The Scheme

“You’re pretty confident,” I quipped.

“Yes, well I have a lot of experience in the language of love.” She tilted toward me as if telling me a little secret then ducked her head until she was mere inches from me. “And I’ve got the power of the ‘P’.” Her eyes moved downward to between her legs. A small laugh escaped her lips. “Heaven on Earth down there,” she whispered before winking.

Well, hell.

My cock hardened at her seductive tone, and my eyes traveled the length of her body. She had said it half-jokingly, but somehow I knew she meant it. I shifted to adjust myself, and it seemed as though she’d caught it, because the next second, she took a step back.

“You, my friend,” she said, pointing a finger in my direction, “are never going to feel the power. I’m not trying to marry you.” She raised her chin in indignation then turned around to grab the rest of the mess. “Good luck, Brian. There are papers on the counter with instructions. Refrain from getting the stitches wet. They should dissolve in a week or two, just like the doctor said.”

She didn’t bother to turn around, and all I could think was that she had some magical shit happening down there. Supernatural powers that could quite possibly change one man’s world. I adjusted myself from the major erection I had going on, and once I deemed it safe, I went to look for Trey.

THREE

KENDY

I rubbed my eyes open and looked at the digital clock on my mahogany dresser. The red numbers indicated three in the afternoon.

I stretched my arms, reaching toward the ceiling and released a satisfying sigh. My muscles were still tense, my body tired from my twelve-hour shift last night. More than that, my brain was mentally exhausted from all the run-ins with people from my former life.

The air conditioning in the background blasted on high. It was so comfortable I debated going back to sleep, but I remembered my meeting with a certain doctor, which jolted me from my half slumber and had an instant smile on my face.

My phone rang next to me, breaking me from my thoughts. A picture of my arm thrown around a beautiful brunette, my cousin, Beth, flashed on the screen. I picked up on the second ring.

“Kendy!” she squealed. Of course she had been up for hours already, since it was well into the afternoon.

“Hey,” I replied, my voice still hoarse.

“Sorry I missed your call yesterday. Kent and I . . . well . . .”

I groaned. “I don’t need to hear about your porno-filled escapades.”

She giggled, and I smiled as heaviness grew in my chest. I missed her. Our roles were reversed now. I had played the role of comforting her when she’d moved to Chicago, and now that she was all settled in and I had moved to New York, far away from family, I was the one who needed comforting.

I didn’t want to seem needy, so I spewed out information I knew she’d find interesting. “You’ll never guess who came strolling into my hospital with a busted eye.”

“Who?”

“Brian-freaking-Benson.”

“No way.” Her pitch increased an octave. “Wow, what’re the chances? What happened to his eye?”

“Well, he accidentally fell on someone’s fist.” I chuckled.

“Kendy, that’s not fu

“I know.” I thought back to the night before, him bleeding all over his shirt and the six-pack he’d been rocking. I sighed. “Seriously though, he was the cutest thing. All bleeding and shirtless. Remind me again. You guys never got naked, did you?”

“No! We never went that far. And quiet yourself down, Kent is right beside me.”

I laughed at her unease. “What? He’s right inside you? Kinky. I like.”

“Stop it, please,” she whispered. “How’s he doing, anyway?”

“He looked fine. I mean, whoa, that boy is fine, fine, fine. Are you sure you didn’t pick the wrong guy?”

“Kendy,” she scolded again. I heard her shift and whisper to Kent. “There’s only one for me.”

I heard a smacking of lips and rolled my eyes. I needed a barf bag at how unbelievably cute they were.

“Hold on, I’m moving into the living room.”

“Holding,” I replied, shifting off the comforter. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, headed to the kitchen, then reached into the fridge for a jug of milk. I was probably the only adult in NYC who loved cold milk in the middle of the afternoon. Growing up, it was always hot cocoa in the evening before I went to sleep, and cold ass milk in the morning with my cereal and afternoon snack. Milk had done my body good.

I tipped my glass back, enjoying the cold drink, which awakened me further. As I set my glass down on the counter, I wondered if Beth had put me on hold to have a quickie with her man. “Girlfriend, you there?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Kent gets all loco jealous. You know him.”

I would’ve spewed out some smartass remark, but I held my tongue. In their relationship, Beth wore the pants.

“I just wanted to check on you. I worry about you being there all alone.”

“You worry about me? Pfft. I’ve got my big girl panties on. I’ve met a couple people at work. I’m all good in the neighborhood.” I held the phone closer to my ear as my body slumped against the counter. I missed her voice, but I didn’t want to be that needy friend. If I complained that these people I’d met were nice, but nothing compared to our eighteen years of friendship, she’d book the next flight to New York.

“Kendy?”

“Yeah?”

“Was Brian okay?”

“Is this your guilty conscience talking?” I tilted my head.

I knew she had no feelings for the boy. She was with the guy she was meant to be with, but still. Beth was no heartbreaker, and she probably still felt some sort of guilt from how things had ended.

“He looked great, Beth. Really,” I said. “Plus, I didn’t really talk to him. But guess who else I saw?” I paused for dramatic effect. “Chlamydia Clary.” I bit back the bile creeping up my throat as thoughts of that fake witch resurfaced.

Now it was her turn to laugh at my misfortune. “Whoa, you have all the luck.” She knew how much I hated that boyfriend-stealing hoe.

“I know! Go figure. As big as New York is, two people I knew from before walk into my hospital. What’re the chances?”

“No kidding,” she replied. “I wouldn’t bank on wi

“Seriously.” My eyes moved to the pile of bills I had to run to the post office, reminding me of all the things I needed to get done. “Hey, I gotta get this day going. I have a meeting with the doc tonight, but I’ve got some errands to run first.” I stared at the clock, noting that I had more than enough time to run my errands, tidy up a bit, and get ready for tonight’s mega meet up.

“Oh, you didn’t tell me.” Her voice hitched with excitement. “You guys are finally official?”

“No, but soon enough, babe. Don’t you worry.” I wasn’t. It was going to happen. I could feel it in my bones. Sarah and I had a foolproof plan.

“I know,” she said, sarcasm etching her tone. “The psychic’s prediction . . . yeah, yeah.”

My eyebrows pulled together as I focused on my glass of milk. I ran my finger against the condensation which had formed on the outside of the glass.

Evangeline’s predictions were my only lifeline, my hope of any future for happiness. But Beth didn’t take any of this seriously. Easy for her. Her life was perfect now.

I ignored her sarcasm and bit my lip as a shadow of disappointment filled me. “Well, I guess I should go. Love you. Tell your lover boy I said hi.” I hung up before she could get another word in.

After I ended our call, I rushed to the shower. Tonight was going to be big, and I needed to clear my head of negative thoughts. Plus, I needed to shave—ahem, everything—and figure out what I was going to wear. Hopefully tonight would be Dr. Hot Pants’ lucky night. And mine.

***