Alejandro (6 page)

Queen_V:
Truthfully, I prefer someone whose skin is different than mine too. My last bf was black but lighter than me. It’s hard to admit that.

Al79V:
We like what we like. There’s no shame in it.

Queen_V:
I feel a little wrong about it. If I’m mostly attracted to guys who are lighter than me, doesn’t that mean I secretly hate my own skin color and want to be lighter?

Al79V:
I bet if you had lighter skin, the dark-skinned brothas would catch your eye, because it’s the contrast that attracts you.

Queen_V:
Oooh ok. I like that defense lol

Al79V:
I wish I could hear that laugh of yours

Queen_V:
I wish I could see that face of yours :P

Al79V:
Lol Be a good girl and you’ll get what you want

Queen_V:
Being a good girl never works for me

Al79V:
It will with me, Beautiful. Having a grateful attitude attracted more things into my life to be thankful for. I’m grateful to have you as a friend, by the way. The nights get a little lonely when you travel for work as much as I do. To hear your voice would bring some warmth to this empty hotel room I’m in. Could I call you sometime?     

Queen_V:
That would be nice

Al79V:
How about tomoro night? 10:30?

Queen_V:
Ok :)

Al79V:
I can tell you’re worried lol

Queen_V:
How did you know that? Now I’m really worried lol

Al79V:
I had a feeling you would be.

Queen_V:
I’m just praying you’re not a pervert

Al79V:
I’m a man, V. Of course I’m a pervert sometimes :P I’m only a pervert when it’s appropriate tho. I promise.

Queen_V:
I sure hope so

Al79V:
Gimme them digits girl ;)

Queen_V:
I won’t type very well without any digits

Al79V:
Ha ha ha! Gimme dat phone number so I can call your nerdy ass

Queen_V:
Lol Yes I’m a nerd. Try your best to keep up with me ;) Here’s my number...

***

“I think we have the makings of a class action suit, here,” Ally smirked as she strode toward Veronica’s desk with an armload of paperwork and file folders. “Mr. Roberto Diaz and his wife Imelda Diaz bought three cans of Vega brand white hominy on January 15th.” Ally dumped the tower of files onto Veronica’s desk, causing her framed family photos to quake. “After enjoying a delicious meal of chicken pasole, they and their three children played musical toilets all night. Food poisoning. I’m sure the CDC will officially classify this as an outbreak very soon, what with the number of Hispanic consumers in California. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz want my representation, making it very likely that I’ll be representing all of the plaintiffs in the Diaz vs. Vega Foods, Incorporated case. My very first class action suit. This could put me on television, Veronica.” Thinking of cameramen and camerawomen, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dark blue jacket and pressed her lips together to spread her ruby lipstick.

“Yay,” Veronica cheered with as much enthusiasm as she could muster while imagining the pressure they’d all be under.

“It could also mean bonuses all around.”

“Bonuses?” Veronica kissed her fingertips and rubbed her hand on top of the column of papers. “I’ll get right on it, Ms. Kokkinos.”

“I need those organized by the end of the day because I’ll need you and Carmen assisting me with client interviews first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” She inhaled deeply to combat the agitated hive of anxiety that had been growing in her chest since she rolled out of bed that morning.

“Lunchtime!” Carmen sprang up from her desk. Today she wore a green cap-sleeved dress and her red hair was up in a chignon.

“I’m having lunch delivered to my office today,” said Ally, “You ladies go to Alonzo’s without me.”

Alonzo’s was an adorable Italian eatery that offered the best shrimp cocktail Veronica had ever tasted. Both girls sat at their usual table and ordered chopped salads and garlic knots.

“Why the long face,” Carmen questioned.

“Oh. I didn’t realize I was frowning.” Veronica adjusted the cloth napkin on the lap of her black, belted, cowl neck dress.

“Well? What’s up?”

“This is gonna sound ridiculous, but I think I’m afraid to speak to that guy I’ve been talking to online. He said he’d call me tonight.”

“The Spanish hottie?”

“I don’t know if he’s a hottie. That’s why I’m confused. Why am I nervous to talk to some random guy who could be as ugly as Carrot Top with no makeup on?”

