Читать книгу The Heat Between Us - Cheris Hodges - Страница 11

Chapter 3

Michael shivered at the feel of Jamal’s thumb against her lip. Something about his touch just made her body tingle. She wanted him, but knew it probably wasn’t a smart thing to want. Playboys were like leopards—their spots didn’t change simply because you wanted them to.

“Th-thanks,” she said.

“No problem. Got to keep that pretty face clean. Or you could’ve used that shot to market this cake.”

“They haven’t hired me yet, so no free advertising.”

“You’re hard-core, huh?” He stuck his finger in the chocolate icing and brushed it across her full bottom lip. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss the confection away, Michael beat him to it and licked the chocolate herself.

“Okay, this icing is so good that I would give them a shout-out for free.”

“How nice of you,” he said. “Don’t forget to meet me at nine tonight.”

“For a surprise, right?”

Jamal kissed her hand. “Yes. And, no, I’m not telling you what it is. But I do have to run. I have a meeting in the heart of the city and I’m about to be late.”

“Have a good meeting and I guess I will see you tonight.”

“Come on—you can’t act like that.”

“Here’s the second surprise—if I show up or not. And you should probably save your seduction skills for someone else.” MJ nodded toward the waitress who was clearing a table not far from theirs. “She’d like it, I’m sure.”

Jamal pulled out his wallet and left enough cash on the table to pay for their meals. “You think I’m trying to seduce you?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re telling me that you’re not?”

“Babe, if I was trying to seduce you, you’d be in my arms right now. Just make sure you’re not late tonight.” He winked at her then headed for the door.

Michael watched him walk away and realized that he was right. She’d see him at nine, and no matter what his surprise was, she was going to enjoy it. Be happy about it and pretend that it didn’t make her heart and soul melt.

“I’m in so much trouble,” she muttered as the waitress walked over with her glass of milk.

* * *

Jamal hopped into his car and drove to the Atlanta Metro Credit Union. He was meeting with the head of security there to revamp their security protocol. As he walked into the building, his mind was on MJ’s lips. That woman wore that chocolate like the most delicious lipstick. He’d wanted nothing more than to kiss her and taste that sweetness on her. But she was faster than he’d expected and had licked the chocolate away.

Seeing her tongue pass over that full bottom lip had made his blood pressure rise off the charts. What was it about this woman that made him want her so badly? Maybe it was because she told him no or the fact that she didn’t act like the typical Atlanta women he’d dated. She didn’t think that three dates meant they were in a relationship or that the fifth date meant an engagement ring was coming next.

MJ was the exact opposite. She didn’t take herself, or what they had going on, seriously. At first, he’d enjoyed it. Felt as if he could be himself around her. He could be silly. He could be serious. They could talk politics in one sitting then turn around and debate about who the best comedian of all time was. Jamal had never found that range of conversation with another woman.

And the woman liked football. When he’d scored two tickets to the Atlanta Falcons season opener, he’d taken MJ with him and she’d been an avid fan of the game. Especially the star cornerback. Jamal had been impressed because most women he’d taken to a game knew only the quarterback and maybe a wide receiver or two.

“Defense wins championships, and the way Atlanta looks right now, we’re going to the big game!” Michael had said at the end of the game.

“It’s just the first game of the season.”

“You have no faith.”

“I know we have Carolina twice this season and their offense is finally as explosive as their defense,” he’d said.

“Please. We’re going to eat them up.”

Smiling at the memory, Jamal walked up to the receptionist and asked for Craig Franklin.

* * *

Michael returned to her office and decided to throw herself into work. She didn’t want to think about Jamal, but in the silence of her office, all she could do was think about him. If his finger was any indication, his kiss would be damn near deadly. Shivering, she wondered if anything would happen beyond the heat between them. Would the fire burn out and she end up like the woman who tossed that drink in Jamal’s face?

“Nope. I’m not going to let that happen.” Logging on to her computer, Michael did immerse herself in her work for about thirty minutes, and then her phone rang. When she saw Mimi’s number, she answered because she was going to give her BFF a small piece of her mind.

“You’re not slick, Mimi.”

“What are you talking about? I had to meet my husband.”

“Sure you did. You and Brent aren’t slick at all.”

“I had no idea that Jamal was going to show up at lunch. That was all Brent because he said his boy was having a bad day.”

“And I’m supposed to be the make-him-feel-better girl?”

“It worked, didn’t it? I don’t get you two.”

“Wait a minute! You were totally against me getting serious with Jamal and called him a rebound.”

“And you said you guys weren’t serious.” Michael could imagine her friend’s eyebrow raised to the heavens. “So, what’s the problem here?”

“We’re friends, Mimi. Just friends. I don’t understand why people don’t get that. And I’m not looking for another dead-end relationship that is going to end up with me looking like a fool again.”

