Forget Me Not

by Crystal B. Bright

  She pushed the thought from her head and emptied the tub. Janelle should have known Penny had been up to something. Penny had insisted on carrying Janelle’s bag. Once she’d gotten the bag in their delivery van, it had looked packed to the brim.

  Janelle opened it and removed her makeup bag first, which sat on top of everything else. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she applied some bright red lipstick, the only tube in her makeup kit. Then she put on some eye shadow that gave her a smoky-eye look.

  Hair accessories and her combs sat on top of her clothes. Janelle released her naturally curly tresses from her clip, applied some water to it to refresh the curls, and styled it with the clip again. When she noticed how young she looked with it in place, she removed it again and fluffed out her curls, giving herself a wild, uninhibited look.

  Janelle dove into the bag again. She caught something red next. She removed it and saw a short, formfitting dress. Janelle had never owned a dress like this. Definitely a part of Penny’s collection. She would have to thank her friend. Janelle looked at what she’d worn to the house. No way could she put on those sweaty, dirty clothes that now littered the bathroom floor.

  Janelle reached into the bag again to find deodorant and a flowery perfume that Janelle had once said she liked but had never purchased because she couldn’t afford it. Okay, she would have to thank Penny for that gift.

  At the bottom of the bag, she found a pair of black stockings and black heels. It looked like Penny had neglected to pack undergarments. Where in the world had Penny put Janelle’s clean bra and panties? Janelle checked every pocket on the bag, searching for anything, even thong underwear. Nothing.

  Janelle growled. “Bitch.”

  She picked up her cell phone and sent a text to Penny.

  “Really? No underwear?”

  Penny sent a smiley face emoticon back with the word, “Oops” next to it.

  Janelle would not put her underwear back on for the same reason she wouldn’t be wearing the outfit she’d arrived in to the house.

  “Come on, girl. Let’s try new things.” She sat on a chair at the built-in vanity and slipped on the stockings first.

  It felt strange for her to have on stockings but no panties. She tied the wrap dress snugly around her waist and attempted to keep the V of the dress as closed as possible. Janelle didn’t want to give Gideon a show. The dress offered no support for her bust. If a cool breeze hit her, she would be exposed in more ways than one.

  Janelle packed her clothing and toiletries back into her bag. After a deep breath, she opened the bathroom and then the bedroom door. A fragrant aroma of baked fish and jasmine rice met her as she headed toward the kitchen. She found Gideon behind the counter tending to several pots. He had his back to her when she placed her things down on the floor.

  “Thanks for letting me use your bathroom.” She came around the counter.

  Each time Janelle took a step, a cool breeze swept over her naked sex.

  This is so strange.

  “You’re very—” Gideon stopped midsentence when he looked at her.

  He stared at her.

  “What?” Janelle smoothed her hand over her head. “Penny put this outfit in the bag. I don’t normally dress like this.”

  “You should. Wow.” He started to move closer but stopped. “No, if I get too close, I’ll do something stupid. So far, I think I’ve impressed you, right?”

  “You have, but not because of the flowers or this home.” She leaned her hand against the bar.

  “No? What then?” Gideon pulled the rice off the heat and opened the oven door.

  “You know about flowers. And you thought about the little things.”

  He placed a long, silver pan on top of the stove and closed the oven door. “What do you mean?”

  Janelle took a deep breath before she expounded on her thoughts. “You could have been cliché and driven up to my shop in your fancy car and whisked me away to some expensive restaurant. But you didn’t. You purchased an insane amount of flowers from me. Thank you very much. And you’re cooking me dinner on Valentine’s Day.”

  Gideon placed the dish towel he’d used to remove the hot pan from the oven on the counter. He moved around it and stood in front of Janelle. Before she could speak, he held out his hand.

  “Come with me.” He smiled.

  When the man did that, how in the world could she say no? Janelle took his hand. He led her to a doorway down a small hallway next to the kitchen. After he flicked a light switch on the wall, he showed Janelle a large garage.

