A Designed Affair

by Cheryl Barton

  “What happened to the house you were building here in Atlanta?”

  “Now that we have agreed that I would handle all of the west coast operations, I’m putting that property on the market. I’ll keep my condo for when I’m in town, but I don’t see a need for a bigger house in the area.”

  “I can understand that. The last time I talked to my brother, he did mention something about the move, but he didn’t say when it would take place or how far along you guys were. Your company is growing very fast and I’m excited for you.”

  The waitress arrived with their drinks and they placed their orders for dinner. Loren decided to go for her favorite which was the broiled salmon while Mike decided to order his usual porterhouse steak and potato.

  “Tell me about this house,” Loren said.

  “It has three very large bedrooms on the top level with each having an attached bathroom and one additional bathroom is also on that level. The next level down is the main level with the living room, dining room, a huge media room and office and a kitchen that will lead out to the back where I’ll have an in-ground pool built.”

  Loren was impressed.

  “Wow. Sounds nice so far,” Loren acknowledged.

  “I’m happy with it,” Mike said. “My favorite level the lowest where there is a movie theater, the room that will house my gym, along with two big open spaces, a full kitchen area, an additional bedroom and two bathrooms. The movie theater was a must. I like the one your brother has in his house and I am a huge movie buff. I often do my best work sitting in front of a movie. My building design creative juices seem to really flow when I’m relaxed with a movie.”

  “I understand because I love relaxing at the one in Duron’s house every chance I get. Well, I can’t wait to see this house when it’s finished. When do you think I’ll be able to get my first look inside?”

  He didn’t hear anything Loren had just said. He was too busy ogling her. He could tell she was meant to be in the career that she has. Her whole body lit up when she talked about designing. He got excited seeing her excitement.

  “Mike? Mike? Are you okay?”

  He realized Loren was saying something.

  “What? Oh I was just thinking about something. What did you say?”

  “I was asking when I would be able to get a look at the finished house so that I can get some photographs of each room to begin my search for the perfect furniture and art for the walls, curtains, etc.”

  “Not too long actually. I was able to get the house mid-construction. The original builders had to move to China for business purposes and rather than halt the project, they sold it to me. I was able to work out some plans for some of the changes I wanted and it fit right in to the current construction plans. I’ll check and get back to you on that.”

  For the next twenty minutes until their meal arrived Mike gave Loren information on extras he’d like to have in the house.

  By the time they’d finished dinner, Loren could almost picture each room and being the architect that he was, Mike was able to get the waitress to grab him a pen and some paper and he sketched out the design of the house which gave her more insight into how the house flowed and the ideas began pouring into her head. She already had ideas in her head for the bedrooms. She remembered getting a catalog recently with a lot of new ideas for bedrooms that were all male.

  Silence ensued and Mike had a feeling the evening was about to be over since he’d answered all of her questions and he didn’t want that. Since the conversation over the house and the business was done, he moved into a more personal conversation. He knew he shouldn’t because he believed in being careful what you asked for because the answer may be more than you bargained for. He went for it anyway.

  “So Loren, tell me something. It’s Friday night and you’re out with me talking business. No hot date or anything for you?”

  Mike wasn’t sure he wanted to hear her answer. He would be disappointed if she said that she was seeing someone and that she would be meeting him after their business dinner. He was a curious George though.

  “Ha, look who’s talking about hot dates, Mr. Playboy himself. I’m just as surprised you’re coming up for air long enough to have a free weekend night. There isn’t some woman waiting for your call for a Friday night quickie?”

  Loren knew the moment the words came out of her mouth that she should not have said them. A serious and seductive look came over his face and the look made her briefly hold her breath.

  “No Loren, no calls and no quickies. Besides I’m not a quickie kind of guy.”

  Before Loren could reply, Jase, the owner and friend to them, walked up to the table to say hello. She was glad because she needed a reprieve from thoughts that entered her mind at the mention of the word quickie. She had no doubt Mike was a man who took his time.

  “Hey man.”

  Mike looked up to see Jase reach for a handshake. He stood up to greet his friend.

  “Loren, you look lovely and how are you?” he said as he leaned down to give her a hello kiss on the cheek.

  “Hey Jase. I’m fine, thank you,” she responded.

  He then turned his attention back to Mike.

  “Man it’s been a few weeks,” Jase said.

  “Yeah, it has. How’s business?” Mike asked.

  “Business is great. It’s good to see you here. I told Tara, the hostess, that you were coming in tonight and to be sure to give you the royal treatment. You know everything’s on me tonight so enjoy.”

  “I appreciate it man. You know you don’t have to always comp my meals when I come here. I can afford a meal or two.”

  They all laughed at Mike’s quip. It was well known how successful Mike, Duron and Tyrone’s business was.

  “What brings you two out here tonight and where is Duron?” Jason asked.

  “Loren and I are talking business and Duron had a date. Loren here has agreed to work on the design for a house I’m purchasing in California.”

  “California? You’re moving to California?” Jase asked.

