by Ivy Jordan
“I’m falling deep.”
“Did you tell him yet?”
Her question immediately sobers me and brings me back to reality. “No.”
“Serena! What are you waiting for?”
“The right time?”
“Give that man the blow job of his life and tell him then. Sheesh!”
“Just... Can you watch Alan tonight?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you, Ash! I owe you.”
“You can thank me by telling Cade the truth about Alan.”
“I will. Soon. I promise.”
***
There is so much chatter as I walk into my first class, but it immediately starts to quiet as I make my way to the front of the room. I begin the class as I always do in a new semester, but heads are swiveling around as I speak. I ignore it at first, but halfway through going over the syllabus for the semester, I noticed that whispers have been added in the mix and I stop, pissed off that no one is paying attention.
I point at a student in the third row, who is whispering with the student next to him. “You!” I call him out. He sits up straight. “What is going on?”
The student’s face pales. “Umm. Everyone heard that Cade Thomas stopped by this class last semester.”
“Yes, he observed one of the classes at the end of the semester. I don’t see how that is relevant to this class, though.”
The girl beside him spoke up. “Will he observe this class, too?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Will he visit again?” There are murmurs throughout the room.
“How well do you know him?” another student asks.
“Do you think he’d sign my jersey for me?” comes another voice.
Soon there are questions coming from all over the room, and I feel overwhelmed. I raise my hand and whistle sharply.
“Okay, that is enough. Not that I owe any of you an explanation, but yes, I do know Mr. Thomas. We’re friends.”
“How good of friends?” I am asked from the front row.
I’m stunned by how nosy these kids re. “Pretty good,” I reply in a shocked tone.
“Will he stop in?”
“Will you let us know ahead of time?”
All the questions hit me at once and I get irritated. “Hold up,” I tell the class in a stern voice. They fall silent. “Cade is my friend, yes, but I cannot make him come by class. He’s a busy man.”
The class groans, and I force myself from rolling my eyes. “Maybe,” I continue, “Maybe I can get him to stop by IF you get an average of eighty five percent on my midterm. Does that sound like a good deal?”
A ripple of excitement runs through the room and I nod with satisfaction. “If we can continue now...” I resume going over the syllabus for the semester and the first assignment before opening the room to questions. Hands shoot up.
“Is Cade single?” a blonde near the back asks.
I do roll my eyes this time and ignore her. I turn to another student and point. “Yes?”
“Do you know Tyler Washington? He’s so hot,” she drags her last word out.
“He’s also married. Next?” I say.
“Have you ever seen his Super Bowl rings?” one young man asks.
“Does anyone have any questions related to this class?” No one answers, and I shake my head. “Then class dismissed.”
I gather my things and leave the room as quickly as I can, desperate for the sanctuary of my office. When I'm behind closed doors, I let out a sigh at the absurdity of what just unfolded. I’m not used to the adoring masses making such a big deal out of Cade. He’s just Cade to me, the super sweet guy I’m dating. To everyone else, he’s Cade Thomas, the football hero, a legend. It’s amusing mostly, and I suppose if I intend to continue seeing him, I’m going to have to get used to it.
I sit at my desk and boot up my computer, but instead of doing work, I grab my phone to text Cade.
My students want to know if you plan on popping in this semester. You were all they could talk about this morning, I type out.
I was a distraction without even being there. I’m sorry, Serena.
It’s fine. They wanted to know how well I knew you, and if you were single, and whether I had seen your Super Bowl rings.
That’s it?
I’m sure there were more questions, but I cut class short before they could ask. Besides, they weren't all about you. One girl wanted to know if I had met Tyler because he’s hot.
He’ll get a kick out of that.
Tamara probably not so much, though, I counter.
She’ll laugh about it.
I told them if they got a class average of eighty five percent on the midterm I’d see if you could visit.
Whatever you want, I’m there.
I talked to Ashley this morning, I tell him.
And?
And, she is going to stay with Alan tonight until I get home tomorrow morning.
Still on for seven? he asks.
Do you want to meet someplace or should I just come to your place?
Come to my house. I’ll make dinner.
You cook?
You’ll have to wait and see, he teases.
Should I bring anything?
Just yourself — and maybe that lacy black bra and thong I like.
What about your shirt?
I have one of those just for you.
You do, do you? I question him.
You bet that sweet ass, I do. I have to get in the studio. Can’t wait to see you tonight.
I said my goodbye and put the phone back on my desk, thinking about what was waiting for me after work. It was going to be a long day.
***
After my last class for the day, I finish up a few things and then leave to pick up Alan. Ashley is waiting in the driveway when I pull in, and the two of them go up to Alan’s room to play with his cars while I go to my room to pick out something to wear. I finally settle on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans that hug my curves, knee-high boots, a navy-blue tank top that scoops low and offers a hint of cleavage, and an oversized brown sweater.
When I head downstairs, Ashley and Alan are in the kitchen making dinner. “You look pretty, Mommy,” Alan grins.
“Thanks, baby,” I say, ruffling his hair and kissing the top of his head. “Aunt Ashley is going to stay with you tonight, and I will see you in the morning, okay?”
