dating series excerpt

8/14/2019 Dating Series Excerpt

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dating-series-excerpt 1/25

Dating SeriesDating Series A compilation of fictional first date experiences. Some funny, some

thought-provoking. All entertaining.

Copyright © 2006 by Suprina Frazier

Author contact info: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



too. She was a CPA at a major accounting firm in town. Clients waited in lineto do business with her.

“My lobster is delicious. I love seafood. I’m glad you invited me…” Brenda’s voice trailed off the moment her cell phone vibrated again. “Excuse

me,” she promptly told Mateo. Then she proceeded to deal with another fauxcrisis from one of her children.

Continuing to eat his meal in silence, Mateo listened as Brenda reassuredher youngest daughter that her pink pajamas looked much better than her

blue ones. When the call was over, he watched Brenda return to her lobsterwith vigor. It was as if she’d never been interrupted at all. Talk about a

multi-tasked woman.

“Brenda, I’m starting to think that I misunderstood you earlier,” Mateo

said. “I thought I heard you say that your ex-husband was keeping the kids

tonight.” She shook her head. “No, you heard right. He is keeping them tonight.

But Stan is sort of a hands-off dad. He makes sure the kids have every

material thing they need, yet he’s emotionally inaccessible, which is one of the reasons we eventually got divorced.” Brenda dipped a forkful of lobster

into her butter dish before inserting it into her mouth. She moaned with

pleasure when it hit her palate.

Trying not to be too distracted with how shiny Brenda’s full lips looked

saturated with butter, Mateo pressed on. “If you don’t mind me asking, whydid you have children by such a man? Surely you know that kids need the

love of a father, too.”

Brenda put her fork down with a frown and folded her arms defiantly

across her chest. If Mateo wasn’t so cute, she would walk right out on himnow for asking such a judgmental question. But it had been too long since

Brenda was out on a date. Even longer since she’d had a man in her bed.

“First of all, I grew up in a large family and always wanted one of my

own,” Brenda started. “Unlike my mother, I chose to have my children by afinancially stable man.” As she spoke, she was unable to keep that sista-girl

neck rotation thing from happening. Though Brenda was a long ways fromthe hood in every aspect these days, whenever she got really angry, her

neck always took her back there.

“Secondly,” Brenda continued. “I have more than enough love to spread

around to all my kids.”



Mateo & Brenda

Part 2

So far, so good, Mateo mused. He and Brenda had made it past a whole

hour without being interrupted by one of her kids. But that was only becausethe children were at a relative’s birthday party on their father’s side today.

Mateo really didn’t care what the reason was, just as long as he got

some real alone time with their gorgeous mother. Today he and Brenda werehaving an intimate little barbecue for two on her enclosed patio. The steaks

and salad she’d fixed for them were fantastic, and the conversation was easy

and light. Mateo couldn’t have asked for a better second date.

“Would you like a refill?” Brenda asked, breaking into his thoughts as sherose to her feet.

“You bet.” Mateo handed over his blue tumbler.

As Brenda poured from the clear pitcher of ice cold lemonade in her

hands, he admired her figure in the formfitting powder blue sundress shewore. For a woman who’d had five children, she was still in great shape.

“Do you work out, Brenda? Because you don’t look like you have any

children at all.” Mateo continued to openly admire her shapely frame. He had

nothing to hide. He wanted Brenda to know that he found her attractive.

“Yes, I do.” Smiling, Brenda returned the now full tumbler to him. Afterrefilling her own drink, she sat back down at the round table and took a long

swig of the cold beverage. She needed it under Mateo’s hot gaze.

“When do you find the time to work out?” Though Mateo had learned a

lot about Brenda over the last three weeks of phone conversation, he had

not learned that.

“Oh, I make time for what I really want to do.” Brenda gave him anintense look, before returning to her beverage.

Mateo swallowed hard at her words and at the sight of her full lips upon

that privileged straw. Is it me? Or is it getting hotter out here? he thought,undoing the second button on his green polo shirt. Though it was a warmSaturday afternoon, it wasn’t that hot.

“What do you really want to do right now , Brenda?” Mateo boldly asked,hoping that he’d read her signals right. As he waited for her answer, he took

a long sip of his drink in order to ventilate his passion just enough to keep



from jumping Brenda’s bones. Mateo prided himself on being a gentleman.Thus, the first move had to be on the woman.

“Right now I want to finally get that kiss I never got on our first date,” Brenda replied, moving her chair closer to his.

At the first touch of her lips, Mateo knew he was going to enjoy kissing

Brenda. Her mouth was soft and so inviting. He couldn’t wait to wander

inside and see if she tasted as sweet as he imagined her to be.

Mmm…Mateo groaned deep within his throat. She was even sweeter thanhe thought.

Just as the kiss prepared to deepen beyond control, a barrage of voicessounded from inside the house. The children were home…early !

