From One Night to Forever (23 page)

“Kacey.”

“I don’t know. It sounds a little too convenient to me,” Kareem said. “And it gives Reggie more of an interest in the company. If you’re with his sister, he gets his say and then can use her to convince you to listen to his ideas more.”

Aaron shifted. “How?”

Kareem shrugged. “Women get whatever they want in the bedroom.”

David nodded. “That’s true.”

“I don’t know.” Aaron ran his hands over his face. “You all are making me think about stuff I hadn’t even considered.”

“Well, maybe you should,” Kareem said.

David stood. “Look, don’t let Kareem put doubts in your head. You’re nervous because you had to ’fess up to your feelings for the first time. But if you’re really unsure, then I’ll do for you what you did for me.”

Aaron lifted his head. “What’s that?”

“Bring her to the family. Let us check her out.”

Kareem nodded. “Yeah, do that. We usually can figure out what’s up.”

Aaron considered, then nodded. “Fine, I’ll see if she wants to come to the gender reveal, but don’t tell your wives. No way am I letting them know more about this situation.”

• • •

After leaving his parents’, Aaron went back to his apartment. Normally the sparsely furnished place made him feel at home. But today not so much. He missed the comforts of the apartment he’d had over Kacey’s house. Or the warmth of Kacey’s place. His one bedroom didn’t have any family pictures or personal touches to make it feel like his space. Just a couch, some gaming chairs, and his monster flat-screen television and video game console. The only thing in his fridge was an empty pizza box, half of a soda of indeterminate age, and a box of baking soda Janiyah had insisted he needed the last time she visited. After partaking of Kacey’s full fridge, he could fully appreciate stocking up on necessities.

He ordered a pizza and sat on the couch to play an online game. As he waited for the pizza, he wondered what Kacey was doing. Probably up working on her thesis. Trying to get caught up after he had hogged so much of her time before he left. If he called, he could imagine the exasperation in her voice that he’d interrupted her, but it wouldn’t hide the pleasure that seemed to creep in whenever he did. She enjoyed spending time with him. Just as much as he enjoyed time with her. Maybe David was right and he should just let things play out and see what happened.

He stopped logging in to the online game and pulled out his cell phone to call. He scrolled through his recent calls until he got to her number. A knock on the door came right before he could press the button to call. Aaron tossed the phone on the couch and got up to answer the door. He pulled out his wallet to pay the pizza delivery person, but when he opened the door, he was greeted with Liz’s smiling face.

“Hi,” she said in a high, singsong voice. Her purple-framed glasses were crooked on her nose, and the normally neat knot that held up her strawberry-blond hair had lost its firm hold on her shoulder-length hair.

“Hey, Liz, what are you doing here?” He glanced around as if someone else would be able to explain her appearance.

“Janiyah called and told me you were in town,” Liz said. She took a step forward and ran her hand up his arm. “She also said you were going home where you’d be all alone and needed some company.”

Aaron gritted his teeth. He was going to kill his sister. “She did, huh?”

“Yes, she did.” Liz wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him.

“What happened to you and the architect?” He could guess. Aaron knew he was the fun in between her off-again, on-again relationship with the guy. That hadn’t bothered him because he had no claims on Liz.

He wondered whether there was a guy in Kacey’s life who’d like to fill in the void while Aaron was away. Aaron hadn’t done long-distance since Denise. That was before he had his business and he could stay in Texas almost full-time. He and Kacey hadn’t talked about how often they’d see each other. Another side effect of their spur-of-the-moment relationship act. Aaron remembered the guy who’d drooled over Kacey at the bar that first night. Was that guy filling Aaron’s place while he was out of town? The idea made Aaron’s stomach boil.

“I’m done with him. Totally done this time.”

“You said that last time.”

He took a step back, but Liz remained wrapped around him. Her step forward was unsteady and she stumbled. Aaron placed a hand on her waist to keep her from falling.

“I mean it this time, Aaron. He won’t commit, and I’m tired of waiting around.”

“I told you that the last time.”

Liz grinned and twirled a finger in his hair. “You did, and you also helped me forget about him the last time.” She wrapped her leg around his and slid her body up and down, pressing her full breasts against his chest.

