“I like you.”
“Thanks, I like you as well.”
August shook his head. “No, I mean I really like you, and well I don’t know if I’m reading this wrong but I feel like you like me too.”
Looking into those blue eyes made it impossible to lie. “I do like you.”
“Then let’s find out where this,” … he motioned between us … “thing can go.”
“I’d like that, but it wouldn’t be appropriate. Not while I’m your son’s teacher.”
“There’s only three more weeks of school, and I’m a very patient man.” With that August took my hand and placed a chaste kiss on my knuckles. I bit my lip. He let go of my hand. “Until the summer,” he said then left.
Chapter Five
NATALIE
Thankfully, it was Friday and I was meeting my brother and my best friend at 89 Degrees. I was wearing a tight-fitting, blue tank dress. White gladiators sandals that had a four-inch heel (made it to the salon). My hair fell down my back in long black curls. In a word I felt sexy as I walked on cloud nine inside the bar.
“I’m a patient man.” August’s words played over like music in my head. He wanted to find out what this thing between us was and so did I. Three weeks. Three weeks and school would be out. Three weeks and I’d no longer be Thomas’s teacher and thus available to date August if I wanted. I winked at my reflection before I opened the door to the bar and walked in.
My brother and Dominique were seated at a booth near the wine bar taking shots. “Hey guys,” I slid into the booth beside Dominique, “really classy taking shots.”
Dominique pushed a shot towards me, “Fuck class, this girl wants to cut loose.”
Walter leaned across the table, “She got four hits on Tinder since the “photo” and Arthur has started scratching at the back door.”
I turned to look at Dominique, “Really?”
She smiled, gave me a shoulder bump and a wink before she slammed back her shot. “Is this a good thing?”
“Yes,” Dominique said as she slammed her shot glass upside down on the table, “He wants me back, but guess what he’s not going to get me.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I said and finished a shot. It burned my throat. I coughed. “What was that?”
“Too-kill-yah of course. We’re celebrating.” Walter held up a Long Island, “This is much smoother.” He put the drink down in front of me. I shuddered off the tequila before taking a sip from the Long Island.
My brother shook his head. “If I recall you said you had something to share? News I believe.”
I had the tables’ attention. “Out with it,” Dominique said.
“It’s amazing with a side of fucked up,” I said.
“Tell us all about it,” my brother, Walter, said.
“Yes, you said there was a guy,” Dominique chimed in. The flu hadn’t killed her after all and she arranged this evening saying it’d been to long since the gang was together. I’d known Dominique since we were in diapers. Her mother and mine were friends after meeting at a gala raising money for Alzheimer.
“Monica was right. G.H. was at the gallery and I met him, even had coffee with him.”
Dominique’s mouth fell open. “Oh. My. God. You really met him, like for real?” I nodded. She fell back against the booth. “Fuck the flu!”
“Tell us everything,” Walter said leaning across the table.
“Well, first you were wrong, G.H. is definitely a man which means you owe me five hundred bucks.”
“Damn,” Walter said slapping the table.
“And …” Dominique said sipping from her Long Island.
“He’s gorgeous. Like Khal Drago kind of gorgeous.”
My brother’s mouth fell open. “Holy shit, I want to meet him.”
“There’s a but. I sense a but in there,” Dominique said.
“Why does she sense a but?” Walter asked.
I was about to say the but, when I saw him. On the other side of the bar over by the wall-sized fireplace sitting on a couch was August. A man was to his left and to his right was a woman who looked to be in her early thirties. Her blond hair was in a perfect French twist. August leaned in to tell her something. Her hand landed on his forearm as she leaned back to laugh.
“I’m a patient man.”
August laughed with her. Who was she? His In-the-mean-time chick? I thought he wanted something … it didn’t matter. “Can we get out of here? I’m hungry?”
“Yes, I’m dying for some sushi,” Walter said.
“Our Uber is waiting out front,” Dominique said. She slid out of the booth and grabbed my hand pulling me along with her. As we walked towards the entrance I couldn’t help myself. I looked over at August. Our eyes met. He smiled. The woman next to him turned to look at me. She wasn’t smiling and her hand was still on his arm. I turned my attention towards the door. So much for waiting until the summer. August was nothing to me as I was nothing to him. We got inside the car and made our way to House of Sushi. We laughed. Had several more drinks and filled our bellies.
With a full belly and a cloudy head, we headed to back to my brother’s house for more drinks. Dominique held onto my arm as we followed my brother through the foyer towards the kitchen. Dominique plopped into a bar stool. My brother started rummaging through his cabinets.
I lay my head against the cool marble counter top. “What are you looking for?” I asked.
“The alcohol,” Walter said. He slammed another cabinet door shut.
“How do you not know where you keep your alcohol?” Dominique said. She was drumming on the counter. My head started to buzz. “Alonso was here last week and said my kitchen wasn’t Feng shui so I let him re-arrange and now I can’t find anything.”
“Are you still trying to get in his pants?” I asked rolling my head so I could see him.
He opened another cabinet. “Shut-up.”
“Let me guess he licked his lips when he asked you?” Dominique asked.
