Teach Me Tonight

by Jacquelin Thomas

  September 5

  I think Micah and I are finding our way finally! He agreed to let me interview him for the magazine. This is a big deal for me because he is an extremely private person.

  I’m honored that he’s allowing me this chance. I hope that while working on the project together, Micah and I can build a stronger foundation for our friendship. This is more important to me than the article.

  Samantha is going to be thrilled when I tell her about this. She will probably try to feature Micah on the cover. I wouldn’t mind having him grace my coffee table. Micah Ross is fine!

  Micah and I have made great strides after all that happened in the past. I’m grateful to have him back in my life. Until we reconnected, I felt like there was a piece of me missing.

  With Micah back in my life, I feel complete.

  His heart thumping, Micah couldn’t deny that Tamara was having a tremendous effect on him, because under normal circumstances, there was no way that he would have agreed to do an exclusive interview with anyone.

  It was Micah’s policy to avoid the media and public unless it was necessary. He was a very private man and refused to speak on his relationships or his family, but with Tamara, it seemed natural to open up to her. After all, he had known her for fourteen years.

  “Just so you know, I won’t be discussing Sunni or my family—just the record company and the artists. Tamara, is that understood?”

  “Understood,” she responded. “I’m really not out to exploit you, Micah. I hope you know that.”

  Micah really wanted to believe her, and he would unless Tamara showed him otherwise.

  She could not seem to take her eyes off him, prompting Micah to ask, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You…you’ve changed from that shy little boy to this high-powered executive. I have to admit that I find that incredibly sexy.”

  “So when I was a geek I was what? Dog meat?”

  “Of course not, Micah,” Tamara interjected. “I’ve always thought of you as sexy, but seeing you confident and secure like this is even more sexy.”

  Micah bit back a smile. Tamara had a wonderful sense of humor although she was more subdued when they were in college. He loved seeing this new side of her. It was like getting to know her all over again.

  An undeniable magnetism was building between them, forcing Micah to accept what he already knew. He still loved her. However, as strong as his feelings were for Tamara, Micah still erred on the side of caution. While they had made some progress toward the repairing of their relationship, there were things he still did not know about her.

  Micah still had no idea why there seemed to be a shadow of sadness in her expression at times when she was not aware he was watching her. He had seen it many times when they were at Hollington College. She wanted to forget the past, but Tamara seemed haunted by something that happened to her a long time ago.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  He glanced over at Tamara. “It wasn’t anything.”

  “Liar,” she uttered. “Micah, you have always been a thinker. Something’s on your mind, so spill it.”

  “I was thinking about how much I’ve enjoyed having you around. I’m glad you agreed to staying out here for another week. We still have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Micah hoped to unlock whatever she had been hiding all these years.

  Chapter 8

  Old insecurities set in, and Micah began to have second thoughts regarding his invitation. Why did I invite Tamara to the house? It might have been better for her to stay at the hotel, but it was too late now.

  Tamara was not the type of woman who would be impressed by his wealth—she had grown up in the lap of luxury with the Devane millions. Her ex-stepfather owned Devane Industries along with several other companies.

  He knew the answer. It was because Micah wanted some time alone with her—that was the truth of it.

  Micah was afraid that he would not be able to get her out of his system. She was becoming too important to him. Deep down, that scared him.

  He had opened his heart to Tamara once and she ripped it apart. Could he trust her this time? Could he allow her to get that close to him?

  For Micah, the next week would be very telling as far as he was concerned. Before she left to go back to Atlanta, he would know for sure whether he could trust Tamara with his whole heart again.

  He hoped that she wouldn’t let him down a second time.

  Sunni called him twice during the drive, but he let them go to voice mail. He would have a conversation with her later. If things worked out the way that he wanted with Tamara, he needed to make sure that Sunni understood her place in his life.

  Micah had not objected in the past because he enjoyed her companionship, but things were about to change.

  “You really have a beautiful house,” Tamara complimented as they settled down in his huge family room. “Did you decorate or hire someone to do it for you?”

  “I had some help,” Micah admitted. “Decorating was your thing—not mine. My feet still hurt from your dragging me through all those model homes, furniture stores, estate sales and swap meets.”

  Tamara laughed. “We used to talk about the houses we would one day have.” Her eyes traveled the room. “You have yours and then some. I have an apartment.”

  “You still live in midtown?”

  She nodded. “The Plantation at Lenox.”

  “You don’t live too far from me,” Micah stated. “I have a house in Tuxedo Park.”

  “I love the homes over there,” Tamara responded, lying back against the plush oversize pillows on his couch. “Micah, do you come to Atlanta often?”

  “Actually, I do.”

  She was surprised. “Then why didn’t you ever try to contact me?”

  “I didn’t know what to say to you,” Micah confessed. “Like I told you before, I wasn’t ready.”