“Hey. I can’t let you say that about a fellow Ginger,” Carmen said once she finished laughing. “You’re only nervous because you want things to go well.”

“Carmen, honestly, I haven’t felt so nervous over a guy in a long time.”

“Wow, what’s he been telling you? Uh-oh. Did he promise you shopping sprees and yacht trips if you opened up a bank account for him? He’s one of those Nigerian dudes! Open your eyes, Veronica! He’s a scammer!”

Veronica laughed and almost choked on a crumble of gorgonzola cheese. “You’re so silly. No he’s not. Not a Nigerian scam artist, anyways. His English is too good.”  

“If he makes you any crazy promises, run away.”

She nodded. “I know all that. He hasn’t done anything wrong yet. He’s smart, he makes me laugh,” Veronica paused, smiled, “and he tells me I’m beautiful.”

“So, of course, you want things to stay that way. You don’t want to be disappointed if you find out he has the voice of a castrato.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks for giving me another thing to worry about.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll shut up now.” Carmen shoved a whole garlic bread knot into her mouth.

 “Chipmunk,” Veronica teased.

“Don rorry Wemomika. Ibwuh be awight.”    

***

The digital world really took all the drama out of reading time. Analog clocks were solemn, blank faces that ticked and tocked on, second after second, with hands twitching ever closer to some dreaded hour. Digital clocks were faceless, silent, and unforgiving. In the blink of an eye, without warning, the numbers changed.     

Veronica steepled her hands under her chin as she sat on her couch, watching a rerun on the muted TV and obsessively glancing at the time on the cable box. 10:28 PM. Her elbows were slowly slipping off of her knees, finding little traction on the silky fabric of her pink pajama pants. She sat in silence watching the time.
What if he turns out to be really cool to talk to but I can’t hold his interest with my conversation? What if there are a dozen awkward silences? What if he’s actually a redneck Neo-Nazi from Kentucky playing a trick on me for race-mixing?
In an instant the clock read 10:29. The orb of anxiety in her chest tingled and pulsed.
Why am I so nervous?!
 

The vibrating of her cell phone buzzed against the glass tabletop of the coffee table before her. Startled, she jumped up from the couch, then grabbed the phone from the table. Her thrilled heart chilled when she read the screen.

Quincy.

Don’t let him ruin your night. Remember?
Yes, she remembered how Quincy had argued with her, ducking and dodging responsibility for the demise of their relationship, but what if this time there was an emergency? Maybe something happened to his mom or to him. Her thumb began to sway in the direction of the glowing green answer icon, the sound of Keyshia Cole crooning a scolding love song from the speaker of her phone barely keeping her at bay.

Wait. If it’s important, he’ll leave a message.

She returned the phone to the coffee table and sat down on the couch again. The phone stopped ringing. Soon after, her phone chimed, alerting her that there was a message. She listened to Quincy’s recorded voice.

“Veronica, this isn’t cool for me to be livin’ under my mother’s roof again. When are you going to stop playing this game and let me come back home? I had planned a cookout for this weekend at our house. Am I supposed to just tell my boys and my family that it’s canceled because of you? We need to have a real discussion about this. Call me back.”
 
      

“Wow,” Veronica said, shaking her head, upset that he had no intentions to try to make it up to her for what he’d done. He wanted her to pretend his cheating never happened and wasn’t still happening. And she wanted to, because she loved him. But she couldn’t lie down in the name of love and let him walk all over her again. Veronica was tired of being that woman. The next guy she would allow herself to be in a relationship with would have to knock it out of the park in order for her to hand her heart to him. He would have to be impeccable. Jaw-dropping. Instead of them shaking their heads in disappointment, her friends would be wagging their tongues out of jealousy. She giggled at the thought.

Bzzz!

A second later her heart was racing and the cell phone was back in the palm of her hand. She didn’t recognize the number but she knew it was him. “Be cool. Be cool.” Veronica took a deep breath, put on a smile, and answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Veronica. Guess who?”

From her scalp down to her toes, his deep sensual voice warmed her, like drinking from a mug of the richest hot cocoa laced with a dash of cayenne pepper and spiked with Puerto Rican dark rum.
Oh damn I’m in trouble. The way he said my name with that accent...Berrroneeka.
“Um...Heyyy. Hi. Alejandro? I’m surprised you called. How are you?”

