Redemption (Iris Series) (23 page)

“It is.  It’s won all kinds of awards and accolades.  You’ll love it.  Very warm atmosphere, lots of brick and copper, early American antiques.  And the food is out of this world.  Jeremy’s already made reservations for seven o’clock.  It’s quarter of right now, so that should give us enough time to get over there.”

“Nice.  It looks like everyone’s ready.  I’ll run outside and see if I can get a couple of cabs.”

Ryann overheard and jumped into the conversation.

“We have Manny tonight,” she said referring to Jeremy’s driver.  “It’s a limo so we’re pretty sure all nine of us can fit.   It’s less than 10 minutes away so I’ll sit on Jeremy’s lap if necessary,” she smiled, her face flushing.

Ayanna let out a low laugh.  “And I can always sit on Jon’s,” she said looking up at him with a grin.

He cleared his throat.  She watched him and he looked a little out of sorts.

“Okay, folks.  The bus is leavin’,” Ryann yelled.

Everyone started to make their way out of the precinct to the waiting limousine while Ayanna hung back.

“You okay, champ?  You got quiet all of the sudden.”

“Yup.  Just thinking about how much I can’t wait to get you alone,” he said, wrapping his arm around her s
houlder while they were walking and pulling her in.  He whispered in her ear, “Soon, baby.”

“Mmm.  I know,” she murmured, reaching up to kiss him lightly on the lips.

Most everyone was outside by that point and she and Jon were at the doors to the precinct, so he took the opportunity to grab her and lay one on her, burying his hand in her hair.  He aggressively plundered her mouth really kissing her for the first time that night. 

Ayanna leaned in and hummed.  He did taste good.  She nibbled on his bottom lip and then finally he stepped away.

“Watching you tonight got me all hot and bothered,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair.  He leaned in and whispered in her ear.  “By Day 41 you better have reflected enough, sweetheart, because I plan on fucking you until you beg me to stop.”

She bit down on her lower lip to stop from groaning.  Without waiting for her response, he took her hand and followed the rest outside.

It was a tight fit, but they all made it into the limo, laughing and talking as they rode to the restaurant.

“I didn’t realize we were gonna be so smushed in here.  I would’ve told my driver to wait if I’d known.  We could’ve split up,” Luke said.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Jeremy cooed, holding tight to Ryann who was sitting on his lap.

“Me, too,” Jon murmured with Ayanna half draped all over him.

“I’m fine, too.  I’m just sayin’,” Luke muttered. 

Janie, who was dressed in her fitted but feminine white cotton eyelet skirt, green form fitting sleeveless top that made her eyes sparkle, and nude strappy heels was plastered against Luke’s side.

“Whatsamatter, Lucasito? You don’t like sitting this close to me?” she asked with a purr and a smirk.

He rolled his eyes.  “You know it’s not that, baby girl,” he said tweaking her nose.

Lucasito? What was that name all about? 
Ayanna thought. 
And don’t let him get away with that brotherly gesture, Janie!

“Well,
that’s
good to know.  What do you think of this outfit?  I got it at one of your places,” she asked, bopping her crossed leg up and down drawing attention to the skirt.

Luke swallowed with an uncomfortable look on his face. 

“You should tell me when you want clothes.  You know I can get you a discount.”

“Yeah, but how do I
look
?” she persisted.

“You look gorgeous and you know it,
babe.”

“Well, I
don’t
know it until someone
tells
me.  It’s nice to hear every once in a while.  You’re the only guy here who could give me an honest opinion.  Jeremy and Mike don’t count because they’re family, and Jonathan would feel awkward saying something because of Ayanna.”

“I don’t feel awkward.  You look hot,” Jonathan said and smiled.

Ayanna pinched him.

“Ow!”

They all laughed then Ayanna settled back onto his chest smiling at Janie.

“Come on,
Lucasito
.  Give your, you know, fashion industry critique or whatever you guys call it,” she said waving her hands in the air.

“Yeah,
Lucasito
.  Go ahead,” Michael said, making fun of Janie’s name for him.  Ayanna got the feeling it was a nickname from years past.

Luke cleared his throat.  “I don’t know that I count either.  I’m practically your brother,” he grumbled.

“No.  You’re
not
.”

That last statement from Janie hung in the air for a moment until Luke finally took a cleansing breath and starting critiquing her outfit as if he was sitting in a boardroom.

“The green in the top brings out the color of your eyes and compliments your skin tone to its best advantage.  The neckline accentuates your,” he cleared his throat again, “décolletage.”