  “Yeah. We’re expanding the business there. We’ve been given the opportunity of a lifetime to work on two new projects, one in California and the other in Phoenix. We decided to open an office on the west coast instead of attempting to do all of the work out of the Atlanta office.”

  “Congratulations on that man. I’m going to let you get back to your evening.”

  Jason turned to Loren.

  “Loren, always good to see you.”

  “Likewise Jase.”

  After Jason walked away, Loren turned her attention back to Mike.

  “Just in case I haven’t said this before, I’m so proud of you guys. You are not letting any grass grow under your feet in the business world,” Loren said.

  Mike agreed. He and his partners were certainly on their way up in the business world. Landing the most recent multi-million dollar contracts was what they had dreamed about when they were together in college at Howard University.

  “Yeah. Things are moving pretty fast. We’re just lucky to be able to keep up with the demand for our services. I volunteered to run the west coast office because someone had to do it so that we wouldn’t lose out on the potential work from new clients. I love Atlanta, but I have family on the west coast that I don’t get to see too often and though I was born and raised in New York, I have always loved visiting the west coast and besides there is great opportunity for the business by expanding, so I’m doing my part. I also know my mother will be happy about the west coast move. Though she lives in New York, she loves the west coast and now she’ll have more reasons to visit. Your brother, of course, wants to stay in the Atlanta area to be close to the family which I understand.”

  Loren understood what it meant to be near family. She loved being close to hers.

  “So now that the work discussion is over, would you like to hang around a while and do some dancing? I know you said you don’t get out often, that is, unless you have other plans for the ev
ening.”

  Mike hoped she’d say yes.

  “No, I don’t have any plans and dancing sounds great,” Loren replied.

  Mike stood and made a path for Loren to get to the dance floor.

  They danced and Loren admired how Mike moved. He definitely knew his way around the dance floor. When the fast song ended and everyone started clapping and cheering, they went right into a slow song. People on the dance floor started pairing up and Loren and Mike stood looking uncomfortably at each other. It appeared neither knew how to proceed into dancing to a slow tune and the moment seemed awkward.

  Mike wanted to dance with Loren and couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms, but he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable at the intimate nature of a slow dance. He had been thinking about it since the moment they hit the dance floor.

  Loren started to nervously nibble on her lip as she looked around at all the couples that began to dance around them. Feeling like a spotlight was on them since they were the only two no longer dancing, she started to turn to head back to their table. Before she got too far, Mike grasped her elbow to turn her back around.

  “Would you like to dance Loren?” he whispered softly, letting her know she didn’t need to feel awkward or uncomfortable around him.

  “Sure,” she said nervously.

  She moved into his embrace as he placed his hands on her hips, drawing her in closer to him. Other than for a friendly hug, Loren had never been this close to Mike before and her heart sped up at the immediate contact her body had with his. The contact wasn’t too intimate in reality, but in her mind, they were as close as two people could get.

  As Mike drew her closer, Loren reached her arms up and grasped his arms, feeling the bulging muscles through his shirt. She fell right in step as he swayed to the soft sounds of the band. What she really wanted to do was reach her arms up and wrap them around his neck, but that seemed too personable for the kind of friendly relationship they had.

  Mike was enjoying having Loren in his arms. For a moment after he asked Loren to dance to the slow song, he regretted doing so. He knew he should have let her go back to the table, but instead he did what his first thought was instead of listening to his mind which was telling him to back off. His mind was reminding him that this was his best friend’s little sister and if anyone was off limits to him, it was definitely Loren. Why he didn’t listen to that rational thinking, he didn’t know. Now that he was here, on the dance floor, dancing this close to Loren, he couldn’t turn back. She felt so good in his arms. He was getting lost in the feel of having her in his arms. This was not good, he thought to himself again, because this was the sister of his best friend. In his mind he sounded like a broken record, but he needed to keep the reminder fresh.

  Duron was a best friend who knew how often and how many women he was currently connected to sexually. He was that one person who would prefer that Mike were like a protective brother figure for Loren and not a bed companion. Duron was that best friend who Mike was sure would kill him if he knew the thoughts that Mike was having at this very moment Loren and this not good. His mind was screaming for him to stop and head back to the table, but his body was doing a happy dance, finally having her close even if it was just for a dance.

  Loren noticed Mike looking down at her as they danced and she could tell something was different in the way he was looking at her. She had never really paid attention in the past at how he looked at her because they had always been in settings where other family members or friends were around. It had never been just the two of them and they had never been in such an intimate setting as they were now.

  The lights in the restaurant were dim, the music was soft and mellow, the atmosphere was one filled with love and seduction and Loren found herself falling victim to her surroundings.

  She looked down away from his stare and thought she fought doing so, she looked back up into his handsome face and straight into his piercing eyes and the draw to him was real; the attractive couldn’t be denied. What scared her more was she knew what her look meant, but now she could see there was more to his look than just simply looking. She wasn’t the only one with vivid thoughts of them doing more than just dancing. She could read it all over his face. The thought both frightened and aroused her.

