Page 9 of Do Me
“Bye, Braxton.”
Pivoting on his heel, he walked out. Braxton drove back to his office, spoke to the engineer and asked her to add his next appointment with Ralston Mind & Wellness Center. Although he would be designing the network, Gayle would be the one to install it. Afterwards, he headed to Double Trouble. Usually, the three men hung out for several hours, but tonight, Braxton didn’t plan to stay long.
He finished his beer and declined a second drink.
“What’s wrong with you?” Axel asked.
“Nothing. I’m cutting out early tonight.”
Cole grinned. “Hot date?”
“Not exactly. I met someone and I promised to call tonight.”
“Is she one of the women your mother introduced you to at the wedding?”
Braxton frowned. “No, but she was there as a guest of the bride’s family.” He shared the details of how they met and him not getting her phone number.
Axel swiveled on his stool to face Braxton. “How are you going to meet a woman and not get her number?”
“She gave me the impression that she was tired of men coming on to her, so I didn’t want to do the same thing.” He shrugged. “It worked out, though, because her office just hired us to design and install a network.”
Cole swirled the contents of his glass. “What does she do?”
“Clinical psychologist.”
“Brains and beauty.” He lifted his glass in a mock toast.
“Exactly.” Braxton stood and tossed a few bills on the bar. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Good luck,” Axel and Cole chorused.
“I could say the same thing to you two.” He didn’t need luck. He needed to know if she was that special woman he’d been searching for, the one who complemented him. He took a step and heard Cole growl under his breath. Braxton followed Cole’s line of sight to where a customer stood getting a little too friendly with Malaya, one of the servers.
“Take a breath, Cole,” Axel warned.
“As long as he doesn’t put his hands on her, he won’t have a prob…Son of a—” Cole leaped from the bar stool and headed to the other side of the bar.
Braxton shook his head. “Man, he’s got it bad for her. I do hope that brother backs off before Cole gets to him.” He could hold his own in a boxing ring due to sparring with Cole on a regular basis, but his friend had boxed semi-professionally during his college days and could handle any situation that came up. Braxton stayed in his spot a few minutes longer. Certain Cole had it all under control, Braxton said his goodbyes.
When he got home, Braxton climbed the stairs to his bedroom and changed out of his suit into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He typically only wore suits when meeting a client, opting for business casual at all other times. Starving, he loped back down to the kitchen and heated up the last of the chicken enchiladas he’d made. He typically used the weekends to plan for the week, including work, social activities, exercise and meal planning to cook enough for the week. His sister often chided him, saying he’d never find someone to share his life because he was too anal and rarely did anything spontaneously. Braxton wasn’t so much anal, he just liked order as opposed to chaos.
While eating, he checked his personal email and text messages. He smiled at the photos his mother had sent from his cousin’s wedding, then frowned when she wrote she hoped she’d be the next mother of the groom. He sent back a simple reply:Very nice pictures!Braxton finished his dinner, cleaned up and then went to his bedroom. He stretched out on his bed and dialed Londyn’s number
“Hello,” came the tight reply, followed by a soft moan.
He sat up straight. “Londyn, are you okay? What happened?”
“Ow, I stubbed my toe on the edge of the dresser.” She groaned.
“Do you need medical attention?”
Londyn’s forced laughter came through the line. “If I did, would you come take care of me?”
Braxton lifted a brow. “In a heartbeat. Where do you live?”
“In Buckhead, near Lenox Mall.”
How had they lived so close to each other and their paths never crossed? “I’m only fifteen minutes away in Druid Hill. Say the word and I’ll be there.”
