Love, Honor & Protect- Addicted to You 1

by Jamilia Fair

  "Jer, I'm so sorry."

  I shake my head, then turn away from Melissa to look at her mother. She had an apologetic look on her face. "Don't be. It's my fucking fault that she hates me now, not yours," I say before looking at my watch. "It was nice seeing you, but I have to get going."

  She nods in understanding. "It was nice seeing you, too. Maybe we can get together sometime and catch up?" she suggests.

  I nod.

  "Sure. Sounds like a promising idea." I then turn around to look at her son. "Jake?" I don't know why, but I feel this strong pull towards him, like I must be near him always.

  He turns around on the stool to look at me. “Yes?”

  "Happy Belated Birthday, and I'll see you around."

  He smiles widely before he starts waving his arms around like crazy. "Bye, Mommy's friend!"

  I then look at Melissa, who is glaring at her phone. "It was nice seeing you, again, Melissa."

  She lifts her right hand and flips me off. "Go to hell," she spits before going back to her phone.

  I sigh before turning around towards Keisha. "It really was nice to see you again."

  She smiles, then nods. "Yes, it really was."

  I smile. "I'll see you around."

  "Yeah, around."

  Past

  TABITHA

  (6)

  After leaving the diner, I called Barbara to let her know I was coming over. Why did I call that girl, the most opinionated woman I've ever met, to tell her I was dropping by? I couldn't say. I already had an idea about what she was going to say once I tell her about Jeremiah, but a part of me still wanted to tell one of my best friends what was going on.

  "What took you so long?" she asks the moment she opens the door. Her hands were on her hips with a mock glare on her face.

  "It's called traffic, Barb." I roll my eyes as I push past her into her apartment.

  "No need to be a smart ass," she spits while closing the door, then turning around to cross the room. “It was only a question."

  "One that sounded very accusing," I say while tugging off my coat. I turn around to meet her gaze and she's smiling at me. "What?"

  "You saw him again, didn't you?"

  "Who?" I ask, though we both know I know who she's talking about.

  "You know exactly who I'm talking about." Her smile grows bigger as she flops down onto the loveseat. "Mr. Jeremiah Keegan."

  A smile tugs at my lips, despite my attempt to keep it down. I don't know why the mention of his name makes me smile, but it does. It also sends a warm shiver down the length of my body, all the way down to my toes.

  "Okay, what's up?" She folds her arms across her chest as I sit down in the space beside her. “I haven't seen you smile like that since the time you met Travis Kelce."

  "Can you really blame me? Travis Kelce is one sexy son of a bi—"

  "Don't try and direct the conversation elsewhere," she scolds me with a glare. "I want to know what's happened that has you smiling from ear to ear like some crazed high school girl."

  "Really?" I stare at her with a raised brow.

  "Tabitha!" she hisses in irritation. "Stop fucking stalling and just tell me already."

  I glare at her. I'm tempted to just keep it to myself just to piss her off further, but a pissed off Barbara was not someone I really want to be bothered with right now. I was in a happy place and I am not about to let her pull me down into a funk.

  "I'm having lunch with him tomorrow," I hiss out my response.

  And just like Barbara, her eyes light up and a smile takes the place of her frown. "What?" she all but screams.

  "It's not a date before you go into a rant about it being just that. It's just lunch."

  "Yeah, a lunch date!"

  I roll my eyes.

  "Not every outing is a date, Barb. It's just that… an outing." This woman is in some serious need of a beginner’s course on what is and is not considered a date.

  "Yeah, whatever you say," she says in a dismissive tone. "What I want to know is, what are you going to wear?"

  I tilt my head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean what am I going to wear?"

  "Are you going to dress up for him or not?" She pushes herself up onto her knees.

  "Why in the hell would I dress up for him, Barbara?"

  "Uh, to impress him. Duh."

  I shake my head and laugh. "Why would I want to impress him?" I stand to my feet and head into the kitchen for a bottle of water. "The man is a complete ass and he's full of himself."