That was putting it mildly.  Her décolletage was plump and gorgeous
ly accentuated with its plunging V-neck.  She had on a delicate gold chain which nestled right between her voluptuous breasts.

With Luke’s observation, Mike snorted, and Emily who sat near him smacked him in the head. 

“Hey!  What
is
it with you women?  You’re so fuckin’ violent,” he grumbled, rubbing at his head.

Everyone snickered and Ayanna rolled her eyes.

“Go on, Luke,” Ayanna said, waiting to hear the rest of it.

“The skirt is pretty and feminine and fits your form,” he cleared his throat again, “in all of the right places, showing off your small waist and
—” He interrupted himself.

Ayanna got the impression he was going to say ass, but he stopped himself before he said it.

“Yeah,” he muttered.  “So.”

“My small waist and my
what
?”  Janie wasn’t going to let that comment lie.

Luke rolled his eyes.  “Your derriere, Janie.  Okay?”  He sounded exasperated.

“And the shoes?  What do you think of the shoes?”

Janie lifted her leg and wiggled her foot closer to Luke.  The nude strappy heels had gold metal decorative pieces by the buckle, and she had on a matching delicate gold anklet, showing off her slim ankle.

“They’re great.  Good height with that skirt.  Make your feet look...sexy.”  Poor Luke.  He looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Alright, that’s enough, Lucas,” Michael interrupted.  “This is Janie you’re talking about for fuck’s sake.  I don’t need to know how sexy she looks to the male population out there, especially with Fernandez sniffin’ around her.”  He turned his head.  “Did he ask you out?” Mike asked Janie.

“As a matter of fact, he did,” she said flippantly.

“Dude, you’re gonna let one of those asshole detectives paw your sister?  What kind of brother are you?” Luke interjected.

“Don’t worry.  I’ll talk to him,” Michael said.

All the girls jumped in at once.  “You will not!” “Stay out of it, Mike!” “It’s none of your business, Neanderthal.”

That last comment came from Emily.  She was looking at Michael with her finger pointed at his face.  “Your sister can date whomever the hell she wants.  She’s not a ‘baby girl’ anymore,” she said, giving a pointed look to Luke, referencing the name he used moments earlier when talking to Janie.  “And we just taught her how to kick some ass, so she’ll be fine.”

“Are you gonna go out with him?” Luke asked in a casual tone.

Janie looked at him for a moment and raised her eyebrow in challenge.  “Yup,” she said, allowing her mouth to pop on the ‘P’.

Michael and Luke looked disgruntled, while Jeremy and Jonathan simply looked amused at the exchanges in the limo.  Either way, the conversation came to a halt as the limo arrived at the restaurant.

……

Everyone got out and filed into the tavern which had been voted the most popular restaurant in New York City by Zagat’s at least six times since it’s opening in the Flatiron section in 1994.  The group spilled into the dining area where they were promptly shown to their table toward the back of the room.  They immediately decided on ordering the tasting menu so they could sample the delights.

Once everyone was served their drinks and began the first tasting, the conversation melded into the comfortable banter of good friends.

Emily and Luke were laughing about the most recent episodes of
The Daily Show
which were being hosted by John Oliver while John Stewart was away.  Their favorite bit had been the jokes about Anthony Weiner, who was running for mayor of New York City.  They kept singing Oliver’s ‘Danger!’ bit, then cracking up referring to Weiner’s twitter name ‘Carlos Danger.’

Ayanna and Janie
, on the other hand, quickly began strategizing and commenting on the food.  It was obvious to everyone that they were in their element.  They shared their good news regarding the new venture they had embarked upon together, and everyone at the table raised a toast in their honor.

Ryann commented on Emily’s ease in kicking Michael’s ass and everyone laughed, giving Mike a hard time.  He rolled his eyes.

“When did you start learning all of that stuff?” Ayanna asked Emily.

“I told you about my friend from high school, remember?”

“Ah,” Ayanna said in understanding.

Emily turned to the rest of the group and told them the story of her friend.

“I remembered thinking I never wanted to be in a situation where I couldn’t protect myself.  Considering my stature, or lack thereof, I thought it would be smart.  So I had a long talk with my parents, and they enrolled me in a generic self-defense class.  Which then morphed into Judo, then Krav Maga.  Before moving to New York, I had been teaching at a Krav Maga place in Boston on the weekends.”

Michael sat there shaking his head.  “I wouldn’t wanna find myself in a dark alley with you, Counselor,” he muttered light heartedly.  “Unless of course it was for more pleasurable reasons,” he said, his voice laced with sensual challenge.