Brenda abruptly broke the kiss and stood up to greet her family. In the

blink of an eye, the shutters of her passion slammed closed. She was inmother-mode again.

Meanwhile, Mateo was not so quick to regain control. Either she wasn’t

feeling me as much as I was feeling her or she really is superwoman, hemused, continuing to take several deep breaths.

Fortunately, by the time Brenda’s ex-husband and kids came out on thepatio, Mateo was composed again. He remained composed as all the

introductions were made. It amused him to find that the two girls developedinstant crushes upon him, while the three boys glared at him suspiciously.

Brenda’s ex-husband also glared at Mateo, belying something that she’dmentioned on their first date. Stan wasn’t as emotionally detached as he

pretended to be. In fact, Mateo could see the man’s nostrils flaring hotly with jealousy even now.

When Brenda went out to the car to see some of the treasures thechildren brought home with them, Mateo quickly found out exactly what kind

of man Stan really was. “You have some beautiful children,” Mateo said,trying to remove the awkward silence between them. It was better than

having a stare-down across the table.

Stan only nodded. More silence ensued.

“The boys look just like you,” Mateo tried again.

“As they should. I am their father,” Stan replied nonchalantly. Then hegot to what he really wanted to say. “Look, I hope you don’t plan on hanging

around too long.”



“However long I hang around is up to Brenda and me.” Mateo spoke justas casually.

“And me,” Stan inserted more forcefully this time. “I don’t want Brendadistracted from raising our children.”

“Are you sure your only concern is the children? You still seem pretty

sprung on Brenda to me,” Mateo said in his usual straightforward way. In

fact, he suspected that jealousy was the reason Stan brought the childrenback home early today. Who ever heard of an hour long kid’s birthday party?

Those things usually lasted two to three hours tops.

Stan’s bronze face turned all shades of red in anger. “Brenda and I are

divorced. Been divorced for two years.”

“That doesn’t mean all the feelings went away,” Mateo countered.

Lowering his voice, he added a challenge. “Listen, man, I like Brenda a lot.

She’s good people. I also think you might be a pretty decent person, too, soI’m going to give it to you straight. If you want your ex-wife back, go for itwith everything you got. Because if you don’t , I’m certainly going to. That

kiss Brenda laid on me today made a brother want to stick close. Even gotme thinking about stepfatherhood.”

Stan’s eyes widened in surprise at Mateo’s candor. Respect was alsopresent on his face. Who wouldn’t respect a person who laid all his cards on

the table right away?

Just then, Brenda came back on the patio. This time she was alone. The

kids had been sent to put their new treasures up in their rooms.

“Is everything all right out here?” Brenda had never seen Stan that color

before. As for Mateo, well, he looked a bit smug right now.

“Everything is fine, Brenda,” Mateo replied with a secret smile. “But I

think I probably should be going now. Can you walk me to the door?” Hestood to his feet.

Brenda looked highly disappointed. She really liked Mateo and that kiss

had been off the charts. She wasn’t ready for him to leave yet. “I’m sorry

our date was cut short again.”

“No problem,” Mateo replied. “Just give me a call later night and maybewe can set something else up for next weekend.” He draped an arm about

Brenda’s shoulders and started towards the door. “That’s if you don’t already

have plans,” Mateo added, glancing back at Stan, who turned even redder inthe face now.



Mateo & Brenda

Part 3.1

After typing a very important email, Mateo positioned his computer

mouse and clicked on the ‘send’ icon. He smiled with satisfaction when a

blue message box appeared on the screen, announcing that his email hadbeen successfully sent.

That email was sent to Brenda, detailing the time, location and other

pertinent details of the secret rendezvous he had planned for them this

weekend. Due to an increase in her children’s extra curricular activities and achange in Stan’s work schedule, Mateo hadn’t been able to see Brenda at all

over the last three weeks. Their only contact had been by phone or email.

But this weekend all of that would change. This weekend Mateo planned

to see every part of Brenda. He planned to show her every part of him inreturn.

Tonight is the night, baby, Mateo mused. He just hoped Brendaremembered to wear that sexy outfit he had delivered to her yesterday

evening. He also hoped Stan wouldn’t back out of babysitting again.

* * *

At Brenda’s house, Stan waited patiently in the den while she helped the

kids pack for a weekend at his home. Take your time, honey, he mused,

standing near Brenda’s computer workstation, perusing the newest emailmessage she’d been sent.

Stan felt jealousy slam through his body as he read Mateo’s very

detailed, very intimate message to Brenda. This guy just isn’t giving up, is

he?

Stan thought for sure Mateo would have been old news by now. That’swhy he signed the kids up for so many new activities over the last three

weeks. That’s why he deliberately increased his work hours to include some

weekends. It had all been to wear Mateo’s patience down and make him

walk away from the woman Stan still loved with all of his heart. Now itseemed all of that careful planning had been in vain.

