Velvet was the girl on campus and she walked around like she knew it. It was senior year at the High School, just a few weeks to a hard earned graduation close to the top of her class. That was of course a well kept secret by the milk chocolate colored cheerleader who wore her uniform to school more often than not since she could claim school spirit. Of course it didn't hurt that the school actively encouraged the cheerleaders to wear the uniforms and she'd been sent home a few times for equally risqué outfits.
The truth was she loved the way the boys turned their heads as she went strutting past. More often than not she had one hand on her hip subtly pulling the already short skirt up just a few inches. With her hip thrust out though that was all it would take to give whoever she wanted very good look at what was beneath her skirt. The famous dark moon of Vena High, named because one day on a dare Velvet had dropped her pants and panties for the boys gym class. It was an apt descriptor for her well formed globes and since then she made it a point to show off the dark moon.
From top to bottom Velvet was some kind of prize even if she didn't always think so. She had thin lips, at least for an African American woman and she wasn't as blessed as she'd have liked in the chest area. Something had to give when she'd taken a combination of dance, gymnastics and cheerleading as long as she could remember. That however had its advantages; her first boyfriend had described her as extremely bendy. Even by cheerleader standards she was extremely limber. And she thoroughly enjoyed showing that off. More than once she'd been caught out side of class casually stretching her legs. Velvet would start by bringing each foot up over her head, then the reverse leaning forward and lifting her leg as far as it would go, which was all the way to the back of her head to the delight of the boys who pretended they weren't gathering to watch her. Sometimes she'd even ask some lucky boy to support her. Velvet made it a point to pull out one of the shy ones. The ones who were so terrified of the black beauty that they'd never dream of letting their hands slip to unwanted places, that was for her to do on purpose when she 'lost' her balance for a quick second that always ended with her walking away with a smug smile and some guy a quivering bowl of jelly who'd never forget that brief moment he got to squeeze something new.
She enjoyed that look she got from them most of all. Best of all it was completely safe. None of them would ever get up the nerve to ask her out on a date. It wasn't that Velvet was actually into jocks; for the most part she found them to be stupid, boring, slobbering, fools. The only positive quality they had was not being intimidated by her and since that wasn't a common trait. Unfortunately that was such a rare trait in the boys of her school that she simply took what she could get.
Harold was the first of the nerds to gather up the testicular fortitude to ask her out. It was immediately after the second to last game of the season. It was an absolutely complete thrashing of an away game. It would have been impossible to guess that it wasn't a victory for them though. Their half of the bleachers was as loud or louder. The cheerleaders were screaming so loud they'd be hoarse for days and if the players themselves were taking what could only be called a victory lap. The fact that the end score was fifty nine to thirteen seemed to be entirely wasted on them. Of course it probably didn't hurt anything that their spot in the play offs had been secured three games ago and most of the guys who were playing tonight had literally been benched the for most of the season. The only reason they were out now was to give the first string a chance to rest and so the third and fourth would get a little chance to shine.
Velvet was fresh from the shower still smelling faintly of her jasmine shampoo. It was a rare glimpse of her dressed modestly in a pair of baggy sweatpants, white tank top and her white cheerleader sneakers. Velvet had her shoulder length hair, normally ironed straight so it hung mid way down her back was twisted into a messy bun on the back of her head.
"Hey Velvet, can we talk?" Velvet barely paused on her march to her car. "Hey, let me carry your bag."
He couldn't see it from behind her but Velvet raised a brow before she spoke. "And you would be?" Velvet asked, hand automatically resting on her signature cocked hip. "You know what, it doesn't matter. I guess you can carry my bag as long as you're not trying to get a ride home." She dropped her bag to the ground and continued towards her car without even giving the boy the option to refuse her incredibly generous offer.
"I'm Harold." He was a little short, even for an Asian standing almost an entire head beneath Velvet and extremely slender almost to the point of being gaunt. Velvet knew exactly how much gear was actually in the bag though. When he hefted it onto his shoulder without any apparently effort Velvet immediately knew he wasn't the weak punk he looked to be.
"Harold then." She tried to force a fake sarcastic smile but what came out was one of her warmer grins. "What is it you want? I usually only talk to guys like you when I need help with my homework."
"No you don't." Harold replied flatly. "I want to go out with you."
Velvet felt her entire body stop in the middle of the parking lot. It was like she'd walked face first into a brick wall. He did not just tell her what she did or didn't do and then ask her on a date. "I think I heard you wrong." Velvet snarled.
Harold took a half step back his eyes briefly diverting to the tires of a nearby car before traveling up her body and back to her eyes. "No, I think heard me." His knuckles went tight around the bag's strap to keep his hands from trembling. "I want to take you on a date."
Velvet glided forward like a great serpent until her chest was pressed against more his shoulders than his chest. "Is that so?" She wrapped one arm far too casually yet snuggly around his shoulders, the way you hold someone when you want to appear friendly to any watches. "Just so I'm clear, do you want to date me or fuck me?" Her voice slithering out both venomous and seductive.
There was no way he could deny that her smooth as honey voice slipping warmly into his ear sent a shudder down his spine. "Do I really have to pick just one?"
"Okay, you get to give me three things you like about me. And one of them doesn't count." Velvet replied letting her voice drop and octave at the end.
"You're smart. No, I don't know what your grades are or anything I just know we've had two or three classes together a year practically since I moved here in sixth grade. I think you're the only Cheerleader I've NEVER seen cheating off one of the boys who'd let you do it just to be close to you. I already said you don't talk to guys like me when you want test answers." Sweat was starting to bead on his brow as he continued speaking. "Two you're confident and not just in your amazing body. You don't talk to guys like me when teachers are setting up group projects. Least you don't in math or science because you know you don't need us. Which believe it or not I find quite attractive and wish you'd flaunt it a little more. I'm not asking you to play DungeonsanddragonsorMagictheGatheringorjoinmy-oh God I'm rambling."
"Then you're lucky."
"Why?"
"I counted two good answers and your third one didn't count anyway." She smirked pulling away from him. "But if you tell anybody I'm a brain and I'll run you over." He couldn't quite tell if she was joking or not and he'd just barely recovered from the shakes of being that close to her. When they reached her car, a cute little Pink Jetta she grabbed the bag and tossed it in the back. "I know you weren't looking for a ride home but unless you have one I'm volunteering." Harold was already in the car before she was. "I guess that's a yes."
It was a week later when the Velvet pulled up to Harold's house for their date. She was in the middle of pulling her phone from her purse when he walked out of the door briefly waiving back at his parents before they closed the door and he got into her car. "My father say's it's traditional for the man to pick up the woman. He would have let me drive the truck."
"Well you can tell your dad I'm not a big fan of tradition." Velvet replied smiling radiantly. She waited for a moment before pulling him close for a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "Besides doesn't tradition also usually have the woman choosing where she wants to go?"
"Probably. You look amazing by the way."
She raised a brow slightly and started up the car. "This old thing? I borrowed it from my mother." It wasn't a lie to say she'd taken it from her mother but wasn't a loaner. Her mother didn't quite have the figure for the bright blue summer dress. "So where are we going?"
Harold smiled and reached over taking her hand and bringing it gently up to his lips. "Just follow the directions, that's right almost forgot." He reached into his backpack and pulled out his parents GPS and stuck it to her dash. "Just listen to the annoying box lady and she shouldn't be too annoying after the first five minutes."