  "And yet you agreed to have lunch with him."

  I turn around to see her leaning against the counter with her arms crossed with a smug look on her face. "I was trying to be nice."

  "No, you agreed because you like him." She pushes off the counter and walks over to the fridge. "And because you secretly like that he's an ass," she says as she grabs a water and turns around to look at me.

  I shake my head and lift myself onto the countertop. "You're delusional."

  She shrugs. "Maybe, but I can tell that a part of you likes him."

  "You're allowed to have your own opinion."

  "Will you stop acting like you aren't excited about tomorrow?" she groans. "You're really starting to piss me off with this passive attitude of yours, so just drop the act."

  I feel the corners of my lips slowly turn up as I look at her from under my lashes. "Do I look like I care about pissing you off?"

  "You're an ass, you know that?"

  I shake my head. "No, actually, I didn't."

  "Well, now you do, smartass."

  "Look, can we please talk about something else?" I ask as I hop off the counter and walk back into the living room.

  "What is there to talk about?" she asks.

  I flop down onto the couch, tucking my feet beneath me. "How about we talk about what's going on with you?" I suggest. "We almost never talk about you and what's going on in your life."

  She shakes her head. "Find something else to talk about," she says as she took the space on the couch next to me. "There is nothing exciting about my life right now."

  "What about Trey?" I ask.

  "What about him?" The look on her face is one of annoyance.

  "Didn't he ask you out a few days ago?"

  "Yeah. So?" she says in such a smartass tone I'm tempted to reach over and slap her.

  "So, did you go?" I snap, glaring at her.

  "Yeah, but it will never happen again," she bit. "Not even if he was the last man on earth."

  "Why not? It couldn't have been that bad," I say.

  "It couldn't have been that bad?" She stares at me with wide, incredulous eyes. "I had to pick up the damn check."

  I stare at her for a good seven seconds before I erupt into a fit of laughter.

  "What the hell is so damn funny?" she snaps.

  I don't answer her because I can't stop laughing. Her facial expression when she said she had to pick up the check was priceless. She looked so offended, like someone had just insulted her mother.

  "That shit is not funny."

  She picks up one of the fluffy pillows and chucks it in my direction. I quickly catch it before hugging it to my chest and burying my face in it to help silence my laughter, but I knew she could still hear me. I don't know how long I was laughing, but by the time I conjured up enough self-control, Barbara was glaring at me. And let me tell you, if looks could kill, I would surely be buried in the center of the earth by now.

  "Are you done?" she snaps.

  "I haven't laughed that hard in a long time," I say while clutching my stomach.

  "I'm so happy I could amuse you," she says before picking up the remote control next to me and flipping on the TV.

  I smile at her. "Come on, Barb."

  She ignores me and continues flipping through the channels.

  "Look, I'm sorry for laughing at you, but you should have seen your face," I chuckle softly. "Not even you would have denied yourself that laugh."

  I watch her glan
ce my way from out of the corner her eye. Her expression is stony for a moment longer before a full smile tugs at the corners of her lips. "I really don't like you sometimes," she laughs.

  I shrug. "The feeling's mutual."

  "Look, did you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"

  I roll my eyes and nod. "Duh."

  She went to speak, but the sound of my phone going off interrupts her. "Oh, come on!" She threw her arms into the air dramatically before pulling a pillow into her lap and folding her arms on top of it, groaning in irritation.

  I pick up my phone to see that it's an unknown number. I look over at her and smile sheepishly. "Just give me a moment," I say before tapping the green phone symbol on my phone. "Hello?"

  "Tabitha?" The voice sounds familiar.

  "Yes, who is this?"

  "It's Jeremiah Keegan," he says.

  I almost drop my phone at the mention of his name. I instantly turn to look at Barbara. "Jeremiah, wha… how did you get my number?"

  "I know some people," was all he said.

