Gotta Get Next To You (20 page)

“Perfect.” Andrea smiled at him.

“So when were you on Saint Maarten? Maybe we
bumped into each other.”

“On my honeymoon almost ten years ago. My
husband met his future mistress that week,” Andrea said. She
frowned and pushed the memory away.

“Oh,” Jamal mumbled. “Well, at least you got
some good art out of it, right?” He wore a cautious smile.

Andrea looked at him for a few seconds in
stunned silence, and then burst out laughing. “I never thought of
it that way. You’re so silly. How did you know I wouldn’t punch
you?”

“I counted on your great sense of humor. Plus
I can move pretty fast.” He laughed with her.

“Uh-huh. Now let’s see how fast we can both
move. I can’t stand all this clutter.”

They traded jokes for the next two hours as
they worked. Andrea gave him directions on moving the furniture
once most of the boxes were empty. They hung up pictures, put her
bed up, and threw away mounds of newspaper used to cushion her
belongings. By one o’clock they were both tired and hungry. Andrea
collapsed on the sofa with a groan.

“My back aches, my feet hurt, and I’m
sweating like a construction worker.” Her head fell back on the
cushion and she closed her eyes.

Jamal sat next to her. “Well, at least you’re
a cute sweaty construction worker.” He sniffed the air. “And not
too stinky.”

“Hey!” Andrea smacked the top of his head
with a small throw cushion. “You’re supposed to tell me I’m
completely wrong. You flunk the southern gentleman test.”

“C’mon, give me some credit. I did say you
were cute and sweaty.” Jamal ducked a second swing at his head.

“I forgot that sense of humor could be used
for evil purposes.”

“I give up.” Jamal raised both hands. “The
truth is you’re not cute.”

“You’re asking for it.” Andrea raised the
cushion again.

He closed one large hand around her wrist.
“You’re beautiful.” His gaze swept over her. “All the time, in
every way.”

Pleasure surged through her body at his
touch. Instantly she forgot about keeping distance between them. In
fact, she wanted him closer. As though pulled by a powerful
magnetic force, he leaned toward her. Andrea dropped the cushion
and met him halfway. He gave her one light kiss, then another, then
another. Andrea closed her eyes as his tongue traced a fiery trail
along her bottom lip before tasting the inside of her mouth. His
gen- de probing continued until they both moaned softly. Andrea
felt a shiver begin at the base of her spine and fan out until
every part of her body seemed to vibrate.

Jamal’s hands slid from her back to her hips.
Andrea savored the heat from his body beneath the cotton T- shirt.
She gasped when he kissed her neck. His lips brushed down the open
neckline of her short-sleeved shirt. She wanted him to touch her
everywhere. Andrea undid the top four buttons and tilted her head
back. He eagerly nuzzled the soft mounds of exposed flesh above the
pink lace bra. The only sound she heard was their heavy breathing.
Andrea buried her fingers in curls of dark hair as he continued to
kiss her breasts.

Jamal found the front hooks and opened the
bra. Andrea gasped as he nudged the fabric aside with one hand.
Jamal circled one nipple with his tongue delicately before taking
it in his mouth. The sensation of his teasing caress made her ache
for more. It was a sweet mixture of pleasure and pain, a sexual
hunger that gripped her with a vengeance. From a distance Andrea
heard a voice that seemed not her own but had to be.

“Here, please,” she whispered, and offered
her other breast to him.

“Yes, baby.”

He opened the last buttons of her shirt.
Andrea watched in ecstatic fascination as his head bent down toward
her erect nipples.

The phone rang. Neither moved as it jangled
five times.

Jamal gripped her tighter. He nibbled one
nipple gently with his full lips, then moved to the other. “Ignore
it,” he said hoarsely.

“Yes,” Andrea breathed. She had no intention
of answering the phone.

The phone stopped, but then the door chimes
played a musical tune. Andrea’s head began to clear ever so slowly.
“Wait, I...” Her effort to swim out of the haze of desire was
blunted by his insistent tongue on her nipple again, this time
faster.

“No, they’ll go away.” To make the point how
much he wanted her, Jamal put his hand between her legs.

Andrea bit back a loud moan. “It could be
Gran.”

