by Jordan Marie
“I can tell that you’re real busy,” she laughs. “What do you say, Black Horn?”
“Jesus, Addie.”
She doesn’t respond with words, but she giggles like a school girl. The sound makes me hard and makes me laugh at the same time.
“Explain to me how you can take a name I hate and make it sound sexy?”
“It’s a gift. So, what about it? Are you down for dinner?”
“Down?” I shake my head, but she just rolls her eyes at me.
“I’d like dinner,” I tell her pulling her into my arms. “But, I’d really love dessert.”
“Me too,” she says with a sigh that is full of regret. “I’ve been looking everywhere for a place of my own that I can afford, but that might be a non-issue soon.”
“How so?”
“I aced my second interview! I’ve got a final callback next week. It’s down between me and one other chef. They’re going to have us cook an item off their menu and then choose which they like best in a blind taste test.”
“Is this really how these places do these things? That seems more like a reality TV show to me.”
“When you’re paying what they’re offering with hella’ benefits, you can do anything you want. Especially since these kinds of positions are few and far between,” Addie says, making me grin.
“Hella? You kids with your modern slang.”
“I don’t think that’s modern slang, grandpa. So are you taking me to dinner?”
“Hey Georgia? I’m going to take my two-way with me and beeper. If you need me, I’m going to go out and grab a bite with Addie.”
“Sounds good, Black. Hey Addie!”
“Hey Georgia,” Addie responds with a wave.
I reluctantly let go of her, but still keep hold of her hand and we walk out.
“Where do you want to eat?”
“I was thinking the best place would be the diner. That way you’re close to work if you’re needed. I’m supposed to meet Petal in an hour anyway and it’s close to her shop.”
“Petal? What for?”
“Worried she’s going to spill family secrets?” Addie asks as we cross the road to the diner.
“Let’s just say that she might owe me one.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“She’s still bent out of shape because I picked out a dress for her to wear on a date.”
“You picked out a dress…”
“It was a damn fine dress. Hell, I’d even say that they have Rain because of that dress.”
“Whoa. It really must have been some dress.”
“The kind men pay money to see a woman wear,” I tell her as we walk into the diner. I don’t bother to add that it was a hooker’s dress. I doubt Addie would appreciate that fact.
“Maybe I should take you on my shopping spree.”
“You’re going shopping?”
“I have three outfits, Black. Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed.”
“I haven’t really, every time I see you it’s like seeing you for the first time,” I croon, as I help her into her chair and then sit in the seat across from her.
“Oh that was just too much cheese on an empty stomach,” she says shaking her head.
“Ouch,” I laugh. "How did your apartment looking go today?”
“Not great. I know Dad doesn’t want me to take a place on North—”
“Stop right there. Do you know how many times a day one of us gets called out there? There’s no way you’re living on North Street, Addie. That’s final.”
“Gee, Black, I don’t remember asking for your permission,” she snipes and boy have I pissed her off. I don’t really care. She can get mad or she can get glad. There’s no way she’s going to live on North Street.
“I’m just stating a fact. I won’t let it happen,” I tell her plainly.
“I don’t see how you can stop me.”
“Try me, Princess. You’ll be surprised what I am willing to do when it comes to you.”
“Well, you can’t do anything to me if one of us doesn’t get our own place. I’d rather not make a habit of doing it in a car. That’s not really who I am.”
“You shouldn’t knock it. I bet I could make you like it, Addie.”
“You probably could, but the last thing I need is for my father to catch his little girl naked in the back of a cop car.”
“What if I’m the naked one? You could wear another dress,” I answer with a sly grin.
“Maybe we should change the subject since I need to go to Petal’s soon and all this talk about what you would do to me is only adding to the frustration levels that I already have on high alert.”
“Glad I’m not the only one,” I mumble.
“Then you see the need for an apartment. I should talk to the landlord—”
“Absolutely not,” I growl, putting my foot down.
“What are you two arguing about?” Addie’s father asks coming up behind us. He looks at me skeptically. I see the annoyance in his face. He doesn’t like me putting the moves on his little girl. I can respect that. When Addie and I have a daughter, I’ll probably be the same way….
Holy shit. What did I just… Whoa…. Christ…
“Black was just telling me how he forbids me to get an apartment on North Street.”
“Well look at that. Something Black Horn and I can agree on,” the Mayor answers and I wince.
“Shit. Does everyone know that damn name now?”
Addie looks down at her lap guiltily, while her father laughs loudly, slapping me—a little too hard—on the shoulder.
“My daughter and I don’t have secrets,” he says, helping himself to the empty chair beside me.
“Have a seat,” I grumble, seeing right quick that I’m not about to get a romantic dinner with Addie tonight.
“Nice of you to offer, Long Horn,” the Mayor says flagging down a waitress.
