North Star (2 page)

His little brother’s wink acknowledged that he took in the same sight. With a perfected ladies’ man swagger, Jaiden strolled toward the beauty, leaving Graham to watch him in action. For the first time in his life, bitter jealousy singed the corners of Graham’s control as he acquiesced to Jaiden’s favorite pastime—hitting on beautiful women.

Caresse stood on the footstool poring over a recipe book.

“Excuse me.” A mellow voice floated up to her.

She looked down at a self-assured man staring back at her. Draped in a red and black Nike sweats with a matching tank, he looked like he’d stepped off of a basketball court. He had a mischievous look in his eyes and a confident stance that made Caresse pray a man that cute wouldn’t say something stupid.

He flashed her a charming smile. “My brother and I were having a conversation, and I was wondering if you could validate my theory.”

She cast her gaze to a sienna-colored man standing a few feet away. The moment her eyes met his, her heart jolted. She couldn’t explain it, but her body suddenly ached to close the distance between them. His engaging smile intensified her curiosity. She lowered her gaze to the younger man speaking to her.

“I really don’t think I’m—”

“I believe women prefer a man who’s not afraid to play whatever love game is necessary to win their heart. It’s a mating ritual that has been going on for centuries. Women want a man who will paint a lovely picture for them, one that seems to make all their wishes come true. Don’t you agree?”

Really? Are libraries the new pickup place now?
She creased her brow as she stepped off the footstool. A nonchalant smile slid across her face as she ignored the question and calmly headed in the older man’s direction.

“Aww, don’t leave without giving an answer. Are you trying to break my heart?” he asked as she hurried away.

Graham watched, mesmerized, as she approached and motioned him closer. The implication sent waves of excitement through him. He lowered his head and she whispered, “Tell Junior, if he likes games, the children’s section is downstairs.”

Graham nodded as she slowly inched around him. She didn’t touch him, but her perfume permeated his nostrils, and never had a woman’s scent appealed to him more. A playful glint of warmth in her gray eyes made him wonder if her lips were as soft as they appeared.

“I’ve told him that, but some kids are so hard-headed.”

“Tell him again.” A small smile of amusement touched her lips as she strolled out of the book stacks.

Jaiden rushed to his side. “What was she saying?”

Graham fingered the book spines of the collection around them as he contemplated telling him the truth. “You don’t want to know.”

“Spill it!”

“Let’s just say you gave her a good sense of what kind of man you are.”

“And she knew she couldn’t handle the magic, huh?”

“Jaiden, my man, she didn’t even want to try.” He shrugged his shoulders as he moved deeper into the section to search for the books Jaiden needed. “Here we are. Find what you want, and I’ll meet you at the checkout.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the new book section downstairs. I figured I’d give it the once over. Don’t take too long, and try to keep your pickup lines to yourself, Jay.”

“Hey, that’s like asking Derek Jeter not to smile at the fans.” Jaiden gave his best impression of the New York Yankee baseball player.

Graham shook his head and left his brother skimming through books to impress the fitness instructor that had captured his attention for the moment. Nearing the staircase, he noticed the lady who had ignored Jaiden sitting at a table flipping through a book. She seemed to be waiting to use the photocopy machine, so he decided to approach.

“Excuse me, Miss. I wanted to apologize for my brother. I’m amazed his ego could fit in this building.”

She leaned back, crossed her arms, and jutted her chin toward him defiantly. “I hadn’t given him another thought. You really should tell him those lines work best on women that are intoxicated.”

Graham grinned, noticing both delicacy and strength in her face. Her warm, playful eyes slowly scanned his face and body as she bit her bottom lip. When the copier was free, she stood and quickly strolled over with a recipe book.

“Doing a little baking?” He followed her.

“Yes, I’ve been looking for a great chocolate dessert for awhile. I think I’ll give Black Forest Cake and Double Chocolate Cheesecake a try.” She steadied herself against the machine as her right hand gently caressed a delicate amethyst earring dangling from her earlobe.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but...” He moved closer to avoid being overheard by other patrons. “You don’t look like you eat many desserts.”

A rosy glow flushed her face as a slight laugh escaped her throat. “Oh, don’t let the package fool you, I have quite the sweet tooth. I have to be careful about the extent to which I indulge it.”

“Miss, whatever you’re doing, it’s working. You must be very active.”

“A bit. But I’m not a gym rat. Those places have become real meat markets.”

