“It is when you can’t see the man standing in front of you.”
Blushing, she briefly dropped her eyes to the sand and then her smile returned before looking at him again.
“There it is. I love when you smile.” He brought his hand up and stroked the side of her face. “Jae, look at me. This man likes what’s in front of him. Give me a break.” He tried chuckling to soften the mood.
“I’ll admit I have blinders on, but that’s because I spent so many years looking through rose-colored glasses.”
There was a short pause. “Close your eyes… go ahead, close them.” As soon as she followed his instruction, Stefano leaned forward and pressed his lips to each of her eyelids, then drew back. “Now open them.” He waited until her eyes opened, then grinned at how innocent she looked. “Are you seeing clearer now?”
Playfully, Jayla swatted him in the arm, and he took off laughing down the beach, and she chased after him. When she finally reached him, he scooped her into his arms and carried her over into the water.
“Nooo, it’s too cold!” she squealed.
Stefano chuckled and replied, “I’ll keep you warm.” He cupped her chin, stroking it lightly with his thumb, then tipped it up. Meeting her eyes, he startled at what he saw—hunger.
And then he captured her mouth in a kiss that was explosive. He pulled her into him and groaned, as an intense sensation rushed through his veins. In one move, he parted her lips and thrust his tongue inside. Never had he wanted to kiss a woman so deeply, so passionately, to the point that his knees were ready to buckle. Stefano moved his hands to her waist and deepened the kiss. They were locked in each other’s arms, and laughter from a distance reminded him they were not alone. Most of their class was probably watching, not that he cared, but for Jayla’s sake, he finally drew back, ending the kiss. However, when she licked her lips, he knew there was no way in hell he was letting her out of his bed tonight.
8
Stefano pulled away from the beach and headed toward Pembroke Road, away from the congested area of vacationers who traveled down to the Hampton Roads area each year to hang out on the beach.
“That sun drained me,” Jayla moaned in a voice that did something bizarre to his insides.
“We have plenty of time to go back to the hotel and relax before dinner. Marquis and Kat were talking about going to the CineBistro to see that new Marvel Comics movie tonight. You wanna go?” The theatre had taken dinner and a movie to a whole new level with ultra-luxurious, roomy high-back leather rocking chairs and in-theatre full-service dining right at your seat.
Jayla tilted her head toward him, then studied his eyes before saying, “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“Yes Jae, I am.” Stefano loved the way her eyes twinkled in response to him shortening her name. He just hoped she didn’t try to shut down on him again.
“Well, in that case, I accept,” she replied, with a teasing smile.
He nodded and didn’t bother to hide how happy he was she was no longer fighting him, especially when he planned to spend every moment of their weekend together.
Stefano brought the car to a complete stop at the light, then looked away from the road to meet her eyes. “Before we go back to the hotel, do you mind if I drop by to see an old friend?”
“No, not at all,” she replied.
His ex-girlfriend would have had a fit and whined the rest of the ride about why she needed to get back to the room and get her beauty-sleep, but not Jayla. She was caring, compassionate and nice, even though she didn’t want him to see that softer side of her.
He had been with lots of women, especially since he’d joined the military. And at this point, one woman should be just as satisfying as the next, but they weren’t. Jayla had a soft quality and was everything he craved, whether she liked it or not.
He steered down Pembroke Road and headed toward Fox Hill. As soon as he passed the restaurants on the corner, memories flooded his mind. He had grown up in this area, with its neighborhood schools and single-family homes. Most were first-time homebuyers starting out with small children. He had imagined his parents, Mexican immigrants, coming to America with dreams of living the good life. Where did things go wrong? he often wondered. The fighting, the shouting. There was nothing unusual about a police car pulling into their driveway.
“My house was down that street,” Jayla pointed at Yates Court up ahead.
“Let’s go see.” He made a right and slowly coasted up the wide street. The two-story homes were moderately sized with wide porches and mature trees. Each house had its own personality with painted shutters and doors.
“There it is!” she exclaimed and he watched as her eyes widened with excitement. Stefano brought his car to a halt and stared out the window.
The house was all brick with baby blue shutters and a dark blue door. The porch had been screened in, and one of the large oak trees that used to hide the top bedroom window was gone, but otherwise everything else looked the same. He remembered walking to her house after school imagining what life would be like to have been a part of her family.
Jayla removed her cell phone from her purse and took a couple of pictures before fastening her seatbelt again. “I got it. Thanks.” She was giggling like a schoolgirl and desire throbbed through his body.
With a nod, he pulled off and headed up one street and then down another heading to an area that wasn’t as attractive. Railroad tracks, the houses were smaller and not everyone maintained their yards. Stefano finally pulled in front of a small white house. He climbed out and walked around and opened the door for her, while he tried to calm the rising tension in his body. Jayla stepped out and noticed he was staring at the gray house across the street.
“Who lived there?” he heard her ask.
Stefano swallowed hard. “I did.” The tiny ranch-style house was still there. The windows boarded up. The yard overrun with weeds. The roof… what was left of it, was charred.
“What happened there?” she said, ripping into his thoughts.
He took her hand and mumbled, “I’ll tell you later.”