He nods and goes back to the playdoh my sister brought with her.
“Have fun,” Ashley sing-songs.
“I will,” I smirk back before I head out to grab my phone and purse.
Traffic getting to Cade’s is lighter than I expect and it’s a quarter to seven when I pull up to the gate at his community. The security guards recognize me and wave me on. I pull into his driveway moments later. Cade pulls open his front door and leans against the doorframe as I step from my car. When I'm close enough to him, he grabs me around the middle and pulls my body to his, slow and leisurely. I relax into him with a sigh. After a moment, he leans back, looks me in the eye, and kisses me.
“I’ve been dying to do this all day,” he whispers into my hair as he holds me tightly once more. “You hungry?”
“Starving. I skipped lunch.”
He unwraps me from his arms and takes my hand to lead me inside and to the table. I flush a little at the memory that flashes in my mind when I see the table, and I feel Cade squeeze my hand. His head lowers close to mine and whispers, “I think about it every time I sit down at this table, too.”
He already has food plated and ready on the table, and he pulls out my chair so I can sit before taking the seat across from me. As we eat, Cade asks me about my day, and I fill him in on the classes I'm teaching this semester and the new teaching assistant I’ve been assigned who makes me laugh. I can tell Cade is jealous that another guy is going to be spending several hours a day with me, so I try to ease his jealousy by casually mentioning that Gus and his boyfriend Tommy have both taken a few of my clas
ses and that Gus is one of the brightest talents I’ve had in a long time.
“How is Alan?” Cade asks when I’m done talking.
“He keeps asking when you’re going to come play with him again. He had such a good time with you.”
“I had fun, too. Just name the time and I’m there.”
I smile at him and ask him about his show for next week. He begins to tell me about a story idea Tyler pitched and that he’ll be gone for a few days toward the end of the month with Tyler to shoot on location. When we finish eating, I start to pick up the dishes and take them to the kitchen.
“You don’t have to do that,” he tells me as I fill the sink with soap and water. “I have a lady who comes and cleans twice a week.”
“You don’t ever do your own dishes?”
“Not usually.”
“I like doing the dishes.” I toss a dish towel at him. “You can dry. It’s only a few plates, anyway.” I wash and he dries, and we’re done ten minutes later.
“See? Not so bad, was it?”
“I’ve always thought of doing the dishes as something very mundane, but with you, it’s the kind of mundane I could get used to.”
“You’ve never been domestic with a girlfriend before?” I question.
He lowers his eyes and gives me a look I should have expected. “Can you even for a second imagine Josephine being domestic?”
I laugh. “Okay, maybe you have a point. It’s nice to try new things, though.”
“Yes, it is,” he agrees.
I wipe up a spot on the counter and move toward the trash can to throw away the paper towel, but Cade steps in front of me. “What are you doing?” I laugh as he moves whenever I move. “Umm. Throwing this away.”
“I’ll get it,” he insists.
“Cade, I think I can handle a paper towel. Let me throw this away.” I fake left and he follows, but I quickly turn right and pull out the trash can. Right on top are several take out containers, and I look back at Cade who smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“So, maybe I can’t cook so much.”
I shake my head at him. “You also can’t hide the evidence so much,” I tease. “How about next time, I cook dinner at my place for us and you can help, maybe learn a thing or two?”
“I think I would like that very much,” he answers, wrapping his arms around me. “But for now, let me show you something that I think you will like very much.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cade
I have spent weeks planning for this night, every meticulous detail of it, and if absolutely anything goes wrong, I will be beyond disappointed. It might be corny to some, but I want this Valentine’s Day to be perfect for Serena, so no detail is too small or too big to have been considered for this.
Ashley has agreed to watch Alan again, and I sent flowers to both her gallery and her home to say thank you. I also ordered dinner for her to be delivered at Serena’s so she wouldn’t have to cook. One of these days, I’m going to set her up with one of the guys I know, but not just yet. It can’t be just any guy...and I need her babysitting services right now.
I pick Serena up in my sleek black sports car instead of my pickup truck and ring the bell. Alan swings the door open.
“Cade!” he greets me with a wide smile and rushes at me.
I lift him up and push the front door closed and carry him toward the living room. “Where’s your mommy?”
“She still in her room with Aunt Ashley. You play cars with me?”
“Sure.” Alan sprawls out on the floor, and I sit down beside him, stretching my legs out. We’re zooming cars around, and I find myself laughing along with Alan just because of the sound of his laughter. A few minutes later, Ashley walks in.
“Hey, Cade. Serena will be out in a minute.”
“No worries. Alan and I are having fun.”
“Thank you for the flowers,” she says.
“You’re welcome. Serena told me that you’re anti-Valentine’s Day, but I still really appreciate you helping us out so much.”
“I’m happy to. It’s really nice to see my sister so happy; she deserves it more than anyone I know. I’m glad it's you.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.”
“Just keep spoiling her and making her happy,” she says in a jokingly threatening way.
“I can do that.”
“Hey,” Serena’s soft voice comes from behind us, and I stand, turning.
