Jaded (The Butterfly Memoirs) (11 page)

My mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Hello? Zack, are you still there?”

I blinked rapidly and shut my mouth. I reached for the nearest bottle on the night stand; empty. I needed another drink.

“Zack…”

“I’m here, I’m…here.” My mind raced in so many directions it was hard to concentrate.

“What do you think?”

What did I think? This sexy woman whom I kissed and dreamed about last night was on the phone asking me to sleep with her. What the hell else did I think?

The dog in me wanted to jump in the car, drive back to the hotel, and take her right now, no questions asked.

The stupid romantic side of me needed answers.

“You want us to be
friends
six days a week and
sleep
together once a week?” I asked for clarification. With the hangover I was experiencing, I needed to be sure I wasn’t making this stuff up.

“Yes. I can make a schedule. Of course it’ll change once a month when I have my period, but if you’re willing to be flexible…”

Yasmine wasn’t kidding.

I spent half the night berating myself for pushing things too far, worrying I destroyed our relationship. The other half was spent imagining all the things I wanted to do to that body of hers. Then I wake up with the hangover-from-hell with her on the phone calling with a proposition. Not just any proposition. This wasn’t about changing the oil in her car, or painting a room in her house in exchange for pizza and beer.

This was a proposition for sex.

On a schedule.

“Are you drunk?”

“What?” Her tone was indignant.

“Are you drunk? You had three glasses of wine last night. I need to be sure you know what you’re asking.” I glanced at the four empties on my nightstand.

“You know what, I’m sorry I called,” Yasmine snapped. “I expected…I don’t know what I expected. Forget I called.”

The line went dead.

What the hell was wrong with me?

On my feet again, I made my way downstairs to the refrigerator. Bypassing the juice, I shoved the container aside and went for another beer. What was the saying? The fastest way to get over a hangover was to drink more? I was about to find out.

Halfway through, I revisited the conversation. Yasmine wanted to have sex.  Not just sex for fun or building a relationship, but sex with no strings.

She told me from the beginning she preferred sexual relationships to be this way to avoid being hurt.

While I respected her decision, I viewed sex differently. Every encounter was a chance to nurture a relationship.

Yasmine’s suggestion was nothing more than a scheduled booty call.

What was wrong with this picture? Who was the woman in this relationship? Her or me?

All signs were pointing to me.

There was no denying I wanted to take her to bed. The more I got to know her, the more I wanted to spend time alone with her.

My thoughts went back to my drunken dream: Yasmine naked, her sexy legs wrapped around my waist, those soft grey eyes on my mine while we drove each other crazy. After the way we kissed, I had no doubt the sex would be amazing.

I went upstairs, picked up the phone, and dialed her number. She answered on the first ring.

“Tell me when and where. I’ll be there.”

Chapter 13

“Yasmine, you are on a roll tonight.”

I glanced from the computer monitor to my brother. “Brandon, what’s your point?”

He put his hands up. “Nothing, I’m just glad to see my sis has finally gotten her head screwed back on.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s always been screwed on. I’ll admit I lost my focus for a while, but…things are getting back on track. Now, as I said, once this form has been filled out…” I continued walking him through the steps of compiling data for the end of the week business reports.

The new hotel opened in a few weeks. My job was to make sure he could handle the responsibility of managing it on his own. Part of me was disappointed they didn’t want me to take over the new location. Since I now lived here, it made sense to keep my mouth shut and focus on the job at hand.

Besides, if I planned to ask them for financial backing, I didn’t have time to be sidetracked by running the new establishment.

“Save the document, and now…we’re done,” I said. “Don’t forget to save to the backup drive.”

Brandon chuckled. “I see you’ve learned from your past mistakes.” He studied the external hard drive sitting on the desk next to my monitor, a gift from Zack for helping him in his time of need.

“Yeah, I have.”

Thinking of Zack made my body tingle in all the right places. I forced back a smile and ignored the time. Tonight would be our first night together. I pushed back from the desk, carried the file holding the week’s receipts, and went to the file cabinet.

“So who is it this time?”

I shot a curious glance at over my shoulder. “Excuse me?”

