by
Toni Rae Knight

_____When Rory saw Sara sitting at the small round table, she barely expected even a glance in return. The gorgeous young woman peered intently at the pages of her novel, looking up only briefly to roll her eyes in disgust at the noise in the crowded bookstore. But as Rory walked through the bookstore she felt the woman's eyes following her the entire way; from the entrance door to the "Art" section.
_____Rory was a tomboy in the most rugged, provocative sense of the word. The soft, sinewy muscles in her neck offset the striking prominence of her high cheekbones. Her smooth brown head was completely bald, and both of her ears were lined from top to bottom with tiny silver hoops. She also wore a small diamond stud in her nose, and a pair of ripped Levis that looked like they should have been thrown out several washings ago. Sara watched the muscles in her buttocks tighten as they shifted underneath the tight jean material.
_____Rory unzipped her black leather jacked and ran a hand over the smooth dome of her head as she looked through the selection of art books on the rack. She knew she looked good in the jacket; had picked it up from a store downtown that sold discounted motorcycle gear. As she browsed the rack she slowly moved towards the direction of the bookstore's coffee shop, where she knew the young woman was reading. She racked her brain for something to say…anything.
_____The young woman's cell phone rang and Rory looked up as the digital whining sprayed outward in the crowded bookstore. She tried not to listen to the conversation, but her curiosity got the best of her. It was like a drug to hear the woman loosening up, making playful jokes, and giggling loudly in response to the voice on the other end. If only she could have been on the other end of that phone. She had listened to the entire one-sided conversation, but only one phrase stuck in her head: "Ooh, girl, I love chocolate…." The woman had murmured, in response to something that was said on the other end. Rory smiled quietly to herself. She imagined the woman's full pink lips wrapped around a rich mound of thick brown candy. Talk about food for thought.
_____After finding the book she'd wanted and stalling as long as she possibly could, Rory went out side to wait for her. Leaning against the wall of the bookstore, she played nervously with the book in her hand. Finally she saw her coming out, and cleared her throat very loudly.
_____"Is that a good book you're reading?" She asked when the woman was just in front of her on her way out the door.
_____"Huh?" the young woman looked up in surprise.
_____"Oh!....umm, yes! It's The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou. It's actually very good.
_____"Do you come here very often?" Rory asked.
_____"Yes...even when I shouldn't. Like now, for instance. I'm really sort of in a hurry." The woman started to move around her.
_____"You are so beautiful", Rory gushed "What is your nationality?"
_____She smiled. "My father's Indian and my mother's from Kenya."
_____"Wow." Rory said, nodding. "Have you ever been to either of those places?"
_____"No. But I would love to someday."
_____"I would love to go with you."
_____The young woman smiled politely and said. "Look. I really need to go."
_____"Wait---do you like chocolate?" Rory asked.
_____"No. I don't. Now if you'll excuse me..."
_____"Okay, okay..listen..." Rory said earnestly. "I swear you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I just wanna hang out with you for one day. That's all. Nothing crazy." She held her hands up, palms facing forward, as if to symbolize that she wasn't hiding anything.
_____Sara looked at her for a long moment. Then she looked up at the sky and sighed. "Tell you what" she said finally, pulling a pen out of her purse. She withdrew a small piece of paper and scrawled a few words on it. "Here's my number. Call me. I have to go." She tucked the piece of paper into Rory's hand and hurried off to her car.
_____Rory lay in bed as she dialed her best friend's phone number. She stared at the neatly slanted handwriting scrawled across the old receipt. Sara. She listened as the ringing finally stopped on the other end, and waited for Carlos' familiar greeting. "House of Beauty, this is Cutie." He said in his affected nasal drawl.
_____"Carlos!"
_____"Hey, girl, I was just about to call you!"
_____"I have a problem."
_____"Shoot."
_____"I met this fine woman at the bookstore today...and I even got her phone number."
_____"Well, good for you!" he cried. "So what's the problem?"
_____"Well, I want to buy her some chocolate because I don't know anything about her except the fact that she loves chocolate."
_____"Okay....so buy her some chocolate."
_____"The only thing is, when I made a comment about it she told me she didn't like it."
_____"So...then what makes you think she does?"
_____"Because she said so when she was talking on the phone."
_____Carlos smacked his lips. Rory could imagine him rolling his eyes. Carlos made an art out of rolling his eyes. "Maybe you heard wrong." He said.
_____"No, I was right there. I swear I heard her say she loved chocolate."
_____"Maybe she was lyin, girl, you know how these females be lyin." Carlos drawled.
_____"I'm almost positive she wasn't."
_____"Okay, so....whatchyagonna do? Send her chocolate anyway, so she can think you're a dumb ass?"
_____"No, I'll send her chocolate until she tells me why she lied and told me she hated it."
_____When Rory arrived at the woman's house four days later, it was the first time she had seen her since the bookstore, and the rush of excitement surprise her with it's newness.
_____"I brought you something." Rory said as she handed her a small flat object wrapped in plain red paper.