Graham nodded. Jaiden considered gyms the Baskin Robbins of the dating world. They were the places he could find any type of woman, but apparently never this one. She probably did Jaiden a favor by stopping him short.

She placed her copies in a folder with Mason Community Center embossed in the corner. His heart leapt when he noticed the absence of a wedding ring on her delicate fingers.

“So, where’s your brother now?” she whispered as she headed toward the stack of books where he found her. “Chasing down some librarian’s intern?”

“No, he’s searching for a book.” Graham followed.

When they re-entered the non-fiction section, they discovered Jaiden had enlisted the help of a pretty young woman to help him.

The lady Graham followed turned around and smirked. “No, he’s searching for a date.” She placed the recipe book on its shelf and checked her watch. “I better go.”

Jaiden called out, “Hey, beautiful. You didn’t give me a chance to get your number.”

“Oh, it’s listed.” She turned toward Graham. “It was nice to meet you,” she whispered as she extended her hand.

“You, too.” He nodded as he took her hand in his own. For a second time, he stood mesmerized as his brown eyes genially met her gray ones. She held his gaze briefly before looking away. He reluctantly let her hand go.

“Okay, then, what’s your name?” Jaiden interrupted as they parted.

“That’s listed, too.” she replied before she disappeared from view.

“Ouch. I guess she wasn’t interested, Jay.”

“Nah, it’s the game, G. Why else would she return to where I was?”

“Call me crazy. But maybe she wanted to put her book back in its place?”

Jaiden shrugged and returned his attention to the young woman searching for the books he wanted. Graham paused, rubbed the back of his neck, and thought about how long it had been since he craved a woman with such intensity. The thought of Jaiden’s interest in her had stirred a possessiveness he had never experienced. Lust consumed his thoughts, and he wondered if the right one suddenly walked in, and out, of his life.

As Caresse rushed toward the library’s parking lot, the guy with the sexy smile and humorous eyes lingered in her mind.
I thought God stopped making that model
. She recalled how his broad shoulders and towering height–a little over six feet—had made her legs weak. His inviting gaze almost made her forget the desserts she had been skimming over. The last thing needed was to get caught up in fantasizing about a stranger.

Yes, good-looking men were great to gaze at, and even talk to, but anything more was a heartache waiting to happen. Her track record proved that. Somewhere on the road toward finding love, her relationships became a power struggle, with some man wanting her to conform to his idea of perfection. But the last time she’d looked, she wasn’t made of plastic with a Mattel logo stamped on her back.

As she drove down the side streets to avoid traffic, she thought about her father. He made it a habit to have a father-daughter date once a month to teach her how a young man is supposed to treat his little girl. She remembered having her first fancy restaurant dinner at age seven and going to her first pop concert with her father at thirteen. He took her to movies and even escorted her to her first Broadway play during their father-daughter time. And every night at the end of their date, he would say the same thing.

“Caresse, I had a wonderful time. Do you think we can do something fun next month?”

She would be coy and make him wait patiently until she made up her mind. Then she would happily answer
, “Yes, I think I’d like that.”

He told her a real man would never have a lady wondering about his intentions. He would always make another date if he wanted to see her exclusively. If he didn’t, his intentions weren’t honorable.

She sighed as she wondered if such men really existed. When she was a little girl, her father made her believe in knights in shining armor and princes who slay dragons, but the last time she’d checked, men today didn’t fit that mold. With video vixens heating up the television screens and half-naked models leering from magazine covers, men made it quite clear they wanted the physicality of a beautiful woman. No one clamored for a good woman’s heart and brain, and the lowering marriage statistics seemed to support that theory.

Caresse shook her head and turned up her stereo.
No drama for me. I’m okay with being single
, she thought as she neared the community center.
My life is full. Very full.

Mason Community Center was founded by William T. Mason, one of the first black leaders in the Ocean County, New Jersey area, as a haven for any person needing support to achieve their goals. The center’s success relied on volunteers from the community giving their time and energy. Caresse learned about the center from a PTA flyer one of her daughters had brought home from school. Yvette Mason, great-granddaughter of the founder, not only wanted to enroll her children in a few after-school programs but for her to volunteer to teach as well. After two years at the center, she headed the popular Readers/Authors class. Yvette was delighted to sponsor a class that helped the youth learn great works of literature. The class, offered in the summer in conjunction with the Ocean County libraries reading series, delighted parents and teachers of the district.

