First and Ten (6 page)

“Why are you a stylist?” he asked, shaking
her from the escape she wanted. “You were the top sales girl at the
Gap or something?”

Rolling her eyes at the idea of that type of
nightmare, she sighed.

“You don’t act like it’s a calling,” he
chided. “You don’t even do it full time.”

“And you play football forty hours a week?”
she jibed.

“I have a feeling you know exactly how
grueling my schedule is all year long. Besides, you don’t seem like
the type of girl to just sit around flipping through fashion
magazines all day long.”

“With the internet it really does cut down on
that.”

“Why do you do what you do?” he asked,
looking more at her than the traffic ahead. The white glow of the
dashboard haloed one side of his face creating a handsome cut to
his jaw.

“Money, and you?”

“I’ve got a talent and I love the game.”

“There you go, I’ve got a talent and I have
bills to pay.”

Rome nibbled on his bottom lip as his fingers
drummed on the steering wheel.

“Danika.” As he said her name, she wanted to
watch his lips. The deep tone of his voice had a vibration to it
that sent shivers down to her toes. “Thanks for sharing your
Tuesday with me.”

She wanted to thank him, he made the night
better, she hadn’t shared a Tuesday with anyone. Not even Esme.
Alone time had never been as fulfilling as tonight had been.

“I don’t want you to be my stylist,” he
stated plainly as his eyes stayed focused on the road ahead instead
of at her. He turned to look out his side window, then back as they
pulled into the parking lot for the massage place.

“Didn’t we already establish this?” Dani
asked a bit confused.

“I’d like to run into you again.”

Dani’s heart pounded hard as she gripped the
door handle. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she couldn’t
understand the mixed feelings twisting her stomach in knots.

“Not on accident or set up by someone,” Rome
continued, but didn’t look at her. “I can’t let people in my life.
It’s dangerous and…well I don’t have time for trifling shit. You
seem like someone I could kick it with and not have it splashed all
over social media the next day.”

“I said I didn’t have time for a new
client.”

“I don’t want to be a client,” he said with a
deep timber in his voice that had her breasts aching. WTF! Her body
had her shivering, twisting and on the verge of vomiting, then hot
and bothered like someone flipped a switch. No downtime to react,
nope, but it wasn’t her body, it was him.

“Client, friend, whatever,” she trembled as
the words came out. “It’s time, time I don’t have in my life.”

“Right,” he replied, completely rebuffed as
his lips stuck out almost like a pouting child. “Focused, driven,
and on a schedule.”

“Exactly.” Dani opened the car door and
stepped out. The stomach twisting continued again as she saw Rome
flicking his thumb over his phone screen as if scanning a page and
not caring what she had said. It was silly to think… “Except
Tuesdays.” The words tumbled from her lips before her mind could
stop them.

Rome’s thumb froze on the screen as he turned
to look at her as if he’d forgotten she had even been in his car.
“What was that?”

“Tuesdays,” she said again, suddenly feeling
like a teenager accepting a prom invite from the one boy they never
thought would even talk to them. “You could be my Tuesday treat
next week.”

Oh! Fuck! She’d really just called a man her
Tuesday treat. His eyes did the eyebrow raise at her again and she
knew her face was fire engine red.

“I…I…didn’t mean…see what I meant was…”

“Tuesday at five, where will you be so I can
run into you?”

“Leaving class.”

“You’re in school?”

“Why do you think I never have time?”

“Alright, where at?”

“Northwestern, business school. I mean, I’m
in business school…so I’ll be outside the business school entrance.
I’m done a little after five. If you want, I’ll hangout for a
little bit. No pressure if you change your mind or whatever…I’m
sure—”

“Let me be sure this time,” he said with a
commanding tone that had her questioning if she’d finally found the
last piece of her perfect life puzzle.

Dr. Kent’s lecture floated around the room as
Dani tried to focus on the words, but to no avail. Nope, not with
the clock on the wall ticking so loudly it echoed throughout the
room. Could the other students not hear its tick with a slight
wheeze to it as it bounced back before ticking another second off
the class?

“How many ticks you got?” Esme whispered,
bringing Dani to the ground.

“Um…” Dani looked in her notebook and saw
three. They had a game where they marked every time Dr. Kent
mentioned Keynesian Economics. For being an expert on the subject,
it was strange how she tried to apply it then flip flopped three
lectures later. For each mention of the theory the girls were
supposed to tick it off, at the end of class they note the
difference. Whoever missed the most had to do a shot for each one
missed at the next study group. Dani spied Esme’s notebook and
decided she’d need to stock up on ibuprofen before Thursday.

“I swear I haven’t been cheating,” Esme said
as she held her hand to her chest.

Ten ticks to Dani’s three. Could she be that
nervous about the possibility Jerome might not be outside when she
leaves? She hadn’t planned out an evening. That could be part of
her nerves.

“I demand Patrón this time,” Dani said as she
nudged Esme who let out a giggle just loud enough to get Dr. Kent’s
attention. The death glare. Not good, the class looked at the two
of them, but Esme was on point today.

“Did you have something to add, Ms.
Carmichael?”

“I wasn’t sure the demand constituted the
adjustment in production in that case. It’s a limited use item to
begin with. A flash in the pan type idea, mix that with the quality
of the items made repair not replacement more likely.”

“Guess that’s why they failed.”

“In theory, or because they didn’t try to
make other appliances just as good. Adapting to the world around
them, they became outdated. Evolution is just as necessary in
business as it is in life.”

“I see your project partner has started to
rub off on you.”

“She is quite infectious, like a fungus I’ve
found.”

Dr. Kent continued with the lecture and Dani
eyeballed her friend. “A fungus.”

