Sexy Six

by Ahren Sanders

  “That’s all Logan.” I point to the large office across the hallway. “He’s the brains. I’m still the artsy girl who loves the actual pieces.”

  “It sounds like you two make a great team. I’m glad to hear he came around. Last I remember, he wasn’t on board with your long-term plans. Seems like he found a way to monopolize on both your talents.”

  “He did, but I’m not the only one with a brilliant brother who’s also my agent. Look at you, Mr. Football Star. I hear you’ve done well for yourself.”

  His eyes grow wide, and I realize my mistake immediately.

  “Football Star, huh? You been following me, Grace?”

  Heat creeps up my cheeks as I shrug, trying to play it off. I take another sip, trying to shield my face and failing. I sense his stare and glance up to see his eyes dancing with humor.

  “I may have heard a few things. Not to mention, my brother loves football.”

  “Uh-huh… well, I guess you could say I’ve done well. Shaw’s the best. He’s truly got my best interests in mind, but he’s still my brother, which means he finds a way in my business. A lot.”

  “Tell me about it! Logan and I have worked our asses off to get this gallery up and running. Even with me finishing school, I’ve been involved in every decision. But at the end of the day, he still plays the big brother role.”

  “Well, I have a really great token on my side. Do you remember my best friend, Lizbeth Hastings? We call her Bizzy?”

  “I do remember her.” How could I forget?

  “She’s Bizzy Bennett now. She married Shaw. It came out of nowhere, too. One minute we’re all having dinner, and he invites her on a business trip. Then BAM! They come back in love and completely ridiculous, so anytime he gets out of hand, Bizzy is my buffer.”

  Even though I knew Bizzy married Shaw, I act shocked and laugh along with him. “A business trip led to love? Who knew?”

  “I guess the signs were there if we’d paid attention. She admitted being in love with him for years but never wanted to chance their friendship. But the way he explains it is crazy. He says it literally rocked him to his core. It hit him hard out of the blue, and the trip was his way of getting her alone to see what would happen. There were a few bumps in the road, but they are sickeningly in love. It’s actually nauseating to see sometimes. Imagine your very best friend and your brother. He’s not only in love, though. He’s a madman when it comes to her, so it’s my duty to give him shit every chance I get.”

  He talks more about Shaw and Bizzy, and I’m reminded of the fierce love and loyalty he showed in college when he talked about his family.

  I almost ask about his prank at the foundation dinner but thankfully stop my big mouth. He doesn’t need to know I’d been watching him like a creeper.

  “I think it’s sweet. How’s your other brother?”

  “He’s awesome, doing his residency in Pediatrics at the same hospital Bizzy works. They spend a lot of time together. Actually, we all do. I may give Shaw a lot of shit, but he and Mathis are still my best friends.

  “Enough about me. Tell me about you. Miami is a long way from home, isn’t it? I remember you lived in South Georgia.”

  Usually, I shy away from talking about myself, but with Nick, it comes easily. “I’m amazed you remember that. Yes, I’m from a little town called Thomasville, not too far outside of Tallahassee. My parents still have our family home there, but Logan and I wanted a more booming metropolis for our gallery. We could have gone to Atlanta, but the beach life was more appealing to us both, so we made it happen.”

  He’s quiet for a moment, and I get self-conscious. He stares at me intently, his eyes blank.

  “What?” I ask, wondering what exactly I said to change his mood.

  He sits back up and reaches for my hand, cupping it in his own. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here with you after all these years. You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about seeing you again.”

  “It’s surreal.” My voice is barely a whisper.

  “Yes, it is.” He glances at his watch then mutters something under his breath. “I’d like to do this again, but first, I have to ask you something.”

  My heart stops as I prepare for him to ask why I left and never returned his calls or messages. Why I basically dropped off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again. Sitting here now, seeing him again, my reasons for becoming invisible seem stupid, so I brace for his question.

  “Are you seeing anyone?”

  This is the last question I expected, and I almost choke as I shake my head.