  The slate-gray floors gleamed and had small silvery flecks throughout. One black car sat on one side, and he had a red-and-black motorcycle parked next to it. In the expansive five-car garage, she had expected to see more. Now that she really studied the car, she didn’t see a luxury brand name attached. No Mercedes hood ornament. No BMW logo.

  “I live really simply,” Gideon began.

  He didn’t have a million and one cars like she had seen of other NFL stars, but he did have a large house with a multicar garage. Janelle peered up at him to refute his claim.

  He smiled. “As far as cars and such.” He pointed to his vehicle. “I just drive that because it’s reliable. The motorcycle is my toy. I don’t need anything else.”

  She peered around his tidy and organized garage. Tools had been placed carefully in their assigned spots. He kept the floors spotless. Unless Gideon kept his tools clean each time he used them, they all look new.

  “Are the tools for show, or do you really do your own yard work?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  When she peered down, she noticed how much the dress pulled down, showing more of her cleavage. As soon as she looked up, she caught Gideon staring at her chest. Even after getting caught, he didn’t look sorry for the stare.

  “When I’m home and I can, I do my own yard work.” He turned off the light and closed the door. “I have to blame or thank my mother for that. Even as small kids, she made us do chores. I always liked working outside.” He took her hand as he started to walk down the hallway. “I keep my tools clean to make them last longer.”

  Janelle barely heard him. She stared at the union of their hands. She didn’t want to wake up from this heavenly dream. As soon as her hand brushed against the calluses on his palm, she believed his claim about the strenuous work.

  “I’ve always loved working in the yard.” She talked to ease her nerves. Janelle heard her heart pounding in her ears. Her hands even throbbed with each beat. “I like putting my hands in the dirt and feeling the earth. It calms me.”

  Gideon stopped in his trek and turned to her. “Are you serious?”

  She nodded.

  “Me too.” He squeezed her hand. “My biggest regret about this house is that it didn’t have a bigger yard.” He went to the other side of the kitchen, down another hallway to a door at the end of it. “That didn’t stop me from having one of these.” He opened the door and showed off a small-scale greenhouse.

  Janelle let go of his hand as she eased into the room to look around. A fancy irrigation system hovered over the four rows of vegetation. Out of habit, or maybe she wanted to be sure he didn’t have this place here for show for her, she brushed her hands over the leaves.

  “This is awesome.” She touched an unopened bud. “I can’t believe a guy like you would have something like this.”

  When she felt a hand surrounding hers, she stopped and pivoted.

  “Stop assuming you know me and my type.” Gideon didn’t carry a grimace or look disappointed when he made the statement.

  He wanted her to see all of him, the real man behind the pads and tackles.

  She nodded. “I do that a lot. I jump to conclusions very quickly.”

  “Why is that?”

  She shrugged.

  “No. You know the reason,” he pressed.

  Images from her past came flooding back to her all at once. To keep
from crying over the more painful memories, she blurted, “I always want to be the one to know when evil is coming.”

  Gideon’s eyes widened. “Evil? That’s kind of harsh.”

  “I’m not trying to say that Satan is around every corner. I’ve been hurt a lot in my past. I thought if I could figure people out early and let them know that I know they’re full of it, I can stop them from crushing my spirits.” For now, she would leave out stories of past boyfriends, the girls in school who’d claimed to be her friend but talked about her like a dog around other people, or her cynical mother.

  “I hear you.” Gideon put his hand to his chest. “Get to know me first before you judge me.”

  Janelle chuckled. “Deal. It’s hard to break habits, you know?”

  He stroked his fingers down her bare arm until he held her hand again. “I know. You’re talking to a guy who still gets excited before each game and is the first one up Christmas morning.”

  She laughed. “Funny. So are you giving me the official tour?” Before he started, she noticed a plant in the far corner of the greenhouse. She started to move toward it to get a better look. “What is that one over there? Is that a—”

  Gideon held her hand tighter and pulled her back. “Nothing for you to see. Come on. I’ll show you around.”

