TAMING THE BEAST: An Alpha Male (3 page)

Chanise dropped Deena off at her father's house about an hour before her coffee date with Jake. After they got Deena settled in the living room with a Disney video, Chanise's father asked, “So, where did you meet this young man you're going out with?”

Chanise felt her face heating up. She hadn't told her father who she was seeing, only that she had a date. For one thing, she didn't want to see what her father would say about her dating a patient. For another, there was the potential conflict of interest. She wasn't sure if it would technically be against the rules for her to date one of her father's patients, but at the very least, her father would probably insist on sending Jake to see another counselor. She didn't want to let that happen. Not when Jake seemed to be making so much progress. Starting over with a new counselor could be like setting him back to square one, especially if the new counselor had a very different technique and view of the human mind.

“He's just someone I ran into,” Chanise said. “We started talking, and he asked me out.”

“Someone you ran into?” Her father frowned, folding his arms across his chest. “Do you know anything about this man? I don't know how I feel about you going out for coffee with a complete stranger.”

“He's not a stranger, Dad. Besides, I'm not a teenager anymore. I can make my own decisions about who I'm going to date, thank you very much.”

Her father huffed and shook his head, but he didn't protest any further. “Well, I suppose you are all grown up now. Though I don't think I'll ever approve of anyone as much as I did Tyrone.”

Chanise sighed, her thoughts drifting to her deceased husband. He had been a good man. And he would have been a great father, she was sure if he had lived to see his daughter grow up. “I'll be fine, Dad. It's just coffee.”

“All right. Well, you give me a call if you're going to be out late.”

“Dad!”

“I'm not trying to check up on you,” he said. He gestured to Deena in the living room. “But I need to know how long I'll be watching the little one. You know how she gets sometimes when you're running late.”

“I know.”

Chanise gave her father a hug, then said goodbye to Deena, before heading out the door. She drove down to the coffee shop she had chosen. It was a small place, not far from home, and the owner baked some of the best biscuits and scones that Chanise had ever eaten.

She arrived a bit before Jake got there. She sat at a table in the corner, checking her phone while she waited for him to arrive. She was busy scrolling through her Twitter feed when a looming shadow passed over the table. She looked up and saw Jake standing there, holding a single red rose out to her.

“Oh my…,” she said. She rose from her seat, touching a hand to her chest. “Well, this is unexpected.”

“My father always told me,” he said, “if you don't show up for a first date with flowers, don't bother showing up at all.”

She took the rose and inhaled its sweet scent. No one had ever given her a rose before. Her husband had given her lilies since they were her favorite flower. But there was something sweet, romantic, and traditional about a rose, and it set her heart aflutter.

“You ready to order?” Jake asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

“Sure.”

Chanise got into line alongside Jake, twirling the long stem of the rose between her fingertips. She glanced up at Jake out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't used to standing right beside him like this. It really made the difference in their heights stand out. He was tall enough that if he put his arms around her, his chin would easily rest on top of her head. She was short and curvy, with broad hips and quite a bit of booty, which had always done a good job in bringing the boys to her yard.

They placed their order, and then went back to sit down. Chanise ordered a light, foamy cappuccino. Jake ordered black coffee. They also ordered a couple of pastries to share.

“So,” Chanise said. “What else is there to know about you, outside of your sports career?”

“What?” Jake asked. “You don't like talking about sports?”

She shrugged. “I don't care for it. I think there's a lot of things in the world with far more value.”

“You wouldn't say that if you saw my annual salary.” Jake winked at her.

“See, there you go again.” Chanise waved a hand dismissively. “You always jump straight to bragging and chest thumping.”

“Chest thumping?” Jake frowned at her. “Are you calling me an ape?”

“Are you one?” Chanise asked, smirking at him.

Jake chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “Sometimes, I guess. But I'm working on fixing that. That's why I'm in therapy, remember?”

“I thought you were in therapy because your coach ordered it,” Chanise said. “And because you can't get taken off suspension until you're finished.”

Jake scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, well, maybe that's how it started. But, I wasn't expecting to get anything out of it, you know? Now it's like...” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table and looking down into his coffee. “Now it's like I'm seeing a whole new side of things. And, I dunno, I guess that's a good thing.”

Chanise smiled at him and reached over to touch his hand. “It is a good thing. It's a sign of personal growth.”

