assignation Saturday night. Just do whatever things boys and girls did together on dates. So I'd planned some things out for today, and maybe more tomorrow.

Jake was out, probably gone home like he'd said, because his keys weren't hanging on the hook where he usually kept them. (And his dirty laundry bag was gone.) After showering I walked to the cafeteria to grab an early lunch. Miss Pullam wasn't there (she usually wasn't on weekends), and I didn't see Capri, so that was good. After I'd grabbed lunch and sat down I texted Nia:

Sorry for the short notice, but I got the WHOLE DAY off. Can I take you out today, like a date?

SURE!! What time were you thinking?

Is 2:00 too early for you?

No, not at all! I'll be ready for you to pick me up.

GREAT! See you then!

Okay!

I ate my cheeseburger and tots in a state of euphoria. I couldn't wait to see Nia again! Just see her, talk to her. I wasn't even thinking about the sexual delights to follow. I'd tell you what I had planned, but let's just let it play out in real time. One thing I did want to do though was introduce her to the very few people I knew here in Detroit. That was selfish of me and I knew it (wanting to show her off, really), but I did want people to see how awesome she was.

I changed into the best blue jeans and shirt I had, put on my cleanest sneakers, and grabbed the thin black jacket I thought looked cool on me. Oh, and I changed the sheets on my bed and tidied up the room as best I could. Miss Pullam had sent me home with one of her DVDs the other night, so I loaded that in the DVD player and made sure the TV was on the right input. Stopping at a grocery store on my way to the Zeta Phi house I picked up some sodas and snacks, being sure to grab some Cheddar Cheese Pringles, which Nia had told me were her favorite. And a single red rose.

At 1:58 I was knocking on the big front door of the ZP house. It looked like a mansion for some old business tycoon, maybe one of the robber barons so prevalent around the turn of the last century. Two full stories plus another level above that peeked out through dormer windows. A wide covered porch stretching almost the length of the front of the house, four Greek columns supporting its roof, an ornate double door with sidelights, centered on the face of the house. Big windows that looked to be almost floor to ceiling. A big yard, with a white-painted privacy fence visible on both sides. The lawn was well maintained, with some large trees and nice shrubs and flower beds, though the flowers were mostly done for the year. A wide, brick-laid sidewalk led up to the 5 wide stone steps that afforded access to the porch.

The door opened quickly, as if someone had been waiting nearby. It was Nia of course.

"Mark! It's so nice to see you again!

"The pleasure is all mine, m'lady," I said, taking a half-bow, removing my imaginary hat in deference to her. Then handing her the rose from behind my back.

"You're so cute! For me?!" She took the rose, then stepped to the threshold to hold my face face with one hand and kiss me lightly on the lips. She was essentially a step up from where I still stood on the porch, which made us about the same height.

As she was doing that, I slipped my arms around her and pulled her to me, disengaging from her lips to slip my head to the right, over her left shoulder, holding her in a tight hug. It was at that moment that I saw the roomful of girls off to the right. All smiling and awwwww'ing, one of them even saying to another, loud enough for me to hear, They're so cute together!

I panicked and withdrew from Nia, trying to pretend she hadn't just kissed me on the lips and that I hadn't just enveloped her in my arms in front of all these young women. At least I hadn't grabbed her butt! That would've been mortifying. But with lots of laughter and smiles from the room, even some applause, Nia took my hand and led me to the edge of the formal sitting room off the foyer.

"Mark, I'd like you to meet some of the nosier sisters of Zeta Phi."

A quick, terrifying flashback to my nightmare where Queen Bee (who I hadn't known yet) introduced me, in just a robe, to a roomful of young women just like these, whose eyes had devoured me and promised all sorts of depravity, whether I was willing or not.

But quickly stifling that, when I actually looked at these women all I saw was mirth and kindness, like they were proud of Nia for finding such a cute boy to date. Except that girl in the back, Mark. She looks like she might have designs on you.

"Hello, ladies. Pleasure to meet you all," was about all I could get out, but I was slowly recovering.

"Hello, Mark!" was the slightly disjointed chorus that met me. She'd told them about me! I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but kinda proud I guess.

Nia, interpreting my quick look at her, said, "I'm just so proud of you, Mark! I wanted some of my closer friends [an arched eyebrow at the room] to meet you, but then she probably told her [indicating various of the ladies] and then she probably told her....and now here they are all embarrassing us! Sorry?" With a cute shrug of her shoulders and cocking of her head.

"It's okay, Nia. I'm not embarrassed by it. In fact, I want everyone in the world to know how much I care for you."

Lots of awwwww's as some of the ladies settled into chairs and a couple onto the big couch, one of them beckoning us over to join them. Nia took my hand, and with an Is this okay? look, led me over to the couch, where we sat in the middle, still holding hands.

"So how did you two meet??" Nia said it was through a friend. The questioner seemed to accept that at face value, but I thought I saw a knowing in the faces of several of the women: Through Rita.

"Mark, have you always liked black girls, or..."