Walter opened another cabinet. “I do not choose to discuss it.”
“He’s got you pecking out of the palm of his hand. That’s what I plan to do to Arthur. Oh yes, I’m going to lead him like a dolphin after mackerel then I will crush him under my Dior heels.”
“The black ones?”
“Of course.”
I slapped Dominique’s hand. “That’s my girl. Any luck yet?”
Walter slammed another door shut. “Ugh, how Alonso organized my shit makes zero sense. I thought this was supposed to relax me or some shit.” My brother slammed the door shut.
“Does anyone hear a buzzing?” I asked.
My brother leaned against the counter facing me. Dominique’s forehead scrunched up as she looked around. “I do.”
“What is it?”
My brother’s brow creased in concentration. “I think it’s coming from your purse.”
I sat up and pulled my purse towards me. My phone. I had a text message:
August: Peekaboo I saw you.
It was August. He had some nerve.
Natalie: I’m busy. Lose this number.
“Who is it?” Dominique asked. Her head was resting on my shoulder.
“Nothing.”
My brother stepped over to me. “The face you’re making says it’s more than that.”
I hated how my brother could read me so well. Did I share this with them? Before I could decide my phone started ringing. It was August. “By the look on your face I think you need to answer that.” My brother grabbed Dominique and lead her out of the kitchen. “We’ll give you some privacy,” he said before they disappeared.
I took a deep breath and answered. “What do you want?”
“What’s going on? I was hoping—”
“Look this isn’t going to work. I’m not into playing games or sharing. I thought we were on the same page but I see we aren’t. I have to go, please don’t call me again.” I turned it off before I tossed it back into my purse. I went to find my
brother and my best friend.
***
My head screamed at me when I blinked my eyes open. The sun was shining. The curtains were left open. The sun was trying to burn the inside of my brain. I lifted my head up, the carpet was reluctant to let my cheek go. My tongue was thick as I swallowed down the taste of sand. I blinked taking in the room. I was on the floor of one of my brother’s spare bedrooms. I turned my head left, the room spun. I laid my head back down closing my eyes against my rolling stomach.
When I opened my eyes again I could see the toes of Dominique’s yellow heels. I was slow as I sat up. Dominique was also on the floor on the other side of the bed facing the other direction. I pushed myself up against the bed. Fuck my head was screaming at me. Why did I have those tequila shots?
My brother was lying on the floor by the door. He had one pant leg on, one off. His shirt was the same way. He had one arm in and the other hanging out, both his shoes were on. I looked down at myself. My dress was the same, half on half-off. “What the fuck happened last night?” I shushed myself. My voice was loud to my own ears.
“Shh,” Dominique whined from the other side of the bed. “I should have let the flu kill me first.” She sat up rubbing her head. Her blouse was unbuttoned and hanging from one arm.
“How did we end up like this?”
“Please, for the love of god whisper,” my brother said from his curled-up spot by the door.
“Shh,” I said before grabbing my head and lying back down on the floor.
Dominique grabbed two pillows off the bed before crawling over to me. She handed me a pillow before lying down beside me. “Let’s try this again in another couple of hours.”
“Word.” With that we all passed out again.
Chapter Six
AUGUST
I glanced at my phone sitting in the middle of the coffee table. “Look this isn’t going to work. I’m not into playing games or sharing. I thought we were on the same page but I see we aren’t. I have to go, please don’t call me again.” I tried calling her back. She didn’t answer and my texts went ignored. That was two days ago.
Why did her dismissal of us sting so much? We hadn’t even shared a real kiss, yet I could not get this woman off my mind. I had to know what was going on.
School let out in thirty minutes. If I left now I could get there in enough time to catch her before she left. I’d make Natalie talk to me. There was something about her I couldn’t lose. I felt a connection to her, a connection I wasn’t ready to let go of. Not without a fight. I grabbed my phone, keys and took off.
Today was Sarah’s day to pick up Thomas. In the parking lot I saw her car. As she passed I ducked down in my seat. I saw Thomas get in her car. I waited until they pulled out before getting out of my car. Since it was after school I didn’t have to check in at the office. Outside of Natalie’s classroom I took a breath before entering. Her back was to the door as she was writing on the white board. She was wearing a pair of black jeans that hugged her curves and a pale blue t-shirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail. It swished back and forth as she moved. She had earbuds in, humming along to whatever she was listening to. A smile came to my lips.
Her humming turned to singing. She started swishing her hips as she sung. She stopped writing and pulled out her ponytail shaking out her hair. It spilled down her back. I didn’t know this woman, not really, but that was what I was fighting for. A chance to know her. My knock on the door went ignored. I walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and spun as she yanked the earbuds from her ears. “You scared the hell out of me.”
She looked so beautiful. I brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek, tracing the side of her face with my thumb. Those brown eyes stared into mine. She didn’t push me away. Without thinking I leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Just the light press of our lips together felt right. Before I could deepen the kiss, she pulled back and slapped me.
I let her go as I rubbed my cheek. “What was that for?”
She didn’t answer. Instead she walked past me over to the door and shut it. Natalie held onto the handle as she turned back towards me. She took a deep breath, sagging against the door, “What are you doing here?”
