succumbed to my charming,
persuasive ways and given me her address. Good ol ’ Kesha . I still wasn’t sure about her, though. I couldn’t
quite tell if she actually liked me, or if she loathed me and just tolerated
me. At the gym, she had a way of looking at me with an unusual combination of
lust and suspicion. I sensed she was mainly just watching over her girlfriend and
partner with a close eye.
Cruising down the southbound I-5, (known to all Californians
as simply “the 5”) I tried not to let my self-defeating thoughts keep me from
enjoying the cool Pacific breeze and the scenic view of Mission Bay on my right.
The watery playground was full of colorful sailboats, and wind surfers, and the
surrounding park was packed with families barbecuing and picnicking. I pictured
Cali and me out there, throwing a Frisbee back and forth to the rescue dog that
we would adopt – Charlie the chocolate lab.
My vision made me smile and I tried keeping a positive
attitude, but old habits die hard so my thoughts returned to the truth of the
situation: I knew deep down that
Cali was out of my league. She was intelligent, breathtakingly beautiful, and a
genuinely good person. Why would she even consider getting involved with me?
My track record with women was horrible, and I had never
really cared about anybody but myself. I didn’t even know how to treat a woman
with respect. Basically, I treated most people like shit. I was obviously no
good for her. I contemplated exiting the freeway at the next off-ramp and heading
home.
But I couldn’t. I had to have her and I wouldn’t take no for
an answer. I never did; I always got what I wanted. That was partly because of
my affluent upbringing but it was also due to the intensive mental preparation that I had
undergone during my SEAL training. Nothing deterred me. Least of all fear. Cali
would be mine if I pursued her with the same dogged determination that I
possessed during all of my missions.
As I drove through downtown Hillcrest, a new picture popped
into my head: Cali and I strolling hand-in-hand down University Avenue, window
shopping and stopping to have some espressos at one of the many cool little
coffee joints that lined the street. It was another sweet little daydream. One which,
to my surprise, inspired me to stop at an appealing little flower shop on the
corner. Five minutes later, I was carrying an oversized bouquet of daffodils
and daisies back out to my car. I had never bought flowers for a woman before,
but I intended to make a habit of it now. Cali seemed to bring out the
gentleman in me that I didn’t even know existed.
I pulled up to the curb in front of her house just in time to
see Cali bent over, trying to pick up a small wiggly, scruffy dog. She was loading
it into an SUV, along with two others. Her awesome, heart-shaped ass was poised
up in the air, with her sweet little cheeks just slightly peeking out at me
from inside her tight Levi cut-offs. Fuck!
She has no clue what she does to me! My dick was already stirring …..
A woman, who I assumed was her mother, was behind the wheel.
I hopped out of my car, bouquet in hand, and called out to Cali.
“Cali, wait up! I was hoping I would catch you at home. Do
you have a moment to talk? These are for you.”
She took the flowers from me, stuck her face in the middle of
them, and inhaled their sweet fragrance with her pretty smile. The three mutts
of various sizes yapped out of the back window at me.
“Oh Devlin, they’re lovely, thank you, but I don’t really
have much time. One of mom’s bathers called in sick, so I’m going to help out
at her dog grooming shop today. We were just leaving.”
I suddenly noticed the dogs weren’t the only ones with their
heads hanging out of the car. Cali’s mom had her eyes fixed on me as well. She
was a looker herself; an aged to perfection, slightly older version of Cali.
She could’ve passed for
Darrel Ray
Rayanna Jamison
Tess Highcroft
S. L. Scott
Celia Rees
Stephanie Laurens
Mark Wayne McGinnis
E. L. Todd
Sarah Mlynowski
Annie Barrows