Long Time Coming

Tyler Mathis got up from his desk and prepared to pack up. It was Thursday afternoon and he had given his assistant the rest of the week off. It was a good idea since he was not going to be at work Friday. It was the weekend of his 20th high school reunion. At first glance, it would not seem that he would be that old, but the years had been kind to him. Tyler was a district supervisor at a shipping company. He had nearly 10,000 personnel in his division. Normally, men with that type of position were older-looking with a beer belly and gray hair.

But Tyler stayed in shape as much as possible. He stood six feet two inches tall and weighed just less than 240 pounds. What puzzled a lot of people was that he was 38 but never married. Most people thought he was a player, but the true answer was that he was committed to his job. He spent nearly sixty hours a week in the office. Sometimes he had been known to drive a load over the weekends in a pinch. The benefits were there, because his employer had compensated him nicely and were very grateful to him. His workers were even grateful to him and repaid him by having the highest safety rating company-wide. It was said that if you wanted a package to get to the moon safely and quickly, call Tyler.

Tyler was missing that key component in his life. He was still single. There were a few women that caught his eye, but none of them measured up. They were usually interested in his paycheck or trying to hook him into marriage. His last relationship ended in a nasty breakup, leaving him scarred and distrustful of women. That was over a year ago. He walked over to his coat rack to put on his overcoat. There was a chill in the air but it was still comfortable. As he rode the glass elevator down to the ground floor, he noticed that most of his night shift drivers were there early. Their headlights shone through the dusk. He exited the elevator and walked over to the dispatch office. The electronic board showed that there was a cold front coming in and that the drivers would have to take alternate routes. He listened as the drivers sat down with transparencies and crayon pens. They traced their routes and logged them in with the dispatchers.

Tyler waved goodbye to them and stepped out into the crisp air. He was appropriately dressed in a pair of black pants, ankle high boots and a sweater. He hopped into his truck and drove towards his hometown. The expressway wasn't crowded and he was well into his journey when he noticed a blue sports car ahead of him. The driver was a cute looking sister and there was something about her silhouette that was familiar to Tyler. As he pulled ahead of her, she honked her horn at him. Tyler didn't think anything of it as he settled back into a nice pace.

The car was actually keeping up with him and he just figured that she was following because she was trying to keep pace and make better time on the road. He wasn't driving too fast; actually he was five miles over the posted speed limit. There was ninety minutes left on his trip and he figured that he would get there around ten o'clock at night. His would lose his riding companion before then since his hometown was pretty small. Nobody ever happened to just be in the neighborhood when they came through there. He slipped in his favorite CD (Anita Baker-Rapture) and set the cruise control. If he timed it just right, he could get to the hotel in time to call his parents and tell them he made it okay. Tyler knew that they wanted him to stay with them, but at the same time, they didn't need him waking them up when he came in from the weekend festivities. There was a full slate scheduled and he intended on having a good time.

As Tyler reminisced about his high school days, the memories came rushing back. He had a few close friends back then and actually kept in touch with some of them. But for the most part, his trips back home were few and far between. He wondered how many of his classmates would rent a car for the weekend to impress people. His truck was definitely not a rental. It was clean, but it also said that the owner drove it for work, not show. He was glad that he didn't pack any of his nicer clothes this weekend. He just wanted to chill out and that was hard to do in a suit all weekend.

The sweet sounds of Anita Baker filtered through the stereo as he pulled off the interstate. Tyler figured it would be best to fill the tank while he was close to a gas station. The gas was a little higher, but he didn't mind. The attendant came out to take his money (definitely a small town) and told him that the pump wasn't on automatic shut off. Tyler smiled a little and turned to start pumping his gas. He was quite surprised to see the little sports car from earlier pull up to the pumps. Maybe now he would see who that silhouette in the window reminded him of.

The driver opened her door and swung out. Tyler was immediately sent on some cosmic time traveling journey. The driver of the sports car was none other than Shonda Calloway! She had been one of the finest things in high school and no one ever got with her. There were rumors that she would whup your ass if you even thought about touching that butt. She was built like a stallion back in the day and nothing seemed to have changed. The breasts still sat up firm as ever except now they had a little sag to them. Tyler guessed some things were inevitable. Shonda flashed Tyler a smile as reached for the gas pump. Her greeting seemed quite genuine. She told him that she was on her way to the reunion and had not seen him in years. It was fifteen years to be exact. The last time Tyler saw her, he was driving his mother home from a doctor's appointment and he saw her at a traffic light.

Shonda obviously took care of herself because she looked like a cross between a beauty queen and a porn actress. This was the kind of woman that men dreamed about. She was pretty in a wholesome way, but you knew that this sister could put a hurting on you in the bedroom! She just oozed sensuality as she bent over to pump her gas. The high heeled boots that she wore accentuated her legs and the jeans accentuated her ass. Tyler was thinking that she didn't even act as though she was an attractive woman. That was what always attracted him to her. She had that inner confidence and glow.

After he pumped his gas, Tyler walked over to her and caught up on her life. Shonda told him that she had been married briefly after she graduated from high school to someone that she met in the military. It didn't pan out too well and she eventually ended up divorcing him and going to Germany. Her tour ended a few months ago and she took an early out. They had a fifteen year old daughter and she was staying with her grandmother for the weekend. Tyler told her that he had not been married yet, but he wasn't giving up hope just yet. To Shonda, it seemed as though there was a certain twinkle in his eye when he said that. She dismissed it as her mind imagining things. She told him that she was staying at the same hotel that was the headquarters for the reunion. Both of them apparently were in the same place. Shonda really hoped that they would be able to spend some more time together. They talked about how different some people would be acting after all of this time. It would definitely be a weekend to remember.

