Night of Seduction (4 page)

She awakened earlier that morning in the
arms of Silk Davies. Not wanting to face the man she had been so
provocative with, she slid from his embrace and quickly dressed.
Never in her life had she been so aroused by a man just from his
look.

Four years with
her husband and never once did he make her feel the way Silk did.
She closed her eyes and exhaled. Was he satisfied? The thought
frightened her. That was the real reason she left. The unsatisfied
look on her ex-husband
’
s face was one thing,
but to have Silk Davies tell her that would have been too much for
her ego.

She placed her
forehead on her knees and closed her eyes, ashamed. She had never
been with another man before her husband. She had no idea having
sex could be so exuberating, so wonderful. Her head snapped
up.
“
No. I refuse to let something that was so beautiful
become corrupted in my mind.
”
The moments she
spent with Silk Davies were wonderful and she refused to reduce it
to something sleazy. Suddenly the words that escaped her for months
to end her first novel came to her. Not only that, she had the
title.

Excited, she got up, sat at her desk, and
opened her laptop. After she pulled up her document, she inserted a
title page to the novel she had begun writing during her divorce
and typed; Night of Seduction, by Siri Austin.

Siri and
TeKaya

T
wo weeks later Siri
stood in her classroom at the elementary school wondering where to
start. The room she was assigned was more like a penitentiary than
a classroom. The walls appeared to be blue-grey, she thought, but
the windows were definitely grey. How are children supposed to
expand their minds in such a dreary environment? She asked herself.
Something had to be done.

Well, first
things first, she thought as she started to place her purse on the
desk, but then thought again. The desk was just as dirty as the
windows. She turned and left the room. When Siri reached her car,
she opened the trunk and put her purse inside. She pulled out her
cell phone and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. Siri reached
back inside the trunk and pulled out the plastic container with
cleaning supplies. She closed the trunk, put the alarm on, and
walked back to the classroom. As she walked past the
principal
’
s office, she noticed a few people gathered, but
did not bother to stop. She had a lot of work to do and no time for
conversation.

Thankfully,
when she returned to the room, the janitor had left the bucket of
water she had requested earlier. The cleaning process began at her
desk, and then carried on to the blackboard and
students
’
desks. As she cleaned the desks, she moved them
out and stacked them in the hallway to make room so she could scrub
the floor. On her hands and knees, she began scrubbing each square
of the floor. After what seemed like an eternity, finally she
reached the door and was backing out of the room when a voice
interrupted her.

“I
don
’
t believe you ever got into that position for me Mrs.
Austin.
”

She looked over
her shoulder and was surprised to see Carl, her ex-husband, staring
down at her. Lord, why now? Of all the times, why would you have
him see me on my knees in dirty jeans with my hair sweated out?
Trying hard to ignore the urge to clean herself up, she continued
with the task and responded,
“
Mrs. Austin is your
mother. If you ask I
’
m sure
she
’
ll try.
”

“Mrs. Austin
that was cruel and uncalled for. Mr. Austin is here out of concern
for the conditions in our facility. I will not have you being
disrespectful,
”
declared Roscoe Ford, the
principal.

Siri closed her
eyes and hung her head; she should have known butt-hole number two
was not far behind. He always had been a foot deep up
Carl
’
s butt.
“
If you two
haven
’
t noticed, I
’
m busy. I
don
’
t have time for idol chit chat.
”

“I suggest you
make the time. Would you stand please?
”
Roscoe the
butt-hole demanded. Siri threw the sponge into the dirty water and
did as she was asked.

“You always
treated me like I was beneath you. What you don
’
t realize
is Mr. Austin is the only reason you are working here. If I had my
way you would never work in another school.
”

“If I had my
way you would have taken a tic-tac before talking to me, but we all
have our crosses to bear,
”
Siri
replied.

Roscoe took a
step towards her and Carl stopped him.
“
Roscoe let me
handle this. Oh, and by the way, don
’
t ever speak to my
wife in that tone again.
”

The look of
disdain was clear on Roscoe Ford
’
s face.
“
Of course Mr. Austin,
”
he replied as he
sneered in her direction and walked away.

Carl turned to
her and stared. She could be wrong, but it seemed he was pleased to
see her. She cleared her throat,
“
I
’
m no
longer your wife. Your mother made sure of that. If
there
’
s nothing else, I
’
m
busy.
”

“I can see
that. Why are you scrubbing the floor?
”

“Because the
floor is dirty, the desks are filthy, the windows are dingy, and
the room is basically unsanitary. But you don
’
t care
because none of your family will have to go
here.
”

“Let me take a
look.
”
He looked at her standing in the doorway. If only
his mother could see the beautiful woman, he saw whenever he looked
at her. If only he could have stood up for her, she would still be
his. Seeing her standing in the doorway as if defending her
territory he remembered how passionate she was about children and
regretted he never gave her a child.
“
Please.
”

Siri looked down the hallway at the number
of teachers that were standing outside their door listening. Most
were afraid of saying anything to her because they feared the wrath
of Queen Austin, mother to butt-hole number one. She was one of the
most powerful women in Richmond City Government and a member of the
School Board. One word from her and you could easily be transferred
to one of the worst schools in the district.