The door chimes rang again and a female voice
called out, “Miss Noble, Shirley Sharp, the manager. I wanted to
give you the checklist.”

Jamal continued to nip at her flesh hungrily.
“She’ll get tired and leave.”

Andrea pushed Jamal’s face away from her body
with great reluctance. “Just a minute,” she yelled back.

“It’s obvious she knows I’m in here,” she
whispered.

“Damn!” Jamal muttered, and took a deep,
shaky breath as he sat back. “I’ve gotta throw cold water on my
face ... and a few other places.” He stumbled to the half bath a
few feet down the hall.

Andrea hastily fastened her bra and buttoned
her blouse. She checked herself in the mirror, combed her hair with
her fingers, then went to the front door.

Ms. Sharp was buxom, well past thirty-five
with hair dyed a deep copper that matched her brown skin. And she
was apparently very curious about her new tenant.

“Hi,” the woman said as she peered past
Andrea into the apartment. “Uh, I didn’t mean to inconvenience you
and your friend. I guess you had to climb over boxes and all.”

“No problem,” Andrea said in a bright voice.
“Come right in. We were in the back bedroom—putting things in the
extra closet,” she added quickly when the woman’s auburn eyebrows
shot up.

“Right.” She wore a knowing smile. “Anyway, I
forgot to give you this list. Mark anything that needs repair. That
way we can catch problems early.”

“Thanks, Ms. Sharp.” Andrea almost snatched
the paper from her hands. “I’m sure everything is just fine.”
“Yes,” Ms. Sharp said without moving. She glanced around. “You’ve
really done a lot in a short time.”

“Hard work and determination, I guess.”
Andrea smiled at her and cleared her throat. “But we’ve still got
quite a lot to do.”

“Of course, having your furniture delivered
the other day helped.” Ms. Sharp lingered as her gaze darted to the
hallway. It was obvious she wanted to see more.

“It certainly did.” Andrea rolled the two
page checklist into a tube and tapped it against her thigh. “Is
there anything else? We really want to finish and get some
lunch.”

“No. Just be sure and get that to me within
the next five working days.” Ms. Sharp seemed reluctant to
leave.

Andrea almost cried out with joy when the
phone rang again. “Well, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Certainly, of course. I... Oh my,” Ms. Sharp
blinked when Jamal strolled down the hall. She stared at his
chest.

He nodded to her. “Hi. I’ll get it.” He went
down the short hallway to the kitchen and picked up the cordless
phone on the counter.

“I’ll be sure and bring the checklist no
later than Tuesday.” Andrea fought the urge to push the woman
out.

“Good.” Ms. Sharp patted her hair and batted
her eyelashes. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to
help.”

“We’re doing fine, thank you,” Andrea said
crisply, annoyed at the way she ogled Jamal.

“I’ll bet,” she said with a sigh that reeked
of envy. “Well, good-bye.”

“’Bye.” Andrea ushered the woman out and shut
the door behind her with a firm thump. “Some nerve,” she muttered
under her breath.

“What was that?” Jamal came out holding the
cord-less phone.

“Nothing.” Andrea tugged at her blouse.

“It’s your grandmother,” he said. He held it
out to her without walking closer.

Andrea took the phone. “Hi. On your way?”

Andrea fervently hoped so. Gran would add a
much needed buffer zone. True to her devious matchmaking
intentions, Gran made an excuse. She gaily twittered that she was
sure Andrea didn’t need help. But help was the one thing Andrea
needed most. Being alone with Jamal proved one thing: she could not
trust herself to think rationally.

“But you’ve got more of my things and ... A
club meeting you forgot about, huh? Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Andrea punched the off button. Awkward silence stretched on for
what seemed forever.

“Listen, about what just happened between
us,” Jamal started, and then stopped.

Andrea shifted her weight from one foot to
the other. “It’s obviously a bad idea. I mean, we work together.
I’m the boss.”

“It was my fault. I kinda got out of hand
when you smiled at me. You’ve got the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen
and—”

“Don’t go there again.” Andrea stepped back.
She took a deep breath and let it out.

“Of course. I mean, it would just complicate
things at the clinic. No way would it ever work.” Despite his
words, Jamal looked at her with a question in his dark eyes.

