CHAPTER 3

Eros walks into Mr Ward's shop,his former employee."Good morning sir,"Eros greets his boss as he walks to him behind the counter."Ros,I was wondering if you had opened your station,"the slightly short elderly man looks up at him."I am very much around,"Eros reaches for the sugar tin to make himself a cup of coffee."Good morning,"another voice greets them from behind.Francis,a friend of Mr Ward had just walked in and makes himself comfortable.A young lady walks into the shop to make a deposit.Mr Ward attends to her as Eros turns to the view of this stranger.After she is done,she walks out.All three men present had an eye on her as she walked out.She swayed her hips in quite a peverse manner.Her wrapper was tied up high but not so tight it could easily fall off and perhaps reveal whatever was under if she was dressed."Damn uncle!Who is this kid?"Eros had a reluctant work relationship with Mr Ward so much that he referred to him as uncle.Most people confused him for his son to which both would laugh but if it came to business all jokes were put aside."Her name is Tina if you must know,"Mr Ward begins with a crooked smile."Haha sir I am not interested in her name man,"he sips on his coffee."Well she works in a restaurant.She is the new cook and surprisingly has brought luck to the nearly diminished establishment.Plenty of customers.Kid must be an amazing cook,"says Mr Ward.Eros rolls his eyes,"Pssh yeah right.We all know that is not the true story sir."Mr Ward laughs and shakes his head,"Oh come on Ros my boy.Do not be cynical.Besides the way to a man's heart is through the stomach.You never know these are the kind of women you need in your life."Eros shakes his head violently,"Yuh!Ey!Uh huh.I have no desire to know this kid.She seems immature.Just look at the way she walked in and outta here."Before he could continue ranting Francis jumps into the conversation,"Excuse me Ros.Did you just say she is a kid?"

Eros nods much to the shock of Francis,"Young man do not underestimate a woman.She may look young but she is able to give you a run for your money when it comes to bedroom affairs."Eros puts down his cup and covers his ears,"Yo!Ey!Yuh uh huh!I did not ask about that.How did we end up going all the way there?It is not like I have an interest in her.Y'all trying to set me up with a slutty kid.I won't be held accountable for being a child defiler.Thank you."Eros puts his cup down and walks out."Do not be judgemental.You never know what you may be missing,"says Mr Ward as Eros walks out shaking his head.Rumors had already reached all corners of the market place he worked at.The elderly women who sold vegetables had nothing but disdain for the young lady.Apart from her inappropriate work attire,her after work dressing was even worse.She wore body tight clothing making herself presentably attractive.As if that was not enough,Eros was informed by Mr Ward of the latter's frequenting of nightclubs and bars on the weekend.He specifically pointed out that she hang out with older men.This is proven by one of the local electricians Cosmo who was married yet bragged about spending a night with her.

"Mr Ward.I cannot express my experience with that lil girl.She is a tender little freak,"Cosmo said with such excitement in his tone.Mr Ward quickly brushed him off.He had a strict rule and hated such talk being a faithfully God fearing married man himself.Eros would later witness with his own eyes as Tina is grabbed inappropriately by a familiar married man in a dark corner after an oncoming car flashed lights at them.The coming days Eros could not help notice Tina gunning for him as he walked past her restaurant.He quickly looked the other way.As long as he took the market route,one way or another he met Tina at every corner."God what is happening?Do not put this temptation in my path!"he says to himself.Trying to counter what he believed as a mocking coincidence,he decides to use an alternative route when going to the shop.As if it was intentional,one day Eros whilst sitted in his booth peeps outside and sees Tina making a delivery at one of the shops outside of the market.Eros is astounded,"What in the hell?She has gotten this far.What is she putting in her food?"he wonders.Whilst making her runs she sets her sight on Eros who looks the other way."Shit!Please not this way.Do not come my way.Take your evil shadow elsewhere,"Eros says whilst slowly looking up to the sight of her gone.Sighing with relief Eros gathers his thoughts in order to attend to the next customer.Eros was present but a cold chill may have knocked out his soul which had taken flight after seeing Tina."I would like to make a deposit,"she says whilst handling money to him.Eros nods silently and begins the process.Tina looks around and back to Eros who had his head concentrated on the screen in order to avoid her glance,"So you work from here and not at the other end?"she asks him still facing down to which he nods."So what,you can bring me your spiked food or spew some love potion at me?"After he was done and makes the confirmation she leaves with him not uttering a single word.A local mechanic Charlie sets his sights on Tina and pursues her.Eros had noticed the frequent and quick friendship that had blossomed between the two.He even runs into them one evening after work being cozy.As if to spite them,Eros walks past Tina's side knowing she had seen him.No sooner Tina becomes absent from work.Months later she is seen heavily pregnant with Charlie's child.Eros smirks knowing she had gotten what she deserved but deep down wished her relationship would somehow work.This memory replayed on Eros' mind as he looks up at the lady walking past him swaying her hips in the exact attention seeking manner as Tina used to or worse.

