Although he’d covered himself, she caught a glimpse of his long cock peeking out, and could imagine the way his balls, drawn tight against his groin after showering, would look…
Candy forced her lusting eyes away.
She had some things to sort out; questions about last night. The last words he uttered were fresh in her mind, before she engaged in any more…escapades…with Davis.
“Good morning. I didn’t mean to wake you.” His eyes searched hers, his voice low-pitched.
“I think I’d better get ready to go, I have a lot to do today,” she blurted, unsure what to say. The main thing on her mind was to get home and away from Davis Strong. She needed to think. She couldn’t do that with him standing before her, nearly naked, staring at her as though he was ready to pick up where they left off in the wee hours of the night.
“You can take a shower. I would have woken you up and asked you to share one with me, but you looked so peaceful laying there, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up. You looked tired,” he murmured, carefully scrutinizing her face.
“I’m fine. I think I’ll just get dressed, and if you could take me home—”
“Is everything okay?” he asked, confusion on his face. He stepped nearer to her when she stood. Candy felt like a deer caught in the headlights, unmoving, in the middle of the floor.
“I’m fine, last night was great. Like you said, I’m just a little tired—”
“God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so demanding. It was all my—”
“No, it wasn’t your fault,” she finished for him this time, seeing the direction he was going.
Candy didn’t need to hear him apologize for giving her the best night of her life. She didn’t want to see the way his nostrils flared or his eyes trailed to her mouth when she licked her suddenly dry lips, either.
She particularly didn’t want to see the guilty-looking expression flash across his handsome face.
The guilt probably came from thoughts of last night, the way he’d loved her, the incredible way they’d loved one another, as he was thinking of his wife, Gail.
Feeling as though he’d somehow betrayed her memory, or worse, wishing she had been the woman in his bed, instead of Candy.
She straightened her shoulders and gave him a determined, carefree smile.
“It was amazing, Davis. And I would love to take you up on the offer of breakfast, but I think I’d better go. I have a lot to do this morning and afternoon, to get everything ready for tonight.”
“But you still have to eat, Candy, it won’t take me long—”
“Look, I would like for you to take me home,” she interrupted him, again. This time a set look crossed his face and he gave a short nod.
“Fine. Let me grab something to put on, and as soon as you’re ready—” he paused, and his gaze roamed quickly over her sheet-wrapped body “—I’ll take you home.”
“I’ll be ready as soon as I find my clothes,” Candy replied and turned to leave the room in search of her abandoned clothes.
She swallowed, hard, when she glanced over her shoulder and noticed the way he tented the towel draped over his lean hips.
Candy hurried out of the room, in search of her clothes, compelled to be far, far away from his hot gaze roaming over her sheet-covered backside.
23
“K arina, Liza, I can’t thank you ladies enough for helping out with the dance! I wouldn’t know what to do without you, sometimes. You’re both a godsend,” Candy said to two of her volunteers, Karina Woodson and Liza Toulson.
She stood from her crouched position with an armful of items. She carefully moved aside the dish in which a colorful assortment of condoms were placed and set her bundle down.
She made a mental note to remind herself to remove the bowl before any of her girls came into her office. She’d picked the prophylactics up at the drugstore after she’d agreed to give a safe sex class at the women’s shelter she volunteered at once a week.
She definitely didn’t want any parents getting the wrong idea and thinking she was teaching their girls about safe sex. But if she had her way, she would. Many of her teens were having sex, and unfortunately it occurred without the majority of their parents’ knowledge.
Some protected themselves, while others played Russian roulette, not understanding the ramifications of unsafe sex.
After she moved the bowl aside she smoothed down the hem of her short wrap skirt and glanced over at her two favorite volunteers.
Liza had begun to volunteer six months ago, and Karina had been volunteering at the center before Candy came on board as the director. Karina had spent many Saturday afternoons helping out wherever she was needed, usually with the younger girls.
Because Liza was a licensed social worker, Candy considered herself a blessed woman to have her help with the counseling sessions with the older teens.
Both ladies were dedicated to the success of the young girls who attended Girls Unlimited, as both had been members of the center as young girls themselves.
In the beginning, Liza had been hesitant, hadn’t known how the girls would react to her. She’d not been to the old neighborhood since she left after graduating from high school, purposely putting the pain of her youth far behind her. Unlike Karina, she’d wanted no ties with a past that for her had been filled with poverty and a mother who neglected her.
Candy allowed her glance to slide over Liza. She was crouched down next to Karina as they scoured the many boxes on the floor of her office in search of decorations for the dance.
Liza was always turned out to the T. Even in the jeans she was currently wearing, which she’d coupled with a designer sweater, she exuded sophistication. Her tall, model-like slim body seemed perfectly suited for anything she wore.
Her perfectly coiffed, relaxed bob had subtle light brown highlights and feathered up at the ends, with fringed bangs framing her high forehead. Her beautiful deep-brown complexion was flawless, makeup always impeccable. And although she had a slightly reserved personality, she was very approachable and the girls she helped to mentor had come to respect her.