Emily smirked and cocked her head.  She didn’t take the bait.

“You just didn’t like having your ass kicked by a girl, did you, Mr. Big Strong Detective Man?” she asked sympathetically.  “Poor baby.”

“A pip squeak is more like it,” he grumbled.

“Somebody get him a towel to wipe up his tears.  He’s cryin’ all over the table,” Emily said with an eye roll.

“I’ll be practicing for my rematch,” he said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“Practice all you want, sweetheart,” she said with an eyebrow raised as she sipped at her wine.  “I’m still gonna kick your ass.”

“You can
try
.”  He licked his lower lip as he zeroed in on her.

The sexual tension between them at the table caused everyone to chuckle as they watched their exchange.

“Well, I for one would love to be there to watch.  Any woman who can beat the great Detective Michael Callahan in hand to hand combat is worthy of a toast,” Luke said raising his glass.

“Hear, hear,” Jonathan said, and they all drank from their glasses.

“So,” Luke said, clearing his throat and turning to Janie.  “When are you going out with the detective?  What was his name, again?  Rodriguez?”

Janie turned her full body to Luke and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.  Her boobs pushed up.

“It’s
Fernan
dez, Lucasito,” she said with a cute smile.

Ayanna loved watching her work him.  Especially when she called him her pet name.  It was so fucking sweet to watch the very handsome and manly Luke Daniels get pink in the face when she did.  Ayanna could tell he liked the intimate and childhood references she used with him, but that he didn’t know what to do with it when said in public.

“I want to hear this ‘Lucasito’ story,” Ryann began, obviously thinking along the same lines as Ayanna.

Janie laughed.  “When I was in high school, I needed help with my Spanish class.  Since Luke and Tiffany are half Spanish and grew up speaking it with their mom, Luke would help me with my homework when I was struggling.  ‘Lucas’ is his Spanish name, so I would call him Lucas, and he would sometimes call me by my Spanish name…”

“Which is?” Ayanna asked.

“Juanita,” Janie chuckled and looked at Luke.

“Says the girl who will
never
in a million years look like a ‘Juanita,’” Luke said dryly.  Then he turned to Janie.  “But sometimes I would call you ‘Nita’ for short.  Remember?”

She nodded then smiled.  “Or ‘Nee Nee’.  When you wanted to annoy me.”

Luke gave her a quirky smile then turned back to Ryann who asked the original question.  “And to annoy
me
, she would basically start calling me ‘Lukey’, or in Spanish theoretically is ‘Lucasito.’  So, there you have it.  And let me tell you, those junior and senior years were
rough.
”   

“Please.  You loved tutoring me and you know it,” Janie said dramatically.

“You were impossible,” he grumbled good-naturedly.  “An absolute pain in my ass.  I don’t know how you teachers do it,” he said to Jonathan and Ryann.

Both of the teachers at the table looked at each other and laughed. 

“It ain’t easy at times, that’s for sure,” Jon added.

“Especially when all of the girl students are hitting on you,” Ryann jabbed with a smile.

“You should talk, Thornton!  The boys always looked at you all googlely eyed,” Jonathan shot back laughing.

“She doesn’t see it, man.  I’ve already tried to explain it to her,” Jeremy said shaking his head.  “She’s a lost cause,” he said pulling Ryann close and laying a huge kiss on her in front of everyone.  Ryann turned beet red.  Ayanna loved it.

“So, back to the question at hand.  When are you going out with
Fernandez
?” Luke asked, emphasizing the detective’s name.

“We haven’t picked a day yet.  We just exchanged numbers.”  She raised her eyebrow at him.  “Shall I call you when he contacts me?” she asked in an innocent tone.

Luke gave her a dry look.

“Well, seriously, Luke.  You act like I’ve never been on a date before or something.  I hate to break it to you, but I even have
sex
occasionally,” she smirked.

“Geez!”  “Shit, Janie!”  “I
so
don’t wanna hear this, thank you!”

Luke, Michael, and Jeremy all screamed out their reactions to Janie’s comment.  The girls just laughed and shook their heads.

“What is it with you guys?” Ayanna asked in an exasperated tone.  “Look at her!  She’s gorgeous with a body that doesn’t quit, her hair is to die for, she has great boobs... I mean the girl is
the
package, has a great sense of humor, is an accomplished chef and business owner,” Ayanna was ticking off Janie’s attributes on her fingers.  “She’d be a catch for
any
man.  Not to mention that the woman has been of age for nearly 10 years now, boys.  You need to get over it.”