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“He was standing over near the directory holding an armload of roses, but I don’t see him now. He probably saw how good the two of us looked together and headed back to Hicksville.”

Chelsea had already walked away, afraid to trust her anger. Finding David waiting by the door, she asked if he had seen Isaac.

“Yeah. He left a minute or two earlier. Seemed mad as hell. Thinking something may have happened regarding your safety, I went after him, but he wouldn’t stop. Just said ‘she’s all yours, man,’ whatever that means.”

After placing Isaac’s number on redial, Chelsea drove frantically to her loft. She did notice how neatly his belongings were arranged in the closet but they were still there, which gave her a shred of hope. She called and left messages on his machine, with his mother, and with his teammate and best friend, Diego Cunningham. When Skip arrived, she poured her heart out.

“I knew that guy was trouble when I saw the way he looked at you. I don’t care about the politics of your office. I’m having a talk with that asshole.”

“No, but I will. He saw Isaac and purposely made it appear the two of us were having an intimate discussion. My back was against a column. Isaac couldn’t see my face, just Quincy’s, and he was all over me. If I didn’t have to see him at work, I would ask you to find the bastard and bust his pretty face. Right now, it’s Isaac I’m concerned about. You know, Skip, I didn’t want to admit this before, but I don’t want to lose Isaac.” She blushed at the thoughts in her mind. “We’re good together. He brings out the best in me.”

“Are you speaking sexually or—”

“No. As I told Dee, I’ve been having serious thoughts about our relationship for

sometime, but since we agreed to keep it light, I was afraid showing a serious side would scare him off. I’ve really given the matter a lot of thought this weekend because Isaac seemed different.”

“Different how?”

“I don’t know…protective, close. He also…shit! I’m going to kill Quincy Beckham.

Isaac asked about my feeling for him. He was hinting at something. Maybe he’s having the same feeling, but afraid to say anything, just like I’ve been.”

“I’ve also been feeling like maybe marriage is in the near future. After this past weekend with Dee, I think I’m getting much closer.”

“That’s great. You just took a load of worry off my mind. I was afraid of another

situation like the one with Diane. If you’ve noticed, I’ve not gotten close to any of your female friends since then. I really liked her, but when she and I found you with that ugly fish-mouth girl, she swore I was in on it.”

“Her name was Glory and I wish you wouldn’t keep calling her fish-mouth.” Skip

snickered. “Come to think of it, she did sort of resemble a perch.”

They laughed and he offered a last bit of advice. “If Isaac means anything to you, I suggest you find a way to let him know.”

* * * *

Isaac gunned his car out of the parking lot, started to Chelsea’s place to pack, but changed his mind. Everything he needed was in his car. He made two phone calls and drove back to see Frankie.

“Two visits in one day? I know that look. What’s wrong?”

He told his story while she mixed drinks. “So I haven’t been completely honest about my feelings for Chelsea, not even with myself until this weekend. Actually, it started when I was away. I missed her more than I had before. I couldn’t wait to get back here.”

“But you were still afraid of being turned down?”

“Of course. I don’t know what would have happened if I said something sooner, but I think she’s hooked on that slick bastard with the crocodile shoes. I’m sure her folks would rather have him in her life.”

“I thought you got along well with her folks.”

“I get along with all of them, but I don’t think her mother likes me. Skip is cool. Her grandmother, Mama Rose likes me.” He smiled shyly. “She calls me Sweet Thang.”

The both laughed.

“That wise old grandma knows what she’s talking about. You are sweet, and you’re lucky to have a family like hers instead of some of the ones I hear about. Richard told stories of some clients who were athletes. The women in their lives came with a bunch of leaches.”

“I know all about that kind. That’s all I hear about from the guys on the team. Some of them are taking care of whole families. Women look at us with dollar signs in their eyes. I’ve always been lucky in that respect.”

He looked at her, trying to wish the years away. “There’s one other thing I want you to know. I cried when you married Richard because I was so in love with you I couldn’t see straight. I came to your graduation to ask you to marry me, but before I could, you told me you were engaged. That broke my heart. You’re the reason I’ve never been able to have a serious relationship. I didn’t want the same pain.”