Candy turned to look at Karina and felt a smile automatically stretch her lips.
As for Karina, she’d been a volunteer on a regular basis, since her undergraduate days at the state university. She too grew up on the north side of town, alongside Liza. But unlike Liza, she’d grown up in a loving home, with her grandmother and mother, and had known nothing but affection.
Karina volunteered often on the weekends as well as the occasional evening, when she could spare the time between building her new web design business and her new marriage.
Karina was a self-proclaimed nerd, loved her computer and would talk your ear off about the latest HTML or ColdFusion product that hit the market. She’d started giving a small class on Saturdays, teaching the girls how to use the computer, and it had been a great success.
The girls loved her, but then again, most people loved Karina. She was similar in height and body type to Candy, hips and thighs, not overweight, but she definitely was curvy. But unlike Candy, Karina had boobs. Even before she was pregnant, she was an impressive C cup, unlike Candy, who was lucky to fill an A.
She wore her hair natural, as did Candy, but instead of wearing her kinky mane loose, she wore it locked. She sported cowrie shells and hair jewelry on several of the long, light brown locs, which framed a pretty, café-au-lait-toned face.
Her wire-framed glasses were perpetually dropped down low on her round nose, causing her to constantly push them up the short bridge.
Although Candy tended to be a bit of a loner and had few girlfriends, she enjoyed being in both of the women’s company. She’d once accompanied them on a rare shopping expedition to the mall, and although she hadn’t actually bought anything, she’d enjoyed being with the ladies.
Candy never had any close friends growing up, because of the way she constantly moved from city to city and job to job with her father. She learned quickly that
to form friendships ended up being more painful in the end, when, inevitably, she’d have to say goodbye.
Yet, over the course of the last months of her association with Karina and Liza, she’d gradually, without even being aware of it, become friends with them.
Karina had the type of personality that drew people like magnets, male or female. She had an open and friendly disposition that was so infectious, it was no surprise to Candy she had become one of the few friends she had within her inner circle.
She’d only recently gotten married, six months ago, and was still in the honeymoon stage. Although Candy was happy for her when she first told of her upcoming nuptials, she had to admit too, she was selfishly afraid she’d lose Karina as a volunteer once she’d gotten married.
In Candy’s experience there weren’t that many men she personally knew who were willing to give up their wives on a Saturday to volunteer, let alone have them devote the amount of time that Karina did, but that was before she’d met Karina’s husband, Cooper.
Since their marriage, Cooper was at the center, volunteering alongside his wife, and it was clear he was not only besotted with his wife, but had grown just as committed to the center as she had.
“Girl, please! It’s no problem. You know how much we love it here. I think I benefit more than the girls do,” Karina chuckled, head deep inside one of the boxes on the floor of Candy’s office.
“No, I think the girls are lucky to have you and Liza here,” Candy countered, with affection.
She walked over to where both women were hunched down on the floor, sifting through and lifting out various decorations for inspection.
“Let me help you with this,” she said and took an armful of the supplies Karina ferreted from the box in the storage closet. She set them on a chair before offering her hand to help Karina stand.
“These should work out fine, don’t you think?” Karina asked, looking down at the small pile of decorations as she rubbed her round belly, absentmindedly.
Karina was nearly six months pregnant with twins; her belly was nice and round, but she didn’t let it stop her from remaining active. She’d disclosed to Candy that early in her pregnancy the doctors were worried when they found out she was pregnant with twins. One of the babies didn’t look to be developing at the same rate, but as the months passed, things seemed to be going well with the pregnancy. Nonetheless, Candy was still concerned for her.
“Everything going well with the babies?” Candy asked.
“Everything is great!” she replied.
Karina gratefully eased her body down in the oversized chair in front of Candy’s desk and took a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” Liza asked, concern in her voice, as she too sat down in one of the chairs facing the desk.
“Oh, I’m fine! Just a cramp, I think. Hmm. Wait a minute, I think it’s heartburn.” She placed a splayed out hand on her chest as she furrowed her brow. “Girl, it’s probably from eating, inhaling, too much junk,” she groaned. “It’s not the babies’ fault their mama is addicted to those doggone Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream pies,” she groaned and they all laughed.
“I was hoping for the more traditional pickle cravings I keep hearing about. Something a lot less fattening than what I’m devouring, at any rate. No such luck for me,” Karina goodnaturedly grumbled. “In fact, I think it’s getting worse if my growing girth is any indication. And, nut that my husband is, he keeps feeding my addiction!”
“What’s he doing?” Candy asked and laughed inwardly, preparing herself. She and Liza exchanged a look.
There was no telling where this was going. Karina was hilarious at times, with the stories she told about her smitten man.
According to Liza, Karina had been a studious bookworm before she met her husband Cooper. She’d not dated much, devoted much of her time to building her Web business, and tended to be shy around men.
That all changed when she’d met Cooper. The man had introduced sweet, mild Karina to a few sexual adventures Liza swore up and down were illegal in certain states and which Karina would gleefully tell Liza all about.
