The knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. When she answered it, she found Joel standing there. She hoped she would be able to be the kind of woman he deserved after the way he stood by her side. She prayed that God gave her the strength to stand by her man, dangerous job and all.
After driving around for hours, he ended where he was supposed to be. The only thing was, the news he’d gotten this afternoon made him question if he was really supposed to be there. What kind of man would he be for her now? What kind of life could he give her?
“Hey…you.” Samantha studied him carefully as he entered her apartment.
He could tell by her careful gaze she must have been worried about him.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He couldn’t help it. He had to touch her, so he pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
Big mistake. How was he supposed to let her go now?
He followed her into her living room.
“Well, my doctor said my back has improved immensely, and I know I owe that all to you.”
“No. You did the work. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, but even with all that work, I’m still not going to be able to return to firefighting, at least not in the capacity that I’m used to. They offered me a chance to train and take the test for the inspection division, a desk job.” He might as well go work for his father. He would do that before he took a desk job with the fire department.
“That could be nice. You’d be able to help with things like arson, and I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, baby, but…”
“You don’t get it. This back problem has stolen everything from me. I feel like half a man, and you don’t need half a man. So maybe we should quit this while we’re ahead.”
She frowned and stared at him for a minute before shaking her head.
His eyes started to glaze over, and he again willed himself to hold it together. No matter how low he felt, he didn’t want to leave her with the image of him breaking down.
“What do you mean ‘quit this while we’re ahead?’” She placed her hands on her hips and struck the black woman akimbo battle pose.
“I’m saying you deserve better and I have to be man enough to let you go so you can have it.” His shoulders slouched, and he didn’t even try to straighten them.
The heaviness in his head as he tried to grapple with the loss of his job and the heaviness in his heart as he tried to man up and let Samantha go wouldn’t allow for straight-back postures or cool poses. His form reflected how he felt. There was nothing he could do about it.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I thought I’d be getting my job back and I’d be able to be the man you deserve—” he started.
“I. Know. You. Didn’t.” The pain and anger in her voice chilled him to the bone. “I know you didn’t just sit in my living room, after making me fall in love with your behind and tell me we should just quit this. Did the doctors give you some crazy dust or something with their diagnosis? Because you must have lost your mind, coming in here running this foolishness by me.”
“I can’t even make love to you the way I want to. I can’t—”
She cut him off with a quickness and a roll of the neck for good measure. “Do you see me complaining? You’re the best lover I’ve ever had and have blown my mind and stolen my heart, you idiot! And if your job as a fireman is that important to you, then I will work with you until your back is strong enough for you to go back.”
“Idiot? Hey, that’s not nice—”
“Well, as you have been fond of telling me, I ain’t nothing nice! I have to keep it real with you, and on the real, you have my heart. You can’t just throw it back at me without a good cussing out.”
Tears started to fall down her cheeks. He remembered what his father said about not being able to take his mother’s tears. If his father felt even a tenth of what he felt like seeing Samantha cry, then he knew why his father felt that way. He couldn’t bear to see the moisture pool in her beautiful brown eyes and then flow down her lovely face. And knowing that she was crying because of him made it all the worse.
He wrapped his arms around her, and she pushed him away.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. Please. I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m an idiot. Just don’t cry. It breaks my heart.” Suddenly the pain that he felt about not being able to fight fires moved to the background. While he still felt hurt, he really wanted to do what he could to make things right for Samantha. That meant more than anything else.
That was love.
“Good. You should be feeling what I’m feeling right now. Do you know I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting for you and practicing how I was going to look happy for you when you told me you were going back to your dangerous job?” She choked her words out in a sob. “Even though it would probably kill me if something were to happen to you, I would be willing to risk it because I love you and I want you happy.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed away her tears. “I’m sorry.” He covered her mouth and felt a clarity he hadn’t felt in months.
He hadn’t fought a fire in ages, but he’d had all the fire and passion a man’s heart could stand for the past three months.
She kissed him back aggressively. It was as if she was placing everything she felt in the kiss.
He led her back into the bedroom and stood in awe as she literally ripped off his clothes. Her passion invigorated him, and he found himself ripping off her clothing, as well. He grabbed a condom before they tumbled to the bed and he crept up behind her. He placed his hands on the bed on either side of her and slightly flexed his upper torso over her back. He slowly entered the slick welcoming heat of her womanhood.
Samantha couldn’t stifle the moan as Joel filled her. How could he even question how he made her feel? And how dare he try and take this away from her after showing her what making love with her heart fully involved felt like?
She moved her hips back slowly, savoring the thick length of his manhood as he stroked her steadily, with strength unparalleled. She moved forward then back, forward then back; hips undulating, rocking and going in circles.