“Yeah, well, whatever.” Jake pulled away, leaning back in his chair again. “I just hope it doesn't make me go soft.”

“You keep confusing emotions with weakness. But confronting your emotions can be a source of strength.”

“How?”

“Because if you don't confront them, you let them have power over you. If all you ever do is bury your emotions and hide from them, then the darkness is winning. But if you can face what's inside, and work your way through it, then you end up a lot stronger than if you'd just run away and hide.”

“I guess you're right.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Damn! You're so much like the doc. This is starting to feel more like a therapy session than a date.”

“Sorry about that,” Chanise said. “I guess I got it from him.”

“From working with him for so long?”

“No. He's my father.”

“Ohh.” Jake rubbed his chin, looking her over. “Wow! Okay. I see it now.”

“See what?”

“You've got his eyes. Except yours are lighter. More...gentle.”

He leaned forward, staring deep into her eyes. “Like dark pools of wonder. I could spend all night staring into those eyes.”

Chanise felt her face heating up. She cleared her throat and looked away, not sure how to respond to such flattery. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to her in such a fashion. And as much as she had loved her husband, he had never been quite so...poetic.

They chatted for more than an hour at the coffee shop, with Jake's flirtation becoming more and more bold as the coffee date went on. Chanise found her head spinning with all of the compliments. She wasn't used to getting this much attention from a man. It made her nervous, but at the same time, she found the attention flattering. And long after her coffee cup was empty, she found that she didn't quite want the date to end.

But then, she remembered that her daughter was waiting for her to come home. She had promised they would spend some time together tonight. Chanise checked the time on her phone and let out a long sigh. “I really should get going,” she said.

“Already?” Jake asked. He reached across the table and touched her hand. “But we're just getting started. Can't you stay a little bit longer?”

“I really shouldn't. My daughter is waiting for me.”

“Aww, the kid will be fine.” He gave her fingers a squeeze, grinning at her. “I thought maybe we could go back to my place for dinner and drinks. What do you think?”

“Back to your place?” Chanise asked with a frown. She pulled her hand away. “On a first date? What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“Hey, now.” Jake spread his hands apologetically. “I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought we were having a good time.”

“We were.” Chanise stood up, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “But not anymore. I guess I'll see you around.”

She headed out the door. Jake got up and hurried after her. He followed her into the parking lot. “Chanise, wait.”

“I told you, I need to go,” she said.

“I know, but...”

He grabbed her arm and spun her around, enveloping her in his strong arms. She held still, looking up at him. Being enclosed by his rock-solid arms made her feel small and vulnerable. It wasn't a feeling she was used to.

“Come on, baby,” he said, reaching up to caress her cheek. “I know you were having a good time. And I know you want me.”

“Is that so?” Chanise asked. She tried to keep an assertive tone of voice, but she felt her resolve weakening.

“Nothing wrong with giving in to your desires,” Jake said, looking deep into her eyes.

“There can be,” Chanise said. “Having a desire is one thing. Acting on it is something else.”

“Are you afraid?”

“Of you?” Chanise's eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Of yourself,” Jake said. “Of us. Of letting go of whatever this wall is that you're trying to put up between us.”

“Who says I'm putting up a wall?”

“I can see it,” Jake smirked. “Your father keeps talking to me about bringing down the walls I've been using to hide from my emotions. And I think now maybe I can see the signs in you. You're afraid of being hurt.”

“I've been hurt in the past.” She thought back to the loss of her husband. They had been married for less than a year. She had thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with him. She hadn't been prepared for his life to end so quickly.

“You can trust me,” Jake said, leaning closer.

“I don't know if I can.”

“You can.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Chanise held herself stiff for a moment, not sure if she should give in to this desire. Jake was attractive, and she found herself drawn to him. But she wasn't sure if this is what she really needed in her life, or if she was just being foolish and giving in to a simple crush.

But his lips felt so nice against hers. He started suckling on her lower lip, and she melted against him, slipping her arms around his neck. She held on to him while he kissed her, his hands gliding down her sides and caressing her ample hips. He squeezed her, and a soft moan slipped from her, betraying her desires.

She pulled back, looking up at him, her eyes filled with doubt and uncertainty. “I need to go,” she whispered.

“When will I see you again?”

She tried to find her voice, fighting against her breathlessness. “I'll be in the office Thursday.”

“No,” Jake said, holding her tighter. “I don't want to wait that long. Have dinner with me. Tomorrow night.”