  Janelle felt an uneasy feeling slithering over her skin. So far, Gideon had come off as an open book. Whatever chapters he wanted hidden, Elizabeth had no problems revealing them. So why hide the one thing that bonded them?

  Gideon led her into a large open space near the front door. “This is the living room. By the way, if you like the furniture and decorations, you can thank my mother for that. I can do great flower arranging, but I’m no good with decorating.”

  She scanned the staid yet tasteful decor that looked perfect for a single man. “Your mom has good taste.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell her that.” He paused and then said, “Nope. I won’t.”

  She felt her eyebrows knit together. “Why not?”

  Gideon chuckled. It almost sounded like a nervous laugh. “My mother sort of arranged for you and I to meet. She said that we would hit it off.” He glanced at her. “I hate to admit to her again that she was right.”

  Janelle clasped her other hand over his. “It’ll be our little secret.”

  He went down a long hallway and opened the door at the end. She didn’t expect to see something like a small apartment attached to his home.

  “This is the in-law suite I told you about. I made sure to have this built onto the house so that if I ever have to move my mother or any of my family members in with me, they can feel like they’re still independent.” He pointed to the small kitchen area. “Kitchen.” He pointed to a door next to it. “Bathroom.” He moved his hand to the left to another open doorway. “Bedroom.” He cleared his throat as he squeezed her hand. “And this is the living room-dining room area.”

  “Very nice.” Janelle peered up at him. “You’re very considerate. I think your greenhouse is the only selfish thing you have in here. That and the motorcycle.”

  “You haven’t been in my bedroom yet.”

  As soon as he said it, Janelle noticed how low his voice had become. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her out of the suite. The gentle yet commanding touch became far too familiar very quickly. She made sure to stay in step with him so that he wouldn’t have to release his hold.

  “You were in this spare bedroom already.” He opened a door and showed off a simple room decorated in dark cobalt-blue colors. “Every bedroom has its own bathroom and fireplace.”

  “Is that something you insisted on when the house was built?” Janelle followed alongside him to the base of the stairs.

  Gideon nodded. “I like making sure my family and friends are taken care of.”

  “Yes, but who takes care of you?” Janelle watched his expression turn sullen before he broke his stare to look up the staircase.

  “Come on. Let me show you upstairs and then we can eat.” He took her on a quick tour of the other spare bedrooms. “As you can see, if you decide to spend the night, I have plenty of rooms for you to stay in, including an apartment.” He started to go down the stairs.

  “Wait.” Janelle stood at the top landing.

  Before Gideon turned, she glanced over at a room to the left where the double doors had been left closed.

  He took a couple of steps down before returning her gaze. “Yes?”

  “Well?” She crossed her arms.

  “What?”

  His coy act started to grate on her nerves. That didn’t stop the man from looking damn sexy.

  “After all that talk downstairs, you’re not going to show me your bedroom?”

  He didn’t answer. He smiled as he stared at her. After a steamy silence, he said, “Maybe.”

  Chapter 12

  During dinner, Gideon marveled at the fact that he and Janelle never stopped talking, never had an awkward silence…except when she’d asked him about his bedroom. He couldn’t show her. If he’d allowed her in his room, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from kissing her, touching her, making love to her. Every part of his being wanted that woman in his bed, especially after seeing her in her dress.

  He hadn’t given Penny any directives on the clothes she would pick out for Janelle. He didn’t know what to expect. Until today, every time he’d seen Janelle, she’d outfitted herself in jeans, sneakers, a turtleneck, and a ratty, old sweater. Conversations with her matched her comfortable style.

  “This food is delicious.” Janelle finished what she had on her plate, stood, and served herself some more.

  “Good. I appreciate a woman with a great appetite.” He allowed his gaze to drop to her high, firm ass. A moan rattled in his throat before he covered the sound with a cough.

