Dare To Be Wild (10 page)

“I'll think about it,” was all she would commit to.

“And don't go asking Jasi,” Lena told her. “You know that little ho will have her condoms packed and be on the first thing smokin'.”

“You got that right. And then after she climbs off the dick between her legs, she'll catch the next plane to meet you!” Aleesa said, making all three of them laugh.

Don't be so sure it's a dick,
Livia wanted to tell them.

“I know exactly where you should go,” Lena announced with all the excitement of an Idris Elba sighting. “If you want to go skinny dipping and incorporate any other upgrades on this sheet, go to Saline Beach in St. Bart's. Best nudie cutie beaches in the Caribbean. Stay at the Christopher Hotel. Great rooms, great service, great time!”

“Nudie cutie? Really?” Livia asked, rolling her eyes.

“Honestly, though, do you think she can handle being by herself? You know, alone in active pursuit mode? We are talking about
Livia Charles,” Aleesa asked, ignoring Livia and speaking to Lena as if her cousin wasn't sitting at the table.

“True. It is a bit like sending the Little Red Hen into Colonel Sanders' kitchen. There's a good chance she's gonna get devoured.”

“Hello. I am sitting right here,” Livia protested. “What are you two so worried about? It's not like I'm fresh out of high school and headed abroad on my own.”

“Yeah, well, here's the thing, Livi, Aleesa's got a point. If you play in the big girl leagues, you've to be ready to handle the attention that comes with putting yourself out there like that,” Lena explained.

“What she's trying to say, Cuz, is that you're beautiful and the more you bloom, the more men are going to want to sniff your bud. Especially down there in the islands where the universal rule of ‘what happens on vacation, stays on vacation' applies.”

Livia could feel a mix of confusion and concern color her face. Her desire was definitely piqued, but maybe this whole going away alone to get her groove on wasn't such a good idea after all.

“So are you now saying that you don't think it's a good idea for me to go?” Liv asked, her head shifting from side to side so she could gauge both their reactions.

“No, not at all. What we're saying is that you need to be prepared for the attention,” Aleesa replied. “And have a few guidelines to follow.”

“Like what?”

“Like always listen to your gut. Don't go with anyone or do anything that doesn't feel one hundred percent right,” Lena said.

“And always let someone know when and where you are.”

“Take your own supply of condoms. No cover. No lover,” Lena told her. “And have an exit line,” she added.

“An exit line? Okay, now what's that?” Livia asked as her head ping-ponged back and forth between the two.

“You know, a line to let someone down easy, so they walk away feeling good and not pissed at you.”

“We're scaring her to death,” Aleesa remarked. “Look at her face. She's not going to go alone.”

“No, you haven't,” Livia said, surprising them both. “True, I might be a little nervous, but I really want to try this. Besides, you're forgetting one important detail. Quincy's got this. I'm merely going along for the ride.”

J
asi kissed Belinda on her forehead before pulling back the covers and putting her feet on the floor. She turned to gaze down at her still sleeping lover. The beauty in her bed made her smile, both with happiness and disbelief. Jasi couldn't remember the last time she'd spent two, let alone seven nights in a row with one lover—man or woman. But ever since their tryst at the bar, keeping Belinda Rodriquez off her mind, and out of her arms, had been a mission impossible. If Jasi didn't know better, she'd swear she was falling in love.

There was nothing more she'd rather do than stay in bed all day and find out, but it was Sunday and that meant getting her ass up and dressed so she could get over to Staten Island before eleven. Belinda stirred and turned over, exposing her beautiful naked ass. Jasi felt her pussy start to cream again and it took everything she had not to jump back in the sack and gently fuck her awake, but being late for Sunday brunch at her parents' was not an option. Not even if it meant walking away from the juiciest apple ass this side of the Hudson.

Her mind was a muddle of thoughts as she undressed and stepped into the shower. The fact had not escaped her that finding this new love had cost her an old one. True, they were not equal in nature—one was gift wrapped in romance, sex and intimacy, while the other was cloaked pleasingly in friendship. Different yes, but both involved a dedicated, heartfelt love. She and Livia had not
spoken since that fateful incident at Jessebelle's, but it certainly was not for her lack of trying. Jas had called, emailed, texted and even ambushed her at the bakery so they could talk this out. Other than the three or four sentences she'd managed to blurt out, Livi had refused to talk to her, but the disapproval on her face had said it all. Confusion and silence had solidified into anger and taken the fate of their friendship hostage. Jasi had no idea what to think. And until the two of them could sit down and talk, she would remain clueless.

