The Nicest Guy in America

by Angela Benson

  Kim turned and saw a red Spitfire turn into the driveway. “Please don’t let them drive into the garage,” she prayed. “Please.”

  The angels must have been on her side because the Spitfire, whose dealer plates indicated it was a recent buy, stopped in the driveway and the engine was shut off. I’d never have expected Reggie to be a Spitfire kind of man, she thought. She expected him to be a bit more conservative in his choice of vehicle.

  She braced herself to see him get out of the car. A tail, thin, light brown-skinned brother wearing aviator sunglasses got out on the driver’s side. Attractive guy, she thought, but definitely not Reggie.

  Then Reggie emerged from the passenger side—tall, dark, his broad shoulders exposed by a short sleeve navy T-shirt and hairy legs left bare by his knee-length shorts. The brother was fine. No other way to say it. Reggie Stevens had it going on and then some.

  Some of the reporters began calling his name, but he only threw up his hand in an absent wave and made his way into the house. The driver, she wondered if he was Luther, approached the crowd.

  “When’s he going to give us a break, Luther?” the male reporter standing next to her asked. Kim knew the guy to be from a local Atlanta paper.

  So she’d been right, and the guy was Luther. She wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t want to approach him in front of the others. She didn’t need to alienate any of her peers by asking for special favors. Luther’s gaze met hers through his sunglasses and she turned away, not wanting him to ask who she was. She eased away from the crowd and watched him from afar as he joked with the reporters and flirted with the ladies anxious to meet the man who’d penned the article they’d read.

  Kim made a quick trip around the corner, pulled out her cell phone and dialed Reggie’s number. She hoped he’d pick up.

  “Hello Reggie,” she said without preamble. “Guess who this is?”

  He laughed and the sound trickled down her spine. “I don’t have to guess. Hi, Ms. Washington. It’s been a while,” he said sarcastically. It was Monday and she’d spoken to him Saturday, only two days ago.

  “You should know by now that I don’t give up, Reggie. You’re going to give me an interview and you’re going to appear in the magazine.”

  He laughed again and the sound had the same effect on her. “You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you, Ms. Washington?”

  “With reason, Mr. Stevens,” she said, enjoying the lightness of her conversation with him. “You see, I know you really want to do this interview with me. You just don’t know it yet.”

  He chuckled. “And I suppose you’re going to convince me the way you convinced Luther?”

  “Luther’s a smart man and he has your best interests at heart.”

  A snort followed his next chuckle. “If you really believe that then you must be one of those women who make poor choices in men. I admit I’m disappointed in you. And I had such high hopes, too.”

  She knew he was kidding, but the idea of him thinking about her gave her a certain feminine satisfaction. “Are you saying Luther’s not one of the Nice Guys?”

  “Why don’t you ask Luther the next time you talk to him?”

  “What makes you think I’m going to talk to him again?” she asked, enjoying the back-and-forth with him.

  “You said you didn’t give up easily and right now Luther is your only road to me. I figure you’re going to try again to get him to set you up with an interview.”

  He’d read her right. If he turned her down again, she was definitely going back to Luther waving the Most Eligible Bachelors story bait under his nose. “Are you telling me no again, Mr. Stevens?”

  “You’ve got it, Ms. Washington. Maybe you’re a smart woman after all.”

  “Thanks,” she said dryly. “Why don’t you tell that to my boss. Want me to give you his number? Or maybe I could bring him over and you could tell him in person?”

  His deep laughter sounded again. “It’s been nice talking to you, Ms. Washington, but I have a life that I have to get back to. Take care of yourself.”

  “Reggie,” she began, but it was too late. He’d already hung up.

  “Well,” she said to herself, flipping her phone closed. “It’s not over yet, Mr. Stevens. I’m going to get my interview.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Reggie stared at the phone and thought about Kim Washington. He’d been doing a lot of that lately and he couldn’t understand why. He hadn’t even met the woman, but there was something about her that intrigued him. Maybe it was her undaunting determination. Sexually aggressive women usually didn’t hold much appeal for him, but he found Kim’s professional aggressiveness most attractive. Under different circumstances, he might have welcomed her interest. But not in this case.

  “There are some fine sisters out there, man,” Luther said, interrupting his thoughts. He’d finally decided to come into the house. “If I were you, I’d start giving interviews.”

  Reggie moved away from the phone and wiped Kim Washington from his mind. Almost. “That’s because you’d do anything to get a phone number.”

  Luther grinned. “Not anything,” he said, “But I’d certainly give a few interviews. What do you have to lose, man? You don’t have to talk to all of them. Pick a couple and be done with it. I’m beginning to get tired of the crowd myself.”

  “That’s why you’re always out there flirting with them and shooting the breeze?” Reggie took a seat on the leather couch in his den.

  Luther leaned against the doorjamb. “Hey, I’m just trying to be hospitable.”

  Reggie looked up at Luther and snorted. “Pretty soon you’ll be taking them lemonade.”

  Luther shook his head. “A cold brew is more my style, but you may have a point. Maybe I’ll end up in the paper instead of you.”

  “Go for it, man, if that’s what you want. Just keep me and my name out of it.”