“I can't.”

“Why not?”

“I have my daughter.” Chanise looked away.

“So, bring her along,” Jake said. “We can all have dinner together.”

Chanise looked up at him, her lips pursed in amusement. “Really? You'd want me to bring my daughter along on our date?”

“Hey, if that's what it takes to get you to have dinner with me, I'm all for it,” Jake smirked, a victorious look on his face.

“All right,” Chanise said. “But you'd better be on your best behavior.” She jabbed a finger against his chest. “I don't need my daughter to see us getting up to any hanky-panky.”

Jake laughed. “I promise, I'll be a perfect gentleman.”

Chanise wasn't sure if Jake was even capable of acting like a true gentleman, but she decided to give him a chance to prove himself.

They shared another kiss, and then she headed for her car. Jake followed her and opened the door for her. She drove off, heading back to her father's house to pick up her daughter. Though the entire way there, she could still taste Jake's kiss, and she couldn't fight off the feeling that she should have stayed longer. No matter what she might have told him, she hadn't really wanted the date to end.

* * *

The next day, after she picked Deena up from daycare, Chanise sat her down so they could have a talk about Jake. Chanise sat on the living room couch, and Deena was in her child-sized rocking chair on the other side of the coffee table.

“Deena, baby,” Chanise said, “you remember Jake? From Grandpa's office?”

“Yeah. He was on TV.”

“That's right.” Chanise didn't want to think about the news report of Jake getting into brawls with his teammates. The man she knew didn't seem like a violent person. If she believed he was truly capable of violence, there was no way she would ever bring her daughter near him. But she had seen his gentle side, and she knew that was the real him.

“Jake invited us to dinner at his house,” Chanise said.

“Yay!” Deena clapped her hands. “Can we have spaghetti?”

“Well, I don't know what he's cooking.” Chanise had a hard time imagining Jake in front of a stove, making a family dinner.

“Well, that's okay,” Deena said.

“What do you think of Jake?”

“He's okay.” Deena shrugged.

“Just okay?”

Deena nodded.

Chanise smiled at her daughter. “What would you think if I spent more time with him? If he started coming over a couple of times each week to see us.”

“Is he your boyfriend?” Deena looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes.

Chanise pressed her lips together, trying to think how to answer that question. “Maybe. Would that be okay with you?”

“Bobby told me black girls can't have white boyfriends,” Deena said.

Chanise crossed her arms, a frown forming on her face. “Oh, did he now? Well, next time you see Bobby, you tell him that is an archaic attitude that belongs back in the 1950s.”

“What's ark-hay-ick?”

Chanise laughed. “It means old. Bobby's attitude is really old. And smart people nowadays don't listen to old ideas like that.”

“Oh. Okay.”

She got Deena dressed in some nice clothes, and they drove over to Jake's place together. Jake had an apartment in Philadelphia, and it was the first time Chanise had taken her daughter into the city. Deena leaned over in her car seat, peering out the windows at the tall buildings they passed. “Wow. Those are really big houses.”

“Most of them aren't houses,” Chanise said. “They're office buildings where people work.”

“They're lots bigger than Grandpa's office.”

Chanise chuckled. “Yes. Yes they are, dear.”

When they got to Jake's building, Deena insisted on being the one to press the button in the elevator. They rode up to Jake's floor and found Jake's apartment at the end of the hall. When he opened the door to greet them, Deena rushed right past him into the apartment, looking around with her jaw hanging open. “Wow! Your house is even bigger than Grandpa's!”

Jake chuckled. “It's pretty big, yeah. You should see the view.”

He led them to the dining room. The dining room was set in the corner of the apartment, and both walls were filled with floor to ceiling windows, looking out over the city. Deena ran over to the windows and pressed her face against the glass. “Wow, we're so high up! Are we gonna fall?”

“No, you won't fall,” Jake said. “The windows don't even open.”

Chanise looked around the apartment. It was quite lavishly decorated, with a black leather sofa and a big screen TV in the living room, and a solid oak table and chair set in the dining room. She glanced into the kitchen and saw one of those new fancy fridges with a computer screen on the front, the kind that connected to your cell phone so you could order food deliveries with the tap of a button. It all felt very
Jetsons
to Chanise, but she supposed that was what you could afford nowadays on a quarterback's salary.

“You ready to eat?” Jake asked. He held out a chair for Chanise.