Jasi sudsed up her new pixie cut and tried to wash thoughts of Belinda and Livia out of her head so she could concentrate on the task before her. The curtain was about to go up on her role as a committed lover to her “significant other” of 13 months, sports photographer, Todd Derrick. One-part boyfriend, three-parts beard, Todd was an interesting man—intelligent, cultured and delightfully clueless. They'd met at a Knicks game, and attracted to his Johnny Depp-like good looks and artistic mind, Jasi had gone home with him. With the help of some serious fantasizing, along with his talented tongue and half a bottle of tequila, he'd proven himself to be a sweet and adequate lover. She'd taken him to Sunday brunch with her the next morning, where he turned out to be the perfect foil, and the answer to her mother's prayers—a potential son-in-law and father to her unborn grandbabies.

Todd and the Westfields fell in love with one another, and thanks to his crazy travel schedule, he became Jasi's ideal boyfriend, around just enough to keep her sleight-of-hand show running, but too wrapped up in his career to realize or even care that his committed relationship with Jasi was little more than a sham. Best of friends for sure, with Todd she had the best of both worlds, the look and feel of a dutiful daughter, and the freedom to live her undercover life. For this reason alone, she had to love him.

Jasi rinsed and turned off the water with a sigh. The bottom line was that she was tired of pretending to be in love with Todd so she could continue to perpetuate the lie for her parents that she was a happily heterosexual woman. Falling for Belinda had certainly complicated things big time, but it was the fall out with Livia that worried her the most. The fact that her relationship with a dear friend was teetering on the edge of collapse was bad enough, but now someone knew her secret and, intended or not, had the power to destroy the delicate balance of her life with one whisper.

While Jasi pulled on one of her “only on Sunday” dresses, it saddened her to think that not one person whom she professed to love—not her parents, her boyfriend, lovers, or friends really knew Jasi Westfield. Hell, she was no longer sure she did. Her parents, now in their late seventies and ready to be grandparents, thought she was straight and would be announcing her engagement any day now; her lesbian lovers thought her to be a bisexual vagabond, while her career-driven boyfriend, Todd, loved her “freedom rules” attitude, and was perfectly happy with their no-strings attached relationship. Meanwhile, her platonic girlfriends knew her to be a crazy, bold, man-eating, insatiable but loveable ho whose personal mission was to stay single and fuck her way through life. Funny thing was, Jasi was none of these things, and yet if asked, she wouldn't know exactly how to describe herself. All she could say with total honesty was that the sad phrases practiced “liar,” “lost soul,” and “emotionally exhausted” certainly applied in some form or fashion. But now, with the potential of having her secret life exposed, “deathly afraid” was applicable as well. Jas was utterly terrified of losing everything. Good, Southern Baptists, an alternate lifestyle would not be understood, let alone accepted, and it would absolutely destroy her conservative, God-fearing
mother and father. Livia's reaction to shut down and shut her out, was as disappointing as it was hurtful, and made it clear that even the best of friends could put ideology over alliance. And what about her students and their parents? What would be their reactions to their daughters spending time in the classroom with a lesbian? For some idiotic reason, teachers were expected to live the pristine lifestyles of monks and nuns to prove themselves worthy of passing on their knowledge to the children of strangers whose family lives were usually much more dysfunctional and outrageous than any teacher she knew.

Jasi reentered the bedroom and stopped to take a long look at her lover. Opening her eyes to the new day, Belinda looked sexy as fuck with her just woke up bed hair and lazy smile. Jasi leaned over to give her a loving kiss. “Good morning,” she said after their last smooch.

“Morning,
Mamí
. Where are you off to so early?”

Jasi smiled. She could listen to Belinda talk forever. She loved her sexy Puerto Rican accent. Fuck, she loved everything about this damn girl!

“Staten Island to see the folks. Standing Sunday date.”

“Want me to come with you?”