It can’t be. Not if I have something else to say about it, Stan thought,

springing into action.



Grateful for his computer expertise, Stan sent his apt fingers on amission. It didn’t take long to tap into the email configuration. It took even

less time to alter the email message itself.

Stan was done and sitting back on the den couch before Brenda ever

came back downstairs with the kids. When he saw her amble over to hercomputer and smile at the message she’d been sent, he smiled, too.

* * *

Brenda stepped out of her black sedan and locked it. She secured thesash on her navy trench coat for what had to be the twentieth time since

leaving home. Nervous excitement had her repeating that action as she

headed towards the entrance of the luxury hotel.

Brenda was nervous because she wore next to nothing underneath that

coat. She was excited for the same reason.

After two long years, Brenda had finally found a man that she actuallywanted to give herself to. Mateo. He was waiting for her right now for a time

of unbridled passion. After the long drought Brenda had had, she was ready

for some monsoon loving this weekend.

Entering the hotel foyer area, Brenda’s mind returned to Mateo’s email.According to the first part of his instructions, she was to give her full name

at the front desk. Then a key to a luxury suite would be presented to her.

Brenda couldn’t wait. She just hoped her eagerness didn’t show up too

much on the outside.

Oh, who cares if it does, Brenda mused, walking up to the front desk

with a determined stride. After sleeping alone for two years, she wasn’tabout to let what others think stop her now.

Once Brenda had the key to suite 208 in her hands, she made her way tothe elevators. That key seemed to burn in her palm, spreading warmth

throughout her entire body. Oh, yes, this was going to be a hot night...asteamy beginning to a sizzling weekend.

According to the second part of Mateo’s email, he would be waiting in thedark room for Brenda. Only a single candle would be lit. That candle would

be right by the door, which was the same place he wanted her to remove thetrench coat and expose the barely-there red and black teddy he had

delivered to her.



Then Brenda was to sashay her shapely frame over to the bed and letMateo take everything from there. No words would be spoken. They’d talked

enough over the last two months.

Brenda followed the email down to the letter. She smiled when she heard

the man on the bed moan with pleasure at the sight of her in that racyteddy. That made her even more eager to join him on the large mahogany

sleigh bed on the east side of the room. Such eagerness caused Brenda tostray from the script a bit.

“Mateo, I…”

“Shh…” the man on the bed said.

Brenda’s mouth snapped closed. Only moans and groans of ecstasy were

allowed tonight. She smiled sensually at that reminder. Her level of desire

went up five notches. Oh, how the thrill of the unknown excited her.

No sooner had Brenda gotten on the bed; she discovered that Mateo’sframe wasn’t that much different from Stan’s. Both men were muscular with

broad shoulders, hairless on the upper chest, with a spray of fine hair on the

lower torso.

However, Mateo’s style of lovemaking was very different from Stan’s.Mateo’s hands and mouth moved slower. They were more eager to please.

Stan’s style had been faster, more inclined to please himself. That was yet

another reason Brenda divorced him.

Soon all thoughts of Stan zoomed out as every cell in Brenda’s bodyzoomed in to Mateo’s handiwork. She couldn’t see anything in the darkroom, but she could feel it all. What she felt had her trembling and writhing

on the bed, ready for consummation.

Basking in the tender glow of the thorough lover hovering deliciously

over her frame, Brenda almost didn’t hear her cell phone rang. Almost. ThatBarney ringtone was pretty hard to miss, especially when it played for a

second time…louder .

“I have to get that, Mateo. It’s one of the children calling,” Brenda said,

shifting her body away from him just at the point of consummation. “I’msorry,” she added when she heard him groan in protest.

He said nothing in reply as he moved to the other side of the bed to wait

for her.

Retrieving her phone from the pocket of her coat, Brenda answered it on

the third ring. “Hello? Yes, honey, I’m here.” She held the mouthpiece with



one hand and turned towards the bed. “It’s my oldest,” Brenda explained,before returning to her call. “Have I seen your daddy? No, I haven’t. Isn’t he

there with you all?”

Brenda grew very quiet as she heard the most surprising news. Not only

were her children at their aunt’s house tonight, Stan was supposedly out ona date. A date!

No wonder he’s been too busy to keep the kids on the weekends, Brendamused as hot ire shot through her body. He could have told me he was

seeing someone! He didn’t have to lie about work.

“I don’t know why he’s not answering his cell phone, honey. Just keep

trying,” Brenda continued. “However, if something is wrong, you can tell meand maybe I can handle it.”

Then after patiently giving her son instructions on exactly how to make a

balloon animal, Brenda hung up the phone and returned to the bed. Insteadof lying down again, she sat on the edge, deep in thought.

Male hands began to touch her again, trying to pick up where they left

off. “Stop, Mateo. I’m sorry, but I’m really not feeling this anymore.” Brendastood to her feet. “I think I should just go on home. Maybe we can do this

another time.”

