Trust in Me (2 page)

Roni enjoyed the time alone.

She’d gone straight from her parents’ home,
to the one she’d shared with Hank. When she’d first arrived here,
she’d bunked with her brother, and now she was living with Nicole.
This was the closest she’d come to having a place of her own, and
she found that she really liked having the time to herself.

She looked at the clock and realized that
she’d have to shower and get ready for work at the Bar & Grill
soon. She’d been hostessing for a few months now, and she liked the
job and the people she worked with, but it wasn’t what she wanted
to do long term. She really wanted to start dancing full time
again.

Roni understood that she would never become a
professional dancer at this point, she’d been away from it for too
long, and wasn’t getting any younger, but all she’d ever wanted to
do with her life, was dance.

There weren’t any dance studios in town,
which she thought was not only sad on a personal level, but for the
kids in town who didn’t have the opportunity to take classes.

Dance had helped her get through her
childhood.

She’d been thinking a lot recently about what
Rich was doing with the warehouse downtown. As much as he annoyed
her, she had to admit that he was producing something wonderful for
the community, and the children in it.

A Rec Center that would offer classes and a
place for the kids to go to was a wonderful idea, and she couldn’t
help but want to be a part of it. Her brother told her he thought
it would be great for her to teach dance lessons there, but she had
another idea. She just had to bite the bullet and talk to Rich
about it.

Roni knew that this center was his baby, but
she really wanted to own something of her own, now she just needed
to find Rich and see if he would buy in on it.

She’d heard that he was back in town and
staying on the construction site. She thought if she got ready now,
she’d have time to talk to him before her shift started.

After she was ready, she drove to
5
^th
street and stood nervously outside the warehouse. It
was so much bigger than she’d imagined, and looked like the unused
warehouse that it was, but she could see the potential in it. She
felt a flutter of excitement in her belly.

She made her way through the warehouse,
careful to avoid the areas that were currently being worked on,
towards the back of the building. That’s where Kent said Rich’s
rooms were.

When she came upon a white door slightly
ajar, and heard the music streaming out of the room beyond it, she
figured she’d found the right place.

She pushed the door open and peered inside.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes seemed to freeze open at the site
before her.

There was a makeshift bed in the corner,
boxes strewn about the room, and a door that led into a small
bathroom. In the center of the room Rich stood in nothing but
basketball shorts. His very toned and naturally tanned body
glistened with sweat as he worked the speed bag before him, his
fist moving rapidly as they punched.

The quick curl of lust in her belly shocked
Roni. She’d never had such an intense and immediate reaction to a
man before. Even more shocking was the fact that it was Rich that
caused her body to suddenly feel infused with liquid heat.

He hadn’t heard her enter. The music was too
loud, and he was totally focused on pounding the bag.

Roni couldn’t look away. She felt a visceral
need to touch. As the muscles rippled under his skin with each
movement, her hands itched to feel.

Roni shook her head briefly. What was she
thinking? This was Rich. A player. A Flirt. The exact opposite of
the kind of guy she needed in her life.

Someone needed to explain that to her legs,
she thought. They were about to give out.

Suddenly she realized that the movement
before her had stopped. She shouted out, “Hey,” to get Rich’s
attention, before he turned and caught her staring at him. The last
thing she needed was for Rich to think she thought he was hot!

Rich wiped at his brow and turned, a grin
spreading across his face when he saw her in the doorway. He held
up a finger, to tell her to give him a second. He crossed the room
towards the docking station and bent to turn down his iPod.

Roni stifled a grown at the sight of his ass
as he bent over. Who knew a man’s ass could be so freakin’ tight?
And his back… Good Lord!

Roni composed herself as he turned back
towards her, but couldn’t help the jitters of happiness in her
stomach when he didn’t reach for a shirt.

“What’s up, Roni?” He seemed truly happy to
see her.

“Hey,” She responded, trying to focus on his
face. His brown hair was curling at the ends, damp with sweat. She
didn’t understand why she found that so attractive. Maybe it had
been too long since she’d had sex. It shouldn’t feel like she had
to make a concerted effort not to throw herself at him. “Um, not
much. I hope I’m not intruding.”