Aaron suppressed a groan. He had enjoyed Liz’s enthusiasm. “Liz, you can’t keep running over here whenever you get mad at him.”

“I didn’t run. I took a cab,” she said with a very uncharacteristic giggle.

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “Are you drunk?”

“Tipsy.”

He scowled. “At least you didn’t drive?”

She shook her head; the knot gave way and waves of hair fell around her face. “I figured I’d be spending the night.” She rubbed her body up and down his again. “Help me forget, Aaron.”

Liz grabbed his head and pulled him down for a kiss. She simultaneously slipped her tongue past his lips and palmed his cock. Aaron’s eyes rolled back, and he nearly succumbed to the pleasure—but he didn’t want to sleep with Liz. He wouldn’t do that to Kacey. Whether or not he had doubts about their relationship, he’d never been one to cheat.

“Uh-hum, I got your pizza,” a male voice said from behind.

Aaron pushed Liz off and wiped his lips. Her face was flushed and her hazel eyes sparkled with wicked desire. He knew what came with that sparkle. Aaron suppressed a groan and moved her to the side.

“Yeah, thanks, man,” Aaron said. Liz went into his apartment while he pulled the money out of his wallet and paid the delivery guy.

Aaron closed the door and turned. Liz had plopped down on his couch, and only her feet were visible on the armrest. Aaron sighed and dropped the pizza and soda onto the coffee table.

Liz grinned up at him. “Ready for some fun?”

Aaron rubbed the back of his head. “Liz, how is this going to help convince Janiyah there’s nothing between us?”

“She suggested that I come, but she doesn’t know I took her up on the suggestion.” Liz stood unsteadily and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her gray sleeveless blouse. “No one has to know.”

“Liz, we aren’t doing this.”

She scowled at him. “Come on, Aaron, it’s what we do. And right now, I need a distraction. A big one.” She eyed his crotch. “You’re just the right size.”

She stepped forward and stumbled. Aaron caught her around the waist. “You’re drunk, and we both know you’re going to hate yourself tomorrow.”

“But I won’t be horny,” she said, then broke out into a fit of giggles.

Aaron shook his head and took her into the bedroom. This was definitely not characteristic of Liz. He’d had a hunch that architect wasn’t going to be what she wanted him to be. Now Liz realized the same, and she was crashing from that relationship pretty hard. A few swift steps got him into the bedroom, where he laid her on the bed. Liz rolled onto her back and pulled up her skirt, revealing bright pink panties. Aaron groaned. This was going from bad to worse.

“Come on, Aaron, one last time.” She started pulling the underwear down. At the first glimpse of curly red hair, Aaron turned his head.

“I’m going to eat a slice of pizza and give you time to calm down. I’ll take you home later.” He hurried to the bedroom door and slammed it shut behind him.

Through the door he heard Liz curse, then the squeak of his bed, which meant she’d probably flipped over. A second later soft sobs replaced her cursing. Aaron grunted and rubbed his eyes. He’d give her a few minutes to get herself together and then take her back to her place.

Aaron trudged back to the living room. He felt like a jerk and he hadn’t even done anything wrong. But there was a willing woman in his bed, and despite how much he hated his body for reacting, he was now rock-hard. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Take Liz home. Come back, call Kacey, and get some very hot phone sex going on.

Tonight was beyond messed up. Liz coming over unannounced, drunk no less, was not typical for her. Love made people do foolish things. How many women had he brushed off over the years? Had they done something similar? Would Kacey do the same if she found out a big part of his declaration had been to save the merger? He thought of her and that guy from the bar. Hugging, kissing, making love, all so that she could get over what Aaron had done.

“Damn,” he muttered to himself and picked up the phone to call Kacey. He needed her to know he was thinking about her, and not because of the damn merger.

“Today is my last day,” Camila said with a heavy sigh and dropped the profits from the bar onto the desk next to Kacey.

Kacey looked up from balancing the books for the night to grin at her sister-in-law. “I know, your maternity leave starts tomorrow.”

Camila rubbed her lower back and moaned. Kacey eyed Camila’s rounded belly and wondered how she’d possibly managed to work tonight with all of that going on.

