Chapter 15
Flashback – After Prom
After the prom court was announced, the crowd began to thin. Lynx kept his eyes on Fateema because he didn’t want her to slip out with Rodney.
“You like her, don’t you?” Tatiana asked.
Lynx looked around the table, and his friends had disappeared again, so he knew she was talking to him.
“Like who?”
“Fateema.”
“She’s my best friend. Of course, I like her.”
“That’s not what I mean. You like her, like her.”
Lynx knew what she meant the first time but pretended he didn’t and was fully prepared to lie.
“No. Why do you ask?”
“You’ve barely taken your eyes off her all night. Why didn’t you ask her to prom?”
“We were planning to as a group, so I didn’t think I needed to ask her.”
“So, you do like her, like her?”
“What? I said no. Me and Bunny have been friends since sixth grade. She’s like a sister to me, and I don’t trust Rodney with her, so I’m very protective.”
“Well, you’re right not to trust him. All he wants is sex. Once he gets it, he’ll forget she exists.”
“Is that what he did with you?”
She nodded while thinking back to her relationship with Rodney.
“He did and said all the right things until I gave in. It took a couple of months, but after we had sex once, I wasn’t interested in doing it again.
He said he understood but would pressure me again every other week.
I kept denying him, so he cheated on me. ”
“That’s messed up. I’m sorry he treated you that way.”
“Yeah, me too. I don’t know his plans with Fateema, but I’d warn her to be careful if I were you.”
Lynx nodded as he looked in Fateema’s direction again. She and Rodney stood next to their table, having what looked to be an intimate conversation. When she looped her arm through Rodney’s, they headed toward the exit, and Lynx followed suit.
“Let’s go,” he told Tatiana.
Lynx waited for Tatiana to slip into her shoes before offering her his hand. Once she was on her feet, they fell in line with the others leaving. Fateema and Rodney were ahead of them, and Lynx was anxious about how he’d handle the situation.
Once outside the venue, Lynx saw his friends waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The four of them had come together, and he hoped they wouldn’t mind taking Tatiana home.
“Do you mind if I have my friends take you home?” he asked Tatiana.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, genuinely concerned.
“For now, yes, but I’m not sure how this will go.”
“What are you about to do?”
He sighed, contemplating whether to tell Tatiana what he overheard Rodney say. Since she shared her experience with Rodney, Lynx decided he could do the same. While Lynx and Tatiana talked, Fateema was a few feet away, talking to Rodney.
“I’m not sure about the after-party, Rodney. I don’t know any of your friends, and their dates weren’t very friendly toward me. It probably wouldn’t be much fun for me.”
“C’mon, baby. I want to spend a little more time with you to get to know each other better.”
Fateema was slightly flattered by his words but still not sold on attending the party with him.
“Well, if that’s true, we have the whole summer. Besides, how much talking can we do at a party?”
“There are other ways we can get to know each other that don’t involve talking.”
His eyes were lustful as he waited for her to catch his drift. It only took a second for her to realize what he meant.
“Oh, really?” she questioned, stepping back and folding her arms across her chest. “Name one.”
Fateema’s physical appearance may have morphed into a woman, but the tomboy in her was never far behind. She was two seconds from punching Rodney in his nose.
“Where we’re going, there are plenty of bedrooms, and I don’t plan to do much talking at all.” He reached for her arm, and she snatched it away from him.
“What exactly were you planning to do?” Lynx asked, appearing out of nowhere next to Fateema.
“None of yo’ business, nigga. What I do with my date ain’t your business.”
“You must have another date somewhere because she’s not going anywhere with you. Let’s go, Bunny.”
Lynx walked away first, assuming Fateema would be a step behind him, but Rodney grabbed her arm. “You think you—”
“Let go of me!” Fatema shouted as she yanked away from him and punched him in the jaw.
Lynx turned around when he heard Fateema shouting, but before he could react, she’d left her fist print on Rodney’s face.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
“Let me see your hand.”
“I said I’m fine. Where are you parked?”
He led her to his car in silence. Neither of them spoke until he’d maneuvered from the parking lot.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No, I’m pissed.”
Since Fateema realized Rodney was an asshole on her own, Lynx decided not to tell her what he’d overheard. Although she claimed to be pissed, he was sure she was hurt as well and didn’t want to add salt to the wound.
They drove silently for about ten minutes before Fateema realized he wasn’t going toward their neighborhood. Before she could inquire, he turned into the tiny parking lot of her favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
“You want a burger and shake?”
Whenever Fateema was feeling down, a nice juicy cheeseburger and strawberry shake always made her feel better. She smiled at Lynx’s thoughtfulness as she nodded.
He exited his car and went to the passenger side to help Fateema. Although they’d never dated or openly expressed a romantic interest in each other, Lynx was always a gentleman and treated her with the utmost respect.
After holding the door open for her, he followed her inside, and they found a booth in the back corner. It wasn’t necessary to look at the menu because they already knew what they wanted.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Fateema said while they waited for the server.
It was close to midnight. Only a few people were in the restaurant, but they were prepared to wait a while. They’d visited many times before and were used to the slow service, regardless of the time of day.
“It’s never a problem.”
“You didn’t have to dump your date for me.”
“I know, but she was cool about it.”
“I should’ve stuck to the original plan. Going with Rodney was a huge mistake. I’m annoyed, plus I didn’t get to take any professional pictures with you.”
“I agree. Going with him was a mistake, but what’s done is done. If you wanted to take pictures with me, why didn’t you say something?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was expecting you to ask me since you asked Tati.”
“You chose to go with another nigga. She was my date.”
