Show and prove

“All I’m saying is, you better be glad you’re my girl. Cause Camp Creek? Really?”

“Girl, your ass is so dramatic! You act like nothing exists outside of downtown/Midtown,” Shana countered.

“And just who am I supposed to meet out here?”

“Who have you met at those bougie ass parties you’ve been going to?” my friend challenged.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. She had a point, a damn good one, but I didn’t want to admit that. I’ve been hanging out in the city, mostly downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead because I wanted to meet a man who shared my penchant for classiness. Yet, they weren’t any better than any man I met anywhere else.

“Yeah, I know. You ain’t got to say nothing,” Shana grinned.

Even though she had her eyes on the road, I rolled mine. I didn’t care if what she was saying was true, I was not excited about this. I can’t really blame her because I didn’t ask. But she knew my standards when it came to being in these Atlanta streets.

Finally, we pulled up to the day party, which was at some event space. It looked basic from the outside, but after we made our way around the building to the outdoor space, I was somewhat surprised and impressed at the décor. It wasn’t the ghetto mess I anticipated; it was giving grown-up vibes. From the white and gold color scheme, the bar area, and the pool, it wasn’t half bad.

For the vibe the decorator and party promoters had in mind, a majority of the party guests did not get the memo. I was completely overdressed in my white, one-shoulder Badgley Mischka dress and Bottega green ankle strap sandals. I’ve been called bougie and stuck up and at this party, I am sure my face showed my annoyance because these women were proud of their Fashion Nova and Shein outfits.

I turned to Shana to complain, but she put up a hand to shush me before I could get the first criticism out.

“Nope. Nope. And nope. Don’t even start that,” Shana demanded. “Just have a good time.”

I huffed and stomped to the bar to get a drink while Shana secured a table for us. I joined her after getting my drink, some fruity concoction the bartender seemed annoyed at making. I took one sip and scrunched up my face because it was mostly juice. And it was bottom-shelf liquor.

Shana and I both worked for the state and made good money to live the life we wanted to live. Well, I did anyway. I wasn’t rich growing up, but we never struggled. I had a comfortable life as a kid and I was better than good as an adult. Shana on the other hand had to get it out the mud. She was the epitome of “you can take the girl out the hood, but you can’t take the hood out the girl”. She could talk business when the occasion called for it, but on the flip side, she had some ghetto in her that just would not die. No matter how much money she had in the bank. I admired her for how she worked her way from the bottom to a boss. She definitely didn’t share my affinity for the finer things and often criticized me for how much I spent on stuff. But I liked what I liked. And one thing I didn’t like was bottom-shelf vodka.

I sipped my drink and tried to follow Shana’s directions and have a good time. But the longer I sat here, the worse my mood was. Women turned their noses up at me and men walked past me like I was invisible. I was ready to go. But since I didn’t drive, I was stuck. Unless I called an Uber.

I opened the Uber app and just as quickly, I closed it. One of my negative traits was that I was quick to cut something or someone off if I was irritated. I had my standards, but I was learning not to be so quick to judgment. While I probably wasn’t going to meet anyone worthwhile here, I did need to fix my resting bitch face and not run men off before they got a chance to talk to me. I was actively dating and I’d met my fair share of losers since my divorce five years ago. Meeting a decent man has been harder than Chinese calculus. I was pretty good in math but dating in 2022 was draining.

I was trying to convince myself that I should just go with the flow, not force anything. But it was easier said than done. Men today weren’t looking for meaningful relationships; they were looking for a nut. And if I were so inclined, I made sure both of us were satisfied. But even in a friends with benefits situation, some men couldn’t be consistent. Or they questioned why I was still going on dates. I didn’t believe in the adage “you’re single until you’re married”; I believe when a man wants you, there won’t be a single doubt in the world. Unfortunately, the men I met lately created more doubts than anything.

I just knew in my heart of hearts, that this party would be a total waste so I just focused on enjoying being outside, looking good, smelling good, with plenty of money in the bank. Shana was off mingling as usual, leaving me by myself. I tried to stay off my phone as much as possible because on the off chance someone caught my eye, I didn’t want to be too disinterested.

“Can’t be that bad.”

And so it starts, I thought. I wanted to roll my eyes, hard, and I would have had I not been in the presence of a fine ass man. Nah, he wasn’t fine. Fine was for thirst trap men on social media who always took pics with their shirts off and grey sweat pants. This man was handsome in a street kind of way.

