A Touch of Love

by Sheryl Lister

  “Since you’re dating Lexia, won’t it be a little tricky for you to escort that model to the fund-raiser. When is it again?”

  “We’re not dating. It’s in three weeks and I won’t be escorting Rosalyn. Apparently, my being deaf excludes me as a candidate,” he said sarcastically.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very.”

  “I thought you were one of the people who started the thing in the first place. Are you still going?”

  “I don’t know.” What if a lot more people felt the same way? The isolation he’d experienced at dinner with his family would be magnified a hundredfold. Khalil wasn’t sure he wanted to spend money flying across the country just to be an outcast. He could think of other ways to spend his time. “But I promised the kids I’d be there.” He mentored a group of four teens, made sure they kept up with their studies and made sure they didn’t fall into some of the pitfalls, like drugs, sex and hanging with the wrong crowds, that could ruin their lives. Khalil had been fortunate that his parents, Siobhan and Brandon kept his feet solidly on the ground.

  “I don’t think Faith and I have anything planned for that weekend. If you want us to go with you, let me know.”

  “Thanks.” Though they sometimes didn’t see eye to eye, Khalil appreciated his older brother. He chuckled inwardly. Brandon took being the older brother to the nth degree sometimes and Khalil knew Brandon would punch out the first person who said something disrespectful.

  “Then again, you could always take Lexia.”

  “Didn’t we just have this conversation? It’s not that kind of relationship.” It wasn’t a relationship at all. He had no intentions of telling Brandon that Lexia had given him the boot. Khalil would never live it down, considering it had never happened before.

  “Yeah, we had it, but I’ve been where you are. I said the same thing. Remember? And, as I recall, you weren’t very sympathetic.” He pushed to his feet. “And I like Lexia.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe the way she walked into that hospital room and checked your hand and mouth, then told you to eat.”

  Neither could Khalil. Then again, she didn’t have any problems holding her own with him. The only time she’d seemed vulnerable was when he’d blown up at her. Uneasiness settled in his chest with the thought. He never wanted to see tears in her eyes again, especially ones he had put there. He sighed inwardly. None of this mattered anymore. He needed to stop thinking about her and move on.

  “That was pure comedy.” Brandon chuckled. “So much for there not being a woman alive who can make you give up your single status. My money is on Lexia.”

  He leveled Brandon with a lethal glare. “Don’t you have a company to run? I thought you were leaving.”

  Brandon smiled and held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’ll let you off the hook for the time being, but I remember how you did me. And you know what they say about payback. Don’t forget to let me know about the fund-raiser. I can make it a date weekend with my wife.”

  “I can’t believe you’re standing here talking about your wife. What happened to that bachelor-for-life stance?”

  “Love happened.” He pivoted on his heel and walked out.

  Love? Khalil didn’t see himself making the same mistake twice. He’d never told anyone in his family about the woman he’d come close to marrying. The woman who had cost him the worst thirty-six hours of his life, hours he would never get back. Images of the cold, damp space, along with the never forgotten stench filled his mind. He bowed his head and willed the sensations to leave him. Now there was Lexia. But for him, there was no such thing as love.

  Chapter 12

  Lexia hadn’t talked to Khalil since their conversation a week ago. She figured if she created some distance between them, she wouldn’t want him so much, but she still couldn’t get him off her mind. He hadn’t reached out to her, either. But why would he when she had all but told him she wasn’t interested anymore? Was he still practicing sign language or had he gone back to the frustrated man who shut everyone out?

  “Stop thinking about him,” she muttered. She had a ton of things to do to get ready for her cooking demonstration on Saturday and only two days to manage it all. The whistling of the tea kettle drew her out of her thoughts. She poured water over the bag and let it steep before adding a little sugar.

  Lexia took her cup and went to sit on her three-by-five-foot balcony, which in no way compared to either of the large areas at Khalil’s place. She had room for a chair and small table, and not much else. And, unlike the stunning views of the sky and water, all she could see from her second-floor unit was a tree and more condos. Instantly, her mind conjured up images of Khalil holding her as they watched the sunset. The peace and contentment she had experienced in his arms gave her pause and was one more reason she had to stay away from him. He made her long for the closeness in an intimate relationship again. Lexia groaned.

  She set the cup aside and picked up the notepad she had left on the table earlier with the list of items she needed to shop for later to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Tomorrow she planned to leave work early so she would have plenty of time to prep her meal. This was the second year in a row Lexia had participated in the cooking festival held at one of the area’s parks that benefited a local homeless shelter. During the two-day weekend affair, consumers would have the opportunity to sample a variety of foods prepared by the contributing chefs. The lesser, unknown chefs, like Lexia, occupied the earlier times. Big-name chefs, who prepared a full three-course meal while patrons sat at tables positioned around the makeshift kitchens, filled the evening slots. She had been fortunate enough to secure a Saturday noon slot, perfect for the lunch crowd and which left her time to recuperate before having to go back to work on Monday.