“Oh, Isaac.” She took a long drink from her glass as he did the same. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say. We both made assumptions without giving our relationship a chance.”

She frowned. “What about the women you talked about back then? All the other

relationships you had? Did you make that stuff up?”

“Oh no.” He grinned. “I did some serious damage out there. Most of those relationships were meaningless to me. Mildly stimulating at best. If I detected a hint of seriousness, I ran like a greyhound. Of course, I felt rotten when they were over. I wanted to feel something real, and finally realized I did—for you. I saved every penny I could scrape together for that night.

Wanted it to be special.”

She ran to the back of the chair and draped her arms around his shoulders. “I wish I had known.”

Enveloped in the scent that had always turned him on, he knew Frankie would have a special place in his heart forever. “If you had known, would you still have married Richard?”

“I can’t say for sure. I remember wanting to show you off to my friends at college and thinking you only wanted to be with me in the dark.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “No. If I had known how you felt, I wouldn’t have married Richard. I was afraid to allow myself to have the feeling I wanted to have for you, not just because of the age thing, but because I wasn’t sure how much you respected me.”

“I respected and loved you. You became my yardstick for measuring women, and not just in bed. I always thought you were the strongest woman in the world, and the brightest.” He took her arm, guided her around to a sitting position on his knee. “That opinion has not changed.”

She smothered him with kisses while using the heel of her hand to smooth away the

tightness in his massive shoulders. Her hand roamed down to his waist and lingered before reaching for the button on his slacks. Isaac stiffened.

“What’s wrong? Can’t we have one for old time’s sake, no expectations?”

“That wouldn’t be fair to you.” He held her face in his palms. “I will always love you, but right now—”

“I know,” she interrupted. “Right now, you’re in love with Chelsea. I understand. I’m not expecting to pick up where we left off.” This time she seized his zipper firmly. “If I needed money, you’d never refuse me. I need this, Isaac. Not for old time’s sake, but because I’ve never felt so low in my life. Make love to me and tell me how wonderful it feels. Lie if you have to.”

Agony and confusion buzzed together in his head. Breaking his promise to Chelsea

would compromise the one thing he wanted most. He remembered the look on Quincy’s face, the way he hovered over her, and the fact that she did not pull away. There’s no relationship to compromise.

Using the strength of his arms, he lifted Frankie from the floor. Having her body pressed against his was the sweetest memory he had left. It was still maddening. He held her close and forged his lips with hers. Her response was something he would never forget. She clung to him as if she was afraid to let go. As if she was seeking the will to breathe. As if he was her lifeline.

He needed to be needed. Loved.

He stroked her hair and buried his face in the contours of her neck, holding her close to him and waiting for her to let go. When she did, he eased her down on the bed and lay by her side. In one swift motion, she tore away her clothing and mounted his body in a wild and desperate act of need. There was no time for second thoughts.

“Make me feel wanted, Isaac. Make me believe I’m still a woman, a desirable woman.

Tell me my life isn’t over.”

He spoke softly as she had taught him, almost in a whisper. “You’re beautiful, inside and out. Any man in his right mind would be foolish to leave this behind.” His words were not empty assurances. He felt them deeply. His hands covered her breasts as she took him inside of her.

Each movement was accompanied by loud outbursts of vivid passion.

“I feel you. I want you. Take me back to the beginning. Make me forget everything in between. Everything but us.”

He wanted that, but inside, his heart was overflowing with pain and regret. Chelsea’s face loomed in the background, her scolding eyes burning his skin. In the two years they had dated, he never dared even fantasize about another woman. She had been more than enough, even when they were apart.

He remembered the surprise birthday party Diego had thrown for him in Miami. The

menu included a host of scantily clad women all clamoring for his attention. The star performer was an Asian girl with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, and movements no

chorographer could duplicate. Feeling her gyrate against him had been arousing. Her lithe body shimmied against his. Her hands were everywhere. Tempted by her tantalizing body, he had smiled broadly and shook his head when she reached for his belt. His teammates, especially Diego, had pelted him with questions.