“It’s Black Horn,” I correct him, while Addie is doing her best to not laugh. I look at her, my eyes telegraphing a promise of retribution later. The damn woman has the nerve to pucker her lips and pretend to kiss me.
I need to smack her ass… Damn, do I want to smack her ass…
I close my eyes and try thinking about Linda. That’s the quickest way to make my dick go down and the last thing I need to do is adjust myself when I’m sitting beside Addie’s father. He might try to unman me and I’m kind of partial to my balls—and the rest of me.
It’s going to be a long night.
Chapter Thirty
Addie
“Addie I’ll be back. I just want to run to the little girl’s room and call Luka and make sure the kids haven’t killed him yet,” Petal says.
“Are you sure you’re okay? We can stop—”
“Hush your mouth! I love shopping! I’m so glad you asked me to go with you. Luka helped make those kids, he can survive one evening with them.”
“If you’re sure,” I laugh. I really like Petal. I like all of Black’s family honestly, but Petal and I have hit it off somehow. She’s like that BFF I always wanted in school and never had.
“Positive. When I get back I’m dragging your ass back to the lingerie.”
“Petal—”
“No arguing! We’re going to find something to knock my brother on his ass!”
“We’ll talk about it when you come back,” I tell her, laughing, but nervous too. I watch as she walks away and then I turn to look at the dresses.
Petal’s bound and determined, but I’m nervous. I can’t seem to help it. Every time I go out with Black, I have so much fun. We connect somehow and in a way I’ve never had before. But it’s free and easy, joking, laughter… friendship. Since the fire, we’ve had a few intense moments, that never really panned out and we kiss… we kiss a lot… but it never seems to go past a boob grab. It has me frustrated, but it’s also got me wondering. I mean, I know Black and I don’t have our own places right now, so that is a drawback, but if he truly wanted me wo
uldn’t he have made it happen before now? There’s hotels, there’s blankets under the stars, for Christ’s sake. Instead, he volunteered to take a job that put him working nights.
What kind of man does that if he is interested in a woman?
Maybe I’m pushing myself where I’m not really wanted. Maybe Black only sees me as a friend, a girl to spend time with. The longer it goes the more worries I have.
“Oh that’s a gorgeous dress!”
I look around to see a woman standing beside me. She’s pretty, a little older than me, not by much—she might be Black’s age. She’s got jet black hair that falls into an asymmetrical bob around her face. She’s got almost black eyes and a pale complexion that looks so delicate and girly that I’m jealous. My skin is golden tan and it takes a ton of lotion to even be passably soft. That’s probably something else Black won’t like…
“This?” I ask, finally looking down at the black velvet sheath dress I’m holding.
“I love it! If that’s not made to drive a man insane, I don’t know what is!”
“I guess so,” I say, absently smiling. “It’s velvet though, that makes it kind of thick and it will be hot in this Texas sun.”
“Oh honey! That’s not meant to wear in the sun. That’s meant to wear to a man’s house and tease him until he rips it off of you.”
I wish.
“If only…” I mumble.
“You got man problems?”
“What? Oh… no. I don’t think so. I’m not even sure I have a man,” I laugh, though it’s not a joyful laugh. I’m overrun by worries and I know the real cause. Tonight at dinner with Black he kissed me on the forehead before he left me alone. I mean, I know my dad was there, but if a man wants you surely they would do more than that? That got me thinking about how things have gone since I’ve known Black…
“Girl, if you don’t know then chances are you don’t.”
“Well, I mean we just started dating.”
“Oh that’s different!” she says. “I’m Lynn by the way.
“Hi, I’m Addie.”
“Nice to meet you Addie. Sorry if I’m bothering you. I just moved into the area and I don’t know anyone. I guess all the alone time has me harassing people in the stores,” she laughs.
“I’m always up to meeting new friends. I’m kind of new to the area myself.”
“Well then! It must be fate we met!”
“Must be,” I say with a smile.
“And you already found a man!”
“Yeah, I wasn’t really looking for one…”
“Oh that’s the best kind! I envy you. The beginning of a relationship is the best. It’s all intense and heated. You can’t keep your hands off each other. I miss that…” she says with a sigh.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I’ve been with my man forever. Sometimes we hate each other, but we always find our way back. He’s the reason I moved here. He got a job here and like a crazy woman in love I agreed to follow him.” she laughs.
“Wow. That must be love.”
“It is. “How about you and your new man?”
“I’m not sure… I thought we were good, but now I’m wondering if he’s still attracted to me.” I feel like an idiot telling her that, but it’s weighing heavily on my mind and it just slips out
“Ouch. Well, if you want my advice buy that dress. There’s not a man alive that can see a woman he likes in that dress and not jump on it… if you get what I’m saying.”
“I think I do,” I laugh.
I stare down at the dress, still unsure.
“Addie! Look who I found!”
My head jerks around to see Petal and her sister-in-law CC walking towards me.
