When she forced me to meet her brother Sam, I expected some loud, boisterous hooligan, but instead discovered the most handsome young man I’d ever met.
“Are you thinking about my knucklehead brother again?” Felicia didn’t expect an answer when she phrased it that way; she knew when Sam was on my mind.
I shrugged. “Remember when you first introduced me to him? I thought there was no way we’d ever end up together. He was all into cars and computers and I was just trying to make it through Professor Schneider’s class. Can you believe how things ended up?”
Felicia’s eyes welled up with tears. “The boy was so in love with you. He fell hard. I swear, all he used to talk about was you. He’d get all hot under the collar if some other guy said something about you or if he didn’t hear from you for a few hours. He used to drive me crazy with his nonsense.”
I loved talking about Sam, especially with someone who loved him as much as I loved him, but at the same time, it made me feel sad all over again. It’s like I couldn’t get over him. “Do you really think Sam would be okay with me having dinner with E.J. again? I’m thinking, it would make him nuts. E.J. isn’t exactly a settle down kind of guy. Although, you should have seen him with Edge. The way he acted with him at the school was precious. Did you know his whole house is filled with pictures of the two of them together? There were pictures of them in New York City, pictures of them at different amusement parks, and all kinds of pictures of them out on the town at events and stuff. It was amazing!”
Felicia smiled at me, her eyebrow popping up. “You like him? I can tell. Your whole face lights up when you talk about him.”
Maybe she was a little right, but I certainly didn’t know him well enough to know whether I liked him or not. “I think, he’s interesting. I never said I liked him,” I answered.
“You’re crazy if you don’t. Did you see those muscles and those eyes? He’s a walking sin so you definitely have to get to know him better. I bet he’s got all sorts of tricks to show you. All those years on the football field. I’m sure he knows all kinds of interesting positions. Look at him. If you’re not going to do him, I will,” Felicia threatened. She loved men in all shapes and sizes.
I tried to act like I hadn’t thought of those things, but the truth was, they were almost all I could think about. I wondered what it would feel like to have those big, strong arms of his around me. His lips were practically begging me to kiss them. I don’t know why I didn’t kiss him. It’s not like he wasn’t giving me hints. The way he looked at me, made my panties almost come sliding right off by themselves. And his voice -- good God, his voice! If butter had a tone, that’s what it would sound like. His words rolled off his tongue seductively. It’s like everything he said sounded dirty.
“I’m not talking about sleeping with him!” I protested. “I was asking if you thought it was a good idea to go out with him again.”
“Did he ask you out again?” Felicia asked.
I shrugged. “No, not yet, but what if he does?” I asked.
Felicia laughed. “You know; you don’t make any sense. First, you start talking like he asked you to marry him. Now, you’re saying he hadn’t even asked to see you again. What is wrong with you? Is your head not screwed on tightly enough?”
My cell phone rang, distracting me. “Hold on. Let me see what this is all about.” I walked out of her room to grab my purse off the kitchen counter. “It’s E.J.!” I yelled down the hallway, but Felicia was right behind me.
“Don’t yell. I’m right here. Are you trying to kill me? Answer it. See what he wants.” Felicia picked the phone up and put it in my hand.
“Hello?” My voice trembled as I answered.
“Are you busy?” E.J. asked. “I can call you back another time if you are.”
“No, no. I’m not busy. I was just talking about you.” My words came out faster than I wanted them to. I instantly regretted sounding so eager.
He moaned low. “Oh, really? Tell me what you were saying. Were you talking about my biceps or my abs?” he teased.
Felicia covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle her laughter.
“Neither. I was just… I… How are you?” I tried to change the subject, but I got the feeling he wasn’t going to take the bait.
“Since we’re being honest, I was talking about you today too,” he said.
My heart started to quiver in my chest. “You were?” My voice cracked. “What did you say about me?”
Felicia put her head next to mine to hear his end of the conversation. I tried to shoo her away, but it made her laugh.
“Oh, you’re out? Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” E.J. apologized.
“No, I’m not out. That’s Felicia. You remember her, don’t you? She’s the school secretary,” I explained.
Why did I sound like a nervous teenage girl? I barely knew this man. I’d spoken to plenty of men in my lifetime. Why would this one be any different from the rest?
Felicia sat down on a stool, offering me the one next to her. “Hi, Mr. Razor,” she said loud enough for him to hear.
“Tell her, I said hello. When you’re done, why don’t you give me a call?” he asked, sounding like he was eager to end the call. “It’s not a big deal, just a quick question, I hope you’ll answer in my favor.”
Now that sounded intriguing. I wasn’t exactly known for my patience, so I asked him what the question was.