From that day on, Candy looked at the mild Karina in a totally different light. Looks were definitely deceiving.
“Girl, last night I was seriously jonesing for some Little Deb’s and Cooper drove across town to Wal-Mart to buy a box when the gas station a few miles away from our house didn’t stock them! If that’s not feeding this addiction of mine, I don’t know what is!”
Although she complained, the look of bliss etched on her face clearly said how much she loved the attention. Candy felt a pang of jealousy, her thoughts sliding toward Davis and their current situation. To have a man so totally devoted to a woman was a rare thing.
Candy blew out a breath of disgust at herself, forcing her mind to leave the puzzle of Davis alone for a hot minute.
She wasn’t up to analyzing, again, the events of the previous evening.
Candy plastered a smile on her face and replied, “That is too sweet. You and Cooper are blessed.”
“Yeah, we are,” Karina grinned, and pushed her small wirerimmed glasses further up her short nose. “We got to hear both of the babies’ heartbeats at my last ob appointment! Cooper was beyond himself. The man all but thumped his chest and went all he-man on me, when the doctor identified Gabriel’s beat,” she laughed.
“Oh, Karina, I’m so happy for you! I can imagine just how that would make a man go ‘he-man’,” Candy laughed along with her.
Because of the early fear that both twins weren’t doing well, they’d agreed to have an amniocentesis, to determine if both babies were healthy, and with the positive results came the news that one of the twins was a female, and the other a male.
“It felt good to know both twins are doing well. And now we know their sex. Coop and I are happy we have a boy and girl. Gabriel may be smaller than his sister, but that sure doesn’t stop him from playing kick ball with her. I swear those two have formed their own football team and my belly is their arena!”
The three women talked about babies and husbands for a bit. Although Candy had experience in neither area, she participated in the conversation, laughing at some of the things Karina told them of the measures Cooper had begun to go through in his quest to baby-proof the house.
When Candy heard the strains of music, as it filtered into her office, she glanced up at the clock in the corner of the room and noted the time.
“I think some of our kids will be here shortly. I asked the volunteers to be here an hour before the dance starts. I think the DJ is setting up now. Someone must have let him into the gym.”
Candy walked back to her desk and began to fill one of the small boxes with the decorations they’d chosen. Liza stood and walked to the desk to help.
“Girl, sit down, we have this. It takes you too darn long to waddle these days,” Liza told her friend as Karina was pushing herself up by the arms of the chair. Karina stuck her tongue out at her but sat back down with a grateful sigh.
“So how is everything going with you…with Angelica?” Karina asked and, surprised, Candy turned back to face her.
“Everything is fine. Why do you ask?” No sooner had she spoken when she instantly knew the answer. Pauline Rogers.
“Oh, Sister Pauline mentioned you were doing some special type of mentoring with her, that’s all,” Karina replied with the answer Candy already knew.
She continued to place the decor items in the box and wondered how much to disclose to the women. She didn’t know how much Sister Pauline had already told them. Although Pauline tended to give her opinions a bit freely, Candy trusted her.
“Hmm. Well, it’s going fine. I think. We’re beginning to form an understanding at least. I think she’s beginning to trust me. At least she’s beginning to open up a little more than she ever has.”
“That’s good. She’s a confused little girl, I think.”
Candy turned questioning eyes in Karina’s direction.
“What do
you mean?”
“Well,” Karina began and stopped for a minute, head cocked to the side, as though considering her words carefully. “I think she has had a bit of a hard time, not having a mother around. Luckily, she has her aunt Milly, but I think when Milly left town for a while, poor Angel was even more alone. And it definitely didn’t help when she started hanging around some of the girls she’s been with lately, at the center.” Karina mentioned the same girls Candy, as well as Davis, had identified as part of the problem.
Candy stopped filling her box and thoughtfully looked at Karina. “I’m not sure how much you’re aware of what’s going on with Angelica—” she asked, including both women in the question.
“I know that she’s getting in trouble at school. Seems to be a bit more defiant lately, much more than she used to be,” Karina said with a shake of her head. “It’s too bad. She’s basically a sweet little girl. She’s just having a hard time, lately, I think.”
“I only know what Karina has told me. I don’t get to see her that much, I’m usually with the older girls,” Liza replied.
“If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me what your thoughts are on Angel? I’m trying to help, in whatever way I can, with what’s going on with her.”
She decided to bring Karina and Liza a bit more into her confidence, and shared some of what was going on with Angelica at school. She also shared what role she herself had agreed to play in helping to resolve some of the child’s issues. When she finished speaking she turned to Karina.
“I’ve known her since she was six years old and first came to the center. She’s always been a precocious little thing. Girl, that child has more attitude than someone four times her age!” Karina said after Candy finished.
Candy agreed with her. Angelica often displayed a sweet disposition, but when she was in one of her moods, she would quickly turn to smack talking, head rolling, hands on her little hips and everything, as she gave her opinion on whatever was on her mind.
Just Like Candy Page 14