Redemption (Iris Series) (9 page)

She smiled.  Asshole.

AS: 
What. Do. U. Want. Mr. White?

She walked into the kitchen to start the coffee and grabbed a box of cereal.

JW: 
U need furniture.  I can get a truck.  This is what guy friends do, btw.  We do manly things.

She stopped in her tracks and rubbed her hand over her heart.  This man could make her burn with anger
, lust until her heart pounded out of her chest, then melt her into a puddle of mush on the floor all within the span of 60 seconds.

She looked at the clock.  Almost 10am.  She didn’t need to be at the restaurant until 4pm, so they could feasibly get to the IKEA in Brooklyn and pick up a few things.  Like a sofa and a chair.  She already had her eye on some.  It would be nice to have something to sit on other than the floor and her bed.  Plus, Janie was coming over the next morning to discuss their venture together since she didn’t have any catering gigs set up for the weekend.  Having a place to sit would be good.

AS: 
How’d u get ur hands on that, slick?

She poured her cereal and milk and waited for his response while standing at the counter and eating.  Instead, the phone rang.

“Hey,” she answered around the cereal in her mouth.

“From a colleague of mine at the school.  I asked if I could borrow it sometime, and he said whenever.  Do you have plans today?  What time do you have to be at work?”

“Four.  It’s awfully nice of you to offer and set this all up, Johnny Be Good.  Have you been missing me, or something?”

“Or something,” he muttered.

“What was that?”

“So, whattay
a think?  Today or one of your days off?  When
are
your days off?”

She thought for a moment as she chewed.  “Sunday and Monday, but today would be great.  We’d have to leave, like, now though.”

“I’ll be there in a sec,” And with that, he disconnected.

She stared at the phone
then took the next minute to gulp down the rest of her breakfast.  She hadn’t even had her coffee yet and was naked as a jaybird.  She needed to put some clothes on before he came knockin’ on her door.  She always slept in the buff.  She loved the feel of the sheets on her skin and didn’t like to feel hindered by clothes in bed.

Just as she was walking out of the kitchen, she heard the knock on her door.  She looked down at her body and a mischievous thought popped into her head.  Why not give him something to dream about, too.  It would serve him right.

She grabbed her grandmother’s sari and wrapped it around her body, displaying enough skin so he would know there was nothing on underneath it. 
Sorry, Ammie.
  She walked barefoot to the door and looked out the peephole, clutching the deep gold and purple silk fabric between her breasts.

Sure enough, there he stood, leaning against the opposite wall waiting for her.

She opened the door and stepped back.

He stood stunned and motionless except for his eyes, which ate her up from the red painted toe nails of her feet, to the sexy and sleepy tousled hair on her head.

Watching his eyes, she began to second guess her decision.  He looked like he wanted to unwrap her like a gift on Christmas morning.  And, shit, she was only on Day 27. 

“This is what you get when you show up only minutes after I’ve gotten out of bed.  I’ve barely finished my breakfast and you’re here already.  Did you call me from the hallway, or something?”  She swallowed, now feeling shame because he wasn’t saying anything.  She was
never flustered around men.  Period.  “I’m not exactly dressed for visitors.  Come on in.  I’ll be ready in a minute.”

She backed up so he could enter and he stalked in slowly and closed the door.  She was snagged within his stare and stumbled a bit on the fabric draped on the floor.  She glanced down and gathered it into her hand so she could walk trip free to her bedroom.

As she turned to walk away, she could feel his hand on the fabric, prohibiting her from moving.  Holding the fabric at her side, he lifted it, letting the sensual fabric drape on his hand. 

“This is your grandmother’s,” he murmured.

She swallowed.  “Kiri Amma,” she whispered.  “I called her Ammie.”

He looked at her with the dawn of realization in his eyes.  “Isn’t that your food blog’s name?”

She nodded.  “
The Yummy Ammie
.  It’s named in honor of her.”

His eyes were glittering.  “You look like an ancient sex goddess answering the door.”  He dragged his eyes up to hers.

“Sorry.”  He always made her feel like she needed to apologize.  Ridiculous.

“For what?” he asked quietly.  “Any time you want to answer the door looking like that when I’m on the other side, don’t let me stop you,” he said, his voice husky.

She swallowed and nearly melted into the floor from his hot look. 

“Let me go get dressed.”  She tugged the fabric out of his hand, but he held on. 

“Thirteen days, Yan.  Can you do it?”

God, he made her so hot.  This plan of answering the door half naked totally backfired.  She wanted to give him something to dream about, and all she did was fuel her
own
.

“I totally got this, Johnny Be Good,” she said with false bravado.  “I’d be happy to get dressed, if you’ll let go of my sari.”

She looked at him, flushed and waiting. 

His eyes were
gleaming and his jaw was clenched.  He looked down at his hand holding the fabric, then loosened his grip.  “Fine.  Go get some clothes on, would ya?”

“I would if you’d let me leave,” she muttered.  She turned away from him and he smacked her ass just before she was out of his reach. 

“Hey!”

He shrugged with a smirk. “It’s what guy friends do.”

She huffed and walked away into her bedroom, closing the door.  She let the sari fall from her heated body and quickly grabbed underwear and jeans.  She was definitely getting the vibe from him.  In fact if she was right, she had been getting the vibe from him during their last few encounters.  But he obviously wanted to respect her decision about the 40 day time limit. 

At least, she
hoped she was reading the vibe right.  Her man “radar” had always worked.  It was Ryann who couldn’t flirt worth a shit.  Ayanna was always the one who knew her way around a guy.  But the one standing in her living room had her running in circles.  She didn’t know if she was coming or going. 

