Miss Opportunity - Ch. 12.4

Three hours later, Mike-Mike and Tonja returned to his car after spending some quality time at his place. Quality, as in this was the best sexual experience they’d ever had in their lives.

Playing from the car stereo was the same soothing CD by Kem that they’d listened to earlier. Tonja insisted that Mike-Mike bring it out to the car since it contained her newest favorite song - Tonight.

“How do you want to play this out, Tonja?” Mike-Mike asked as he drove to her mother’s house where she would be staying tonight.

“I really don’t know how we should play this out, Michael,” Tonja replied from the passenger seat. She looked so sated and relaxed sitting there. All of her previous anger and frustration were gone. She’d also taken to calling Mike-Mike by his first name instead of his nickname.

“Well, the way I see it, we have three options,” Mike-Mike said. “Option one, we can pretend this never happened on account of the club’s no-fraternizing rule and go back to the way things were before.”

Tonja shook her head. “No, I don’t think I can ever go back to the way things were before. Every time I look at you from now on, I’m going to remember how good things were between us tonight.”

“You ain’t the only one.” Mike-Mike grinned, pleased that she’d had just as much fun as he had tonight. Who knew they’d be so compatible?

Tonja chuckled at his cheesy grin. “What’s option two, baby?”

“We can try to make a go of things ourselves, which means I move you and your daughter into a place of your own and erase all your financial worries,” Mike-Mike replied, hoping that she took that option because it was the one he really wanted.

Tonja shook her head again. “Unfortunately, no. I come from a broken home, Michael. I can’t take Rena away from her daddy, no matter how no-good he is. My mother took me away from my daddy when I was a little girl and I haven’t seen him since. I can’t do that to my daughter.” Even as she spoke her body tensed in her seat.

Mike-Mike outright frowned now. That was not what he wanted to hear. “That option came with me having to fire you anyway on account of the club rule. Since I know how much you like your job, I can see how that might not be the best choice for you after all,” he replied, trying to soothe the rejection he felt.

Yes, Tonja was staying with her child’s father for a noble cause. But it still hurt Mike-Mike to know that she’d rather be miserable with another man than happy with him. The fact that this man was packed with muscles from head to toe caused Mike-Mike to suddenly feel very self-conscious about his weight again.

As if she’d just read his mind, Tonja said, “Trust me, I’m only staying with Reno because of our daughter. You are a better man than him in every way, Michael,” she said, once again using his given name. “This one night that I’ve had with you was better than all the nights I had with him put together. That’s why I asked you to drop me off at my mother’s house, even though she agreed to baby-sit overnight. That’s why I’m spending the night there, too. I couldn’t tarnish the memory of this special night by lying beside another man. Not after I’ve been with you.”

Mike-Mike’s smile returned. “Which leads me to option three. We can pretend around everybody else that nothing happened between us, but still hook up on occasion to let off some steam like we did tonight. That’s if you ain’t got a complex about cheating on your no-good man.”

Tonja’s eyes lit up at that option. “Before tonight, I might have had a complex about cheating on Reno. But after he let me down yet again and after being with you, I realize that I need to grab whatever happiness I can while I can. Especially since I’m in for thirteen more years of grief with my daughter being only five now,” she said, frowning at the end.

“You make it sound like you’ve been sentenced to an eighteen-year prison term with this dude, Tonja. You sure you don’t want to take option two, baby?” Mike-Mike asked, extending that invitation to her again.

Tonja nodded. “I’m sure…for now.”

Accepting that with a nod, Mike-Mike said, “Either way, you still get that car I promised you.”

“Do I?” Tonja had wondered about that after she rejected option two for the second time.

“Yeah.” Mike-Mike smiled reassuringly over at her. “I’m a man of my word, baby. If I tell you I’m gonna do something, consider it done.”

Relief shrouded Tonja’s features. Her shapely body relaxed in her seat again. “Thanks, Michael. I can’t tell you how good it feels to be in the presence of a good man for a change.” She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. “A real good man,” she added more to herself than him.

It was at that moment that Mike-Mike decided to give Tonja a little bit more than a car tomorrow. From now on, he would do whatever it took to woo her away from her no-good boyfriend.

© 2008 by Suprina Frazier