“No, I wasn’t going to say that but you seem a little stiff. Are you afraid to loosen up?”
“This is how I am. I told you; I’m not the social type.”
“Okay, I get that. How about you think of me as an old friend and not someone you just met yesterday? Nicole, loosen your shoulders and let your hair down for one night. We have all night to dance, talk and have fun.”
“You’re going to make me hate I have to go home in the morning.”
“I will miss you when you leave. I’m going to drop this extremely corny line on you, but you are special to me.”
“Yeah, that was pretty lame. You don’t even know me to think I’m special; unique maybe but not special.”
The smile left his face. “I know I want to know more about you.”
“I’m not gone yet,” she said weakly. “Instead of flinging our arms and legs offbeat to the music on the dance floor, we could become acquainted by talking.”
His cupped her face with his hands drawing her into a kiss. Nicole was surprised but accepted the warmth of his mouth on hers. The persuasion of his lips set her heart a thunder. The seductive scent of his aftershave drew her in like a moth to a flame. He was a stranger, and she was out of her comfort zone and loving it.
His was so different from earlier. This man was an auto mechanic whose hands were most likely calloused, and his fingernails grimy. He also probably wore coveralls smeared with car grease with a dirty rag hanging from the back pocket.
Tonight, his hands were soft and smooth, and he looked sexy as hell dressed in a wool double breasted peak lapel suit with a long-sleeved white dress shirt underneath, pleated black trousers, and a black and white pinstriped tie.
She took pleasure feeling his demanding sexy lips making her want to croon. His powerful arms pressing her close to him made her limp as a wet noodle. She wanted a slice of Walker Albright, only, if she got him, she had no idea how to keep him.
Walker stopped the kiss before he got out of control. Even though she seemed responsive to his advances he didn’t want to push her. Pulling away from her, he sat back. “Nicole, I don’t want to take advantage of you. Tell me to back off if I’m coming on too strong.”
“I might be inexperienced with relationships, but I’m not innocent. I had to have that kiss to get you out of my system before I go home,” she said grinning.
Walker smoothed down his tie. He hated wearing ties, but he wanted to make a good impression and wore a suit. “Is that right? Then I guess I have to do the same to get you out my system,” he said drawing her into another kiss as onlookers watched them smooching.
As the hours passed and the bar was closing, Walker escorted Nicole to her hotel room. Nicole paused at the door before opening it. She hungered for Walker in more ways than a kiss but knew she wouldn’t go that far. “Well, I guess this is it.”
“Yeah, this is your room. Maybe we can meet for coffee before you leave tomorrow?”
“I’m leaving early and you will probably be at work. You have my number, I expect you to call me.”
“Can I get your address?”
“Walker, I have to take this slow. One day I will be able to explain my life to you. Trust me, this is the best way for me to ease into this challenge I have put myself under.”
He groaned. “You're a lousy flirt.”
“I haven't had a lot of practice,” she confessed. “Walker, I don't know how to date or how to play the games that men and women do to lure each other. I could be classified a nun if it weren’t for the fact I use foul language sometimes and I’m not a virgin.”
“From my experience, Nicole, there is no set way to date. If you like a guy, you go after him if he is available. If you hit it off as we have, you take a chance and see where it goes.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is because you don’t have to be someone you’re not. Just be you. Have fun getting to know the guy and time will tell if the union is meant to be or not.”
“Wow, what great advice. Good night, Walker,” she said placing the slightest of a kiss on his lips.
Striking out at first base, he shook his head. “Good night, Nicole and have a safe drive tomorrow.”
Nicole watched him walk down the hall and turn the corner. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against the cool wood, sighing. “I am so sure this was NOT the way to end a date, with a HOT guy.”
Chapter Five
Walker manipulated the pencil between his fingers like a miniature baton as he looked over the shop’s financials. His business were thriving and not hurting for money. Somewhere hiding in the figures was a way to repay Mitch the money and get any paperwork he held in his possession. He shuffled through the pages fill with figures. His eyes blurred from staring at the numbers for hours and not finding a solid solution for his problem. He could move money from the general fund, but he was saving to expand to include a collision center. Taking money from that fund would stall construction on that building for a year or more.
“Knock, knock,” the soft voice of his mother broke his concentration.
“Hey, Mom; what brings you here.” He stood to give his mother a hug. Her smile had a way of tunneling through his bad mood.
“Honey, I have lunch for you. You’ve been so busy lately I’m worried you’re not eating properly.”
“I’m eating, Mom. Sit down and take a load off. Did you take the bus alone?”
“Yes.”
“Mom, if you wanted to go somewhere you should have called me. I’ll have your car finished by tomorrow.”
“Walker, I’m able to get around on the bus until my car is fixed. My mind is still sharp as a tack and I won’t fall victim to a mugging.”
He helped his mother sit. Her mental state appeared strong if you didn’t know her. Lately, she had been flying off the handle at him for the dumbest reasons. She refused to see a doctor for an official diagnoses and to him the mood-swings were a sign of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
“I understand you want your independence but I’m here to do whatever you need me to do.”
