Who's That Lady? (6 page)

Crystal rocked to a stop on the step, a scowl twisting her face. Who the hell was she? Had Key lost his mind, hauling around an underage pregnant teenage girl? She was
positive
the girl had something to do with one of Key’s football players, but didn’t the man know the meaning of the word discretion? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d let his concern get him in trouble.

She didn’t realize she’d made a sound until all three of them turned to look up at her curiously.

“You okay, Shortcake?”

“I’m okay,” she said through gritted teeth. “Are you? What is this, a kidnapping or something?”

He sprang away from the girl’s side as if burned. The flash of guilt he shot at her was secretly gratifying. “She’s not with me! I’m helping someone. I know after last night, I should have called…or something…But when the phone call came this morning, I didn’t know who else to go to. You know?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She made an effort to pull herself together.
After last night!
Good grief, it was already affecting the way they interacted. Of course he’d come to her for help. That was exactly the way she wanted it. Nothing more.

“What’s the matter?” Shonté asked with an anxious tone.

“Nothing. I’m okay.” She wiped a hand across her mouth, then turned to the girl, who was watching them with huge, scared eyes.

“Come on in, honey. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Key made introductions. “This is Jalessa Hines. My sister Shonté and her roommate Crystal Taylor, who I told you about.”

Shonté
invited them to the kitchen where she had prepared a meal. Crystal took note of the savory smells wafting through the condo, but her stomach rebelled.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” she mumbled.

Key hung back while Shonté led Jalessa toward the dining area. Now that she could notice details, Crystal saw he wasn’t looking much better than she felt. His normally gleaming skin was ashen, the skin beneath his eyes looked bruised, and he sported scruffy beard stubble. He was dressed in jeans, a jersey and new shoes, dazzling in their whiteness.

As soon as the other two were out of earshot, he caught her elbow, his look guarded but intense. “Listen, we’ve got to talk later,” he murmured in a low tone. “I know this isn’t the best time, but I couldn’t let these kids do something crazy—”

Crystal couldn’t suppress a slight gasp at the feel of his hand on her arm. He had touched her a thousand times, but today her nerve endings reacted as if to the most intimate stroke, igniting her being with sexual tension.

“It’s fine, Key,” she managed to say in a near normal voice. “Really,” she added, giving his arm a friendly pat. She fled to the downstairs bathroom.

CHAPTER 6

Once she’d locked the door, she stared at her face in the mirror, her hands pressed to her cheeks.

Get a grip, you fool! Do not make an ass of yourself because you got a little nookie last night.
He’d brought this girl here, to her, because he depended on her, as a friend, to help him. And she was going to have to forget about last night so she could do that. Key had obviously managed to do so.

She turned on the faucet in the sink to douse cold water on her face. That was exactly the way she wanted it. No morning-after guilt to sour their friendship. She didn’t want him thinking about how she’d melted into him, devoured him, inhaled him—

Stop it!
she ordered the images in her head.
More cold water and a firm scrubbing with a towel brought back a semblance of calm.

“So what’s going on?” she asked when she walked into the dining area where the others were gathered around the table.

Crystal aimed the question at Key more than at Jalessa, who was wolfing down lasagna.

“Remember Marcus, the kid who called me that time we were at Finnegan’s? Jalessa’s his girlfriend. She and her mom had a big fight. She was going to run away, but Marcus convinced her to come to me first.”

“Where’s Marcus?”

“I told him to come by later. I’m trying to keep inside the NCAA rules, which means I can only spend a limited amount time with him. I thought you could be our intermediary.”

“Of course,” she agreed. She smiled at the girl. “So why don’t you tell me what happened, Jalessa?”

The teenaged girl put down her fork, her expression stubborn. One shoulder jerked. “My momma wanted to send me away to my grandmomma’s to have the baby. She doesn’t like Marcus.”

“Okay. So what did you plan to do instead?”

“I’m gonna marry Marcus when he finishes school.”

Key, Crystal and Shonté exchanged speaking looks across the girl’s bent head.

Crystal chose her words with care. “I can tell you’re in love with this young man. But have you thought about the practical points? Where will you live if you get married? How can he support you? Will he have to drop out of school? Key thinks he’s a talented athlete.”

Key chimed in. “He’s got a good shot at being offered a four year scholarship at Hope. After he gets his degree, he could make a good life for a family.”

“We wouldn’t have to worry about money if he made it to the pros,” said Jalessa.

“There’s no guarantee he’ll go pro. Anything can happen,” said Key, slapping his knee. “Ten years ago I was on my way to the pros, until a lineman ran over me like a bulldozer.”

“And if he has to drop out of school to take care of you and the baby,” Crystal added, “he won’t get seen by recruiters.”

Jalessa slumped in her chair, her gaze darting about unhappily. “He doesn’t have to do that. I can stay with my momma.”

