Getting Schooled (The Wright Brothers Book 1) (5 page)

“Bitch I will
kill you
.”

Those words were immediately followed by a sharp swat to my hand.

I snatched it back with an exaggerated “
Owww!
” and then slumped against my arm of the couch, scowling at my best friend. “It was an honest mistake!”

“The hell it was,” she said. “Ten in the box, and your greedy ass already had six. This one is
mine.
” She took a vicious bite, her chew slow and exaggerated, with plenty of sound effects as she savored the last wing. I crossed my arms, pouting as I turned back to the preseason football game on the screen.

“
Supposed to be my friend, treating me like a goddamned animal in my own house. Hmph!”

Devyn sucked her teeth, then took another bite of the wing. “I hear you over there, crazy.”

“That’s the whole point,” I laughed. “Hey… would it be like…
too
greedy of me to order another box of wings?”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Only if it would be too greedy of
me
to help you eat them.”

“Okay so then not at all.”

I reached for my phone and placed the order right as the game ended, and fine ass Jordan Johnson ended up on my screen. We’d actually started BSU together in the same freshman class, and shared a few courses. I left shortly after that, and by the time I came back, he was already the resident college football hero of the school.

“Hey, you work tomorrow, don’t you?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Devyn was a nurse, and she was almost always at work on Saturdays, a twelve hour shift that started at two in the afternoon.

“Of course.” She sighed, then relaxed back into the couch cushions with her feet up on the ottoman and the silky, honey-blonde strands of her chin-length bob covering her face. “But I did I tell you I applied to University hospital?”

I sat straight up, and screamed. “You did?! Yesss!”

Devyn peeked at me through her hair, and shook her head. “I knew you weren’t going to leave me alone unless I did it, so… yeah. We’ll see what happens.”

“You’ll get the job is what’s going to happen,” I gushed. I’d been on Devyn about applying at the newer, state-of-the-art hospital for years now, but she was comfortable at the small hospital a county over. She made decent money, and had good relationships with her coworkers, but even I could tell she was bored.

Everybody who needed medical attention mattered, but I knew my friend. She craved a challenge, and the facts were that the difficult cases, the
interesting
cases, and the fast paced environment were located right in the heart of the city, at University hospital.

“We’ll see,” she insisted, brushing her hair aside to show her pretty honey-toned face. A spattering of light brown freckles covered her nose and fanned onto her high cheekbones, a trait she’d inherited from her mother, who was
my
mother’s bestie. Devyn was two years older than me, but she didn’t feel like a big sister. She felt like my
twin.

“Okay, okay.” I tried to tone down my beaming smile. “I’ll leave you alone I guess, since you’re all embarrassed now.”

“Uh huh. Let’s talk about something else… like the college cutie you got in trouble about.”

“
Ugggh,
” I groaned. “Let me guess – Imara and Irene have been bumping gums.”

Devyn giggled. “You already know it. Now, last
I
heard, J. Wright had you ready to toss your panties at him. Now you’re verbally sparring with this kid?”

“He’s not a kid,” I corrected quickly. “He’s your age, a grown ass man. And he
still
has me ready to toss my panties at him.”

“Ooooh!” Her eyes lit up. “That means goodbye Grayson, right?”

I sucked my teeth. “Wrong. This Jason thing is all hypotheticals and scenarios that’ll never happen. My boyfriend is Grayson.”

“So the rhyming is just a coincidence?”

“Uhh,
yes
,” I laughed. “I know you don’t like Gray, but—”

“Girl
you
don’t even like him,” Devyn quipped, wrinkling her nose. “He’s not even your type. He’s all…
gray
.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Partially at the look on her face, partially because I understood exactly what she meant when she called him gray. Meaning neutral. Meaning
boring
. And maybe that was kinda why he worked for me.

Grayson was a very buttoned-up type of guy. Nice job as a young lawyer, nice condo downtown, nice looking… just... nice. No chance of me getting too wrapped up in our relationship, when the only thing I was trying to be wrapped up in right now was securing my education and career, since I was already two years behind.

He was perfect.

“He’s my type
for now
. And neither of us is thinking long term, so it’s not like that’s a big deal.”

“It’s a big waste of time though.”

I was opening my mouth to offer a weak response when the doorbell rang, and I hopped right up to answer.

“Saved by the bell,” Devyn called after me, and I grinned as I reached for the deadbolt, putting my eye up to the peephole before I disengaged the lock.

Shit!

