She sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer. One of her legs rested across his thighs. It brushed against his erection with her movement, sending a rush of desire through him. He wanted her again.
Gently, he turned her onto her back and dropped his head to slip her nipple in his mouth. A low moan escaped her and her legs spread. He looked up, but her eyes were still closed. His hand slid between her thighs. She was hot and slick. He slowly spread her sweetness around her clit until her moans increased and her hips lifted from the sheet. When he dipped his fingers into her warmth she cried out; he smiled.
Satisfied that she was ready, he didn’t hesitate to move over her and push into her with a long, slow stroke. They’d stopped with the condoms. He knew she was on birth control.
Her eyes opened, her lower lip clenched between her teeth. She put her arms around his neck and he lowered his head into the crook of her shoulder, hiding the adoration he felt at being allowed within her again. His movements began slow as he savored the feeling of her tight and oh so wet body around him. Her legs wrapped around his hips, she clenched her walls and he let go, sinking in and out, making sure she realized who was inside her.
His name became a cadence on her lips. He raised himself on his hands to watch her face. Each cry pushed him closer and closer to the release he wanted, but he held back, refusing to come before she did. He watched as she grew nearer. He could watch her come every day. Her face flushed, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she twisted beneath him. Her cries grew frantic, her legs began to shake. She was almost there. Her eyes stretched as she screamed his name.
He finally let loose. He succumbed to the tightening in his balls, the rush of his release, and the thrill of being with her.
He tried to catch his breath as he watched her. She looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and uncertainty. The disbelief swelled his male ego even more. The uncertainty scared him. A night of great sex didn’t erase her history of short term relationships. He might have sexually turned her out, but she’d emotionally put a hurting on his heart. He foolishly wanted all of her, would move heaven and earth to please her, and that scared him. She wouldn’t want the same. Or for the time she did, she’d turn him into even more of a lapdog than he already was. Once that was gone, he couldn’t go back to the friend zone.
The alarm clock buzzed. He was supposed to meet his realtor at eight. He had a date with Missy that night. They’d talked on the phone a few times, but because of their schedules tonight was the first time they were able to finally go out. He’d enjoyed their conversations about work and city politics for the most part, but he hadn’t felt a spark. He’d hoped that their date tonight would change that.
Damn. In less than a day his life had become too complicated.
He pulled out and rolled over to turn it off. He didn’t turn back to her, but the bed shifted as she moved away. He glanced over his shoulder to where she sat on the side of the bed.
The awkward morning after.
“I’ve got to head out early.” He cringed when her shoulders stiffened. “You don’t have to leave.”
She peeked over her shoulder and smiled. “I don’t usually get up this early on Sunday.”
“I know.”
She stood and pulled the sheet with her. After it was wrapped tightly, she turned back. “Are you busy today?”
“I’m looking at houses today.”
“What?”
“I’m looking at—”
“I heard what you said. You’re moving out?”
“We talked about this.”
“Yeah, but that was before … ” She motioned to the bed.
He rubbed his face, then put on his glasses and stood. Her eyes dropped to his penis and her breathing hitched before they rose to his. That look made him want to pull her back in bed. Instead, he grabbed a pair of underwear out of the drawer and put them on.
“Before we slept together. Janiyah, last night was something that was churning between us since … ” He trailed off.
“Since I tried to get you in bed when I was seventeen.”
He cringed. The day he tried to forget that was burned in his memory. Especially the part a few weeks later, when he’d caught her kissing someone else. His gut twisted now just thinking about it, and how it could easily be repeated.
He wiped away the memory, and the awareness the incident had awakened in him. “Yes, since then.”
“And now you’ve scratched that particular itch, so you can move on.”
“I could say the same about you.”
“I can’t believe this.” She rubbed her forehead and turned away from him. “You think this was just some game for me, don’t you? That now we can just go back to pretending as if it never happened.”
“We have to. We work together. But most of all, we’re too different. We don’t want the same things. It wouldn’t work.”
She spun around and glared at him. “No, you’re running scared again. You don’t want to trust that we could make this work.”
“Make it work how, Janiyah? I’m at the point in my life where I’m ready for a serious relationship. I’ve had my fun, and done the casual dating thing. My plan is to find someone who’s ready to settle down. Someone who knows what they want out of life, and hopefully what they want is similar to what I want.”
“Why can’t that be me?”
“Because a few weeks ago you were talking to me about one guy and the next day you gave your number to another guy.”
She stumbled back as if he’d struck her. He wanted to reach out and take her in his arms. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he had to be honest.
“You think I’m that easy.”
“No. I think guys are naturally drawn to you. I think you should go out and have fun and date whoever you want. But I know that what you want right now isn’t the same thing that I want. If we keep doing this,” he pointed to the bed, “one of us will end up getting hurt.”
“You know what I think?” She snatched her dress off the floor and buttoned it with jerky movements. “I think that’s your excuse to justify sleeping with me then moving on.”