At 5’6, I liked men to be taller than me. And this guy was easily 6 feet tall. Maybe a little taller. I never had a preference for skin color, but he was a beautiful shade of caramel. He smiled at me, not just with his mouth but with his eyes too. His locs were neat and pulled back into a fishtail. He was dressed casually in a pair of jean shorts and a shirt with some little logo. I assumed it was probably from his homeboy’s start up clothing line. I looked at his hands and didn’t see a ring, but couldn’t rule out if there was an indentation of a ring. I had a few horror stories of not seeing a ring, but missing where he took it off for his night out. And he smelled so good. He didn’t seem like the type who wore Tom Ford, but that’s exactly what he smelled like.

Without thinking about it, I smiled back. I tried to feel a man out before I showed any niceties. Men were so entitled these days, I sometimes had to be a bitch to get them to leave me alone. It was strange; sometimes the meaner I was, the harder men tried. I didn’t get it.

“Have you had the drinks? It really is that bad,” I quipped.

“Nah, mine was straight. I can get you another if you like,” he grinned. “I’m Tyrell, but everyone calls me Ty.”

He extended his hand, his eyes and mouth still smiling at me. I shook his hand and noted how rough they were. I knew he worked with his hands, did some kind of manual labor. That wasn’t a deal-breaker for me, but I was used to men like that taking one look at my hair, my makeup, my nails, my bags, my shoes, and my clothes and deciding I was too high maintenance for them, even though I didn’t need a man to contribute to the things I liked. I knew this conversation would be short-lived.

“Dani. Well, Danielle, but most people call me Dani.”

“Danielle,” he repeated. “That’s nice.”

Hearing my name in his mouth did something to me. I was currently in a drought because I was tired of the dating games. Men made shit hard for no reason. But the sound of my name leaving his lips was nice. Sensual, even.

“So what brings you to this neck of the woods?” Ty asked, stopping my mind from leaping into a fantasy where he said my name over and over.

“How do you know this isn’t my neck of the woods?” I countered.

Ty threw his head back and laughed. “Cause I know it ain’t. It’s the look of disdain on your face. Like you’re ready to go.”

I giggled at his observation because I never could hide my facial expressions. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on for years, but whatever I thought or felt showed up on my face. “It’s not, but I’m here with my girlfriend.”

I scanned the outdoor venue looking for Shana and finally saw her taking pictures with a group of women. I would bet all the money in my daddy’s car that Shana didn’t know these women from Adam’s house cat. She was such a social butterfly; she never met a stranger.

“Are you here alone?” I questioned.

“You could say that. I came with my cousin but his girl pulled up just as we were coming in. So I left them to hash out their issues,” he chuckled shaking his head.

“No one is going to come to me as a woman, are they?” I asked looking around dramatically.

Once again, Ty laughed loud and deep. Call me corny or whatever, but I loved to see black men smiling. It warmed my heart when men weren’t always so serious and timid. “No ma’am. I’m as single as a dollar bill. How about you?”

Ty held up his hands to show me there was not a ring. And I didn’t even see the depression of one. I didn’t even try to hide my giddiness. “Same.”

Ty and I fell into an easy conversation and I didn’t even mind the party anymore. I learned he owned an auto body shop and he was expanding into car wraps. I didn’t know anything about painting cars or wraps, but it was interesting to talk to him about it. He had one daughter who was 10 and I never would have guessed that he was a year older than me because he looked damn good to be pushing 40. He didn’t even flinch when I told him I had a 21-year-old son that I shared with my ex-husband of 15 years. The divorce was rough on me emotionally and mentally, but these last few years, I’ve been living.

Ty and I talked for hours, not even noticing the party was pretty much dead. He invited me to dinner and I told Shana I’d catch up with her at work. She didn’t mind because she was about to go bar hopping with a couple of her girlfriends.

I wasn’t too keen on the hole in the wall diner Ty took me to, but the conversation made me forget all about the questionable area I was in. On the outside, I was a no-nonsense type of chick but on the inside, I was like most women; I wanted that romantic, fairytale, but realistic type of love. I learned years ago not to put too much thought into a guy beyond the moment, but I had to admit, talking to Ty was easy and it quickly became one of the highlights of my day.

For the next month, Ty and I spent a lot of time together. We’d been on three really great dates. We could have deep conversations about current events and religion. Ty was direct and blunt and I could tell he tried to temper his words so that he didn’t come across as an asshole. One thing we both loved to do was laugh. Just looking at him, I didn’t get goofiness, but it was definitely there. From funny social media posts to hilarious Tik Toks, our text thread was full of shared attachments of things we found funny.