“I'm starved.” She sat down, and then Jake helped Deena onto a chair as well. They waited while Jake made several trips back and forth from the kitchen, bringing out a veritable feast. There was steaming hot lasagna, a large Greek salad, a bowl of penne pasta with marinara, and a plate of garlic bread. It looked and smelled delicious, and it was more food than the three of them could possibly hope to eat.

“Wow,” Deena said, looking at all the food. “You cooked all that yourself?”

“Yup,” Jake said with a grin. “Dig in. I hope you enjoy it.”

The meal was delicious and filling. Chanise was even a bit jealous of Jake's cooking skills. She was a decent-enough cook herself, but she had never learned how to cook anything fancy.

Though when they finished eating and she helped clean up the plates, she found out that the meal wasn't all that it had seemed. While she was putting her plate into the sink, she saw a box from a catering service sticking out of the trash, mostly hidden by the trash can’s lid. She smirked and shook her head, deciding not to say anything about it. If Jake was going that far out of his way to impress her, she found it a bit flattering.

“You don't have to do that, you know,” Jake said. He walked into the kitchen carrying a stack of dishes. “I'm not being a very good host if I let you clean up after yourself.”

“Please,” Chanise said, rolling her eyes. “I have a kid; I'm used to being the one cleaning everything up.”

“I know, but seriously. Let me get that.” He stepped up behind her, setting the dishes in the sink. Then he slipped his arms around her. He leaned in close, pressing his cheek against her dark curly hair. She smiled and leaned back against him, pressing her hands over his and holding him tighter. She closed her eyes for a moment, forgetting where she was and putting all of her worries and doubts out of her mind. Just for that moment, it felt good to just be held by a man. She had missed this sort of simple, intimate contact.

The moment was broken when Deena called out from the other room, “Momma! I need to go potty.”

Chanise sighed and pulled away from Jake. “I'll be right there, sweetheart.”

Jake gave her a sad smile, clearly disappointed that their moment had been interrupted. She reached up and patted his cheek. “Maybe next time, we'll have dinner, just the two of us. No interruptions.”

“I'd like that,” he said, his eyes lighting up.

After Chanise helped Deena in the bathroom and got her cleaned up after dinner, she told Jake, “We should probably get going soon. We have an early morning tomorrow, and I don't want to keep Deena out too late.”

“But it's early,” Jake said. “You should stay. I got some videos to keep Deena occupied.”

Chanise crossed her arms, staring Jake down. “Oh? And what were you planning on doing while she's 'occupied'?”

Jake chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Well, I kind of figure you and I could get some alone time together.”

Chanise scoffed, rolling her eyes. “With my daughter in the apartment with us?” She lowered her voice and stepped closer so that Deena wouldn't overhear what they were talking about. “Jake, she's just a child. She barely understands what it means for her Momma to be dating. I don't want her asking me what her Momma and Momma's boyfriend were doing in the other room for an hour while she watched videos.”

“An hour, eh?” Jake smirked. “I guess you can tell I've got an athlete's stamina.”

Chanise laughed and shoved Jake back. “Oh, you're terrible!”

Jake laughed as well, taking her hands in his. “But you love it.”

Chanise blushed and looked down at her feet. “Maybe I do.”

“Maybe?”

“Well, I can't just tell you,” she said. “You've already got a big enough head.”

He pulled her close and kissed her deeply. Chanise clung to him, savoring the sensation of his lips against hers, and the way his tongue brushed gently against her lower lip. For just a moment, she forgot that her daughter was in the other room.

But when she did remember, she pulled away. She patted Jake's chest and said, “Next time, tiger. When it's just the two of us.”

Jake grinned in anticipation. “I can't wait.”

Chanise told Deena it was time to go and they headed for the door. Deena waved at Jake and said, “Bye! Thanks for dinner.”

“No problem, kiddo,” he said. “Though I hope you don't mind if I take your mom out again soon just the two of us, for some grown-up time.”

Deena gave him a very serious look, planting her hands on her hips. “You'd better not try any funny business, Mister!”

Jake laughed, looking up at Chanise. “She must get that from you.”

Chanise rubbed her hand through Deena's braids. “Well, excuse me for raising her to stand up for herself.”

Chanise gave Jake another quick kiss before they left. Jake's touch lingered for a moment, clearly wanting more. She sucked on his lip for a moment just before she pulled away, leaving him with the promise of what was to come.

* * *