Tabitha grimaced. Rick Stevens. Probably one of her biggest mistakes. She had gotten lucky by not getting pregnant by him. She'd dated him all through high school and most of college. She had thought they were going to get married when she graduated. That was until her parents died and he'd shown his true colors.
Her parents had been killed in a car accident her last semester of college. Her father had died instantly, but her mother had lingered on. They'd both had health and life insurance, but her mother's long-term care had wiped out everything they had. Rick had stood by her for as long as it took to find out she was broke and had a young sister to raise. Then he had hightailed it out of town.
Since then she'd dedicated her life to making sure Carol had the best life possible, even without parents.
"No, my parents died almost ten years ago. I have been Carol's guardian since then."
"I am sorry."
Tabitha nodded. “Thank you.” Changing the subject, she turned to the door of the living room. “I don't know what's taking that girl so long. Let me get her for you."
* * * *
Tabitha sat through some of the interview, but eventually left them alone while she worked on dinner. It seemed to be going fairly well. Johnny had quizzed Carol on her plans for the near and distant future, as well as her dreams and desires. It had seemed more like a friendly get-together than an entrance interview for an exclusive college program.
Tabitha's concerns about the program had been allayed, too. Both by what Johnny had said, and by the fact he was behind the program itself. She trusted the man.
She also lusted after the man. That apparently hadn't changed in the last fifteen years. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with a sport coat and casual pants that framed his body well. Tab was willing to bet he still worked out on a regular basis. The clothes hid more of him than she liked, though. When she caught herself licking her lips as she thought of straddling him and seeing how hard and firm his body really was, she decided she would excuse herself from the rest of the interview. If they needed her, they would call.
They were just getting ready to say goodbye, and Tabitha was breathing a sigh of relief when it happened. The sound of plaster crashing down on the dining room table, followed by the patter of water dripping had the three of them running to the dining room.
Part of the ceiling was now on the table, along with a considerable amount of water, which was rapidly dripping onto the floor.
"Shit!” Tabitha ran to the basement to shut off water to the house. One good thing about the previous amount of damage, at least she knew were everything was. When she got back upstairs, Carol was on the floor wiping up the water that was everywhere, and most of the plaster had disappeared. Johnny was nowhere to be seen.
"Where'd he go?"
"He took a load of the plaster out to the trash barrels. He said he'd be right back."
Just then, Johnny walked in with a trash bag and push broom in his hand. “I found these where you said they'd be, Carol.” He looked at Tabitha and smiled before pushing the remaining plaster pieces into a pile.
"You don't have to do that."
"Nonsense. You stopped the water already. I'm here. The least I can do is help clean up."
Tabitha noticed that he had already taken his coat off. He had obviously been taking care of himself over the years. His well built torso had her own body responding eagerly at the sight. His dark brown skin contrasted nicely with the white of his shirt, and Tabitha's earlier desire to see what was under that crisp white material reared its head once again.
Pushing her hormones aside, Tabitha went to get something to help scoop up the plaster.
With the three of them working together, it took little time to get the dining room in at least some semblance of order.
"Do you have a ladder?"
"What for?"
"I wanna get up there and check what the problem is."
"Johnny, you don't have—"
"Tabitha, I want to. Now stop it and tell me where the ladder is."
Tabitha instructed him where to find the ladder, and while he was gone, she and Carol moved the dining room table off to the side. He came in and set it up before climbing up the rungs. Tabitha winced at the condition of his pants and shoes.
"I think I can fix this. Give me an hour or two to get my tools and come back, and you'll have running water again by this evening."
Tabitha waited until he was on the ground again before protesting. “Johnny, please—"
Again he cut her off, only this time, with a finger to her lips. “Tab, enough already. It's no big deal. I can fix it without any major difficulty, so why shouldn't I? I'll be back in a couple hours."
Before she could protest any further, he winked at Carol as he grabbed his suit coat and walked out the door.
"What a hunk."
Tabitha shook her head. “What? No he's not. Well, yes, he is, but you shouldn't be thinking about that. You should be thinking about the fact his good opinion is what you need to get into the program, not how well he filled out that shirt."
Carol laughed. “Are you gonna tell me who he is?"
"You know who he is. He's Doctor Dow, and works at the university."
"Tab, he called you by your first name. Not only by your first name, but your nickname. And you have been uncomfortable since he got here. Now are you gonna spill the beans or do I have to ask Aunt Kim to tell me?"
Kim was Tabitha's best friend, and had been since middle school. She knew all about Tab's crush on Johnny Dow and Tab was sure she would relish, and embellish the telling.
"He was my first big crush in high school. He was the hot football player who all the girls wanted.” As she talked, Tabitha walked into the kitchen to get both of them some lemonade. It was getting warm outside, and she could use the drink. Carol followed her, continuing her line of questioning.
"But you were dating Rick."
Tabitha frowned as she poured the drinks. “Don't remind me. But this was before Rick. Johnny was a year ahead of us. I didn't even think he knew who I was back then, never mind that he would remember me now."
"Did you know he was the professor I was gonna meet?"