We talked about everything except sex. I knew he was trying to be respectful of me, but if he breached the subject, I’d be game.

If I wanted to sleep with a man, I did. I was grown. I wasn’t having any more kids so I made sure to use protection and changed my Mirena every five years. And I wanted to sleep with Ty. I sent him funny, sexual posts, memes, and Tik Toks and he talked junk back, but he had yet to ask to come over or ask me to come over to his spot. I assumed he had a girl or someone he was smashing and that was his business. I should have been relieved because he wasn’t leading with his dick, but damn. He could at least try.

On my lunch break on Tuesday, I was scrolling Facebook and came across a post that almost made me choke on my Core water.

Justin Whitehead, a comedian I follow posted “I need some old skool romantic shit done to me. Meet me at Pappadeaux’s. Walk right in, put ya panties in my hand, and meet in the bathroom.”

Dude is hilarious and I share a lot of his stuff with Ty, so I sent it to him.

Ty: So that’s romance these days huh? *thinking emoji*

Me: I guess *laughing emoji*

Ty: You ain’t bout that life, Dani *laughing emoji*

Me: Don’t act like you know me!

Ty: Never that. I just know you ain’t that type of chick

Me: Sounds like a dare to me *smirking emoji*

Ty: Call it what you want…I know what it is

Ty and I went back and forth for a minute about that post which lead to our first conversation about sex. I wasn’t a freak by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t a prude either. But I talked cash money about being the type of chick that would buss it down in a public bathroom, knowing damn well that was a check my ass couldn’t cash. He knew it was all in fun and even invited me out to dinner at Pappadeuax’s this weekend. Of course, I accepted, continuing to tell him I was going to surprise him and show him some “romance”.

Friday night, I pulled up to the restaurant, and before I got out, I paused. Could I really do that? Would I have sex in a bathroom? The quick and fast answer should have been no. Yet, I sat in my car for ten minutes trying to convince myself that I could. I imagined what his reaction would be and I wanted to see the shock and surprise on his face.

I really couldn’t believe I was considering doing this with a man I didn’t really know because I saw a post on Facebook. Quieting that voice that was telling me to keep my panties on and just enjoy a nice dinner with the man was short-lived. I lifted my hips and slid my black Savage X Fenty panties down my oiled legs. I checked my lipstick in the rearview mirror, then stepped out, stuffing the thin lace in my YSL wallet on a chain.

I sashayed inside Pappadeaux’s, not my choice, but since Ty invited me, I showed up in the most casual dress I owned from Nordstrom. I walked with much more confidence than I possessed because my heart was beating out of my chest. I was acting on pure adrenaline as I got closer to the table and took my panties out of my purse. I smiled when I saw Ty’s face.

He doesn’t know what he’s in for, I mused. Hell, me either for that matter.

“Dani, you look beautiful, as you usual!” Ty beamed.

Rather than speaking, I greeted him with a kiss on the jaw, slipping my underwear into his hand.

“What is…” he began, looking down. When the realization hit him, his eyes went wide. For a second, we just stared at each other. Finally, I winked and headed toward the restroom. I didn’t know if he was behind me, if he was talking junk because I was, or if he was really about that freaky, fucking in a public space life. I knew I wasn’t but it was almost too late to punk out now. And besides, my curiosity has gotten the best of me; I wanted to see what Ty was working with.

I never got the opportunity to change my mind, not that I was going to. Ty was behind me, pushing me towards the men’s bathroom.

We tumbled in and he lead the way to the last stall. He locked the door and towered over me. He just looked down at me, his eyes looking for any resistance. As much as I should have stopped myself, I couldn’t. I wanted him, right here and right now.

Ty pulled me into him, his lips crashing into mine. The first few seconds of his kiss was soft, but that quickly turned into a frantic, quickened kiss. His tongue dancing in my mouth, his hands caressing my ass elicited a moan from me. Seeing as to how we were in a public restroom, foreplay wasn’t a luxury we could afford.

Ty turned me around and lifted my dress over my ass. I reached in my purse and pulled out a condom for him which he snatched out of my hand. Behind me, I heard his zipper being pulled down and the sound of the condom opening. I wasn’t sure if this was his first time having sex in public but it only took a split second for him to start rubbing himself against me.

I inhaled, anticipating feeling him inside of me. Because we didn’t have time to waste, he pushed into me, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

“Man, God damn…” he moaned and I couldn’t agree more. I hadn’t had sex in a few months and Ty was showing me the wait was worth it.