“Well, I do have a favor to ask.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “What do you need?”
“I want you to make amends with your brother.”
“Mom….”
“Listen to me, please. Honey, I’m not getting any younger. In ten years, I might not even be around. I cannot leave this planet without having someone to look after you.”
He held her pale white hands between his large ones. His mother was pushing sixty-five and had been pressuring him to marry and have kids before she died. Kissing her fingertips, he looked at her. “Mom, I have you. Jeremy is not the kind of family I want.”
“He is still your family. You have a father and other family members through him. It is time you got to know them.”
He didn’t want to argue with her. He’d skimmed over the facts leading to the demise of his and Jeremy’s friendship that happened three months ago. He had not spoken a word to anyone in the Collingsworth family since the day before the wedding.
What he did miss was Nicole. She left Cleveland without him getting a chance to say goodbye in person. They did speak on the phone if he initiated the call otherwise, he would hear nothing from her. The last time they’d talked, they’d planned to arrange a weekend and hang out, but Nicole never confirmed a solid date due to her work schedule.
Diverting the conversation from his fall-out with Jeremy, he grabbed the picnic basket. “What did you bring to eat?”
Leslie Albright brushed wisps of hair away from her son’s handsome face. “You’re changing the subject as usual. I made you chicken salad and put some fruit and crackers in the basket for you. You need your strength to work on cars.”
“Great. I love the way you make chicken salad with the raisins and apples. What are your plans for today, Mom?”
“The senior center is having a craft exhibit. Would you like to come with me? Mrs. Clampton’s daughter
is demonstrating glass staining.”
Walker scrunched his face. “I’ll think I’ll pass but I’d be happy to drive you to the senior center.”
“I’d wish you come with me. Penny is a delightful girl and available. You two would make cute babies together.”
Laughing he placed the picnic basket on his desk. “I gotta stop you there. I’m not looking for a wife or kids.”
“Walker, what do you want, son? You are a handsome man with a heart of gold. There has to be a woman to fill the void in my baby’s heart. That Mary Ellen person was awful, and I did not like her.”
“Stop worrying, Mom. Mary Ellen is long gone and never coming back.”
“Sweetheart, are there any other women waiting in the wings?”
He crossed his arms, rubbing his thumb against his lower lip. “Mom, there is a woman I’m interested in pursuing. The drawback is she doesn’t live in Cleveland.”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“Yeah, but three months have passed since we’ve last seen each other. She is probably with someone now.”
“Call her and ask, Walker. You won’t rest until you know for sure.”
“That’s impossible, Mom. When I call her we talk for hours. She doesn’t initiate any calls to me. That lack on her end means she isn’t interested.”
“That doesn’t mean she isn’t interested. Maybe she is just shy about calling men.”
“She is a little on the shy and conservative side.”
“Baby, don’t make the same mistakes I have.”
“What are you talking about, Mom?”
“The biggest mistake I made was letting Mitch control my life. I could have been anything had I not let him use me like a cheap whore. I had other men waiting to court me, but I denied them the opportunity believing he would come to his senses and marry me. Look at me, Walker. I’m old. I have nothing to show for my 65-years on this earth.”
“Mom, you aren’t old. Anyhow, I can’t force Nicole to be with me if she’s not feeling me.”
“You won’t know how she feels about you unless you hear it directly from her mouth.”
“I have to let it go,” he said feeling the dejection creeping up his spine. “Why don’t I treat you to a day at the spa? You can get pampered and sip on champagne.”
Leslie narrowed her eyes. “Walker?”
He sighed. “She is gone, Mom. I thought we made a connection, but I was wrong.”
“Baby, no one is ever gone unless they are dead.”
“I can’t argue that.”
“Does your heart yearn for her?”
He nodded rubbing a finger across his brow. “Every damn night.”
“Then do whatever is in your power to get her. All work and no play is not a positive way to cover a lonely heart. I know what I’m talking about, because I’ve lived it twice. Once when Mitch left me and then again when you left home. There is nothing worse than being in a house with no voices other than your own.”
He hated when his mother recalled the hurt Mitch caused her. It made him despise the man even more. “Mom, I can’t do it right now. I have bigger fish in the sea to tackle first.”
“Are you having financial trouble?”
“No.”
“Okay. You aren’t sick, maimed, or blind.”
He sighed. “Mom, get to the point?”
“My point is the fish in the sea stuff will hold until you get the girl.”
Walker framed her frail face kissing her forehead. “The enthusiasm pouring from you is infectious. Come on, doll face, we are taking a road trip.”
She giggled like a schoolgirl as he dragged her from the chair. “Walker, where are we going?”
“We’re going to claim my destiny.”
*****
Patty shook her head reading over the report. “This bank is in serious trouble, Curtis. I have to find a way to turn these minus signs into growth. Have you heard from marketing on the promotion to get new customers I submitted?”
“Nada,” he answered spreading peanut butter on a cracker before shoving it in his mouth.
