16
Mimi tried to keep her eyes from devouring his meaty legs that lay exposed beyond the hottest pair of white short shorts she’d seen in a long time. Her eyes continued to travel upward and beyond the hemline of his shorts, relaxing momentarily on the jewel keeper and then up toward the upper torso that was draped in a thin T-shirt, his firm nipples producing a slight indentation, but yet enunciating the healthy pecks that lay underneath. Muscles rippled like an ancient road along his massive arms, for sure the result of lifting weights daily. Then she caught a glimpse of his lips—too inviting to ignore, and when their eyes connected, the smile she tried to hide erupted on her face like a volcano.
“Is that you, Mimi?” the handsome man asked, giving her the once over.
“John…John Carroll, is that you?” Mimi said in response.
They were within a foot of each other, each assessing and reassessing what they had obviously once remembered against what was now in front of them. Then John reached out and hugged her, and Mimi fell into his arms like it was the thing to do.
“Mimi Allen,” John said, finally letting go as Mimi moved back. “Where have you been? We were supposed to be building an empire together, making babies, and making all kinds of beautiful music. What happened to you, girl? You look good so I’ll assume life’s been treating you kind. I can’t believe my eyes.”
“Hi, John. Wow.”
“I know you can say more than that, girl. What have you been doing since you left me at the altar?”
Mimi tapped John playfully on the arm. “I didn’t leave you at the altar. We weren’t even engaged.”
“Girl, you know we said we were going to be together forever. One day you were here, the next, no one could find you. Have you seen Brenda?”
“Not yet. I arrived in town a little over a month ago. My daughter is attending Central, and I moved here to be close to her.”
“So what have you been up to?” John made no attempt to be discrete as he looked at Mimi’s fingers. “I see you went and got hitched without me.”
Mimi folded her arms across her chest and placed her hands under her underarms. “What about you? Are you married?”
“Divorced. Twice. Now answer my questions.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was leaving. I had some issues I had to contend with, and I had to get away to do it. I eventually went to Hampton U and got my degree, fell in love, got married, and have been moving around the country ever since. My husband is a Colonel in the United States Army.”
“Oh, I see. Big dog. Got you a Colonel.” John looked around as if expecting to see Mimi’s partner trounce on him at any moment. “So where is this Colonel that you married?”
“He’s in Germany commanding a brigade. He’s been a wonderful husband and father.”
“Well, girl, you certainly are a sight for sore eyes. If the Colonel doesn’t mind me saying, you’ve still got it—the full package.” John looked at his watch. “Maybe we can have a friendly, platonic lunch sometime.”
“I don’t think that would hurt. I don’t have anything to write your information on, but my car is right over there,” Mimi said, pointing in the direction of her car.
“Nice ride. The Colonel can afford it, I’m sure.”
“Thank you,” Mimi said sweetly, as she and John walked briskly to the car. She fought the urge to touch him, even playfully, as the memory of Raphael’s hot phone sex tried to cloud her existing thoughts. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved her husband and she planned to be his wife until death they did part, but Satan had her salivating in the flesh at this sudden reunion of two lost souls.
Mimi opened the door and reached in and got her purse. She knew that John was stalking her booty with his eyes, even though she was covered up completely. He only had to imagine, but as suddenly as thoughts of those times they had been in each other arms were overtaking her, she came to her senses and eased out of the car with a piece of paper and a pencil. She wrote John’s number down, and then wrote hers down for him.
He took the piece of paper she offered and looked into her eyes. Mimi saw his eye twinkle and for a half-second thought about giving him a kiss on the lips. She refrained, but she knew he noticed, and because of the intensity of the heat that had formed from them being so close together, John reached out and pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips.
“Mimi, I’m sorry,” John said, as they recovered from his assault.
“Uhm, it’s okay,” Mimi whispered, bringing her lips together, savoring the moment. “Look, I’ll call you…to see when you want to go to lunch.”
“How about tomorrow? Do you live nearby?”
Mimi wasn’t ready to tell anyone where she lived. God knows she’d be in trouble if she let him near her house. A ton of memories came rushing back of the day they had met during her first week in college and the fun they had had and the promises made. The only regret Mimi had was that she had never given him a taste of her forbidden fruit. She was the biggest tease and found herself many times in uncompromising positions, but she always managed to wiggle her way out of things, because she was saving herself for marriage…that was until Victor Christianson violated her body. She shuddered at the thought, and all of sudden she wanted revenge. “I live in Durham,” Mimi heard herself say.
“I have a business meeting in the RTP tomorrow.” Mimi wrinkled her nose. “The Research Triangle Park,” John reminded her. “You haven’t been gone that long. Anyway, I could meet you somewhere—your call. It’s a Friday, and all the restaurants might be busy, so if you want to go around two in the afternoon, that would work for me.”
“Two sounds good for me, too. I’ll let you know the place.”
“Well, it’s a done deal. I thank the gods for smiling on me today.”
“It was nice seeing you again, too, John. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Mimi jumped into her car, afraid that if she lingered any longer, another kiss might have been imminent. She had loved John once, and seeing him now only brought memories of love to the surface. Raphael would always be her only true love, and Mimi sat in the car, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t cheating on him.
She watched as John disappeared beyond the brush that led to the trail. She grinned in spite of herself, for truly the gods had given her something to smile about. Putting her car in reverse, Mimi moved out of the park and headed for the freeway with thoughts of seeing John again.
“Damn,” Mimi said out loud. She had forgotten that quickly that she’d promised to meet Brenda for lunch tomorrow. Well, she really did have an excuse this time. She’d think of something, and maybe after this second attempt to have lunch with her, Brenda would give up. “Damn.”