"Shade look,"Vince nudges Shade,"There she comes."Both glance in the same direction.A dark slim young lady in a short jean skirt trods with waywardness.What was interesting is the manner on which she widened her paces and the exaggerated swaying of hips, although one would say she was just swaying her bones."Last night I saw her,"Vince whispers to Shade,"She wore a white tank top which was ripped on her chest.I even got a glimpse of her little breasts."Shades gasps,"Shut the front door!"Vince sits back,"For real bro.I am gonna be honest with you though.We should not approach that one.If she can patron such places who knows how wide she stretches.Hell she may be overly experienced and we may make absolute clowns of ourselves if we were to get ourselves mixed with her."Shade nods and extends his fist to Vince which he bumps,"Got that right."The two look in the opposite direction as Tasha walks past them.As she walks towards her booth her gaze meets that of Eros.He however looks down and back up after she is gone.Since the first day he saw her prancing up and about on the block, Eros perceived her to be an attention seeker.In particular it seemed like her wardrobe did not have anything decent she could wear for work but rather party and nightclub attires during the day.On one occasion an elderly lady transacts at Eros' station when Tasha struts past them dressed in a mini black dress.Her eyes browsed Tasha from head to toe before a look of disgust formed on her face."What kind of behavior is this?"she says as Eros looks down as usual."Men here do see a lot of things in particular such kind of gross fashion."Eros chuckles,"To be honest ma'am I did not see anything at all,"this was another of his usual response which was not always true."Well if the package is unwrapped then the goods inside are worthless,"the woman says taking her eyes off of Tasha.

Clever walks up to Eros and sits next to him when he comes out for some air."These are temptations,"he says.Eros turns to him,"Yuh what you mean?"Clever's eyes motion in the direction of Tasha.As she stood outside of her booth with her friends she kept trying to reach her counter.If she were to hang and then bend over then the whole block would have a not safe for work view."Mr Clever why would you let me see that?"he takes a single glance at her back side and back to his acquaintance."I do not understand what is wrong with young lady.It seems her boss does not mind her dressing indecently on the job.If she wants to be sexy and attract customers there is better fashion than what she wears.She is no better than a common little whore."Eros chuckles,"I mean you can't be calling her a lil slut if haven't had any kind of engagement on the down low with her."Deep down Eros knew Clever took the words right out of his mind."These modern ladies.This is the bunch you will have to pick from if you plan on choosing a future wife,"says Mr Clever."Back up a lil bit.Listen man I am currently struggling to take care of my ass.I do not intend on marrying any time soon till I get to the money.Secondly I am so not going to pick a girl like her.Hell naw.They are decent ladies."Eros looks in the direction of a slightly built lady with a chef apron.She had an angry look and Eros was just admiring her from afar."Well you are a wise young man,"he sighs,"Better to have a wife than sex toy!"Eros bursts in laughter."Seriously what is your problem with her?You seem fixated on her.I bet you are looking for the courage to just tell her off."Clever laughs as well,"I don't know.And one thing I cannot understand is why she is always scratching her boney little ass?"Eros realised he had observed her on a few occasions whilst walking how she frequently scatched her buttocks."I mean I sit on my ass for long hours.Maybe her ass worn out her cushions?"The two chuckle,"No way.Then why don't you walk and ass scratch?One thing I'm certain if we're having snacks I wouldn't want to eat on the same plate as her.I bet those fingers not only scratch her butt off but also get to finger.."Eros covers his ears before Clever could finish,"Yuh!Ey!C'mon now let's not roast this chick as much as we have.Goodness."