“There’s no time like the present,” the man on the bed replied.

Brenda’s eyes widened in shock. Surely her ears were deceiving her.

Surely that wasn’t Stan’s voice coming out of Mateo’s body.

Pivoting around, Brenda strained to see the man in the bed. “Mateo?!”

she said over the thick lump in her throat.

“Guess again, baby,” Stan replied as he switched on the bedside lamp.



Mateo & Brenda

Part 3.2

At another luxury hotel across town, the real Mateo got up from the

lonely poster bed he’d been lounging on and began to pace the floor. Brenda

was fifteen minutes late for their rendezvous. Mateo didn’t want to be anuisance by calling to check on her so early. After all, she wasn’t that late.

Brenda could have simply gotten caught in traffic or something minor likethat.

Yet if she had gotten caught in traffic, why hadn’t she called Mateo toexplain the delay? It wasn’t like she couldn’t. Brenda usually kept her cell

phone on her at all times.

Did she change her mind? Mateo wondered as dread attacked his belly.

Has something happened with one of the kids? Where are you, Brenda?

* * *

“Stan, how could you deceive me like this?!” Brenda asked, clenching and

unclenching her fists at her sides. She could just strangle him right now fortapping into her email and changing the time and location of her

rendezvous. For having the audacity to even pose as Mateo tonight.

Yet if Brenda was really honest with herself, she’d admit that she angrier

with herself right now. Not only did she find Stan’s daring a bit flattering, she

also found that she enjoyed all the many wonderful things he’d made herfeel tonight.

Stan had done things during the last fifteen minutes that he’d never done

in all the years of their courtship and marriage put together. And although

they had not gone all the way tonight, parts of Brenda’s body still tingledfrom the distance they’d traveled thus far.

“What? You suddenly hard of hearing?” Brenda asked, when Stan

continued to grin at her in silence. Feeling self-conscious, she picked up her

coat and the discarded lingerie from the floor.

“No, I heard you loud and clear, Brenda,” Stan replied, getting up from

the bed, oblivious to his state of undress. “I deceived you, because it wasthe only way I knew to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your

life. You’ve never been a one-night-stand kind of woman, Brenda. So whystart now?”



“It’s my life, my mistake to make, Stan!” Brenda retorted, putting on theskimpy teddy with shaky hands. “And who’s to say Mateo and I would have

stopped at just one night. Maybe we would have gone the distance. Maybe itwould have even led to marriage.”

“Marriage?!” Stan’s bronze complexion turned red at even the thought of another man touching his ex-wife, sleeping under the same roof as his

children. “If you’re going to marry anyone, Brenda, why don’t you remarryme? I know you felt something tonight. I felt you trembling in my arms. I

heard your moans of pleasure.”

Brenda shot him a daggered look. “That was only because I thought you

were somebody else.” She dressed even faster now. She had to get out of

here. Brenda needed to be alone to think.

“But I am someone else, Brenda,” Stan countered, moving closer to her.

“The fact that I’m even here tonight should tell you that. Didn’t you feel thedifference in my lovemaking? Didn’t you feel how much I still want you? How

much I still love you, Brenda?” His voice was smooth as silk as he spoke.

“You still love me?” Brenda tied the sash on the trench coat extra tight asif it would somehow hold her together, too. She couldn’t believe that

indifferent Stan was actually talking love and proposing marriage again. This

whole night was crazy.

“Yes. I never stopped loving you.” Stan put his arms around Brenda’s

waist and drew her close to his bare chest. “Let me show you how greatthings can be between us, Brenda. Let me show you all the things I should

have shown you while we were married.”

As Stan’s lips lowered to capture hers in a succulent kiss, Brenda felt the

sash on her coat loosen. There was no doubt in her mind that her ex-husband was ready to put his words into action right now. Would she let

him?

Just then, Brenda’s cell phone rang again. This ringtone was a standard

one, indicating that it was not one of her children. There was only one otherperson it could be right about now. Mateo.

Breaking the kiss, Brenda took a deep breath before answering herphone. “Hello?”

“Where are you, Brenda?” Mateo asked, still pacing the floor. He’d called

her house first. When he’d gotten no answer there, he became worried and

called her cell phone. “Is everything all right?”



At the sound of the real Mateo’s voice, Brenda turned her back to Stanand moved farther away from him. “Uh…everything is not all right,” she

replied, refusing to disclose her whereabouts. No need to add fuel to the fire. “In fact, I’m going to need to cancel our plans tonight.”

“Something come up with the kids again, huh?” Mateo stopped pacingand sat on the edge of the bed.

“I guess you could say that. It turns out that Stan wasn’t able to keepthem this weekend after all,” Brenda replied, telling as much of the truth as

she could in this most awkward moment. She winced when she looked downand saw at least three passion marks through the V-neck of the teddy she

wore. There was no telling how many more were on her body. Stan had been

most passionate tonight. Brenda felt a rush of heat surge through her at thatmemory.