Turning, he led her up the sidewalk onto the porch of the small white house. Grass was neatly cut and flower boxes were filled with a colorful array. A smile curled his lips. She always did love her gardening.
Moments after ringing the bell, the door swung open. “There you are! I was wondering when you’d be by to see me.” Ms. Phyllis stepped aside and ushered them inside. Stefano immediately wrapped his arms around the short, plump woman.
“It’s so good to see you,” he murmured and kissed her warm caramel-colored cheek, then turned to the woman beside him. “Ms. Phyllis, I would like you to meet Jayla Parker.”
The woman, who had been like a mother to him, peered over the top of her glasses and stared at Jayla. “Aren’t you pretty?”
That made Jayla blush. “Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You too. Steph’s never brought a girl home before.”
Jayla turned and he dramatically wagged his eyebrows, causing her to smile.
“Well, come on back to the kitchen and have a glass of lemonade. I just made it fresh.”
Placing a hand at the small of Jayla’s back, he led her through the small cramped living room into an even smaller kitchen. This place had felt so much bigger when I was a kid.
Ms. Phyllis reached up and removed two glasses from the oak cabinet above the sink, then urged them to take a seat at a small wooden table.
“Steph, I have to tell you they were so excited when I told them you had agreed to pose for the benefit calendar.”
He groaned at the mention, then reached for the pitcher of lemonade on the table and filled two glasses.
“Calendar? What calendar?” Jayla asked. Her head was tilted to the side, one brow lifted.
“I’m on the committee for an organization called Helping Hands Caring Hearts, and we were asked to raise money for single fathers, trying to make ends meet,” Ms. Phyllis explai
ned, while standing in front of the sink with a fist propped at her thickened waist. “They really wanted someone in the military, and I told them my godson would love to pose for the calendar.”
How could he have said no to a woman who had practically saved his life?
“A calendar man, huh?” Jayla said, eyes sparkling with fascination. He made a face when she gave him a look that said she was impressed.
Stefano shrugged. “It’s for a good cause.”
“All the more reason why we are so proud to have you. Mr. January! When I told Tamela you were a Capricorn, she said it had to be fate!” Excitement lit her eyes.
Stefano took a sip from his glass, so he wouldn’t have to comment.
“Oooh! I’m gonna have to get my hands on a copy of the calendar,” Jayla teased.
Ms. Phyllis waved her hand as she spoke. “Yes, I heard the men who are posing are incredible. Hockey player, police officer, you name it, they’ll be in there.”
Stefano wasn’t too excited about taking it all off in front of the camera, but once again, how in the world could he have said no?
“Don’t forget, your session is scheduled for nine on Monday at the community center.”
“I’m sure you won’t let me forget,” he said dryly.
The ladies had a good laugh at his expense, then Ms. Phyllis poured herself a glass and took a seat at the table. She started asking about his last deployment to Japan. The entire time he was talking Stefano saw the way Ms. Phyllis was looking at Jayla, who was sipping and listening attentively.
“How do you two know each other?” she finally asked.
“We went to high school together,” Jayla explained.
With a wide smirk, Stefano added, “Ms. Phyllis, this is the girl who was tutoring me in math.”
Her brown eyes widened knowingly. “Oh, so this is the girl who saved your butt! Well, it’s definitely a pleasure to meet you. I was so proud the day I watched Steph walk across the stage.”
As he pushed the lump from his throat, he remembered his graduation. His father had been too drunk to attend, but Ms. Phyllis said she wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
“Now he’s in the Air Force, traveling the world.” Stefano noticed the tears clouding his godmother’s eyes. Reaching over, he squeezed her hand.
“Don’t be getting all teary-eyed on me now,” he murmured.
She smiled then patted the hand covering hers. “Well, the city is finally tearing down that house,” she said, changing the subject. And if it were about anything else he might have been grateful.
Stefano’s smile turned into a frown. He released her hand and leaned back in the chair. “It’s about time.”
“Yes it is,” Ms. Phyllis said with a far-off look, then shot up out her chair. “I almost forgot. I have pumpkin bread.”
His face lit up, as he turned to Jayla. He could see she was confused about the sudden change in subject, while he was relieved. The last thing he wanted to talk about was his father.
“Wait until you taste Ms. Phyllis’ cooking. You’ll never want to go home.”
They stayed long enough to eat half a loaf of bread and then Stefano tightened down the faucet on her leaky kitchen sink. By the time they left the house, the temperature had dropped and there was a nice warm breeze. Stefano helped Jayla into the car, then stared one last time at the place he had once called home before he climbed behind the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“Ms. Phyllis was more to you than just a neighbor, wasn’t she?”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “She was more like the mother I no longer had.” As he drove toward the hotel, he told her about his parents’ divorce and the estranged relationship he still had with his mother.
“When was the last time you’ve spoken to her?”
“It’s been a few years. She’s tried to reach out to me, but I just don’t have anything to say to her.”
Reaching over, Jayla laced her fingers with his. “Steph, you can’t hold grudges forever. Somehow you have to forgive her for abandoning you, so you can move on with your life.”
