More Than Friends: Follow up to FWB: Friends With Benefits (3 page)

CHAPTER 4

It was about seven thirty in the evening when Sabrina’s doorbell rang.

“I wonder who that is?” she said to Jason. They were sitting on her deck watching the boys play in the back yard. They had been home two hours and had a busy hectic day of hanging out and fun. Jason had somehow managed to plan to do all the things she had wanted to do with Noah but had not had the time. Sabrina had been trying all day to remember if she had told him some of this stuff but for the life of her couldn’t. Sabrina and Jason talked pretty much all day, every day so more than likely she had which was frustrating her even more because she would have bet her house on the fact that Jason had not been paying attention when they weren’t talking about him.

Coming back to the current moment as she opened her front door
, Sabrina was surprised to see Natalie on her door step.

“Nat? What are you doing here?” she said to her friend in surprise.

Stepping into the house and hugging her, Natalie said, “Don’t try and act like we don’t drop over each other’s houses unannounced all the time.” Natalie sat her purse down on the Tuscan wood bench cubby Sabrina had in her front hall. Looking at the bench Natalie said, “Is this new?”

“Yeah, I got it to help keep Noah organized
,” Sabrina said closing the front door.  Sabrina had been looking for a bench like this for her foyer for a long time and had for this one in particular. It was classic and kept everything organized. Sabrina thought it was a handsome addition to the entryway. Shaking her head Natalie said, “I swear you are a freak. I bet you have your draws color coded.”

“They are and so what?” Sabrina said. At least I don’t have to buy five pair a week because I keep forgetting them at strange men’s homes
,” Sabrina said laughing. “Wait, do you even wear panties anymore?”

“Don’t be trying to pull my hoe card!” Natalie said jokingly
. “My under wear, or lack thereof, is between me, Jesus and the man I am fucking.”

“Yeah
?  Which one?” Sabrina asked and they both laughed and hugged each other.

“Come on out to the deck. Jason and I are watching the boys play
,” Sabrina said to her friend starting toward the patio door.

“Wait
, now I am here to play with the boys for a few hours, not you,” Natalie said.

“What?” Sabrina said totally confused.

“I called her to come and watch the boys for us this evening. We are going out,” Jason said walking into the house.

“What?” Sabrina said looking back and for
th between them. She was quiet for so long and not saying anything that Natalie and Jason decided to introduce themselves to each other.

“Some people’s kids!” Natalie said walking toward
Jason with her hand out. “Hi, I am Natalie. Nice to meet you,” she finished smiling.

Chuckling to himself
, Jason said, “Jason. Nice to meet you! Quit standing there with your mouth hanging open, woman, now go and get ready,” he said to Sabrina.

“What? I? When?” Sabrina started to stammer.

“Lord!” Natalie said shaking her head “Are you going to complete a sentence any time soon?” 

“Bite me
, Nat,” Sabrina said squinting her eyes as she looked at Natalie. “Where are we going?” she asked Jason.

“Some place nice so put on something a little fancy
,” Jason said to her.

“How did you get her phone number?” she asked him pointing to Natalie.

“We do not have time for you to play Sherlock Holmes. You both need to get ready,” Natalie said.

“
She is right. I will be ready in an hour,” Jason said turning and going down the hall to the guest room that Sabrina had put him and JJ in.

“WOW! He
has an ass I would take a chunk out of with my teeth,” Natalie said with her head tilted to one side as she watched Jason walk down the hall.

“Stop looking at his ass!” Sabrina said slapping her arm.
Natalie stopped staring after Jason long enough to look at Sabrina and say, “PUH-LEASE tell me it’s as hard as it looks!”

“You are so nasty!” Sabrina said deciding to go and get dressed and try
to figure out what Jason was up to just like she had already been doing all day.

Since Sabrina had no idea where they were going
, she decided to wear her red off-shoulder jumpsuit with an overlay on bodice and kimono sleeves, with a gold kimono belt and a pair of gold stiletto booties.  She had pulled her hair back into a sleek pony tail, and added gold accessories. The entire time she was getting ready she was worrying and wondering what the hell was going on with Jason. She hated the way she was feeling. The longer he and JJ were here, the more she loved them being here.  She thought of him being around all the time which sucked because she knew Jason made it a point to not connect with any woman not in a romantic sense. Jason had one direction and that was the door right after he got his fill of sex. One thing she did know was that she was not having sex with him tonight. She did not care how good he looked or smelled.

