“Oh really?” I said.
I just couldn’t get enough of looking at those eyes. He had a darkly impish grin on his face now.
God, he was drop dead gorgeous.
Then, he continued. “Seriously, looking back, I realize I was a bit of a dickhead when I was a kid, used to start fights and break windows. My friends used to joke that’s why my initials spelled cock. Cedric 122/727
looked at me for a moment and then broke out in laughter as he waited for my reaction.
I shook my head and laughed. “What, now?”
“My middle initial is O, so Cedric and Callahan wrapped around that…you have C-O-C…cock.” He laughed.
“Ah…makes sense.” I continued laughing, then realized something. “Wait…your middle initial is O? My middle initial is O
too!”
Cedric’s mouth dropped. “Really?” I nodded and grinned. “Yes…my middle name is Ophelia.”
His eyes widened and glistened in amazement. “Allison…you’re friggin’ kidding me,” he said.
“No, I am not…what’s wrong with Ophelia?”
“Nothing at all. It’s absolutely beautiful…but when I tell you my middle name, well—”
123/727
“What…Cedric tell me…what is it? Os-car? Omar? O’Shaughnessy? Obi Wan Ken-obi? Tell me!” I laughed, waiting in suspense.
Cedric put his hand on my headrest and moved in closer which startled me. I could feel his breath near my face when he said,
“Allison…your
middle
name
is
Ophelia…”
“Yes…don’t tell me your middle name is Ophelia, too?” I joked.
Cedric shook his head. “No…not Ophelia…but—”
“But what?”
“You’d never guess it.”
“Give me a hint.”
He rubbed his chin and smiled.
“Okay…it’s from Shakespeare too.” My jaw dropped and I did guess it. “Oh my God… Othello? You’re telling me your middle name is…Othello?”
He nodded. “That’s exactly what I am telling you.”
124/727
This was really bizarre and hilarious.
“You mean to tell me we are both named after Shakespeare characters?” I stared at him in awe before thinking about it again for a few seconds. “Wait…are you shitting me?”
Cedric burst out laughing. “It would seem that way wouldn’t it, but unfortunately, I’m not. I swear on my father’s life,” he said.
Now, I knew he was being serious. You just don’t joke on someone’s life. “Wow,” I said.
Cedric seemed really amused by this coincidence too. “Wow is right…you’re telling
me.
My
father
was
a
huge
Shakespeare fan and insisted on my middle name being Othello. The Othello board game was pretty big back then too. For some reason, he thought it was the coolest name. It started as a joke, really. My mom was dead set against it and one night, they were with some friends and she lost a bet and 125/727
well…there you have it…Cedric Othello Callahan.”
“I guess maybe this is a sign we were meant to meet,” I said, immediately regretting the suggestive comment.
Cedric smiled, his white teeth glisten-ing. “I think so, Allison Ophelia.” He was so surprisingly easy to talk to and I didn’t want this night to end, but I was apprehensive about asking him to come upstairs.
No, there was no way I could do that.
Cedric turned the interior light on and reached across me to open the glove compartment when I got my closest interaction with his body yet, breathing him in. The heat beneath my ass from the seat was nothing compared to the warmth throughout my body as his hair sat inches from my nose. His arm brushed against me and I fantasized about pulling it towards me, putting his hands on me.
126/727
He looked frantically for something, eventually grabbing a pen. I spotted a pack of cigarettes in there as well. Strange…he didn’t seem like a smoker and I didn’t smell it in here.
Mmm…I think the cologne might be Cool Water.
“Aha…here it is,” he said grabbing a pen. “Do you happen to have a piece of paper in your bag?”
“Let me look.” I opened my purse and dug through all of the crap: hairspray, gum, mace, wallet, change…not one darn piece of paper?
“Ok, don’t worry about it. My phone is dead; otherwise I would enter your information that way. Here, give me your hand.” Cedric reached out his palm and I placed my hand in his. He clicked the pen and began to write his cell phone number and email address carefully on top of my hand, while holding it steady with his. His 127/727
hand was big, rough and warm. A wave of heat rushed through my body as he breathed out slowly and I felt his hot breath on my hand.
I never wanted him to stop writing, never wanted him to let me go. He did though, but not before squeezing my hand, a silent farewell gesture before he let it loose.
Then he just stared at me for a few seconds with his icy blue eyes and my nipples got hard.
I cleared my throat. “Um…let me give you my information as well,” I said, grabbing his hand (ballsy, yes?) as he handed me the pen. My hand might have trembled a little as I wrote all of my information on his. I could have sworn his thumb brushed across my hand intentionally before I reluctantly pulled away.
Cedric turned the interior light off and we stood in silence for a few more seconds before he spoke. “Well, then…Allison, it was 128/727
really great talking with you. Again, I am sorry about your having to look for the card and your missing the train…but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy your company on the ride home.”
“Me too…I mean…I enjoyed your company too. You have no idea. And thanks for, you know, looking into that contact at the special needs agency.”
I lingered a bit, hoping Cedric would ask me out. When he just continued to stare at me, I opened the car door, leaving him sitting there.
He flashed his beautiful teeth one last time as I shut the door.
As I walked up the stairs, Cedric started the car. Fiddling with my keys, I looked back, noticing he was still idling waiting for me to safely enter. When I cracked the door open, I turned around and waved and saw him wave back. Then, he took off.
129/727
I ran upstairs and when I entered the apartment, I realized Sonia hadn’t come home yet.
I started tearing off my clothes and ran to the bathroom to see what I looked like. Not bad. The mascara was a little runny, but for having worked all day, I guess I looked somewhat presentable.
I turned on the faucet to the bathtub and I pulled off my socks. If I thought he was amazing before, I was speechless now. In that short time, Cedric managed to make me laugh, almost cry and possibly gave me a job lead. Not to mention, my underwear is soaked from just the touch of his hand on mine. The only thing that could have made tonight better, is if he had actually asked me out.
I poured lavender bath salts in the water and waited for it to fill up. As I entered the white ceramic tub, I smelled my hands, which were coated in Cedric’s cologne and 130/727
made sure not to dip them in the water, so it wouldn’t wash away. I smelled him as I soaked the rest of my body and fantasized, imagining a different ending to our night: one where I had asked him if he wanted to come upstairs. I knew I couldn’t have done that, but I couldn’t help wishing I were that kind of girl. Because if I were, he might be here with me right now and I wouldn’t feel this tremendous loneliness.
I then burst out laughing at the crazy thought of Sonia coming home seeing me mounting Blue Eyes on the couch. I think she is gonna have a heart attack as it is when I tell her about my more platonic ride.
131/727
132/727
CHAPTER 8
CEDRIC
I pulled into the parking space in back of my brownstone, but couldn’t get out the car. I was paralyzed by thoughts of her, running our entire conversation from the ride over and over in my head. I shut off the car and listened only to the sounds of the city night, shutting my eyes. Church bells in the distance rang to signify the start of a new hour…it was one in the morning When I opened my eyes, I reached over to pull out the cigarettes from the glove compartment, lit one and took a long drag. I couldn’t give a fuck about the repercussions of smoking right now.