  Luther flopped down on the couch next to Reggie. “Why don’t you come out to The Club tonight?”

  Reggie considered it, but he really wasn’t in the mood and told Luther so.

  “You’re turning into a real hermit, Reggie. All you’ve done since you wrote that article is make the Wednesday night visits to the Boys’ Club. You’ve got to get out of this house. Your staying at home like this is not natural.”

  “And going out every night is?”

  “It beats sitting here staring at the walls.”

  “Don’t you get tired of it, Luther? We’re thirty-eight years old. That’s too old to be running to clubs all the time.”

  Luther shook his head. “Age is in your mind, brother. And besides, it’s not like we’re running to clubs and hanging out. The Club is a mature place with mature, going somewhere people out for a good time and some relaxation.”

  Reggie knew Luther was right. Most of the regulars at The Club were professional types like them. But sometimes Reggie got tired of it. “Even so, I’m not up for it tonight.”

  “Deborah still got you down?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. Deborah’s an adult. I can’t be responsible for her decisions.”

  “But you’re going to help her out once this guy dumps her again, aren’t you?”

  “I like her and I’ll be there for her as a friend. But that’s it. You know me, no backtracking.” Reggie knew his limits and one was that he never went back to a relationship once it was over. He could remain friends with his ex-lady but he couldn’t and wouldn’t try to recapture what had been lost.

  “Yeah, I do know you and that’s one of your best rules because, God knows, you don’t have a clue about picking women.”

  Reggie closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the sofa. “Not that again.”

  “Okay, I won’t get into it. But why don’t you let me fix you up with the Halle girl? She’s still available and still interested.”

  Reggie shook his head as a thought of Kim Washington appeared in his mind. “She’s not my type.”

  “Right. She has a job
and good sense. I should have known she wouldn’t be your type.” Luther stood up and looked down at Reggie. “Look, you can sit here and stare at the walls all night, but I’m going out.”

  “Fine,” Reggie said. “Have a good time. Are you going to call Nate?”

  Luther snorted. “I want to have a good time. Bringing Nate along is like bringing your own wet blanket. You should invite him over to spend the evening with you. That way you two could be boring together.”

  “I might do that.”

  Luther shook his head. “I was joking. Man, you really do need to get a life.”

  The phone rang and Luther turned and picked it up. Reggie’s immediate thought was that Kim was calling again, but he didn’t ask. If Luther thought he was interested in Ms. Washington, he’d have her in the house before Reggie could count to ten.

  Reggie wondered what a Kim Washington looked like. Was she thin, heavy? Tall, short? Light, dark? Did she smile a lot or was she reserved? He’d guess she was open and friendly. Probably had lots of friends, male and female. Of course, she was determined. Probably had a list of goals that she clicked off with regularity. A level-headed woman for a change.

  He looked back at Luther who was now whispering into the phone. Must be one of his women, Reggie thought. Luther probably wouldn’t be going to The Club alone after all.

  ~ ~ ~

  Kim closed her flip phone. She couldn’t believe her good luck. Luther had come through for her and she was going to get her interview with Reggie Stevens. All she had to do was be at the back door of Reggie’s house in ten minutes and Luther would let her in. Unfortunately, she had to do this without her colleagues noticing her. Now, how was she going to accomplish that feat?

  She peeked around the corner and saw that her colleagues were still in place in front of Reggie’s house. That made simply walking around to the back of the house out of the question. No, she’d have to come in through the yard of the house behind Reggie’s. That in mind, she continued around the corner to the next street and made her way down to the house that was directly behind Reggie’s. The brick ranch was almost identical in style to his.

  Her first thought was about whether the occupants of this house had a dog. She tossed the question aside and counted her blessings that they didn’t have a fence. She walked across the lawn and around to the back of the house, only to find that a four-foot redwood fence separated the two yards. Now what was she going to do?

  She looked down at her short blue skirt and cursed the unsuitability of her attire for climbing fences. Thank goodness she had on sensible shoes. After looking around and making sure that no one was watching, she hiked up her skirt and heaved herself across the short fence.

  Male laughter greeted her once she was on Reggie’s side of the divide. “Nice legs,” Luther said. “Maybe you ought to be interviewing me instead of Reggie.”

  Kim righted her skirt, uncomfortable with Luther’s staring. “You could have told me about the fence,” she said.

  He continued to stare at her. “Would it have made any difference?”

  She pursed her lips and strode toward him. “You know it wouldn’t have, but you still could have told me.”

  He chuckled. “Hey, if I had told you, you might have figured out that you could have opened the gate over there and walked through. Then I would have missed that grand showing of leg.”

  Kim looked behind her, and sure enough there was a gate in the fence. She had to look closely to find it, since it blended in so well with the fence, but it was there. “No wonder you didn’t make it to The Nice Guy contest,” she said. “You’re definitely not a nice guy.”

  Luther flashed a grin that Kim imagined had blown the minds of many sane women. “Now how can you say that? I’m setting my best friend up for an interview that I know he doesn’t want to do and I’m doing it just for you. That alone should tell you I’m a good guy.”

