“He’ll never take the bait,” Chloe frowned. “Greg being a serious guy and loathing all drama is what attracted her to him in first place. She really needs to move on.”
“She should,” Kendra nods. “What’s the guy’s name that asked her out?”
“Enormo? Biggie? Tank?” Keisha shrugs. “Something huge. He’s a big, muscular, tatted up guy, right, Chloe?”
“He is and it’s Gorge. Like Michael Clarke Duncan, big. He’s cute. She won’t look at him twice.”
“You should give her a push or something. Or him. Something to at least get her to agree to one date with the guy.”
“Hmm… maybe I will,” Chloe grinned. “Sooner the better.”
“All right, everyone,” the bar manager crooned into the mic. “Time’s up! Ladies, please take your seats again.”
Kendra and her friends wished each other luck and moved back to their tables.
Les turned and stared at Kendra, who sat quietly and sipped her drink.
“Now, go in there and act like… yourself. Don’t change it up. And remember, now is not the time to bring up the fact this woman rocked your world. And for all things sane, get the woman’s name, Les. I cannot go another five minutes with you pining for her, let alone ten years.”
“Who’s pining, Andy?” Les grinned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Right,” Andy smirked and watched as the men entered the dating area. “Get back in there and finish your dates.”
Les smirked back and said loudly, “Sure thing, Dad, but you really should find my new stepmother on your own. Go on in and show off your recent face lift.”
Andy laughed and shook his head. He watched as Les went straight to Honey’s table and held out his hand. Like anyone would believe he was actually Les’ father.
“Wow, sir,” a young woman who was built like a lamp post, said in awe. “You look good to have a thirty-something son. Who’s your surgeon?”
Andy frowned and looked at the girl. “Sweetheart, go easy on the alcohol, or whatever it was you had tonight. It’s making you delusional.”
Shaking his head, he turned back and watched Les as he sat at his Honey’s table. Andy did not miss the big smile on her face when she got a good look at his twin.
Chapter FOUR
Formal Meetings
Les walked to Honey’s table and held out his hand. As soon as her hand touched his, everything and everyone in the bar ceased to exist for him. This was definitely his Honey. No doubt about it. She even had the same lone freckle in the middle of her right cheek. Seeing her up close again, made him erect. She was still the same. And he remembered what she looked, sounded, tasted and smelled like when she came apart under his amateur efforts.
He didn’t think she knew how green he was that day. He only knew what women liked because of what he heard his brothers and friends discuss. He mentally noted it all and he used every last one of those notations with Honey. She loved everything. After the first round, he’d made her cum three to his every one and she shouted her joy at his touches, caresses, licks and strokes.
The first time, Les damn near lost his mind when she got on top of him and fucked him with everything in her and he cursed himself for waiting so long to be inside a woman when he felt her heat on his throbbing shaft. He thought she felt like heaven and decided he was glad he waited for her.
He soon learned not all women were worth the effort and more often than not, had no idea what to do with a man. At least not with him. He once dated a woman who, whenever they had sex, if she wasn’t blowing him, she bent over. No kissing, no holding, no touching. No intimacy. She just undressed and bent over. Bored, Les dumped her a month after they started having sex.
Then there was the woman who wanted him to play with her feet first. She had cute feet, Les admitted, but he could not get any enjoyment out of feet. Licking them? Sucking? What? No, he wanted pussy. Mouth. Feet? Nah. Next…
Truthfully, Les compared women to Honey, no matter what color she was. He couldn’t help it. She was his first and no one compared to her. She truly, truly rocked his world in every sense of the word.
And now she was back. Sitting in front of him and sexier than ever. Les smiled, hoping she was as charming as she was when he met her ten years ago. He would be patient, give her time to show him who she was now and he would do the same thing because no matter what, she was going to be his from this day on.
Kendra smiled at the man approaching her table now. She gave a small frown after a moment, wondering why he seemed so familiar. Talk to him, she told herself, it’ll come. She held out her hand to his extended one and hid a feeling of familiarity when his large, tanned hand encased her smaller one.
“Hi, I’m Kendra Atkins, interior designer,” Kendra beamed.
Les beamed back, fighting the urge to do somersaults at finally knowing her real name. His hand tightened around hers, allowing himself a moment before speaking.
“Hello, Ms. Atkins. Charles Ford, attorney.”
“Kendra. Nice to meet you, Mr. Ford,” Kendra smiled.
“Les, please.”
Kendra frowned harder. Now it was the voice. Why is this guy so damn familiar? The face, the voice. The eyes… what is it about those eyes?
Kendra sighed and kept going. “Nice to meet you, Les. Do this often?”
“Not at all, actually. Why the frown?”
“Nothing… it’s just… you look familiar. Have we met?”
Les licked his lip and debated. No, best not to tell her now. She needed time to know who he was now, as he wanted to know who she was now. The past could wait.
“Um, perhaps you’ve seen me on TV. I have several high-profile clients that are always in one scrape or another.”
Les relaxed when Kendra’s face showed relief.
“Could be, Les. So, what brings you here tonight?”
“A bet,” Les chuckled. He was going to get the gay twin excuse. Andy was probably going to kill him.