“That’s what you’re going to feel like on
Thursday.” Esme ticked off another hash mark and Dani sharply
turned to the front kicking herself for missing another mention of
the theory by Dr. Kent.

“Shit.”

“Did you mean shit-faced?” Esme wiggled her
eyebrows.

If Dani couldn’t push Rome out of her mind
and focus, not only would the last ten minutes of class feel like
three hours, but she was likely to end up with alcohol poisoning.
Catching the last few mentions meant Dani would only have to do
eight shots. Today she was wishing she didn’t have to wait two days
for those. Right now the liquor would help her get through the next
fifteen minutes.

“Spill,” Esme snapped as she loaded her
leather messenger bag with her notebook and laptop. “You’ve never
had more than three misses.” Tucking her hair behind her right ear,
Esme stood and slung her bag across her body.

“I had an off day,” Dani lied.

Esme gave her a look as if she were trying to
read Dani’s mind or maybe just her face. Dani wasn’t sure if she
could hide her uncertainty about the next few hours, then again,
why would Esme even care.

“I’ll give you that, but only because I want
you plastered on Thursday.”

“Are you planning on doing bad things to
me?”

“The punishment should fit the crime.”

“Not listening?” Dani said as she stood and
they walked out of the classroom. “Since when is that a crime?”

“What was that?” Esme teased. “I didn’t hear
you.”

“Funny.” A cold wind was whipping off Lake
Michigan and it slammed against Dani’s cheeks. How the hell it got
through the campus and past the buildings needed to be researched
by the architecture department. “Motherfucker.”

“Damn, didn’t we get rid of winter last
week?”

“That warm streak was a ruse,” Dani said into
the wind, unsure if her friend could hear her words. Both their
heads were down as they charged head first into the wind like the
prow of a ship through water.

“What’s your treat today?” Esme howled
against the wind.

“No idea.” Dani lost sight of Esme’s
Manolos
. Sure she had been blown away, Dani stopped and
turned to see her friend staring straight ahead.

The wind died down a bit, or had they walked
into the path of a building that blocked it? Nope, when Dani turned
to see what had caught Esme’s attention, Jerome Speed was standing
as if he were guarding them against the wind. His unbuttoned three
quarter length black coat ruffled in the wind at his knees. No
longer having to fight the weather, Dani could take in his form as
the last of the sun set behind her. Could it have been that causing
him to glow? Maybe it was his smirk of a smile as he rocked back on
his heels with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black dress
pants. He was suited and booted tonight. She hadn’t expected that.
Looking back at Esme, she wished she was rail thin and three inches
taller so they could switch their outfits. Although Esme wasn’t one
to be seen in a maxi skirt and V-neck sweater, she might take the
hit and switch with Dani’s modest outfit.

“Did you think I was going to stand you up?”
he asked.

“No…I…didn’t… Why would you think that?”

“You were leaving. Didn’t you say you’d meet
me at the business building?”

“I did, it’s just.” Dani fumbled with her own
messenger bag as she reached for nothing in particular. “I was
walking my friend to her car. You know safety in numbers and
all.”

“The buddy system.” He smiled. “I learned
that in grade school too.”

“Exactly.”

“Does your buddy have a name?” he asked and
Dani felt her stomach clench. Esme was the type of woman high paid
players dated. Not that this was a date, yet Dani wasn’t sure she
was ready to introduce her bestie to a man she couldn’t get out of
her thoughts.

“Um…yes…this is Esme,” Dani introduced.

“Esme Carmichael,” Esme said as she extended
her elegant hand with its perfect reverse French manicure. “Dani’s
Tuesday Treats had always been a secret to me and now I know
why.”

“I’m not the treat,” Jerome said, shrugging
off the compliment.

“You would be the piece of chocolate I’d keep
hidden in my box.”

“And on that note,” Dani said as she wished
the chills running up her spine were from the cold and not
embarrassment. “We need to get going.”

“So soon.” Esme crossed her arms with a pout.
“Can’t I come along?”

“I’m sorry, I only planned on two, not
three,” Jerome’s deep baritone caused a warmth only matched by the
fact his hand went around Dani’s waist as he pulled her close.
“Maybe next time.”

“Maybe,” Esme said with a wink. Dani wasn’t
sure if she was hitting on Rome or not. It’s not like there would
be any competition between them. Esme was leaps and bounds ahead of
Dani. Technically, Dani’s father had a higher net worth, but that
was the only place she was more attractive. And it was her father’s
net worth, not hers and he’s been very vocal about that.

Esme waved as she continued to her car and
Jerome turned them both around. The cold wind slapped Dani to the
point she lost her breath for a moment and if Jerome hadn’t been
holding her, she might have fallen. He’d parked illegally, or
turned his flashers on as he stopped half on the curb. A campus cop
was getting ready to write him a ticket and probably have him towed
when Jerome walked up to him and in less than three minutes they
were on their way heading to Lake Shore Drive.

Danika nervously fumbled with her loose
skirt. Jerome loved the way it hugged her curves, but didn’t scream
from being stretched to its limits. So far he had seen her at her
best, her worst, and now her most comfortable middle ground. Not
one had turned him off. Each showed him a piece of her that made
him want to know more. Today her index finger was twisting the
charcoal gray fabric so tight it might be cutting off
circulation.

“I didn’t tell you my Tuesday Treats were
usually more casual.”

“You went to La Femme, didn’t you?”

“Well, that was a bit out of my norm. You
could have called or texted me about the dress code. I do have the
ability to accessorize with the best of them.”

“Of that I have no doubt, but you never gave
me your phone number.”

“Randy has it.”

“I’d never ask another person for a woman’s
number.”