Dennis Larsen - With Cruel Intent

“No, I mean yes, I’ll be fine just feeling a bit light headed. Could I trouble you for a glass of water?” Jasper moved from the doorway and she could hear water running in the adjacent room.

“There you go, sorry if I scared you, coming in the room like that,” Jasper said.

“No, no, just the long walk, the heat and the humidity. Guess I’m not quite used to it yet,” she said, drinking the water down quickly.

Blanche suddenly came to the realization that the position of the trio was somewhat ‘uncomfortable’. She on the couch, Rufus standing at her side with the arm of the couch between them and the hulking Jasper standing directly in front of Blanche, her head at the level of his crotch. He stood at least 6’5” and was covered from head to toe in a fine mist of sweat, his muscles large, stretching his skin to a fine sheen. He wore only a very small, very tight pair of shorts that were struggling to contain all of him. She’d read about women getting trapped in these very circumstances and how stupid they were.

“That’s not what a real woman would do,” she had said a hundred times, yet here she was in a home alone with two men, strangers, in a strange place and totally at their mercy. Jasper sensed her uneasiness and took a few steps back and sat on an opposing chair.

“Thank goodness,” she thought, pulling the hanky from her purse and wiping her neck.

“Where is it I can take you?” Jasper said, not taking his eyes off her shapely form.

The color in her cheeks began to recover and her breathing slowed. Rufus’ demeanor was very non-threatening and within minutes she began to calm down and her breathing normalized.

“I’m staying at Caroline’s Bed and Breakfast, are you familiar with it?”

Jasper lowered his gaze to the carpet and shook his head, then looking back into Blanche’s face asked, “Is that over on Jackson Street, got a big porch and flies a Confederate Flag in the front?”

“That’s it, you know how to get there?” she replied, a spark of hope in her voice.

“Yeah, that’s not too far, only take us a couple minutes to get you there,” the bodybuilder said.

Relief must have shown on her face.

“Ya’ll was lookin’ a might worried there missy. We’uns don’t mean ya no harm. Ya ain’t used to bein’ round black folk?” Rufus inquired, gently patting her on the arm.

“No, it’s not that, just been a long day and I’d like to get back to my room. This is so very kind of you to offer me a ride.”

“Pops, I’ll go get the truck and bring it ‘round to the front, if you’ll help her out I’ll take her home.” Jasper stood, again startling Blanche with his obvious strength and brawn.

She couldn’t help finding him attractive, etched features, chiseled — thick muscles, and a ‘carved from stone’ buttocks that shifted as she watched him walk away, the color in her cheeks rising as he left the room. A moment later she could hear a vehicle roaring to life.

“Sounds like he be riddy ta go.” Rufus took her elbow, helping her to her feet and moving toward the front door.

There was that smell again, she looked about trying to place the source but could not. Through the screen and back onto the porch she could see a small, yellow Datsun truck pulled alongside the curb.

She couldn’t help but laugh, “I’m sorry, really, I am sorry. Just Jasper in that tiny truck makes it look like a matchbox car.”

Rufus looked in the direction of her pointing finger, “Oh, he get dat a lot. Pertty big boy fer such a small truck. He’s a good un though, driva dat is.”

Jasper waved a hand, motioning her to the car. On his way to the Datsun he’d taken the time to put on a shirt, to Blanche’s relief. He motioned her around to the passenger door, reaching across to open the door without having to get out. Blanche couldn’t believe that someone so large and bulky could fit into such a confined space. His knees touched the dash and the top of his head grazed the roof of the tiny truck. She bent down to see how she might get in, not wanting to catch her clothing on anything or reveal too much.

Blanche turned facing away from the truck, ran both hands over the back of her skirt, pulling it tight against her fanny, and with the same motion lowered her behind into the seat, pivoting to draw her legs into the cab, being careful not to bang her knees on the frame.

“Ya in?” he asked, and without waiting for an answer, reached across the front of the nervous librarian, grabbed the door handle and pulled it closed with a slam.

Jasper gave her a reassuring nod, extended his left leg, pressed the clutch to the floor, grasped the gearshift knob and thrust it into first gear. Releasing the tension on the clutch and applying the opposite amount of pressure on the gas pedal the little truck pulled away from the curb and rumbled down the street.

“You new to Georgia?” Jasper asked.

“Yeah, only been here a couple of days, just started a new job at the library.”

“You, a librarian, fine looking woman like you? Shoot, wished we’d a had a school librarian nice to look at as you.”

Blanche tightened her grip on the door handle and replied, “Uh thanks, you sure you know where this place is?”

“Sure nough, drive by it all the time on the way to work over in that new housing development, swing a hammer for a living,” he said, as he smoothly shifted the gear box up and accelerated.

In an attempt to keep the conversation light and her mind at ease, Blanche asked, “You read much?”

“Nah, not really, like to read but hard to find the time. Ya know, with work, chasing girls and working out, I have a hard time finding time to do much of anything else. In fact, I was working out when you showed up, try to get at least a couple hours in a day.”

“That’s quite a commitment,” she assessed.

“Tell me about it, would like to be Mr. Universe one day,” and he laughed. “Seriously, would like to try, but got to git bigger to go up against them boys. I’ll be competing in a little event, Mr. Muscle, in a few weeks, you should come,” he said, letting his eyes drift from the road long enough to take in her bosom one more time. “Would be nice to have a beautiful lady, like yourself, rooting for me.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said, knowing in the back of her mind she could never see herself at such an event, however, that was the old Blanche.

Thankfully, the chauffeured ride took less time than Blanche had anticipated, and she let loose a noticeable sigh of relief when he pulled in front of Caroline’s.

“There you go, safe and sound,” he said, smiling broadly, a twinkle in his eye.

“Well, Jasper, I just don’t know how to thank you enough. Don’t know what I would have done without you and your dad’s help. It’s certainly much appreciated.”

Jasper bent over to the right as she exited the car framing his face in the car window as she closed it behind her.

“Know how you can repay me?” Jasper said, winking at Blanche as she stooped to say goodbye.

“How’s that?” she replied.

“Come watch me at the competition in a couple weeks,” still grinning ear to ear.

“Well,” she hesitated, “can’t say for sure but I will try.” But she was quick to add, “No promises though.”

Jasper clapped and rubbed his hands together, “That’s good enough for me. I’ll drop by with the details later, now that I know where to find you.”

With that, Blanche offered a wave of her hand and turned to face the B amp;B. Behind her she heard the Datsun’s engine rev and thought she heard Jasper exclaim as he pulled away, “Hot damn!”

“Oh my gosh! What have I done?” she said aloud.

Then it hit her, “Pot”, that was the smell she’d noted at Rufus’s.