“You’re usually pretty cautious when it comes to relationships, so Cedric must be special.”
Randi thought about their conversation the previous night. “Yeah, he is.” She heard her father in the background. “Tell Dad I said hi.”
Her father’s voice came through the line. “Hey, baby girl. What’s this I hear about you dating somebody? I need to come up there and check him out.”
“Hi, Dad, and no you don’t. At least not yet. We’re still getting to know each other.”
“You let me know if it gets serious, or if he breaks your heart. Either way, he’ll get a visit.”
“Yes, Dad,” she said, shaking her head. “You know, I’m not a teenager anymore.”
“Even more reason for me to check him out.”
“Don’t you guys need to get going? I don’t want you to miss your bus.” Randi and her sister were daddy’s girls, and their father took protecting them to a whole other level when it came to men.
She heard his deep laughter. “Hey, you’re still my baby.”
“I know and I love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too. Here’s your mother.”
“Okay, keep me posted on those fires and Cedric,” her mother said when she came back on the line.
“I will. Have fun and I hope you and Daddy win lots of money.”
“Me, too. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.” Randi placed the phone back on her nightstand and snuggled under the covers. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep but kept thinking about Cedric and his proposal. He’d been forthcoming about his feelings for her, but she had held back, admitting only that she liked him. She more than liked him and would probably say she was falling in love with him. But no way would she tell him, not until she knew where the relationship was headed. For now, she’d take it one step at a time.
Randi shifted and tried to get comfortable but gave up after another ten minutes. She got up and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. Since she couldn’t sleep, she decided to start a load of laundry, then get back in bed. As she sorted her clothes, a thought came to her. Smiling, she picked up the cell and sent Cedric a text. Just want you to know I didn’t get any sleep last night and it’s your fault. She didn’t expect him to respond, but he’d see it when he woke up. Ten minutes later, the phone buzzed in her pajama pocket and startled her. Why was he awake at this hour? Maybe he had decided to go to work.
She read: Neither did I and it’s definitely your fault. But I know the cure and I’m more than willing to do what it takes so both of us can get some sleep.
Laughter spilled from her. She dropped down on the bed and texted back: Is this one of those “I’m liable to show up at your house” things?
His reply came after a few minutes: I’ll show up anywhere you want if it will put us out of our misery. Just say the word.
Randi responded: Word? What word?
She smiled and set the phone on her chest. She’d never even thought about teasing and flirting with another man the way she did with Cedric. He was the only man she’d felt comfortable showing her fun side. Why him? She still didn’t know.
Her doorbell rang, breaking into her thoughts. Who in the world? She felt her eyes widen. I know he didn’t. She scrambled off the bed, went out front and looked through the peephole. Sure enough, it was Cedric standing there in a pair of gray sweatpants and a fitted long-sleeved T-shirt. She opened the door.
Before she could utter a greeting, Cedric swept her off her feet and kicked the door closed. “You said word.”
“What?” Then she remembered the text. Randi burst out laughing. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I plan to show you.” He strode purposefully down the hallway to her bedroom.
“I bet you do.” And she was looking forward to every second.
* * *
Cedric woke up four hours later with Randi’s naked body sprawled half on and half off his own. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex in the morning, mainly because he didn’t do the morning after. He didn’t sleep over at a woman’s house and he certainly didn’t have her over to his. Which made Randi an anomaly. Last weekend at his house, they had fallen asleep and didn’t wake up until morning. Somehow, all the rules he’d had in place to govern his relationships were being broken one by one. The scary part was that it didn’t bother him like it should. When he left his house that morning, he had planned to be gone for only an hour or so, but her texts had him changing directions and on her doorstep before seven. Cedric glanced over his shoulder at the clock sitting on her nightstand. It was well past noon.
His stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten anything since dessert last night and he needed to find some food soon. He carefully shifted Randi, eased off the bed and went to the bathroom. She was propped up on the pillows with the sheet covering her when he returned. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.
Randi stretched and smiled. “It was the best sleep I’ve had in a week.”
He slid under the covers next to her and pulled her close. “Glad to hear it.”
“I didn’t get a chance to ask when you got here because somebody was pretty eager, but how did you get to my house so fast?”
Cedric chuckled. “Hey, I didn’t hear any complaints and you didn’t have any problems keeping up. To answer your question, I was already out on my way to go running. After that first text, I changed my mind.”
She turned her head toward him. “I have to watch what I say around you. One of these days, you’re going to have me out in public doing something crazy.”
“Probably not. I don’t like having my business out in the open like that. Now, if there’s no one around, that’s a different story.” They lapsed into silence for a short while. “What’s on your agenda today?”
“Washing clothes and going to the gym for sure. I need to go grocery shopping, too, but I may wait until tomorrow. What about you?”