"Hell, no. The Johnny Dow I knew had little use for academics, and even less use for administrators. Not that he was a bad kid, really, he just had other interests. He kept his grades up enough to play sports, but we all knew that once he graduated he was out of here, and never coming back."
"Well what changed all that?"
"He said he just realized he was interested in more. I guess he grew up."
* * * *
Johnny arrived in less than the promised two hours. He had changed clothes, and had a large toolbox with him. He definitely looked like he knew what he was doing, too. Although to be honest, Tabitha lost the ability to think once she opened the door to him.
He walked straight to the dining room and went up the ladder after giving her a smile that sent her heart aflutter and her pussy clenching. His jeans were tight enough to look like they had been painted on. They hugged his ass and thighs like a second skin, and she found herself itching to get a hold of them. His dark blue t-shirt hugged his pecs equally well, leaving her hot and bothered and almost unable to answer when he asked her a question.
"You said you've had more than one plumber look into the problem?"
"Well, the same one. He's come out twice, did something each time and said it was fixed."
"And probably charged you an arm and a leg each time, too. He wouldn't have been able to find anything unless he had gone through the ceiling or the floor above. I can see the problem here. The joints between the old and new plumbing have popped a leak. It's actually an easy fix, but a pain to get to.
"The other guy was probably too damn lazy to do it."
"Well now that you've found it, why don't you come down and let me call someone else to fix it?"
"Don't you trust me to fix it?"
"No it's not that. I don't want you to
feel like you have to.” And I want you out of my house before I jump your bones. How dare you come in here with jeans so tight they leave nothing to the imagination? I haven't been able to think of anything since you showed up on our porch other than getting you inside of me.
"It's not a problem, Tab, quit worrying."
"Well, fine. Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes."
"Are you offering to cook for me?” He poked his head out from the ceiling to look at her with his wickedly sexy grin.
"No, I wanted to know which delivery guy I should call to your house."
"That might be problematic, as no one is home at the moment."
"Girlfriend not home?” Tabitha had already noted he had no wedding ring on his finger.
His laugh sent tremors through her body. “Nope, sorry. No wife, girlfriend or boyfriend."
"Well, the lasagna will be ready soon."
"Great. I love Italian. And it smells delicious. I hope you didn't go to any trouble for me."
"No, I had the day off and started making the sauce before you showed up. I usually make a huge pot and then freeze it."
"Sounds perfect."
"Fine. Whatever.” Tabitha grumbled and walked away. She could hear him chuckling as she strode into the kitchen.
"What is your problem, sister of mine?” Carol attacked her almost the second she walked in the room.
"What are you talking about?” Tabitha knew she wasn't being overly polite to Johnny, but dammit, she didn't want him here. She didn't need him here upsetting her equilibrium. Things in her life were unsettled enough, she didn't need him adding more confusion to it.
"Why are you being so rude to him? You're acting like you want him to leave."
"Don't be silly. He's doing us a favor."
"He's a hottie, isn't he?"
Tabitha pulled things out of the fridge, placing them on the counter as she debated how to answer her sister. She didn't remember him being quite this hot. But then a body at seventeen was much different than that of a grown man's.
"I thought you said he was a hunk? But, yes, he's a hottie."
"I think he's interested in you."
"He is not interested in me."
"What do you mean he's not interested? Every time I look at him, he's watching you."
Was it true? Was he watching her? Why would someone like that be interested in her? She was plain, boring, had a house falling apart around her ears, and nothing to offer any man, least of all one as hot and sexy as Johnny Dow.
"Carol, enough. He's helping out an old schoolmate, that's it. Let's just leave it at that."
"Woman, you need to have some fun in your life."
"I have plenty of fun."
Carol looked at her for a minute and shook her head before walking to the stairs. “Don't forget, Esther is coming to get me in about ten minutes. It's Robin's birthday tonight and we're staying over at her place."
"Damn. I forgot. You haven't even had dinner yet, though."
"Don't worry, Robin's ordering pizza."
"Why didn't you remind me?"
Carol shot a grin over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs. “'Cause then you wouldn't have made such a nice dinner for our guest."
Before Tabitha could stop sputtering, Carol's laughter had faded at the top of the staircase.
* * * *
"Carol said bye before she left."
"Yeah, sorry. She had plans already and I totally forgot."
"Would you rather I head out myself then?"
"No, of course not."
"No hot date tonight?"
Tabitha snorted, “Yeah, right. With the Sci-Fi channel."
"I still can't believe they cancelled Stargate."
Tabitha looked up. Johnny Dow a sci-fi nerd?
Johnny shook his head. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I've always been into sci-fi. Don't tell anyone."
Tabitha ran her finger over her chest. “Cross my heart."
She watched as his eyes followed her fingers across her chest, and her nipples perked to attention. He licked his lips, leaving her in no doubt he saw the telltale response of her body. Maybe wearing the little tank top wasn't the best idea, but it was warm out, and she had been in the kitchen cooking, with the oven on. It had made sense to change into it. At least somewhere in her mind it had.
Ding.
Saved by the bell. “That's the lasagna. Let me get it out, and um, it has to sit for about fifteen minutes, but then we can eat."
