Silken Embrace. Zuri Day

and answered.

      “Hello?”

      “Good morning, Ms. Robinson.”

      Her eyes flew open. “Terrell?”

      “I wish I could say I’m sorry for waking you up, but what I really feel bad about is that I’m not there with you.”

      “You’re such a playboy,” she said with a chuckle, rolling over and getting out of bed. She left the room in search of tea.

      “Is that what I am?”

      “Absolutely.”

      “What makes you say that?”

      “Where do I start? It could be that woman-magnet sports car you drive. Or the daggers shot at me by every woman who saw us together in the Cove Café. Or better yet, what about the woman who invited herself to our table?”

      “Hey...”

      “No, wait, I’m not done. Let’s not leave out the lover’s lair you own in San Francisco and perhaps in other major cities as well. Lastly, add a handsome face, a killer bod and skills in the bedroom and you have all the attributes of the perfect player.”

      A pause and then, “Are you done now?”

      “Yes, I believe so.”

      “Good. Because your reasoning is skewed.”

      “How so?”

      “Just because a man takes care of himself and has nice things doesn’t mean he’s a playboy. As for what happened in the café, that’s just small-town nosiness and Cindy being Cindy.

      “Yours was a new, unrecognized face in a town where everyone knows everybody, and everyone wants to know my business. Your being with me made you my business. I’m sure the grapevine is still buzzing with questions about who you are.”

      “Hmm.”

      “And for the record, the house in San Francisco is not my lair. It is a family property. We all stay there when in town, as do some of our friends and colleagues. However, I do not apologize for being particularly fond of the opposite sex, and especially interested in the one I’m talking to right now, the one who didn’t return my call from yesterday.”

      “Terrell, it’s early in the morning. You hardly gave me a chance.”

      “Whenever you see my number on the screen, you are to call me back immediately.”

      “Oh, is that so?”

      “Yes, it is.”

      “Or what?”

      “Or I’m going to come over and spank you just right, and love you ’til you holler and throw up both your hands.”

      She laughed. “Don’t you have to be at work or something?”

      “I’m already here. What about you? Are your hours as erratic as I hear they can be for medical doctors?”

      “Right now, even more so. Tuesday through Thursday I’m in residency at UC Davis Medical Center, then I intern at a local hospital, Living Medical, on Monday and Friday. And there’s still studying to do on top of all that. Which is why this past weekend was so appreciated.”

      “Wow. No wonder you’re not interested in a relationship. You don’t have time for one.”

      “Exactly.”

      “Well, guess what?”

      “What?”

      “You need to make some time for yours truly. I need to finish what I started in San Francisco.”

      “Which was?”

      “Satisfying you.”

      “Oh, trust me, you did that.”

      “Baby, that was just the appetizer. I want the whole meal.”

      “Well, unless you’re up for a midnight rendezvous in a hotel near the hospital, your dining will to have to wait.”

      “Until when?”

      “Um...next Sunday?”

      “All right.”

      “All right, fine. I’ve got to run and wake the kid but I’ll call you toward the end of the week, make sure we’re still on.”

      “See you soon.”

      Aliyah got Kyle dressed and took him out for his favorite pancake breakfast. While they ate, however, it was Terrell’s appetite that was on her mind. He was successful, an expert lover and could charm the panties off most women. She’d love to pursue something with him. But the timing was all wrong. She was at the beginning of at least two and a half years of intense residency training. At the most, she’d have time for a little tune-up every once and again, but real dates? Like the one they’d just had? Unlikely. Something told her Terrell wouldn’t be happy with that. To her, he seemed like a man who wanted lots of attention. And lots of sex.

      At least they had one thing in common.

Chapter 7

      Terrell leaned against the doorjamb, watching his friend since high school, Luther, playfully interacting with a group of five-and six-year-old boys. They used to wreak havoc in the clubs, engaging ladies who wanted to be with them and angering men who wanted to be them. Since getting married and having children, Luther had gone from tough guy to teddy bear. Terrell was proud of his friends and business partners who’d stepped up to the plate and agreed to be mentors and role models for the young men who came to the center, many of whose fathers were absent, deployed or incarcerated. Luther was the perfect one to handle the little ones. Terrell mentored the teens.

      All except one young boy, whom he looked for now. Kyle was seated on a mat, surrounded by Legos, using his imagination to create something grand.

      Terrell stepped into the room and after a brief chat with Luther walked over to where Kyle was playing and kneeled down.

      “Hey, little man.”

      “I’m not little.” This said while remaining focused on the task at hand. “I’m big.”

      “Oh, all right. Excuse my error.” In this moment, Terrell realized just how infrequent he interacted with people under the age of ten and, thinking of his nieces and nephews, over the age of two. Terrell found himself in the rare position of being at a loss for words. But he’d told Aliyah that he’d take special interest in, and mentor, her son. He was a man of his word. So he placed down the deck of math flash cards he’d used earlier with the teens, sat beside Kyle and picked up a bright red block.