At the other hotel, Mateo’s frown deepened. He wasn’t too surprised tohear that something had come up with the babysitting situation. He should

have known Stan was going to try something like that. Now he was reallyannoyed.

“I could come over to the house. I promise to be very quiet,” Mateo

suggested, hiding his annoyance behind lust. He wasn’t ready to give up on

their plans yet, even if they had to be modified.

“No!” Brenda blurted out. Then as if Mateo could actually see her through

the phone, she quickly snatched her coat closed again to hide the love bitesupon her body. There was no way she could let him see her like this.

The hairs on Brenda’s neck bristled when she heard Stan chuckle behind

her. There was nothing funny about this situation. The glare she turned

towards Stan made that abundantly clear. Though he shut up, he continuedto smile in amusement. Now Brenda really wanted to smack him.

“That was kind of abrupt,” Mateo noted aloud. He also thought he heard

a man’s laugh in the background, but he didn’t speak on that right now.

Brenda didn’t appear to be the cheating type to him.

“I’m sorry, Mateo,” Brenda said in a much softer tone. “I’m just a little

aggravated right now, that’s all.” She turned away from Stan again. “Listen,let’s finish this conversation when I get home, okay? Talk to you later, bye,”

Brenda concluded. Then she quickly hung up the phone in an effort to cut off Stan’s sick form of entertainment and cease any further awkwardness with

Mateo.

Across town, Mateo stopped talking mid-syllable. He was about to ask

Brenda if she’d changed her mind about them altogether before she abruptly



ended their call. Now he was starting to have second thoughts about therelationship.

As a frustrated Mateo put on his clothes and prepared to go downstairsfor a drink at the hotel bar, an equally frustrated and very confused Brenda

prepared to go home…alone. As for Stan, he was the only one wearing asmile tonight.



Mateo & Brenda

Part 4

Though Brenda would much rather stay in her office and continue to use

work to cloud out the events of last weekend, she decided to go to lunch

after all. For some reason, Cecily, her supervisor and dear friend, just wouldnot take no for an answer. But then again, Cecily could be very persistent

when she wanted to be. That’s how she made chief accountant last year.

“Okay, I’ll go,” Brenda finally agreed. “But we’re going to my favorite

spot.” She closed the green ledger and stood up from her desk chair.

“No problem at all,” Cecily replied with a warm smile. Brenda’s favorite

restaurant just so happened to be hers, too.

At the busy Italian pizza place, Brenda and Cecily sat at a booth in thefar right corner. After a raven-haired waitress took their order and served

them tea, Cecily started in with her questions. They only had an hour and a

half for lunch, so she had no time to waste on meaningless chit-chat.

“What’s up with you this week?” Cecily asked. “You’ve been verydistracted for the last three days, your right eye is twitching, and you got on

two different kinds of pumps today. And it ain’t even tax season yet.”

Brenda’s eyes widened. She stuck her feet out into the aisle and looked

down at her shoes. Sure enough, the right one was a different style than the

left. Though they were both black in color, one had a wedge heel and theother had a spiked heel.

No wonder I’ve been walking funny all morning, Brenda mused, shaking

her head in disgust. She closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath.

Why hadn’t anybody said something before now?

Cecily patiently waited until Brenda opened her eyes before starting inwith more questions. “What’s got you so rattled? Is it the kids? Stan? This

new fellow you’ve been seeing?”

“All of the above,” Brenda replied, tucking her scandalous feet back under

the table. Then she commenced to bringing her friend up to speed on what

had been going on in her life recently.

When Brenda was done, Cecily had only one question now. “Have youprayed on the situation?”

Brenda shook her head. “No. Quite frankly, I didn’t think God would beinterested in my love life.” In fact, she usually only went to Him when she



had to. God wasn’t actually a part of her everyday life, even though shemade sure her children said their prayers every night and went to church

every Sunday.

“Girl, God is interested in every part of our life. Take it from someone

who knows,” Cecily replied. “Remember a couple of years ago when I wasdebating about whether or not to marry Rodney?”

“Yeah.” Brenda recalled those tense weeks very well. “As I remember wespent much time on the phone talking about the pros and cons of marrying a

younger man.”

“Right. Well, I never told you how I came to my final decision.” Cecily

paused for a discreet moment as the waitress returned with their order.

When they were alone again, a curious Brenda prodded for more details.

“Don’t leave me hanging. How did you come to your final decision?”

“I have this little old lady named Miss Aquilla to thank for that. Well, MissAquilla noticed how much I’d been frowning during that time and decided to

approach me one Sunday after church.” A lopsided smile graced Cecily’s face

at what she was about to say next. “When I saw that old woman comingtowards me, I tensed up even more. Got real stiff in the back, you know?

