“I wish, but I really should go.” She stepped quickly out of his embrace, instantly missing his body. She faced him as he stood gloriously naked and amazingly tempting. So not helping her determination.
Eyes on face. Must keep eyes on his face.
He placed his hands on his lean hips, not bothering to hide his nakedness or his long, hard cock. God, this man would look awesome on an erotic postcard.
“Give me your number,” he said. “Maybe we can hook up later?”
Kacey snorted and smirked. His lame attempt quickly distracted her from his naked body. Almost.
He crossed his arms, the lean muscles in his arms flexing with the movement. “What was that for?”
“Nothing,” she said, grabbing her shirt off the floor. “It’s just, you know, you don’t have to pretend as if you’re going to call.”
“Pretend?”
“Yeah. I know what last night was. And really, I appreciate the attempt to make it seem like you want me to hang around, but let’s just admit that things were fun and move on like the adults that we are.”
She slipped on the tank top and pulled her hair out from the back of the shirt. She had no clue where the band that held her ponytail was and she wouldn’t waste her time trying to find it before leaving.
He took a step forward. “Well, if we’re going to be adults about this, how about you admit that you enjoyed last night as much as I did, and that you would love to give me your number so we can do this again sometime.”
His cockiness made her laugh. “Sometime, like when? The next time you breeze through Resilient? Six months from now, I’ll get a call from you and we’ll hook up again in this hotel?”
“I was thinking more like tonight we hook up again in this hotel, but I’m good with adding six months from now, as well.” His lips rose into a sexy, confident smile.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I know how you truckers are.”
He frowned. “‘You truckers’?”
“Yeah, you breeze into town, grab a bite to eat and a willing female to screw. I agreed to be that willing female last night, but I’m not signing on to be your regular hookup in the town of Resilient.”
He took another step forward and took her hand, slipping his fingers through hers. His eyes stared into hers, looking both innocent and tempting. “Maybe I really like you and want to spend more time with you. Come on, last night was great. There’s no reason we can’t enjoy each other.”
This guy was good. And obviously used to getting what he wanted from women. She noticed he didn’t deny her assumptions. And he’d said, “Enjoy each other.” Translation: “Have a bunch of sex until I hit the road.” They’d hook up one more night and then he would call her six months to a year from now when he was in the area and needed an easy lay. Not today. She’d gotten what she wanted and she refused to be his easy plaything.
Kacey took a step back, slipping her hand out of his. “I can think of a few reasons why we can’t.” She lifted a shoulder. “Thanks for the orgasms.”
His brows rose. She tried to walk around him, but he took her hand. “Give me your number.”
Kacey sighed. “Why?”
“Because I want it?”
“You don’t need it.”
He let go of her arm. “Yes, I do. I want to call you, even if it doesn’t include outstanding orgasms.”
“Oh, really? Why?”
He scratched his stomach, right below his belly button, drawing her eyes down, and once again reminding Kacey he was gloriously naked. And hard.
“Because I like you,” he said.
Her eyes flew up. Distracted from his nakedness, kinda sorta, once again. Casanova’s brows lowered, and confusion lined his sexy eyes. She’d bet the restaurant he hadn’t meant to say he liked her.
The damn problem was that she liked him too. Or at least the version of him she’d spent the night with. The real him couldn’t possibly be that great.
Her heart fluttered, the excited, happy fluttering she usually got before singing on the stage at her momma’s restaurant. The one she used to get back when she thought meeting a guy and falling in love was the best thing that could happen in her life. The older, wiser Kacey wanted to believe he was just delivering a line. The younger, innocent Kacey sighed all happy-like. Thankfully she knew how to shut the younger Kacey up. She’d had to after her “relationship” with Dewayne had blown up in her face. He’d chuckled when she said she loved him, and said she was just in love with the sex. Then he’d told her about his wife and kids. Kids who were around her age. Even after that revelation, she’d still thought she could make him love her. Make him leave his family and marry her, only to have her heart broken later when he’d unloaded her as casually as one of his trucking hauls.