“It’s mama!” I whisper-yelled to Deyvn, stepping back into the living room. Her eyes went wide in confusion, and I motioned toward our pizza and wing boxes, and the pouches from our store-bought frozen cocktails.

“Ohhh, shit!”

Devyn immediately went to work, gathering and everything and running with it into the kitchen. I couldn’t do anything about the smell of pizza and liquor that was probably on my breath, but I unbolted and opened the door anyway.

“Hey mama!”

She breezed past me into my living room, just as Devyn stepped in from the kitchen.

“Daaang Auntie!” she said, making a circle around my mother as she posed, shoulders back, head held high. “Why are you all dressed up like this?”

“Out being fast,” I said, grinning as I came to stand beside Devyn. My mother was wearing a flirty, leopard print circle skirt that skimmed her thighs, a sleeveless silk blouse, and sky-high heeled sandals. She’d looked amazing when she left, but now, she had a little glow of happiness all over her face.

She shot me a censoring look, even though she blushed. “I was not out being fast, I was asked on a date.”

“Why is all your lipstick gone if you weren’t being fast?”

“Why does your place smell like pizza and hot wings?” She lifted an eyebrow.

My mouth dropped open. “Umm… so what you’re saying is that we should both mind our business, huh?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Message received.”

Devyn shook her head, laughing. “Y’all are a trip. What does he look like?”

“You know who Henry Simmons is, right?” I chimed in before my mother could answer. “From NYPD Blue? Imagine him a couple shades darker, about sixty years old, with a little salt and pepper thing going on.”

“Damn,” Devyn said. “Go ahead then, Auntie!”

Our laughter was interrupted by the doorbell again, and I stepped away to answer.

Shit
, I thought, as soon as my silly ass opened the door without looking and saw the deliveryman on the other side.

“
More
hot wings Reesie?”

I cringed as my mother’s voice rang from behind me, but didn’t turn around as I collected my food and paid. When I turned around, Devyn had walked up too, and immediately took the Styrofoam carton from my hands.

“Thank you for ordering these for me twinnie,” she said, winking at me as she grabbed her keys and purse from the hook. “My liquor has worn off, so I’m going to head out, y’all have fun, nice to see you Auntie, bye!”

Her words came out as one long sentence as that heifer snuck off, after conning me out of my wings. I couldn’t even argue the point in front of my health-nut mother either, cause we were
both
supposed to be on this low-fat, low-sodium, low-yumminess kick before what I referred to as comfort-food season started.

“You’re coming running with me in the morning, right?”

I sighed, then closed the door behind Devyn. “Don’t I always?”

“You sound really enthusiastic, my dear,” she quipped, shaking her head. “And yet, you always claim to feel great afterward.”

That was true. I complained and acted like I was dying before and during every early-morning run, but I unfailingly felt amazing after, even if it was early as hell in the morning. Her yoga habit was the same situation.

I pushed a sugary smile to my face. “Yaaay? Is that better?” I asked, my fake smile turning into a real one when she scowled. “So… are you going to tell me about your date? Did you have a good time? Did he kiss you?”

She lifted an eyebrow as a smile tugged the corners of her mouth. “He took me to listen to jazz and have dinner, and it was lovely. I had a wonderful time. And I don’t kiss and tell… my daughter. I’m
not
telling you.”

“Oh booo! Why did you come by then?”

She settled into a seat on the couch and took off her shoes. “To find out how your apology to Jason Wright went.”

I giggled. “It went well.”

“Uh huh. Then why are you laughing?”

“Ohh, no reason. Don’t worry mama. I didn’t say anything he’ll be able to complain about.”

I’d made sure of
that
.

Oh, I’d apologized all right, but did it in such a way that even my apology was insulting. Of course I knew his feelings weren’t really hurt – we were playing chess. And in my probably biased opinion, I was kicking his ass. Of course I knew he wasn’t trying to get me in trouble – he was forcing me to engage with him. And I’d even crushed
that
by making it clear that I wouldn’t.

If Mr. Wright wanted to play with me, he was going to have to pull his best moves out.

five.

So Professor Bryant bought herself a new whip.

Luxury cars didn’t come through our service center too often, so the sleek black beauty definitely caught my eye. She only wanted minor changes on the trim package – a different set of rims, modified console, things like that, but we had to order a few parts, so all in all, it took a week to get her car ready.

And of course
I
got the job of dropping it off.

