“Well, you should. It’s been much too long since you’ve slept with a man, so if it feels right with Cameron, then go for it.”
Jasmine closed her eyes at the same time she exhaled an audible sigh. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not? Do you find him repulsive?”
“Of course not,” she said much too quickly. The truth was she found Cameron very attractive.
“Then what’s stopping you,mija?”
“He’s a stranger.”
“Every man is a stranger until you sleep with him.”
Jasmine frowned. “That’s where you’re wrong, chica. I slept with a man who lay next to me practically every night and I didn’t get to know him until it was too late.”
“That may be true, but the difference is you’re not married to Cameron. He’s only going to be here for a short time, so have a little fun and then send him on his way.”
“Why do you make it sound as if I’m planning to use him for sex?”
“And why shouldn’t you? Men use us, don’t they?”
“True.”
“What’s the expression? ‘What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.’ ”
Jasmine knew Nydia was right. She had offered an older man her virginity and in return he had helped to advance her career. It had become a win-win for both. He had claimed a young woman as his constant companion and he made it possible for her to establish her name as an up-and-coming decorator in a male-dominated design field.
“You’re right,” she said after a pregnant pause.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
Jasmine felt a shiver of annoyance creep up her spine. “I’m not going to set out to seduce a man because it’s been a while since I’ve had sex.”
“A while? Didn’t you tell me it’s been almost three years? It’s a wonder you don’t have cobwebs growing you know where.”
Jasmine laughed again. “Stop it!” She sobered. “What about you, Nydia? What are you doing now that you’re not seeing Danny?”
“I have a vibrator. I haven’t used it yet, but at least I have it if I feel the urge to take care of my own sexual needs.”
Jasmine grimaced. She did not want to think of inserting a foreign object into her body in order to have an orgasm. There had been a time when her sex drive was very strong, but after uncovering her ex’s deception it was as if something inside her died.
“I prefer a man to a vibrator.”
“Well, you have a man, so what are you going to do about it? Jump the man’s bones and give him something he’ll remember for the rest of his life. Don’t forget he came onto you and not the other way around.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’ve never seduced a man.”
“Let’s take the word seduction out of the equation. What if it just happens?”
“Then it does, Nydia.”
“Does this mean you’re open to kicking it with Daddy?”
A slight frown creased Jasmine’s forehead. “Why do you keep calling him Daddy?”
“I call all fine-ass men Daddy or Papi. And Cameron’s definitely a Daddy. Hannah’s St. John is a Daddy and Tonya’s Gage is a Papi.”
“You’re right about that,” she agreed. There was something about Cameron she found enthralling, but that still did not translate into her seducing the man. If she saw him in New Orleans for an extended period of time, and if their relationship underwent a change from friends to friends with benefits, then they could enjoy whatever each other offered.