He sat back in the chair, his arms crossed behind his head. “Don’t try to hide it, it’s written all over your face. Is it someone I know?”

The files in place, I shut the cabinet and faced him. “My love life is none of your damn business.” I tried to be stern, but my attempt dissolved into laughter.

Brandon smirked. “I beg to differ. You may be two years older than I am, but I still need to approve whomever it is you’re seeing. No one is good enough for my sister.”

“Aren’t you the sweetest…” I pinched his cheeks as I did when he was a baby. Laughing, he swatted my hands away. “Anyway, since when do you care who I see?” I moved to gather my things before leaving.

Brandon’s sudden silence made me peek over my shoulder; his expression was solemn.

“Since the last guy broke your heart.”

“What are you talking about?”

Brandon got up from the chair, his eyes intent on me. Our genetic makeup pulled from both sides of our mixed heritage. While I inherited the grey-blue eyes and light skin of our mother, he took after our father’s side with slightly darker skin and light hazel eyes. Eyes that held so much warmth at this moment, my heart warmed from his concern.

He stopped to rest a palm on my shoulder. “Mimi, you wear your heart on your sleeve. I can tell when you’re involved with someone and it’s serious. I know you don’t do it often, and that’s your business. I only have something to say when it’s obvious you’ve been hurt. The last time you bore a happy glow, it didn’t last long. Then you changed. I never questioned you about it because it didn’t seem as if you wanted to talk about it. Instead, you buried yourself in work.” He shook his head as if pushing past a memory.

I shuddered. Were my emotions that obvious? I should have known he would figure it out after years of watching me go through emotional turmoil in my past relationships. After all, he knew me better than most.

“But now,” he continued, “for the last couple of weeks, you’ve been smiling more. You’ve spent the entire day on target as if you’re hell bent on meeting him tonight. Am I right?”

I inclined my head, touched by his worried expression. “Thanks for caring. You’re right; there is someone new in my life. It’s nothing serious, though. We’re just two people planning to enjoy each other’s company.” I turned to finish packing before facing him again.

“Is it the guy who escorted you to Ebony’s wedding, the computer geek?” Brandon’s eyes spoke volumes in amusement.

“Zack is amazing with computers, there’s no doubt about it.” I smiled and pictured him sitting at my desk the first time we met. “He’s also kind and considerate. A true gentleman and nothing like what I usually go for. Weird, huh?”

He laughed loudly. “You can say that again. I tell you what; if that geek breaks your heart, I’ll stuff his hard drive so far up his ass he’ll be spitting up computations.”

I burst out laughing. “We are definitely cut from the same cloth.”

Brandon walked over and kissed my temple. “Yes, we are. Have fun, be safe, and I’ll see you on Monday.”

A few minutes later, I took the world’s fastest shower to freshen up. It took twenty minutes to reapply makeup, curl my hair, and spray perfume to all the places on my body I wanted Zack to discover.

To make things easy, I wore a simple black dress that tied around my neck leaving my shoulders bare and back open. I left a bra out of the mix. That was the beauty of having small breasts; I could get away without wearing one. A black lace thong complemented the dress along with black strapped heels. Okay, so I dressed up a bit too much. With any luck, he’d be ready the moment I walked in the door.

***

Condoms…check. Breath mints…check. Extreme enthusiasm and gymnastic skills? Check and double check.

I rang Zack’s doorbell.

He lived in a nice part of town. He told me about his condo and its large open floor plan. I hadn’t been inside yet and I was seriously impressed.

My heart raced from the excitement of seeing him again and what we were about to do. When I called with my proposal, I feared he would say no. Zack wasn’t like most men I’d shared a bed with. Sex never appeared to be on his agenda. At least not the day we met. Yet, little by little, the more we spent time together, it became impossible to ignore the signs pointing to his physical attraction, especially after that kiss.

No man ever rocked my world with a first kiss.

I knew then if we continued to be friends, sex would become that big ugly elephant in the room. So instead of ignoring it, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Proposing a once a week rendezvous allowed me to be in charge and keep both of us from letting pesky feelings to get in the way.

