by Nia Arthurs
My eyebrows rose. I had no idea that Drew hadn’t finished college.
“But my mom,” He turned his blue eyes on me, “my mom insisted that I could do whatever I set my mind to. She pushed me forward. Fronted the cash that I needed to start up. She was the first person to invest in my dream. I wouldn’t have made it without her.”
He rubbed at his forehead, glanced at me and then sheepishly glanced away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you.”
“No,” I withdrew my hand quickly. “I feel honored that you would share that with me. And Drew…” I struggled to find the right words, “The way you view success may not have been the way your mom did. I’m sure she was proud of you.”
He stared into my eyes and I stared right back, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn’t discern the feelings that I was trying to bury beneath reason, wisdom and intellect.
“Oh look,” I broke away when his gaze became too much, “we’re almost there.”
The little shack on the end of a pier jutted out toward the sea. A sign hung from its door proudly declaring “D & D’s”. A few cars were parked on the street behind it.
“Cool.” Drew stepped forward and the mood was broken.
We stepped into the restaurant and our eyes adjusted to the softer lighting. A few of the tables were occupied. A man and a woman stood by the bar waiting for their food or drinks to arrive. I led Drew to the bar as well, allowing him to peruse a menu as I frantically appraised the shelves looking for Oreos.
“Lexi?” The man on the other end of the counter hailed me.
I glanced to the left and a note of dread struck my insides when I recognized Jermaine’s face.
No, Lexi. We’re going to be open from now on.
Open. Open. Open.
Yeah, I could do that.
I squelched the initial discomfort that snaked through my body and smiled as sincerely as I could.
“Hi, Jermaine.”
He walked down the counter and stood before me. Since our teenage years, he’d learned not to invade people’s personal space which was a plus in my book.
“Hi.” He said again and then looked up at Drew. “What was your name again?”
“Drew Darcy.” Drew grasped the thicker man’s hand and shook it soundly.
Jermaine returned his attention to me.
I always felt guilt mixed with awkwardness when I was around this guy.
Open. Open. Open.
“What are you doing here?” I said, trying to initiate conversation.
Jermaine nodded at the plate of food arriving from the kitchen, “Getting a late lunch. I had to work all morning on an account.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip and looked away.
Closed. Closed. Closed.
Drew observed our awkward encounter and tried to salvage the conversation, “Hey, man. I hope you enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks.” Jermaine paid for his lunch and then turned to me. “Bye, Lexi.”
“Bye, Jermaine.” He leaned in for a hug, something that I didn’t realize until the last minute. I knocked my head against his ear as I tried to maneuver my arms around him.
“Later,” Drew lifted his palm up in farewell.
Jermaine left with one last look at me.
Feeling like a failure at my new resolution to be open to the wonderful traits that Jermaine possessed, I sat on the bar and begged the host for a packet of Oreos.
“He’s paying for it.” I hooked a thumb at Drew.
“I guess I’m paying for it.” Drew grinned and then ordered a plate of enchiladas. He took the bar stool next to me.
“Well, that was painful.” Drew quipped.
I bit into the beautiful cookie and moaned. “I know.”
“Did you guys end your relationship badly?”
“Nope. I don’t like Jermaine in that way. I’ve never been interested in him like that.”
I waved my hand at the bartender and whimpered. “Sir, would it be possible to get a glass of milk.”
He sent me a dark look and I regretted the order instantly. I always feared that people would spit in my food if I angered them. Fortunately, the Garifuna bartender felt sorry for me and slid a glass filled with Western Diary’s most refreshing stuff my way.
“May the Lord bless you and keep you.” I did the sign of the cross on his behalf.
Drew smirked.
“You are something else.”
I ignored him. I had Oreos. Everything would be okay.
“So,” Drew persisted on the Jermaine topic, “why were you acting so weird when he came in?”
I pursed my lips and chewed on my last cookie. I wondered if Drew would buy me another one.
“My father.” I admitted, feeling the high from a sugar rush clouding my system.
“Your father?”
“Yes.” I said with a French accent.
Drew and the bartender exchanged glances.
“What does your father have to do with anything?”
“I wasn’t allowed to date.” I began slurping my milk. “So whenever I found out that someone liked me I ignored them.”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Because it was easier than admitting that I wasn’t allowed to do something three year olds were doing.”
“Oh,” The bartender shrugged his shoulders, “That makes sense.”
I nodded at him and slid my now empty glass in his direction. He caught it firmly and poured me another glass of milk.
“Thanks.” I lifted my glass toward him in a toast.
“So the guy expressed interest in you.” Drew persisted.
“That’s one way to put it.” I nodded. “When I was sixteen, people started telling me that Jerry was into me.”
“And then what?”
“And then I embarrassed him in front of a lot of those people.”
The bartender folded his arms and judged me. “That’s not cool, man. It takes a lot of guts to let a girl know how you feel. Especially at that age.”
“I know.” I slumped over. “I feel really bad about it. And he’s been nice to me for all these years even though I was really mean to him.”
“He probably hasn’t gotten over you.” The bartender quipped.
I sighed. “Probably not.”