“You like him more than you want to admit. Michael, remember the words of wisdom you used to give me? Time to take your own advice. Stop running and go after what your heart wants.”

Michael rolled her eyes. “Because you took my advice, Mimi?”

“Umm, well, had I listened to you about that Fast Love post, I would’ve never had the chance to get close to Brent and fall in love with him. And you wouldn’t have met Jamal. Then you’d still be sitting here pining for Nic.”

“That’s not true.”

“What part isn’t true? You meeting Jamal or still trying to show Nic that you’re in love with him.”

“Let’s put Nic in the past, where he belongs. I wasted a lot of time trying to make him think we should’ve been a power couple. I own that. I’m over that.”

“Then why are you working with him?”

“Contract.”

Mimi sucked her teeth. “So.”

“And if this event is as big as I want it to be, this is going to mean more high-profile clients, more big events and the success I’ve been chasing.”

“You’re already successful. You run this city,” Mimi said.

“From your mouth to God’s ear. People know I’m Mimi’s friend, but they have no idea what I can really do.”

“Whatever. How was the food at the café, though?”

“Amazing, and the dessert was superb. Maybe you and Brent should go there for dinner, since you guys set up that bogus lunch.”

“For the record, it didn’t start that way, but if you must blame someone, blame Mr. Law and Order. He told Jamal where we were having lunch.”

“Oh, there you go. Let me tell you something, Mimi Collins-Daniels. If I read your blog and see any parts of me and Jamal on there, I’m going to hurt you.”

“You mean like real names?”

“Don’t play with me, Mimi!”

“All right, I’ll try.”

Michael sighed. “You better do more than try.”

“You have my word, unless something really juicy happens. And don’t say anything else, because I do write about myself on my blog.”

“What does that have to...? Mimi, my brand isn’t like yours, and if you...”

“Let me stop playing with you. I won’t do it. And you better be ready to run in the morning.”

Michael grinned. “About that run. I’m going to work out with Jamal in the morning.”

“Ooh. With or without clothes?”

“Stop it. We’re going to the gym. And he wants me to come see him tonight.”

“You mean he wants to go on a date?”

“It’s not a date. It’s a...”

“D-A-T-E! Stop living in the land of denial. You two are getting to be annoying.”

“Spoken like someone who has been annoying for years.”

“And on that note, I’m hanging up.”

“I love you, Mimi,” Michael said through her laughter. After hanging up, she opened a file on her computer and started planning logistics for the jazz festival. When she typed in security, the only company she could think of to handle the job was First Line of Defense. Michael picked up the phone and called Jamal.

Voice mail.

“Jamal, this is MJ. Give me a call when you get a chance. I have a proposal, a business proposal, for you. I wanted to discuss it with you before I see you tonight, if possible. Thanks.”

* * *

Jamal shook hands with Craig Franklin. “You’ve been really lucky,” Jamal told the bank CEO.

“And I don’t want to continue to press my luck. Your security ideas are just what we need to make the bank more secure from inside and outside jobs.”

“You also shouldn’t give an employee access to the video system. Not saying that you have someone stealing from you, but you have to be proactive instead of reactive.”

“Makes sense. I look forward to your report and I’m sure the board will agree to the project.”

Jamal nodded. “Let me know when you guys want me to get started and I’ll send my tech team in.”

The two men walked to the lobby and shook hands again. “Looking forward to working with you,” Craig said.

Jamal nodded and told his client goodbye. When his phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and smiled when he saw a missed call and voice mail from MJ. If she was trying to back out of his surprise evening, he was not going to allow it. Tonight, he’d show her a side of him no other woman had ever seen.

Once he got into the car, Jamal listened to Michael’s message. Business proposal? Interesting, he thought as he called her back.

“Hey, Jamal. I hope you got my message.” Michael’s voice was like a sweet song that he wanted to keep on Repeat.

“I did. Do you want to meet tomorrow and talk about it?”

“Aren’t we getting together tonight?”

“Just looked at my watch and First Line of Defense is closed.”

“Jamal.”

“MJ. Listen, you do too much. Tonight, we’re going to relax and not say a word about your proposal.”

“All right. But you are considering it, right?”

“I’ll tell you in the morning. When’s a good time for us to get together?”

He could hear the keys on her computer moving at a rapid pace. “I have an opening at nine forty-five.”

“That’s about the time I have breakfast. Want to see if the Sunshine Café has better eggs than West Egg?”

“No, but I’ll meet you at West Egg because those potatoes are just amazing.”

“Good. See you later,” he said.

“And what are we doing tonight?”

“You’ll see when you get there. ’Bye, MJ.”