Kendra’s brow raised. “A bet?”
“Yeah. I bet my brother that I’d come here and participate earnestly.”
“Really? What are the stakes?”
“I’ll get off his back about being gay against him getting off my back about being single.”
Kendra sighed, ready to clamp shut. If it’s one thing she couldn’t stand, it was intolerance to diversity and this guy was appearing to object to his twin’s homosexuality. Damn. He was definitely doable, too. His smile already had her wet but mentioning his objections to his gay brother, well… her heated anger dried those panties right up.
Next!
Kendra let out a sigh. “You object to your brother being gay, Les?”
“Not at all, Kendra. I object to him using it as an excuse to being alone.”
Shit. How sweet is he? She knew then she judged too fast. Damn it, Kendra!
“Oh, he’s alone? Because he’s gay?”
“Sort of. He’s convinced himself that he won’t find anyone ‘suitable’ because he’s gay. He’s using it as a crutch. He won’t even try.”
Kendra knew that type of man. She had a couple of friends that felt the same way and never tried to pursue anything but sexual gratification. She had a friend, who was a ‘fag-hag’ to her core, so much so that when she actually did date a straight man, all she ever wanted to do was bend over when she fucked. Why? Because Isabel was the ‘go to’ for gay men. She gave them blow jobs and all they wanted to do was fuck her from behind when they needed release. So all she ever did was bend over, figuring that’s all any man wanted.
Isabel is now married to a guy in Texas, the son of a rancher and his wife, and as far as Kendra knew, still only bending over. Kendra had a feeling the guy was in denial about his homosexuality but when she met him, she immediately knew that wasn’t the case. He was too much of a breast man for that. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Kendra’s whenever she was around. Kendra hoped Isabel had gotten over her sexual proclivities since her husband l
oved to look at breasts.
“That’s sad,” Kendra frowned then brightened. “Perhaps he just needs to move in different circles.”
“Maybe. I have no idea what circle he moves in. I know nothing about the gay community.”
“Really? I do. Tell me, is he flamboyant or is he… subtle?”
Les smiled. She was just as caring and giving as she was ten years ago and now she wanted to help his brother. He sighed and thought about the known gay men in the firm. He chose Cliff Landon, a junior attorney. Cliff never dated because he absolutely believed he would never find a man he could be compatible with.
“Hmmm… I think he’s… well, I guess in the middle. He gestures and sometimes speaks high pitched out of the office. Usually, especially at work, he’s very reserved and does not give the impression he’s gay, you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do know, Les. Tell him to go to Phallicsy Island, Friday nights. It’s on Highland and Ninth. Several of my co-workers and friends go there and they always rave about the place. It’s notorious for what they call ‘sensible’ gays, especially Fridays.”
“Phallicsy Island, Friday nights,” Les chuckled, thinking he would definitely pass that on to Andy, just for the laugh. Cliff would get that info as well. “Thanks, Kendra. I’ll escort him there myself, if I have to.”
“Be careful, Les. Handsome men such as yourself won’t get two feet in before they are pounced on. Is your brother as handsome as you are?”
“I guess so” Les shrugged. “He is my identical twin.”
“Is he? How fascinating,” Kendra grinned.
“Is it?” Les smiled.
“It is.”
“Why?”
“Just because I never met identical twins. I kinda wish your brother had come here with you tonight. I’d have like to see you two together.”
“Not his thing, being gay and all. It’s only boy-girl here. Though he may stick his head in here soon to make sure I actually showed up.”
Kendra smiled then raised a brow. “That distrustful, are you?”
“Not the case at all. He thinks he’s supporting me but really it’s the ‘older brother’ thing in him.”
“Older brother?” Kendra frowned.
“Yeah,” Les chuckled. “He’s six minutes older than me and never lets me forget it.”
“Oh, okay,” Kendra laughed then peeked over Les’ shoulder.
Les could not describe the way her slow smile that turned into a huge grin made him feel.
“What’s brought that beautiful smile to your face, Kendra?”
“Oh, nothing,” Kendra blushed. “Just a very nice looking guy in a black sweater and beige dress slacks with the same ice-blue eyes and blonde hair as yours is at the entrance. Wow. I’d swear that was you standing there.”
“See?” Les chuckled as he turned to where Kendra was looking then nodded at his brother. Andy nodded back then motioned for Les to turn around. Les laughed then turned back to Kendra. His heart skipped when he saw the smile was still on her face. Those deep dimples were a definite turn on.
“You have a very pretty smile, Kendra. It’s almost as cute as your dimples.”
“Thank you,” Kendra blushed. “I’ll tell my parents, especially my mother, that you like them. So, um… tell me, why are you still single, Les?”
“Well, I guess it’s because I haven’t met the woman I feel is worth waking up to for the rest of my life yet. When I marry, it will be for life. No divorces or second thoughts. For her as well as me. Honestly, I thought I had found her a few years ago but, no… that turned out to be a lust thing for her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that but one must be careful, don’t you think?”
“Careful?” Les frowned. “Of what?”
“If you jump too fast, you could regret not thoroughly researching who you hook up with. Wolf in sheep’s clothing and the like. Maybe it was a blessing she didn’t want you as you did her.”