Besides, sex was a biological function necessary for reproduction. I was not looking to have kids anytime soon and neither was he. We’d both be safe. Our friendship began on good terms and we would keep it that way.

Our arrangement was no more than another way to help each other in a time of physical need, a way to keep our sanity when hormones threatened to drive us insane.

Who was I kidding? I needed this release.

The door opened and I froze.

Zack stood in front of me wearing a loosely buttoned white shirt and cream-colored baggy slacks.  He’d ditched the glasses again, leaving his dark hazel eyes visible as they slowly trailed over my body. “Good evening.” His gaze finally met mine.

Heat I’d never felt when dealing with a man ran over me, knocking me senseless.  “Hi,” I managed, trying to regain control of my hormones. Every ounce of me wanted to strip naked in his hallway.

“You look amazing.” His voice was deeper than usual. “Here, I’ve got you something.”

I managed to tear my eyes away from him long enough to acknowledge the fact he held something out to me.

A single white rose.

Unexpected warmth filled my heart. “Thank you.” I accepted the gift, smelled the fragrance, and smiled into its soft petals.

Zack stepped aside so I could enter. The place was just as he described, one large open room with a side open to the world with floor to ceiling windows. The exterior walls were brick; black industrial pipes lined the ceiling. On one side, a flat screen TV was mounted to the wall, a sofa was across from it. A large stereo system sat in front of one of the windows. The other side held a kitchen, and in between both spaces, a large dining room table. Candles, dinner placement for two, and a vase holding more white roses welcomed me. The setting sun bathed the room with natural light providing the perfect backdrop. This was beautiful. I never would have imagined Zack had such good taste.

“Before you say anything…” He walked over to the kitchen, reached into the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of wine. “I thought we should have dinner first. I don’t know about you, but my day was crazy. I figured taking time to unwind would be nice before we…” A sexy smile spread across his lips as he filled two glasses.

I gulped. Suddenly sex seemed as if it was about to go to a whole new level. I didn’t know whether to be excited or run for the hills.

My libido said to shut up and enjoy the ride.

“I like the idea, thank you.” I accepted the glass held out to me and sipped. The chilled liquid felt golden on my tongue. I glanced at the large covered pan with steam seeping from the edges of the lid on the stove.  I forced my other senses to kick in. If I continued to stare at him, I’d be performing a strip tease routine before he was ready. “What are you making? It smells delicious.”

Zack appeared pleased by my response. He walked over to the stove and removed the lid, waving a hand over the steam as it emanated from the pot. “Shrimp and pasta. Salad is in the fridge and cheesecake for dessert, if you’re up for it.” A mischievous twinkle hit his eye.

Was dessert going to be before or after the main attraction? It could be a part of it for all I cared.

“You’ve thought ahead.” I looked around for somewhere to set my purse. Zack held out a hand, took it, and placed it on the sofa. He returned to pull out a barstool for me to sit. I settled my wine glass on the kitchen island, and studied him as he moved around his kitchen.

The man was no stranger to cooking, it seemed. He emitted confidence as he pulled out dinner plates and prepared to serve me. Watching him turned me on.

“You had a hard day at work?” I forced myself to stop staring. I didn’t want to become a stalker.

Zack glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah, Fridays are usually like that. End of the week paperwork, last minute crazy customers.” He winked.

“Hey, are you talking about me?” I couldn’t help but laugh. It had been a Friday night when I stormed into Zack’s store to demand his services.

“You? What would give you that idea?” He chuckled while reaching for the salad bowl in the refrigerator.

“Is there something I can do to help?”

“No, you’re my guest. I’m here to serve you tonight.” Zack glanced up for a moment, his eyes lingering on mine.

Ripples of anticipation set my skin on fire. I forced myself not to squirm in my seat.

“Zack, are you flirting with me?”

“Yasmine, I haven’t even started yet.”

Our eyes held as I fought to find solid ground again. If I said the word, dinner would end up reheated in the microwave.  I forced myself to laugh and break the contact. After the time and effort he put into this meal, I would feel wrong for putting it off until later.