And she’d rather be coming, that was for sure.

She threw on some skinny jeans, a pink t-shirt, and some flip flops.  The she threw her hair into a topknot and ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth then splash water on her face.

When she got back to the living room, she’d only been gone four minutes.

He looked at his watch and raised his eyebrow.  “Wow.  The sex goddess is apparently not as high maintenance as I thought.”

She gave him a dirty look.  “Where’s the truck?  Do we have to go pick it up?”

“Yeah, it’s at my friend’s in Brooklyn,” he said, the enigmatic smile still playing on his lips.

She ignored the smile.  “Perfect.  Because I want to go to IKEA and there’s one in Brooklyn on Beard Street.

“Let’s go.”

“You want some coffee?”

“No.”

“Let me just grab a ‘to-go’ cup and we can be on our way.”

……

They hopped on the subway to his friend’s, and once they were settled next to each other in the subway car, he looked down at her. 

“So, what are you gonna get today?”

“Really, the only things I need at the moment are a sofa and chair, and maybe some kitchen stuff.  I’ve already got a big ottoman in my bedroom which I’m gonna use for a coffee table.” 
It’s the one you sit on and direct me from.
  She quickly wiped away the thought of the sex dream from her brain.  “I’ve been looking online, and I already know which sofa and chair I want, so it’ll be a short trip.  Thanks again for doing this, Johnny Be Good,” she said with a smile and bumped her shoulder with his.

“No prob.  I wasn’t doing much today, so I thought I’d check in.”

“What do you do during the summers off from teaching?”

“A lot of consulting with folks on their portfolios, financial advising, that kind of thing.”

“Maybe I should have you look at my portfolio.  I’m doing it all based on things I’ve learned myself, but having an experienced set of eyes look at it would probably be a good thing.”

“I’d be happy to.  Just let me know when.”

She smiled.  “I’ll make you dinner in return…the bartering system at its best.”

“Sounds good to me.”  He
looked down at her.  “Any time anyone wants to cook for me, I’m all for it.  Especially if it’s a woman who knows her way around a kitchen.”

“Well, then you’re a
lucky guy.  Because I’m a woman and I definitely know my way around a kitchen.”  She cocked her head at him and said, “It’s kinda nice having a guy friend.”  She smiled up at him. 

He smirked down at her.

“Who knew?” she murmured and looked away.

“Well, now you know.  You can actually be friends with a guy and not have sex with him,” he chuckled then looked at her lips.

Well, not yet,
she thought. 
But maybe on Day 41.
 

Instead, she said, “Hmph.  What a concept.  So, tell me a little about yourself, New Guy Friend.  Siblings?  Parents?  Where did you grow up?”

He settled in.  “One younger brother, Mark.  Parents are still living and married to each other.  We lived in Boston, along with Emily and her family, and my brother and parents still live there.”

“I detected the accent.  What do your parents do?”

“My dad is a judge in Suffolk County, where Boston is.  And my mom is a teacher.”

“Wow, a judge?  That’s pretty impressive.  And your mom?  What does she teach?”

“Middle school math.”

“Ah, so you come by your math skills honestly.”

“Yup.”

“They must be proud of you,” she said, sounding wistful and looking away.

He paused a moment, then reached his hand down and took hers.  “Whether your parents say it or not, you need to know and believe that you have done some incredible things to be proud of.”

She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile.

“Start listing some of your accomplishments.  I want to hear them.”

She pulled her hand away and sighed.  She didn’t want his pity.  “I get the point, now stop.”

“I don’t think you
do
get the point.”  He grabbed her hand back.  “Do you realize how many different directions you could’ve gone in?  But instead, as a high school student, you followed your passion and worked hard to get a scholarship to a great school, while working to improve yourself and save money.  You went to Europe to study at a prestigious culinary institute in Paris.  You write a successful food blog.  You’ve been living and working in Manhattan, practically the most expensive city to live in in the country, which is a testament to your hard work.  And you’ve done it all without the emotional and financial support of the two people in this world who should always have your back no matter what.”  He paused then ended with, “You should be exceptionally proud of yourself, Ayanna.  Seriously.”

She blinked up at him, so completely touched by how vehemently he defended her.  She couldn’t help herself and wasn’t even thinking…

...when she leaned up and kissed him. 

She lightly tugged on his bottom lip with her mouth and sandwiched
it in
between her own. She could taste
a hint of spearmint, mixed with a
warmth she couldn’t put her finger on.  He tasted incredible.  And all she knew was that she wanted to keep kissing him forever.

Their lips were connected for a brief five second chaste kiss, when she pulled back in panic.

“I’m so sorry,” she blurted out.  She cringed and shut her eyes.  “
Shit.
  What is
wrong
with me?  I can’t even make it through 27 days,” she said in a whiny furious whisper. 

She peeked at him and he was looking down at her with a bemused look, mixed with some tenderness and something else.  Before he could say anything, she continued with her diatribe. 

“You were just saying such sweet things and no one ever says things like that to me, other than Ryann.  And when she
says them, I just tackle her and give her a huge hug.  But when you say them,” she rushed on, “I don’t know what came over me.  It just seemed natural, then I remembered, and...God, I really am a slut.”  She put her head in her hands.

He moved her hands away and grabbed her face, still looking tenderly at her, but now with humor on his face.

“Did we just have sex or something?  Because I’m pretty sure that I would’ve remembered if we just did the deed, Ayanna.  And that kiss was about as slutty as my grandmother’s.”  He paused.  “That’s not the kind of kiss you usually give a guy, is it?”