Cashmere Wagstaff, the only friend Siri had
at the school, stood in the doorway of her class across the
hallway. She always had a soft spot for Carl. She nodded her head
indicating to let him see the room. Siri stepped aside and allowed
Carl into the room.

Stepping
inside, he immediately felt the despair Siri was referring too. He
could only imagine what it was like before she began
cleaning.
“
What do you need to
make it presentable?
”

There were
times when Carl showed he had a heart, but as soon as he mentioned
anything to his mother, the kindness would disappear. She had
witnessed his efforts to do things and his mother talking him out
of whatever she could, stripping him of his self-pride.
“
Thanks, but I
’
ll pass on the
unrequited hope.
”

“Siri,
I
’
m serious. Tell me what you need and I will have it
done before the week is out.
”
He knew
she
’
d heard the words before, but what she did not know
was that he had learned how to get around his mother. His only wish
was that he had learned that lesson a year ago.

Knowing he
meant well, mixed with the fact that as a member of city council he
had the influence to get the job done, Siri looked around the
room.
“
Paint and clean windows would be a good
start,
”
she stated. A fan or two and a working heater for
each of the rooms couldn
’
t hurt. A good supply
of books, computers for every student and more staff would be
nice.
”

“Okay Siri, you
and I know that
’
s not going to
happen. Painting and windows will be done by
Friday.
”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his
cell. Placing his call, he looked into her suspicious eyes.
“
I promise it will be done if I have to come and do the job
myself.
”
During the call, Siri moved the clean desks back
into the classroom. The call ended about fifteen minutes
later.
“
The Grounds Department indicated it would be cost
effective to do the entire building, which would have to be
scheduled. The supervisor can
’
t put together a team
by this weekend. Do you think you could get some volunteers
together? I
’
ll pitch
in.
”

Not sure if she
should believe him or not, Siri hesitated.
“
What about Ford?
Will you get it cleared through him?
”

“Roscoe will do
whatever I ask.
”

“I can get a
few people to join in,
”
she replied. Silence
pursued for a few seconds.
“
Why are you here
Carl?
”

Carl leaned
against one of the desks, folded his arms across his chest, and
smiled.
“
I knew it was your first day and how much you
love Roscoe, so I wanted to make sure you were
okay.
”

“Yeah, is that
why you assigned me here?
”

“No Siri. You
were assigned here because these children need someone to give a
damn about them. That someone is you. The whole time we were
married you begged me to let you come here to teach. I wanted to
give you something to show you how much I care.
”
Catching
his error, he stood and walked towards the door then stopped before
exiting.
“
I didn
’
t do a good job of
making you happy during our marriage. I thought I would try
again.
”
He hesitated then walked out the door.

♪

That evening
Siri appeared in the kitchen with dirt from head to toe. TK was
sitting at the breakfast bar fumbling with her camera equipment.
She looked up at Siri and smirked,
“
What dumpster did you
crawl out of?
”

Looking at her
sister whose appearance was dangerously sensuous tonight, she
asked,
“
Going somewhere?
”

Placing her
equipment on the counter top, she stood and posed.
“
I have a date and I
’
m going for elegant,
sensual, and irresistible. Does this outfit
qualify?
”

The form
fitting, backless, red dress stopped above her knees and clung to
every curve of her body. Her red sandaled heels and a diamond ankle
bracelet completed the ensemble.
“
If you are planning
on his tongue hanging out, I
’
ll say the dress will
do.
”
Their mother, Kerri stared as she walked into the
room.
“
Who are you going out with
tonight?
”

“She took a
seat at the table. A friend from Atlanta is in town and
we
’
re having dinner.
”

Her mother
looked over and frowned at Siri,
“
What dumpster did you
crawl out of?
”

“My
classroom,
”
Siri replied as she sat at the table
in a huff.
“
Do I have enough time
to shower before dinner?
”

“Sure,
I
’
ll wait for you, since TeKaya is eating
out.
”
Kerri turned to TK.
“
What is this
man
’
s name?
”

“I
didn
’
t say it was a man.
”

“You
didn
’
t have to, the dress said it, and from the looks of
it, he must be special.
”

Siri
chuckled,
“
Don
’
t come home
pregnant.
”