I was taken aback by her enthusiasm.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you again in class,” I said as I stood up from the table.
“Or maybe we can see each other tonight for dinner. I’m great in the kitchen and”-Sue Ellen giggled-“in bed.”
First I was speechless. Then I was motionless.
“Excuse me?” I asked as if I hadn’t heard her.
She wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up. “You know,” she said as she licked her tongue out at me in a seductive manner.
“Oh, my, um, Sue Ellen, I’m sorry, but you have me mistaken. I don’t date women at all,” I said firmly.
“No kidding? Well, I am sorry. It’s just that you’re so masculine, I thought…”
I’d like to have slapped the hell out of Sue Ellen, but I just laughed it off. It must have been the overgrown T- shirt and the clunky track sneakers I was wearing. Whatever, the incident with Sue Ellen reminded me that I needed a man.
“Hi, I’m responding to an ad in the paper, SBM looking for SBF-” I said reluctantly.
“Yeah, it’s me,” the deep voice cut me off.
“Hi, how are you? My name is Celess,” I said, trying not to laugh.
I was all giggly inside, like a girl being introduced to her first crush.
“Hey, Celess, I’m Michael. I’m surprised someone responded,” he said.
“Yeah, I’m surprised I was that someone.”
There was a pause.
“So, Michael…what do you do for a living?” I asked. Apparently I was going to have to initiate the conversation.
“I’m an architect. I get contracts for universities, hospitals, and things like that. What about yourself?” he asked, sounding professional.
“I’m a…yoga instructor,” came sliding off my tongue.
He caught me off guard. No man had ever asked me that who I was interested in enough to lie to.
“Um, that sounds interesting,” Michael said.
“But my ultimate goal is to open my own hair salon,” I quickly added to throw him off.
“Hmm, a yoga instructor and a hairstylist? Sounds like you’re pretty well rounded,” Michael said.
“I guess you can say that,” I said before changing the subject. “What part of the city are you from?” I asked.
I was trying to gather some background information on Michael. It was easy and probably very likely to be deceived when hooking up with people who placed ads in search of companionship.
“Well, actually I’m from Boston. But I live in South Philly on Columbus Boulevard. I’ve been here for two years now,” he answered.
“How is it living on that strip? It must get loud on the weekends with all those nightclubs.”
“Actually, it doesn’t. For starters, I’m on the twenty-fourth floor, so-”
I cut him off and said, “Oh, you’re in those lofts down there on the water. You must have an amazing view.”
“I do, yes. I see the Delaware River from my living room and the skyline from my bedroom. It’s something to see at night.
“What about you? Where do you stay?” Michael turned the interrogation on me.
“I live in a town house myself, right off of the main line,” I told him proudly.
“Do you have any children?” he asked.
It was funny how men first wanted to know if a woman had children and women first wanted to know what a man did for a living.
“No. Do you?”
“I have a seven-year-old son,” Michael said.
Although I was disappointed, I said, “Well, I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Well, he lives in Boston with his mother. My job requires me to do a lot of traveling, so we agreed it was better and more stable for him to stay with her,” Michael told me.
I was relieved. I mean, it wasn’t that I had a problem with children. It was just that I wanted no parts of a man’s baby’s momma drama.
“So, I’m curious…Celess, right?”
“Right,” I answered.
“What made you respond to my ad? I mean, I’m pleased that you did, don’t get me wrong. But it sounds like you have things in order. You shouldn’t have a problem getting a man.”
“If that is your way of asking if I’m ugly, then no, I am not. In fact, I’m very attractive. I would even bet that I look better than any woman you’ve ever dated, including your son’s mother,” I said with sass.
“Ohhh,” Michael said. “We’ll just have to see.”
“What about you, mister?” I teased. “Why did you even place the ad? I think that’s a more desperate move than me responding to it.”
“To be quite honest, I’ve been in Philadelphia for every bit of two years and I have not found one woman that I could see myself in a relationship with. I guess I do sound kind of desperate, then, huh?” Michael chuckled. “No, but really, I’ve been on a few dates, and the women either didn’t click with me or weren’t my type, or one time it turned out that a woman was with me for my money,” he continued. “So I placed the ad. Now tell me, why did you respond?”
“I responded to your ad because I’m tired of picking up men at clubs. Well, that and because another woman offered me sex today as if I had the words
Michael and I shared a laugh at our seemingly desperate selves. We ended up talking for about two hours, getting to know each other better. We ultimately made plans to have dinner the following day. I was anxious to see what he looked like and prayed it was every bit of the six-foot, brown, muscular description he placed in the ad.
It was a beautiful evening. The air was thin. It wasn’t as humid as it had been for the past couple days. Delaware Avenue was lit up and busy. I was dressed in a chic black BCBG shirt and skirt, with black leather BCBG open-toe stilettos and a black Gucci clutch. My hair was pulled back in a bun, and I went modest on the jewelry: some platinum and diamond studs in my ears and a platinum and diamond bangle. I wore a black flower on my neck, so a necklace was unnecessary. I was going for the sophisticated, sexy look. From the parking garage I took the elevator up to Hibachi.
“Hello, reservations for Michael LaBlanc,” I said to the hostess with a polite smile.
The short Asian girl scanned the reservation list. “Yes, right this way,” she said as she led me to a two-person booth in a secluded spot in the restaurant.
Hibachi was casual but classy. It had nice Asian-influenced decor. That night all of the attendees were dressed up and looked wealthy.
“You must be Celess,” Michael said as he stood up to greet me. He kissed me on the hand gently. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise,” I said, smiling.
“I have to say, when you described yourself over the phone, I thought to myself there’s no way she can be this beautiful, but wow, you’re even more beautiful than you described,” Michael commented.
I blushed something terrible. “Thank you,” I said.
Michael was good-looking too, but in a different way than what I was used to. He didn’t have the cute-as-a- motherfucker sexy-ass thug look like O, James, and Darrell, and he didn’t have the mature, handsome look like Tariq. He had an actor’s look. His body was very well maintained and athletic. He had a perfectly shaved head and face. He was just all right in the face, even a little on the unattractive side, but there was something about him, his demeanor, his poise, that captivated me.
“Hello, can I start you two with something to drink?” the waitress asked.
Michael motioned for me to order first. He was a perfect gentleman.
