Skip to main content

Tari: A Part Time Love Adventure

I fell for him even before I met him. I had taken a part-time position at a local gym and fitness center and I was the first smile members saw when they walked through the door. I was a front desk clerk, and my job was to take guest fees and to register members for classes. It was an easy part-time job, filled with a bit of friendly and perfectly built pieces of eye candy. But as much as I enjoyed the well oiled machines that walked through the door, and as attracted as I was to just about every male there, I was most drawn to an employee that I had yet to meet. For some reason, fellow co-workers kept bringing up his name.

“Wait till you meet Matt, wait till you meet Matt,” they would say. They, were a young bunch. Most making their way through college. I was older and college was already years behind me, but this part-time job helped to pay the bills, because my full time salaried position just wasn’t cutting it.

So the first couple of days of this new gig, I had heard a lot about this guy named Matt. Matt was funny, Matt was cool. But Matt was away for a short time of play in Vegas, and not only that, instead of flying back, he and his buddy decided to rent a car at the last minute and drive across country, back home to South Carolina. And with that little bit of info, I was ready for love. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been dreaming of doing just that. Not the Vegas bit, but the driving from one end of the country to the other. This dream was probably ignited after reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac, required reading in one of my literature classes during my college days. I’ve kept that adventure close to me ever since. So anyone that can live that spontaneously for the road is a man after my own heart.

Apparently Matt had heard about me too, the new girl. On his first day back to the gym, he made his way to me with hand extended across the counter.

“Hey, I’m Matthew, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” he smiled.

I returned his smile and leaned over and took his hand, “Hi, I’m Tari, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you too. I’ve heard some crazy stories about you.”

“Really,” still holding my hand, “What have you heard?”

And I looked into those sparkling blue eyes on a six foot slim frame with short blonde hair, and my heart skipped a beat, “Oh, just some things... So you just got back from Vegas?” I asked, taking him in.

“Yeah, me and my boy drove back.” Finally he let go of my hand, but sill not taking his eyes off me, measuring my short hour glass figure, and reddish brown skin, and short curly hair.

“Was it a long drive?” I asked.

“Oh, it was fun.”

“Really, I would love to hear about it.”

“What time are you outa here?” he sheepishly inquired.

“Nine,” and I blushed.

As dark as my skin is, it always frustrates me that my emotions show so easily when my cheeks flush red. And as of late, when ever I see a man that I want, that’s exactly what comes through. I knew I was older, this guy was still in college, but he was just so darn good looking, that I just had to have him.

“What are you doing after work?” he suggested.

“Hanging out with you,” I flirted back.

“I’ll meet you in the lobby,” and he grinned and started walking away.

“Cool,” I replied.

“Cool,” he laughed and then turned the corner towards the weight room.

I smiled and walked towards the register, grateful that no one had walked through the door to spoil our little fun.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How Safe Am I Really?

Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable in this small town that I reside in. Although most of the time, I think it’s just me. Over the past few years I’ve become a bit paranoid and feel sometimes that pairs of eyes are trying to get a hold of me. Now it doesn’t help here that South Carolina is a conservative red state and that from time to time I’ve seen a confederate flag hanging over the balcony of the apartment across the parking lot from me. Nor does it help that at one time my office was so charged politically that I called in sick the day after President Obama was elected. Still despite all of this, I have felt relatively safe in my surroundings, albeit a bit uncomfortable. But tonight I experienced something so unsettling that I’m just not sure how I should label it. Lately it seems I’ve had a taste for barbeque. A few weeks ago I was intrigued by a quick conversation on identity with the cashier in the drive-thru at Jim N-Nick’s BBQ and today, I decided to visit a new barbeque resta...

I’m Not Going To Let The 2010 Census Define Me

I hope I don’t get in trouble, but I had been putting off filling out my 2010 Census Form, and now that I have filled it out, I may not have given the response that the government wanted to see. I had been aware of the controversy regarding the word Negro, and I wasn’t too eager to deal with it. Still, I completely expected to have the opportunity to check a box that read Black, or a box that read African American or a box that read Negro. Instead, last night as I sat down to fill out my form, I discovered lumped together under one box to check, read the line.... Black, African American or Negro. Hmm... So have we fully embraced this new millennium or have we traveled back in time to the 1920’s? I remember last month talking with my Grandmother regarding the latest census and asking what she thought about the word Negro being added, and her response was; “Why did they bring that word back?” My point exactly! The reasoning behind that was because the Census Bureau felt that some older g...

On Our Way to the Top of the Lighthouse

“Alright, you go on up, I’m going to wait right here,” my then 17-year old sister Obadiah declared after we’d made our way to the grounds of the Key West Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters Museum. She and my then 21-year old sister Onierita and I decided to drive down from Weston, a small resort town west of Ft. Lauderdale. I had been in South Florida maybe a little over a year when my sisters and I decided to plan this day trip. Only a few hours away, we knew we had to try the conch fritters, and bring home key lime pie as well as hit the Pirates Museum, Mallory Square, and ride a trolley to the historic Key West Lighthouse. We talked about the itinerary beforehand and that’s why it came as such a huge surprise when Obadiah protested taking the journey to the top. “What,” Onie and I questioned in unison. “I’m going to wait right here,” Obadiah smiled up at us defiantly. “Oh no,” I said, “You’re going with us!” “Yep,” added Onie, “you have no choice.” Obadiah reluctantly headed towar...