Much like his kiss, he started moving slowly inside of me and he was stroking that spot that needed to be stroked. But he quickened his thrusts, the sound of him pounding my wet pussy filling the bathroom.

“Oh fuck,” I groaned. “You feel so good!”

“Nah, that’s you. This pussy is amazing!”

Ty was making sure I felt every inch of him, fucking me like he had something to prove. The sound of the door opening made us both pause.

“Ssshhhh,” he whispered as one man, then another entered the bathroom, going to the urinals. They were far enough away from us, but definitely too close.

Ty slid out of me and turned me around. Without warning, he picked me up and it took everything in my power not to scream. With my back against the wall, I wrapped my legs around his waist as he guided himself back inside me.

It was one thing to have sex when no one was in here, it was quite another to get fucked and potentially get caught. This was the most erotic thing I’ve ever done. And my wet pussy was a testament to that.

“That pussy just got wetter. Let me find out you like an audience,” Ty whispered, his voice low in my ear.

I had no words. I couldn’t deny how my body reacted to us not being alone in the bathroom and it surprised me. Ty moved inside of me, bouncing me up and down on his dick. I wasn’t a little chick and I wasn’t super thick either, but I was surprised by the way he fucked me in this position.

He pulled out of me and placed my feet on the floor. I moaned in protest, wanting him to finish. “I gotta get you in a bed. Let’s go.”

I didn’t argue with him, just watched him remove the condom and put his dick back in his boxers as I pulled my dress down. We waited for a few seconds, hoping we could make it out without anyone spotting me in the men’s restroom. We had no such luck. Just as Ty opened the door, a brother was about to walk in. He looked back and forth between me and Ty. I don’t know what he thought, but the smirk on his face told me he put two and two together.

“Aye man, I know how it is. Sometimes you just can’t wait,” the man chuckled. My face burned with embarrassment as Ty and I exited the bathroom. We stopped by our table so he could drop $40 for the drink he had while waiting for me.

We got to his car and sped out of the parking lot.

“Where are we going?” I questioned.

“The first hotel I get to. I gotta get back in that pussy.”

My body shuddered at his words and I just nodded my head. His hand rested on my knee and he made lazy circles with his thumb as we drove. I didn’t know what to say, because I surprised the hell out of myself by bussing it down with him in the bathroom. But like him, I wanted more. No, I needed more. 10 minutes later we were pulling into the Hilton Alpharetta Atlanta Hotel.

We secured a room on the 3rd floor and made a beeline for the elevator. I stood in front of him, leaning against him and feeling his dick on my ass. I started winding my hips, teasing him.

“You wanna play, huh. Just know I couldn’t do what I needed to in that bathroom,” he warned.

I wasn’t deterred at all. As a matter of fact, his “threat” was more of a turn on than anything. Our room was just a few steps away from the elevator and as soon as the door to the room was closed, he started unzipping my dress.

When I stayed in hotels, I needed to inspect them to make sure they were to my liking, but right now, I didn’t give a damn about all that. I just needed Ty to fuck me the way he promised he would. With my dress unzipped, I stepped out of it and he unhooked my bra, discarding it as I stood naked with just my heels on. His hands caressing my nipples felt good, but I didn’t want foreplay. I just needed his dick back inside me.

Almost as if he could sense my need, he guided me to the chair at the desk. He stripped down to his boxers and wife better, stroking his dick and smirking at me. I retrieved another condom from my clutch and he slid it on. “Come ride this dick, girl.”

One of the arguments I cannot stand on social media is the debate about submission. It’s stupid and makes no sense to me, no matter what side of the argument you’re on. What I wish folks would realize is a woman will submit to the right man; I’ll follow a man’s lead…if it makes sense.

But tonight, I’ve discovered that if I don’t submit to anything else, I will submit to Ty and his dick because he’s been commanding me and I’ve done everything he said with no questions asked. But, I had to still show him I had some say so in this.

Rather than facing him, I turned around. He lined himself up with me and I lowered my pussy down on him. We both gave a satisfied sigh as we were both rewarded with what we experienced briefly in the bathroom. He sat back, his hands resting on my hips as I bounced up and down on his dick. From this position, I felt him deep, a place that hadn’t been touched in way too long. Ty sat up, one hand finding my nipple, the other diving between my legs.

“I wanna feel you cum. You gonna cum for me?” he demanded.