“Going over to the fitness center site to do some work and then, like you, heading to the gym to get a workout in. We should go together.”
Randi shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve seen couples working out at the gym. They spend more time touching, kissing and prancing in front of the mirror than working out. When I go, I’m all business. I don’t even talk unless I need a spotter.”
He kissed the top of her head. “That makes two of us, so it shouldn’t be a problem. My workout usually lasts about an hour to an hour and a half, but I can cut it short, if need be.” He had been curious about her workouts ever since she mentioned them. With her history as a firefighter, they must be rigorous.
“Mine is about the same, and I’ll probably go the whole ninety minutes today.” She told him which fitness center she used.
“I have a membership to the same one and I can use any of the facilities. When Khalil’s opens up, I’ll probably cancel it and just go to his. It’ll save me some money.”
She sat up and stared. “You’re expecting him to let you go for free?”
“Absolutely. It’s free for all the family.”
“Must be nice,” she grumbled. “I wish I had a family member with a gym. The cost of this one keeps going up and up.”
Cedric nipped her ear. “If you’re nice to me, I’ll put in a good word for you and get you a discount.” Khalil would tease Cedric mercilessly when he found out he had changed his tune about the type of relationship he and Randi had. But at this point, he didn’t care.
Randi grabbed a pillow and hit him across the chest. “That’s blackmail. And I’m already nice to you. If I wasn’t, we wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
Laughing, he snatched the pillow. “You’re right, and I appreciate it.” He flipped the covers back, scooped her up and left the bed. “We can shower, get some lunch—since it’s wa
y past breakfast—then we can go work out.”
“What about you going over to Khalil’s gym?”
“I can go on Monday.” He placed her on her feet in the bathroom.
“You promised to take me over so I can see it. Remember?” Randi turned the water on and adjusted the temperature.
Cedric slowly ran his fingers up and down her spine. “We can do that, too. You want to go before or after we work out?”
“Before. After my workout is done, all I’m going to want to do is fall out.” She got a couple of towels from the cabinet and placed them on the rack, then eyed him. “You are going to behave, right?”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “All I can say is I promise I’ll try.” His body was already becoming aroused from watching her bending and reaching. He followed her gaze downward. “Hey, I’m a man standing in the bathroom with a sexy and naked woman.”
Randi shook her head and pointed a finger his way. “Promise you’ll behave, or you’ll be showering alone.”
“This time, and only because I’m starving.” Two minutes into the shower, they both lost the battle of behaving and ended up with her back to him as he entered her from behind. He was so far gone, he was three strokes in before he realized he had forgotten a condom, something he had always been fanatical about. He muttered a curse, stumbled out of the shower to grab one off the nightstand and rushed back.
Unlike earlier, this time was hard and fast. The warm water flowed over his back as he thrust into her and he tilted her forward for deeper penetration. Without missing a beat, she swiveled her hips and squeezed him with her feminine muscles. He increased the pace and sent them both over the edge, their blended cries echoing in the space. “Girl, you make me lose my mind.”
“That makes two of us,” she said, her breathing erratic. “Now we need to wash up for real before this water gets cold. I’m never taking a shower with you again. Oh, and you’d better be glad you didn’t get my hair wet.”
Cedric laughed. “Hey, I know how you women are about your hair. Why do you think I had you facing away from the spray?” He gave her a quick kiss and they washed up.
Later, as they sat eating in Bella Bru Cafe, Randi said, “I didn’t realize I was so hungry.” She had eaten half of her sandwich already.
“We did expend a lot of energy. I was thinking, since we’re doing the real dating thing, we should go out on real date.”
“We have been going on real dates.”
“Not really. You said the first one wasn’t a date, we’ve eaten at home and we’ve gone to places like this one.” He thought back and realized most of the time, the dates hadn’t even been planned. “I’m talking about getting dressed up and going to a nice restaurant, one that requires reservations.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve done something like that.”
“Good, then it’s a perfect time. When is the next time you’re not on call?”
“Wednesday through Friday.”
Cedric reached for her hand. “Let’s plan for Friday. I’ll make reservations and let you know what time.”
She smiled. “I think I’m going to like this real dating thing.”
“So am I.” More than he ever thought he would. Once they finished eating, he drove over to the partially completed fitness center.
Randi turned around in a slow circle. “This is huge, and there are two levels?”
He stared at her in her fitted performance T-shirt and those purple printed exercise leggings that clung to her every curve. “Yes. The administrative offices will be upstairs. He wanted to maximize the space on the first level.” He pointed out where the pool and basketball courts would be, as well as the general layout.
“When will it be finished?”
“It’s scheduled for June, but we might be able to get it done a couple of weeks early.”
“Yeah, I need you to put in a good word for me. It’s thirty minutes from my house, but I’m willing to make the trip. The good-friend discount will make up for the gas I’ll be using.”