Oh, yes.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Please forgive me.” He trailed soft kisses down her back.
Each power-filled stroke after that sent her spiraling closer and closer to splendor. Every place on her body seemed to tighten until she thought she would explode, and then it happened.
“Baby, I’m so, so sorry…I love you.” Joel’s words pierced her soul and blocked out all her pain, fear and doubt.
“Ohh…Joel!”
“Yes, sweetheart. I love you so much. Come for me, baby.”
He reached his arm around to her front and flicked the bud in her dripping center back and forth. Gently twisting and rubbing it in circles.
“Come for me, Samantha. You know you want to.”
She felt her sex squeeze and pull at him as if it were grasping for its last meal. She tightened and tightened over and over until she heard Joel scream out.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too.”
As she waited for Joel to come back from getting rid of the protection, she tried to get a hold of her emotions.
He was actually going to break up with her over nonsense.
Calm down, girl. He came to his senses.
He walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. “So, you finally realized that you love a brother, huh?”
He had that sexy little smile on his face and that devilish and playful gleam in his eyes.
She shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest.
Oh, no, Hightower, you’re going to have to come with more than the I’m-so-charming-and-irresistible routine.
“So what if I do love you? You’re willing to throw it all away because of some misguided notion you have about…what exactly, Joel? I mean, I’m your physical therapist. I knew what your back problems were when I got involved with you, against my better judgment, and I put my career an
d my heart on the line, for what?”
He leaned over and kissed her. She gobbled up each stroke of his tongue, each caress of his lips and moaned for more.
But it won’t be that easy, either, baby boy….
She pulled away. “So, if you want to leave me, leave.”
“I don’t want to leave you. I want to marry you. I want to make you my wife, and I want you to be the mother of my children.”
Well, now that might work….
“So, will you?” He had a pleading expression on his face and that loving gleam in his eyes.
“Will I what?”
“Will you marry me? I realize you mean more to me than fighting fires. Sweetheart, please say yes.”
“Okay, yes.”
He kissed her, softly, gently.
“You know, I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you, too, before I even got to know you, when you were lying in the hospital emergency room and they were flashing that handsome heroic grill of yours all over the news. I made up this sweet, sexy, funny, caring guy to go with that picture, and I fell in love with him, and even though it took a long time after we met for that guy to surface, I still loved him. He really is you, and I love you…so much….”
Her heart twisted as she got the words out, but she really wanted him to know what he was about to give up.
“I love you and it doesn’t matter to me what you do for a living. You can be a fireman, a fire investigator, an employee at Hightower Security. The only thing I see that matters when I look at you is that you are my man, and you are all the man I will ever need.” She stared him in the eye so that he got it.
A tear slid down his cheek and he nodded. “I want to get married as soon as possible.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, baby boy. I’m thinking a nice long engagement so that you can prove you’re really sure about this—that you really want a spitfire for a wife. Because I can’t promise I won’t light fire to you with my mouth if you come in here talking that kind of foolishness again.”
“Since you took my surly heart and gave me back my joy, I’m more than willing to wait for you. You make it hot, sweetheart. You make life worth living.”
“And you better never forget it. I love you, Joel.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart. I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Getting all of the Hightower brothers together once a week was becoming increasingly difficult with two of the brothers having met their soul mates, but somehow, they had managed to get together for happy hour at the sports bar in downtown Paterson after a couple of months of hit-or-miss meetings.
Joel had been busy getting used to his new position as the new VP in charge of the Home Safety Division of Hightower Security, and he found that the proactive work he did in his new job to make sure that people were able to secure their homes filled the need he had as a fireman to help others in a different but still very satisfying way. Samantha’s suspension was lifted after two weeks of paid leave when the investigation committee found that the claims of the anonymous caller were unfounded, and his new fiancée showed him every day that he was all the man she needed. The thrill and rush he got from being with her still sparked his desire, and he didn’t see that ending anytime soon. Everything he used to get from his old job as a fireman was still present in his life in abundance. He felt happy as he joined his brothers, happy and just fine with his life.
Joel walked up to the booth and slid in. He was the last to arrive, but he had a good excuse—at least it was a good excuse to him. He and Samantha had finally settled on a date to get married. She had made him sweat for it and work for it, no doubt, but it was all worth it, and some of the work had actually been fun.
“Look who decided to show up, the other lovebird,” Patrick held up his drink in mock salute. “There are only two of us left to hold down the fort, and since I’ve been down that road before, I can tell you, I won’t be going back.”
“And you know my motto, if she can’t burn in the kitchen like Mama, she need not apply.” Lawrence raised his glass, and he and Patrick toasted.