“Janiyah—”
She held up a hand. “I’m out of here.” She ran from the room.
“Janiyah.” He followed her but she was already out of the door.
With a groan he ran a hand over his face. What the hell just happened? Had he really been that guy? The guy that came up with some lame, morning after excuse? The idea made him sick to his stomach. No, he wasn’t like that. This was for the best. They needed to end things before they got out of hand. They worked together. She was the complete opposite of the type of woman he needed in his life. He couldn’t fall in love with Janiyah Henderson.
He was half in love with her already.
With a grunt, he went back into the bedroom. He took one look at the rumpled sheets and got a whiff of her perfume in the air and missed her immediately.
“Fuck!” He kicked the bed. Things were more complicated now than they’d ever been.
CHAPTER 23
Janiyah tried not to think about how pathetic it was to sit alone at a bar after the guy you loved told you it was a mistake to sleep with you, and it damn sure didn’t help that they were playing Bruno Mars and she had to hear about sex and paradise. She wouldn’t be experiencing that anymore. The bartender slid her a glass of Riesling and she downed half of it. It was official: tonight she was sad female cliché number one.
It was another young professionals mixer. They’d exchanged the artsy location for a wine and tapas bar. She couldn’t even enjoy the better choice of music. Though the crowd was thinner than usual, the variations of blue, grey, and black suits were the same.
The dark colors were good. They matched her mood. Two days ago she’d gotten something she’d wanted for most of her adult life. Then Freddy tore her heart out by saying it was something they’d needed to get out of their system. In so many words, he’d put her in the same category as the asshole ex:
someone it was fun to screw but not settle down with.
Freddy was the last person she expected that from. She’d believed him when he said he saw more in her than other people did. If that were the case, their morning after would have gone a lot differently. They’d be together, not awkwardly avoiding each other. He’d stayed out of the office all day today. When she checked his calendar, all of the appointments were marked private.
Liz came back from the bathroom and sat beside her at the bar. “Are you going to tell me why you look so pitiful or am I going to have to find someone else to entertain me?”
Janiyah looked up from her glass of wine. “I don’t look pitiful.”
“Puh-leeze! You do look pitiful, and I want to know why.”
“Why, so you can lecture me about rushing head first into things without thinking them through?”
Liz placed her elbow on the bar and propped her chin in her hand. “Okay, spill it.”
Janiyah took another gulp of wine. “I slept with Freddy.”
Liz’s chin dropped out of her hands. She jerked back up and leaned forward. “You did what?”
“I slept with Freddy.”
“So that’s why he canceled with Missy. They had a date last night and he canceled.”
She was so upset she couldn’t even feel satisfaction that at least he hadn’t left her bed and gone out with another woman.
“Was it that bad? I thought he’d be good in bed.”
Janiyah sat up. “Why are you thinking about him in bed?”
Liz lifted her hands. “You can’t tell me you never thought it.”
“Of course I thought it. But I never thought it would happen.”
“How did it happen?”
She quickly gave Liz the rundown of the past few weeks with Freddy. Starting with their almost kiss and ending with Mrs. Driggers’s pep talk.
“Liz, he was … is … the best I’ve ever had. It was … I can’t even describe it.”
“Then why are you moping around if the sex was so good?”
“Because afterwards he basically said it was a mistake, the result of lust brewing between us, and we needed to move on.”
Liz cringed. “Ugh, men are idiots.” She reached over and took Janiyah’s hand. “I take it you want more.”
Janiyah took back her hand and toyed with the wine glass. “I don’t know.”
“That’s a lie.”
Typical Liz. “Okay, I do know. I want him, but he doesn’t want me.”
Liz scoffed. “How do you know that? I’ve always thought Fredrick was crazy about you.”
“No, Freddy puts up with me. I’m his friend’s little sister and nothing more.”
Liz raised an eyebrow. “If that were the case I doubt he’d have sex with you.”
“I know he’s not interested in me.” She downed the rest of her wine. “Let’s just say this is the second time Fredrick Jenkins has thrown my affections back in my face. It’s like he doesn’t trust that I really want to be with him.”
“Well, what do you expect?”
“Say what?”
“Come on, Janiyah, I love you to death, but you treat guys like accessories. You toss out your phone number as if it’s nothing and aren’t shy about the fact that you don’t want a long term relationship. He’s seen that for years. He may not believe you’re serious about him.”
She remembered the look on Freddy’s face when he and Aaron walked in on her kissing that guy the summer Freddy first turned her away. He’d said he didn’t want her, but there was hurt and jealousy on his face. She couldn’t even remember that guy’s name. He was classmate who’d tried to get with her all year. After Freddy’s rejection, she’d called him up because she’d wanted validation that someone wanted her. She never forgot the look of disappointment on Freddy’s face that night. The same look he had whenever she brought around another boyfriend.
