Once You'Ve Touched the Heart (4 page)

About two hours later, Tracy, Ashley and Rosaline were cooking while Cynthia was sitting at the table in the kitchen talking. JD and Calvin came out of the office smiling. JD walked over, picked Tracy up, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you, Squirt Two,” he said, smiling as he set her down.

He and Calvin left the condo. Ashley and Rosaline were smiling at Tracy as Cynthia exclaimed, “What the hell just happened here? Did JD just walk past me to kiss her?”

“Yeah, that’s what he did,” Ashley answered laughing.

“Bust your bubble,” Rosaline joined in.

Tracy stood there with her head down, afraid to move; she thought her knees would buckle beneath her.

“Well, like I was saying, Cynthia, the probability of you ever getting that man is slim to none.” Tracy continued with the conversation they were previously having. She turned toward the stove and kept on cooking. Tracy’s back was to Cynthia and Rosaline, but Ashley could see the blush that came over her.

In court that Friday, JD not only received the conviction on the case, but also secured two additional arrest warrants, thanks to Tracy. That Saturday JD and Calvin took the girls out to celebrate their victory and the girls’ last night of freedom before heading back to campus.

♥

At the club the music was pumping, and everyone including Tracy seemed to be having a good time. They took turns
dancing with each other, but whenever
JD and Tracy danced, Cynthia would give attitude. She had this thing for JD and hated the idea of Tracy getting his attention. Everyone else liked watching the two on the dance floor; they had great chemistry.

JD enjoyed being with Tracy. She was different from Ashley’s other friends. After a few days, he could see what Ashley saw; Tracy was special.

“Gentleman’s choice,” the deejay announced. “We gonna
slow it down for a minute or two. Men, pick your poison.”

The deejay played old school Luther,
“Anyone Who Had a Heart.”
Tracy turned to walk off the dance floor but JD put his hands around her waist, pulled her
close and began to dance in a slow rhythm.

“You are full of surprises, Squirt Two. Who taught you to dance like that?” JD smiled.

“My brother,” Tracy answered bragging.

“Umm, I should have known. Did your brother teach you everything?”

“Just about,” she responded, feeling very uncomfortable being this close to him. Well, not uncomfortable, that was not the word. But something was feeling a little strange to her. Okay, strange was not the word either. Hell, she wasn’t sure what the word was, but her body was feeling different with him holding her like this.

“Tracy, where did you go?”

“Hmm, I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Your brother would be proud to know how well you turned out.”

“Maybe,” she replied smiling.

The music played on
as
JD pulled her a little closer.
Why did he do that?
she thought. A knot began developing in the pit of her stomach and her breath became ragged as they continued to dance.

“Thank you, Tracy,” he said as he looked into her eyes. “I don’t believe I would have won that case without the information you pulled out.”

“You’ve already thanked me for that,” she replied with a twinkling smile.

She has seductive eyes,
JD thought. Suddenly, the temptation to kiss her was so overwhelming he actually tilted his head towards her lips. He stopped.
She is nineteen and Ashley’s best friend. Back up, damn it, back up,
he ordered himself.

“Let’s get some fresh air,” he suggested to break the mood. He took Tracy out of the main area of the club to a glass-enclosed veranda.

“Thanks, it was getting a little hot in there,” she sighed.

“Yeah, it was.”

“Wow, look at that,” she beamed. JD looked through the window where she gazed at the view of the city skyline. That’s funny. He saw that view every day and never thought twice about it. Seeing it now, here with her, made it seem special. It was an amazing view, especially at night.

“I get to see that every day,” he stated as he came to stand behind her. “That’s my office right there.”

“Really?” she turned and smiled in awe. “It must be nice to see that every day.”

There was that twinkle in her eyes again. God, he wanted to kiss her. Instead, he shook his head and stepped back. “Yeah, it’s kind of nice.”

For a moment Tracy thought JD was going to kiss her. She turned back to the window, disappointed. “Is something wrong?” she asked, confused by his actions.

Something was drawing JD towards her. He put his hands in his pockets and stood a step behind her. “No.” He inhaled. “I find myself in an awkward situation.”

She turned toward him and asked, “What situation is that?”

Unintentionally, he seductively replied, “You.”

Her smile faded as she innocently parted her lips and gazed at him. His mind was telling him to get away from this girl, but his body wasn’t complying. He wanted to be close to her. Unable to resist the twinkle in her eyes or the need to taste her lips, JD gently kissed her lips.

Startled, Tracy stepped back with a look of confusion. She had no idea how to respond. His lips felt so soothing to her. She had to feel that again. Stepping closer to him, she placed her hands on his chest, tiptoed up and returned the kiss. Enjoying the sweetness of her touch, JD ran his tongue across her smooth lips. He felt the slight shiver that raced through her body. He parted her lips with his tongue to taste more of her. The moment their tongues met it felt as if a jolt of lightning had struck the very soul of them. For JD, it felt as if the weight of the world he carried on his shoulders became lighter, bearable.