"Great, just tell me where to turn the water on and I will go wash up."
Tabitha gave him directions to the shut off valve and finished preparing the salad. Once she was done, she put the bread in the oven and ran upstairs to wash up as well.
"What are you doing, woman? You should send him home now.” Talking to herself had been a bad habit of Tabitha's as long as she could remember. Sometimes it seemed to help, and others she just talked herself in circles.
"I can't send him home after everything he did for us, the least I can do is give him a decent dinner. Fine, give him dinner, but then get him out. Oh, shut up, woman."
"Tabitha? Is everything okay?"
Tabitha looked up and saw Johnny. His wet hair framed his sharp cheekbones, bringing out the blue in his eyes. Tabitha watched as a drop of water ran down the side of his throat, into the neck of his navy shirt. His shirt was damp and clung to him even closer than it had before, leaving her in no doubt as to his physical fitness. His pecs were just begging to be caressed, and his biceps made her body flush.
She swallowed as she realized her mouth had gone dry while she stared at him in her doorway. “Yeah. Sorry, babbling to myself."
"You sure?"
"Mm hm.” Damn, he was yummy looking. Tabitha wanted nothing more than to gobble him up. Milk chocolate was her favorite dessert.
"Well, I'll just take the bread out of the oven, and meet you downstairs, okay?"
Tabitha shook herself out of her lascivious thoughts. “Sure, thanks.” She watched as he walked down the hall and started down the stairs. “Stupid woman. Stupid, stupid woman. What on earth is going on in your head? Get your hormones in check, get changed and go eat dinner with him so he can leave. Just because you're thinking with your sex organs, doesn't mean he is."
Finally dressed in a light shirt and broomstick skirt, Tabitha headed downstairs to join her guest.
* * * *
"That was incredible, Tab. Where did you learn how to cook like that?"
Tabitha blushed. “My mom was a great cook, she tried to pass on some of it to me."
"Well she did an excellent job of it.” Johnny sat back at the table and took a sip of his wine. Tabitha watched his throat as he swallowed. Damn. She had to stop that.
What the hell was wrong with her anyway? She hadn't wanted a man like this in years. Hell, she didn't know if she had ever wanted a man like this. It must be the time of year. Spring fever. She hadn't been with a man in God knew how long. That's it. It was just the time of the year. Linda had just gotten engaged, she was just craving attention.
Tabitha knew she was fooling herself, but right now she had nothing else to go on, and she needed to get some semblance of sanity here.
"Thank you."
Johnny stood up and picked up her dish as well as his own before she could stop him.
"What are you doing? You don't have to do that."
"You cooked, I clean."
"Johnny, you fixed my ceiling, it was the least I could do.” Tabitha followed him to the sink with their wineglasses. Before she could say anything he had already started running the water and scraped the remains into the trash.
After the kitchen was clean, and the leftovers put away, he turned to her with a smile that made her week in the knees.
"Now, you said something about the Sci-Fi channel?"
"You don't really watch it, do you?"
"Of course I do. I need my regular dose of nerdiness, thank you very much. Anyway, if I didn't, how could I keep up with my stu
dents?” Somehow, he had managed to trap her against the island in the middle of the kitchen. His hands lay on the counter, not touching her, but not letting her go anywhere, either. There were mere inches separating them.
She couldn't breathe. His scent filled her nostrils and she felt herself float away on a cloud of desire as all common sense flew out the window.
"Honestly, Tab? There is something I would much rather be doing."
"Really? What would that be?” Her voice came out high-pitched, but breathy.
"This.” At the touch of his lips her body exploded. Heat radiated to every extremity and nerve ending. She felt on fire and more alive than she had in years.
Instinctively her arms went around his neck and she returned his kiss with a fervor that threatened to overtake her. She had lusted after this man throughout her entire high school years, and every man she met since then had been subconsciously compared to him. How she had known it would be like this, she didn't know, but it felt right. It seemed that it was meant to be.
His tongue probed her mouth for admittance and she eagerly opened up to let him in. He tasted of wine and tomato sauce, and a taste that was all his own. Mixed with his purely masculine scent, it sent her body into overdrive.
His hands roamed her back, pulling her tighter against him. Tabitha moaned at the feel of his hard body against her.
"Shit.” His voice was husky and choked with desire as he lay his forehead against hers.
"What?"
"We shouldn't do this."
Tabitha felt as though a gallon of cold water had been dumped over her. Immediately she tried to pull back. “Okay, fine. Sorry."
Johnny's hands held her tight. “I didn't say I didn't want to do this. I said we shouldn't."
"What's the difference?” Tabitha could feel her face heating up. The first guy she shows any interest in in years, and he didn't want her. How could she have been so wrong?
"Tab. Stop struggling.” He pulled her waist against him. Well, if he wasn't interested, she knew his body was. “God, woman, I want you more than any woman I have ever known, but this isn't right."
What he was saying was finally penetrating into her skull. “Why because you're black and I'm white?"
Tarot Card Anthology: Synchronicity Volume 3 Page 11
