Mr. Take Me As I Am: Chapter 1

“Let me have a shot of Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium.”

“Going top shelf I see,” the bartender replied as the smooth sounds of neo soul played in the background. “Must be a special night,” she said while stepping on a stool to reach the elegantly designed bottle.

“Not really. I have a blind date tonight,” Cameo Rawlings, CEO of Palmer Innovations said as he took a seat at the bar. He was now wondering why he’d allowed his friend to talk him into this. There were a hundred and one things he could be doing in the office. But his friend, Ebony, had been on him to meet this person since she moved over to city hall with their other childhood friend, LT Palmer, when he was elected Mayor of the City of Richmond.

When LT asked Cameo to become the Chief Executive Officer for his multi-million-dollar software company, his life was changed. The company became Cameo’s top priority. The trust LT bestowed on him was humbling to say the least. Once Cameo took over the position, it became his personal responsibility to ensure the company continued to grow under his leadership. There was no way he was going to disappoint his friend. They had literately come from nothing, together. Cameo Rawlings, Lawrence ‘LT’ Palmer, Raymond ‘Mint’ Mintus, and Ebony Sullivan all grew up in public housing. The four of them stayed clear of gangs by sticking together.

Cameo was always the cool one who got along with everyone. Mint was the muscle. If anyone so much as looked at them wrong, he would handle it. Ebony, well, along with brains, she was the girl with the body that every guy wanted, only she wasn’t having it. Their duty was to block any guy coming her way.  Then–there was LT, the real brains of the group. Not only did he keep them, including Mint, who was not the brightest bulb in the ceiling, straight in school, LT encouraged them all to go to college. Mint said that wasn’t for him, however, Cameo, Ebony and LT, all went to college.  During their sophomore year in college, a game LT created was sold to a tech company. LT took some of his proceeds from the sale to pay off Cameo’s and Ebony’s student loans. In addition, he paid for both of them to get their master’s degrees. During that time, LT started his own software company, Palmer Innovations, then hired all of them, including Mint, to work for him. They were all in a good place until Mint acted out, causing LT to fire him.  It was an ugly scene at the time, but they were all working through it.

Now, all of them were in their thirties. LT was now married to his beautiful wife, Sapphire, who they all called Phire. So now, Ebony had decided it was her job to find him a woman.  Hence the reason he was sitting at a bar drinking.

“A blind date?” The bartender shrugged. “You’re a good-looking guy. I can’t imagine you have a hard time finding women. Unless you’re a workaholic.”

Cameo smiled as he picked up his drink. “My friend, who set this up, says I need some balance in my life.”

“Balance is good,” the bartender replied. “But you have to be ready to share your life with someone, you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know.” Cameo nodded as the bartender went to help another customer.

Cameo checked his watch, then took a drink. He was giving this blind date one hour. After that, he was going back to the office to get a few reports completed before he headed home. He looked up just as the door to the bar opened. The atmosphere in the entire place seemed to shift. The music changed to Closer by Goapele. It was the perfect song for the vision, with a sleek body, adorned in a gold dress, walking in the room.

For the first time in his thirty-five years of life, Cameo’s attention was completely captured by a woman. If she was his blind date, he was going to get on his knees and thank Ebony for the rest of his life. Every step she took caused his body to have a physical reaction. He reached down between his legs to grab his dick for a slight adjustment. The way she glanced around the room, with a small purse hanging elegantly at the elbow of her arm, and the ponytail swinging from one side to the other, caused his adjustment to be irrelevant. Nothing could stop the reaction he was having.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized she was indeed searching for him. As if in slow motion, their eyes met and held. Then she smiled. The glass slipped from his hand onto the bar. It was a good thing the lights were low, and the bartender was right there.

“Is that her?” she asked while wiping the spilled drink.

“I damn sure hope so,” Cameo replied without taking his eyes from the woman.

“Here.” The bartender placed another drink in his hand. “You’re going to need this.”