Don’t be a fool again, Kacey. She stepped around him again and looked for her purse. “Yeah…I’m gonna go.”
“You’re really not going to give me your number?”
She found her small beige bag and slid the long strap crossways over her body. Instead of confusion, he wore the look of sexy amusement that had hovered around him the night before.
“Nope, I’m really not.”
He opened his mouth but then his cell phone rang, cutting off whatever he was about to say. “Wait just a moment.”
He backed up toward the bed, eyes trained on her as if she’d disappear if he turned his back. She forced her gaze to remain on his face. Not his gloriously naked body. He picked up the phone, and after a quick glance, his brows rose. He pressed the screen and brought the phone to his face but met Kacey’s gaze.
“Janiyah, what’s up?”
The sound of a frantic female voice filtered across the room, and his brows drew together. His gaze dropped to the floor. “Pregnant! You’re pregnant? Seriously?”
He spun away from Kacey. And just like that, reality hit. The surprise and disbelief in his voice told her all she needed to know. He’d gotten someone pregnant. Pain from her own past mistakes landed heavily in her womb. Her mind flashed back to making a similar call, hearing the same surprise…disbelief…anger. Finally Dewayne’s cold words. Prove it’s mine. You’ve probably slept with half the guys who come into that restaurant. Kacey’s throat closed up, and the pain she’d long ago come to terms with tried to rise.
After Sabrina had found out about Kacey being in love with a thirty-six-year-old man, her advice was, “Tell him you’re pregnant. Nothing shows how much a man doesn’t love you faster than blurting out that you’re pregnant.” Her momma would know that.
Sabrina hadn’t known that Kacey had actually thought she was pregnant. Had hoped for it, the final thing that would force Dewayne to be with her. Instead he’d brushed her off. Kacey had cried all night. Her period came the next morning.
Unwilling to hear another woman get the same cold treatment she’d gotten, Kacey spun on her heels and hurried out the door.
• • •
Aaron pulled Bertha into the truck parking area of Reggie’s business, R.H. Transportation. He parked at the end of a line of blue and white trucks parked before a loading dock next to the brick warehouse. He hopped out and looked around the well-organized yard. Bertha’s bright yellow and black paint was like the exclamation point at the end of the line of vehicles. He made his way to the entrance. The same blue and white theme on the trucks adorned the interior of the polished reception area. Aaron was impressed. Reggie’s place was nice. He grinned at the lady behind the receptionist desk.
“Good morning, I’m here to see Reggie Holmes,” he said.
“You must be Mr. Henderson.” She made a few clicks on her computer keyboard, a calendar displayed on her screen.
“That would be me.”
“Mr. Holmes is expecting you.” She stood and batted her long lashes. “Right this way.”
Aaron followed her down the hall to an office. She peeked at him over her shoulder, and her hips swayed a little more after he smiled. He would have followed up on her invitation to
flirt if his brain wasn’t still trying to recover from the simultaneous shock of learning his baby sister was pregnant and that the woman who’d entranced him the night before had slipped out without giving him her phone number. He was happy for his sister. And forcing himself to be happy with the situation with Kacey. She reminded him too much of his ex. Specifically the thoughts she’d stirred up in him. The thoughts that said this woman could be the woman. Not good for him.
Aaron believed in love. His own family was proof the emotion existed. What he didn’t believe in was his ability to settle down with one woman. Forever. No other women. Forever. That might work for millions of others, but he wasn’t quite sure it would work for him. He was selfish, and he liked his life the way it was. Better for her to recognize that and walk out first than have him get commitment cold feet and hurt her later. Yep, this was all for the best.
Maybe I’ll stop by Momma’s Kitchen for dinner and try to see her again.
The receptionist stopped at a door. She knocked before opening it and announced Aaron. She stepped back and motioned for Aaron to enter the office. One glance at his old friend and Aaron grinned.