As she came down stairs to the sound of everyone going “Wow” she looked over at Jason and instantly her panties were dripping and her resolve was gone. If he kissed her right now they would be screwing on the bench
. He had on a black button down long sleeve shirt with the top two buttons open and a pair of black Armani dress boots. Sabrina knew they were Armani because she had helped him pick them out online. His bronze tan skin looked sun kissed on all that black.

“Mommy
, you look pretty,” Noah said to her.

“Aww… thank you
, baby,” Sabrina said to him. JJ walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her leg and gave her a big squeeze. Sabrina laughed and kneeled down and hugged him tight saying, “Do I look ok?” he smiled big and gave her a big hug.

“That is so sweet. You
guys make me want to have kids,” Natalie said. “Come on, boys, time for baths and bed,” she finished. Both the boys started to yell “Bath, Bath Bath” as they ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

“STOP RUNNING
,” Sabrina and Jason yelled.

Putting her fingers in her ears Natalie looked at Sabrina and said
, “Well, if that is not a form of instant birth control, I will say glory,” as she walked up the steps saying to the boys, “you little people better not get my hair wet. I just got it done,” as she walked down the hall. Shaking his head Jason said, “I would love to see her attempt to handle them,” as he walked toward Sabrina.

Sigh
. “You don’t know Nat. I would love to see them attempt to handle
her
.”

“BOY! Put your little ding ding away!” came a yell from the bathroom upstairs. They both laughed and Jason said
, “You have a point.”

“Jason
, where are we going?” Sabrina said to him. Jason put on his black velvet sport coat and extended his arm for Sabrina to hook her arm into.

“Come with me
, gorgeous, and I will show you,” he said smiling. Looking at him like he was completely insane, she grabbed her purse and hooked her arm into his.

“Did I mention you
are absolutely ravishing?” he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

Blushing Sabrina said “I think you just did
.”

*******

On the way there, Jason finally told Sabrina they were going to Miles Ahead Lounge, a supper club that was in the old meat packing district.

Miles Ahead Lounge attempted to create an atmosphere of love, creativity, fun, and originality. It was a restaurant and club that was a little different. You don’t go to Miles Ahead if you are in search of a typical restaurant where the whole restaurant looks up when someone drops a spoon. Th
e atmosphere is very social, warm and fun.

The club had an original design concept that makes you feel like you are in the Middle East. Most appreciate the unique ambience inside Miles Ahead.

The food at the restuant attempts to surprise your senses of taste and smell, with their Ethiopian spices, and is a very important part of the overall experience. Their menu consists of Ethiopian influenced entrees loaded with Ethiopian spices from some of your favorite comfort foods to your favorite bar bites. Whatever you could have a taste for; they could probably satisfy your taste buds. But then once the lights go down, be ready to dance the night away.

Sabrina was ins
tantly excited when he told her. She had wanted to go there for so long but it really was a date kind of place which Sabrina had not been on in forever.

“How did you know about this club
, Jason, seriously?” Sabrina asked excitedly. She had lit up like a Christmas tree when he had told her. He knew she would be excited but did not imagine that she would like it this much. ‘God, she has a gorgeous smile,’ he was thinking to himself. Jason tried to remember if he had ever felt as light and at peace with Casey as he did with Sabrina. He could honestly say he hadn’t. Sabrina was the first woman to make him really laugh out loud. That’s when it hit him, sitting there in the car riding along with her clapping like she was a two year old going to the zoo for the first time. He wanted more, he wanted this kind of life, living, laughing and loving with his best friend. The question was, was Sabrina the one? He didn’t know but he cherished her for opening his heart again.

“Why do you keep asking me that?” Jason said to her looking back and forth between her and the road. “What you think I am doing when we are talking all day?”

“I don’t know. We tend talk more about you than me. So I didn’t think you really knew a lot about me, I guess.”

“Really
, Brina?” he said “You are a woman. Now I will give it to you like this; I am a talker but you can talk too,” he finished laughing.

“Oh
shut up!” Sabrina said hitting his arm. “Do you remember the night we were on the phone until four am talking about the lack of understanding your latest conquest had of a one night stand?”

Laughing
, Jason said, “Hey, that crazy woman showed up at my house with luggage and her kids talking about ‘honey, I am home!’  I was traumatized,” he said laughing.

“Oh you mean
kind of like you did me today?” Sabrina said. “Should I be concerned?”

“HEY!” Jason said laughing realizing she was right. They laughed and talked so
easily that the forty five minute ride went very fast.