“What happened the other night?”
She seemed to get her second wind. She stood up and stomped over to me. “Why don’t you tell me? First you tell me you’re a patient man, then I see you with another woman laughing and having a good time.” When Sarah got jealous it pissed me off, but seeing Natalie get jealous gave me a mini-boner. I couldn’t help my smile. “Are you laughing at me?” She asked.
I walked over to her and took her hands in mine. “That’s what this is about? That woman is my agent Lauren. We were discussing my next piece. Lauren is friendly but trust when I say I’m not her type.”
“Why should I believe you?”
Why should she trust me? She didn’t know me. I took a deep breath. “You have no reason to believe me. I haven’t earned your trust, but I want you to believe me.”
“She frowned at me, like a jealous woman.”
That I could explain. “I may have told Lauren all about you. And she knows that you know I’m G.H. She’s worried you’ll ruin our campaign to make G.H. go away.”
“Really?”
I looked down into those brown eyes. “Really.” Her smile was everything.
She pulled me close. Wrapped her arms around my neck. “Let’s try earlier over again.”
“Which part, exactly?”
One of her hands fisted into my collar while the other tangled into my hair. There wasn’t a breath of space between our bodies. Those lips I hadn’t stopped thinking about were close. “Shut-up and kiss me.”
“That I can do.” Our mouths were meant to be together like this. I explored her as she explored me. My hands slid down her back to cup her ass, pressing her against me. She groaned gyrating her hips against my budding erection.
Reluctantly, we pulled apart. I didn’t want to leave, but I had an appointment with Lauren to get to. It was about a commissioned piece. “I have to get going,” Natalie said.
“I probably should as well, but I don’t want to.”
“Me either. This is going to be the longest three weeks of my life.”
“You and me both. I’ll walk you out?”
“Let me just grab my bag.” She packed up her stuff turned off the lights and we headed out. In the parking lot we stood there for an awkward moment. I wanted to kiss her, shit, I wanted to throw her over my shoulder, take her home with me and never let her leave. Though that sounded a bit creepy. No one was in the parking lot but there was no shared kiss. Instead Natalie gave my arm a squeeze. “Have a good weekend.”
I exhaled a breath. “I want to kiss you so bad.”
“Not here. Fifteen days not including weekends until we can have a proper date.”
“Longest fifteen days of my life.”
She waved her cell phone in my face. “There’s always this.”
I took a step closer, I was in her space but not as close as I wanted to be. “I have another exhibit next weekend if you’d like to be a special guest.”
She nodded and swallowed, “That would be amazing.”
“Next weekend then.” She winked then moved off to unlock her car. I watched her get in and back up. She waved over her shoulder. I held up a hand. Fifteen days was a long time but Natalie was worth it. Besides that gave me time to come up with a list of ways to explore that body of hers. I adjusted myself then jumped into my truck and drove off.
Chapter Seven
NATALIE
August: How’s your day going?
Natalie: Birthday today. Twenty-two kids and cupcakes.
August: Yikes
Natalie: Had to do a spur of the moment recess. God I need wine and a nap.
August: I’d love to take a nap with you.
Natalie: Adult nap time should be a thing.
August: Let’s make it a thing.
&n
bsp; Natalie: Aw you want to nap with me
August: I want to do a lot more than just nap with you.
I smiled at August’s last text. The last week had been amazing. We talked almost every day. He sent me the sweetest slash naughtiest things. I craved him on multiple levels. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow night and his showing. We weren’t supposed to get serious until the end of school but a few stolen kisses couldn’t hurt. I tucked my phone into my purse before packing up the rest of my stuff to head home.
The kids exhausted me today. I couldn’t wait to get home, put my feet up, have a glass of wine and get into some naughty text battles with August while binge-watching Game of Thrones. He loved the show as much as me so we watched it together and texted each other back and forth. I got out my keys before pushing my desk chair in.
Mrs. Huffman entered my classroom tossed her purse onto a desk and said, “We need to talk.”
“Did you get my message?”
“Yes. Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you did to get Thomas retested.”
“We just have to make sure he takes this one seriously.”
Mrs. Huffman took a step towards me entering my three feet. “Yes, we do, that’s why I’m here.” Her arms were crossed over her chest. An aggressive stance if I ever saw one.
“Why are you here?”
“I saw you the other day,” I crinkled my forehead, not sure where she was going with this, “I saw you with my husband.”
She couldn’t know. “I don’t follow.”
She uncrossed her arms and took another step towards me. I took a step back. “In the parking lot the other day, I saw you two. Together.”
“Sure, he was picking up Thomas.”
“Don’t lie to me I’d already picked Thomas up.”
I swallowed. Deny. Deny. Deny. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You will stay away from my husband—”
“He’s your ex-husband.”
“Don’t get technical with me. You will stay away from him or I will tell everyone about your past. Believe me, I know all about you, Natalie Quimby. Daughter of Monty and Anise Quimby. How did they take what you did to the Hurley’s? They were, after all, their best friends.”
Happily Ever Alpha: Until The Summer (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 3