  Tamara pulled at the fringe on her shirt as she talked. “I was so messed up back then. I had all this hurt inside of me that eventually turned into anger, and I took it out on you. Micah, if I could do this all over again—”

  He shrugged nonchalantly. “There are no do overs in life, Tamara.”

  Awkwardly, she cleared her throat. “I know, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to erase the life I had and just start over again.”

  “You keep saying that, but Tamara, I just don’t get what was so terrible about your life—I guess I’m missing something because from where I was sitting, your life didn’t look bad at all.”

  “That’s because you have no idea what was going on with me,” she told Micah. “You don’t have a clue.”

  He inched closer to her. “Sweetheart, I know that we promised not to revisit the past, but before we can really move forward, I think we’re going to have to put everything on the table. What haven’t you told me?”

  Tamara stirred uneasily on the sofa. “We’ll talk about that another time. I would rather not ruin our evening with the depressing story of my life. We haven’t been together like this in such a long time. I want to just enjoy tonight.”

  Micah settled back against the couch. “Sure, if that’s what you want to do.”

  “We will have that conversation. I promise.”

  “So besides Kyra, who else do you keep in contact with from school? I remember how you and your sorors used to walk around like you owned Hollington College.”

  “I’ve seen Beverly a few times over the years,” Tamara responded. “Remember her? She was the homecoming queen our senior year, but we don’t really keep in touch. As for my sorors, we did not act like we owned the college,” she pointed out. “The Pi Betas were always involved in some type of community service. That’s what we were about.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “Why didn’t you ever pledge?”

  “The whole fraternity thing just wasn’t me,” he responded. “I wanted to stay focused on my studies. My degree was my way out of the ghetto. I didn’t need the distracti
on of a fraternity. I have nothing against them—they just weren’t for me.”

  Throughout the evening, Tamara silently noted Micah’s kindness to his staff.

  When he showed her his office, the numerous public service awards on the walls impressed her. Now this same man once tutored and befriended her almost fifteen years ago.

  “You’ve done so much for the city of Los Angeles,” she murmured. “And Atlanta, too. Why don’t you want people to know about it?”

  “Because that isn’t why I do it, Tamara. I don’t want my donations to be about Micah Ross. God has blessed me so that I can be a blessing to others. This is what I really believe. The world doesn’t need to know what I do or how I help other people.”

  “I know how much you value your privacy, Micah. I appreciate you sharing this part of your life with me. I’m so proud of the man you’ve become.” Tamara cracked a smile. “I even liked the man you were before.”

  “Would you like something to drink?” Micah asked as he rose to his feet. “I have iced tea, soda and bottled water.”

  “I’ll take some tea,” Tamara responded. “Thanks.”

  She was getting irritated with the way Micah ran hot and cold with her. Just when Tamara felt she was making some headway with him, his demeanor would turn cool. She was determined to break through that cement block he called a heart.

  “This view is incredible,” Tamara told Micah as they sat out on his balcony. “I could sit out here for hours just looking at the stars in the sky and at the city below.”

  Micah took a sip of his tea. “It’s one of the reasons I bought the place.”

  Tamara rose to her feet and stood near the heavy railing. “Micah, what do you do when you’re at home either here or in Atlanta?” she asked. “What is your day like?”

  “I read, work out and sometimes I just lock myself in my studio and play the piano.”

  “Why don’t you record your own music? You used to love it when we were in college.”

  “I like being in the background, Tamara. I’ve always been that way.”

  “But you have such a beautiful voice, Micah,” she stated. “I think it’s a shame to keep all of that talent hidden. This is what I want to write about—the things people would be surprised to know about Micah Ross.”

  He shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, I just don’t think there’s a lot to say about me. Tamara, I don’t think the interview should be about me. Why not focus the story on the record label?”

  “Because our readers would be more interested in the man behind the company,” Tamara responded. “Micah, don’t you dare back out on me. You said you would do the interview.”

  He sighed. “Fine…I’ll do it.”

  Tamara kissed him. “Thank you.”

  Micah wrapped an arm around her as they watched a movie on television.

  She enjoyed being so close to him and drank in the comfort of his nearness.

  “This is wonderful,” she murmured. “Being together like this brings back some wonderful memories.”

  Fighting sleep, Tamara stretched and yawned.

  “Uh huh…”

  She glanced over at Micah. “Uh-huh what?”

  “Didn’t have your nap today?”

  “Micah, you need to quit,” Tamara uttered. “I can hang with the best of them. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He laughed.

  The telephone rang.

  “I bet that’s Sunni,” she stated. “Maybe you should answer it. She wants to be your Mrs. Ross.”

  “That’s never going to happen. I’m going to have a talk with her tomorrow,” Micah announced. “There’s no point in prolonging this.”

  “I thought you said that you two were just friends.”

  “We are, and I’ve told her that,” he confirmed. “But I want to make sure that Sunni understands where I’m coming from. I know that she has feelings for me, but I’ve been nothing less than honest with her.”