Cameo heard the chuckle in the bartender’s words, but all he could do was nod. He took a drink of his whiskey to calm down the rising pressure against his zipper. It did not help; the erection was growing just from watching her walk towards him.

She stopped in front of him. “I’m Syndia James. My friends call me Syn. I certainly hope you are Cameo Rawlings because the sight of you is making a particular area between my thighs a little wet.”

Cameo laughed as he took her hand in his. “Ebony said you were rather direct.”

Her touch sent alerts to his lower extremities. When she looked up from their touch, he knew she felt it too.

“You feel that—don’t you?” he nodded.

She exhaled. “My parents taught me not to waste time on small talk when you know.”

Still holding her hand in his, Cameo’s thumb rubbed across her smooth skin. He tilted his head a little to the side. “Know what?”

“When you know the sexual chemistry is right.”

Cameo held her gaze for a moment then brought her hand up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss there, then slowly returned his gaze to hers. “It feels more sensual than sexual.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Yes,” he replied with a slight smirk as he held out the bar stool next to him for her to sit. As she did, he nodded to get the bartender’s attention.  She walked over.

“I’ll have what he is having,” Syndia stated. 

“It’s a little strong.” Cameo advised.

“I like strong,” Syndia responded as the bartender poured the drink. “The difference between sexual and sensual attraction?”

“Yes.” Cameo nodded. “Sexual is the physical reaction. When parts of your body come to attention as my lower extremities and your nipples have. The sensual attraction touches your mind as the senses are stroked.”

“Really?” She leaned a little closer as she picked up her drink.

“Yes, really,” Cameo continued. “While the physical will soon fade, or can be replaced by another, the mind will always remember how I made you feel. It enhances the physical.”

“How so?” The bartender was now leaning across the bar listening.

Cameo and Syn glanced at her.

“Oh.” She stood up and began wiping the bar. “Sorry about that. I’ll just move down this way.”

Cameo chuckled, then looked back at Syndia.

“I’m intrigued, Mr. Rawlings.” She smiled. “Please continue with your distinction.”

“Close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice.”

She did as he instructed. “Clear everything else from your mind. What are your thoughts? Do you feel fear, excitement, or a certain calmness? I can tell you your voice makes my heart smile.” He ran a finger down her exposed arm. “Think about how my touch feels. Is it hard, is it gentle, is it annoying? I can tell you your skin is sending shock waves from the tips of my toes to the nerves flowing through my brain.”  He moved closer. “Inhale deeply. Take in my scent. Is it repulsive, is it nice, or is it enticing? I can tell you your natural scent is light, sensual and hot.” He leaned closer to her ear. “It has me as hard as a rock at this moment.” Then he gently kissed her lips, parting them slightly. “How did that taste? Was it sweet, sour or did it make you crave more? I can tell you, the taste of your lips makes me hungry for more.” He sat back out of her space, to calm his nerves and to give her a moment to react. “Sexuality is the attraction to how a person looks. Sensuality is the attraction to what makes that person unique. The sensual enhances the sexual, don’t you think?”

He watched as she slowly opened her eyes. The wanting he witnessed there pleased him.

“Did you just make love to me on a bar stool?” She picked up her drink then swallowed it down. “Damn.”

Cameo chuckled. “Allow me to buy you another drink.”

“No, my brother, this drink is on me.” The bartender took a drink herself, then poured another for both of them. “I think I just came. God, I need a man,” she said then walked away.

“I think you have an admirer,” Syndia said.

“Does that concern you?”

“Not at all. I can hold my own.”

“I’m sure you can.” He took a drink then sat back. “You are not what I expected.”

She smiled. “You are a little bit of a letdown.”

Cameo’s hand touched his chest, then he groaned. “Right in the heart.” 

She laughed. “Ebony made me think I was meeting the next Idris. I would put you as more of a Boris Kojoe.” Cameo thought for a minute, then shrugged. “I can take that, however, I prefer to just be who I am. Cameo.”