  “Would you like some?” she asked.

  When she turned around and looked at him quizzically, he realized her offer had nothing to do with her getting naked and riding him as dessert.

  “No, thank you.” He wiped his mouth. “You enjoy as much as you want.” He watched her occupy her seat again as she dove into her tuna steak. “Looking at you, you would never guess that you eat the way you do.”

  “Fast metabolism.” She smiled and wiped her mouth. “Did Queen teach you all how to cook?”

  He nodded. “Among other things. Gunnar learned how to make spaghetti and that’s it. He didn’t want to clutter his mind on learning anything else.” He laughed as he remembered his brother’s frustration when their mother had tried teaching him how to make pancakes.

  “I’ll eat toast,” Gunnar had proclaimed after burning batch after batch.

  “Mom used to tell us a way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach. Then she said that women don’t eat as much as men do.”

  Janelle laughed. “That sounds like something Queen would say.” She placed her napkin on the table and sat back.

  Damn, Gideon wished she hadn’t done that. He fought hard not to look down at her chest. He had to crank up the heat because he saw her hard nipples through her shirt. After a while, and after buckets of sweat poured from his head, he realized that maybe her reaction had nothing to do with the chill. Maybe, instead, excitement ran through her body, sexual excitement.

  “What happened with Thelma? That was the name of the woman who worked for you, right?” He pushed his plate to the side to give her all his attention.

  “She quit.” Janelle kept her gaze down to the table. “That’s it.”

  A tickle crept up the back of Gideon’s neck. He wouldn’t push her. He wanted tonight to go smoothly.

  She brought her gaze up to meet his. “She was great. If she would come back, I would hire her all over again.” She kept her gaze down to her plate. “But I’ll be okay with her gone. Penny has been my best friend for years. It’s great to be able to work with someone you know and trust.”

  “Kind of like be
ing on a football team.” With his third erection of the night now subsided, he stood and gathered the dishes. “You have to be able to trust that your teammates will have your back.”

  The words he’d spoken resonated with him and brought up memories of his last game. If he truly trusted his team, why hadn’t he thrown the pass to Dennis? Hell, he would hate to admit to Dennis that he’d been right.

  He pushed the thoughts from his mind and piled the dirty dishes next to the sink. When he looked back to the dining room, he found Janelle had moved to one of the kitchen barstools. When she sat, the flap of her dress dropped open, exposing the top of her black stockings.

  Before he could think about all of the scintillating ways he could touch her thighs while she kept the stockings on, he turned back to the sink and started rinsing each plate to load into the dishwasher.

  “I can understand why you weren’t eager to give anything else up that day.” Gideon kept his back to Janelle now that his lower half had started to rise again.

  Down, boy. Let’s get through the night.

  “Yeah, that was a bummer. But there’s more.”

  He stopped loading the dishwasher and returned his attention to her.

  “You don’t remember me, do you?” She gave him a mischievous smile.

  “What are you talking about?” He wiped his hands and moved to the bar directly across from her.

  “At least I think it was you.” She looked down, snickered, and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I will.” She stared him in the eyes before saying, “I think you gave me my first kiss when I was seventeen.”

  Gideon cocked his head but said nothing. He didn’t have the love-’em-and-leave-’em style like Thane, but he hadn’t kept his heart and hormones tied up with one woman like Gunnar either. In the few dates he did have in high school, he didn’t remember ever dating Janelle. He hadn’t even heard of her name until his mother had given him Janelle’s card.

  “I was a huge nerd back in high school, bigger now than back then.” Janelle rested her hands on the bar as she spoke. “I was raised by my maternal grandmother until she passed away when I hit about sixteen. Then I moved in with my mother. My mother, who is the complete opposite of me, kept telling me I needed to get out and meet people. I told her that I wanted to stay home to study. You would think a mother would love hearing that from their child.” She shook her head. “Not ol’ Ida Gold. She had me at fifteen. I guess she must have thought I was a late bloomer.”