After all, Miss Aquilla wasn’t necessarily known for speaking the truth inlove. I mean, that sista could literally cut a person with her words. I

personally saw her bring one of the deacons down a peg or two when his

pride threatened to get out of hand.” Cecily chuckled. “I thought they weregoing to come to blows out in the parking lot. If they had, my money would

have been on Miss Aquilla. If I was a betting woman, that is.” She laughedagain.

“Wow. Miss Aquilla don’t play, huh?” Brenda laughed, too, despite herfoul mood. It felt good to do so. She was glad she came out to lunch after

all. “So what happened next?” Brenda prodded.

“Well, that old woman surprised the heck out of me,” Cecily continued.

“Miss Aquilla didn’t cut me to the quick in front of everybody like I thoughtshe would. Instead she pulled me off to the side and whispered two simple,

yet powerful sentences. She said, ‘Pray and then follow peace. Let it lead you in all your life decisions, big or small ’.” Cecily took a bit of her pizza as

she waited for those words to sink in with Brenda.

“I got the prayer part. But how exactly do I follow peace?” Brenda asked.

She hadn’t touched her food yet. This conversation was her sustenance rightnow.



“It’s simple. Think about going back to Stan for a moment. Ask yourself this, do I really have peace about doing that? If the answer is yes, girl, you

need to go get your man today. That’s what I did with Rodney. But if theanswer is no, you need to sever all emotional ties with him outside of the

children.”

“That sounds simple enough to do. But what about Mateo?”

“Do the same thing concerning him. If being with Mateo brings youpeace, then that’s the man you need to be with.”

“If it is Mateo, should I tell him what happened with Stan?” Brenda

asked.

“If I was you, I’d summarize the events,” Cecily advised. “Giving too

many details can cause discord and insecurity in your relationship. In my

opinion, all Mateo needs to know about that night is that Stan sabotaged

your date by sending you to the wrong hotel.” A thoughtful Cecily took a sipof her tea, then added, “But then again, that’s probably yet another thingyou need to pray about. What works for me, may not work for you.”

Brenda nodded with glossy eyes. “Thanks a lot, Cecily. You’ve been a bighelp to me today.”

Cecily laughed. “Somebody had to tell you about those mismatched

shoes. On the way back, we’ll stop by a store and get you another pair. My

treat.”

“Great, then I guess I’m buying lunch,” Brenda replied, suddenly feelingvery hungry now.

* * *

Later that night, Stan stopped by Brenda’s house. He used some excuse

about missing the kids and wanting to tuck them into bed tonight. Brendaknew that Stan really came to see her. Why else would he be back

downstairs and in the kitchen with her within fifteen minutes of his arrival?That was hardly enough time to tuck in one of their talkative children,

especially the younger ones who led the pack in conversation.

“What do you want, Stan?” Brenda asked as she unloaded the

dishwasher. He’d been staring at her silently for the last two minutes.

“You,” Stan replied huskily, coming up behind her.

“Don’t come any closer!” Brenda hissed, abruptly turning around to face

him. Her hazel eyes flashed fire. She would not be touched inappropriately

by him again.



“Why not, Brenda?” Stan stopped short in his tracks. “Don’t you wantmore of what you had the other night?”

Brenda nodded, standing akimbo style. “Yes, but not with you. As Irecall, I was never supposed to have any of that with you anyway .” As she

put special emphasis on a few words, her neck did that sista-girl rotationthing, denoting the extent of her current ire.

“Come on, Brenda. You can’t deny the chemistry between us.” Stanleaned casually against the oak island, undaunted by her anger. Last Friday

had given him more confidence than usual.

Brenda felt heat rush through her, not from excitement, but from anger.

How arrogant could Stan be? Did he actually think he had her cornered bywhat happened on Friday?

“Stan, don’t flatter yourself,” Brenda said. “My body would have probably

betrayed me to the bellhop that night. Especially since it hasn’t had sex intwo years. But in the light of day, I have more than enough sense not to letmy body rule my heart.”

Stan looked doubtful. “So you’re trying to tell me that the other nightwas simply you just reacting to your body’s need for sex?”

“Mostly. Any feelings I had were associated with a dream. A dream that I

discovered I hadn’t quite let go of yet.” Brenda turned around and started to

put up the dry dishes, lest her hands slap that smug look off of Stan’s face.

“What dream is that?”

“The same dream that stopped me from divorcing you years before I

actually did.” Brenda turned back to face him. “The dream of having my kidsbe raised in the same house with a mother and a father. A dream that I have

since let go of.” Her anger was lessening now.

“But we can still have that dream, Brenda,” Stan countered. “It doesn’t

have to die. We can make it come true.” He was starting to look desperatenow. His arrogance was long gone in the face of Brenda’s steadfastness, her

even calmer resolution.