“I thought you were trying to get away from her house?” Crystal pointed out.

Jalessa sank her forehead into both hands and puffed a sigh. “I know. I just flipped out. She made me so mad. But I can go back for a little while. For Marcus.”

“How long do you plan to stay there? How will you support yourself and the baby?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Is that the kind of life you want? Will he be away at college? There’s a lot of pressure trying to maintain a long distance relationship. You’ll have the responsibility of the baby and your mom telling you what to do. He’ll be going out to parties and on trips with the team.”

“I trust him,” the girl said defensively.

“I know, I know.” Crystal put her hand out in a soothing gesture. “Just think about it. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I know I’ve been stupid,” said Jalessa, her jaw clenched. “But we love each other. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“You’re what—sixteen?” Key said gently. “The rest of your life is a long, long time. I know you think right now this is what you want, but things change.”

“What do you want?” Jalessa lashed out. “You want me to give my baby away? Stay away from Marcus?”

Crystal winced and shot a surreptitious glance at Shonté. Shonté’s creamy skin flushed a little and her head dropped as she bit her lip.

Key glanced at Crystal when she remained silent. Then Crystal spoke slowly. “Nobody can make that decision for you. There are people you can talk to, though, who’ll help you decide. In the meantime, why don’t you stay here and chill a couple of days. I mean—” she looked at Shonté again, “if that’s okay with you, Shonté?”

“No problem,” said Shonté. She got up and started to gather the dishes.

“Okay,” said Jalessa in a small voice. She blinked rapidly and hugged her arms around her rounded belly.

“A couple of conditions, though,” said Crystal. “Marcus doesn’t visit unless one of us is here. And, we call your mother and get her permission.”

Jalessa started an instinctive protest.

“Don’t worry,” said Shonté with easy assurance. “Crystal will convince her it’s okay. She’s as upright as a deacon’s woman.”

Crystal’s gaze inadvertently clashed with Key’s before they both looked away. Her breathing sped up.

Shonté went on. “Why don’t you two go on in the living room and sort out the details. Key, you want to help me with the dishes?”

In the bustle of cleaning up, Key gave a lingering look at Crystal before he followed Shonté into the kitchen. Crystal was terrific with kids Jalessa’s age. Her college major had been psychology, and she’d even interned with a counseling center before she began to specialize in business. But it wasn’t simply her intelligence. She always seemed to know exactly what a person needed, and then she arranged it, putting her whole being into her efforts.

His blood stirred as he remembered how she’d given herself last night. He still had trouble thinking about it without starting to tremble. Fantastic, soul-rousing, toe-curling, chest-thumping, out-of-this-world,
incredible
sex. While the details were a little blurry in his mind, he knew nothing like that had ever happened to him before. If he didn’t get a chance to talk to her about last night soon, he was going to lose his mind. With an effort of will, he focused on what Shonté was saying.

“Don’t worry, Cee will handle Jalessa. I need to talk to you about something important.”

“Yeah? Are you okay with her staying here a couple of days?”

“No problem,” said Shonté in a breezy tone. “She reminds me of myself when I was young and stupid.”

He grinned at her and tugged the braid hanging down her back. “What are you saying? That you’ve changed, little princess?”

Shonté wrinkled her nose and punched his arm. “Smart aleck. Pass me the dishes.”

He brought them over as she turned on water in the sink.

“This is serious, Key. Do you know Crystal was out all night with some man and came in completely hung over at dawn?”

Key heard his pulse pound in his ears. “What did she tell you about it?”

“Nothing. She crashed and didn’t wake up until right before you got here. I haven’t had a chance to pump her yet.”

“Maybe it’d be a good idea to let her keep her privacy,” he said, compelling his voice to sound neutral.

Shonté rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t respect my privacy when it comes to my love life. You know how bossy she is, Key. I can’t get over her, lecturing me when she’s doing stuff like this.”

“What’s so terrible? You were the one who spent the night out before that.”

“But this is not Crystal! You know it isn’t. She’s always so buttoned up and traditional. I don’t know what to think.”

“Maybe it’s not what you imagine.”

“I’m not stupid, Key.”

He decided it was time to divert the subject. “Well, what about you? She says you’re hanging out with some scumball who’s cheating on his wife and kids.”

“Crystal’s such a prude. Well, she used to be.”

“Is she wrong about him?”

“I’m not serious about the guy,” she muttered, using more force than necessary to deposit a handful of spoons in the dishwasher rack.

“That’s good, because you know you can’t trust him if he’s already a cheater. And I hope you’re using protection.”

His sister flushed, her eyelashes fluttering, a sure sign of embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah.”

“And what about Graham?” he demanded, warming to the topic. “Does he know about this?”

She glared at him. “You’re as bad as Crystal. It’s not like you’ve been so pure yourself.”

“I never dated a married woman, Shonté, or lied to one,” he said with some sharpness. “Never! Can you imagine what Mom and Pop would say about something like that?”