“Surprised? I know you were waiting on me,” he said with a smile.

Her ears and neck went hot with embarrassment. “Oh please,” she dismissed light-heartedly. “I was curled up on the couch enjoying an episode of UnEarthly.”

“Yeah? Which episode? The one from last week when Luke and JC exterminated those Martian roachoids from that bed and breakfast in Nantucket?”

Veronica grinned. “No. It’s the one where JC finds out his DNA was stolen by Alpha-Cetians and that one of the clones they created of him was a wanted serial killer in Louisiana.”  

“That was a great one. UnEarthly is so addictive. Definitely my favorite show.”

“Mine too!”

Alejandro chuckled. Veronica could almost feel his breath against her ear. “Okay. Tell me more of your favorite things,” he said. “For future reference.”

“Future reference? What are you implying?” She grinned.

“You already know, V. So what’s your favorite color?”

“Orange. What’s yours?” Veronica could feel her skin starting to perspire.

“Blue. Ocean blue, not navy blue. Hmm. Our favorite colors make the Miami Dolphins uniform. That’s beautiful.”

She laughed. “I guess. Is that a basketball team?”

“Lord. Basketball team? You’re adorable.”

“I’m 31 years old, way past the window of opportunity to be adorable.”

“I bet you still have stuffed animals.”

“I...” Veronica bit her bottom lip. “So what.”

“Aw. What’s your favorite animal?”

Veronica smiled. “Horsies—I mean horses.”

“Hahaha!”

“Don’t laugh at me!” She buried her face into her palm.

His voice fell back down to its usual sensual depth once his laughter subsided. “Sorry. I’m just enjoying you,
corazón
.”

Veronica’s stomach fluttered. “Um, so, where are you right now? Still in New Mexico?”

“Yes. I will be here for two more days at least, managing international shipments at one of the company’s warehouses.”

“International. Does that mean you get to travel internationally as well?”

“Occasionally I’m needed in Mexico or South America or in the Caribbean to analyze the market, check on distribution centers, boring stuff.”

“Doesn’t sound boring to me. Sounds amazing. I’ve never been out of the country in my life.”

“I have plenty of frequent flyer miles on hand.” Veronica could hear his grin in his voice. “You’d like Argentina. Lots of horsies there.”

“Hmm.” Veronica reclined deeper into the couch cushions. “Don’t make me any crazy promises you can’t keep.”

“No promises. Just possibilities.” His suaveness was broken by a big yawn. “Sorry. The day is catching up to me.”

“What time do you have to be up tomorrow?”

“I’m gonna get up at six so I can go to the gym before work.”

“Nice. I haven’t seen the inside of a gym since President Obama’s first inauguration,” she joked to camouflage her shame.    

“The hardest part is getting started. Once you do, you’ll stand taller and treat yourself and your body more considerately.”

“I’m considerate of my body. If it wants an ice cream sandwich, I am considerate enough to stop what I’m doing, get into my car, and drive to the grocery store to buy one.”

 “I used to massacre those chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches when I was little.” He groaned. “Let’s not talk about ice cream sandwiches that I can’t eat.”

She giggled. “My bad.”

“You can talk about anything else you want to for as long as you want to, woman, with that cute comforting voice you have. That’s why I’m yawning, because I keep thinking of curling up under the blankets with you as my pillow.” He yawned again.

A shiver of desire traveled through her body. “I’m not gonna lie, your voice is divine.” She laughed, blushed. Then the sound of his laugh made her laugh along with him.

“Thank you. No one’s ever told me that. Ahh. Feels good to just laugh and relax with someone who doesn’t want something from me. I have to be such a hard-ass at work.”

“But I do want something.”

“Let me guess. My picture?”

“Smart boy.”

“Soon. Soon.”

“When?”

There was a pause. “When the time is right.”

Veronica shook her head, silent, angry, certain that she was an idiot to continue talking to this man.

“Veronica―.”

“Alejandro, I really hope this social experiment your running works. Or should I say experiments?”

“No, no. You’re my one and only. And you aren’t my lab rat. We’re in this together, testing each other out. I thought you understood what I was trying to do.”