“Not this week, doll, but soon, okay?” Jasi promised, knowing full well it would be months and months before she'd ever introduce her to her Jasper and Harolyn Westfield. Maybe after her infatuation died down. When they couldn't read the love and lust her eyes held each time they fell on Belinda. And after she'd found the guts to tell Belinda the truth—that she lived her life deep in the closet with the rest of the pathetic skeletons.

“Okay. I'm going back to sleep. I'm so tired. You wore me out,
Mamí.”

“Stay as long as you want,” Jasi said, and leaned over again and gave her lover a long, passionate, reassuring kiss.

Belinda snuck her hand between Jasi's legs, searching for the magic button that turned her on, and after some tender loving care, always turned her out. Belinda's fingers slyly maneuvered around the edges of Jasi's panties and wiggled inside her warm, moist pussy. Jas pressed her crotch against Belinda's open palm, looking for pressure. Belinda lubed up and fingered her lover's pearl with one hand while the other pulled Jasi's braless tit from her bodice and latched on, bathing her already hard nipple with morning saliva.

Jasi's moans mingled with the sunshine streaming in through the window. Sound and light danced around their heads. It took everything Jasi had to force herself to disengage from this hot and horny miracle in her life. “I thought I wore you out.”

“Second wind,” Belinda said, giving Jas a wink and a smile. “By the way, you should wear dresses more often. Easy access goes both ways,
Chica.”

•  •  •

“Where's that handsome fella of yours?” was the first question to leave Jasper Westfield's mouth once Jasi crossed the threshold and he gathered her into a big, papa bear hug.

“I told you he was in South Africa covering the World Cup,” Jasi said, not mentioning what a happy coincidence his leaving town for weeks and she meeting Belinda had been.

“That young man of yours is always on the road. Well, come on in and sit. You know your mother has everything ready to go,” her father said, taking her hand and ushering her into the dining room. Just like it was every week, the table was set with the good
china, crystal, and silverware. It was the traditional setting for Sunday brunch for the Westfields and their very untraditional, only child.

“Jasilyn Westfield, what have you done with your hair?” asked Harolyn, coming over to give her daughter a warm hug.

“Cut it. I was tired of the twists.”

“Well, me too, but at least you had some length. This looks like a boy's haircut.”

“Leave her alone, Harolyn. As long as Todd likes it, that's all that counts.”

“Where is Todd?”

“South Africa. He says hello,” Jasi replied, watching Harolyn's smile dim. Even though her parents were thrilled to see her, it was clear that they, particularly her mother, was disappointed the Todd hadn't accompanied her. Apparently, there'd be no engagement announcement today.

The three sat down to their weekly dinner, this week roast beef, garlic mashed potatoes and string beans, followed up by her favorite dessert, German chocolate cake. Between courses, parents and child caught up on their individual comings and goings of the past week. Jasi invited them to her school's upcoming art show, proudly describing the work of her star students and how incredible it made her feel to see their talents progress. Harolyn filled her in on their trip to Jasper's upcoming college reunion at Prairie View A & M, and her decision to begin a Zumba class at the local senior center. By dessert, it was clear that, for at least another week, all was well in the Westfields' world.

Her crazy, deceitful personal life aside, Jasi felt lucky to have landed in the very loving arms of Jasper and Harolyn. Unable to conceive for years, Harolyn became pregnant well into her late-thirties, and years after she'd given up on having a family. Forever
grateful, they dedicated their lives to serving the God who had blessed them with a miracle. Labeled with the crazy blend of their names, Jasilyn Haro Westfield had been treated like the wonder child her parents believed her to be. They'd doted on Jasi her entire life, educating her at the finest private schools, encouraging her budding interest in art through classes, study abroad programs and tuition to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. When Jasi burst her mother's dream of having a daughter who was also a world-famous artist, Harolyn had managed to rally her emotions and support Jasi's decision to teach art to middle school students at the esteemed Flint Place Girl's Academy. With every life plan Jasi came up with (and discarded), they'd found a way to encourage and cheer her on, making it clear that the only thing they expected in return was for her to stay close to them and God, and eventually have a family of her own for them to love and nurture until their deaths did they part. Jasi felt like a failure on every count that mattered.