  Barbara turns her head to look at me and she tilts her head to the side, her brows raised as she mouths, Jeremiah Keegan, Jeremiah?

  I nod.

  "You don't think that was a bit creepy of you to do?" I ask as Barbara literally presses her ear to the other side of the phone so that she, too, can hear what he says.

  The other end is silent for a moment or two before he decides to speak again. "I haven't scared you away already, have I?"

  I look at Barbara and she is shaking her head no. "You better not tell that man yes," she hisses.

  I roll my eyes at her. "Shut up."

  "Excuse me?" Jeremiah responds on the other end.

  "Not you, Jeremiah. I was talking to my nosey friend."

  "Oh. Can she hear me?" he questions.

  "Only if she presses her ear to the back of the phone, again." I turn to Barbara and stick my tongue out at her.

  "Real mature, Tabitha," she spits.

  I shrug.

  "Are you going to answer my question?" Jeremiah questions.

  I let out the longest sigh before finally answering. "No, Jeremiah. You have not scared me away and I don't believe you can."

  "Oh, so does this mean you're going to be in my near future?" His voice sounds hopeful.

  I can't help but laugh. "Woah, slow down there, Jer." I quickly get to my feet to get away from a prying Barbara, who won't stop pressing up against me and the phone. "Don't go getting your cock stiff about something that may or may not happen."

  I hear him sigh on the other end. "Are you always like this?"

  "Am I always like what? Abrasive? Bitchy? Rude?" I ask with a smirk. "I've heard it all before. So, whatever you have to say won't offend me in any way."

  "I was going to say forthright or ingenuous," he states.

  "Why? Do you not like my candid attitude, Mr. Keegan?"

  "I find it sexy," he says.

  A smile spreads across my lips. “Sexy? Really?"

  "What? I find honest, blunt, women to be very attractive," he says. "I like a woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind."

  "Is there anything about women you don't like?"

  He chuckles. "No, not really."

  I roll my eyes. "Jeremiah?"

  "Yes?"

  "Why did you call me?"

  He doesn't say anything for a moment, and I think he's hung up, but then I hear shuffling on the other end. "I wanted to make sure we're still on for lunch, at one, tomorrow."

  "So, you mean to tell me, you had your people look me up, find my number and give it to you just so you can call me to make sure we're still on for lunch tomorrow?" I ask, stunned that he would go through all that trouble just to confirm our lunch gathering.

  "Yes. Why? Is that really hard to believe?"

  I nod. "Yes, it is."

  "Why?"

  "Well, for starters, you don't know me. And yet here you are, going through a lot of trouble just to track my number down." With a wave of my arms, I thrust them into the air dramatically as if he could see me.

  "It was no trouble, Tabitha. I needed to find you and I did."

  I rake my fingers through my hair. "Okay, you really are beginning to sound more and more like a stalker, Jeremiah."

  "It is not my intention to scare you or cause you any discomfort, Tabitha."

  I take a deep breath and sigh. "I'm not scared, Jeremiah, just caught off guard. I'm just not understanding why you're going through all this trouble just to see me again." I'm shaking my head and pacing the dining room floor.

  "I want you, Tabitha. Trouble or not, I can't stop."

  My breath is caught in my throat at the intensity in his voice. I don't think I've ever heard someone sound so serious or sexy before. It turned me on. It didn't take much to get me going, but the images in my mind of being under him while he ravaged my body… Oh yeah. Jeremiah Keegan is going to be a part of my dreams; that face I'd see when I closed my eyes for bed.

  "Tabitha? You still there?"

  Clearing my throat nervously, I take a seat in one of the chairs at the dining table. "Yeah. Still here."

  "What happened? I lost you there for a moment."

  I shake my head. "Nothing. You, um, you caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting that."

  "Have I crossed the line?" he asks.

  I chuckle.

  "That line was crossed, Jeremiah, when you kissed me without my permission."