“CC! What a great surprise, I thought you said you couldn’t come when I mentioned it the other day!”
“No, if you remember that horn dog of a husband of mine said I couldn’t, because we had the house to ourselves. But, I felt the need for a little girl time.”
“How did you get away?”
"Hey you. I lied and told Gray there was a family emergency.”
“Why didn’t he come with you?”
“I ran to the bathroom and grabbed some tampons. He asked no questions after that,” she says with a wink.
“What are you holding?” Petal asks.
“Oh. My new friend Lynn said it was the kind of dress a man would tear off…”
“Lynn?” her and CC ask in unison.
“Yeah, I—” I turn around but Lynn is gone. “Shoot, she’s gone. I didn’t mean to ignore her…”
“She probably just decided to finish her shopping,” CC replies.
“Probably,” I agree, still hating I forgot she was there for a minute.
“Whatever, that dress is a big fat no,” Petal says yanking it out of my hand.
“What? Why?”
“Black is allergic to velvet,” she says.
“Allergic? Like how?”
“It makes him break out in hives. No joke. His prom date wore a velvet dress once. It was bad.”
“Didn’t end well?” I ask.
“Girl, let’s just say while most men were getting into panties, Black was getting admitted into the hospital.”
“Oh shit.”
“I have pictures, remind me to show you. His eyes swelled shut and they looked like two giant tomatoes on his head.”
“Yikes.”
“Exactly, so no velvet. Now you leave it to me and CC and we’ll find you an outfit to make Black beg for mercy.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible. “Things have kind of cooled down lately,” I tell them and boy is that an understatement.
“Oh, trust me it is,” Petal giggles.
“Maybe not with me,” I mutter.
They both look at me and I blush. I feel the heat rise on my face.
“You mean he’s not been trying to hit it?” CC asks, disbelief clear on her face and I blush even more.
“When we had dinner together tonight… I mean my dad came by, but Black left early and when he did…”
“What?” they ask and I suddenly wish the floor would swallow me up.
“He kissed me on the forehead…”
“Oh snap,” CC says and I know immediately she sees it as a bad sign too.
“Oh you two, just stop! Her dad was there for Christ’s sake. Of course he’s going to be reserved,” Petal defends.
I like that she doesn’t see it as a bad sign, but I find myself wanting her to know more so she can tell me it’s all in my head too.
“He took a night shift job, Petal,” I whisper, the one thing that has me worried the most.
“Honey that’s just work, I mean—”
“He volunteered. He asked for night shift.”
“Shit.”
“Then, I’m right. Black doesn’t want me. He sees me as someone to spend time with… a buddy.”
“Bullshit. I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” CC argues.
“Then why?” I ask.
“Who knows. Men get weird. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s still gun shy from the breakup and fall out with Linda and he’s resisting jumping into a relationship,” Petal says.
“Maybe I should just move on. I don’t want to have my heart broken over a man who is still hung up on his ex.”
“He’s not hung up on her. He hates her. She was toxic.”
“I—”
“She was really toxic, Addie. So bad that she bled over into his work life and cost him a job he loved,” Petal says quietly.
“A job he worked his ass off for,” CC huffs.
“Exactly and if a man tangles with a woman and gets that burned, he has to be gun shy,” Petal adds.
“So, what do I do?” I ask, feeling completely lost.
“You let us take control of your shopping, because we know Black’s weaknesses.”
“And we will use them against him,” CC agrees.
“I don’t know…”
“For his own g
ood, Addie. He’ll thank us for it,” Petal adds, patting my hand. Maybe she’s right, but I don’t want to manipulate, Black.
“Thank us? Hell, he’ll beg Addie for more,” CC says with a wink.
I look at the two women in front of me. I take a deep breath and then I let it out.
“Addie it comes down to one thing,” Petal tells me.
“What’s that?”
“Do you want my brother or not?”
It’s a simple question and one word literally screams inside my head.
“Yes…” I whisper.
“Then, we shop.”
“We shop,” I agree, and Petal and CC grin at me.
I hope I made the right decision.
Chapter Thirty-One
Black
“What do you mean, you rented out the place to someone else?” I growl into the phone. I loved the home close to Faith and Titan’s. It was perfect and the rent was pretty reasonable, though to be honest I need to get out on my own. It’s time I get my life back on track from the hurricane five destruction—also known as Linda.
“Don’t you raise your voice to me, Black Lucas. I mean exactly what I said. I rented the place to a nice older couple who are moving here from Atlanta,” Mrs. Hill announces.
“But why? When we spoke yesterday after the walk through you all but promised me the place,” I ask, upset and frustrated. I was hoping to have a quiet dinner with Addie. We need to talk—and hopefully a lot more than that.
“I said if your references all panned out.”
“What? Are you saying they didn’t?”
“Like you didn’t know,” Mrs. Hill says making a clucking noise with her mouth that annoys me to no end.