Jason laughed. “It’s going to be so funny to watch love take the two of you out.”
“You forget, baby bro, I mastered the game. I’m not only a client, I’m the player president.” Lawrence dusted off his collar and winked.
Joel shook his head. “All right, I have great news to share.”
“Me, too,” Jason added.
Joel looked at his youngest brother. If the news was what he thought it was, then this was going to be a night of celebration indeed.
“Penny is pregnant. I’m going to be a dad. We’ve known for the past three months, but we wanted to wait, you know, to make it past the first trimester before we shared the news.” Jason’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to be an uncle.” Lawrence put all his joking aside.
Patrick stood and embraced, Jason. “Congratulations, baby bro. This is amazing news. Give Penny a hug for me.”
It was hard not to get a little choked up knowing about how Penny and Jason lost their first child to a miscarriage when they were high-school sweethearts. They had spent fifteen years apart, and God saw fit to give them another chance.
The brothers all stood and gave each other hugs and love and then settled back into their seats.
“Samantha has agreed to set a date. We’ve started planning our fall wedding. So, you clowns are going to have to get dressed up in those tuxedos and dust off your electric slide, because come October, the Hightowers are going to have another wedding to celebrate.”
“That’s wonderful, man. She’s a great woman,” Jason offered.
“And she can cook her behind off,” Lawrence added. “Hey, should we order some Buffalo wings or something?”
“Your mind stays on food. It’s a wonder you stay in shape at all.” Patrick shook his head at Lawrence. He turned to Joel. “Samantha seems like a nice girl. I’m happy for you, bro.”
“Let’s toast then.” Jason held up his glass. “To every Hightower finding the love of his life—”
Patrick put his glass down. “Nah, buddy, I can’t toast to that there. I’m going to have to pass.”
Lawrence put his glass down, too. “No need to tempt fate. I like being single.” He stared across the room.
Jason followed his gaze and so did Joel.
“Isn’t that the McKnight twins? They just got back out of prison. Do you think they’re up to any trouble tonight?” Jason turned back to look at Lawrence.
“Who’s that little sexy girl with them? She looks like a young Jada Pinkett-Smith from her pre-Will, A Different World days. She’s a hottie. What is she doing with thugs like those?” Jason asked.
Patrick shook his head. “You see, that’s why I won’t drink to that ‘Hightowers finding love’ stuff. Finding a woman with some sense and who’s about something is next to impossible.”
Jason laughed. “She looks like a young Jada, all right, but if she’s hanging with the McKnight Twins, you better make that Jada from Set It Off.”
“Do you know her?” Joel asked Lawrence.
Lawrence just kept staring at the group.
Patrick nudged Lawrence’s shoulder.
“Huh?” Lawrence gave them an irritated glare. “What?”
“Joel asked you if you knew her, the girl with the McKnights. She looks kind of young—”
“I don’t know her, but I intend to keep an eye on her.” Lawrence spoke the words and planted his gaze back on the young woman.
But they had too much to celebrate tonight to give it too much thought. He was going to be an uncle and his sweetheart was going to bless him by becoming his wife.
He’d come to think of the accident as not the end of life as he’d known it, but the beginning of a life more rich and fulfilling than he ever could have imagined. His little spitfire had brought the joy, passion and heat back into his life and he could only see things getting
better from there.
“So, let’s toast to finding happiness, then, because I have found mine.” He held his glass up.
“I’ll drink to that, because I’ve found mine, too.” Jason grinned.
“I guess I can drink to that, even though I think happiness is way overrated, and it’s fleeting. The wrong woman can ruin a man’s happiness for the rest of his life—”
“All right, all right, just toast, grouch.” Jason cut Patrick off.
Joel saw Lawrence was still paying close attention to the young woman with the McKnights. He kicked Lawrence under the table.
“Ouch! What?” Lawrence snapped as he kept watching the young woman.
“We’re toasting to finding happiness,” Jason offered.
“Yeah, yeah, to finding happiness.” Lawrence lifted his glass and all the while kept his focus in the McKnights’ direction. “I’ll be right back.” He got up and walked over there.
“What’s that about?” Patrick asked.
“Damn if I know.” Jason shrugged.
“Finding happiness?” Joel glanced back at the young woman who had apparently captured his brother’s attention. She looked like a no-nonsense kind of sister. Maybe Lawrence had finally met his match.
Since Joel had met his match, he decided to stop worrying about Lawrence for the evening. Besides, he had to get home to continue the real celebration with his woman.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2189-9
MAKE IT HOT
Copyright © 2008 by Gwendolyn D. Pough
All rights reserved. The reproduction, transmission or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission. For permission please contact Kimani Press, Editorial Office, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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