  Later, Micah showed Tamara to the guest bedroom. “This is where you’ll be sleeping.”

  “Great.”

  Tamara pulled the journal out of her purse before settling down in the queen-size bed to finish the entry she started earlier.

  I’m spending the night at Micah’s house in Beverly Hills. We’ve had a great time together just talking and getting to know each other all over again. I have missed my best friend terribly, and I’m so happy to have him back in my life.

  I also remember how crazy I am about this man. I love him, and I think that he still has feelings for me. Sometimes I catch him staring at me, and it’s a certain way that he looks at me—I can’t really explain it.

  I want to say something but since we are just beginning to reconnect, I am afraid to bring up the subject mainly because I don’t want to scare him away.

  I was a little disappointed when Micah told me that I’d be staying in one of the guest rooms. I actually thought we would…

  We don’t want to rush into anything so I guess I have to just keep my desire under wraps as if it were easy.

  It’s so hard. I have vivid dreams of Micah and me riding a wave of passion. I want him badly.

  I really want this drought to come to an end.

  There was a soft knock at the door.

  “Come in,” she called out as she quickly put her journal back into her purse.

  Micah stuck his head inside the room. “I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  Tamara gave him a sexy smile. “To be honest, I’m not sleepy at all. I’m in the mood for another movie. What about you? You think you can stay up long enough to watch one?”

  Micah got into bed with her. “I can’t believe that you’re still talking trash. You’ll be the first one to fall asleep.”

  She laughed. “You’re sure I’m not keeping you up, old man?” Tamara asked.

  “I got your old man.”

  Tamara wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. She could feel his uneven breathing on her cheek, as he held her tightly.

  Micah traced his fingertip across her lip causing Tamara’s skin to tingle when he touched her. He paused to kiss her, sending currents of desire through her.

  She caressed the strong tendons in the back of his neck.

  “Make love to me,” Tamara whispered between kisses. She was ready to take their relationship to the next level.

  “You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to hear those words come out of your mouth,” Micah confessed. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you again.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” she asked. “Ten years is long enough.”

  He bent his head and captured her lips in a demanding kiss.

  Locking her hands behind his neck, Tamara returned his kiss, matching passion for passion.

  Her ardor soaring, Tamara eased away from him and began unbuttoning her shirt.

  Micah helped her undress. His breath seemed to catch when he glimpsed her in her underwear, the lavender lace bra and matching thong panties.

  “You are so beautiful,” he told her in a husky voice.

  Micah undressed himself and joined her in the bed. His mouth covered hers again hungrily.

  Tamara answered his kiss with a desire that belied her outward calm. Moaning, she drew herself closer to him as his hands explored her body. Fire burst through her arms and shoulders before spreading to her lower limbs. Sparks of pleasure shook her body.

  Micah reached into the nightstand beside the bed and pulled out a condom before taking her as his own.

  Tamara offered him her lips while offering her body, as well.

  Their eyes met. Micah kissed her forehead, then returned his attention to her mouth. The kiss was hungry and fierce.

  Together, their fulfillment came with an intensity that defied description. Micah and Tamara lay in a tangle, their chests rising and falling rapidly as they fought to recover from their fervid lovemaking.

  Micah moved away from her, then asked, “Tamar
a, are you on the pill?”

  “Why?” Tamara wanted to know, clutching at the damp sheets. “Why are you asking?”

  “I think the condom broke.” He released a short sigh. “I don’t want you to worry though. I had an HIV test six months ago and it came back negative.”

  “I had one done about that time, too,” Tamara stated. “I haven’t been with anyone in over a year. To answer your question, I am on the pill.”

  “My last relationship ended six months ago,” Micah declared. “Sunni and I aren’t sleeping together.”

  Tamara gave him a sidelong glance. “Really? You two never once had sex?”

  Shaking his head, Micah said, “No, because I didn’t want to give her false hope.”

  She was secretly thrilled to hear that. “I don’t have any regrets, if that’s what you’re wondering. I don’t want to spend it talking about the past. What we just shared was very special. Micah, I never imagined it would be this wonderful between us so let’s just focus on us.”

  “What exactly did you have in mind?”

  Tamara kissed him. “Well, you’re going to need another condom for that.”

  They made love once more before falling asleep, their bodies entwined in a lover’s embrace.

  Chapter 9

  Micah had lain in bed awake long after Tamara had fallen asleep. He should’ve known this moment would come. He should have figured out long before now that they would have to define their relationship.

  Having made love to Tamara, the time was now.

  He did not want to hurt her—he knew what heartbreak felt like and didn’t relish going through it again.

  “What are you thinking about?” she whispered, looking up at him and wearing a sexy grin on her face.

  “You,” he responded. “I have a confession to make, Tamara. I had planned to offer you the story on Justice Kane and then kill it to ruin your career, but deep down I could never do something like that to you. I couldn’t because I—”