Rich picked up a towel and used it to wipe
the sweat from his face, then he moved passed her to grab a water
bottle from the fridge. “You’re not. Would you like a water?”

“Sure,” Roni said when she realized that her
throat felt dry. “Thanks.”

“Sorry, there’s not much room around here for
entertaining,” Rich said with a chuckle as he looked around his
small space. “I haven’t had a chance to do much with it yet; I’ve
only been back a few days.”

“That’s fine. I can’t stay long. My shift
starts soon.”

When she didn’t say anything, Rich smiled at
her and the familiar twinkle lit his eyes.

“You just came by ‘cause you missed me?”

That broke Roni out of her sex-crazed daze.
She rolled her eyes at him and snorted. “That’ll be the day.
Actually, I came by with a proposition.”

“Even better,” Rich said, his grin widening
at the look on her face.

“You wish,” Roni retorted. “I’m talking about
a business proposition.”

“Okay,” Rich said with one last wink, before
the flirty smile left his face. “Shoot.”

“I know you’re planning to use the space to
offer different classes to the kids and the community. I want to
start off by saying that I think it’s a wonderful idea, and all
joking aside, I love that you’re actually doing it.”

“Thanks,” Rich said with a sincere smile. “I
appreciate that.”

Thrown off temporarily by his change in
demeanor, Roni cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and laid out
her proposition.

“I’m a dancer. It’s been a while since I’ve
been able to train, but I’ve danced since I was a little girl. I’d
love to open up my own studio, since there isn’t one in town. Since
you have all of this space, and are looking for ideas of classes to
offer, I thought I would bring my proposition to you.”

She paused to look at him momentarily, so she
could gauge his reaction. He looked intently at her and nodded for
her to go on.

“My long term goal is to own my own studio,
but that just isn’t plausible right now. I thought maybe you could
rent space to me here. I don’t want to just be hired on as a
teacher; I want to own my own business. I want full creative
control to use the space as I see fit. Of course, since it’s your
building, and I would be renting from you, I would consult with
you. But I want to be fully in charge of the studio and what I do
with it.”

Roni breathed in deeply again, holding her
breath in as she waited for his response.

“I didn’t realize that you’re a dancer,” Rich
began. “Kent told me he knew someone I could contact about
instructing, but never mentioned it was you.”

He paused to consider that for a moment
before continuing, “First of all, I’ll say that it sounds like a
great idea. You’re right, I do want to offer dance lessons here at
the center. I hadn’t thought about renting space, but that doesn’t
mean I object to doing it.”

Roni chewed on her lip as she waited for him
to continue.

“This is a lot to take in and I know you have
to get to work… Can I get back to you?”

Roni exhaled and nodded.

Rich continued, “I have to talk to a few
people and I’ll think over your proposal. I’m having
auditions/interviews in two weeks for the people who are interested
in setting up classes here. I can set up a time for you now, or you
can wait until I get back to you on the rental idea.”

“Now would be good,” Roni said with a small
smile. “I appreciate you considering my idea.”

They settled on a time for the interview and
Rich walked her outside to her car.

“Thanks,” Roni said again, as she opened her
car door.

“Anytime,” Rich said the saucy grin back on
his face. “I look forward to seeing the way you move.”

Roni rolled her eyes at him as she got in her
car, but she waited to drive away until she’d enjoyed the view of
him walking away.

Chapter Three

Rich stood under the shower and let the hot
water massage his aching muscles. Eyes closed, he allowed himself
to think about Roni and the proposition she’d brought to him. She’d
looked so pretty standing amidst his cluttered room. He’d wished
briefly that he could throw her over his shoulder and ravish her
long, lean body on his sorry excuse for a bed, but he’d controlled
himself when he heard what she had to say.

Now that he was alone, he could take a little
time to remember how her shirt had been snug in all the right
places, and her little skirt had swayed slightly, flirty toned legs
that seemed to go on forever.