He started to tell her he’d pick her up and bring her whenever she wanted, and pay for her gas, but he was supposed to be taking this dating thing slowly. And he didn’t want to get too deep, too fast. Though in his estimation, it might already be too late. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, we’ll have to use our current facility.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Randi said with a little laugh. “And we should probably get going before I change my mind.”
“I can’t have you wimping out before you get to the ATF, so come on.”
“There’s no guarantee I’ll get a position if it becomes available.”
Cedric slung his arm around her shoulder as they headed back to the car. “You will.” With her background as a firefighter and her confidence and determination, he had no doubt she’d get the job. They’d be a fool not to hire her.
On the drive, she asked, “How much of the work did you do on the fitness center, or did you just supervise?”
“Actually, I did quite a bit. I trust my crew, but Khalil is very particular when it comes to...well, everything, so I wanted to make sure his exacting standards were followed to the letter.” Cedric left out the fact that he had done a few extra things for Khalil because Khalil made a point of ensuring his gyms accommodated people with all types of disabilities and offered reasonable and, sometimes, sliding-scale fees for membership. His cousin had a big heart and always said he didn’t want money to be an issue for people who were trying to take control of their health.
“Look at that poor man,” Randi said, changing the subject. “That just breaks my heart. I know the city is doing a few things to help, but I wish it was more.”
He followed her gaze out the window to a homeless man huddled beneath a tarp. “I agree.” Seeing the man reminded him of what his LA cousins had done. They’d renovated two closed-down hotels and turned them into transitional housing, purchased two buses—one outfitted for a mobile grocery store and the other a mobile shower—all for the homeless. Cedric had been thinking of doing the same on this side of the state. Every day he saw the growing population of homeless in Sacramento and, though he wouldn’t be able to solve the problem, he could do something to ease the burdens of a few. He briefly wondered if Randi would be on board to help him if he floated the idea to her. He glanced over at the sadness reflected in her features and instinctively knew she would. They rode the rest of the way, both lost in thought. When they arrived at the gym, both headed toward the treadmills.
Randi punched in her program on the machine. “I do a fifteen-minute run to warm up before I hit the weights.”
“Works for me.” He did the same and started with a slow jog. He gradually increased the speed until he was at a full run. He knew Randi had to be in great shape, because whereas just about everyone else coming off the machines could barely catch their breath, she looked like she had been out for a leisurely stroll.
“I’ll let you know when I need you to spot me.” She sauntered off with a sexy sway of her hips.
They started their separate workouts and he couldn’t help but marvel at her. Later, he searched the crowded area for her and spotted her over on a mat, planking with dumbbells and doing an alternating arm row. Damn! It was an impressive sight. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought so. He also saw a man smiling and trying to talk to her. For the first time in his life, Cedric experienced what he assumed must be jealousy. That was the only explanation for him wanting to stalk across the room and punch the man. He smiled inwardly at the death glare Randi shot the man, who finally took the hint and walked away. Cedric finished his third set on the leg press and moved to the pull-up bar, then the free weights for his shoulders and arms. He was returning the dumbbells when Randi gestured for him at the bench press.
As Cedric approached, he heard the same man from earlier say, “You look
like you need a spotter, pretty lady.”
Cedric folded his arms. “She has one.”
“Yo, man, I’m sure there’s some other woman you can help. The little lady and I are managing just fine.”
Cedric dropped his arms and took a step.
Randi must have known things were about to get ugly because she said, “Cedric, can you add a hundred pounds, please?”
The man turned his stunned gaze on Randi. “You know him?”
“I do.” She moved into position after Cedric added the weights. “Can you excuse us?” she told the man. “I need to get this done before my muscles cool off.”
Cedric stood above her. “Ready, baby?”
She smiled. “Yep.”
The man sent a glare their way and strode off. Cedric shook his head. “Do you always start trouble when you come to the gym?”
“Yep, always.”
He chuckled and kept count. When she finished, he added more weight and they switched places. “I could get used to working out with you.”
“That might not be such a bad idea. If nothing else, you’ll keep the gnats away.”
His laughter tumbled out of him and he almost dropped the bar.
She glanced down and smiled sweetly. “Problems?”
“Yeah. You.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, innocently.
He glanced up at her sparkling eyes and felt himself fall a little harder. At this point, he couldn’t stop it, even if he wanted to.
Chapter 12
“Did you and Cedric make up yet?” Iyana asked.
Randi wedged her phone between her shoulder and her ear while she transferred the load of clothes from the washer to the dryer. Because she had spent all Saturday with Cedric, she didn’t get around to the laundry until Sunday afternoon. “Yes, we talked on Friday and he came over yesterday.” Or showed up and put them both out of their misery, as he’d phrased it. She’d slept better last night than she had in weeks, so there must have been something to it.
Spark of Desire ; All for You Page 13