* * *

Looking at her phone, Michael couldn’t help but smile when she and Jamal hung up. He always made her smile. But that doubtful voice in her head kept telling her that they would never be serious. He was a player. And what made her think that she could be the woman who would change his mind about his lifestyle? The last thing she wanted was to be another one of those women who saw him out on the town and had an emotional breakdown.

That’s not my style, she thought as she shut her computer down and prepared to leave the office. It wasn’t easy to keep saying and pretending that she didn’t want more from him. She just couldn’t say it to him. Fear froze her tongue every time she tried. As she walked out of the office toward her car, she decided to head to the gym to burn off some nervous energy.

Would tonight be the night that she and Jamal took the next step in their relationship?

What was this big surprise? She knew that he wasn’t going to propose. That thought made her laugh. It wasn’t as if they’d known each other long enough for her to start fantasizing about being Mrs. Carver. She put the blame squarely on Mimi’s shoulders for making marriage look so good.

As she pulled into the parking lot of the gym, Michael’s cell phone rang. She wasn’t happy at all when she saw Nic’s name flash across the screen. She started to ignore the call, but she knew he wouldn’t stop calling because obviously he needed something.

“Yes, Nic.”

“Don’t sound so excited. I just wanted to see if you had time to meet with me tomorrow. I have some great ideas that I want us to look at for the jazz festival.”

“You do realize that it is way after office hours, right?”

“Since when did we start standing on ceremony?” Nic’s laughter actually made her blood boil.

“Nic, you’re simply a client. We aren’t in a space where you can call me in the middle of the night because you have an idea. You made it clear that we’re all about business. So, respect me enough not to invade my personal time because you have a freaking idea.”

“I’m sorry—am I interrupting you and Mimi talking about whatever it is you two cackle about when you get together?”

“No, you’re interrupting me and a very handsome man making a beeline between my thighs. Good night.” She ended the call and tossed the phone in the glove compartment. Michael was ready to punch something really hard now.

* * *

It was times like this when Jamal was glad he lived out in the burbs. Tonight he’d have a clear view of the sky and he had a fire pit that he didn’t have to worry about getting zoning permission to light. He took his telescope to the edge of the woods that abutted his property and gave him the clearest view of the sky. Not many people knew that Jamal was an astronomy nerd. Since he was a kid, he’d enjoyed looking to the stars for answers. He would’ve been an astronaut if the Challenger incident hadn’t scarred him. But still, he enjoyed watching the universe. And though he wouldn’t tell his boys, he was a man who wished on stars sometimes. Especially when he was in Iraq. He’d prayed and wished for all of his comrades to make it through the night. He’d prayed and wished that the people he shot in the heat of battle were terrorists and not human shields.

The stars calmed him, made him feel as if he’d have his normal life back. After two years in the Middle East and an injury that left him unfit for combat, Jamal had lost partial sight in his right eye. And though he had surgery to correct the injury and remove the shrapnel from his eye, he hadn’t been able to pass the physical requirements of the Marines to rejoin the corps. For about a year, he’d been a recruiter in Alabama. But Jamal missed action. Missed helping people and saving lives.

Deciding not to reenlist, Jamal had moved back to Atlanta and opened First Line of Defense. His grandmother had not been pleased. The matriarch of the Carver family wanted her only grandson, at the time, out of harm’s way. She needed him to settle down and carry on the family name. For years, he’d ignored her constant nagging about finding the one. Jamal wasn’t interested in a family. His father was MIA and that had had a huge impact on his life. He’d watched his mother cry over this man who’d broken his promises. One thing that Jamal could say about the women he dated was that he never made promises to them. He tried not to play with their emotions and make them believe that he was going to provide them a future.

In all these years he’d taken three women to his family’s annual low-country boil in Savannah, but he now knew it had been a mistake to take any of them there. Introducing a woman to his family was unfair to her if he wasn’t serious about the relationship, so Jamal had decided that the next woman he took to Savannah would be the one he planned a future with. And for a long time, he’d felt he wouldn’t be bringing anyone down there for a while.

But lately, Jamal had caught himself wondering what it would be like to take MJ to Savannah. Would she even want to go with him this year? He figured that she’d say no. But he liked the idea of Gran and the family meeting her. He wouldn’t even step in if they started asking uncomfortable questions like Are you guys serious?

That was a question he wanted an answer to. Could they be serious? What was holding her back from being his? Glancing at his watch, Jamal saw that he needed to get the shrimp on the grill and grab the graham crackers for the s’mores. Tonight was going to be simple and fun. And he hoped that it would lead to MJ understanding that he wanted her and no one else. She was a woman who made him feel like love did exist, without cameras and tabloid headlines. Too many women in Atlanta wanted to live like reality-TV stars. He wasn’t about that life and he was glad that MJ felt the same way.

Even though she might not believe he was ready to be a one-woman man. But Jamal was so ready for MJ to be the only woman in his life.