“Okay, well, I was wondering if you’d like to go on an official date with me? I’ll try to keep the media away. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try. Sorry about the debacle you walked into last night.”
He didn’t have to apologize. I found it kind of fascinating actually. I’d never had people so eager to take my picture. “It’s fine. They didn’t bother me,” I said.
“They will. Trust me. The media is like a group of crazy vultures. They are out for blood. I’ll see what I can do to keep them away from us. It seems like they love taking up real estate in front of my house. Don’t worry. I’ll come up with something,” E.J. promised me.
I hated to bring this up, but I had to. “I want you to know something. I’m not very good at this dating thing. It’s been a long time since I dated anyone and…” I let my voice trail off, nervous about how to broach a touchy subject. “I’ve never dated a famous football player before.”
There was a long silence on his end of the phone. On my side, Felicia was jumping up and down in her seat, flabbergasted that I thought it, let alone said it. The truth was, I’d never dated a man who wasn’t black. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to dive back into dating with a man I didn’t know anything about and who was so far removed from the world I was used to.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but why does it matter to you? You’re a woman -- a sexy ass woman -- and I’m a man. I guess, I don’t see what the problem is. Do you mind explaining it to me? So what if I play football! That’s what I do, not who I am. Call me crazy, but I think your problem with me has nothing to do with what I do.” He sounded like I’d offended him.
“All I’m saying is, it’s been a while since I dated. I’m a little out of practice. I don’t want my first step back into the dating world to be more complicated than it already is. Can you understand that? I mean, I was with my husband since college. He was everything to me. He also happened to be a regular, working class man, so we could relate to one another without any problems,” I explained.
E.J. laughed. “You were a woman; he was a man. End of story. I’m not asking you to marry me yet. I want to spend some time with you. I want to see where this could go. You’re obviously attracted to me and I sure as hell am attracted to you, so why create a problem where there isn’t one?”
My voice caught in my throat. Did he say the ‘M’ word? “Who said anything about marriage?” I asked.
“Believe me, after you spend some time with me, you’ll be begging me to marry you. Trust me; I know what I’m talking about. I’d like to think I know wom
en pretty well,” he said, oblivious to how full of himself he sounded.
Chapter Six – Razor
I had the plan all in place and I was feeling damn good about it. It was solid. Hillary was primed to work with me on this one. She didn’t know it yet, but after I laid my smooth moves on her, she’d beg for me to make her mine. It would look like her idea.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. “Hey, beautiful! What’s new?” I asked, feeling mighty proud of myself for how well things were going.
“Is there ever a moment that goes by when you’re not trying to bullshit some woman?” Kelly was in one of her moods again.
“Hey, Kelly! What’s wrong? Did your man cut you off the good stuff again? I told you, all you have to do is stop walking around with five layers of clothes on. You’re not fooling anyone. I know your body looks good underneath all the stuff you try to hide it underneath,” I teased her.
As expected, she didn’t respond to my comments. “Stephanie’s attorneys called me. They want to schedule a meeting.”
Damn! “Mood killer. Why now? How many times do we have to do this?” I was annoyed by how often Stephanie and her attorneys came up with ways to drag out the proceedings.
“I told you, things were going to get worse before they got better. I don’t know what they want yet. You know how they are -- always trying to sound mysterious. Ominous even. But I’m not swayed by their crap. So, wipe your schedule clean. They want to meet at six o’clock this evening. And check this crap out; they want to meet in my office. Are they kidding me? Like I need some stripper and her highfalutin attorneys hanging around my house!” Kelly worked from home. She kept a small office on the north side but it sat rarely used, reserved for special occasions. She had a law partner, but preferred to work in separate spaces most of the time.
“I can’t. I can’t meet them tonight. I have a date,” I said. “Can’t you handle it for me? Isn’t that what I’m paying you to do -- handle all my problems?”
Kelly didn’t respond immediately. True to form, she was always trying to juggle a number of projects at once.
“Did you hear me?” I asked her. “What is all the noise? What are you doing anyway?”
“I’m putting a roast in the crock pot while also washing dishes, folding laundry, and trying to get this damn dog to stop humping my leg. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention, doing what I can to help you keep your kid,” Kelly said, sarcasm oozing out of every word.
I slumped into the leather armchair in my home office. “See, we’re both busy people. Can’t we reschedule this meeting? I really need to go on this date tonight.”
“What; did your skanks move on to some other jerk football player?” she asked.
“I’m serious, Kelly. I have to go on this date. It’s part of my plan to keep Edge, so work with me here. Help me out and reschedule this meeting. Please. I’m begging you,” I pleaded with her to help me out.
She sighed into the phone. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but whatever it is, you better not jack up all the work I’ve done on your case. Better yet, why don’t you tell me about your plan? This ought to be interesting.”