  “Good, because I want to take you out to dinner. Unfortunately, we have an away game this weekend, which means I’m leaving tomorrow. We’re not scheduled to return until Monday. Are you free Monday night?”

  “Won’t you be tired? Indianapolis isn’t an easy trip.”

  His lips tip up in a knowing grin. “How’d you know I’d be in Indy?”

  Busted! Shit, I’m terrible at this secrecy thing. If I don’t learn to shut my big mouth, he’ll know exactly how much I’ve followed him throughout the years, which makes me pathetic. I try my best to act nonchalant and once again blame it on Logan.

  “I told you, my brother likes football.”

  He doesn’t hide his amusement, standing and taking me with him. I was too preoccupied earlier when he hugged me to notice, but he still towers over me, even in my heels.

  My chest bumps into his, and I catch myself by bracing my hand on his stomach, feeling the ripples under his shirt. Involuntarily, my fingers grip the material, and I hold tight.

  His hands move down to mine where he links them together. I draw in a breath and peek up, locking eyes with him. The air in the room changes as he licks his bottom lip. “I’m glad your brother likes football. Maybe he’ll come to a game sometime.”

  “He might like that.” I fight hard not to stutter over my words. He knows I’m lying, but I’ll be damned if I admit it. I’ve given too much away already.

  “I hate to leave, but I’ve got to get to the stadium. Can I call you tonight?”

  “I’d like that.”

  He gently removes my hands from his stomach but keeps one firmly in his grasp and leads us to the front of the gallery. When we get to the door, he turns to me and pulls his phone out of his back pocket.

  “What’s your number?”

  I rattle off my new Miami number and hear my phone ringing in my purse in the back room. He puts the phone to his ear and waits.

  “Hey, Grace, it’s Nick. I’m standing here with you, so I know you’ll get this message. I’m heading to work, but I’ll call you around eight. If I miss you, call me back.” He hangs up and drops the phone back into his pocket.

  “I’m standing right here, you know?” I say playfully, my butterflies returning. Two years is a long time, but he still has the ability to make my heart flutter.

  “Yes, but I wanted to give you a reminder.”

  “I see you haven’t lost your charm.”

  His face takes on a new expression, one I’ve seen once before, and I fight to keep the tears at bay.

  “It’s been a long time, Grace, since anyone has called me charming. I’ve gotta say, it feels good.”

  “Nick, I’m sorry,” is all I can get out before his finger crosses my lips.

  “Not now, Sweet Grace. Not now. I’m dying to know what happened, but not when I have to leave and you have to work. We’ll talk about it later. But promise me something.”

  “What?”

  “Promise me you’ll answer this time when I call.”

  “I promise,” I respond immediately.

  He leans in and brushes his lips across mine in a wisp of a kiss. Then he kisses my forehead before stepping back and letting me go. “It’s really good to see you, Grace.”

  I don’t get a chance to respond before he’s gone and climbing into his truck with a wave. As soon as he’s driven away, I place my fingers to my lips and am transported back to my apartment
two years ago when he did the same thing. That was one of the single greatest moments of my life at the time.

  Chapter 4

  Nick

  “Stop riding my ass!” I throw a shirt at Mathis’s face. “I told you, it wasn’t the time.”

  “I don’t get it. Why not? Couldn’t you just say, ‘Hey, Grace, what happened?’” He tosses the shirt back, and I fold it to pack in my suitcase.

  “You really need some friends… Or I do, one or the other. I can’t believe your ass is here drilling me about this. Don’t you have babies and children to heal?”

  “Ha ha ha… I’m on call, so I’m free to badger you until I get a straight answer. Why didn’t you ask her?”

  “Because it wasn’t right. I can’t explain it.” I raise my eyes to see him watching me with contempt. Out of the three of us, he’s the most level-headed. He dissects situations until he’s made sense of them. I’m more of the hothead, and Shaw is the lawyer—type A to the finest degree. My parents are saints. I realized that as soon as I made the Pros. Thank God for Bizzy to level out the testosterone in my family, or my mom may have gone crazy.