She was right. Tianna had said the same thing, but that didn’t make it any easier. “I know.”
They were almost to the hotel when Jayla asked, “Where is your father at now?”
Pain tightened at his stomach. “Papa died in a fire last year.”
Jayla swung around on the seat, eyes wide with alarm. “In that house?”
Stefano nodded. “Si. He was too drunk to even save himself.”
“Oh Steph! I’m so sorry.” She squeezed his hand. The feeling was warm and comforting.
He searched for the right words, but couldn’t come up with any. “Papa was a drunk who couldn’t keep a job and took his anger out on anyone who was around. The only time I had any peace was when he was sleep, because I knew he wouldn’t wake up for hours.” He paused and scratched his chin. “If it wasn’t for Ms. Phyllis, I would have gone days without anything to eat or a place to sleep. Right after I graduated I got out of Hampton and never looked back.”
“Did you ever see your father again?”
He pressed his lips into a grim line as he remembered his last visit. “I stopped through about a few years back, but nothing had changed. There was a shouting match, and I ended up staying in a hotel.” The conversation had gotten so heated his father had taken a swing at him, and Stefano ended up punching him in the mouth, knocking him to the floor. That was the last time he had seen him alive.
“I had no idea your life was like that.”
Her eyes were saddened with empathy. The last thing Stefano wanted was Jayla to feel sorry for him. That’s why he had never told anyone what had been going on at his house. Even his own sister never knew all he had gone through. Instead, he put on a straight face and escaped his reality at school with his friends and teammates. But now, he wanted to tell Jayla his story, and he couldn’t quite understand why. To make her understand who he was? Or so she could see how far he had come? He just wasn’t sure. All he knew was it felt good, almost natural to share a part of his past with her.
“I’m in control of my own destiny.” He grinned. “And it actually feels good.”
Jayla shook her head. “I spent all those years complaining about parents who thought I was a disappointment, and yet it was nothing close to what you went through.”
“It’s hard to believe you had problems. Your parents were like the Brady Bunch.”
She gave a rude snort. “My parents were all about making an impression so everyone would think we were the perfect family, but when it came to their only child, Mom wanted a child who was girly and beautiful, and instead she got me. Dad…he just wanted a boy.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you. Querida, you’re beautiful.”
Jayla was blushing again. “It took a lot of work to get where I am today, and yet it still isn’t good enough for them.” She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the view outside. “I finally just gave up trying and learned not to let things get to me anymore.”
“That’s a great motto to live by. Maybe I need to start doing the same.” She had taken her hand back, so Stefano reached over and dragged it over onto his thigh.
“Why you do that?” she asked with a smile tickling the corners of her mouth.
“Because I like for you to touch me.”
“Really?” Jayla’s grin widened and became almost wicked. “How about here… and even here…?” she asked as her hand continued to slide closer to his crotch.
“I like all that, and if you keep it up there will be consequences,” he added with a growl.
“Is that a promise?” she teased and then a yawn slipped from her lips.
Smiling, he laced their fingers together, then took his eyes away from the road long enough to gaze at her beautiful profile. “I’m taking you inside and straight to bed.”
“But I’m not sleepy,” she said with a playful pout.
“Who said anything about sleeping?” He wink
ed and put his foot on the gas.
* * *
The more time she spent with Stefano, getting to know him, the more she liked him. And that was definitely not a good move, Jayla decided, and yet she couldn’t seem to stay away. And now that he had shared his past, the draw to him was even greater.
As a teenager it seemed that he’d had it all, and often she had envied his popularity and his life.
And I thought I had it bad.
Sure she had lived with a load of high expectations and her life had been far from perfect, but it had been nothing like what Stefano had described. Maybe my parents aren’t so bad after all, she pondered momentarily, then pushed the thought aside. The Parkers were spending the summer in England and had yet to return any of her phone calls.
Jayla worried her lip between her teeth as thoughts of her past began to surface. After she had graduated from college, they had told her in so many words, she was officially on her own—don’t call us, we’ll call you. Since then, she only spoke to them during holidays and family functions when they needed her to put in an appearance. Last year it had been because it was time to take family photographs. Their conditional love was one of the main reasons why she had spent so many years looking for love in all of the wrong places. She had been starving for something she had desperately needed. But in the last year she had learned she first had to love herself and the rest would follow.
For now, she’d just settle for sexual gratification without the L word.
Shaking her head, Jayla pushed back the memories. That was a time she preferred not to revisit too often. Instead, she stole another glance at Stefano. Her body was aroused and her mind was too far gone.
Jayla followed Stefano to his hotel room. She stepped inside and dropped her purse on top of the table, then swung around and cupped his face, drawing him toward her.
She kissed him with all the emotion she could not express in words. Stefano increased the pressure, kissing her passionately, until her hands grew still, then she gripped his shoulders as a sigh of pleasure escaped her.
His lips were confident, magical, leading her to believe he could be the man she needed. But for how long? A few weeks? A few months? A year? That was something she preferred not to consider. Right now she needed to tend to a burning desire to be devoured by him. She slipped her hand beneath his t-shirt, stroking his bare chest. Teasing him.
Beg For It Page 6