If I wasn’t so fond of her, I would have said something about her comments, but I knew she had my best interest at heart. “I’m going to ask someone to marry me,” I said, feeling proud of myself for taking the initiative to find a suitable mate. “One who will help me keep my son and make me look like a good solid man. I’m not going to ask her today, but I’m working my way up to it.”
“Please tell me, you’re drunk because that’s the only thing that would make what you said make sense. Are you out of your gourd? Who do you plan on marrying all of a sudden because, last I checked, you were juggling three or four different little groupies? If it’s one of them, cut the relationship off now!” Kelly didn’t mince words. She always had something to say about all the women who loved me. She hated all of them. I think, she secretly wanted me and reacted the way she did out of jealousy.
“It’s not one of them. I’m not dumb. Give me some credit, baby. I found someone way better. She’s the perfect package. She fine. She has a banging body and a brain,” I explained.
I could practically hear Kelly rolling her eyes at me.
“Oh, enlighten me, oh great one. Who is this tramp with a brain? I’m sure every stripper is an aspiring doctor, so which one is it? Bambi? Mandi with an I or Cookie?” Kelly was trying to be funny, but I refused to laugh.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about. I don’t hang out with strippers anymore. I learned my lesson after Stephanie. Trust me,” I said.
I thought about it for a moment. This meeting with the attorneys might actually be a good idea. “Hey, about the emergency sit down with the leeches, don’t cancel it. I’m going to go,” I said.
The noise on Kelly’s end stopped.
“Did you hear me?” I asked, wondering if she hung up on me. It wouldn’t have been the first time she had.
Her voice low, she asked, “What are you doing? Please don’t do anything stupid.”
I laughed it off. “I’m not. I have a plan. You’re going to be so impressed. I have to make a call. I’ll see you later. Wear something pretty.”
“No, don’t you hang up this pho--” Kelly started, but I didn’t have time to hear her out.
It was too late. I was on a mission. I’d invited Hillary out to dinner and made sure the story was leaked to the media, so now I had to tweak those plans and make sure everyone else was on board.
Thankfully, Hillary answered on the first ring. “Hello? I didn’t expect you to call back so soon. Do you need to cancel our dinner plans?” Hillary asked.
“No. Never. I can’t wait to see you. I don’t mean to sound so desperate, but I was wondering if I could possibly take you out a little earlier?” I asked, hoping she’d take the bait. “There’s someplace I’d like to take you.” I was good at this. It’s like I worked my whole life for moments like this.
“You do? Where?” Hillary asked, sounding confused.
Now I had to lay it on thick. “The truth is, I really enjoyed spending time with you. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” There, that should do the trick.
As I’d hoped, she giggled. “Really? Wow, I don’t know what to say. When did you want to go to dinner then? What time are you talking about?”
After some rather smooth talking, the plan was in motion and I was practically dancing like a loon all over my house. Even Edge was getting in on the festivities. The poor kid had no idea he was celebrating yet another time when his dad was fooling a woman, but at least this time, I was doing it for him. This was important. I was justified in my actions. At least, that’s what I’d tell myself when all was said and done.
“Daddy, are you going out tonight?” Edge asked me, looking at me with his big, blue, puppy dog eyes.
“I am, but only for a little while. I’ll be back by the time you go to bed or maybe a little bit after,” I promised him. For him, I always kept my promises. That was a big deal. Something I swore I’d never allow myself to break.
“Are you going out with the silly girl again?” Edge had a label for every woman I dated.
I shook my head, wracking my brain to remember that particular woman’s name. Unable to recall, I answered, “No, I’m going out with a very smart woman tonight. She’s pretty, kind, intelligent and--”
Edge had heard it all before. He finished my sentence for me. “And she won’t leave you alone until you take her on a date somewhere nice.”
He was right, most of the time, but not this time. “Something like that, but not quite. Anyway, I’m going to be back soon.”
Edge was already bored with this conversation. My manager escorted him to the playroom while I jumped in the shower to prepare for my big night. I’d been offered a lot of small acting parts over the years, but I’d never accepted any of them, thinking I didn’t have the chops for it, but if I could pull this off, I may have to rethink my position
on that front.
“I’ll drive myself,” I said to my security team.
My head security guy nodded. He knew when it came to women, I preferred to not have many witnesses. I needed the time to go over my lines. I couldn’t risk messing this up.
I pulled up to Hillary’s place, fully prepared to impress her and convince her that her help was absolutely necessary. She was a teacher after all. It was her job to work in the best interest of her young students.
Razor's Edge: A Bad Boy Romance (Bad Boys of Football Book 2) Page 4