She takes my breath away. I’m no expert when it comes to women’s clothing, but I’ve seen a lot of it, and I’ve seen a lot of expensive things, but nothing I’ve ever seen has looked as elegant and sexy as the dress hugging Serena’s curves. The dress is semi-sheer, an oversized, floral lace pattern with a nude lining. It’s two-tone with white lace on the top half and black lace for the straight skirt, which hits Serena mid-calf. The thin straps give way to a dipping neckline and a simple diamond pendant rests in her cleavage. The bracelet I gave her hangs on her wrist and black heels that strap around her ankles bring it all together.
“Wow,” I finally breathe out as I drink her in. “You look incredible, Serena.”
She blushes and smooths a wrinkle that doesn't exist. “You look very handsome yourself.” I’ve opted for a dark, hunter green suit with a crisp white dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and no tie.
“Are you ready?”
She nods and brushes past me, leaning down to kiss Alan. “Be good for Aunt Ashley, okay, bud? Love you.”
“Okay, Mommy. I love you, too,” Alan responds without taking his eyes off his toys. I follow Serena into the front hall where she puts her phone into a small clutch shaped like an ice cream truck.
I hold the door for her to walk outside first. With a hand at the small of her back, I lead her to my car, and she whistles at the sight.
“Pulling out the big guns tonight, are we?”
“You like?”
“Sex on wheels,” she winks as I hold the door open for her. Damn, this woman is perfect.
We speed off for downtown Los Angeles and pull up to one of the fanciest restaurants in town thirty minutes later. A valet opens Serena’s door and offers his hand to assist her from the low-slung vehicle. I come around and take her hand, looping her arm through mine. We head inside and are greeted by the hostess, who leads us to our table. Serena is looking around the restaurant wide-eyed. After we sit and the hostess walks away, she leans across the table.
“There’s no one else here,” she whispers.
“I rented the place out. Didn’t want to share you with anybody.”
Her mouth gapes open. “That must have cost a small fortune, Cade. Are you nuts?”
I shrug. “Maybe, but it’s worth it.”
“And, all these flowers,” she muses. “They’re so beautiful.”
I don’t tell her, but I ordered these three weeks in advance. I wanted everything just right. We are surrounded by roses, daisies, lilies, everything. There are more at my house. A waiter appears to fill our wine glasses and a second waiter appears placing plates of appetizers before us.
“I called ahead, told them what we wanted,” I told her. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s perfect, Cade. No man has ever done anything like this for me before.”
“You’ve been with the wrong kind of men.”
“I’m seeing that now,” she laughs. “Seriously, though, while I do appreciate every bit of this, you don’t have to do all of this.”
“I want to. I’ve never wanted to for anyone before. I know it’s extravagant, but I like doing this for you.”
Just then, the string quartet I arranged begin to play and fill the room with beautiful music.
“I suppose there are certain charms to dating a former big shot football star,” she says, her eyes twinkling.
“Lots of charms,” I wink in reply.
We sip our wine and enjoy the appetizers as Serena tells me about some of her recent research. I listen, hanging on
her every word as she details a new planetary system her research team has come across.
As our plates are cleared for the next course and our glasses refilled, Serena looks around expectantly. “I’ve never been to a restaurant like this before,” she admits. “Do they have one of those tasting menu things? I’ve never done one of those before.”
I nod. “They do. One of the best in town, actually.”
Her eyes light up with excitement as the waiters reappear, each carrying a covered silver tray. They set them down next to us, and I nod at them. They whip the covers off and exit just as Serena starts to giggle and then bursts out laughing.
“Fried chicken? Is this for real, Cade?”
“This is for real, Serena. Only the best for you, and I happen to have it on good authority that the chef here is from the south and has the best family recipe for fried chicken, passed down generation to generation. And, you once told me that your last meal on earth would be fried chicken.”
“You remember that?”
“Of course. I pay attention to everything you say and do.”
She stands and comes around to me, placing her hands on my shoulders and leaning down to kiss me, a soft brush of her lips against mine. “Thank you, Cade.”
“For what?” I ask as she sits back down.
“For being you,” she smiles. “Now, should we eat?”
“Dig in.”
***
We go straight to my place after dinner and I lead Serena to the kitchen. She sits at the table as I take off my suit jacket, laying it across the back of a chair. I pull a slice of cheesecake from the fridge and bring it over to her and sit down. I spear a piece of the dessert on a fork and lift it to her lips. She smiles and lets me feed it to her. We trade bites until it is gone.
“Cade?”
“Yes?”
“Where have you been all my life?”
I chuckle. “Hey, you’re the one who snuck out on me three years ago.”
“Way to rub it in, Thomas.”
“You’re here now, though.”
“I am. And, you will never know how much I wish I could go back and change that decision. I’m so happy to be here with you, Cade.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Serena,” I tell her softly, reaching out to push a piece of hair behind her ear. She stands and moves toward me, sitting in my lap. Her face lowers to mine and our lips meet. It starts out gentle, but soon her hands are unbuttoning my shirt and our tongues are dancing together.
