In Need of a Joshua Man

In Need of a Joshua Man

Teresa D. Patterson

Copyright 2009 by Teresa D. Patterson

Published by Edit Again Publications at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical or photocopying or stored in a retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Chapter One

What day is it? Audrey Peterson couldn’t recall. It had to be the weekend. Lord, please let today be Saturday, her mind screamed. Her body felt like it needed an entire weekend to recuperate. Had she been stampeded by a herd of cattle?

What time is it? She didn’t have an answer for that question either. She had her eyes closed, lingering somewhere in between that realm of dreaming and being awake. She kept trying to figure out what prevented her from drifting back to sleep. She was almost certain that she wasn’t ready to begin the day just yet.

What is that sound? her unconscious mind asked her muddled brain. I’ve heard it before, but I can’t quite make out what it is. She managed to crack open one eyelid and looked to her left.

What she saw cleared any lingering cobwebs from her brain and jarred her fully awake. A strange man lay sprawled across the bed next to her, snoring. She sat upright, brushing hair out of her eyes in order to see him more clearly.

No, I didn’t, she thought. But, she had. It all rushed back to her like a motion picture.

She was sitting at home bored out of her mind. Russell had picked up the kids, leaving her alone in the house. She thought about passing the time reading, but didn’t have any new books. She regretted letting her membership with Black Expressions expire. Her shelf held a few Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels, but she wasn’t in the mood for reading horror. She didn’t want to read Harlequin Romance either. Reading sappy love stories left her feeling like she needed a man.

It didn’t take long for her to rule out the idea of reading. The quietness had been too much. It made her think about how alone she truly was. In spite of having two sons, most of the time, loneliness consumed her. She didn’t have a life outside of her children and boring job.

She’d been only too glad to hear from her friends, Jeanya and Faith who called while on their way to the club. Hearing their enthusiasm made her want to get out too. It didn’t take too much coaxing from them to convince her to tag along. Staying at home, staring at four walls had been the only other alternative.

She told them to pick her up and spent the next hour trying to find an outfit to wear. She didn’t own any clothing that could be considered club attire. She didn’t dress in revealing or tight clothes, which seemed to be the norm for everyone else. Even though she was going to a club, she wanted to appear respectable.

It tripped her out every time one of her friends complained about a man feeling her up in the club. In Audrey’s opinion, you got what you asked for. If you dressed like trash, you got treated like trash. What man would respect you if you let half your butt hang out or allowed your breasts to wiggle in every direction? It really didn’t take much to get most men excited. Seeing flesh just egged them on.

Almost every outfit from her closet ended up in a pile on the bed. Nothing seemed appropriate. Either it was too dressy, too tight, or too short. She made herself a mental note to clean out her closet and donate some stuff to Goodwill. Why hang on to size threes when she’d never squeeze her hips into those outfits again?

She finally decided to wear a Phat Farm, denim jumpsuit. She pulled it on and surveyed herself in the full-length mirror. It looked trendy and didn’t fit too snugly. She could stand to lose a few inches off her stomach though, then her body would be banging. After dabbing some Glow perfume on her wrists and behind each earlobe, she was ready.

Hearing a car horn, she grabbed her Coach purse that rested on the bed. It had been one of the few things she’d been able to afford before her credit had gotten ruined. She also owned a Dooney and Bourke as well as a Louis Vuitton. The total of the three purses combined could pay a month’s mortgage. She almost felt guilty for hanging onto the material things when she had to struggle so hard to make ends meet. But, those few things made her determined to rise above any problems and conquer them.

Audrey locked the front door and walked the few feet to Jeanya’s car. Of course Jeanya and Faith had on what Audrey considered hoochiefied outfits. It almost made her change her mind about hanging out with them. They always got too much male attention no matter where they went.

Girl, look at you in your tight bodysuit, Jeanya exclaimed.

Do I look alright? she asked, self-consciously.

You know you look good and you’re so thin. You can wear stuff like that, Faith said.

Yeah, she sure can. I’d have to put on a girdle to hold in all my flab, Jeanya remarked and sucked air through her teeth. They all laughed.

Audrey sat up front because Faith was in the backseat talking on her cell phone. She carried on an animated phone conversation as Jeanya drove toward the club.

Hey Faith, tell whoever that is to meet you at the club, Jeanya threw over her shoulder.