When they arrived at the restaurant
, the hostess took them to the VIP area. Jason had arranged for them to be in VIP so that they could have a more intimate moment. At the VIP table, the wait staff brought the bar to them. They brought the bottles, mixers, and garnishes to the table like they were the only patrons to enhance the VIP experience. They had their own hostess and waitress to tend to their needs, and when they were ready to dance, the live jazz ensemble played any song that they wanted. As Jason pulled Sabrina into his arms to slow dance with her, they looked into each other’s eyes speaking to each other without saying a word. No matter where their “relationship” did or didn’t go, they were forever bonded by the healing they had given each other. After hours of eating, dancing, talking and laughing, they decided to head back home and relieve Natalie. They were in the car on their way home when Jason looked over at Sabrina. She was happy, relaxed and smiling.

“You know I love you
, right?” he said to her kissing her hand and looking back at the road. Sabrina was in such a state of shock she didn’t answer. She rode the rest of the way to the house trying to figure out what had just happened.

When they arrived
home, Sabrina was still shocked into silence. Natalie had put the boys to bed. She was telling them about how her evening with them had gone when she stopped mid-sentence and looked at Sabrina.

“What is wrong with you?” she said to her looking at Jason confused. “Did you fuck my girl stupid in the car? And if you did
, I am going to need you to start a seminar ASAP,” she said to Jason.

“
Natalie!” Sabrina said laughing.

“There she is!” Natalie said throwing her hands in the air. “Ok, Mommy
, I will be quiet,” she finished, laughing.  She grabbed her purse. “I am going to go now,” she said hugging and kissing them both. As she hugged Sabrina, she said, “I want details, specific details. Shit, record it. I am not ashamed to see your juicy ass naked,” she finished laughing.

Pointing to the door and laughing Sabrina said
, “You need Jesus. Get out of my house.”

“Tootles!” Natalie said on her way out the door.

“I see why you guys are so close. She is a handful!” Jason said grabbing Sabrina’s hand walking toward the den.

“I wouldn’t have her
any other way,” Sabrina said smiling. Jason pulled her into his lap after he sat down on the couch in the den.

“So
, you still have not said anything about what I said in the car,” he said to her as he was taking her shoes off. Sabrina sat back in his lap. Wrapped in his arms, Sabrina felt safe, content and happy. 

“I am not sure what to say
,” she said. “I know that you love me. We are best friends but I just don’t think you can love me the way I want you to,” Sabrina said looking him in the eyes while she fiddled with his cufflinks. Kissing the top of her head Jason said, “What way is that?”

Sabrina sighed, and decided that she was strong enough to tell him what she felt, to hear him tell her that he meant what he had always told her and that was that he would never be in love again. Lo
oking up into his eyes she said, “The way a man loves a woman.”

Rubbing his hand up her thigh and
across her hip, Jason kissed her neck up to her ear then whispered, “That’s the way I do love you; like a man loves a woman.” He turned her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes. He softly kissed her lips tenderly deepening the kiss.

Pulling away
, Sabrina stood up. She had to get away from him, his lips, his chest, his smell.

“Jason
, what does that even mean?” she said with her back to him. She was feeling like she wanted to cry and she was not going to let him see that.

Jason stood up
, grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and started to walk up the stairs.

“Jason! Jason!” she said Sabrina yelled
. “Put me down! I am too heavy!” she squealed.

“SHH!” he said spanking her bottom lightly “You are going to wake the boys
.”

Jason opened her bedroom door
, turned around closed it and walked over to her king-sized cherry wood canopy bed and laid her in it like she was a thirty pound toddler. That was one of the things Sabrina loved about him. Even though she was overweight, he acted like she was a size eight.  Kicking off his shoes and climbing in the bed with her, Jason wrapped her in his arms. They wrapped their legs together like scissors. Being in such an intimate state in this position with him seemed so right.

“What I mean
,” Jason started like she had just asked the question seconds ago. “Is you have made me feel things I thought I felt with Casey but I realize now, I never did. You have awakened my heart, mind and spirit, and I am eternally grateful to you.”

“But
...” Sabrina said playing with the buttons on his shirt nervously.

“But I know I am not where I should be for us to start a relationship
. I know that I wasn’t ready to try and see what happens but I want us to move forward in our relationship and not rule anything out or make promises. Do you think that you can do that?” Jason said to her. A chance was more than what Sabrina would have hoped for this morning. She was willing to take a chance.

“I can try
,” she whispered.

“That’s all I ask
,” Jason said to her. Sabrina was excited about the possibilities of what could be. Jason and Sabrina talked well into the night and fell asleep in each other’s arms without making love but feeling more intimacy than they had ever felt with sex. As Jason fell asleep with Sabrina in his arms, he remembered thinking, ‘Sabrina and I will always be more than friends.’