“No, we can’t, Stan,” Brenda replied. “You see, I prayed long and hard on

the situation. In doing so, I discovered that my heart just wasn’t with youanymore. Honestly, I don’t think yours is with me anymore, either. The way I

see it, I was a toy that you didn’t want until you saw someone else playing

with it. After all, you had two years to get me back before I started seriouslydating someone. Two whole years, Stan, and you never showed any interest

at all. Why is that?”



Stan shrugged. “I guess I was trying to build up my courage.” He shiftedhis feet from side to side uncomfortably.

Brenda smiled knowingly and shook her head. “No, you weren’t. Youwere trying to keep things as they are. And if you were afraid of anything, it

was change. You’ve always resisted change, Stan. Remember how much fussyou made over me rolling your socks into a ball instead of folding them

neatly together at the ends?”

“Yeah.” Stan smiled at the memory of their first real marital argument.

They’d had great make-up sex after that fight.

“Well, it’s the same way now. You don’t really want me, Stan. You simply

want the comfort zone that I represent.”

Stan stared at Brenda for a long, silent moment. Her words had hit him

hard, made him think just as hard about everything. It took everything in

Stan not to lower his gaze, to face this moment head-on.

“You’re right, Brenda. I have been afraid of change,” Stan confirmed, his

expression solemn.

Brenda smiled. “At least you tried to change the other night. The old

Stan would’ve never done the things you did,” she said, attempting to lessenthe tension between them even more now.

Now Stan looked embarrassed. His cheeks had two deep red spots inthem. “I have another confession to make, Brenda. All that stuff I did came

right out of Mateo’s email. The man was very detailed about what you couldexpect from him that night. I just followed his script.”

Instead of Brenda blowing a gasket as Stan thought she would, she burstout laughing. “Man, you really were desperate, weren’t you?” she said in-

between guffaws.

Stan smiled. “I guess so.” Banishing all pride and embarrassment away,

he started to laugh, too.

“If it helps any, you deserve a solid A for your efforts,” Brenda said,

wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. “Now if you don’t mind seeingyourself out, I need to place a call to your instructor.” See if there’s any hope

left for us, she added to herself.

* * *

Mateo put the phone down for the tenth time that evening. He’d been

about to call Brenda yet again. He hated himself for being so weak. Why

should he bother to call a woman who promised to phone him on Friday



when she got home, but never did? Neither had she contacted him by email.It was now five days later.

Now Mateo was stuck with all these unanswered questions.

What happened that night to change Brenda’s mind about them? Whyhadn’t she at least called to let him know that she changed her mind? And

why couldn’t Mateo just move on? After all, a no-call, no-show was a blatant

sign to anyone that the relationship was over.

Picking up the telephone again, Mateo forced himself to dial anothernumber this time. This number rang to the home of the beautiful woman

he’d met at the hotel bar on Friday night.

Time to move on, man, Mateo told himself as he waited for Alyssa to pick

up.



Mateo & Brenda

Part 5

Mateo was on the other line talking to Alyssa when Brenda’s call came

through. He clicked over without looking at the caller ID.

If he had looked at the caller ID, he might have hesitated or not

answered Brenda’s call at all. Especially since he was still angry about beingstood up. Plus, Mateo and Alyssa were just getting into a good conversation

groove. He didn’t particularly want to mess that up.

“Hello, Mateo, it’s Brenda,” said the woman of his dreams…and recent

nightmares.

Mateo’s heart lodged in his throat. His pulse quickened, his palms started

to sweat, and he sat up straighter in the recliner.

“You’re returning my call five days too late, aren’t you?” Mateo said,

using his trademark bluntness as a weapon now. Inwardly, he scolded histraitorous body for reacting so fervently to the sound of her voice. Even now,

his pulse raced with excitement.

Brenda’s shoulders slumped with discouragement as she sat on the edge

of her bed. This conversation had not started off well at all.

“Is it too late, Mateo? Is it really too late for us to make a go of things? I

still want to date you. Do you still want to date me?” An acid ‘No’ was on the tip of Mateo’s tongue. But when he spoke,

something different came out of his mouth altogether. “Why should webother, Brenda? There’s no room for me in your life.”

“I’m ready to make room for you, Mateo. As much room as you need,”

Brenda replied humbly.

Despite the sincerity in her voice, Mateo said, “Am I supposed to believe

this from a woman who not only stood me up on a very important night, butwho also waited five days to return my call? Five days, Brenda!”

“I apologize for not calling you, Mateo,” Brenda said in that same humbletone. “Quite frankly, I was too embarrassed to call you.”

“Why would you be embarrassed to call me? It was Stan’s fault thatthings went haywire that night, not yours.” So engrossed with Brenda, Mateo

completely forgot about Alyssa on the other line.



“Yes, it was Stan’s fault, but I had a part to play in that drama, too,” Brenda replied.

Then she began to tell Mateo what really transpired that night, leavingnothing out. She had peace about being so forthcoming. After all, if they

were going to have a future together, there needed to be no secrets betweenthem in the present.