He posed it as a question, but I took it as a command. The combination of his voice in my ear, his hands on my body, and his dick deep inside me, I was going to do whatever he asked. He sped up his movements on my clit and pinched my nipple hard. The pain and the pleasure converged and I was flung over the edge.

“Oh my God!” I groaned as my orgasm took me over.

Satisfied that I did what he wanted, he barely gave me time to recover before he stood me up and made me sit on the desk. He made sure I was on the edge, then plunged back inside me, nearly taking my breath away.

“Fuck!”

Ty held on to my hips, pounding me as I released an incessant moan. I couldn’t find words to tell him how good he felt, but he knew he was putting it down. I wanted to cum again, to experience his reaction to me releasing on his dick. I leaned back, my back on the wall, and massaged my clit.

“Oh shit, baby, rub that clit! You gonna cum again ain’t you?” I nodded my head and without warning, he slapped the side of my ass. “I need to hear it…are you going to cum?”

“Yes! Yes, Ty, I’m coming!”

The eroticism of his commands was taking me over. I wasn’t a boss bitch or even bossy. I didn’t need things to go my way. But I was independent by default because of my job and because I’ve been single for a minute. My job demanded that I take charge and make decisions, and because I was single, I had no one to be partners with or no one to lead me when necessary.

But right now, with Ty telling me what to do, all I wanted to do was everything he told me to do. For the second time tonight, my body came for him, causing me to shake and moan underneath him. Two times was my max, especially when I masturbated. But Ty was showing no signs of being close to being done.

From the desk, I was whisked to the window where he pounded me from behind into a screaming orgasm as he slapped my ass and I rubbed my clit. Standing in front of this window, getting fucked into a frenzy was mind-boggling. The cars whizzing by below had no idea the things Ty was doing to my pussy and that just added to the eroticism of this night. Ty held my hips as he took his time filling me up. I threw my ass back and looked over my shoulder for his reaction. His eyes were glued to my ass as I met his thrusts.

“Shit, you feel so damn good. Don’t stop, please!” I moaned, making sure he knew I needed him to stay where he was.

Ty watched my ass shake and jiggle, then slapped it lightly. I moaned and then he did it again, a little harder.

“Shit!” I pushed into him, liking the little bit of pain from his hands.

Ty fucked me deep, his strokes sending pleasure all over my body. But the sting of his hands as he spanked my ass was enough for me to feel it, but not enough for it to hurt. This wasn’t new to me, but it was different and I welcomed it with open arms.

Finally, we made it to the bed where my legs rested on his shoulders and he found that spot again, the one that has been neglected.

“Ty…shit…Ty…shit…fuck…oh my God…fuck…fuck…fuck!” I moaned, unable to string together a coherent sentence. He was so deep, that I instinctively tried to push him away which led him to pin my arms over my head as he fucked me to the hilt.

He moved slowly, methodically, deeply. In this position, unlike the others, he took his time. With my legs on his shoulders and without the use of my arms, I was experiencing something else. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but not being able to move my arms turned me on. Tonight was a night of firsts and Ty showed me pleasures that exceeded my imagination.

I lost all control of my body and I crashed into another orgasm. My mind went blank, glazed over with pleasure. Just when I thought he was as deep as he could be, he went even deeper.

“I’m cumming, Dani! I’m cumming in this pussy!”

Gone was that slow lovemaking that reminded me of a 90s R&B song. He showed no mercy, pounding me as he neared his release. I still didn’t have the use of my hands and all I could do was take what he was giving me. He came, moaning and cussing, his dick throbbing inside of me. He finally released my hands and rolled off me.

We were both breathing hard and sweating like we ran a marathon. I don’t know what was on his mind, but I was thinking of the last time I was this satisfied. I was drawing a blank. It didn’t matter who did what before tonight…Ty did the damn thing.

“Yo, you good?” Ty asked. His hand was resting on my stomach, making lazy circles.

I was lying in a hotel room with a man I met last month, my pussy still throbbing from the way he fucked me. And I didn’t feel an ounce of shame. Matter of fact, just as soon as he could, I needed more. “Yes, better than good. And I’m waiting for an apology.”

“An apology? For what?”

“Because you said I wasn’t about that life, and I proved I was.”

Ty laughed, deep and loud. “Yeah, you proved you were bout that life. Once. But…once is just a fluke.”

Ty and I made small talk for a second, but in the back of my mind, I was plotting how I could show and

prove to him that I was going to be the freak he needed in his life.