Another peep into my novel....

Shayla wondered as the plane departed if this would be her last encounter with Raynard. After meeting Raynard online and talking to him for several months, Shayla was surprised when he told her that he wanted to fly to DC to meet her. Although she liked Ray a lot, she was reluctant to meet with him in person. When she arrived at the airport, she looked for the man that described himself as the “tall black wonder”, but, at the Regan Airport, there were so many chocolate good-looking brothers, that she had a hard time locating him. She had an idea what he looked like from the picture that he emailed her but it was not the greatest copy, so she waited at the gate near the baggage claim.

Shayla was an attractive petite woman with amber colored eyes and a cute button nose. Many had described her as “perky” which was a term she had began to find repulsive and on a few occasions she was down right offended. Shayla was often compared to the morning news anchor, Katie Couric, and even though she admired Katie’s work, she did not want to be compared to her in any way.

While Shayla had spent countless hours trying to figure out what she would wear to the airport on this day, she still found herself in the restroom checking her make-up and hair. She opted for a pair of form fitting jeans by Cavalli, and a multicolored wrap around shirt that tied in the back showing off the roundness in her jeans. She was 5’2 so she wore a pair of 3 ½ inch pointed toe pumps and paired them with her famous dolce and gabbana big glasses. “ I look good,” she said to her reflection, as she added a light touch of gloss and headed for the area once again to look for this mysterious man that she had been chatting with and could not wait to see. Shayla was curious about this man. She wanted to know why on earth would such a funny, generous, caring, good-looking man, need to find a woman online? She was also curious to see if after talking to him for four months, would he really be all that he claimed to be.

Meanwhile, Raynard was on the plane thinking to himself. what am I doing on this plane. He knew that when he stepped off this plane and laid eyes on the woman he had been sharing his life with for the last four months that all things would change. He was frightened by his loyalty and overbearing-ness to her. He did not even know where all these emotions came from. While many women had been in his life, he never acted or felt like this before. He was intrigued by Shayla, and allowed his mind to float back to his initial encounters with her online. She was “Pecheez&Crme” in the 40’s chat room and he would sign in just to see if she was online and then watch her every font. He was amazed by her quick wit and her easy way of chatting with everyone. She could always diffuse a chat room fight; he chuckled to himself remembering those first things about Shayla.

He tried to comfort himself by drinking a few glasses of wine. The words of his best friend, Legend, sounded in his spirit, “Be Careful Ray Ray, everything that shines like gold ain’t of God.” Legend was always the cautious one of the group, maybe because he was the “church boy”, as all of his friends affectionately called him. Legend’s reasoning was valid, in this day and era everyone had to be careful. The dating scene had become one big boring drag for Ray, however, he managed to shake off the sadness and emptiness that suddenly seemed to overwhelm him since the day Simone left. Ray’s life seemed to be moving in slow motion, that is, until Shayla came along.

BREAK

Shayla looked around as people greeted family and loved ones who exited the plane. She was a bit nervous because she had just received a text message from Ray stating he was about to walk off the plane, and apologized for the flight delay. Shayla stood looking out the window of the airport waiting anxiously to hear a familiar voice. She turned just as he was approaching her. She took a quick breath in and exhaled really slowly like she was taught in her scuba diving class. This man was so fine, she quickly thought. He already had his arms extended. She had to reach up to hug him and his smell quickly filled her nose. He felt so familiar, so comfortable to her; she blushed as she quickly released her arms from around his neck.

Ray saw her from a distance and knew it was her by that bad body he saw. Her jeans were poured on her like hot maple syrup on a stack of pancakes. He watched her as she looked out the window, tilting her head back and forth, licking her lips. He could hardly stand to watch her anymore. Her compact athletic body mesmerized him. He had imagined that she would be a short woman and from her description of herself he had allowed his mind to run wild. She had not sent him a picture even after he begged on several occasions. She would say, “ I am confident that you will be more than pleased with me.” That had bothered him at first because the net was notorious for people posting pictures of someone other than themselves, and, when you did finally get the chance to meet them face to face, the person sitting across from you would be someone you never even knew existed.
“Wow, you are beautiful Shayla, I have waited for this day for four months”, said Ray, in a low voice in her ear.
“Thanks Ray, you are a good looking man yourself, suga. And I have waited for it too. What took us so long?” she asked smiling. Ray knew she was flirting and he continued to gaze at her.
She saw his gaze and wanted to kiss those lips so bad but curbed her urge by pointing to the artwork display across the room. “Ray lets walk over to the Art Show and then have a cup of coffee,” Shayla said.
Ray thought quickly because what he really wanted to do was leave the airport altogether and find a nice quiet quaint place to chill with this fine piece of woman. So, Ray said, “Are you open for change Shayla? I have a better idea in mind.”
Shayla liked a man that had a plan. “Yes, I am open for change, what’s the plan love?”
Ray whispered it into her ear. She giggled and then shook her head yes, she was down for that too.

They headed to the door of the airport holding hands. Ray was excited and could feel her excitement brewing. He thought to himself that DC might be his get-away summer spot for this year. He was humming a tune as she sped down the turnpike headed for the city. He liked that she had some neo soul music playing and that the mustang was fast and clean. He liked this girl and was planning on letting nothing ruin his summer fun.