One morning Eros opens up his booth and settles after he was done cleaning his little premise.Reaching for a bottle to take a sip of his drink his eyes glance to his left.He nearly chokes on his little sips.He looks down but somehow his mind forced his eyes to look back up.Tasha stood right in front of him.She wore a white short dress.Not only was it body tight,the opening on her chest revealed her cleavage,exposing a bigger part of her little perky breasts.She stood right there as if she was counting something."Get out of my way!Lord please take away this temptation!"he says to himself as he slowly peeped back up with her still there before she slowly struts off.As soon as she would pace up and about, reaching next to his station she would model slowly befor disappearing and did her best to meet his gaze.Clever opens up his stall and walks to Eros,"Today she is really out to get you Eros."He looks up and pretends to not know what he had meant,"Who is out to get me?"Clever motions at Tasha,"She has done it.Whatever it is that she is looking for I am sure you can give it to her."Clever smirks at Eros who shakes his head on disagreement."Trash begets trash Mr Clever and I ain't about to entertain one."Later Eros enters the market headed for the lavatory.He spots Tasha and takes an alternative route avoiding her at all cost.He sighs in relief when he reaches the men's urinary.Suddenly he feels a hand wrap around him.He had been alone at the moment but someone just came and touched him.He quickly spins around to the sight of Tasha.Without warning she jumps onto him forcing him to grab her hips.A low scream escapes his lips as he looks around with no one but him in the toilet.He shakes his head and closes his zipper.He washes his face and looks back at himself in the mirror,"What is happening to me?We cannot let her enter our system,"he says to himself.

Connie,a light skinned tall young lady walks towards Tasha's booth.Eros had noticed she visited Tasha frequently.The two walk past his booth.Eros could hear the friends laughing loudly next to his booth.He wished for the duo to move away.The duo is joined by Leah whom Eros recognized from her voice.The trio takes turns posing for photos.Connie and Tasha pose in an angle that would get Eros in the shot.Not wanting to be unexpectedly snapped,he sets himself in a position he did not.Tasha looks at the photo and glances at Eros before asking her friend to take another picture.They position themselves once more in a view that could have Eros in the shot.They make several attempts on getting him unaware in the shot but he dodges them continuously until they leave.

Eros whilst in his booth looks up after overhearing a ruckus nearby.He sees Tasha being pulled by a local drunk."Let me go.People are watching us,"Tasha struggles to free herself from the man's grip."Let you go?Listen sweetheart I can never be with a gal like you.Every one knows what my gal looks like and you ain't got nothing on her.Matter of fact you aren't even my type.You are just my play thing,"the man says as he continues to harass her.Tasha looks in the direction of Eros who turns to look away.Later in the day he sees Tasha walk side by side another local who was a junkie.Eros becomes concerned as her company now leaves him questioning what kind of a person is she after they all close down their shops.Two tall chubby women walk past Eros and Clever.The women left everyone in their path in utter shock.Their dresses were so tight every single lining on their bodies was visible.Whispers from the taxi rank could be heard that these were some local prostitutes.They walked up to Tasha's booth.The manner in which they gestured hinted they knew each other."Now we know her role models.They are the reason why she is always tuning up her dresses and teaching her on how to behave like a little whore!''says Clever.Eros begins to wonder if her social skills were genuine or they extended to a certain kind of people.