Over the years, the ladies had become best friends as their paths crossed at the center. Yvette, once a private woman who enjoyed all the trappings of wealth and privilege, quickly learned money didn’t compensate for true friendship. She was once a woman that only preferred the company of her cat and horses because she never doubted their motives. It took months for Caresse to gain her trust and the title of adopted baby sister in Yvette’s protective family.

Caresse, on the other hand, had dreamed of a life like Yvette’s since she was a little girl. It was the reason she was once drawn to powerful men-a revolting desire that almost crippled her spirit.

Caresse parked her car in the center’s crowded parking lot and headed inside.

“Look who barely made it on time. Cutting it close with those errands again?” Yvette teased as she poured herself some iced tea. She was a curvy black woman, with manicured nails that matched her cream Donna Karan pantsuit. Her short hair was full and curly on the top and tapered to the nape of her neck. She was a pretty woman with a directness that repelled some and fascinated others.

“I had to stop at the library,” Caresse said breathlessly as she signed her name on the time-in sheet. “So, how’s it going here?”

“Lori gave her notice ten minutes ago.” Fury brewed in Yvette’s eyes. “Said she won’t be able to finish her work for the fundraiser this next month. I can’t believe the situation she’s putting me in!”

“What?” Caresse clasped Yvette’s jeweled hand between her own.
That’s the third assistant in a year.
“Can her assistant pull it off?”

“I’m sure Felicia can, since most of the hard work is done. But now, I have to double-check her to make sure every detail is right. Do I really have time for that?” she scoffed as she glanced at her cluttered desk beyond them.

“Hey, we’ll figure out something,” Caresse soothed as she linked her arm in Yvette’s. Although both were thirty-two, Yvette looked like she had been carrying the world’s problems on her shoulders. Her constant worrying about the center had had a profound effect on her.

“You’re right, but I really wish we had more people pulling their weight.” Yvette took a long sip of her water and let out a sigh. “It was great to have President and Mrs. Obama spreading the word about community involvement and volunteerism, but I’m beginning to see a revolving door around here.”

“I’m sure the Mason Ball will draw the kind of resources we need to reach people who rely on the center. Besides, you know how much fun we have each year. Your father is always beaming when he leaves one of your events.”

“True...but I don’t care about the money.”

Caresse let out a comedic gasp and recoiled in mock horror.

Yvette held up her hand in resignation and shook her head. “Okay, okay, of course I care. But I want more of a service commitment from the community leaders this year, not just throwing money at the center.”

“Then maybe...” Caresse mumbled as she peered out of the window.

“Okay Carè, I’ve seen that look before. Maybe, what?”

“You know a long time ago, debutantes used to have numbered dance cards, right? What if we had each woman carry a dance card, and at the end of the night, we’ll call out a number from that card. A number from one to ten. Then the ladies would have to go stand next to the person that filled that number’s slot to reveal their volunteer partner. The newly paired couple would have to select which one of them will volunteer four hours of time to the center or they could decide to volunteer together for two hours.”

“Ooh, I like that. And to make it serious, we’ll have the hat-check girls exchange the commitment cards for the guests keys and wraps.” Yvette’s mood seemed suddenly buoyant. “Only a real Scrooge wouldn’t commit a few hours at the center.”

“True, but you should give everyone an out, just in case they have other obligations. Maybe announcing they could also donate craft supplies and games for the new preschool program.” She glanced at the clock. “I better go. In five more minutes, my class will be drifting down to the rec room.”

“You’re right. I’ll call Felicia in here right now so she can get to work on this.” Yvette beamed and gave her best friend a big hug. “You’re a gem, Carè. What would I do without you?”

“Stop risking my life with burly guys in traffic, and you’ll never have to find out.”

Caresse entered her room with a CD player in one hand and her purse and folder in the other. A large group of teenagers greeted her with cheers and applause as she placed her things on the desk.

“Now wait a minute. You guys know we need to discuss the book we’re reading before listening to music.” The disapproving groans came quickly as she retrieved her copy of
The Woman Warrior
by Kingston from the bookcase. She asked the class to form five groups of six to share their thoughts on the narrator.

As Caresse drifted from group to group, observing the students, she thought about the Mason Ball fundraising event Yvette had thrown two years ago. It was a costume party held two weeks before Halloween. She still couldn’t forget the way Yvette had sat in the back room, giggling like a schoolgirl at the loads of money they had raised. The funds had helped expand the center’s indoor pool and allowed them to hire two additional security guards the next year. That evening had been the night Caresse served Keith Preston with divorce papers.