TONK JR.

I wash up in the mens room and check my hair. Through the swarm of students I make good time, bending and weaving until I burst outside the humid corridor into a stunning spring day.

So glad the cold is behind us.

New York City’s weather bears no similarities to South Vacherie, Louisiana’s. When I moved here everything changed—that’s what I willingly signed up for. While I love my family, and that includes all who live at our ancient and decaying plantation, I’m invigorated by freedom. With nobody judging me, or worrying about why I’m so fucking different from them, I’m finally staking a claim on my own as a man.

But snow can kiss my collegiate ass.

“Tonk Jr.! Over here!” Allen calls from the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 119^th Street, rising from petting a dog who wanted some love in the middle of his afternoon walk. The smiling owner guides the pooch onward.

They pass a female, dark hair and skin golden like mine. She caught my attention because I was watching that happy tail wag, and keeps it as her sandal strap breaks, hanging below her ankle. Bending to fix it, her bag slides from her shoulder to the sidewalk, minimal contents scattering. Shaking, her hands leave the bar of a modest baby stroller that’s faced away from me. She’s about to burst into tears so I hurry over, help gather the items, reaching long to swipe a rolling ballpoint from being crushed by pedestrians.

She freezes in place. “His pen!”

With a reassuring smile, I hand it over, “Here ya go. No worries. Not a scratch.”

Flustered, she inspects it, pretty lips open with worry. Okay, my curiosity is piqued. Who is this guy, so important that if his pen gets lost, she’s that scared?

“I think that’s all of it.”

She blinks up at me and something punches the inside of my chest. I clear my throat, confused as we stare at each other.

“Tonk Jr., you tardy bastard, you gonna keep me waiting all day?”

Punctured by Allen’s summons, our puzzling connection disappears.

Her gaze drops, pillowy arms hugging her bag to her cotton shirt. The motion tugs the sleeve up a little and I spot the round outline of a dark bruise above her wrist. “Excuse me,” she whispers, hurrying off.

My frown follows her as I stroll to my pseudo-annoyed friend. “Well hello.”

“Hey Allen, sorry I’m late.”

“Say it like you mean it,” he chuckles.

He and I stand together watching the quiet cutie push that stroller farther away from me as she leans over to talk to the baby I never saw. Rising up she continues her path north.

“Huh,” I mutter.

“You know her?”

“No. But her head is down when she walks. Kind of hunched, too.”

“Dude. We’re not in class right now. Drop the psychology.”

I flick him a glance and hold. “That’s why I’m here. It’s what I live for.”

He blinks, grins and smacks my back, guiding me toward Morningside Park where some friends are waiting for us. More his friends than mine, but I do like the people. They’re not big thinkers, but there’s nothing wrong with them either. It should be fun.

But still…

“Tonk! Where are you going?!”

“Hang on a sec!” I shout over my shoulder while I sprint faster than I ever have. “I must know!”

“Dude!”

No dude. There is no dude here.

I’m a man of insatiable curiosity.

But you can’t really yell that.

‘Hey man of insatiable curiosity!’

Doesn’t have the same ring to it.

However, if he’d yelled it, I might have fallen in love with him.

“Give me a second, Allen! Just hang on!”

As I get closer to her I slow. She doesn’t look back, a mistake. If someone’s running at you, look and prepare to react—dodge them, duck, run, kick, or just check to make sure they mean no harm. Knowledge is power in so many ways. These are things I was taught being raised with bikers who roam the states fighting the battles of the innocent.

She’s safe with me sprinting up like this, though. I’d never hurt her. I’d never hurt anyone. It’s why I’m such a disappointment to my dad, Tonk Sr.

A biker got a brainiac for a son.

“Hey, uh, it’s me, the man who helped you pick up your things.”

She glances over, surprised and relieved. She heard me coming and was worried. “Yes?” Eyelashes drop to my hands.

“Oh, I didn’t find anything else of yours. I ran after you because I realized I never got your name?”

“Stacy.”

Offering my hand with a smile, I cautiously introduce myself like I’m making friends with a deer. “Tonk Jr. Lewis, nice to meet you. Do you work around here?”

Unsure, she glances toward the baby. “Um…I’m with someone.”

“I see that.”

A smile tugs at my joke. “Not her. I have a boyfriend.”

“Didn’t see a wedding ring. Thought I’d take a chance.”

Stacy holds my eyes. Am I incorrect, or does she wish she were single right now?

On a shrug I drag my hair back, smiling in a friendly way, “Is it serious?”

Walnut-brown eyes twinkle as she tries to stop her smile from taking hold. “You’re persistent.”

“When I’m interested, yes. What man isn’t?”

“You look my age. That’s too young to be calling yourself a man.”

“I’m a man, trust me.”

“Your skin is so perfect.”

I chuckle, “Thank you. Yours is pretty paintable, too.”

“Are you a painter?”

“No, but if I were, I’d start with your face.”

She flickers, glances to the stroller and back to me. She has the strangest effect on me. “I have to go.”

“Okay,” I frown, chewing my lip as I stare at the sidewalk. Never one for subtlety I decide to go for it. “Where’d you get that bruise?”

Her jaw slackens. She reaches for the stroller’s handle, knuckles whitening. “What bruise?”

“The one on your—”

“I don’t have any bruises.”

“Then why are you wearing a long-sleeved shirt on an eighty-degree day?”

Stacy’s breath catches and she starts walking. “I have to go. You’re very strange. Don’t follow me again.” Her baby starts gurgling like she woke up. I never got a look at the child—didn’t seem right to take a peek while I was walking on eggshells.

“See, that’s how to do it.”

She looks over her shoulder, frowning.

“Telling me off with that finality, that’s how you handle strangers.” Stammering, I add, “Not that I’m a stranger. You said I was. But I’m not. I’m a good guy. I’m just…quirky…to most people, that’s all. But you know what? Someday, to someone I won’t be. They’ll get it.”

She blinks, shakes her head and keeps on her path. I sigh as I drag my hair back, look back to Allen who looks tiny from here. But God bless the guy for waiting for me.

I jog back. “Hey.”

“Tonk, can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure. I’m always an open door. If you have anything you need to get off your chest, please come to me first.”

He stares at me a beat. “You fascinate me.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

We walk to the park, silent and lost in our own worlds. She impacted me upon first meeting. Doesn’t matter anyway, she’s taken. And has a child with the guy. Flirting with her was destined to lead nowhere.

Let it go.