Mateo was beyond words as he listened to Brenda disclose the events of that failed rendezvous. In pride he had challenged Stan. The man had

obviously risen to that challenge in a big way, boldly leaving behind theevidence of his presence on Brenda’s body.

No wonder she hadn’t wanted Mateo to see her that night. No wondershe hadn’t called.

“Say something, Mateo,” Brenda prodded. He’d remained silent a full two

minutes after she ended her disclosure.

“I don’t really know what to say,” Mateo replied. Yet he definitely knew

what to ask. “Are you guys getting back together?” Just the thought of that

sent jealous waves crashing upon the shores of his soul.

“Absolutely not! I made that very clear to him tonight. All Stan and Ihave between us now are our kids,” Brenda advocated. Then she told Mateo

the details of tonight’s talk with her ex-husband.

Mateo let out a long breath. At the same time his other line clicked off.

Alyssa had grown tired of waiting and hung up.

Well, that relationship door just slammed shut, Mateo mused, amazed

that he wasn’t too bothered by that fact.

“You should have told me you had someone on the other line. I would

have called back,” Brenda said, noting that distinctive click.

Had Mateo been on the line with another woman? No, she couldn’t allow

her mind to even go there, lest she become too discouraged and end the callright when she was starting to make progress.

“Would you really have called back, Brenda?” There was still a trace of doubt in Mateo voice. However, he was considerably less angry now.

“Yes, I would have. I’ve come too far now to give up on the man I love.”

Mateo’s eyes widened. Now every cell in his body was at full attention. “You love me?!”



“Yes.” Brenda’s voice softened to a tender caress. “I make it a practice toonly sleep with men I love, which is why I agreed to that rendezvous with

you in the first place. Which is yet another reason I couldn’t sleep with Stanthat night once I found out who he was. I don’t love him anymore. I love

you, Mateo. Only you.”

Her voice threatened to break at that point, but Brenda pressed forward

with her most important question. “So will you give me…us another chance?”

Mateo swallowed hard over his pride. His heart had to rule in this

moment. “Yes,” he whispered huskily. Oh, the things this woman could makehim feel, even from a distance.

Brenda exhaled loudly in relief. She leaned back on the bed with asatisfied smile. “Great, but this time I think you should date all of us, me

and my children. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” Mateo readily replied as every ounce of tension exited his body.

Even though Brenda came with a package deal, to him she was so worth

it. Not just because of her wonderful kisses, but also because of her

wonderful honesty.

How many women would have told on themselves like Brenda didtonight? How many people in general would have done so?

Brenda’s smile widened. “Great again. Let’s start this Sunday. Can you join us for church?”

It was time to bring God into their relationship. Plus, by then all thepassion marks would have disappeared from her body, making Brenda less

self-conscious in her beloved’s presence.

“I’d be honored to attend church with all of you.” Mateo smiled and

leaned back in the recliner. “By the way, I love you, too, baby.”

The End

* * * * *

If you liked this excerpt and want to purchase the Dating Series inits entirety where even more fascinating couples are featured, click

on the link below:

http://www.lulu.com/content/1811569





You can find more samples of my writing at the following websites:

http://mochainterlude.bravehost.com/ - this is my main website. Most of mybooks can be bought here. There’s a free book featured at this site in its

entirety.

http://mochainterlude.blogspot.com/ - this is my inspirational blog. Books

featured here are given in samples. Some of them are pretty lengthy.

http://suprinasfreeread.tripod.com/ - this is another inspirational blog.

Another free book is featured here.

http://www.freewebs.com/moreofsuprina/index.htm - this is my westernwebsite and features a lengthy sample of one of my western books.

http://stores.lulu.com/suprinaf1 - this is where most (not all) of mypaperbacks can be found.

http://www.myspace.com/michelledodsonstories - this blog contains all of

my literary updates and announcements.

http://storiesbymichelledodson.blogspot.com/ - this blog features lengthy

samples of my secular books. My pen name here is Mi’Chelle Dodson.

http://suprina.wordpress.com/ - this blog features lengthy samples of mybooks and short stories. There are even pictures to go along with each story.

http://mochainterlude.bravehost.com/

http://mochainterlude.blogspot.com/

http://suprinasfreeread.tripod.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/moreofsuprina/index.htm

http://stores.lulu.com/suprinaf1

http://www.myspace.com/michelledodsonstories

http://storiesbymichelledodson.blogspot.com/

http://suprina.wordpress.com/

http://mochainterlude.bravehost.com/

http://mochainterlude.blogspot.com/

http://suprinasfreeread.tripod.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/moreofsuprina/index.htm

http://stores.lulu.com/suprinaf1

http://www.myspace.com/michelledodsonstories

http://storiesbymichelledodson.blogspot.com/

http://suprina.wordpress.com/

dating series excerpt

Documents