On the subway, Levi sat vibing to his headphones. It was apparently too loud for public opinion, as several passengers turned their necks around with irked faces, wishing he would lower the volume of that hip hop anger blaring into his young ears. He was in a world of his own separate from his physical being, almost achieving nirvana. He drummed on the window seal with his fingers to the militant rhythms, annoying everyone else on the train, though no one gathered to gumption to speak any scolding words to him out of intimidation of his tall, large muscle bound stature, like that of a football player.
Nothing could quiet him, save the charm of a pristine female boarding the train at the Mondawmin station. She was probably ten years his senior and radiating the essence of womanly wiles and crimson passion as red as her form fitting dress. He didn�t need to see her, only with his eyes closed in ecstasy to his music, he caught wind of her sweet lavender cologne and the music ceased. Like the alpha male wolf, gathering the scent of his prey, he opened his eyes to the lady passerby and his sight was justified far beyond what he could have ever hoped to grace his presence. Her long luscious bodyful mane shook with fluid motion for every click her stiletto heels struck the floor releasing a graceful tremor of tresses as dark as a midsummer�s night sky. His eyes examined her ample breasts, dangerous curves, child bearing hips, question mark behind, and smooth toned thighs and calves. Of last importance, his exploring eyes completed the vixen at her face. A creamy olive toned complexion made her appear quite Mediterranean. Her cheek bones were round and high, and large doe almond eyes rested upon them with mysterious luminous pupils of yellow topaz in the center. Her long feathered eyelashes flirted with every blink, reaching up to her softly arched eyebrows and landed on her round cheek bones. Her nose, slender and discreet, directed his eyes down to her voluptuous rose red lips. She wore dangly hoop earrings that danced like gypsies and crashed against her face for every time she tossed her dark mane.
�Hey shorty!� he projected to her as he uninvitingly stole a seat next to where she intended to sit. She paused in reluctance and then perched herself in that seat. She didn�t answer him, treating him as a gnat in the breeze. She proceeded with crossing her legs and retrieving a small compact from her matching clutch purse. She rested her head in one hand that rested its elbow on the back of the neighboring seat, and plucked open the tiny mirror with the other hand, inspecting her countenance.
�I said, wassup shorty!� he projected once more with the determination of a ghost demanding to be noticed by the living. Her face flinched with aggravation, as she clicked her mirror shut with impatience.
�Hmmm-I never heard someone speak to their genitalia in that way before.� She replied in coy manner with the stinging sarcasm flowing on a dusky mezzo-soprano voice.
�I see Miss thang got jokes.� He said in a deflated tone mixed with resentment. �A brotha try to holla at a fine thang and she snaps at�em like a ghetto rat. Guess I can�t even get ya name huh?�
�It�s Tempest and don�t wear it out.� She sassed in alto.
�Sassy lil thang ain�t ya Tempest. Well I�m sho� nuff blown away. Where you gettin� off at lookin� like dat. It ain�t every day a brotha comes across somt�n as fine and as sexy as you in dis city.�
�Wouldn�t you like to know--�
�I would. I�d go to the ends of the ends of the earth for you.�
�Yeah, but would you stay there? As if the likes of you would be interested in getting off at State Center in the middle of June.�
�Whatcha mean?� He asked puzzled. She sucked her teeth and hissed a bothersome sigh in synch with train screeching to a halt at her stop. She hopped up.
�Little boy, stop pawing me with ya sorry, lame ass back-in-day pick up lines. I�ve got a drag show to do if you don�t mind.� she landed in baritone with an exit, shocking Levi into an embarrassed heap of testosterone gone to waste.
-Ramses Westbrook-Scott