“Man, are you sure you’re feeling okay? I’ve never seen you turn down something this luscious. It’s your birthday. Relax and enjoy.”

He had turned down many offers since then, but could not walk away from Frankie’s

plea. She had always been there for him, loved him. She had made him feel like a man long before he was. She now needed the one thing he could readily provide, but it wasn’t the same.

Feeling her grinding against him should have made him elated, not remorseful. His body had responded, but his heart was torn in two.

“Ouch!”

He jumped alert, loosened his grip on her breasts and tried to change his expression.

“You’re not into this at all, are you?” She slowed her erratic gyrations but remained firmly impaled on the part of his body that had responded very well.

“I meant everything I said.” Convincing someone who knew him well took concentration.

He held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You’re beautiful, baby. Even more desirable than before.”

“But I’m not Chelsea.”

He became even more attentive, hoping to erase her concerns about her sexuality. “No, you’re Frankie, the woman who puts all others to shame.” With her butt cheeks cupped in his hands, he guided her through motions that sent quivering spasms up and down his body. “I’ve missed you, baby. No one can stroke it with the motion like you do.”

Before his declaration was finished, she screamed his name in a convulsive release.

“Now! Right there! Keep it coming, baby.”

Wanting to please her in every way, he directed his thoughts to the present, was

swallowed up in her joyous eruption, and soon joined with one of his own. She was still clinging to him. He held her there. If I could only go back to the past. Me and Frankie. I don’t want to let her down.

“Did you enjoy it at all or was that just for me?” She peeled her body from his and kissed his sweaty brow.

“I want you to do me a big favor. Stop putting yourself down. Just because that creep Richard can’t recognize a good thing doesn’t mean another man won’t.” He held her close. “I wish I could be that man. I wish I could wash away your pain, go back to the beginning and start all over again, but I can’t. I’m hurting right now. Hurting bad. The one thing I’ve dreaded all these years has come to pass, and I’m still not coping well.”

She smothered his face with kisses. “Oh, Isaac. Life is like a big garden of flowers. There are lots of eye pleasing attractions and seductive scents. Once you’re hooked, you realize it’s also filled with thorns. It isn’t easy but we can’t always bypass the pain. You inhale the greatness and deal with the sadness.”

He smiled. “I know. I want to make you forget the thorns. The sadness.” He looked into her eyes. “Even if I was not hung up on Chelsea, there’s still more than just you and me to consider. I love your boys like they were my own. I would never hurt you or them.”

“What about Chelsea? Don’t you think you should give her a chance to tell her side of the story?”

“I did when I left here earlier, that’s why I went to the courthouse. I was planning to take her to dinner and ask her to marry me.”

“Isaac. I’m so sorry.”

“I spent the weekend and yesterday trying to build up to it, but she was still playing cool, or so I thought. When I realized she wasn’t playing, I started thinking about what happened Sunday morning when I went to her place. She was asleep and I did what I normally do when we’ve been apart. The way she responded was like nothing she had done before. She could have been thinking, dreaming about someone else, like Quincy Beckham. Polished, pretty boy.”

“Now who’s putting himself down? I wish I had gotten to know her better. I wanted to, but after the four of us were last together, Richard went on a long tirade about how you and I kept looking at each other. From the little I’ve seen, Chelsea was all the way into you. You should have stayed there, confronted her and this man. Maybe it wasn’t what you thought.”

“Maybe. She said she wasn’t interested in him and I believed her.”

“Then go to her now.”

“Can’t. I’m leaving tonight. I made reservations on the drive here. In fact, I’d better get a move on or I’ll miss my flight.”

Frankie used the sheet to cover her glistening body. “Don’t you think you owe her a chance to explain?”

“It wouldn’t be good for me to see her now.” He grabbed his pants. “I’m too angry. I’ve never struck a woman in my life, but if Chelsea tells me she’s been playing me all this time, I’m not sure I could control myself.”