Page 94 of Waiting for Friday Night

She was glad he’d moved on from that. “Obviously you didn’t stay irrelevant for long. You were dating some model when you first moved here, right?”

He nodded. “We’d been dating for a few years. When I retired, she understood, but she thought I would move to New York or Atlanta to be an anchor for a sports network. When I told her that wasn’t what I wanted, that I wanted to coach high school, she said she’d stick with me. But it didn’t work out.” Again, he spoke easily, no lingering resentment or pain.

“Why not?”

“She lives in New York. I live in Peachtree Cove. We grew apart and she knew the story of what happened with my girlfriend in college. She said she’d rather break up with me than cheat. So, we broke up.”

“I’m sorry.” Again, for Quinton but not for that ex-girlfriend. They’d let a good man go. Halle wasn’t about to make the same mistake.

He reached over and brushed a hand across her cheek. “Don’t be sorry. If it had worked out with either of them, I wouldn’t be here with you.”

“Well, when you say it that way, I guess it’s good.”

“I think everything worked out the way it was supposed to work out. Besides, when I first saw you at the school district meeting, I knew that I was going to be breaking up with her.”

Halle’s eyes widened. She stuttered for a second before blurting out the only thought in her head. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not,” he said with a straight face.

She pressed a hand to her chest. “You didn’t talk to me.”

“Because I was in a relationship, but I knew I was interested. When we broke up, I planned to approach you, but then I overheard your athlete comment. So, I kept my interest to myself.”

Halle blinked several times. Her brain still processing that Quinton had a crush on her while she’d easily dismissed him like a dummy. “You’ve really liked me for that long?”

He entwined their fingers and nodded. “Yes, Halle, I’ve been into you from the moment I saw you. Which is why I was patient while you realized Gregory wasn’t the one for you, and I’m patient while we figure out what to tell Shania about us because, Halle, if I have my way we’re going to keep this going for a while.”

The words were simple, nowhere near as explicit or erotic as what he’d said the other night on the phone, but they heated her body just as much if not more. Desire cut through her exhaustion and stress with almost painful precision. She squeezed her thighs together to try to take the edge off.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. Quinton was as straightforward as usual. His large hand cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. They made love right there on the couch like they had the first time. Quick and fast as if each moment was stolen and precious. But afterward, when they were both breathless and tangled, Quinton carried her to her bedroom, and they cuddled beneath the sheets. Quinton’s hands ran lazily over her stomach and trailed down to the dampness between her thighs. Halle smiled and opened her legs.

“Stay the night,” she whispered. It was the first time she’d had a man in her bed. In all the years she’d dated, she’d either gone to their place or a hotel. Rarely had they come to her place and never had she brought a man into her bedroom or asked him to stay over. Her home was her safe place. A place where she didn’t want anyone to have access to her or Shania without permission. Tonight, she couldn’t imagine sending Quinton away.

His body stilled. Worry and embarrassment made her heart stutter and her cheeks flame. Was she expecting too much? He leaned in and kissed her ear. “You want me to stay the night?” The hand that lazily played between her thighs became more active, his finger slipping between her folds to push in deep.

Halle gasped, her back arching on the mattress. “Yes.”

“Good, because that’s exactly what I want to do.”

Thirty

Halle was going to be late, and she didn’t care. She grinned as she buttoned up her dark red dress shirt and watched Quinton in the mirror behind her slide on his joggers. She liked watching him get dressed in the morning. Liked the way he placed his hands on her back, hip or thigh as he’d passed her in the bathroom where they’d showered and gotten ready for the day. Liked the way he pulled her back to his front and kissed the side of her neck after they’d showered. Was this what it was like to have someone who cared about you living with you? She could understand the appeal. She’d always believed she didn’t need this in her life. That she was fine without a partner, and while she had been fine and she had been happy, she also couldn’t deny that this was nice, too.

Quinton slipped on his shirt and looked up. He caught her watching in the mirror and grinned. “Quit looking at me like that.”

Halle finished buttoning her blouse and tucked it into the dark gray pants of her suit. “Like what?”

“Like you want me to come over there and do some things to you.”

“Who says I don’t want you to do that?”

He grinned; his eyes flashed with desire and the same happiness she felt deep inside her gut. “You know, we’re both going to be late. I’ve got to go home and change.”

“You’re right,” she said, using her principal voice. “We shouldn’t get one more in before we go to work.”

Desire flashed again in his dark eyes. He crossed the room and slipped an arm around her waist. “You know what? I can be late.”

Halle laughed and turned in his arms. More than ready not to follow the rules for once in her life. The sound of the front door opening made her freeze.

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