Читать книгу Always Means Forever - Deborah Fletcher Mello - Страница 13

Roshawn and Jeneva were giggling hysterically into their telephone receivers. Bridget didn’t find a thing funny about her situation and she said so.

“You two get right on my nerves. I called for some advice and instead you’re making fun of me. I hate you both.”

“Don’t say hate. That’s not nice,” Jeneva responded.

“And it’s very funny,” Roshawn quipped. “You and Darwin have actually gone from making goo-goo eyes at each other to playing pocket pool. I personally think you’re making great progress. Not!”

Jeneva laughed.

“Pocket pool?” Bridget questioned. “What’s pocket pool?”

“You know how you play pool? That game with the long stick and the balls that you sink into the little holes?”

“Those of us with a little refinement call that billiards.”

“Yeah, well, whatever you want to call the game, you two are playing it with both of your hands in your pockets instead of on each other. Unfortunately, that makes it kind of hard to sink his—”

“Don’t even say it!” Bridget shook her head, fighting to suppress the smile pulling at her lips. “Roshawn, you are too nasty!”

“But she has a point,” Jeneva interjected. “You like him and he likes you and for the life of me I can’t figure out what’s keeping you two from hooking up. It’s been almost six years and the only kiss you’ve gotten has been on your cheek.”

“And it wasn’t the right cheek, either.” Roshawn laughed. “I keep telling you he can’t get there if you keep your clothes on.”

“I’m convinced it’s just not meant to be. He doesn’t see me any differently from how he sees you, Jeneva.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Darwin is usually a lot smoother around women. Him being so nervous tells me he sees you quite differently.”

“And he cooked for you. That has to count for something,” Roshawn added. “So what else happened? Finish your story.”

Bridget sighed. “Well, you would have thought I’d never set a dinner table before. I couldn’t remember where my good silverware was. I knocked the water glasses over twice, dropped the wine bottle and forgot to light the candles.”

“But was the food any good?” Jeneva asked.

“To die for. That man can cook his behind off. And he made dessert, too! It was the cutest little dish of wafer cookies, ice cream and sautéed peaches. He served it in a champagne glass.”

“That’s all well and good. But I want to know who had to wash all the dishes he dirtied?” Roshawn asked.

“We both did. He washed and I dried. Then he went home so I could finish reviewing his contracts.”

“Did he kiss you good-night at least?” Roshawn inquired.

“No. In fact, he rushed out of here so fast I think I may have scared him.”

The women laughed and Bridget could feel her face warming from embarrassment as she remembered how quickly Darwin had raced out of her home.

“But you get to see him again, right? To give him back his papers?”

Bridget nodded into the receiver. “Tomorrow. I’m taking them over to his studio in the morning.”

“Well, wear something low-cut,” Roshawn chimed. “Sounds like you need to step it up a notch.”

Bridget heaved a deep sigh. Stepping it up a notch didn’t begin to address what she needed to do, she thought. What she had never shared with Jeneva or Roshawn was that she’d resigned herself to never marrying, never having a man to spend the rest of her life with. Sure, she’d held out hope that her few flirtations would have netted her a companion, but Bridget had never been one to let wishful thinking take precedence over her common sense. Bridget was acutely aware of the many statistics that prophesied a black woman’s chances of finding a mate, and they weren’t favorable. The nearness of Darwin Tolliver suddenly had her rethinking her prior convictions and wondering whether or not love was actually a possibility for her. She shook the thought from her mind.

“I’m not wearing anything I wouldn’t wear any other day of the week. If I can accept Darwin not being interested in me, then you two need to, as well.”

Jeneva chuckled. “Who is she trying to convince?” she asked, her voice brimming with amusement. “Us or herself?”

Roshawn laughed with her. “Well, I know I haven’t fallen for it. Sounds just like another excuse to me.”

Bridget sucked in her breath. “I need new friends.”

“New friends, a man and a job. Girlfriend, your need list is growing longer and longer,” Roshawn said. “I need me a few things, too, so when you get yours let me know where you went shopping.”

“Okay, we need to stop, Roshawn. Bridget didn’t call us for a hard time.”

“You got that right,” Bridget said. “So stop being a cow and tell me what to do, heifer!”

“Oh, I got your heifer, heifer!”

Almost an hour later the three women were still talking nonsense over the telephone. And as Roshawn regaled them with a story about her life in Arizona, Bridget couldn’t help but wonder what Darwin might have been doing right then.

A nondescript noise woke him from a sound sleep. For only a quick moment he was dazed and disoriented, his vision still blurred from the deep slumber he’d been wrapped in. Then he remembered that he’d been dreaming, floating blissfully on clouds of visual pleasure.

He’d been dreaming about Bridget. The two of them had been cooking up more than chicken and vegetables in her kitchen. In fact, Bridget had been dessert, the icing on his cake, and he’d been licking every square inch of her spoon. Unfortunately, just when he’d needed his own utensil to function, it didn’t and he’d woken up thoroughly frustrated.

As he lay sprawled across the surface of his king-size bed, he imagined he could still feel her body pressed warmly against his. He even thought he could still smell the delicate scent of her perfume teasing his senses. He inhaled deeply, savoring the moment as he reached a hand down to cup the limp bulge of flesh between his legs. Even in the throes of sleep his body was failing him, not even a quiver or a twitch to boost his manhood.

Darwin slammed a fist against the padded mattress top and swore. Loudly. The profanity pierced through the dark and the silence that filled the space around him. The harshness of it frightened the snow-white Maltese that lay sound asleep at his bedside. The small animal jumped with a low growl, then barked, a series of high-pitched yips crying for some attention. Darwin blew a gust of warm breath past his lips.

“Hush, Biscuit. Stop that noise.”

The tiny bundle of puppy energy stood up on her hind legs, a tiny paw scratching the air for his attention. With one hand he swept all six pounds of fluff up to his side, gently stroking the animal’s head as she struggled to lick his hand and his face.

“No kisses, you. Stop that! Stop, Biscuit!” he said, his pleas a half-hearted attempt at a reprimand.

Ignoring him, Biscuit jumped about, then finally settled down against a pillow on the other side of the bed.

Great, Darwin thought, palming his crotch for a second time before pulling both of his arms up and over his head. Here I am, dreaming of a female in my bed, and the one actually here has four legs and a tail.

As if reading his mind, Biscuit barked again, then settled her head back down against the pillow, her dark eyes eyeing him curiously.

“Don’t you get comfortable,” Darwin said out loud. “Your bed is on the floor, dog.”

Biscuit tilted her head ever so slightly.

Darwin sighed. Bridget had been on his mind since he’d raced out of her home. Although he’d gotten the impression that she wouldn’t have minded him staying longer, his nerves wouldn’t allow it. The woman had had him trembling in his seat as they’d enjoyed dinner and dessert. By the time the meal was finished and the dishes washed, he was a walking time bomb set to explode.

It was one thing to be in a loving relationship with a woman and then become impotent, but it had to be something else altogether to be impotent walking into the relationship. He couldn’t imagine any woman wanting only half a man. He wasn’t about to set himself up for that kind of disappointment and embarrassment. It was best that he just leave any thoughts of him and Bridget alone. “It couldn’t possibly work, could it, Biscuit?” he said softly. He tossed a quick glance over to the animal beside him. His pet barely opened her eyes, quickly resuming her soft snores. Darwin shook his head. Even his dog couldn’t be bothered with the traumas of his love life.