An Angel for Ms. Right (4 page)

After logging off and packing most of his belongings into the bag, Adam remembered one final task he had forgotten. Luckily, he had not shut down his laptop. All he needed to do was access his school email account again and take a quick look to see whether his little brother had sent him anything. Charles was in his early teens and, though Adam liked to check in with his brother as often as possible, as with every other teen in this day and age, Charles seemed to only want to communicate via the web or some other electrical device. Adam laughed to himself as he scrolled through the emails before coming across one that caught his eye. He clicked on the message as fast as his index finger would allow him.

To: Adam Aggeliki ([email protected])

FROM: Denise Right ([email protected])

Subject: (No Subject)

Hi Adam. It’s me, Denise. Sorry about the other day. I really would like to be friends with you. If you still need some help with that class, please let me know. You can call me at the number below anytime 

A tickle of hope ran through his chest as he searched his bag for his phone, making a mental note to send a text to his brother later, and then punched in the number displayed in the message on the screen.

One ring, two, three…

As the fourth one was about to start, Adam pulled the phone away from his ear and started to hit the end button when a heavenly voice came on the line.

“Hello?”

Adam closed his eyes and took in the sweetness of her voice.

“Hello? Is this Adam?”

“Yeah, sorry. Hi, Denise. It’s me. Can I come see you?”

The minute she heard the knock on the room door, her heart jumped. Denise took one last look in the hall mirror before deciding to take her hair out of the band to let the brown hair fall free around her shoulders. She also decided to put away the workout wear for one night and instead now wore a cream colored sweater that fit her slim upper body and hung just off the left shoulder, a pair of black jeans that fit her curved hips perfectly, and accented the outfit with a pair of black sling back high heels with peep toes. Denise smiled at her reflection. It was an image she had not seen on herself in some time and she loved every inch of it. She hoped Adam would also.

Inhaling a calming breath, she opened the door and immediately wanted to throw herself against his tall and solid body. Her senses screamed that she wanted to be completed engulfed by the presence of this man and his muscular build. The telling smile on his handsome face was stretched from ear to ear and validated a similar thought crossed his mind. She could almost see the green in his eyes casting a blaze.

“You look stunning,” he breathed out and she took his hand and led him into the moderate sized suite.

After she offered him a seat on the couch, Denise moved to the kitchen to catch her breath. Her body seemed to come alive as soon as he was near. He was the definition of delicious in his light blue jeans and a white polo shirt that set off his wonderful complexion. The shortness of his hair and its spiky roughness had definitely grown on her and she loved how it gave him an appearance of raw manliness she wanted a piece of.

“Did you want something to drink?” she called to him as she stood in front of the refrigerator and enjoyed its coolness.

“No, I only want you,” he whispered in her ear as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her body closer into his.

Shivers went down her spine. Without thought or hesitation, Denise happily sank back into his warmth and wanted to stay in his comforting embrace for as long as possible.

“Denise, I missed you. I know that does not sound logical given that we haven’t known one another long, but I can’t seem to help this feeling that you give me.”

She turned to face him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. She also saw the sadness, the hints of emptiness she had seen reflected many times in the mirror as she watched herself.

She placed a hand delicately to his cheek, only slightly rough from a day’s worth of short dark stubble. He turned his lips to offer her palm a soft kiss. Denise felt her folds moisten. Reason told her to pull back but her heart told her this was a good feeling, something she wanted – no, something she needed to experience.

“I know what it is,” she bowed her head, almost afraid to finish her thought allowed.

He placed a large finger under her chin and lifted her face until their eyes once more melded into one another’s.

“Tell me.”

“You bring me to life. I have been so alone and shut down for so long. With you – your touch, your smile, they awaken a joy in me that I allowed to slip away.”

She stopped and he cupped her face into his hands. His olive skin accented her light brown tone perfectly.

“Denise, I feel the same way.”

Ever so gently he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She responded softly at first then inhaled his scent of spice and pine and went deeper into the kiss. He eagerly returned the passion that stirred between them. They clung to one another, enjoying the taste of a love in bloom. It was only when Denise felt the cold from the open refrigerator slide across her shoulders she broke the kiss and laughed. It was a laugh of freedom, of a heavy weight being lifted from her mind and her soul. Finally, she believed that there was a chance of her reclaiming peace and happiness in her life.