“I appreciate you helping out this long.”

Camila continued to massage her lower back and lifted one shoulder. “I would have gone crazy if I’d sat at home for a moment longer than necessary. I could work at least two or three more weeks, but Reggie insists that I take my last month off. You know, so I can prepare to be the perfect stay-at-home mom,” Camila said with an exaggerated eye roll.

“He’s a worrier.” Kacey picked up the money from the bar and added it to the rest of the money she was counting. “Don’t worry, the baby will come and he’ll get back to normal.”

Camila looked doubtful, but waved a hand. “Well, he needs to be more worried about people tearing up our house than me working.”

Kacey swung around. “What are you talking about? Did someone vandalize the house or something?”

“Not the outside. It had to have been during the cookout the other weekend.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing really, just that someone was in the laundry room and spilled something red all between the washer and dryer.”

Kacey’s face burned, and she worked hard to keep her features neutral. “Say what?” Her voice rose with mock surprise.

“Yes!” Camila continued, not even noticing Kacey’s embarrassment. “They tried to clean it up, but there is a red stain all down the side that won’t go away. Who in the world would be in the laundry room anyway?”

Kacey shrugged and spun back to the stacks on money on the desk. She straightened the already organized piles. “That’s crazy.”

“I know. Anyway, Reggie doesn’t seem to care.”

Camila went on with her rant about people’s lack of manners and Reggie’s ability to care about her going out with friends more than someone spilling crap in the laundry room. Kacey’s embarrassment slowly slipped away after realizing Camila didn’t suspect either her or Aaron as the culprit for the red washer incident. Soon she tuned out Camila and Reggie’s drama of the moment and got lost in memories of the way Aaron had made her spill the drink. She squirmed in her seat and smiled, then immediately her smile drifted away. How could they possibly make this work with him living in another state?

Does he really want us to work out?

It was the thought she’d tried to avoid pondering too long since he’d left the other day. On the one hand she didn’t want to be the person who believed that a one-night stand could actually turn into a long-term relationship. But the long-neglected romantic Kacey, the one who’d dehydrated into nothing after having her heart broken so young by an older man, really wanted to believe.

Camila finally left and Monique came in. “The tables are clear and the floors are mopped. Are you done with putting together the deposit yet?”

Kacey zipped closed the bag of cash and receipts, then placed it in the safe. “Yep.” She pushed the safe door closed and locked it. Jamelah had called in sick, so Kacey had jumped at the chance to fill in. Otherwise she’d be at home trying to study but really missing Aaron.

“Look, if you have a problem with me, then just tell me,” Monique said.

Kacey stood and faced her sister. “What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t spoken a word to me all night. Are you still pissed about the cookout thing?”

“No.”

Monique crossed her arms and her long lashes fluttered. “Then what’s the deal?”

“Did you tell Reggie about me and Aaron?”

Monique scowled. “No, Reggie came and asked me, point-blank, if you and Aaron were together.”

“So you told him?”

“I told him that I didn’t know what, if anything, was going on with you two. He suspected, and
you
gave it away when he came to your house.”

“That sounds too easy.”

“It wasn’t hard for him to figure out. You two disappearing around the same time. Aaron saying he was with Tara but then we see her all by herself. You not answering your phone and just taking off for the night. It’s almost like you wanted to get caught.”

“I didn’t want to get caught,” Kacey said. She just hadn’t thought spending the night with him in Chattanooga through. She’d hated the thought of him leaving so much that, when he’d asked, she’d just turned off her phone and gone with her feelings. No thought of her family or how they’d see things.

She ran a hand across her head and tugged on her ponytail. “I’m sorry for accusing you.”

Monique propped her hip on the desk. “Why are you mad anyway? It worked out.”

“No, it didn’t.”

Monique nodded. “Yes, it did. You were all giddy and falling in love over the guy. He admitted he felt the same, and now you two are together.”

Obviously Reggie had decided to fill Monique in on the particulars. “I wasn’t giddy and falling in love.”

“Yes, you were. Yes, you are. Don’t be embarrassed, he’s feeling the same.”