Nia gave that one a stern look, but I answered truthfully: No. And I wasn't looking for a black girl when I'd met Nia, but I wasn't NOT looking for one either. But now that I'd met her, my eyes had been opened, shall we say?

The girl in the back who I'd noticed earlier looking at me wantonly licked her lips as if I could open something of hers, but it wasn't her eyes...

"How long have you guys been dating?"

Nia: "Um, just since Sunday." [just 6 days ago, remember]

"What?! But you guys look so comfortable together!" Nia and I looked at each other simultaneously, knowing, relishing that they recognized that in us. And she squeezed my hand once, which I responded with a squeeze back.

I was studying the side of her face as the ladies grilled her/us, marveling at the sense of exuberance in it, just how bubbly and alive she was. Turning away I caught the eye of probably a senior girl looking just at me, a look of He really loves her! on her face. She turned away as she caught me looking back. I'd wanted to smile warmly at her and say back with my eyes that it was true: I was head over heels for this girl.

"Mark, were there many black girls in your high school?"

Just then, a sexy British-African accent burst in: "Alright, ladies, let's give the young couple some time alone, and stop grilling them with all your questions." It was Rita! I looked behind us to see her coming from the formal dining room.

"Hello, Mark." Not exuberant, but caring in her voice. The other ladies had cleared out pronto at Rita's admonition. She seemed to have a lot of influence here. As she did in most aspects of her life, I imagined.

"I've given Nia permission to be out of the house tonight, but you must promise to look after her welfare!"

"I do, Miss Rita, I just want to take care of and protect Nia for the rest— I'll see that no harm comes to her, I promise you!"

"Very well," she replied, looking so much like a mother relinquishing custody of her only daughter to the young man who's taking her to the prom that night.

"And remember: nothing about sex is dirty if it's done with the right intent, and that's to give pleasure to the partner you care about."

I wanted to say to Rita that I cared about Nia more than anybody in the world, but I think she saw it in my eyes, even knew it already, so she just gave me an I know look that was full of tenderness and pride.

"You two have fun," and she was gone. Nia went to a closet and put on a jacket, then retrieved a small overnight bag from there, and we left, our first real date all by ourselves!

As I was driving I said, "Nia, I felt very proud back there, meeting your friends. I could tell that you really cared about me, through the way they were looking at us. I'd like you to meet some of my friends.....if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course, Mark, I'd like that!"

"Oh great! But the thing is, I don't really have many friends outside of Jake my roommate, and a guy from my Tae Kwon Do class. But I consider some of the people I work with at Domino's my friends, so I thought we might stop by there and maybe get a pizza and some drinks and then go down to the lakefront to just....talk?" I wasn't ready to think sexually about her just yet. I knew that would come later and would be beautiful, but right now I just wanted to try out dating with her, something I'd never been good at before.

"That sounds lovely, baby! I'd love to meet your friends and then just sit and talk to you."

Awesome! I was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning, when Santa had been especially generous with the presents under the tree. I had a fleeting memory of my mother, probably from a Christmas now a lifetime ago. I'd have to see later if I could conjure that back up.

"Nia?" I told her about how I was feeling about her just then, how it wasn't sexual, and yet.... I wanted all of a sudden to kiss her properly, really feel and taste her mouth and tongue and lips, so....?

"Yes! I was hoping you'd pull over to do that. Or if you didn't I was this close—" holding up her thumb and forefinger nearly together to show me just how close, "—to asking myself!"

I grinned a big sheepish grin, and scanned the road ahead for an appropriate place to act on this resolution. A couple blocks up I saw an office park I was kind of familiar with, so I pulled in there and back through the campus to a secluded spot behind one of the buildings. It was only about 3 o'clock, so still light out.

I've never said what I drove because I was a little embarrassed. It was a 1989 Chrysler minivan. Not exactly a chick magnet, but it was serviceable. And it had certain characteristics to recommend it, as we'll see later in this story arc. Plus it was handy for pizza delivery because I could put the warming oven (a Sterno can inside, if you didn't know that) in the back or in the side with the sliding door and get to it way more easily than the guys who had to put it in their backseat.

Right now the feature that was coming in handy was that there was no center console between the front seats. I guess so Mom could easily slide out of the passenger seat and tend to the kids in the back. So once parked, I could turn right in my seat, Nia could turn left, and then with just a little bit of scooching we could have our knees overlapping and intertwined, making our torsos not too far apart to kiss head-on.

You know what kissing feels like, so this was that, but amplified by the fact that it was the first real kiss we'd shared alone. We were kissing now because we wanted to, not to progress on some curriculum, sweet though it had been. Ever since first seeing Nia back at the door I'd thought of kissing her like this, alone, passionately, both of us knowing that it wasn't leading to anything sexual just yet. This was just to refresh my memory of her, reacquire the taste and smell and feel of her.