  He had a point, but Kim wasn’t ready to concede it just yet. “I haven’t gotten the interview yet. For all I know, Reggie is going to throw me out of his house.”

  He shook his head. “You don’t know Reggie, if you think that. He’d never throw a woman out of his house.”

  Luther’s words gave Kim a bit of reassurance. At least, she’d have a chance to make her case face-to-face.

  “No, Reggie wouldn’t throw you out,” Luther continued. “He’d escort you to the front door.”

  Her lips turned up in a grim smile. “Cute, Luther. Now do I have to stand out here all afternoon or are you going to let me into the house?”

  Luther pushed the storm door open and stood back so she could enter. She crossed the concrete patio and entered before him.

  “Nice perfume,” he said as she passed him.

  She turned back and cocked a brow at him. “Are you sure you and Reggie are friends?”

  He laughed. “I think that’s an insult.”

  “Smart man,” she said, surveying what she expected was an immaculate house, judging from the state of the ultramodern and ultra-clean kitchen. Every imaginable kitchen appliance was there and every counter looked as if it had been recently scrubbed clean. “Now where’s Reggie?”

  Luther inclined his head toward the door leading out of the kitchen to the rest of the house. “He’s in the den. Are you sure you’re ready to meet Mr. Nice Guy?”

  She sucked in her breath. “The real question is, is he ready to meet me?”

  Luther stared at her for a long second. Too long a second. “Hmm. I think he may be more ready than even he realizes.”

  Before Kim could ask Luther what he meant, he’d taken her hand and was guiding her through Reggie’s house and, she hoped, to Reggie.

  “Hey, Reggie,” he called out when they were in the living room. “You have company.”

  “Nice announcement,” she murmured sarcastically.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  While they waited for Reggie, Kim took in the soft tones of his living room and was pleased that Reggie wasn’t a brother who leaned towards dark colors and hardwoods. The linen sofa and loveseat covered with pillows in shades of red, green, blue and beige gave the room an intimate, yet open, feel.

  “I didn’t hear the—” Reggie stopped mid-sentence when he saw her. He captured her gaze and wouldn’t let it go. “A reporter?” he asked.

  “Not just any reporter,” Luther said, ushering Kim toward Reggie. “The reporter. This is Kim Washington from Urban Style. Kim, I guess you know who this is.”

  Kim tore her gaze away from Reggie’s piercing one and extended her hand. He stared at it for a second too long and she wondered if he was going to leave her hanging. Evidently, the gentleman in him took over and he clasped her hand in both of his.

  “Well, well, well,” he said, his large hands warm and comforting. “You are industrious, aren’t you?”

  Kim had the feeling he was laughing at her, but for some reason, it didn’t bother her. His laughter didn’t make fun of her. Rather, it applauded her efforts.

  “I told you,” she said, gently easing her hand from the warmth of his. There was something sensual in the way his hands wrapped around hers. “We were destined to get together. Just as you’re destined to appear on the cover of Urban Style.”

  “I’m not too sure about that.” His smile told her he was flirting with her. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”

  She joined in his game. “And what’s the first step?”

  Luther cleared his throat. “I’ll take that as my cue to leave. This seems to be getting serious.”

  Kim watched as Reggie shot his friend a glance that said he wanted to talk privately with him. He turned to Kim, his smile in place, and said, “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?” He pointed to the linen sofa she’d admired earlier. “I need a minute with Luther and then I’ll be right with you.”

  Kim looked from him to Luther and back again. “No problem,” she said. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

  He smiled at her ag
ain. “For some reason, Ms. Washington, I didn’t expect you would be.” He turned then and followed Luther out of the room.

  Chapter 5

  Reggie joined Kim in the living room a few minutes later. She wondered about the words he’d had with Luther, but decided not to inquire about them. She was here to get an interview and she didn’t want to get distracted. Maintaining her professional distance would be hard anyway given her physical response to the man.

  “Thank you for the interview, Mr. Stevens,” she said as a peace offering.

  He gave her a smug smile. “I didn’t have much choice, did I? You and Luther pretty much railroaded me into this.”

  “You can always kick me out,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t take her up on her offer.

  “I could,” he agreed with a nod.

  “But you won’t?” she said, more a question than a comment. Please, she prayed, don’t let him escort me to the door.

  His smile turned real and her insides turned to mush. It’s only a smile, she reminded her racing heart. “You’re right. I won’t. Do you want something to drink before we get started?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine. But get yourself something if it’ll make you more comfortable.”

  “I’m fine too.” He took a seat on the couch next to her and turned his body slightly so that he faced her.

  Kim felt his warmth and wondered at it. What was it about Reggie Stevens that tugged at her senses? “All right, then. Are you ready to get started?”

  “As ready as I’m ever going to be. Shoot.”

  She reached into her purse for her pad and pencil, thankful for a reason to turn her gaze away from him. “Okay, let’s start with the easy questions. Where are you from?”

  “Oklahoma City,” he answered. “Born and bred.”

  Kim didn’t know anyone from Oklahoma City, not that it mattered. “Family still there?”

  “Mother and father. Two brothers, two sisters-in-law, two nephews and a niece.”