The waitress returned to the table and handed her a menu. “Is that your man? Because, girl, you are lucky.”
“Oh, we’re just friends.”
The waitress’s mouth dropped open. “Does he know that?”
“Well aware. Question—do you guys have a chocolate cake?”
She nodded excitedly. “And it is very good. Moist, and the icing is homemade.”
“I need two big slices.”
The waitress nodded and smiled as Jamal walked back toward the table. “He has the hots for you,” she whispered to Michael. “You better take advantage of it before I do.”
Michael offered her a mock salute. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
Jamal sat down and placed his hand on top of Michael’s. “Sorry about that.”
“No worries.”
“That was Brent. He had news for me about the shooting this past weekend. So far, it looks as if we have a legal standing if lawsuits start piling up because the promoter should’ve...”
Michael threw her hand up. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. You get phone calls.”
Jamal shook his head then polished off the last of his pie. “Did you find anything you liked on the dessert menu?”
“Oh, yeah. I think it’s coming our way right now.” She nodded toward the waitress.
“That’s some good-looking cake,” he said as the waitress set the hunking slices on the table.
“Just wait until you taste it.” The waitress gave Jamal a wink and Michael felt a twinge of jealousy. Was this woman really flirting with him in front of her face? But then again, she’d just told her that she and Jamal were only friends.
“You wouldn’t happen to have any milk, would you?” Michael asked, wanting to send her away.
“Soy, almond or regular?”
“Definitely almond with a side of ice.”
The waitress turned to Jamal. “Can I get you some milk as well?”
“No, just some water.” When the waitress left, Jamal took a glance at Michael as she took a big bite of her cake slice. “I know you aren’t going to eat all of that.”
She stuffed it in her mouth and smiled. “Mmm.”
Jamal followed her lead and took a big bite of the cake as well. It was good, but when he saw a drop of chocolate on Michael’s bottom lip, he didn’t care about how the cake tasted because he wanted to taste her.
“What?”
Jamal leaned forward and wiped the chocolate from her lip with his thumb. “Just a drop of chocolate on your face.”
Michael shivered at the feel of Jamal’s thumb against her lip. Something about his touch just made her body tingle. She wanted him, but knew it probably wasn’t a smart thing to want. Playboys were like leopards—their spots didn’t change simply because you wanted them to.
“Th-thanks,” she said.
“No problem. Got to keep that pretty face clean. Or you could’ve used that shot to market this cake.”
“They haven’t hired me yet, so no free advertising.”
“You’re hard-core, huh?” He stuck his finger in the chocolate icing and brushed it across her full bottom lip. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss the confection away, Michael beat him to it and licked the chocolate herself.
“Okay, this icing is so good that I would give them a shout-out for free.”
“How nice of you,” he said. “Don’t forget to meet me at nine tonight.”
“For a surprise, right?”
Jamal kissed her hand. “Yes. And, no, I’m not telling you what it is. But I do have to run. I have a meeting in the heart of the city and I’m about to be late.”
“Have a good meeting and I guess I will see you tonight.”
“Come on—you can’t act like that.”
“Here’s the second surprise—if I show up or not. And you should probably save your seduction skills for someone else.” MJ nodded toward the waitress who was clearing a table not far from theirs. “She’d like it, I’m sure.”
Jamal pulled out his wallet and left enough cash on the table to pay for their meals. “You think I’m trying to seduce you?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re telling me that you’re not?”
“Babe, if I was trying to seduce you, you’d be in my arms right now. Just make sure you’re not late tonight.” He winked at her then headed for the door.
Michael watched him walk away and realized that he was right. She’d see him at nine, and no matter what his surprise was, she was going to enjoy it. Be happy about it and pretend that it didn’t make her heart and soul melt.
“I’m in so much trouble,” she muttered as the waitress walked over with her glass of milk.
* * *
Jamal hopped into his car and drove to the Atlanta Metro Credit Union. He was meeting with the head of security there to revamp their security protocol. As he walked into the building, his mind was on MJ’s lips. That woman wore that chocolate like the most delicious lipstick. He’d wanted nothing more than to kiss her and taste that sweetness on her. But she was faster than he’d expected and had licked the chocolate away.
Seeing her tongue pass over that full bottom lip had made his blood pressure rise off the charts. What was it about this woman that made him want her so badly? Maybe it was because she told him no or the fact that she didn’t act like the typical Atlanta women he’d dated. She didn’t think that three dates meant they were in a relationship or that the fifth date meant an engagement ring was coming next.
MJ was the exact opposite. She didn’t take herself, or what they had going on, seriously. At first, he’d enjoyed it. Felt as if he could be himself around her. He could be silly. He could be serious. They could talk politics in one sitting then turn around and debate about who the best comedian of all time was. Jamal had never found that range of conversation with another woman.
And the woman liked football. When he’d scored two tickets to the Atlanta Falcons season opener, he’d taken MJ with him and she’d been an avid fan of the game. Especially the star cornerback. Jamal had been impressed because most women he’d taken to a game knew only the quarterback and maybe a wide receiver or two.
“Defense wins championships, and the way Atlanta looks right now, we’re going to the big game!” Michael had said at the end of the game.
“It’s just the first game of the season.”
“You have no faith.”
“I know we have Carolina twice this season and their offense is finally as explosive as their defense,” he’d said.
“Please. We’re going to eat them up.”
Smiling at the memory, Jamal walked up to the receptionist and asked for Craig Franklin.
* * *
Michael returned to her office and decided to throw herself into work. She didn’t want to think about Jamal, but in the silence of her office, all she could do was think about him. If his finger was any indication, his kiss