It was a new day, which meant a new bikini, this time red. She was on the beach listening to her iPod when the sun�s warm rays suddenly disappeared. She looked up to see Ben standing over her,
�Hey.� She pulled the earpieces out and watched him as he sat down next to her on the sand. He had already gotten a nice tan she noticed as she admired his bronze shirtless skin.
�How was your night last night?�
She had gone to bed before the guys returned from their wild night out with their little friends.
�It was pretty nice.�
She groaned, �Did you sleep with them?�
He laughed, �No, just one of them.�
She never judged him on his indiscretions. Maleeyah had hardly been a part of the moral majority all of her life. She lost her virginity when she was fifteen and she never looked back. Of course, she was faithful during her relationships and didn�t sleep around but she never went long without sex until she moved to Florida.
Contrary to many of people�s beliefs, she didn�t go on many dates. In the two years she had lived in Florida she could count on one hand the number of guys she dated and none of them ever shared her bed.
�Are you disappointed?�
Smiling, she shook her head, �Of course not. It was expected.�
She turned on her side and propped her head up on her hand, �What was the little minx�s name?�
�Erica. She�s on vacation with her friends from Tennessee.�
�I�m surprised you remembered all that information.�
He laughed and grabbed a piece of fruit from her bowl she had brought down from the house, �I am a sensitive guy.�
For a brief time they people-watched and took in the beautiful beach ambiance that surrounded them.
�How was your night?�
�It was nice. Derek was nice enough to stay with me and keep me company.�
�Yeah, he�s a nice guy.� He laughed, �When he wants to be.�
�What does that mean?�
He shook his head and shrugged, �Nothing bad. Its just that he can be quite the womanizer�more like a skirt chaser.�
That didn�t seem like it was out of the realm of possibility. He was a good-looking guy and he was rich. Of course there were women lined up to be his next companion and naturally he didn�t turn them away.
�Who gets the pleasure of babysitting me tonight?�
�That�s my job.�
She looked over and groaned.
�I�d probably be better off alone.�
�Oh come on. You and I are going to Risky Business.�
�Just you and me?�
�Derek might join us but Sean and Jack, I know for sure, won�t be around.�
�Follow-up meeting?�
He nodded his head, �Play with me.� He tossed a Frisbee at her and she picked it up before following him.
**
Risky Business was all about the American party crowd. It seemed to attract the college crowd but it had its share of over 25. Top 40 music was blasting; currently it was Destiny�s Child Lose My Breath pumping through the speakers.
Derek, Ben and Maleeyah drank and talked. Ben and Maleeyah added dancing to their list. She tried to get Derek to join them but he was adamant that he couldn�t dance. She wasn�t so sure; she figured just because he wasn�t Michael Jackson or Justin Timberlake didn�t mean he couldn�t keep the beat.
�Hi.� A pretty brunette approached their table. They greeted her and it seemed apparent she was interested in Derek.
�I�m a huge fan I just wanted to say I�m sure the last season was tough and I�m sure you�ll make it happen next time.�
A baseball fan? Maybe she wouldn�t be so bad. Maleeyah was always happy to come across one. She didn�t buy into that bull that football was America�s number one sport now. Nothing could compare to baseball. No other sport had the fanfare and caused the love that baseball�s opening day did. No other sport�s field of play could rival a beautifully manicured baseball field. The fans were a part of the game. No other sport had its fans on the big screen and television during a game as much as baseball. There was nothing like a baseball game during the summer with the sun shining, a beer and a big ballpark hotdog. Just thinking of it made her dream of hearing her favorite words: �pitchers and catcher report.�
�Thank you. Would you like to sit?� Derek offered and she didn�t hesitate to take him up on the offer.
�My name is Lisa.�
�I�m Derek, that�s Ben and that�s Maleeyah.� She barely acknowledged Ben and Maleeyah before she turned her body towards Derek.
�You�re a baseball fan huh?� Maleeyah noticed his eyes were already stealing glances at Lisa�s exposed cleavage.
�Yes, my grandfather raised my father as a Yankee fan. We grew up in Connecticut.�
�Where do you live now?�
He was probably trying to see if she was close to New York, Maleeyah thought.
�Unfortunately work took me to Chicago.�
He gave her a sympathetic look, �Its not the Yankees but its still good baseball.�
She shook her head, �No way. They are so obsessed with perpetuating the lovable loser thing I think even the team doesn�t want to win.�
The team, Maleeyah thought. She never understood why everyone forgot about the White Sox, they had been losers just as long as the Cubs and before last year the Red Sox but for whatever reason they weren�t that lovable.
As she thought about that Lisa had already moved on to other topics of discussion. Ben and Derek didn�t seem to mind but she was feeling uncomfortable as she watched the art of the hookup.
�Ben, let�s dance.� She pulled him up and led him to the dance floor. As they danced she noticed Lisa and Derek seemed to get closer and closer.
She wondered what it was like to be a man and just have the confidence that he obviously had after years of successful exchanges with women. She was a bit jealous�not of Lisa, but of him. She smiled as she turned her attention back to her dance partner.
**
She left Ben, Derek and Lisa to go to the restroom before they left the club. When she returned she only saw Ben sitting alone. As she got closer to the table he stood up, �Ready?�
She scanned the room, �We don�t need to wait on Derek?�
He shook his head and placed his hand on the small of her back, �No, he's gone already.�
023 | No Ordinary Girl