  “Can you try? Walk me through it.”

  There’s no way I’m going to tell Mathis how I arrived early enough to watch Grace open the gallery and walk mindlessly around rearranging things, or how I snuck out and ran to the coffee shop hoping they knew what Grace liked to drink.

  Lucky for me, it was a very quiet morning and no one recognized me. The coffee shop owner was a bit stand-offish when I walked in. As soon as I mentioned having an appointment with Grace, she thawed, and I knew then Grace was still the same. Once you met her, you couldn’t help but like her.

  “I can’t describe it. It was too much and not enough at the same time.” I walk across my bedroom and slump into a chair. “To say she was gorgeous isn’t right. It’s not good enough, but it’s more. She was the same girl and yet so different. I knew immediately that something bad happened. No words were shared, but when she practically leaped into my arms, I felt it. She was trembling, so I watched my words carefully and tried to keep the mood light. When I brought her tea inside, she actually shed a tear. It threw me for a loop.”

  “She cried over tea?” He cocks an eyebrow and bites the side of his bottom lip. “That seems weird.”

  “I thought so, too, until we started talking. But I couldn’t push. She needs to tell me what happened in her own time.”

  “So, I hate to sound like Bizzy or Mom, but was it there? The attraction you’ve held on to for two years, is it still there?”

  I half-groan, half-laugh, nodding my head. “Fuck yeah, it was. But this time it was stronger. This woman is amazing. She’s humble and shy, but she’s not fooling me. In the few seconds I wasn’t staring at her, I saw some of her work. She’s talented, but it’s more than that. She’s dedicated.

  “I’m going to regret telling you this, and I swear it’s going to bite me in the ass, but only one time in my life have I ever felt this connection to anyone. Let me give you a hint; that woman is now our sister.”

  He rolls off my bed and leaves the room, coming back with two bottles of water. I take the water he offers with a quiet thanks.

  “I get it, and I respect it, so good luck.” He pats me on the back. “But I have a condition… If this thing gets serious, promise me there’s not a baby mama in the wings to stir shit up.”

  I hold in my laughter until it bursts out of me. Together, we tap the tip of our waters in cheers. “I can promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, there is no baby in my future.”

  Only we can joke about this since Shaw’s situation knocked everyone for a loop. He found a way to fuck things up royally, but luckily, it worked out with Bizzy.

  “So what’s the next step?”

  “I’m gonna call her tonight, take it easy for a few days, but when I get back into town Monday, it’s on.”

  “Do you have an actual plan?”

  “Besides instilling myself in her space every chance I get? Not yet, but it’ll come.”

  “That sounds like an awful plan. Have you ever actually dated anyone? Women like to be wooed, swept off their feet, treated like royalty… all that shit. Getting in her space seems a little creepy.”

  “What the hell do you know about dating? Wooing? Sweeping off feet? Are all those women you work with rubbing off on you?”

  Heat creeps up his cheeks, and he tries to hide it by flicking me off. “No, I’m saying maybe—”

  “Stop right there. I’ll save you any more embarrassment. Grace already thinks I’m charming. She said so herself. I’ll turn up the Bennett charm and see what happens. It can’t be that hard. Look at Shaw.”

  “Shaw took Bizzy to a beach resort and put her in a thousand dollar a night suite. Their love story is the talk of the fucking nurse’s lounge on a daily basis, so I’ve heard more than I ever wanted to.”

  “That’s kind of my point. Shaw spent four hours away from her and never let her out of his sight the entire trip. I’d say he got in her space. Seems like a good plan.”

  “Jesus.” He runs his hand through his hair, shaking his head. “You two are ridiculous. No wonder Mom loves me the best. I’m the only one with any sense.”

  “Hey! I take offense to that. I’m the favorite!” I throw my water cap at his head, which he easily sidesteps.

  He laughs, watching me closely. “Did Grace really say you were charming?”

  “Absolutely. Does that surprise you?”

  “No, it makes me wonder about her sanity. Maybe I need to meet her soon, determine her mental stability and see if she needs medical care.”