No wonder he didn’t expect much from her in the way of relationships. From the beginning she’d done nothing to show that she only wanted him. That she loved him.
No man she dated ever lived up to Freddy. No matter how interesting they might be, they didn’t tease her, put up with her changing moods, or encourage her to do better the way Freddy did. The men in her past were more like a string of good friends than boyfriends. Freddy was always the constant man in her life.
“You’re right. But is it worth trying to convince him that we belong together?”
Liz looked over Janiyah’s shoulder and frowned. “You better decide sooner rather than later.”
Janiyah turned to see who Liz was talking about and froze. She squeezed the wine glass in her hand so hard she was surprised it didn’t snap. Freddy had arrived, with an attractive woman at his side. She did a quick examination of the woman: tasteful beige suit, short but stylish haircut, and flawless pecan skin. The type of woman she would picture with Freddy.
The woman placed a hand on his arm and leaned in to say something in his ear. Freddy smiled. Full on dimple, to this woman she’d never seen before! Had she been the “private” meeting on his calendar?
Technically they weren’t together, so she couldn’t play the jealous girlfriend. But to sit by and act as if it meant nothing to see him with another woman after he’d had sex with her two nights before was ludicrous.
“Excuse me,” she said to Liz as she put down her wine glass and stalked over to them. “Hi, Freddy.” Her attempt for a light airy tone came out more like a tight high-pitched squeak.
His smile melted away. She tried not to shift uncomfortably as his gaze swept over her. Memories of their night flickered in his eyes. It provided a modicum of relief. He wasn’t the type to sleep with her then run into the arms of another woman. She hoped he hadn’t decided to start today.
“Janiyah.” His voice was even, as if it was no big deal to run into her with another woman on his arm.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Networking.” He turned to the woman beside him. “Shante, this is Janiyah.”
Shante smiled and held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Janiyah.”
Janiyah shook her hand and gave her a tight smile. “I’m his … ” Freddy stiffened at the woman’s side. “His assistant.”
Shante took her hand back and leaned closer to Freddy. “Good to know. I’m his realtor.”
Janiyah relaxed and gave the woman a genuine smile. “Oh, good.”
“Janiyah,” Freddy said in a tense voice.
She ignored him. “Did he find a house?”
Shante looked between the two. “Actually, we were just discussing the one we saw last. I think he likes it.”
Janiyah turned back to Freddy. “You’re really moving?”
“I told you that.”
“I just didn’t realize you’d be looking so soon.” Janiyah hated the hurt in her voice.
“No need to prolong the inevitable.”
A tense silence ensued. Shante placed a hand on Freddy’s arm. “Let’s get a drink.”
Janiyah’s hand balled into a fist. “Freddy, can I talk to you for a second? Evan called and there’s an issue in the office.”
Freddy stepped out of Shante’s reach. “Sure. Shante, thanks for your help this afternoon. Go ahead and call the other realtor about that house and give me a call tomorrow.”
The note of dismissal in his voice made Janiyah want to do the Electric Slide. She couldn’t help giving Shante a smug look. That’s right, girlfriend, he’s all mine.
“Alright, we can discuss their offer over lunch tomorrow. I know this great Italian place downtown.” She smiled at him, then gave Janiyah a completely non-threatened smile before gliding away.
After she walked away, Freddy turned to her with a frown. “Do you have to butt into my business all the time?”
“Do you really want to have this out in front of everyone?” She spread her hand to indicate the crowd in the bar.
He turned and walked out. She followed him to stand at the side of th
e building, far enough away from the door so they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” she said.
“Really? You come over with murder in your eyes and question why I’m here.”
“Well, what do you expect? I was in your bed yesterday morning.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought we agreed … ”
“No, you pushed me aside like a toy you didn’t want to play with anymore.”
A startled look came across his face before regret filled his eyes. “I know that what I said yesterday made me sound like a jerk.”
“Try an ass.”
“Fine. I was an ass. I don’t think you’re a toy that I can just toss to the side. I don’t want you to think that what happened was just my way of getting a thrill. But, Janiyah, we both know that it can’t continue. There are too many complications.”
“Name three.” She held up three fingers.
“We work together.”
She dropped a finger. “We can keep our relationship a secret.”
“We’re incompatible.”
She dropped another finger. “We balance each other out.”
“You’ll move on to another guy after a month.” He held up a hand to stop her from responding. “I’m not playing the part in your show.”
“What part?”
“Random guy filling in as current boyfriend.”
She shook her head and reached for him. “It’s not a show, Freddy.”
He stepped out of reach. “You never had a problem replacing me.”
“And none of them lived up to you. My dating history is just that, history. I want you, Fredrick.” She used his whole name deliberately.
His gazed turned hot. He stepped closer, sending sizzling awareness across her skin. The wonderful smell of his cologne, mixed with the essence that was only Freddy, swirled around her. She trembled. Memories of calling out his name made her swollen and wet.
Just My Type Page 17