The little bell in the cutout of the kitchen door rang and disturbed my drunken explanations. The bartender grasped the plastic bag holding the container of Drew’s enchiladas and handed it to the my handsome friend.
“Don’t give her anymore Oreos.” The bartender whispered loudly to Drew.
“Why?” Drew responded, “has she behaved like this before?”
“No, I’ve never met her. But I’m trained to see when a guy’s past his limit. No more Oreos.”
“I resent that.” I peered at his T-shirt, “Abercrombie Fitch.”
Drew inhaled a deep breath, “Point taken. I’ll keep her away from sugar.”
I hiccupped.
My exhaustion, coupled with the sugar high from the Oreos and milk, coupled with the sweet Caribbean breeze blowing from the direction of the Sea lured me into a drunken, giddy place. This side of my personality usually emerged when I was safely in my house with my sisters. I preferred it that way. Under the influence of this hazy, inhibition removing condition, I normally said and did stupid things.
Hopefully, I could reign in my inebriated self before Drew learned all of my secrets. Especially the ones about him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The next few minutes kind of got lost in the murk of my unending chatter and Drew’s frequent glances of concern. We drew close to the park and I raced forward, rushing to the court and jumping in front of the ball that Archie had just tossed to knock it off-course.
“Lexi!” Josh scolded when the ball bounced a few meters away.
Melody left Ally with Spencer and drew me away from the court.
“What’s up?” I grinned at my sister.
“Hi, baby. Listen, Drew’s going to take you home. And
next time, we’ll warn him about feeding you Oreos when you’re tired.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
Why was she talking to me like I was a baby?
“Yeah, whatever. Bye guys!” I waved at the crew who all waved back.
“See you tomorrow!” Susan yelled and blew me a kiss.
I laughed, my mood once more uplifted and followed behind Drew as he popped open his car and helped me in. He seemed mildly freaked out, but mostly amused by my behavior. As he started the car and drove off, I bit my lip to keep from speaking. I was alert enough to recognize that my boundaries were down. All Reyes women had a slight disconnect with the brain filter that was supposed to keep random and sometimes inappropriate information from spewing forth. Because I was anti-social (there I said it), I usually avoided drama associated with this condition.
Fortunately, I managed to keep my mouth shut the entire ride to the apartment.
Unfortunately, Drew insisted on walking me up.
Sweat gathered on my brow as I climbed the steps to the second story. I couldn’t hold out for much longer.
Go away. Go away.
I kept my gaze down and my lips pinned together. The sun was about to set and the rays of light coming from the big glass window in the ceiling of the main hallway streamed into the carpeted corridor and turned the dust mites to tiny, golden stars.
I dipped my head toward Drew and inserted my key into the lock. My hands were shaking so hard, the jingling metal slipped through my fingers and unto the floor.
“I’ve got it.” I blurted.
“Let me get that for you.” Drew said at the same time.
We both stooped down and reached for the keys effectively knocking heads.
“Ow.” I protested.
He held a hand to his forehead and glanced at me through the pain. We both shared a shy little laugh. I swiped the keys and stood, once more trying to fit the key that I used every day without any trouble, into the lock.
Drew stepped close behind me and grasped my hand. His touch was warm and firm. I inhaled his scent deeply and my eyes fluttered closed as he guided my way. With his help, I succeeded in inserting the metal into the lock and turning the key. His hand brushed the length of my arm as he released his hold on me.
“There you go.” He rumbled in that deep, velvety voice of his.
I turned around and faced him, inhaling sharply when I realized that he was only a breath away.
Step back, Lexi. Step back.
But I didn’t. And neither did he.
Thanks to my dad, I knew many, many things about relationships. He’d drilled the importance of sifting a man’s heart before giving your own away since I was a little girl. His words were etched into my brain.
“While you’re dating, a man will only show you his screensaver. You won’t find out who he really is unless you’re watching.”
“Look at how a guy treats his mother, his sisters, and any other important females in his life. If he treats them with no respect, how do you think he’ll treat you.”
Oh, and this was his favorite.
“All guys want is your body. When they’ve gotten ‘it’ from you, you’ll become old and they’ll move on to the next body. This applies to every man … unless he’s not attracted to females at all.”
Compared to most, I considered myself very, very wise when it came to guys. I had a plan in place for that phase of my life, whenever that moment came.
But that plan hadn’t prepared me for the racing of my heart when Drew’s blue, blue eyes gazed into mine.
It hadn’t warned me of the intimacy of two breaths mingling as one in the quiet of a vacant corridor.
It hadn’t trained me for the intense desire to feel closer, be closer.
His tan thumb brushed the skin of my brown cheek and my eyes fluttered closed.
I trembled as my intelligent, reasonable side warred with the woman inside longing to be acknowledged by a man.
Drew grasped my chin and kissed my cheek, softly, smoothly, the coarse hairs of his stubble rasping the sensitive nape of my jaw. My heart thumped against my chest, a rhythm of longing and want, a feeling I hadn’t dreamed that I was capable of. I grasped the fabric of his T-shirt and he stepped even closer. I felt the door at my back but for the life of me I couldn’t let him go.
“Lexi,” He whispered, the name as soft a caress as his kiss.
