FicWad

I'll Never Be the Same:

I walked up the stairs of my porch with Mr. Green. This is my seventh date with him this month. He is such a good man. He's been so good to me. Quite a gentleman. He's a little bit younger than me though. Okay, he's thirty-nine and I'm fifty. But that's not why I'm attracted to him. Mr. Green reminds me of my Nathaniel. Both were nice and in the Air Force. It's been years since I'm been on a date. When you are a widow, you get lonely over time. Now, I'm not looking for sex. Someone to cuddle with would be fine. That was when I met Mr. Green. I met him at the YMCA while I was passing out flyer for my bake sale. He was renewing his gym membership at the front desk. We met there and we talked for a little while. And we've been seeing each other ever since. I turned to Mr. Green smiling.

"I had a great night, Mr. Green." I said to him like an excited little teenage girl. My dating manners are a little rusty, but they're getting better. Mr. Green is walking me through step by step. So far, I'm doing great. My date smiled at me kindly.

"You're welcome Mrs. Andrews," he said to me. I held up my hand to him.

"Uh, uh," I spoke up to him. "This is our seventh date."

"Yeah, so?" Mr. Green asked me slightly confused. I shrugged at each other innocently.

"So, it's silly to be so formal with each other. We said at least call each other by our first names," I said to him. "What's your name?" He smiled in a charming way.

"Paul," he replied. "Paul Green." I smiled at him like a sweet little schoolgirl.

"Paul Green," I repeated in a dreamy tone. "Paul Green."

"That's right," Paul said. "And you are?"

"I'm called Keisha!" I announced to him. "Keisha Andrews." Paul smiled at me with his charming smile again. Oh, I love his smile. It makes me go weak in the knees.

"Good," I said. "Now that we know each other's names, see you again, Paul?" My boyfriend took me into his strong arms. I felt my heart skip a beat. "Ooo!" I thought. "Such a strong grip! And very elegant too. Oh, he's staying as mine for sure!"

"Yes," Paul said to me. "I will see you again, Kiki."

"Kiki?" I asked him in a dreamy voice.

"You don't mean if I call you that, do you?" he asked. I felt myself blushing.

"No," I said in quick happiness. "No, not at all!"

"Okay then," Paul said to me. "I'll see you in town tomorrow, Kiki."

"Yeah," I said to him. Then, my boyfriend kissed me on the lips like I was a teenage virgin girl. I felt myself floating away into Heaven. Sure, I have kissed before. But, Paul made me feel new to it again. And to my surprise, this feeling is really... good! I quickly kissed him back. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes. We slowly parted. Darn, is it over already? Aw man, I was just getting into it! I tried not to show the disappointment in my face. Paul smiled at me once more.

"Good night, Kiki," he said to me. I smiled back at him.

"Good night." I said back to him. Then, I watched my beloved Paul leave for the night. I felt so much at peace. After seventeen years of loneliness, I was finally happy with a new potential soul mate. I have almost forgotten what it's like to be in love. Now, Paul has helped me rediscover that feeling. And boy, was it the best thing in the world right now! I unlocked my door and went into my house.

I found Rose sitting in the kitchen reading something from one of those modern woman magazines with the light of the open window. Curious, I slowly walked over to her and began reading over her shoulder. She must have felt my presence over her because she whipped around quickly and looked up startled.

"Keisha!" she yelled in shock. "What are you doing?!?" I leapt back in surprise.

"Uh... nothing!" I replied quickly. "What are you doing back so early? I thought you were out with your friends tonight. It's Wednesday after all." Rosie just shrugged at me when she calmed down.

"Uh... I didn't feel like going out," she said. "Hey, wait a minute. What were you doing out? You weren't home when I came home tonight. Your neighborhood club does not meet until Tuesdays and Saturdays." I froze up quickly. Oh crap! Rose and Davis don't know about Paul yet. I'm not ready to introduce them to him just yet. I won't introduce him to them in a month. But first, I need to come up with a good excuse to throw off Rosie. I clamed down and drew in a deep breath.

"Keisha?" Rosie asked me. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes!" I said quickly. "I just went out for a walk tonight!" Rosie raised an eyebrow at me. I became nervous again. Oh no, she doesn't believe me! I never was any good at lying or keeping secrets. I'm in trouble now.

"A walk, huh?" Rose asked me.

"Yeah," I said sounding uneasily. "Now I'm going to bed now."

"But it's only ten!" Rose pointed out confused.

"Yes!" I said quickly. "Well, I really tired now! Good night!" I hurried off to bed before my niece could say another word to me. I made it back to my bedroom just in time. I shut my door smiling to myself. That felt strangely exciting. I feel like I'm in high school again. Maybe a secret relationship for the time being is just right. I went into my bathroom to get dressed for bed. I kept my smile tacked onto my face tightly. I just had to see Paul again really soon. But right now, I have to settle for seeing him in my dreams. Oh, who love could be so great? I'm certainly enjoying it right now!

I Like to Think the Best of Me is Still Hiding Up My Sleeve