Taking his hands from his pockets, he placed them around her waist to pull her closer, deepening the kiss. He could feel her hands pressed against his chest, as the kiss went much deeper than he intended. His mind reeled;
her kiss is so sweet, so innocent
.
Then his senses returned. He suddenly pulled away and held her at arm’s length. “I should not have done that.”

Tracy wasn’t listening. She never felt anything like that in her life.

“We better go back inside.” Taking her hand, he turned to reenter the club.

“Wait,” she said, pulling back. “What did I do wrong?”

Wrong?
He thought. That was the conflict for him, it felt so right. But he knew it was wrong. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I did.” He sighed heavily. “I should have never brought you out here.”

Tracy did not understand the problem. “I came willingly, Jeffrey.”

“Yes, you did. But I should have known better.”

“I’m a little confused here.” She sighed heavily.

He squeezed her hand. “Tracy,” he began, trying to find the right words to explain what he was thinking, “you’re Ashley’s best friend and as much as I
would like to, I can’t forget how young you are. I made a mistake. I should not have kissed you.”

It felt as if the pit of her stomach began to twist up. Tracy pulled her hand from his. JD could see the shell that had disappeared for a few days return almost instantly. Tracy clasped her hands behind her back. “I’m sorry you feel that way. Shall we go back inside?” It was as if the past few moments had not happened and they were only acquaintances having a general conversation. JD stepped aside as she walked past. He wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

“Hey,” Ashley said as they approached the table, “you two finish dancing for the night?”

“I think so,” Tracy replied as she looked away.

Just then Vanessa, JD’s most recent lover, walked up. He was actually relieved to see her. He needed a little distance between him and Tracy.

“JD, are you enjoying yourself?” Vanessa asked sarcastically.

He glanced at Tracy.
I did the right thing
, he told himself. He took Vanessa’s hand. “Come dance with me,” he said with a smile and walked away. That was the last Tracy saw of him for the rest of the night.

♥

JD came in around four in the morning. When he walked through the door, the telephone rang. “Yes, Vanessa,” he answered angrily. “It’s four in the morning. I don’t want or need the drama again.”

“You do realize she is a teenager and you are a grown ass man. Isn’t that contributing to the delinquency of a minor or something?” Vanessa questioned with a warning.

“I’m a district attorney and you presume to tell me the law. By the way, she’s nineteen, over the age of consent, if there was anything to consent too!”

“JD, I’m not trying to tell you the law. But you fail to see what it looks like. I don’t care how old she is. She is too young for you to be involved with. What is it you always say to me—it’s the appearance of it.”

“Don’t talk to me about appearances. Nothing is happening here, Vanessa. For goodness sakes, you’re jealous of a nineteen-year-old girl,” JD yelled into the phone.

“She may be, but I’m not blind,” Vanessa replied curtly. “I know what I saw. And you are lying to me and yourself if you say I’m wrong.”

“I’m done, Vanessa. I’m not dealing with this anymore tonight.” He hung up the telephone and went to bed.

JD did not notice the balcony door was cracked. Tracy sat there with her book in her lap. She overheard his side of the conversation.
I’m just a teenage girl to him,
she thought. She dropped her head down.
What in the hell would make me think it was anything else? Stupid; stupid; stupid. You set yourself up for that
. She laughed to herself. She really liked being around JD and thought maybe…. “But it will not happen again,” she said to herself.

In bed, JD lay awake wondering how in the hell he could convince Vanessa nothing was there with this girl when he wasn’t sure himself. Something stirred in him every time he was around Tracy. She was young, but that wasn’t really the problem. There was only a five-year difference in their age. With the career he planned, the appearance of him with someone so young could be damaging. Vanessa was right and he knew it. Besides, he did not have time for drama or issues in his life. Dealing with someone so young would bring drama. From that night, in his mind, Tracy Washington was off limits.

♥

The next day Ashley and Tracy were loading up the car to return to Harmon as JD and Calvin helped. Other than the normal niceties, Tracy was very quiet.

“You two have everything?” JD asked.

“Sure do,” Ashley replied.

Ashley jumped on JD’s back as if taking a piggyback ride, kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. “Thanks, big brother, for letting us stay with you. I’m going to miss you.”

He pulled her around his waist and carried her with one arm at his side.

“Don’t you drop me,” Ashley screamed while laughing.

“I will miss you too, Squirt,” he smiled and put her on her feet by the driver’s door.

As he opened the door for Ashley he glanced at Tracy. “It was good having you over, Tracy. You take care.”

“Thank you. You take care, too,” she replied as she got into the car.

He could see the shield was up full force. As they pulled off, JD felt so much was unsaid with her. He wondered if he should have talked with her about last night.

“You did the right thing,” Calvin commented.

JD turned to him. “What?”

“You are not ready for her,” he replied. “Let it go.”

JD put his hands in his pocket and did just that, let it go.