  Loren felt like they were in a space where no one else was invited except the two of them and they could freely explore whatever they felt for each other. She was beginning to feel less like a friend to Mike and more like a woman who desired him and whom he desired. There was nothing friendly about the way he was making her feel. She should feel ashamed, but she didn’t. What she felt was a need pulling at her to be bold and tell him what was on her mind.

  Mike was dying a slow death. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to stand on the dance floor holding Loren thinking of how sexy her lips look and how he’d like to know how good they tasted. He was imagining his head dropping down lower until he was a mere whisper from her lips. Before she’d have a chance to react, he slide his tongue out and run it along the crease of her closed lips until she gave in and opened for him. When he began to feel like his head was about to move in that direction on its own, he broke the stare and looked over her shoulder to get his mind and body in check. He had to stop and he knew it. No more looking in her eyes because he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

  Loren saw the look right before Mike turned away from her and stared off around the room. She wasn’t sure what was going on between the two of them, but she did know it was not safe territory. Safe or not, he felt good and she felt good being with him. She was starting to relax a lot more and without thinking, she leaned more into him. Without thinking too much about it, she slid her arms up from his arms and placed them at his shoulders. He was so tall, over six feet tall, that Loren couldn’t get her arms around his neck, but even this was a very intimate position.

  Loren wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she had not been intimate with a man in a long while or if it was the remembrance of the many dreams she’d had about him, but with all things combined, her senses were on overdrive. As soon as she’d placed her arms up and grabbed on to his shoulders, Mike drew her up against his body as they continued to sway together to the music. They danced just like that for the remainder of the song with neither of them making any move toward anything more than just a dance.

  When the song ended they drew apart and turned to clap, as others did, for the band. When the band announced they were done for the evening and music would be played for the rest of the night, Loren followed as Mike led them back to their table.

  When they sat down across from each other, something in the air had changed. Loren wasn’t sure if Mike realized it, but she did. There was suddenly an electric energy in the air around them that wasn’t there at the beginning of the evening. Loren didn’t look away when, without saying a word, they stared at each other as if they had just recognized each other for the first time.

  Mike didn’t know what he should say next. He knew if he spoke what was on his mind that they would be someplace locked in kisses that would steal both of their breaths away.

  It was too much, Loren thought. The look she was getting from Mike was hypnotic. She needed to get out and get home before she reached a point of no turning back. One of them had to do the right thing and it looks like it was up to her.

  “Mike, I think I’m going to head out. It’s getting late and I have a few ideas I want to put together tonight for your house while they’re still fresh. Thanks for thinking of me and I’m excited about the plans I’m thinking of for your space.”

  Mike didn’t say anything. What he wanted to say was he didn’t want the evening to end. He didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want this time to be over just yet. He didn’t think he would ever have this chance again, to spend this kind of time with Loren, though that’s what he wanted to do. He didn’t know how to respond to her desire to leave.

  “If you’re not ready to leave yet Mike, I can
get Jase to have one of the guys walk me to my car.”

  Mike wouldn’t have that. He cleared his foggy mind and focused.

  “No, I’m heading out too so I’ll walk you out. Let me go up to the office and speak to Jase for a minute and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Loren shook her head in acknowledgement and pretended to be preoccupied with something in her purse. She needed the distraction, even after he had walked away.

  When Mike got to Jase’s office, he was on the phone, but quickly got off as Mike entered.

  “Hey man, you heading out?”

  “Yeah, it’s been a long day, Loren is ready to leave and I need to make sure she gets home okay. I wanted to thank you for the dinner tonight. It was incredible as usual.”

  “That’s cool man. You know when you guys come here I can’t charge you,” he said.

  “Thanks man and I’ll be in touch before I move to Cali.”

  Mike started to leave and Jase stopped him.

  “Mike, I did want to mention one other thing to you.”

  Mike turned back around.

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re playing with fire so think again before you strike?”

  Mike knew exactly what he was talking about, but he played it off like he didn’t.

  “What fire?”

  “Mike, man you know what I’m talking about.”

  Jase looked out of the glass window that overlooked his club and looked right at Loren who was sitting at the table waiting. Mike followed his line of sight.

  He continued to play it off like the comment meant nothing.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Mike, really bruh? I have known you for quite a few years. I’ve seen you come through here with many, many women, but tonight was the first time I’ve ever seen you take such care with one. Come on man, it’s me. I think you have a mighty big issue on your hands and it’s one I don’t think you are really ready to deal with. All I’m going to say is be careful. You and Duron have been best friends for a lot of years. You need to be very careful when it comes to his sister. You and I both know how he feels about her. Not that you are a bad guy or anything, but that’s Duron’s sister. You are Duron’s friend and he knows you better than I think he knows his own brothers. If you are planning to make some kind of move on her, I suggest you think long and hard about that decision. Duron would kill you and you know it. I know he thinks of you as his third brother, but with the stories I’m sure you two have swapped over the years about women, I doubt if he would be too open to you moving in Loren’s direction. I’m just saying be careful.”