Mr. Tan

Chapter 30: Where Do We Go From Here?

I had 3 days left of my summer break before my senior year started. Earl won another poker game last weekend and he had money to spend. He gave me $600.00 cash to spend on back to school supplies and new clothes. I decided to let my hair grow out a little bit more and I swung around to my usual salon and got it dyed auburn red. With the money that I had left over, I treated Adrian to lunch at a cafe not far from here, I stashed the rest of the cash in a shoe box underneath my bed. It was now a stormy Sunday night, I laid resting my head on Earl's chest after we had a love making marathon. We laid in his bed tangled up in the sheets as lightning illuminated the night sky while heavy rain pelted the windows and thunder raged outside.

"Was it good fo' you, too, baby?", he crooned, smiling down at me.

"It always is", I said, returning his smile.

He placed a soft kiss on top of my head. Before my mother passed away in the hospital, I remember her saying "ya'll's need to sit down and talk about where y'all relationship is headed". I wanted to know how Earl felt about me. The question was burning in the back of my brain for the longest. I took his hand in mine's and inspected his rock hard knuckles. His hands were kissed by the sun like the rest of him. They were rough, yet warm and gentle, they've seen their share of hard work. His fingernails were short and a little dirty. Earlier this afternoon, he spent most of the day doing yard work after returning from working at Rhett's Auto Body Garage. I laid a kiss on his knuckles as our fingers intertwined.

"Earl, I gotta ask you something", I said.

"What's up, babe?", he replied.

"Why did you punch out my mom's ex-husband?", I asked, stifling a giggle.

"I ain't like what he said 'bout you and yo' moms", he replied, tracing his fingers on the middle of my back.

I danced around the real question like a nervous child asking it's parents does Santa Claus exists.

"Earl, how do you feel about me?", I asked.

I lifted my head off of his chest and looked him straight in his eyes. I waited patiently for his answer. He looked back at me with a grin, his hands holding onto my waist.

"How I feel 'bout cha?", he asked.

"Yeah, cause you never tell me", I replied. I hope I mean more to you than a sexual conquest. We fuck a lot and we don't really go anywhere except out to eat occasionally.