Shonté’s bravado evaporated. She became a confused little girl. “It’s not like he’s happily married.”

“If his marriage is messed up, he needs to handle his business before he gets involved with you.”

“I’ll think about it, okay?” She scrubbed the countertop fiercely with a sponge before throwing it into the sink. “But in the meantime, you’ll talk to Crystal about last night, won’t you?”

Key seized his opportunity. “Don’t worry, I will. I need a few minutes alone with her. Why don’t you take Jalessa upstairs and get her settled?”

Shonté grunted agreement before leaving the kitchen. Key lingered behind to get ice cream from the freezer and fill two bowls with Rocky Road.

He entered the living room as Jalessa and Shont
é clattered up the stairs.

“How about some dessert, Shortcake?” he asked, holding a bowl out to her.

Her full, dimpled smile rewarded him.

“Umm, just what I needed.” She held out both hands for the dish.

Her smile was wide and infectious, involving her entire face as well as her bright, molasses dark eyes. He had always liked Crystal’s looks. He knew she complained about not being skinny like a magazine model or like Shonté, for that matter, but she was soft and curvy in all the right places, with skin of pecan pie brown, a yummy armful of woman.

Even back in high school he’d thought so, which had led to their dating for a short while. He shied away from the memory of the disastrous ending to that period. Eventually they’d learned to be friends again. Since then, he’d put her in the same category with his sister. Fun sometimes, irritating sometimes, and he’d always been careful to keep things friendly. That had all changed last night. When he looked at her now, his hormones went into overdrive. All he wanted to do was enfold her in his arms, kiss her, stroke her, and make her scream with pleasure.

He almost dropped the bowl when Crystal’s fingers brushed his as she took it. He plunked into a chair angled next to the couch and they both concentrated on the nutty, marshmallow-gooey concoction.

“This is part of my nutrition plan,” she chattered, talking very fast. “Each day I try to eat something from each of the four basic food groups: the chocolate group, the salty snack group, the caffeine group and the whatever-the-thing-in-the-tinfoil-in-the-back-of-the-fridge-is group.”

He lifted his gaze with the beginning of a laugh and choked at the sight of her tongue lapping the underside of the spoon. He had never before noticed what a lush, rosy mouth she had, the generous Cupid’s bow curve, and her long, supple tongue. He set his bowl down hastily on the coffee table and drew his knees together. It didn’t help the swelling ache between his legs.

A moment of awkward silence passed.

Key rubbed one hand back along his straight corn-rowed braids. “We need to talk about last night, Crystal.”

Stirring her ice cream, she wrinkled her forehead. “Last night? Oh, that! You’d better be glad I’m not desperate enough to take you seriously. That was pretty blood warming.”

He glared at her, annoyed that she was going to try to play this off. “Is that all you have to say? We did the wild thing, the humpty-hump. We got our freak on. We—”

He paused, struggling for words.

She filled in helpfully, her eyebrows lifting. “Knocked boots? Did the horizontal tango? Push and pull?”

He was startled for a moment, but felt his blood heat in response. “Did the dirty. Slid the slick. Cleaned the windshield wipers,” he retorted, watching her face.

Crystal didn’t back down. “Put the hole in the bottle. Wonked the willie.”

His gaze held hers. “Hit a home run. Jacked the beam.”

She tapped her spoon on the bowl before nodding. “Toasted the marshmallow?”

He held back before stating, with great precision, “Put the beef in the taco.”

They stared at one other. Her mouth trembled. Then they broke up, folding over to keep from laughing too loudly, wheezing with glee until they recovered.

He shook his head in bemusement. “It’s not funny, Taylor. If this had happened with any other woman—”

“I know, Emerson. It was crazy, stupid. We had too much to drink.”

“And I took those painkillers on top of all the alcohol. I think I must have been psychotic there for awhile. I’m still trying to sort out how much of what I recall was real and how much was fantasy.”

He looked her up and down, still amazed at the woman he had discovered last night. Under his look, she squirmed, obviously uncomfortable. Key cursed his body’s sizzling response, telling himself she had every right to be wary of him.

“I owe you an apology, Shortcake. I should have stopped it before it went so far.”

“Oh, no, Key. I was a willing participant.”

Willing
. The word echoed with sensual meaning. Their glances met and skittered apart.

“And one more thing, Key.”

“What?” he grunted.

Crystal took a deep breath and attempted to sound detached and clinical. “I’m sure you’re usually careful and all, but it would be a good idea if we both had a checkup with our doctors in the near future and found out if there was, you know, any significant news we need to pass on to the other one.” She stopped to breathe again, watching him.

Key shook his head, puzzled, then angry, then patently horrified. He didn’t say anything for a minute, just stared at her with stone-faced blankness. Then he slumped over his knees with a prolonged groan and stomped his feet a couple of times.