“I know, Lynx. You don’t have to rub it in. Can we get our food to go? I want to sulk in privacy.”
“Sure. I’ll go up and place our order.”
Lynx went to the counter and had to wait a few minutes before being helped. When he returned to the table, Fateema’s fingers moved quickly across her phone screen.
“Meaghan says they’re hanging out at her house, and Tatiana is with them. Apparently, she wasn’t ready to go home.”
“Are they cool with that?”
“Why wouldn’t they be? Tatiana did the right thing, breaking up with that asshole. You can take me home if you want to hang out with them.”
“I’m good.”
She continued to text while they waited for the food. When his name was finally called, they were starving but managed to fight the urge to eat in the car.
“Are you sure you don’t want to hang out with everyone else? I don’t want to ruin your prom night just because mine is ruined.”
“When have I ever chosen to hang out with someone else over being with you.”
Something about how Lynx said those words caused a chill to slip down Fateema’s spine, but she ignored it.
“Let’s go to the treehouse,” she suggested when he stopped in front of her house.
“In these clothes?”
She looked down at her dress and said, “Oh, yeah. We are a little overdressed for that.”
“I don’t think I told you how beautiful you are.”
“Thank you. I think this dress was the perfect choice. We did good.”
“You look beautiful tonight, but I think you’re always beautiful.”
“Oh… I… you do?”
“Yeah, but why don’t you go inside and change into something more comfortable? I’ll meet you out back in ten minutes.”
“Make it twenty. I want to take a quick shower, and I’m sure my dad will have questions.”
Fateema took her food and shake, and Lynx didn’t drive away until she was safely inside. Twenty minutes later, they were inside the treehouse, finally enjoying their food.
“I had to put my burger in the microwave for a minute,” she said between bites.
“Me too, but my shake is the perfect consistency now.”
“The shakes are best when they’ve melted a little.”
“True.”
“So, you and Tati?”
“Me and Tati, what?”
“Are you a thing?”
“No, Bunny, me and Tati are not a thing.”
“Why’d you ask her to prom?”
He wanted to tell her that he’d only done it to make her jealous but decided against it.
“Because I felt bad for her. She’s pretty and seems cool, but I don’t want to date her.”
“Well, if I wanted to date Rodney before, I sure don’t anymore.”
“Did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Want to date Rodney.”
She sighed as she thought about how to answer him. It was hard to imagine wanting to date him now that she’d seen the real him.
“I don’t know. You know I’ve never dated.
Rodney is one of the most popular boys at school, and I was excited that he showed interest in me.
I don’t know if I wanted to date him or if I just liked the idea of dating him.
I mean, let’s be honest, a girl like me doesn’t need to be dating someone like Rodney.
Octavia said it best when she told me he was out of my league. ”
“She said that?”
“Yeah.”
Fateema didn’t like what her friend said, but she didn’t think Octavia was wrong. Rodney had a lot of experience with the opposite sex, and Fateema had none. It would’ve been an awkward match.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it, but she had it wrong. You’re out of his league. Rodney is one of the worst kinds of guys any girl could date, and not worth us wasting our time talking about. What do you want to do this summer before we all leave for school?”
Fateema shrugged because all she knew was that she wanted to have fun. She hadn’t given any thought to how she’d make that happen.
“I don’t know, but we have to make it special. What do you want to do?”
Lynx didn’t answer immediately, because he didn’t know how his response would affect their friendship.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Fateema asked when he didn’t reply.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know… weird.”
They’d spent numerous hours in that exact place and position… shoulder to shoulder, on the gigantic bean bag chair, doing precisely what they were doing… talking about everything under the sun, laughing, and crying. However, the air between them had never been so thick.
“Bunny, I umm… I don’t know how to say this.”
“Say what? You’re scaring me.”
“I… can I… I want to—”
“Lynx, please, just spit it—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Lynx had leaned over and covered her mouth with his. Fateema was startled for a very brief second before she awkwardly tried to figure out what to do. She’d never been kissed and had no idea what to do with her mouth.
Lynx guided her with his tongue, and it didn’t take long for her to relax and follow his lead. She loved how her best friend’s lips felt on her. She was intrigued by the feeling she had when their tongues brushed against each other’s.
He rolled onto his side, and she draped her leg over his. Their bodies pressed against each other as he slipped his hand underneath her shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her breast filled his hand, allowing him to enjoy the softness of her skin.
When Fateema felt Lynx’s erection pressing against her, she panicked and pulled away.
“What are we doing, Lynx?”
“Whatever you want us to do, Bunny.”
“Are you still… have you done it?” she asked cautiously.
“No.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
“No, but we can figure it out together.”
Although at the beginning of the school year, he’d shared that he’d never had sex, she thought that may have changed by now. His response made her more eager to experience their first time together.
“I’m on birth control to regulate my cycle.”
She didn’t have any experience when it came to sex, but she knew preventing pregnancy was a priority.
That night, Lynx and Fateema were intimate in ways he’d privately hoped for and she’d never expected.
He was a novice, but Fateema couldn’t tell because she was too.
Lynx was patient, caring, and gentle with her mind, body, and soul.
In the beginning, it was painful for Fateema, and Lynx felt terrible for causing her pain. However, he took his time and talked her through every moment. By the time they parted ways, she couldn’t wait to experience it again… and she did… all summer long.
They didn’t tell anyone about their secret love affair, and it took all of their willpower to keep things cool when others were present.
Once they were alone, a firehose wouldn’t stand a chance against the fire that burned between them.
It was the best summer of their lives thus far… one they would never forget.