Tonii's dating life had its highs and lows. If the lows were boring dates where making a connection felt as easy as pulling teeth, the highs were when she found someone she didn't mind sleeping with on a regular basis.
Tonight, she shared her bed with a man she had been seeing for a few months. His name was Mark. Older than Tonii, in his mid-fifties, he was a twice divorced father of two. A lawyer who spent most of his work week at the office, and his evenings managing so many business endeavors that she had lost count. It was rare for him to find time for her. That was the impression she got.
Mark was one of the first men Tonii had seriously dated since she and Darren had split apart. He was the first man she felt comfortable enough to invite over to share her bed. She felt safe with him because, in a lot of ways, he was exactly like her ex-husband.
Satisfying Mark was easy. She just had to nod along at dinner. His forceful advances once she had finished her second glass of wine were expected. The way his kisses felt as he paid his dues and earned the opportunity to slide his hand up her leg. Now, as she raised those legs to flank his waist, she sighed with relief.
Her hands braced against his chest. His weight bore upon her as he pushed against the fork of her legs. Tonii gasped, the sort of raspy moan designed to let Mark know that she felt him inside her. He thrust three times in rapid succession, then laid atop her so his torso hid her breasts from view. For that, at least, she was grateful. He pushed his face into her shoulder and she embraced him as his grunts turned to labored wheezing. The warmth of his body, once intimate, was now simply the reason they were covered in sweat. The heaviness of his body was smothering. Mark groaned in pleasure and Tonii did as well, welcoming his climax with a performative display and feeling once again as though she had won.
She unclenched the muscles in her legs. They had remained clamped around his hips throughout the endeavor and now quivered as Mark rolled to lie beside her. He placed his hand atop her thigh and squeezed, satisfied for a moment before he sat up and, with his back turned, removed the condom from his cock.
That was Tonii's cue. She stood up, using a foot to shove aside the small pile of undergarments that remained at the side of the bed. She didn't say anything. A few quick steps were all it took to enter her attached bathroom and soon enough she was under a warm shower.
By the time she returned to the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, Mark was already halfway dressed. "You're not spending the night?"
He turned towards her. "Ah, doll," he said. "I'd love to but I've got something to do in the morning."
"It's Sunday."
"I have a trip. Some work friends and I are going fishing up at the lake. Have to leave early--"
Tonii simply nodded. It wasn't like she was going to beg him to stay. She sat on the edge of the bed and used a handful of the towel to dry her hair while Mark prattled on with his excuse.
She was only brought back to the moment as Mark leaned in to plant a kiss near the corner of her mouth. Returning to niceties was fine. It fit the evening well enough and soon after he left the bedroom to let himself out. She listened as his car pulled off, able to hear his engine rumbling well into the distance as he drove through the quiet midnight. Once she could no longer hear him, she groaned in frustration.
****
Sundays usually hummed with chaos, but without her kids, Tonii had too much time. She turned to a work order instead of lounging
Her kitchen was a mess, but it was her organized mess. The chocolate machine whirred in the corner and she had laid out all the materials she needed along the length of her countertop. This order wouldn't take long to complete. She'd be finished before mid-afternoon, but there were moments like these where all she could do was wait for the process.
The machine made a hitching sound, to which Tonii responded with a level of aggression she knew the appliance didn't deserve. She sucked her tongue as her phone chimed to draw her attention.
Rider: What are you doing?
Tonii stared at the notification for a moment. It had been almost two weeks since her date with Rider, and she hadn't heard from him since. Did it upset her? Yes. Her shoulders slumped. She had spent several days agonizing over what she did wrong but it seemed as though he couldn't have cared less about the lapse in communication.
Tonii: I'm working.
She stared at the three dots at the bottom of the screen that indicated Rider was typing. It went on for almost a minute.
Rider: It's Sunday.
She chortled and put her phone down face-first as the machine beeped. As she poured the chocolate, she heard several notifications come through in quick succession. When she was able to return her attention to the device, she could see Rider's suggestion in full, delivered over a series of shorter messages.
Rider: Well I finally settled in. Need to run to the store later, though. I can't keep ordering food every time I need to eat. I don't know how you people live here. Everything is so expensive.
She wiped her hands on her apron and typed rapidly.
Tonii: Did you wait all this time just to tell me you need to go food shopping?
Rider: I wasn't waiting.
Of course he wasn't.
Rider: I just assumed you were busy with other people.
Tonii narrowed her eyes at the message.
Tonii: What made you think that?
She waited. And waited. For a moment, it seemed that Rider wouldn't respond but then those three dots showed up once more.
Rider: I think the right answer is to say that you're beautiful. Would that get me out of trouble?
She scoffed. The fact that Rider was right was doing a lot of heavy lifting towards her excusing his lack of interaction. Her phone chimed again.
Rider: So, do you want to go shopping with me or not?
Tonii: Is that your idea of a second date? Shopping?
Rider: What? Is that not exciting enough for you?
She placed her phone face-down once more and turned away to return to her work. Then she picked it up once more.
Tonii: Okay. I'll pick you up later.
****
Tonii wasn't sure what she expected. She thought Rider was just teasing or that he perhaps had something else in store. They, in fact, did spend the afternoon browsing the supermarket. As they moved through the aisles, Tonii couldn't help but feel nervous.
It was a bit of a silly feeling. She had picked him up about an hour prior and, just as he had done in the café, Rider greeted her with his polite charm. Yet, that was all there was. No kiss, or even a hug. During the drive or even as they walked together, he didn't touch her. It was...just a trip to the supermarket. Whether Rider was doing it on purpose or not, she couldn't help but feel mounting frustration.
She felt insecurity creeping in. Did he not like her? Did he find her too cold or perhaps too forward? If he did, why did he invite her out? Her hands gripped the shopping cart as Rider tossed a packet of pasta atop the pile. He had spent several moments inspecting it, then added several others of varying types seemingly at random. Oh God, she thought. What if he thought she was easy? Could that be it? Did he really invite her out because he thought he'd get his cock sucked? She watched as he walked off, not even looking back to make sure she followed.
Was he wrong?
"Going to tell me what's on your mind?"
Tonii jerked as Rider's words caught her attention. She feigned a half-smile. "I was just thinking," she said, "this date is a bit rubbish, isn't it?"
Rider smirked. "Well excuse me. I'm still sort of new to this area, you know. I imagined you'd be the one showing me around."
Tonii hesitated. "Do you move around a lot?"
Rider shrugged.
"That doesn't answer the question," she said.
"I move around every so often. If I have a reason to visit somewhere."
"How often is 'so often'?" she teased.
"Depends," Rider placed two containers into the cart's tray, "on how much of a reason I have to stick around." He held the front of the shopping cart and looked into her eyes. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason," she said whimsically. She released the handle and moved past, leaving him to manage his own groceries. Behind her, she could hear as Rider scoffed.
"You have a bad habit of doing that," he said. Tonii didn't respond but could feel his eyes on her for the rest of the trip until they cashed out.
Once the groceries were packed, Tonii settled behind the wheel to realize that Rider had wandered off. The next several minutes were incredibly nerve-wracking as she resisted the urge to text him. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long to see him return with a pair of paper parcels in his hand.
"There's no way," she said as he opened the passenger-side door and sat down, "that you thought I'd just sit here."
"Well you weren't going to leave with all my stuff, were you?"
She shook her head. She didn't want to agree with him but it wasn't like he was wrong. "What did you get?" she asked.
"Ice cream for me," he said, removing a small disposable container from the first parcel. "And yogurt for you. Plain, just the way you like it."