I wondered if she knew J&P was my father’s place? The logo on the sleeve of the mechanic’s shirt I wore sometimes was tiny, and it was one of the biggest – and only black owned – dealerships in the city. It made sense that she
wouldn’t
have known, at least initially, but what about now?

Is that why he sent me to drop off this car?

I groaned.

I’d made the mistake of lamenting that grade out loud to him and my brother’s at dinner last Sunday… was this his way of trying to help me out? Curry some favor with the professor for a better grade next time?

At that, I chuckled.

That wasn’t my father’s style.

But, I did notice that he wasn’t dropping the car off himself, even though his name was listed as the salesman on the paperwork.

Hmmm.

Professor Bryant was around the same age as my father, and she was fine as hell. Even when he wasn’t on the market to date, my father had never been one to turn down a chance to do a little respectful flirting with a pretty woman. The only reason I could think of that Pops wouldn’t do this delivery himself was to avoid getting himself in trouble with his mystery woman.

Ha.

Smart man.

In any case, it was because of this drop off that instead of spending my Saturday morning with an engine, I was reluctantly in khakis and the corny J&P polo, driving Professor Bryant’s car to her house. One of the other guys from the service center was with me, trailing me in another car so I could get back to the dealership after the drop off. Plus, my official capacity today was salesman, which I hated, so if there were any adjustments needed, or problems with the car, I was supposed to let him handle it.

Like that was actually going to happen.

In any case, I pulled up in front of this perfectly manicured modern craftsman style house. There was a big driveway that even led to the back of the house, so I took advantage of the space by parking it in a way that the car would look especially good from the front door. Or at least I tried. There was a little annoying dark purple Audi parked right in my sight line, and I frowned at it.

Didn’t seem like something the professor would drive.

I did one last little inspection over the car, making sure everything looked perfect before I ambled up to the front door. The big front window was wide open, blinds, curtains, and all, and I could hear music blasting from inside – chicks singing and rapping about “feeling themselves”. I couldn’t really see anything except a deep purple couch that separated the living room from the kitchen, but I recognized the strong lavender scent of purple fabuloso cleaning products. My mother had used the same thing, but damn… what was with all the purple?

I rang the doorbell once, and then a second time when minutes passed and nobody came to the door. Thankfully the song ended, and I hurriedly pushed the doorbell again in the break in the music.

A couple of seconds later, the door swung open, and the purple
everything
suddenly made sense.

“What the hell do
you
want?” Reese asked, leaning on the mop she’d brought with her to the front door. I wanted to come back with a snarky response, but I was distracted by pretty copper skin. Lots and lots of skin.

She’d come to the door in a gray sports bra that was doing an admirable job of trying to keep her contained. The matching gray shorts she wore came down to mid-thigh, yeah, but they were lycra, or something else, that fit tight against her skin. I wasn’t trying to always find myself ogling her like this, but
goddamn.

“Can I help you?” she snapped, and I ran my tongue over my lips before I unhurriedly brought my gaze up to her face. She was pissed, and I almost wanted to laugh, because I don’t think she realized that
pissed
was sexy as hell on her.

Big browns narrowed, plush lips twisted into a frown. I had the strongest urge to grab her by the high ponytail she’d pulled her braids into and kiss her, and watch that little attitude melt away, but I was on official business… and I wouldn’t put it past Reese to pull out a blade. What the hell was she doing here anyway, with a mop? Damn, did Professor B make her grad assistant clean her house too?

Ahhh, maybe this is more of her punishment from that email… God I hope so.

She cleared her throat, and let the mop lean in the doorway as she crossed her arms, waiting for me to explain my presence.

“I’m looking for Professor – I mean, Imara Bryant.”

“She’s not here.”

Motherfucking déjà vu.

Internally, I sighed, then nodded. “Okay. When will she be back?”

“I have no idea.”

“You never have useful information, do you? You work here and don’t know when the owner is going to be back?”

She sucked her teeth, her face twisting into a deeper scowl. “
Work here
?! Boy this is
my
house. Excuse you.”

“What? So you live with the professor?”

“I
live
alone.”

“Then why is this address on the paperwork?”

“Because it’s a duplex,” she snapped, then jabbed a finger toward my chest. “
You
need to drive around back.”

I blew out a heavy sigh, then took a step back. “You couldn’t have just said that in the first place?”

She smirked. “What was it that you said that day in the office?
That’s not even what you asked me
.”

I narrowed my eyes, and nodded. “Aiight. Got it.”

Shaking my head, I stepped down off the porch and climbed back into the car. I hadn’t driven two feet before Reese came outside and waved me down.