Girl, I don’t want him to find out where I’m going. He’s a bug-a-boo, she said, holding her hand over the phone so the guy couldn’t hear. But, he’s good in bed. So, I might want to hook up with him later.

TMI, Faith, too much information.

Audrey just shook her head and said nothing. She didn’t understand how Faith could sleep with random guys, but she wasn’t one to judge. Obviously, her friend knew what she was doing. Besides, she was an adult.

Jeanya parked across the street from the club. Even though it was a small facility, it generated a moderate sized crowd. The majority of the people just hung outside, sitting on the hoods of their cars, smoking or shooting the breeze. The men tried to hit on the ladies before they had a chance to disappear inside the building.

Jeanya exchanged numbers with one guy and another latched onto Faith and followed her inside. Audrey was glad that no one tried to come on to her.

Once in the club, Audrey headed straight to the bar and bought a Hennessy and Coke. She took one sip and went, Whew! The bartender made the drink strong, which was rare at most clubs. Usually the drinks were over-priced and watered down. She smiled and gave him a tip to ensure that he’d keep dishing out the favors the rest of the night.

While leaving the bar she made eye contact with a tall, handsome, young man who looked to be in his late twenties. He had smooth caramel colored skin and hazel eyes. He sported brother locks, but it didn’t take away from his good looks and sex appeal. He could have just stepped off the set of a fashion show. She wondered what he was doing at such a hole-in-the wall type of establishment.

She and her friends went because it was about the only decent (depending on your definition of the word) urban club they had in St. Petersburg. If you wanted to call the Nightriders Motorcycle and Van Club a club. Most of the other clubs had shut down because the young black men in the area didn’t know how to act. They always ended up fighting, stabbing or shooting each other. Ironically, two of the places that used to be clubs had been converted into churches.

After flirting with his eyes for a while, they guy finally approached her and offered to refresh her drink. Against her better judgment, she accepted. They exchanged names and ended up on the dance floor together. The rest of the night, she couldn’t shake him, not that she wanted too. He was cute. He had proven that he could dance when R Kelly’s song Step in the Name of Love played. He didn’t mind spending money. Not only had he bought drinks for her, he’d hooked Jeanya and Faith up as well.

Her friends had been impressed, not that their opinions in men counted for much. They gave her the thumbs up and Faith whispered in her ear, I hope you let him get you over that dry spell you’ve been having. Audrey couldn’t help but laugh at that. If she’d kept her mouth shut then her friends wouldn’t know all about her business.

After two more drinks, and mind you she had a two-drink limit, she was through. She tried to dance it off but had to face the fact that she was wasted. She figured as much when they played, Pull It All the Way Down, and she tried to pull it down but couldn’t pick it back up. Her new friend helped her. Because she could no longer focus or stand up straight, they decided to leave. He offered to drive her home.

If Jeanya or Faith had tried to talk her out of going home with a man she’d just met, she couldn’t recall. Those heifers were supposed to have her back. They knew that she and brown liquor didn’t mix too well.

She vaguely remembered her and the guy leaving the club. They stopped at Gyros, a fast food joint, to get something to eat. She could remember French fries and grease, but the rest of the night remained a blur.

Audrey groaned aloud. How could she just let a stranger pick her up? Not to mention the fact that she’d brought him into her home. She was acting like she was hard up for sex or something. Actually she was hard up, but that didn’t excuse her behavior.

It penetrated her brain that the snoring had stopped. She turned to stare at the young man and saw that he was no longer asleep. His light colored eyes met hers and his lips turned up in the corners. He had a beautiful smile, with nice even white teeth. At least she hadn’t ended up with someone who looked like a wooly mammoth. She would have killed Jeanya and Faith.

Good morning, he greeted.

Um--yeah. Look, I can’t remember your name right now, but you have to go, she said quickly. After noticing his smoldering stare, she pulled the sheet up to her neck. She didn’t care if he considered her to be a prude. In the broad daylight, she’d sobered up and come to her senses.

It’s Carlos,’ he reminded her, making no move to get out of her bed. Why are you kicking me out? Don’t I at least get some breakfast? He leaned on his elbow and stared at her with big, soulful eyes.

Audrey almost laughed in his face. She couldn’t even remember what happened. Had he been good enough to deserve breakfast?

"Look, Carlos. I’m sure you’re a nice young man and I’m not trying to