I squeezed my fist tighter into his shirt and shook my head slightly.
If I was in my right mind, I would have thought of Catherine and stepped back.
I would have respected our work relationship and would have released his T-shirt from my fist.
But I wasn’t thinking clearly. I didn’t want to think clearly. For the moment, all I wanted was for Drew to kiss me.
Without realizing it, I spoke my desire out loud.
And Drew heartily obliged.
At first the touch was awkward. I’d never been kissed and I had no idea what to do with my lips or my hands or my head. The press of my nose against his was kind of uncomfortable. Initially, it was far from the explosion of sensations that I’d heard about.
But then…
Drew grunted. Removing his hand from my chin, he pinned me in place with an arm banded around my waist and tilted his head the other direction before swooping down and claiming my mouth once again. By that time, I’d sort of gotten the hang of our lip lock. Drew sipped from my lips and I let him before realizing that I wanted to try that move too. He seemed very pleased by my assertiveness. It was a messy, sloppy kind of kiss. I couldn’t tamp down my excitement and my enthusiasm only served to invigorate him. Drew let me take the lead, until he didn’t anymore. He tempered my zeal with a slight squeeze of my hip and slowed the kiss down until he broke away.
He leaned his forehead against mine, his baby blues were darkened to the color of the Sea at night.
“I should go.” He whispered.
I bit my bottom lip and nodded, but neither of us moved.
“I should go.” Drew repeated, trying to convince himself.
This time, his statement shook me back to reality.
“You should go.” I agreed and un-fisted my hands. The wrinkles in his T-shirt would need an extra hot iron to smoothen, but I did my best, rubbing my hands down his chest to erase my presence there.
He gripped my hands. “Stop.” He choked out and stood back, leaving my hands suspended in the air. “Good night, Lexi.”
“Good night, Drew.” I sent him a little wave and disappeared into the refuge of my apartment.
I locked the door behind me and sunk to the ground staring at the ceiling and calling myself every synonym for foolish in the dictionary.
That kiss was amazing, incredible, unbelievable. But it was also wrong.
What was supposed to happen next?
Drew was interested in someone else. Drew was my co-producer. Drew was my friend. Had our kiss just ruined all of that?
I groaned and dragged my body off to bed. It was time to obsess about that kiss and pray to the King that our lives wouldn’t be ruined because of it.
The next morning, I sat beside Drew and tried very hard to scoot away so our knees would not touch. Unfortunately, since once again our crew was stuffed into one pew, the touching of thigh against thigh or arm against arm was inevitable. Drew seemed completely cool today, as if he hadn’t kissed the daylights out of me last night.
As if he did that on the regular with a bunch of different girls.
Okay, that assumption was probably unfair. Drew hadn’t done or said anything to give me the impression that he was a player. My own personal prejudice with handsome, financially stable men fed that thought. But his cool behavior was still a little off-putting. I knew a conversation was coming. I just didn’t know when, what it would be about, or how awkward it would leave us.
Normally, I loved coming to the Gym. Pastor Stanley was an amazing teacher. Today, however, I was too busy obsessing about Drew’s aloofness and the fact t
hat our bodies were touching to listen to his message. I labored through an hour of teaching and then I stood immediately and hopped over to my parent’s pew, engaging Eryn in a conversation. I’d asked Mrs. Freemont if I could invite my little sister to guest star as the voice of a new character and she agreed to an audition. I’m sure Eryn would be ecstatic. She was outgoing like that.
“Hey, Lexi.” Jermaine tapped my shoulder and I whirled around to meet him.
“Hi, Jermaine.”
Eryn snickered but I ignored her.
“I don’t mean to bother you.” He said, looking uncomfortable and quickly glancing at Eryn’s amused features, “I just wanted to confirm that you’re coming to the youth camp next week.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I nodded. “Did you ask the rest of the guys?” I turned around and yelled at Melody and the crew. “You guys still going to chaperone the kids this weekend.”
“Peyton and I can’t.” Spencer shook his head. “We have a business conference in L.A.”
“That means I’m out.” Melody shook her head, “Sorry Jermaine.”
“I can go.” Mia nodded, “Evana’s a great manager. She can deal for a few days.”
“I’ll go too. Josh would love a camping trip.” Persia nodded.
“And Tyrone can spend some more bonding time, huh,” Mia poked Persia in the side and raised her eyebrows suggestively.
“Whatever.” Persia smirked.
“We can go.” Susan spoke for herself and her husband. “It starts on Friday right?”
“Yeah, from Friday to Sunday morning.” Jermaine confirmed.
“Sounds good.” Archie nodded.
“I’ll come too.” Drew spoke up.
I glanced at him with surprise coloring my expression. Drew didn’t strike me as the outdoorsy type, as ruggedly handsome as he was.
“Okay, I’ll go record your names. See you all next Friday.” He waved and we called goodbye.
After greeting everyone that they possibly could, my parents finally travelled to the car and started the cavern of the Reyes family and crew to their split level home. I climbed out and argued with Eryn about the insanity of taking voice lessons, when someone touched me on the arm. I stopped short. It was Archie. Only one man could sweep a fire in me with a simple touch.