  After double-checking her list, Lexia finished her tea and left to shop. She spent the remainder of the evening doing as much preparation as she could and labeling her containers.

  The next morning Lexia could barely keep her eyes open. She had gone to bed after midnight and was up and at the café by five.

  “You keep nodding off like that, you’re liable to miss an ingredient in that recipe.”

  Stifling a yawn, she glanced over at Mr. Willis. “I’m not nodding off.”

  Mr. Willis let out a short bark of laughter. “No? So what is it that they’re calling it these days when your eyes drift closed and your head falls forward?”

  A smile peeped out. “All right, fine. I’m nodding off. I only got about four hours of sleep last night.”

  He shook his head and wagged a finger her way. “I told you to take off the whole day. Folks would be okay if they didn’t get that coffee cake for one day. Just hardheaded. Don’t come looking for me when you bang your head against the counter because you fell asleep,” he fussed.

  Lexia laughed. “I’ll be fine. I plan to take a nap as soon as I get home before I get started. Are you coming tomorrow?”

  “Of course. You know I have to support my girl. This is a good cause...and the food ain’t bad, either.”

  She agreed. Seeing what Cameron went through and the increasing number of homeless and hopeless people inspired her to do more than just contribute a few dollars here and there. She wanted to do something to impact their lives. She had some other ideas, but no money to get it done. So for now, they continued to be just dreams.

  Lexia managed to get the coffee cakes into the oven without mishap and made herself a cup of English breakfast tea. Today she needed the caffeine.

  Sam arrived half an hour later. “Morning, Lexi.”

  “Morning.”

  “You look exhausted. Long night?”

  “Yep. Started prepping for tomorrow. I already got an earful from Mr. Willis about why I should have taken off the day and how hardheaded I am, so you can save your fussing. And I will be taking a
nap after I leave.”

  Sam smiled and busied herself with starting the coffee and making sure the hot water container was filled. “How’s Khalil doing?”

  “I have no idea.”

  She spun around. “You did it, didn’t you?”

  “If you mean telling him we need to slow things down, yes. He obviously thought the same thing because he agreed and said he had a lot going on, so...”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “Of course he’d say that. He probably doesn’t want to be hurt, either. He hasn’t even been in for his favorite snack and I saw him twice in the past week. I knew you sent that text. So you aren’t going to check up on him to see how he’s doing? Or find out whether his hearing has returned?”

  Lexia had been tempted all week to send him a text to find out, but so far hadn’t given in to the urge. “I’m sure I can find out from Brandon or Siobhan when they stop in for lunch.”

  Sam shook her head disapprovingly. “I don’t know about you, girlfriend. I think he’s a great guy.”

  So did she, and that was the bulk of her problem. In the short time she had known Khalil, she’d seen many facets of the man—charming, vulnerable, respectful, sensual, caring. It would be too easy for her to lose her heart to him. Hell, she was halfway there already, especially after seeing him interact with Anthony. He would have had to reveal his own hurts in order to reach the young man and Khalil hadn’t hesitated. Elyse had told Lexia that Anthony was now actually participating in class.

  “What are you going to do about the feelings you have for him?”

  “I don’t have feelings for him anymore. It was nothing more than a little lust.”

  “You are such a liar,” Sam said, and pinned Lexia with a look, waiting.

  “Fine, I don’t know what to do. I thought by not seeing or talking to him, they would go away.”

  “But they’re not.”

  “No.” She sighed deeply. “I don’t understand why. I’ve never had this problem before.”

  “That’s because you never met anyone like Khalil.”

  No, she hadn’t. How could she not fall for a guy who revealed his weaknesses to her without shame and who kissed her like he had perfected the art just to please her?

  * * *

  By Friday of the following week, Khalil couldn’t take it any longer. He thought he could dismiss Lexia as easily as he’d done previous women, but nothing worked. Over the past ten days, he found himself thinking about her no matter the time of day. And at night, he’d had dreams so vivid and real he could feel the heat of her body against his and smell the soft citrusy fragrance she wore. He had awakened the last two mornings and reached for her, only to find an empty space. He knew she felt the same attraction he did. Her eyes and kiss told him. Something else had to be going on with her. And as soon as he finished his meeting with the construction supervisor at his new building, he was going over to the café to try to convince her to reconsider.

  He refocused his attention on the blueprints laid out in front of him. The opening was still on schedule to open early June and the contractors were now working on the interior. Khalil walked around the spacious area, pleased with the progress. “It looks good, Dan.”

  “Thanks. I’ll email you the specs with the changes you asked for by Monday.”

  “Appreciate it.” They shook hands and Khalil headed out to his car. He settled behind the wheel and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His mother.

  Hey, baby. Just wanted to check on you and make sure you’re not overdoing it at work. And I KNOW you aren’t in that gym lifting weights or doing any kind of workout.