Seated on the couch, Denise sat atop Adam’s lap as he held her in his arms. Everything about the moment was so right, so familiar to them both. He held his face to her hair and used his free hand to stroke his fingers through her long tresses. She, in turn, allowed her hands to roam freely across his wide chest. She could feel the hardness of his muscles through the thin cotton of the shirt. She could also feel a delightful bulge growing through his jeans, but had chosen not to comment on that fact as of yet.

He stiffened immediately when she said the words. He knew she did not realize the reason why and could see the worry growing across her face as she sat up due to his reaction.

He sat up and she scooted off his lap to the place right next to him. He wrapped an arm around her to make sure she did not go far from his side.

“Denise,” he started slow then continued in a hurry as though the words could not be stopped from pouring from his mouth, like a bad taste he needed to get out, “my parents are dead.”

A sad smile crossed his lips and he leaned his elbows on his outstretched legs, placing his head in his hands before recovering a moment later.

“Let me explain. My parents made good money when they were still living, but they didn’t have any savings or life insurance. I guess it was something they intended to do and never got around to it,” he hunched his shoulders at the thought.

“I use to play football in high school. We played on Friday nights in the fall and they always liked to be there. It was the last game of the season in my junior year and my father had a really important business dinner that he had to attend in Philadelphia. He and my mom went to the dinner and I took my little brother, Charles, with me. At the end of the game, they were still a no-show. My brother and I reached our house and there were police waiting inside and so was our grandmother, our father’s mother. I don’t remember much of what was said that night other than the police concluded it was a drunk driver who must have stolen someone’s car. The other vehicle hit my parents’ car head-on on I-95 and they were gone instantly. The other driver must have made it, but they never found him or her.”

Denise gasped at the reality that had come crashing down on her. Here she was complaining about how her parents had left her life in emotional upheaval and Adam’s parents were no longer on the earth. She felt hot tears sting her eyes and wiped them away with the back of her hand. She noticed Adam was no longer speaking and had buried his face in his hands while low sobs came out. Denise immediately wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her embrace. No words were needed. The couple held one another until Adam pulled away to lift his head and continue.

“So, after that, we went to stay with my grandmother. She only had her pension and my grandfather’s pension to live off of. We sold what we could and used the proceeds from the sale of the house for my parents’ funeral and burial and there was not much left over after that. I worked part-time through the rest of high school to get my brother and I the basics we needed when my grandmother did not have the extra money to do so. We did not have the best and sometimes my brother would get teased and even the people that I thought were my friends kind of pushed me to the side when I could not afford to buy the same stuff or party the way I use to. I was lucky enough to get an athletic scholarship to undergrad school, but I knew I had to work hard in college if I wanted to make it any further than that. And now here I am. I need to keep a cumulative 3.0 in all courses to maintain the scholarship I earned as an undergraduate.”

“So, that’s why you were asking for my help.”

Denise’s stomach turned over when she realized how inconsiderate she had been when he came up to her after class. She put her hand to her head to keep the room from spinning.

Adam moved her hand away from her face and kissed her softly, almost shyly.

“I told you, that was one of the reasons. I really wanted to get to know you and that was my ‘in’ to start a conversation. I was the one who did not handle that well.”

“I already know my coordination is not the best. Besides, I have a lot on my mind and it detracts from my depth perception.” She offered him a sly smile.

“That’s exactly what I mean. I could see your beauty. This lovely skin of yours,” he stroked her face as he recounted the memory, “I could even see there was a fabulous body hiding under all those layers of sweat clothes.”

“Mostly, I also saw you were distressed. There was something about you that seemed lost. You always seem to have a faraway look in your eyes. I immediately recognized it because it was the same feeling and look I had. Believe it or not, you called to me from across the room and I had to know how to make you happy. For some reason, I knew if I could bring a smile to those sad eyes, I would bring one to mine.”

“I hope I can live up to your expectations. I’m not good at relationships. The one I have with my own parent’s is a mess and I have not had many serious relationships with men.”

“Okay, now it’s your turn. Spill it.”

He sat back and waited while she pondered how to begin.

“Let me start off by saying, again, I am so sorry for your loss. Whatever I have to say cannot ever compare to what you went through.”

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

“My mom and dad were so happy once,” she chewed on her finger as she lamented the loss of her loving family times, “now they are like complete strangers. When I was little, my father would bring her roses and take her to all his events. He is a head surgeon for the health care system he works for but he always made time to take her out to dinner every Friday night. My mother spent hours getting her hair and make-up done and picking out the right outfit. I was right there giving my little thumps up or down.”