The Scheme

Kendy had called and wanted to hang out, because she was bored at home, so I invited her over. After what Trey had said, I shouldn’t have. And even though she’d be a distraction, I knew there was no way I could say no to her.

Kendy flipped through the cha

I lifted my head and noticed her signature pout. I wondered if she was doing it on purpose, or if it was just a natural reaction for her. A big part of me wanted to bite her bottom lip, which was jutting out, then maybe we’d just have di

I shifted to adjust myself. “Give me thirty minutes.” I promised her di

She only bit her bottom lip then stared at the TV as though she was upset by the reality dance show she was watching.

As I focused on the financials in front of me and studied the manufacturing company’s business, my stomach churned. I had an important customer call with the client tomorrow. If I impressed the CFO, I could secure a meeting with the decision maker, the CEO of the company. I had to convince the Tiggins Corporation why they should leave their current bank and bring their business over to Financial State.

I rubbed my brow, squinting at the write-up on my screen. I had memorized my pitch, yet somehow I knew I could tighten it up, make it even better. Letting out a heavy sigh, I tilted my head from side to side to ease the tension in my shoulders.

When I peered up at Kendy, I couldn’t help but smile as her knees bounced to the hip-hop music the dancers were performing to.

Something about this girl calmed me. There was an overall lightness to her aura that was contagious. A minute ago, I was about to pound my head against the computer. Now, just watching her, I felt my whole body loosening up. She was like my own personal beer on legs. All I needed was a dose of her at the end of a long ass day to relax me.

But as I let that sink in, I remembered Trey’s assumptions, and my smile slowly faded. Jackass was haunting my thoughts.

I debated telling her that maybe we could order in, but I didn’t want to see her famous pout again. I didn’t want to disappoint her when she’d come down specifically because I’d promised her di

My fingers worked faster on the keyboard, trying to finish my work up so I could satisfy this hunger in my belly and feed my girl.

My girl?

Closing my eyes, I took in a slow, jagged breath. Fu

Now what was I going to do about it?

I guess I needed to finish the task at hand and eventually feed my girl.

***

KENDY

Bored out of my mind, I had the sudden urge to mess with him, but that would prolong me getting fed. But then an awesome idea entered my head so I poked his side.

His stare was intently glued on his screen that I startled him, and he jumped at my touch.

“Hey, do you want to watch a movie after di

The side of his mouth curled up in a slight smile. “I just have to get this proposal done, and we can do whatever you want.” He was so focused that he hadn’t glanced my way. I was throwing him my Kendy sex look, but it didn’t help my case if he couldn’t see it.

I started to unbutton my shirt, and then laughed when his eyes flickered toward me. Now I had his full attention. My fingers stopped on the third button, revealing my pink polka dot bra, which was a large contrast to my black button down.

He quirked an eyebrow, amused.

Seizing the moment, I shut his laptop, placed it on the low center table and climbed into his lap, straddling him. “That’ll be here when you get back. Come on, they’re showing that Zombie movie. Oooh, scary,” I taunted him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I pulled him even closer and gave him my pretend sad face, knowing he couldn’t resist.

He smiled back at me, but his eyes flickered down at his watch. I saw the indecision in his eyes. I was about to convince him with kisses when he ran one hand down his face and let out a low sigh. “What time is the next showing?”

“Eight!” I yelped, jumping up and down on his lap, knowing I’d won.

“Easy, beautiful.” He chuckled darkly. “You keep doing that, and we won’t be making the movies.”

I kissed his lips long and hard as his hands wrapped around my waist.

Pulling back, I said, “I want popcorn, a Slurpee, and Snowcaps.” I kissed his cheek again then instantly debated if this was crossing the FTF line. But I wanted to watch this movie, so I pushed down the little voice of reason in the back of my head.

He stood, forcing me off his lap. “Let’s go before it gets too late. I have to finish this proposal. I need to secure this deal tomorrow.”

I barely refrained from groaning. I was a selfish little witch. I knew he had work to do, but still . . . I wanted to watch my movie. And for whatever reason, I wanted to watch it with him.

“We’ll have to grab a quick di

“Better yet, let’s grab a hotdog at the movie theatre.” I wasn’t normally into greasy food, but my stomach was suddenly grumbling for a hotdog.

He snaked one arm around my waist and pulled me in. “Great idea.” He pecked my lips sweetly, which awakened the butterflies in my stomach.

I bit my lip and peered up at him through my lashes, studying his strong yet handsome features. I drowned in the sea of blue looking down at me, and a lightness spread throughout my limbs.

Releasing a silent sigh, I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him again. “Thank you,” I whispered against his lips.

***

BRIAN

Her makeup was scattered all over my bathroom counter. She told me she needed five minutes to freshen up, but as I rested against the frame of the bathroom door, I wondered how long her five minutes would actually be. Probably as long as Trey’s five minutes.

I rubbed the back of my neck, forced stress off my face and tried not to let my impatience show. My watch indicated it was almost time to go, and I counted the number of hours I had left before tomorrow’s morning call. I was torn. My responsible side needed to get my shit together and get the proposal done, but my fun side wanted to let loose and enjoy the evening with Kendy.

She cast me a look and flung her makeup brush in my direction, barely missing my chest, which made me laugh. “You will not be thinking of work when you’re with me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I lifted my hand to salute her.

With her, all sensible logic flew out the door. This woman, I swear, had a way to get me to do whatever she wanted, where there was no way I could say no to her.

Fu

My jaw locked automatically as soon as the thought filtered through.

“Loosen up. Going out tonight will do you good. Work smurf. That stuff will be there tomorrow.”

“All right then, Ms. Fashionista. You don’t want to be late for your movie, so hurry your ass up.” I picked up the brush and tossed it with a swish back in her bag.

I was constantly having this internal struggle within myself, listing reasons why I shouldn’t be with her, reminding myself that she was ready to hook up and marry this other guy.

I’d played our conversations over and over again in my head. Her constantly talking about him. When I thought of Stiff, I pictured myself knocking him on his ass, staking a claim on her as they had in the caveman days.