A funeral rocks the community of Kaun One after a fatal accident claimed some of its residents.Amongst the dead were those related to Hazel and Tasha.Out of respect during a community funeral,all businesses would halt till afternoon.The church mass felt like a political rally.Apart from the berieved others were there for the gossip and had no sincere interest in sympathizing but rather spectate.Eros walks out of the gents toilet when hears a voice calling for help.It came from the ladies' room,"Hello,somebody in there?"Eros calls out."Yes please can you come in.I need a hand,"the voice of the woman replies.Though skeptical about going into the ladies Eros sighs and walks in.He covers his eyes with one hand,"Alright I am coming in."As soon as he walks in another hand uncovers his eyes,"I am alone in here.Quick before someone comes,help me with my zipper."Eros opens his eyes to the sight of Tasha turning around.He wondered how of all people needing help with their zipper would be Tasha."What kind of coincidence was this or perhaps it was a cosmic test?Easy I do not plan on failing."Eros sighs and places his hand on her shoulder and quickly pulls up the zipper.She turns around smiling.Suddenly she pulls him into the one of the stalls.The knocking of shoes could be heard headed for their direction.Tasha pushes Eros back who loses control and sits down.Not wanting to seem they were two Tasha opts to sit on Eros' laps, leveling her legs to his so it does not seem they are two.She leans over looking through the small space from the door.She keeps wiggling until her cheeks lands in between his legs.Eros is unable to control himself as Tasha continues to grind him and leading to a bulge to form.He knew Tasha had felt it although she kept on the look out if the coast was clear.After the women had left and it was quiet,she runs he fingers on the bulge on his pants.Eros gulps as Tasha turns around and comes to sit on his laps."Get your mind out of the gutter,"Eros says to himself as he watches Leah help Tasha with her zipper,a glimpse he had caught whilst walking past the ladies room.

Eros increasingly finds himself fantasizing about Tasha,the thoughts he tries his hardest to brush off his mind."You know what.I think you have to make a move on her.A hello will lead to the next thing.You never know,"he thought to himself.Tasha appears suddenly and Eros is unable to extend a greeting.Next she appears from his corner without warning making it difficult to stop her in her tracks.He looks up and the two gazes meet.Eros is tongue tied and freezes before looking back down."You have to greet her.You gotta do it man!"he says to himself although every opportunity came short.

Eros keeps thinking of how he was going to make that first friendly reach out.As the sun sets,Eros stands outside next to his booth.Tasha appears from her end and flashes past him.He opens his mouth but all the air instead chokes him and leans back beating himself up for one of his many failed attempts.Later Tasha comes from his end and the two lock glances once more."Hello!"Tasha greets him to which he nods in response."Shit,why did you let her make the first move,"he says to himself.Later during work traffic,Eros is bombarded with a long que of customers transacting.Amidst the ongoing transactions,Tasha stands in line amongst the others.She steps closer,"Hey.I was asking if you have e-value?"Eros nods and motions her to hold on.Tasha obediently takes a step back and waits for him to clear the customers.Whilst attending to the last customer he then turns to her."How much you need?"he asks her whilst checking if he had the needed amount.To her luck this time he does not turn her away.After he makes the electronic transfer Tasha hands to him a bundle of money.During the exchange their fingers meet.A cold rush runs down his arm straight to his heart making it rapidly begin to skip.The two then lock once more in a gaze,this time for an extended minute.Before he knew it,Eros is shoved back against the wall as Tasha jumps onto him and kisses him lustfully.The two tussle trying to pin one another although Tasha proves to be quiet the contender."Damn,you are strong!"Eros muffles over the smooching as Tasha clings tightly onto him with his back against the wall.Tasha looks at him and slaps him before pulling his ears,"Shut up and just put it me!"She gets off of him,"You asshole!I been waiting for you!"Tasha's hands quickly pull off her t-shirt and proceeds to unzip his pants.She looks up at him as her hand reaches down into his pants.

"Okay thank you,"says Tasha as she walks back to her booth.

"That could have gone either way."Eros throws himself back in his chair and snickers.