Chapter and Verse (20 page)

I did my best to clear my thoughts and keep my voice level.  It would do me no good to kill him before I had time to think this through thoroughly.

“
Deacon, my sister doesn’t have the influence over me that your brothers obviously have over you.  That’s not a dig, it’s a fact.  I make my own decisions and the jury is still out where you’re concerned.   You couldn’t even keep the commitment to be my friend and now you think you want more?  Why in the name of all that’s holy would I give you another chance?”

Ah hell.  There were those dimples again.  I swear he uses them as a weapon.  Gorgeous men like him always have a secret weapon they whip out to impress women with.  I’m assuming his dimples were his, although I have seen him with his shirt off and I have to say that if he walked around shirtless all the time, no one would give a flip about his dimples.

He leaned over and began peppering my lips with kisses until I sighed and started kissing him back, the big tease.  I say if you’re gonna kiss someone, do it right or step aside.  He ran his tongue along the seam of my lip and just as I was leaning into him, he leaned back and looked into my eyes.

“
You’ll give me another chance because you love me.  Are you gonna try and deny that?”

I reacted as if he’d thrown cold water on me.  I jumped up and jerked my hands out of his.

“
You suck Deacon!  I don’t appreciate being manipulated and you’d better internalize that buddy.  There will be no more kisses or whispers or toe curling until you and I have set some major ground rules.  You’re not breaking my heart again, I mean it!”

I stomped out of the kitchen and went upstairs to my room.  I slammed the door and collapsed into a heap on the bed.  I needed a quick lesson in men and I needed it from someone that was as big a player as Deacon.  If I had any hope of winning this fight and coming away intact, I needed weapons.  Or at least insight into Deacon’s arsenal.

And there it was.  My answer.  It could not have been clearer if the angels had announced it’s arrival with trumpets.  People, sometimes I have moments of genius that surprise even me.

I reached over and unplugged my phone from the charger.  I quickly scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I needed.  I checked the time and dialed.

Anton was home and on the sofa.  He’d changed into shorts and a t-shirt and was getting ready to channel surf when his phone rang.

“
Yo.”

“
That’s how you answer the phone?  I thought you were some hotshot business executive.  What if I’d been a business associate?”

“
I don’t give my cell number to those people and who in the hell are you anyway?”

I rolled my eyes and sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed.

“
It’s me Dorothy and I need help.”

His tone grew serious and I couldn’t help but feel bad.

“
Dor’, do you need bail money?  You finally killed him didn’t you?  Not that I blame you, after all the book was perfect as written and if he’d told ME I had to rewrite it...”

“
Wait a damned minute.  He wants me to rewrite it?!”

I could almost see him raking his hand through his hair.

“
I did not say that and you didn’t hear it.  Forget I ever said it.  What do you need help with?”

Did he honestly think I’d let that go?  I thought he had a better handle on me than that.

“
You did say it and I heard it loud and clear.  He doesn’t like the book?”

“
I didn’t say that.  I said he was gonna tell you to rewrite it.  There’s a difference.”

“
If he likes it, why would I have to rewrite it?”

“
Do you want the party line or my theory?”

“
Oh I’m all about theories Anton.  Tell me both.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute or two.  I think he was trying to decide if it was worth Deacon’s wrath if I decided to go on a rant.

“
Dorothy, if I tell you this, my ass is on the line.  You’ve seen him angry, think about it.”

That was fair.  As much as I wanted answers, I didn’t want to come between brothers.  That wasn’t right.  I did have ammo I could give him though, and I decided to put my cards on the table.

“
Anton old buddy, I understand your predicament.  I have a sister of my own that can be as mean as a snake if she’s crossed, so let me offer you something in return.”

“
I’m listening...”

“
I called to ask for advice and I’d appreciate it if this call never got back to His Highness.  If he finds out I called you and why, my life would get complicated in a hurry.  Do you catch my drift?”

“
I like how you think Dor’.  I’ll show you mine and you show me yours.  Is that the long and short of it?”

“
Your mama didn’t raise no fools.  Is it a deal?”

“
Deal.”

“
Okay.  As a show of faith, I’ll even go first.”

I spent the next ten minutes telling him everything from Deacon’s arrival to my leaving him in the kitchen.  I left nothing out.  I recounted the hand-holding, the kisses, and the conversation verbatim.  He listened closely and never interrupted.  When I was done, I paused but he said nothing.

“
So?  What do you think?”

“
I think I’m way out of my depth here.  This is a side of Deke I’ve never seen Dor’.  You’ve stumped me.”

“
Is he sincere?”

“
One thing about Deacon you need to understand is, if he says it, he means it.”

“
So how do I handle this?  I was serious when I said I don’t want to get hurt again Anton.  He nearly destroyed me the last time and I’ll never come back from it if I let him in and he does it again.  I’m serious.”

“
Oh I believe you, but you didn’t see the shape he was in.  You got your licks in and you weren’t there to see it.  He was worthless at work and a bear to boot.  You changed him and he couldn’t sustain the change without you.  The thing was, he couldn’t change back.  I don’t think he realized how much he leaned on you until you weren’t there.  It was more than losing his best friend Dor’, he lost his spirit.”

You could have knocked me over with a breeze.  Anton was describing me perfectly.  It seems that Deacon and I were going through the same emotions and didn’t that just alter my perception of our situation.