Reggie hadn’t changed much. Tall, dark, and big. The three words to best describe his friend. But beneath all the brawn Reggie was just a puppy. The combination drew in the ladies.
“Yo, Aaron, I’m glad you made it,” Reggie said. His long legs got him across the office in only a few strides, where he took Aaron’s hands in one of his large ones and pulled him in for a one-armed hug. “How’s it going, boy?”
Aaron would’ve chuckled, but Reggie’s half hug nearly knocked the wind out of him.
“Damn, Reggie, I see you’re still eating bricks for breakfast,” Aaron said.
Reggie stepped back and gave Aaron a firm pat on the shoulder that made Aaron tilt to the side. “And you’re still as scrawny as ever.”
Aaron chuckled. “Hey, I’m sleek and slender.”
“Sleek and slender, huh? I never did understand why women fall over themselves to be with you.”
“And I couldn’t understand why they’d go for you. I’d think having sex with a grizzly bear would be easier.”
Reggie laughed and walked back over to his desk. “I do miss you and your smart mouth. We had some good times for the second we were in college.”
“Good times is an understatement.” Reggie sat behind his desk and Aaron slid into the chair across from it. “Remember spring break?”
Reggie’s thick brows went up. “Remember it? You know I remember it. Bahamas, the booze cruise, those twins from Texas.”
Aaron ran a hand over his chin and grinned. “You’re never going to let me live that down.”
“Hell, no. It was the one time I stole a woman from right under your nose.”
Aaron laughed at the memory. Aaron had worked every last one of his seduction and charm skills to convince the twins to spend the night with him. Only to have Reggie snag one away before the end of the night. Though Aaron had had a great night with one sister, he’d given Reggie hell for thwarting his attempt to have his first threesome.
He and Reggie had both loved the ladies, and their pursuits had earned them a reputation envied by other guys during their short stint in college. After one year, Aaron purchased his first big rig and hit the road. Traveling across the United States to places not always on a tourist map seemed infinitely more appealing than sitting in lecture halls for the next three years. Soon after, Reggie did the same. Though they hadn’t seen each other in two years, they kept up with each other via social media and occasional phone calls.
“The one and only time, let’s not forget that,” Aaron said.
“Hey, I’ll talk about that for the rest of our lives. You were the man, and I rarely bested you. Baseball hero and ladies’ man extraordinaire.” Reggie chuckled and shook his head. “I can only imagine the number of women you would’ve bagged if you’d signed that baseball contract.”
Back in college a minor league team had approached Aaron and offered him a contract to play. Aaron liked playing baseball, even competitively, but he hadn’t wanted to make baseball his career. He liked his freedom. A contract felt like signing his life over to the league. No money was worth that. When he’d turned down the offer, his brother David had said he was crazy.
Maybe he had been, but not playing baseball wasn’t on his list of regrets. “I didn’t need a contract to pull in the ladies. Still don’t,” Aaron said with a grin. He glanced around. “You’ve got a nice office, and I like the layout of your place. Hard to believe you only got this place a year ago.”
Reggie nodded. “Yes, sir, it is hard to believe. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to think my following you on a whim led to all this.” Reggie encompassed the room with a broad sweep of his large hand. “I hate to admit it, but seeing your setup was what convinced me to make my trucking business more official. Not just randomly hiring extra guys to haul for me.”
Aaron popped up from the seat and separated a section of blinds on the window to look out over the spacious loading bay. “But you’ve got more room to grow. My space in Columbia is limited. Honestly, if you hadn’t mentioned a merger, I wouldn’t have even considered going larger than I am now.”
“Maybe not right off hand, but eventually. You always had big ideas, they just come spur of the moment and then you dive in. I have to plan things out.”
“You’re right about that.” Aaron turned back to Reggie. “Before we get down into details, why don’t you show me around the place?”
“Not much else to see, but come on.”