_____"Oh, really?" Sara smiled in amusement as she took the gift from Rory's hands. She began to unwrap it. A puzzled look came across her face when the wrapping fell away to reveal a book. But she didn't voice her confusion, only read the title out loud.
_____"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Sara smiled politely. "Thank you. I heard it was pretty good."
_____"It is." Rory smiled.
_____"Why don't you come in and get comfortable?"
_____They ate lasagna for dinner as they watched a movie in Sara's living room. Rory could not keep her eyes off the other woman. She noticed that Sara always made sure to sit with her knee or elbow propped up, as if trying to keep a physical barrier between the two of them. After dinner was over and the wine was warm inside them, she seemed to deliberately sit even farther away. They conversed about themselves for a very long time. Rory was able hold her gaze on several occasions. She would raise her eyebrows slightly as if waiting for a question, or perhaps a confirmation of the chemistry that swirled electric between them. Sara would only smile at her, and then quickly look away.
_____On their next date Rory came bearing another gift. This one a little bit larger, but with the same long rectangular shape.
_____"I brought you something." She said, for the second time that week.
_____"What? Another gift?" Sara smiled.
_____"Yeah. I hope you like movies." Rory watched as Sara unwrapped the VHS tape.
_____This time, she made no attempt to hide her confusion. "The Chocolate War?" Sara questioned.
_____"It's one of my favorite movies. The book is good too."
_____This time they had dinner at Macciarelli's and as Sara swirled a fork full of fettuccini in her sensuous mouth, Rory could imagine her own fingers sliding against the wetness of her warm tongue.
_____On the third date, Sara interruped Rory as she opened her mouth to say hello. "Let me guess-you brought me something," she said.
_____"Uh-oh, she's starting to catch on." Rory joked.
_____"You must really be trying to spoil me."
_____"Is it working?" Rory smiled.
_____"I must admit...." Sara's voice trailed off as she unwrapped the small square gift. She looked at the CD in her hands. "Like Water For Chocolate"
_____"Do you like Common?"
_____"I love Common. He's my all-time favorite mc."
_____"Good." Rory smiled happily. "You don't have that CD already do you?"
_____"No, I was just getting ready to buy it, actually." So they talked about music the rest of the night, even danced a little, as Sade's voice undulated like a silk curtain in the background. Rory cupped her hand around Sara's waist as they shuffled their feet together amongst the pile of CD cases on the floor. It had been a very long time since any woman had made her feel so unstable. Suddenly Sara moved away slightly and looked away. "Well...it's getting late.." Then she pulled away and began cleaning up the mess they'd made.
_____On their fourth date, Sara stopped Rory before she entered the house. "Seriously, I can't accept any more gifts from you."
_____"Why? Do you feel obligated to get me something now?"
_____"No, actually I don't, but I did anyway."
_____"You did?" Rory didn't know quite how to respond.
_____"Yeah....well actually, this is mine." She handed Royal a thick paperback novel. "This is one of my favorite novels, but I want you to have it. I think books are so much more personal if they've been read by someone else. It's the actual book; Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, that Common based the concept of his album on."
_____"Oh yeah, I've heard about it."
_____"I figured I'd get it for you since you seem to have an affinity for the word chocolate."
_____Rory smiled. "Thank you. And here's yours." She held out the fourth gift. It was also rectangular, but much longer and wider than all the other ones.
_____Sara grabbed the gift and sighed as she opened it. As the shiny blue wrapping tore away, she stared without saying a word. And then she finally spoke. "Oh! Okay." Sara looked down at the box of chocolates. "I guess..I'll uh, eat these later."
_____"I figured just a little bit wouldn't hurt." Rory said.
_____Sara looked at her. "I guess it wouldn't huh? She moved back to let Rory inside. "I ordered pizza, I hope that's okay..I didn't feel like cooking."
_____"That's perfect." Rory made herself comfortable on the living room sofa.
_____Later, they talked some more as they sat on the plush living room sofa and watched a movie.
_____"So how did you get the name Rory?" Sara asked her, as she lifted her soda to her lips.
_____"'Cause I treat women like royalty," Rory winked at her.
_____"No, seriously." Sara smiled.
_____"Well, actually my name's Rianna-Maureen. It was shortened by my grandmother who died when I was five."
_____"Oh, wow. That must be very significant for you then. Do you miss her?"
_____"Yeah." Rory did not feel like talking about her grandmother. "Here, why don't you have some of this?" She began to open the box of chocolates she'd bought Sara.
_____"Oh no, wait a minute" Sara protested, shaking her head. She smiled. "Not yet-" Rory pulled out a small lump of dark chocolate and gently pressed the soft brown candy against Sara's lips. She continued to press gently until the other woman finally parted her lips. Sara let out a low sigh and opened her mouth slipping her tongue out to reach for the candy. As she caught the candy with her mouth, her teeth and tongue brushed against Rory's index and fore fingers. Rory could not remember ever having been as aroused as she was that moment.

THE END

Copyright © 2001. Used by permission of author. All Rights Reserved.