Femme Noir Read Free

were sprung on for three years?”
    I shrugged. “What did I do to her? You know, the usual.” Then I picked up the phone.
    Tonya put a hand on top of mine. “Whatever you do, don’t call the LAPD!”
    Surprised, I laughed hard. “Listen, I’ve got to go away for a while, but I want you to know where I’ve gone so if something funny happens…”
    “Sure, sure.” Tonya nodded, smiling reassuringly. “I’ve got your back, N. You want me to call some brothers to take care of this cootchie for you?”
    I smiled tiredly and caressed Tonya’s face. “No, thanks, I’m gonna see what I can do myself.”
    “Hmph. Famous last words.”
    “Let’s hope not.”
    “Where are you going and when?”
    “Tulsa. In a couple of days.”
    “All this is about Tulsa? I would’ve thought Chicago or at least Detroit. Tulsa? Isn’t that the middle of nowhere? Cowtown, USA.”
    “T, don’t be a dumbass, you know it’s in Oklahoma.”
    “Same thing, N. And you are not that cute,” Tonya retorted. “Why don’t you stay with me tonight?” she asked as she surveyed the wreckage.
    “Just what I was thinking.” At least my infernal craving for smoke and drink had subsided. For now. “Will you wait while I pack a little?”
    “Of course.” Tonya sat on the bed, crossing her molasses-colored legs in a breathtaking way.
    I packed hastily, hardly caring what I took, not knowing where I was going or what I would find.
    “Can I make some calls from your place? To let the college know and to make flight arrangements?” I sighed, relieved that it was summer and the basketball season was over and I didn’t start training my team for a few weeks. Tonya nodded. Women were so lovely and accommodating. I never understood why men didn’t get how gentle, enormously generous, and caretaking all women were if you respected the simple checks and balances. It may seem old-fashioned, but there were a few rules that I observed like a religion: open all the doors regardless of her protests, hold her hand, buy flowers and perfume, send romantic cards, always call the next day, notice all hair and dress, carry packages and sacks, kill the bugs, take out the trash, buy her tampons and chocolates, hold her when she cries, touch her face, listen without advising, compliment her house, change the empty toilet paper roll, give nonsexual massages, go shopping with her, light candles before sex, and above all, most important nonnegotiable, keep her happy in bed. A woman who is happy in bed is not going to be unhappy anywhere else. She’s compliant, agreeable, and cooperative. I had gotten with femmes other butches had warned me against who had committed the ambiguous crime of being uppity bitches. I laughed in the faces of my friends who warned me. All those women needed was me. Me all night, sometimes all day, sometimes all week. I never left until my preliminary work was done. I left them cooing and sighing on mussed sheets, blinking drowsily. You just had to determine what each one needed and overwhelm her with it. With some it was hours of kissing, some it was role-playing games, others it was hard and fast penetration, sometimes it was S/M, others it was fisting, others it was vibrators, others it was nonstop cunnilingus, some it was spanking, still others it was rimming till dawn, and I wore all of them out with orgasms. Just one thing never worked all the time (except plenty of cuddling). You had to have all the tools on the belt to walk with me. And in return? Oh, God, if men would understand this, the female floodgates would open for those lousy, privileged selfish pricks. In return, women will do it all, given half a chance and kept happy in bed. Women will gladly do everything for the modest exchange of some quality attention. The better you give, the better you get. No woman was a bitch after a night with me. That is, no one but Michelle McKerr.
    On a hunch, I called directory assistance for Tulsa and got several listings for McKerr. I