Reggie’s “not much else” was an understatement. Not only did the warehouse have room to expand for loading and unloading, but there was also a decent amount of storage space that would allow Reggie to provide temporary storage between hauls. The drivers who came in and out wore blue golf shirts with R.H. Transportation on the right breast pocket and khaki shorts or pants—the same outfit Reggie wore. Aaron felt underdressed in his jeans and casual blue button-up shirt. Even the company logo and mission statement were emblazoned in the unloading bay.
The attention to detail and coordination impressed Aaron. He would be the first to admit that he wasn’t the guy to come to with long-range, big-picture ideas. He lived in the moment and went with his gut instincts. Buying his first truck, and later hiring drivers to handle hauls for him, were all spur-of-the-moment ideas that came with necessity, not from an overall master plan to grow his business. But now he was thirty, and the time for spur-of-the-moment decisions was over. Hell, his brothers were all settled down, and even his baby sister had turned her part-time job into a thriving business. It was time for Aaron to make some type of long-term plans.
“This is nice, Reggie,” Aaron said as they made their way back into Reggie’s office. “You’ve gotten things laid out perfectly.”
“Maybe too perfectly. You know me, I spend so much time planning it makes me hesitant to take a step. I need a guy like you to push me when I’m toeing the line too much.”
“You need me to be your wingman.”
“More or less. I can plan it out, but you’re the action guy. That’s the way things always worked with us. If I put the plan in place, I know you’ll make it happen. If we merge our companies together, we’ll go far.”
“I can’t argue with you on that, but I haven’t changed much. I’m still not the guy who sits around waiting for things to happen. I’ll drag you along kicking and screaming. Are you sure you’re ready for me to be your partner?”
Reggie laughed, but some of the old concern he’d once shown whenever Aaron dragged him into things in college shadowed the sound. “I’m not saying I’m going into this partnership lightly either. I’d like for us to work together for a few weeks. See if we can do it without killing each other. Running a business is a lot different than partying and sharing classwork.”
Aaron nodded. “A hell of a lot different.”
“How long can you stay in town?” Reggie asked.
“I let the drivers know I wouldn’t be in Columbia for at least two weeks. I can handle arranging things from here. Go home and check in, then come back while we work things out. So if you need me to stay longer, I can.”
Reggie’s broad grin returned. “Good deal. Hey, where are you staying?”
“At the Hampton Inn.”
Reggie shook his head. “No way am I going to let you stay at a hotel. I’ve got a rental house. My sister’s living there, but the apartment over the garage is empty. You can stay there.”
Aaron raised a brow. “A rental house?”
“Yeah, man, got it right after I started the business when it came up for sale in the neighborhood. Camila pretty much manages that, which is easy since my sister’s in the main house.”
“How is Camila?” Aaron had never met Reggie’s wife, only heard about her through his conversations with Reggie and seen a few pictures on social media when Camila tagged Reggie, who rarely posted anything. From the pictures, he’d discovered his friend’s wife was a knockout.
“Man, she’s great. Pregnant, seven months.”
“Wow, pregnant. That’s great.” The third person he knew who was thrilled to be having kids. First his older brother David, then his baby sister, and now Reggie. Aaron shuddered at the thought. Wife, kids, houses, all things that would tie him down to one place and turn his spur-of-the-moment lifestyle into a daily monotonous grind.
“She’s hoping for a girl, I’m praying for a boy. We’re trying to wait it out, but I don’t know if I’ll make it till her due date.”
Aaron leaned back on the small round conference table in the office and crossed his arms. He studied his friend, the one women always called sweet but who was just as much of a commitment-phobe as Aaron was. “I don’t get it, Reggie. You were quiet about it, but you had a woman in every town. Now you’re married. Not one but two houses. What changed?”
Reggie shrugged. “Nothing. I still love the ladies; just now I have to look without touching.”
“But what made you settle down with just one?”
From One Night to Forever Page 5