I said, “We’ll see when I get back,” and I planned to leave it at that.

Celibacy

IARRIVED IN MIAMI that Friday slightly before noon, and was surprised by my girl Judi Wells, who was waiting for me at the airport. I had told her weeks before that I had a shoot in her area, but I didn’t expect to see her waiting for me in the terminal as soon as I hopped off the plane. Judi had been living in Miami, a hot spot for international models, for the past three years.

She was wearing a lime green dress, gold heels, accessories, and a golden brown straw hat, and all eyes were on her. I liked to call Judi “Essence.” She had that chocolate brown, sophisticated, sister-girl look that Essence magazine liked to feature. She had been in several of their fashion spreads over the past five years. We had been friends and occasional lovers for six.

“Hey, I wasn’t planning on seeing you here,” I told her. I barely had time to free my mind from Danni and Andrea that morning.

Judi smiled with her perfect pearly whites. “I figured I’d surprise you.”

She surprised me all right. I gave her a strong hug and stepped away. She smelled better than she needed to, making me think with the wrong head before I could even get out of the airport terminal with her.

“Ahhh…what kind of perfume is that?”

She grinned, knowing good and well what I was thinking.

“It’s Jean Paul Gaultier.”

I said, “It’s soft and sweet, but not too much.”

“Just enough is all I need,” she commented.

I smiled. “Yeah, tell me about it.” I was thinking with the wrong head again.

She said, “I will. Later.”

I looked forward to it. But then I started thinking about Danni. How quickly I had forgotten. Maybe I had too many women to seriously try and commit myself to only one. Danni had two other guys to choose from anyway. She would be all right.

Judi looked toward the baggage claim. “How many bags do we need to collect?” she asked me.

“None. I only brought my carry-on.”

She looked and nodded. Then she began to walk toward the terminal exits and parking area. I followed her out with my carry-on bag in one hand and a copy of Smooth magazine in the other.

Judi glanced at my magazine while she led me through the exit door. On the cover jacket was a half black, half Native American girl. They called her Thunder Horse. She had beautiful bronzed skin, long legs, and all the right curves in her purple, orange, and white swimsuit to earn her name.

“I see you kept yourself awake on the plane,” Judi hinted to me.

I chuckled. “Yeah, just keeping tabs on your competition.”

“She’s not my competition. I don’t go there.”

I gave her a quick nod and decided to leave it alone. There were all different kinds of models, and whatever paid your bills was cool with me.