Her breasts tingled with the tactile memory
of his caress. He’d known just the way she wanted and needed to be
touched. She forced herself to look away.

“Exactly. It could affect staff morale,”
Andrea replied.

He walked close to her but kept both hands at
his sides. “Maybe not.”

“You know better. The last thing we need is a
hot romance interfering with our working relationship. Not to
mention, the board would question my judgment, and they’d be
right.” Andrea rubbed her eyes. “I must have lost my mind.”

“Then we’ve got an even bigger problem. This
thing between us isn’t going away, Andrea,” he said softly. “It
just keeps getting stronger. What do you suggest?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you want me to resign, I will,” Jamal
said solemnly.

“No!” Andrea said forcefully, then cleared
her throat.

“I mean we’re mature and experienced enough
to handle it.”

“Sure,” he said without conviction. “So we’ll
work together like nothing happened?”

Andrea lifted her chin. “Okay, there’s a kind
of basic physical attraction. But we both know giving in would be a
disaster, so I say we try to stay out of each other’s way for a
while.”

Jamal nodded slowly. “How long do you think
it will take? A few days? A week? A month?”

“I don’t know,” Andrea blurted out in
exasperation. “We’ll take it one day at a time.”

“Okay.” Jamal was silent for a few
moments.

Andrea did not look at him. She was afraid
that her fragile resolve would disintegrate if she did. Still, she
could almost cut the tension and ambivalence in the air between
them. Both of them were holding back.

“Maybe it would be easier if we talked it
out,” Jamal said.

“Well...” Andrea shook her head.

“In a neutral place. I think trying to ignore
it will only make things worse. Let’s get it out in the open.”
“Maybe discussing the objective reasons we should only be
colleagues will help.” Andrea risked a glance at him.

“Let’s go somewhere, have lunch and
talk.”

Andrea thought about his suggestion for
several seconds. “No, I think you’d better leave.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right at that.” He took a
deep breath, slapped his palms against his thighs, and then turned
to leave. “See ya round.”

“Right.”

She watched him walk away. It was sixty
seconds of internal debate. The urge to shout for him to come back
warred with her practical self. She could not afford to jeopardize
her credibility by plunging into a torrid affair with a handsome
employee. Not to mention the danger to her sense of emotional
security. Fear of another painful betrayal loomed larger than any
concern about the opinions of others. If any man was a heartbreak
on two legs, it was the alluring, sensuous Jamal Turner. She had to
get over this insane lapse in judgment. Andrea stared out the
window for another two hours. She didn’t get any more unpacking
done that day. It would take days for the tingle to fade, if it
ever did.

Charlene bounced into her living room
carrying a tray with glasses of diet cola. “Here we are darlin’.
I’m so glad you called. I just knew we’d have fun once you got
home.” She beamed at Andrea.

“I thought we should talk.”

“Wonderful. You know, I think as adults we
can discuss things so much easier.” Charlene took the slice of lime
from the edge of her glass and dropped it into the soft drink. She
sipped from it and sighed.

“I’m so glad you feel that way,” Andrea
said.

She tapped a foot on the carpet and prepared
to broach the subject of Charlene’s act at the fund-raiser. It had
obviously been aimed at John Mandeville. For days Andrea had
debated bringing it up at all. Yet if she was to live in Bayou Blue
within a stone’s throw of her controversial and flamboyant parents,
some kind of under-standing was essential. Charlene could not stage
such stunts using Andrea as a pawn.

“I understand you and that fine young man are
really hot for each other,” Charlene said with a sly smile.

Andrea stared at her in surprise, then
blushed. “If she’s going to spread gossip, Gran should at least get
it right. We’re co-workers on good terms.”

“Very good terms, according to Mama.
She—”

“Has been sticking her little nose in my
private life and I won’t have it,” Andrea broke in. “Jamal is nice,
but not for me. I’m through with it.”

“I don’t know why you keep fooling yourself.
I could see it in both your eyes that night of the fund-raising
party. Hot!” Charlene made a hissing sound and laughed at Andrea’s
scowl.

“Speaking of that night, just what were you
trying to prove?” Andrea folded her arms across her chest.

“Prove? I merely came to support my
daughter’s efforts on behalf of a worthy cause.” Charlene showed no
sign of guilt. She sipped from her glass again.