“I didn’t need to research her. I liked her when I laid eyes on her and it only deepened the more we talked. I think we slept together too fast and I didn’t make my intentions clear. She bailed before I could tell her I wanted us to give ‘us’ a go.”
“Wow. That’s awful for you.”
“It is what it is, Kendra,” Les shrugs. “We wanted different things from one another. I regret nothing about our time together, except that I did not make my feelings clearer before I touched her.”
Kendra nodded, thinking the woman was an idiot. How could she not want him for longer than a roll in the hay? She then sighed, thinking about her own rather dismal experiences with the opposite sex. This handsome man was once in the same boat as her and she found that depressing still…
Brushing those thoughts from her head, Kendra brightened. “So, tell me about you. The personal you. Don’t worry, you don’t have to give intricate or intimate details. What are your stats, Les?”
“Well, I’m thirty-three, single, I have a twin brother and a half-sister from my father. All three of my parents rock my nerves at one point or another every day but I have tremendous love and respect for them all. I have a private law practice with my brother and I sit on the legal team in my father’s investment corporation. In my spare time, if I can find any, I bake.”
Kendra blinked then giggled. “I’m sorry. Did you say… bake?”
“Yes, bake,” Les grinned. “It’s usually a way to relax and it helps for the most part.”
“What can you bake, Les?” Kendra asked, intrigued.
“Cakes, pies, cookies. Whatever is best for the amount of stress I feel at the time. Why are you looking me up and down, Kendra?”
“Well, I’m guessing you’re not stressed too often because you look fit.”
“I don’t necessarily eat everything I bake,” Les laughed. “Well, not every time. Most of the time I bring the dessert to the office or the after-school program at the children’s center on Halpern.”
“That’s sweet, Les. I know that program. I volunteer there several times a year, usually in the summer. What got you started on baking?”
Les grinned. “My half-sister, Randa. She wanted to take cooking classes in her teens and was so shy. So she had me tag along when they started desserts and my brother tagged along when they did meals.”
“That’s sweet of the two of you,” Kendra smiled again, making Les’ heart skip.
“Thanks, but not really. We’re just suckers for our little sister. Now you. What makes Kendra Atkins ‘Kendra’?”
Wow, Kendra thought. Les was the first guy that ever asked her that question, in her life. No, that’s not true. He father asks her that every day about herself. Other than that, no one but other relatives.
“Well, I’m thirty and an only child. I buy decorative pillows and setup window displays for a living.”
“Which windows? Anything I may have walked by?”
“It’s entirely possible because I free-lance. I don’t have a home store. I go to who calls me and agrees on my fees.”
“Do you ever do Christmas windows?”
“I do,” Kendra nods with a bright smile. “That’s my busiest time of the year. I’m all set to do Crown’s, and possibly Hill’s, store windows in the city this year.”
“You can do competing store windows?”
“I can, yes. They tell me what they want and I send sketches. Once that’s approved, I send in a team and they get the basics done. It can be a long process but so worth it. Like Crown’s windows; they want sections on a circling pedestal with different beliefs represented. We’re at five religions but I’m trying to get them to agree on four.”
“Why four?”
“Scheduling of… well, everything. I don’t want to offend any belief by excluding but I have to consider time, effort, manpower and budget.”
“And that’s all figured out this early in the year?
“Earlier. I started designing Crown’s window design soon after the New Year.”
“Wow. I ha
d no idea.”
“Trust me, planning and designing is the worst of it but even that’s fun. That is until the client changes ideas mid-planning. Have you seen Crown’s holiday displays at any point in the last four years?”
“I have. I took my then four-year-old niece to specifically see Crown’s display. Maybe we should see them again this year, now that I know the designer.”
“You should,” Kendra smiled. “Especially Hill’s. Theirs will be fully automated.”
“Good to know, Kendra. Thanks for the heads-up.”
“No problem, Les. Hmm. The time you went with your niece was year the entire display was aimed at little girls by using cartoon princesses in situations from The Twelve Days of Christmas, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was actually,” Les nods. “Nicola’s favorite was the Nine Ladies Dancing.”
“Ah, mine, too,” Kendra grinned. “That was the first year I did all their holiday windows and I have it on personal knowledge that Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana and Merida loved their performances. Let me guess; Rapunzel and the Five Golden Rings were either hated or drooled over, right?”
“She didn’t get it,” Les laughed. “Neither did I, at first. I heard her little stomach growled then I got it.”
“That was a ploy to get parents… and uncles… inside to eat in Crown’s restaurant. Who could resist watching her devour the sixth and leaving five glazed donuts floating through the air?”
“I’d never seen donuts used in that manner before. And it worked. Nicola and I had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup in Crown’s that afternoon and yes, she had a glazed donut for her dessert. Brilliant idea, Kendra.”
“Thank you again, Les,” Kendra smiled. She felt an ache start in her sex. She wanted Les. Now. If she weren’t in the car with her girls tonight, she’d definitely be in a room with him after this was over.
“There’s that pretty smile again. Mind if I ask for your number, Kendra?”
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