As Rita had had us practice so often, I remembered Nia, but the memory had begun to fade slightly and I needed a recharge. That's what this kissing was to me. No groping, not overtly sexual, just a reconnection with her, perhaps even a reminder of the passion I'd felt with her. After just five minutes or so, which consisted of tender kissing and touching and sweet murmurings, I buckled up and headed toward Domino's.

When I'd gotten back on the main road, which was straight, Nia had reached over and taken my hand from the wheel and squeezed it once, then held it until I needed to make the next turn. That touch of her hand was exquisitely reassuring to me, and I realized that I could do this, that I could have a girlfriend and actually talk to her.

"Nia, when you meet my friends, would it be okay if I introduced you as 'my girlfriend'? Otherwise it might sound awkward and—"

"Of course, Mark! I'd like that." The beaming look I saw when I glanced quickly over at her told me that in effect she was my girlfriend, despite this odd understanding we had around sex and monogamy and all that. My heart was so full of her as I turned my eyes back to the road.

We pulled into the Domino's parking lot, out front where customers park. I was so excited for the people I knew there to meet her, to see how great she was. Of course some of that was that I wanted them to envy me; or not that so much as just recognize that if this lovely girl liked me, was my girlfriend, then maybe there was more to me than they'd thought.

And I'd wanted her to meet Felicia too, because I considered her a friend. And though we had some sexual tension between us, I totally didn't think about the jealousy aspects of it. But as I came around from the back of the minivan to let Nia out her door, I caught sight of Felicia inside, standing motionless, an incomprehensible look on her face. Oh crap, she's going to be jealous, blow up, and let me have it! That's when the female-female aspect of this thing fully dawned on me. Well, nothing to do now but go on inside and hope for the best.

Thankfully, before we got to the front door and inside, Felicia had gone to the fountain machine, her back to us, giving her plausible deniability of having seen us together already. She was fixing drinks, probably for the one lady waiting inside. And Brian had just walked up to the cash register, fiddling with something.

"Mark! I heard you're not working tonight, is everything okay?" Nia had kind of fallen back as we'd entered, and Brian spoke to me. Oh yes, boss, everything is more than okay!

"Yes sir, I'm fine, I just—" motioning for Nia to come join me, "—wanted to spend today with my...girlfriend." A quick pause there because I suddenly didn't feel right saying the word. And then when I did, a thrill ran up my spine: My girlfriend , I actually have a girlfriend!

"Brian, may I introduce Nia? Nia, this is Brian, the store manager. He's been really good to me since I started here in July."

"I'm charmed, young lady," as he reached across the counter to shake her hand. But not straight up and down like I would've done, nor palm up as if to accept her hand and kiss it, but more at an angle, allowing the lady to meet his hand with hers more lady-like. That was smooth, I'd have to remember that. Anyway, the counter was too deep to afford kissing of a hand, and Brian just sort of curtly shook her hand a tiny bit and released it.

"I hope you'll leave him some of his time to deliver for me! He's one of my top drivers, after all." I didn't know if that was true or not, but I appreciated him trying to make me look good in front of my girlfriend. How easily that word was rolling off my mind's tongue now. Girlfriend! What a special feeling to be able say that, to have one.

"Have you met Felicia yet? This place wouldn't run on weekends without her!"

Felicia had come over, and with a smile on her face that showed no malice, shook hands with Nia, saying, "Pleased to meet you, Nia." Nia responded the same, then without having yet let go of Nia's hand, Felicia said play-conspiratorially to her about me, "You gotta watch this one: too smart for his own good! But keep him in line and he's alright."

"Felicia, I thought you liked me!"

"I do like you, sugar, but I don't like answering them calls about you!"

I couldn't argue with that, but I'd thought I was doing better at hiding my emotions from parsimonious customers.

An extra-arched tell me more eyebrow from Nia, "Has he been causing you trouble, Felicia? I've told him he's too clever for his own good. You just let me know—" here she did that pretend-phone-to-her-ear thing, call me, "—and I'll get on him about it. Us girls have to stick together, right?"

I didn't like where this was heading, Felicia and Nia giggling together conspiratorially, so I quickly asked Brian, "Is Trey here today?" Knowing he was because I'd already caught him gawking. "Would it be alright if I took Nia back to meet him? I'd like Nia to see how the pies are made." The customer lady had left, so it was just us in the store now.

"Sure, go ahead."

Nia and Felicia traded little byeee waves, and we ducked around the end of the counter and into the back.

"Mark! My brother...." As Trey came in for that cool black-guy handshake that thankfully I knew how to do. Flour still on his hand, but I absolutely didn't care, thankful that he was playing up our closeness a little bit. Though only just a little bit, I honestly thought.

Then with a big smile at Nia, looking at her, sure, but not leering, "And who is this beautiful young lady right here?!" Then looking at me side-eyed, mock-serious: "Did you kidnap her or something?" The implication being that that's the only way I could've gotten a pretty girl like her to hang out with me.

"No, he actually won me over with his boyish charm, and I'm here of my own free will." Giggling as she said that, which pumped my heart up with pride. Extending her hand to Trey, "I'm Nia, nice to meet you."