  I hear him catch his breath. "I still think about it. Every day since it happened, I think about your lips on mine." His low and sexy voice makes my stomach tighten. "I think about how they felt against mine, how they tasted in my mouth, how—"

  "Okay, stop." I jump up out of my chair, startling Barbara, who'd settled for watching some reality TV show instead of watching me. "There is no need to describe the kiss. I was there, remember?"

  "How could I forget?" His voice is full of amusement.

  "Look, I have to go. I will see you at one tomorrow."

  "All right. Goodnight, Tabitha."

  "Goodnight, Jeremiah."

  I quickly end the call and take a deep breath. My mind went blank for a moment. Oh God, that voice was pure sex. His voice was low and had a hilt, and my chest had tightened with need. A need to be touched in places that hadn't been touched in quite a while.

  "You kissed him?"

  I turn around to find Barbara, with her arms crossed, glaring at me. "No. He kissed me."

  "When?" She turns her body to face me as I cross the room to the couch.

  I pull a pillow into my lap, burying my feet beneath me. "A few days ago."

  "What's a few days ago?" she spits, clearly annoyed.

  "Four."

  Her eyes widen in disbelief. "Four days? Four fucking days ago? Are you fucking kidding me, Tabitha?" she snaps. "Why didn't you tell me? Why am I just now hearing about it?"

  I shrug. "I didn't think it was all that important."

  Barbara's eyes widen. "Not all that important? Really?"

  "Yes, really. I didn't think—"

  "You're right, you didn't think. I thought we were friends… best friends. We tell each other everything."

  I sigh. "We are best friends and we do tell each other everything."

  "Then why didn't you tell me about the kiss?"

  "I didn't tell you about the kiss because I already knew what you were going to say." I clutch the pillow tighter against my chest.

  A doubtful look spreads across her face. "Oh, really? And what would that be?"

  "You would have told me to live a little, to explore my wild side and give into temptation for once," I say with a smirk.

  An annoyed expression takes over her face. "Yeah, well, you still should have told me."

  I laugh and shake my head. "Okay, it won't happen again."

  "The kiss, or you not telling me?"

  I shouldn’t have hesitated to answer her, but I did. I should have said the kiss flat out, but I couldn't. As much as t
hat pompous ass irked my nerves, I liked kissing him. I liked having his body pressed into mine. And I liked having his hands grabbing my ass.

  "Both."

  Tabitha

  Past

  (7)

  "So, you are waiting for Mr. Keegan?" I look up from my phone to see Momma sliding into the booth across from me.

  I smile and set my phone down on the table. "I'm not even going to ask how you acquired that bit of information," I say, shaking my head.

  "Oh, honey. I have my ways." My mother had a voice that was both girlish and soothing like Tamera Mowry crossed with Maya Angelou. "You should know that by now."

  "What does Dad say about your snooping skills?"

  She shrugs. "Your father lets me do as I please." Her smile falls and is replaced with a small frown. "He knows how much I worry about you."

  I look away because I don't want to talk or think about what I'd been through in my past. "Mom, you have to let it go. I've let it go."

  "Let it go? How can I let it go after we trusted that son of a—”

  "Mom, please." She had a fire in her eyes I haven't seen since I was seven and it brought back memories I haven't thought about in a while.

  She pauses and looks at me, her eyes softening with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, baby girl. I sometimes forget how strong you really are." She reaches across the table and takes my hand. "I forget you're no longer my little muffin."

  That made me smile. My mother could always make me smile. "I will always be your little muffin, mom, but I'm a grown woman who also needs her space and privacy."

  She gently squeezes my hand. "I promise to try and remember that."

  I knew that was all I would get out of her, so I shook my head and squeezed her hand. "Thanks, mom."

  "Hello, ladies." The smile on my face froze at the sight of Jeremiah hovering above us. “Janice, it's always a pleasure seeing you."

  My mother returns his smile, then slides out from behind the table, pushing to her feet. "Likewise, young man." She turns to me. "Don't forget to say goodbye before you leave."