Tyler called his parents to tell them that he had made it safely there. He told his father that he would be there for breakfast in the morning. His mother would be happy, since she liked to cook large breakfasts. They had grandchildren that spent some weekends with them and it was a rare weekend that there wasn't someone at the dinner table. Shonda's ass swayed to a rhythmic beat as she walked off. It was like swinging candy in front of a three-year old. Tyler was a man who liked his curves and Shonda had them in abundance.

Deep down, he knew that nothing would happen between them. Tyler had been attracted to her for many years and he assumed that she was snatched up. He wasn't even sure that he could compete with anyone else for her affections. The strange thing was, as much as he wanted to sleep with her, his mind was thinking about the bigger picture. His heart was lonely and he was ready to settle down. Could a quick weekend of passionate sex lead into a lifetime of happiness? Should he even be thinking that question?

That was the problem. Women were allowed to think about things like that, but men were supposed to get their freak on without remorse. Somebody never told Tyler that. His hormones had gotten the better of him for several years and that was how he soothed his aches and pains. The clicking sound of Shonda's boots drew him out of his reverie. She told him that she wanted to race to the hotel, since Tyler tried to leave her on the highway.

Tyler grinned as she got into her sports car. He knew that there was no way that he would let her beat him to that hotel. He asked her what the stakes were. She thought for a moment and said that if she won, he would have to take her out to dinner. Before she could say anything else, he told her that if he won, he would get the chance to cook her a sumptuous home cooked meal. Tyler figured that either way, she would get a meal out of the bet. She accepted and told him that her MOS in the military was transportation, so she was good with a steering wheel. Having said that, she sped off, kicking up a cloud of dirt and gravel.

She had a good lead on her by the time he got out of the station lot and onto the roadway. But what she didn't know was that the road she was traveling down was no longer a straight shot to the hotel. Tyler smiled when he thought back to the map in the dispatch room that showed where roads were blocked or inaccessible in the area. He let her drive off at a frantic pace and smiled to himself. He knew that if he took the right detour, he would be there well before she figured out the road obstruction. Tyler listened to some unknown jazz singer sing of love lost and dreams of tomorrow. He was really into the flow of the song when he pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel.

The marquee welcomed them to the 20th reunion and he noticed quite a few people were milling around in the lobby. He really didn't like the idea of paying a valet to park his truck, but he also knew that the valet was probably a kid trying to make some extra cash. He slid out of the seat and grabbed his luggage from the crew cab section of the truck. Tyler gave him a ten dollar bill. He was glad that he packed light and wondered how far along Shonda was. As if to answer his unspoken question, Shonda drove up just as he walked through the main entrance. He was able to see the reflection of her sports car in the glass doors. He was going to wait for her, but he didn't want it to seem like he was rubbing it in.

He approached the front desk and began the check-in process. The clerk was very helpful and she told him that she had placed him on the sixth floor. There was a maid a butler that came with the floor, but the butler was out sick tonight. She told me that if there was anything else the staff could do for me during my stay, all I had to do was simply ask. I noticed Shonda was also checking in at the front desk and walked over to talk with her for a moment. Apparently, they had placed her near the elevator and she wanted them to change for obvious reasons. They told her that they did have room on the sixth floor on the end of the hallway. The clerk told her that they would comp the extra cost. Things were starting to look up after all; at least there would be one friendly face on my floor.

Shonda had several bags and since he was raised to be courteous whenever possible, Tyler waved over a bellman. Tyler asked him for a luggage cart and slipped him a ten dollar bill as well. That was just enough to be remembered if he needed something during this weekend. Tyler grabbed both sets of luggage and swung them onto the cart. Before Shonda could object, he had already flashed a smile at her.

She immediately asked Tyler why he did that. It was obvious that she was still an independent woman. His response set her back a little. Tyler told her that a gentleman is always one, especially when it is unexpected. Her mind started to think. Shonda couldn't remember any one treating her that way. There was that cross training session in Germany where the other officers made sure that she had everything she needed whether they were in class or not. But Shonda always thought it was because European men simply wanted to sleep with her. Tyler may have wanted to sleep with her, but he didn't strike her as a pussy hound that chased women all over the place. There was something about him that was kind and gentle.

Tyler held his breath as they walked over to the elevator deck. He knew that he was taking a big chance by putting her luggage on the cart. Some of these simple minded people would assume that they were married, or at least a couple. If they did, it would be his situation to handle, since he started it. Shonda asked him how he knew where the detour was. They entered the elevator and he told her that he saw his drivers plotting alternate routes earlier this evening. It was a matter of remembering where the detours were that would affect his trip this weekend. They made more small talk about how much the town has changed in twenty years. They agreed to visit the ballroom after they got settled in. Apparently, there was a little get together for the reunion.

Tyler noticed the bellman had a look of disbelief on his face. The bellman looked to be about nineteen or twenty years old. The bellman was sneaking peeks at Shonda and must have been confused. She didn't look like a normal thirty-eight year old. He body looked like she was in her mid-to-late twenties. A slight smile came over Tyler's face as he imagined the conversation that the bellman would have with his buddies after this elevator ride. In time, the bellman would learn to keep things like that to himself. There was no need to let everyone know what you were thinking all of the time. Maybe he would have a little friendly chat with him before the weekend was over. It would be nothing personal or unprofessional, but a chat to let him know that there were some things that young men needed to look out for.