  “Maybe you should try working your own charm and make a move. You’re not fooling anyone. I see the way you look at Claire.” It’s a dick thing to change the subject off of me and focus on him.

  His face changes, going from fun-loving to serious, something I’m used to seeing when it comes to Claire Dixon.

  “Not cool. My situation is completely different.” He turns his back to me and goes to sit on the edge of my bed.

  “Why are you holding back, Mathis? She’s obviously into you, too.”

  “I’m not talking about Claire. It’s complicated.”

  “How?”

  He stares at me long enough for me to think he’s actually going to talk about his feelings for Bizzy’s best friend, who’s also a fellow nurse at the hospital. Then he leans back and ignores the question. “Tell me about your game strategy this weekend. I’m pretty sure the defense has a bulls-eye on your head. You embarrassed the shit out of Indy last year, and they’re aiming for revenge.”

  I let the conversation about Claire drop, knowing he’ll talk when he’s ready, and fill him in on the basic overview of the game plan. We spend the next thirty minutes talking about football until he gets up to leave.

  “Good luck, man. I’ll call you Sunday morning before the game. Keep your head straight, your eye on the ball, and be safe.” He gives me a quick fist bump and walks out. I hear the door shut a few seconds later and grab my phone, noticing I have five minutes until eight.

  A text dings, and my heart sinks when I see the message.

  SG: This is Grace. I’m so sorry, but I forgot about a work event tonight. Can we talk tomorrow?

  Well, fuck! I sit for a minute, thinking of a response when my phone dings again.

  SG: I know it sounds lame, but I have to attend a street fair in South Beach tonight. It’s loud and rowdy, and sometimes cell service doesn’t work. I promised to meet a professor from UM who has some graduate work to show. The students are excited. This was set up a few weeks ago.

  I smile to myself, and the tension eases. My Grace is rambling, and it’s adorable even through text. I inwardly pat myself on the back for my ‘SG’ contact entry because, to me, she is Sweet Grace.

  It sucks she’s busy, but it eases any doubt knowing she’s thinking about me and not blowing me off again.

  Me: Don’t’ worry about it. I’ll call
you tomorrow morning. Good luck.

  I hit send and wait, wondering if she’ll respond. She doesn’t disappoint.

  SG: If I forgot to tell you today, thank you for the tea. It was really great to see you. Looking forward to tomorrow morning.

  With those few words, my mood soars, and tomorrow morning can’t come soon enough.

  “So what do you do for the next two days? How does this work?” Grace’s curiosity gives me a feeling of warmth as I find a secluded seat at the edge of the terminal.

  A part of me was apprehensive about what to expect this morning. After I finished packing and got into bed last night, I thought of how crazy this whole situation is—me finding her after all this time and basically barging into her gallery to see if my memories were figments of my imagination. The instant my eyes landed on her, I knew I felt something, but what?

  And how did I plan on proceeding? I’ve never dated, and there’s good reason. Casual hook-ups were few and far between, especially after seeing what happened to Shaw. No psycho woman was coming after me with an unintentional pregnancy. Without knowing it, Shaw became the best form of birth control.

  So I laid there thinking, wondering the best way to move forward. I didn’t lie to Mathis; I plan to be in her space, but until next week, what could I do? This is uncharted territory for me, and the one person who could help me is Bizzy. But I still kept my mouth shut, deciding to navigate through these new waters alone.

  I didn’t know what to expect when I called this morning, but Grace surprised me by easing right into a conversation.

  “It’s pretty basic. Once we arrive, we go to the hotel and get settled. Later this afternoon, we’ll go to the stadium, walk the field, and maybe run a few drills. Tonight is an in-house strategy meeting. Tomorrow’s more of the same, except late tomorrow afternoon when the team rep has set up a meet and greet with a local fan group. Then Sunday, we get to the stadium early for pre-game prep. The game is at four, then afterwards, hopefully there’ll be a celebration before heading home early Monday.”

  “Are any of your family coming?”

  “Yes, Shaw and Bizzy will be there.”