She’d slid some thonged sandals on, but hadn’t put on any more clothes, and in the full sunlight… again,
goddamn
. She walked right up to the car, when I let the window down she leaned, dropping her head so we were face to face.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “She’s not at home. Your little paperwork should say somewhere that you’re authorized to drop the car off with me.”

I put a hand to my forehead, squeezing to relieve some frustration and pressure. This girl was trying to stress me to death – only possible explanation. I turned the car off and climbed out, leaving the door open for her to look around inside, but she didn’t move back. Instead, we ended up rounding each other, looking each other up and down.

“Nice khakis,” she said, once she was the one closest to the car, and then turned look at it.

I looked at it too – not the car. Reese was on the slimmer side of curvy, fit, but still nice and soft. And her
ass…
perfect upside-down heart over toned thighs, just a couple inches from my hands.

Well within grabbing distance.

She put her knees on the front seat, bending over into the passenger side to examine something. I stuck my hands in my pockets, and was still talking myself into looking away from those twin dimples on her back when she turned around. First, her eyes cut over to her ass, then up to me, glaring at me over her shoulder.

“Could you take a step back? My boyfriend would kill you if he saw you looking at me like that.”

I laughed. “If your boyfriend was hitting it right, I doubt I’d
be
looking at you like this. You’d have a much better disposition.”

“My man is
hitting it
just fine, asshole.”

Again, I had to laugh. “Yeah, whatever you need to say to convince yourself he ain’t wack. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe you have a man that would put up with you.”

She scoffed as she backed out of the car, and I
did
step away to give her some room, or her ass would have been against my dick. She got right in my face, smelling like fabuloso, and crossed her arms.

“You realize that doesn’t quite ring true when it’s obvious your ass can’t resist me, right?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Can’t resist you? Woman… I’d ask if you were crazy, but I already know the answer to that.”

“So I’m crazy now? I haven’t been that crazy when you couldn’t keep your eyes off me. And I bet I’m not that crazy when you’re thinking about how you’re going to fabricate another interaction with me.”

“
I’m
fabricating interactions?” – that was true, but whatever – “What about you
purposely
picking fights?”

She smirked. “I haven’t picked any fights with you – I just haven’t backed down from them. I can see why you’d be confused about that though.”

I tossed my head back, letting out a shout of laughter. “I swear, you are the most irritating, abrasive, snarky woman I’ve ever met.”

Reese stepped in a little closer, barely leaving any space between us as she looked up into my eyes. “And that’s
exactly
why you want me so bad, isn’t it?”

Yes. Hell yes.

But of course I didn’t
say
that.

“I’m not into evil princesses with nasty attitudes, no matter how good they look.”

“And I’m not into arrogant mechanics with sticks up their asses.” She cocked an eyebrow. “So where exactly do we go from here?”

Before either of us could say anything else, I heard someone call her name from over my shoulder. I glanced back to see a car I hadn’t even heard pull up, a silver Lexus with chrome trimmings. Nice.

Standing on the other side of it was one of those corporate type of dudes that I had – correctly, apparently – pegged as Reese’s type. He stepped from behind the car, cautiously, wearing khakis on purpose, looking between me and Reese like he was considering a call to the police. He called her name again, still cautious, damn near high-pitched, and I didn’t even bother trying to hide my derisive smirk as I turned back to her.

“
This
is the nigga that was going to “kill me” over you?” I chuckled, shaking my head. Her nostrils flared as she scowled at me, hard, but her lack of denial answered my question. “Hey, listen…” I dropped my head toward her, speaking into her ear. “You ever need somebody to hit it
right
… you let me know. Aiight?”

“Reese, are you okay?”

I rolled my eyes. Here this dude was, creeping up like he couldn’t see the big J&P Auto logo on my chest.

“I’m fine, Gray,” Reese said, stepping around me. His eyes bulged out when he saw how she was dressed, but I doubt she cared. “He’s from the dealership. He was just here dropping my mother’s car off. And now he’s about to go.”

Mother?
!

I narrowed my eyes, looking at Reese’s face. If I squinted a little, and imagined her with designer glasses like Professor B always wore to class… damn. I could see the resemblance.

Reese held out her hand, and I dropped the keys into it. “You have a nice day ma’am,” I said, then turned to walk to the other car, where my coworker was waiting. “Oh!” I turned back, and “Gray” was already in her face, looking like he was about to get cursed out. They both looked up, and I winked at Reese. “Don’t forget my offer.”

- & -