When his body started to stiffen, he changed
the course of his thoughts and admitted that her idea was a good
one. He stepped out of the shower and toweled off. He hung the
towel on the rod, and walked out into his room to find something to
wear.

“Jesus, man,” Kent said as he watched his
friend stride into the room.

Rich just looked at him, a cocky smile on his
face. “Guess you shoulda knocked.”

“There’s a freakin’ work crew out there,”
Kent exclaimed, gesturing towards the men on the other side of the
door. “I didn’t think you’d be prancing around with your door open,
naked as the day you were born.”

“I ain’t got nothin’ they haven’t seen
before,” Rich said with a chuckle as he pulled on a pair of
jeans.

“
Shit,” Kent laughed. “And
he’s going commando.” This he said with his eyes rolled
upward.

“What can I do for you?” Rich asked as he
picked up a t-shirt, smelled it, then pulled it over his head.
“Other than the free show.”

“I was wondering if you were up for a beer
later. I was driving by on my way to the paper, and thought I’d ask
in person. Gives me a chance to see the progress on this
place.”

“Actually, I was gonna call you later. Colin
and Bree are coming in for the weekend, and Colin asked about us
getting together tonight. Just the guys. You mind if he comes
with?” Rich asked as he looked around the room for his keys and
wallet.

“Yeah, that’s perfect actually. I’d love to
get both of your opinions on something,” Kent smoothed his hands
over his dress shirt, as if to assure himself that he didn’t look
as disheveled as Rich. “You guys okay to come by my house and hang
out, rather than go to the bar. I don’t want a lot of ears
around.”

Rich slipped on some flip flops and looked at
Kent curiously. “Sure, man. I’ll let Colin know. Everything
okay?”

Kent smiled at him and said, “Yeah,
everything’s great. You do realize you’re wearing flip flops… In
December.”

Rich looked down at his feet, then back up at
Kent, “Yeah, I’m just running to my folks for a bit, then by the
bank. No dress code.”

Kent shook his head at his friend as they
walked out of the warehouse.

“Alright, man, I’ll see you tonight. Let me
know if you guys want me to order some pizza or something.”

“Will do,” Rich said as he got into his
Charger. “Later.”

He murmured to the car as he started her up,
then headed a few blocks down to his parents’ house. He’d been home
a few days, and knew his mother was going to be salty that this was
the first chance he’d had to stop by.

When he opened the front door to his
childhood home, the smell of baking cookies greeted him, and he
couldn’t help but smile.

“Somethin’ sure smells good,” he yelled as he
took off his shoes and made his way towards the kitchen in the back
of the house.

“Hmmm, that sounds suspiciously like my long
lost son,” his mama said with a hint of sarcasm. “Can’t be though,
because
my
son would have come by the second he’d gotten
back to town.”

“Now, Mama,” Rich said as he dropped a kiss
on the top of his mother’s head, snatching a cookie as he narrowly
missed the back side of her wooden spoon. “I told you I wanted to
get settled at the warehouse first.”

She gave him a wry look that made him
chuckle. He bit into the peanut butter cookie and moaned as the
flavors hit his tongue.

“I swear you make the best cookies in the
state of Texas,” Rich said with a wink.

As he knew it would, the frown fell from his
mother’s face, replaced by a big grin. She was the most wonderful
person he’d ever met. The site of her familiar grin warmed his
heart and reminded him of how happy he was to be back home.

Trying to keep the grin off of her face she
said, “Boy, don’t you try to butter me up with that charm of yours.
You know it shouldn’t take three days for you to unload your
boxes.”

“Leave the boy alone, Martha,” Rich’s dad,
Frank, said as he walked in from the back porch. “He doesn’t need
you laying guilt at his feet; he’s a grown man now. With a place
and a business of his own.”

Martha shook her head and went back to
plating cookies, as Frank smacked Rich on his back.

“We’re real proud of you and what you’re
doing over at the old warehouse, Son.” Frank smiled around the
toothpick that was always in his mouth.