quite possibly be out of another job. He slammed his hand on the table as his memory wandered back to the adjunct professorship he had been forced to give up.
As a professor at York College, he had taught basic algebra in their night school program. Many of his students were young girls just barely out of high school, who were taking the night courses to qualify for college admission. In many cases the girls were eager to do well, since their future success was at stake, and Maurice took full advantage of their eager young minds. For two years he had enjoyed the pleasures of over a dozen fine young bodies in exchange for good grades in his class. It was a sexual playground for him. One girl, though, was not quite as naive as the others and reported Maurice to the college administration when he abandoned her in another state after they had made love. Immediately many of the other girls came forward to report similar experiences, and Maurice was forced to leave his position.
Recalling the incident caused Maurice’s anger to flare. He could remember verbatim the letter he had received from the dean. It had left him no choice but resignation.
Dear Maurice,
In light of the sex-for-grades incident you were involved in this past semester, I highly recommend that you resign as associate professor. As I promised, I have been in contact with several of the young ladies involved and they plan to go to the press if you are kept on. Please, as your friend and colleague, I ask you to spare yourself, your family, and the college the embarrassment. Resign before this becomes ugly. An incident like this could very easily ruin your life.
Your friend,
Thomas
As much as the letter had pained him, he had to admit his friend had really saved his neck.
God if I had to do it all over again, I would never have left that tramp in Vermont. Maybe if I’d given the bitch a ride home, she wouldn’t have cried foul.
He had convinced himself that these silly girls asked to be used, and he was sorry only that he was caught. For a while he had behaved simply out of fear of being caught again. But the incident was almost six months in the past, and he was getting restless for a new thrill. Making love to his wife that night had just pushed him over the edge.
He reached into his briefcase and pulled out the index card he had found in the locker room earlier in the day. Smiling, he dialed 1-900-BLACK-LUV and left his message.
4
KEVIN AND ALICIA
Kevin returned home from work at seven o’clock. Famished, he grabbed a quart of orange juice and the turkey sandwich that he had forgotten to take for lunch. Sitting in his beat-up recliner, he ate and daydreamed about being a star in the NBA. Shortly he was fast asleep and his daydreams became real dreams.
At nine o’clock a fire engine drove by and woke him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed the remote. He flicked on BET and caught the end of the 1-900-BLACK-LUV commercial they seemed to be playing all the time now. Seeing it reminded him of his own message recorded a few days earlier. His curiosity was aroused, and he dialed the line to see if he had received any responses.
He nervously waited for the recording. “If you’re calling to retrieve your mail, press three.” As he felt the sweat build on his forehead, he pressed three. “Please enter your mailbox number.” Kevin punched in 2929 and waited. “You have five messages. If you would like to listen to your messages, please press one.” Taking a deep breath, Kevin pressed one.
“Hi, Kevin, my name’s Paula, and I’m a twenty-six-year-old full-figured woman from Queens.” The voice was sultry and immediately captured Kevin’s attention. “I’m light-skinned and love both reggae and sports. I’m also an exceptional soul food cook.” This brought a broad smile to Kevin’s face as he looked down at the half-eaten turkey sandwich on the floor. “I have a real attraction for dark men. The blacker the