“
Anton, what do I do now?  I can’t pretend he didn’t hurt me, because he did.  How do I know he won’t run scared when the shit starts getting deep?  We both know how he is.  All it’ll take is us getting linked in the press or our folks making comments about weddings or babies and he’ll be off like a shot.”

“
I don’t think so.  Not this time.  But I can see where you’d be skittish and I can help you with that if you want me to.”

“
That’s why I’m calling.  I figure you and Pierce probably know him better than anyone else.  How should I handle this?”

“
Play hard to get.”

“
Pardon me?  You did NOT just tell me to play hard to get with Deacon Sloan, did you?”

He chuckled before he answered.

“
I did in fact tell you to do exactly that.  He messed with you, now you mess with him.  If he hangs in there, you’ll know he’s determined to win and keep you.  The doubt will be gone and he’ll be so grateful he’ll be yours to keep if you want him.  If he gets fed up and walks away, you’ll have your answer.  Either way, your heart stays intact and your questions are answered.”

I had to give it to him.  Anton Sloan was more than just a pretty face.

“
How do I play hard to get?”

“
You’re a woman Dor’.  Do I really have to answer that?”

“
Yes I’m afraid you do.  I haven’t dated in three years Anton.  The hard to get thing isn’t well practiced in my life.”

“
You haven’t dated in three years?  Does that mean that you haven’t....”

“
Stop right there Anton.  This isn’t truth-or-dare and we don’t know each other well enough for those types of questions.  Just tell me how to do this.”

“
Well, knowing Deke like I do, you’ll need to be able to walk a fine line.”

I stuck my nose up in the air and shifted my position.

“
I can do that.”

“
You think so?  This is my brother we’re talking about.  He typically gets what he goes after my friend.  Think about that long and hard.”

Damn it, he was right.  Dimples and chest.  Dimples and chest.  If he took off his shirt and smiled at me, I’d probably climb him like a vine.  It HAD been three years after all and he WAS Deacon Sloan.  Why in the world could I not have fallen for a nice accountant named Milton?

“
So give me ideas then.”

“
Stay friendly.  Hold his hand, let him put his arm around you, innocent kisses are all okay.  Flirting is good too.  Just don’t sleep with him.  Whatever you do Dorothy, you cannot sleep with him.”

“
Why?  Does he have a magic spell that sucks you in if you sleep with him?”

“
I don’t know about that, but the kind of voodoo he wields sucks every woman in.  I’ve seen it myself.  Craftier women than you have fallen after one night in his bed and if I were you, I’d make him work for it.”

I was grinning a mile wide.  I could touch him, taste him, and even play with him.  I could do pretty much anything I wanted to with him, as long as I didn’t sleep with him.  I could do that.  This would be easier than I thought.

“
Dor’?  You still there?”

“
I’m here.  Sorry, I was thinking about how lucky I was to have you as a friend Anton.  You’re a good guy.  Do you know that?”

“
I’ll be a dead guy if Deacon finds out I’m behind this.”

“
He won’t, don’t worry.  I’m good at keeping secrets.  Now it’s your turn.  What’s the deal with my book?”

He sighed and I knew he was hoping that I’d forgotten about that part.  Like THAT was gonna happen.

“
He says, and I don’t believe him by the way, that he wants more in there about his high school years.  He says that what you’ve got so far is good, it’s just missing a big chunk of his life.”

I’m touchy about my work, but I am not a prima dona.  I can take criticism if it’s valid and he was right.  There was nothing in there about his high school years.  I hadn’t thought about it because I didn’t know anyone he went to high school with, and Deacon didn’t seem like the type to keep his yearbooks.

“
Was he some varsity jock or something?”

“
Nope.  He never played a sport at all.”

“
Homecoming or Prom King?”

“
Nope.”

“
Editor in Chief of the newspaper or yearbook?”

“
Nuh-uh.”

I was beginning to grasp at straws.

“
Band or chorus?  School plays or musicals?  Maybe a foreign language club?”

“
No, no, and nope.”

“
Anton, what the hell did he do in high school that makes it noteworthy?”

“
Near as I can tell, his only claim to fame was perfect attendance.  He was excellent at showing up, he just didn’t do anything.”

“
And that makes his high school years noteworthy?  Seriously?”

“
Nope.  And that’s what brings me to my theory.  Wanna hear it?”

“
I definitely want to hear it.  This is gonna be good, I can tell already.”

“
I think he’s gonna tangle you up in rewrites until he wins you back.  Think about it Dor’.  As long as he keeps you writing about him, he’s got contact with you.  If he signs off on it, you can wash your hands of him.  You’re not the only one feeling vulnerable.  The difference is, every problem you two have had has been because of him.  He’s not stupid.  He knows this.  He needs to keep you in his life until he wins you hook, line, and sinker.”

Why the hell had I not talked to Anton before now?  The man was a walking encyclopedia where Deacon was concerned.  My whole outlook was changing.  I suddenly felt as if I held a little power in this relationship, and I liked it.  Now I knew how Deacon felt most of the time.

“
How do I get information about his high school life?”

Anton started laughing and I was back to being confused.

“
Anton?”

“
Sorry Dor’.  I have an idea, but you have to wait until Deacon approaches you with the rewrite.”