Patty laid the paper on the desk and forked a hefty portion of salad in her mouth. Working through lunch with her assistant had become routine since business at her bank’s branch, took a turn for the worst in recent years. Returning to work after the honeymoon and juggling long hours meant less time with her new husband, which was hampering her plans. Once she got pregnant, she’d informed her husband she was through with the grind and stress of the business world and becoming a full-time mother and housewife.
“When we’re done with lunch, please contact them. I want to roll this promotion out ASAP, and I can’t if they don’t get me the material. I swear if I don’t do everything around here, nothing gets done.”
“Patty, relax. You’re not the reason the bank is failing. We all know the cause and it has nothing to do with your ability to manage this branch, but the bad economy and broke ass folks defaulting on loan payments.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Curtis for the vote of confidence. If this branch closes, it will be my head on the block. But, I want to save it for the people in the community, and so you will have a job.”
He raised his flamboyant eyebrow. “I will survive, but if you introduce me to your sexy brother-in-law Walker, I won’t need a job.”
“Well, Curtis, there is a problem with your plan. One—Walker is not gay, and two—HE IS NOT GAY. Besides, I haven’t spoken to him in three months.”
“You could have stopped at number one! And is that silly feud still going on? He should get over it.”
She sat back in her chair crossing her legs and twisting the large diamond gracing her ring finger. “It’s my fault. I should have been truthful with Walker from the beginning. Jeremy hasn’t been the same since their fallout either. He really misses his brother. If he could take back that one drunken moment, he would.”
“Have you tried to get them together?”
“Yes. Walker ignores my calls, and I don’t blame him for being mad at me. My meddling backfired for once. In addition to losing his friendship with Jeremy, Walker missed getting with a really good woman.”
“I need a man. Maybe you can introduce me to a guy looking to get what I have to offer. What do you say, you got my back?”
She leaned forward putting her hand on his hand. “Curtis, I’m happy you are able to live your lifestyle. I’m crossing my fingers you find love one day, but don’t say things to me like that and expect an unbiased answer.”
“You won’t help me because I’m gay?”
“I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying I care about you and when you find Mr. Right and introduce me to him; I will welcome him with open arms. But, my matching-making skills are for paring women and men. I’m not saying this to hurt your feelings.”
He pouted then broke into a smile. “I’m teasing you. Even I understand it’s not easy for heterosexuals to get into my world. I’m just asking if you do come across my type, send him my way.”
“You got it, but only if I feel he is worthy of you. Well, let’s finish this up so I can leave on time tonight. I want a baby, and sitting here all night while my husband is home sleeping, won’t get me one.”
“Oh, not waiting until the honeymoon is over before saddling him with a kid; good thinking, girl.”
They shared a laughed only to have it interrupted when the door swung open and Walker barged in on their parade.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk you, Patty.”
Patty’s head snapped in the direction of the door where he stood. “Walker, wow, what a surprise, I was just talking about you.”
“Stir up the devil and he will appear. Again, I don’t want take you away from work but you have something I need,” Walker said with a salty tone.
Curtis scooted closer nudging Patty on the thigh with his finger. She tried to swipe his hand away and match Walker’s dry attitude, even though she was happy to see him. “What do you wa
nt that I have?”
Curtis cleared his throat. “Ahem.”
Patty meanly looked at him then at Walker. “Walker, this is my pesky assistant Curtis.”
“What’s up man,” Walker said giving him a quick glance and returning his attention to Patty. “I want Nicole’s address. I’m driving to Columbus to get her.”
Patty rose slowly from her chair. “Excuse me, to get her? What does that mean?”
“I want Nicole and in order to get her I need her address.”
Patty’s feet tingled from the pressure she pushed on her toes to keep them firmly planted on the floor. Her skills hadn’t let her down. “I don’t know, Walker. I mean shouldn’t you call and ask her for her address? Since you are barging in my office, I’m thinking it has been months since you’ve seen her.”
“I’ve talked to her but not seen her since your wedding. My plan is to appear on her doorstep, so she’ll stop making lame excuses not to see me. She’ll only be able to slam the door in my face.”
“Only a woman out of her head would do a stupid thing like that,” Curtis snorted.
Patty shot him a look and said, “Curtis, why don’t you wait at your desk until I'm finished talking with Walker.”
“What about my lunch? You know we’re not allowed to eat at our desks.”
“Then slap some peanut butter on your tongue and be quiet!”
Curtis rolled his neck scooting his chair to the other side of the desk muttering under his breath. “Don’t have to tell me twice; I’ll be quiet.”
“Thank you!” She blew an exhausting breath from her lips and looked at Walker. His jaw was clenched tight, and his deep blue eyes set dead on her. “Walker, I’ve caused enough trouble. I don’t want to lose Nicole as a friend also. Let me talk to her, and I will get back to you.”
“That’s not acceptable. If you won’t give me her address, I’ll go to Columbus and find her on my own,” he said with a stone face.
Patty knew Walker would not hesitate to do exactly that. She nervously drummed her fingers on the desk. A glimpse of Curtis nodding his approval was convincing enough. Opening the drawer, she removed a pencil and a piece of paper and began writing.
Yearning for Love Page 7