Free Ladies Listen Up by Darren Coleman Page B

harder until I tensed up and filled the condom with my sperm.
     
    Atlantic Star’s “Am I Dreaming?” was now playing on Majic 102.3 as I lay in her bed. She was sleeping soundly next to me. It was surreal. She had pleased me and I had done the same for her, yet I was in her bed now wide-awake, thinking about Alicia and my life.
    I left my information on a piece of paper and got dressed. It was almost 4 A.M. and I didn’t want her to feel awkward when the morning came. Once I made it to my car, I thought about the things I’d said to Jo. Then I wondered if she would actually take my advice, or if all the good I’d set out to do had once again been undone by a fuck.

9
After-school Special
    J acob waited anxiously as the minutes ticked away at second period. He was halfway hoping Anna wouldn’t show up for class. She was never late for his class; his students knew he didn’t tolerate it. The circumstances were a little different today, though. It was Monday and the first day of school for students since she’d shown up at his door after the incident. At a quarter to ten he thought, Maybe she isn’t coming . Then, as he dimmed the lights and prepared to put in a videotape on music from the Harlem Renaissance, the door to his room opened.
    Jacob strained his eyes a bit to see who was coming through the door. He breathed deep and prayed that it wasn’t Anna followed by members of the board of education, coming to haul his ass off. He didn’t recognize the girl who entered and cautiously made her way toward his desk with a piece of paper in her hand. She was tall, maybe five-eight, and a redbone. He’d never seen her before, even inthe hallways. She was gorgeous and had a quiet but commanding presence. He would have remembered her.
    “Hello, Mr. Marsh?” She had a very low voice for a girl. She almost sounded hoarse.
    “Hello,” Jacob said with a nod.
    “Um…my name is Elise Jackson. This is my first day here.” Jacob nodded again as he looked at the paper. “I’m in your class. I was also told that you are the head of the marching band.”
    “That I do. You play?”
    “The piano. I’m also a vocalist, mostly jazz, some R and B. I know that doesn’t help in the marching band. But I also am a choreographer.”
    “A choreographer?”
    “Yeah, I used to help my old instructors with our band. I just moved out here from Indianapolis.”
    “Nap-town. I’ve been out there a time or two, the Black Expo.” Jacob brushed off the subject and then explained quickly the assignment as he reached into his file cabinet and grabbed a syllabus for her.
    “Oh yeah, it’s a huge event in Indy, growing every year.” She smiled. “I’d like to get some more information on the band if I could.”
    “Okay, we’ll talk a little more later. You can take that seat right there.” Jacob pointed to the empty desk just in front of him.
    “Okay, thanks.”
    Jacob watched her take a seat. She was wearing a loose pair of jeans that were fashionably ripped and a snug-fitting hooded sweatshirt with JUICY written across the chest. As she sat and crossed her legs like a real lady, Jacob tried to ignore how attractiveshe was. It was a task he’d grown used to. There were so many attractive and sexy young girls in the school. Silly as they were, there wasn’t much difference physically between them and a grown woman. So, as usual, he took one last glance at this Mya look-alike and made the decision to never again pay any attention to her beauty.
    As the tape concluded Jacob instructed the students to write a summary of the career of one of the musicians from the tape. He quickly scribbled five topics on the chalkboard on which they could write. Then he took his seat at his desk and logged onto the Internet to check his e-mails. After he clicked on his in-box he scanned over the subjects. Irritation set in immediately when he saw two e-mails with forwarded messages and then one advertising hot sluts yearning for rough treatment.