  Khalil had to laugh. His mother knew him well. He hadn’t gone more than a few days without some kind of exercise since he hit sixteen and not working out was killing him. He thought about just doing a set or two of push-ups, but his wrist still couldn’t hold him comfortably. And his one attempt at doing crunches two days ago had caused him so much pain he seriously wondered if he’d ever be able to work out again. Even planking for more than a few seconds was out of the question. He sent her a message back telling her he was fine and that he was only going to the gym to work, nothing more. Before he could pocket it, it buzzed again.

  Alonzo: You might want to get over to the gym. Your boy has made a move.

  Khalil: What do you mean? You caught him in the system?

  Alonzo: That and more. I’ll meet you there in 15 min.

  Khalil’s heart started pounding. More? What else was Logan doing? He started the car, threw the gear into first and sped out of the lot. He was so preoccupied with trying to figure out what Alonzo’s cryptic message meant that he forgot about his driving apprehension.

  He pulled into his spot twenty minutes later, hopped out of the car and froze with a shock of pain from the sudden movement. He groaned and slowed his pace.

  Khalil snatched the door open, nodded to the staff and went directly to his office. He found Alonzo talking with Felicia in the hallway outside of Khalil’s office. “Hey, Felicia. Alonzo.”

  She waved and ducked into her office.

  He unlocked the door, gestured Alonzo in and closed the door. “What the hell is going on?”

  Alonzo handed Khalil the iPad with video footage. “See for yourself.”

  Khalil’s heart nearly stopped. Logan was jimmying the lock on Khalil’s office, logging on to the computer and accessing at least ten members’ profiles and debiting their accounts. Alonzo opened another file. Khalil stared grimly as he watched Logan remove some of the gym equipment and load it into his truck with the help of another man. “When was this?”

  “Last night after closing.”

  “Call 911. Tell them they need to send the police and an ambulance because I’m about to kick Logan’s ass.” He opened the door with such force it hit the wall. He strode out of the office toward the elevator.

  Felicia took one look at his face and jumped out of the way.

  Alonzo caught up with Khalil at the elevator and the two men rode to the first floor.

  When they exited, Alonzo placed a staying hand on Khalil’s arm. “Man—”

  He turned a blazing look on Alonzo that made the man remove his hand and take a step back. Khalil burst into Logan’s office with Alonzo on his heels.

  Logan jumped to his feet and divided a wary glance between the two men. “What’s going on?”

  He charged around the desk and, without a word, threw a solid left punch across Logan’s jaw that knocked him out cold. A string of expletives erupted from Khalil’s mouth as pain shot through his midsection. He took several shallow breaths, wrapped his right hand around his middle and braced his left hand on the desk, waiting for the pain to subside.

  Alonzo, with a smile on his face, gestured to a chair.

  Khalil lowered himself to the seat and leaned his head back. He would probably pay for that hit later, but the man deserved it.

  Alonzo hauled Logan to his feet, tossed the semiconscious man into a chair and placed the cell on the desk in front of him.

  It took everything in Khalil not to go around the desk again. “Be glad I only hit you once.”

  Logan rubbed his jaw. “I’m suing you!”

  “Before or after I have you prosecuted for debiting the accounts of several members and stealing my gym equipment?” he countered. “Oh, and you’re fired.”

  Logan’s eyes went wide.

  “That’s what I thought. And please don’t try to insult my intelligence and say you didn’t do it. We have you on video. You will pay back every penny you stole from the members.” Khalil had fronted the money and reimbursed their accounts, but he planned to get his money back. “Or I can send them all memos letting them know you’re the one who broke into their accounts. I’m certain they’d want to file a class action suit. And my equipment...you have two minutes to te
ll me where the police can find it...and your friend.”

  “Police?”

  He stared at him incredulously. “What did you think was going to happen?”

  Alonzo pointed behind Khalil and mouthed, “Police.”

  Khalil stood to greet the officers and let Alonzo do most of the explaining after becoming frustrated with one of the officers, who kept talking without using the cell. Khalil had to ask the officer to repeat himself several times and point out that he couldn’t understand without the technology.

  Once Logan had been handcuffed and escorted off the property, Alonzo filled Khalil in on the information Logan had provided.

  “Apparently, he was trying to open his own gym, but didn’t have the money necessary to make the down payment. He also needed equipment, so instead of buying his own, he started taking a few pieces out of here—mostly free weights, some mats, exercise bands and medicine balls.”

  He cursed under his breath. “Did he tell them where my stuff is?”

  “Yes. They’re going to confiscate it all and you’ll have to go down to identify what’s yours. The police want you to bring whatever paperwork you have to show ownership.”

  “That shouldn’t be too difficult since I keep everything.” Most of the free weights he had designed himself and had the gym’s logo engraved on them. The clock on the wall read one. He had planned to be at the café by now. If he left within the next ten minutes, he could make it before closing. “Thanks for everything, Alonzo.”

  “Anytime. Guess you’ll need a new manager now.”

  Khalil groaned. He didn’t even want to think about having to go through the interviewing process again. Hopefully, Felicia would agree to step into the position. He still had a little time to find someone for the new site. “I’m going to go talk to Felicia.”