Yearning For Her Curves: (A BWWM Interracial Romance) (4 page)

Chapter 9

Friday night came.  I’d arrived home Thursday night to an envelope slipped under my door, that contained a key and a note in Patrick’s handwriting saying to go out to the house Friday whenever I was ready, and that he’d be home right after practice.  I’ll admit, there in the privacy of my own home where no one would see me, I squealed and jumped up and down a bit at the idea of having a key to Patrick’s house.  I didn’t know if I was supposed to keep it past the weekend or not, but it still made me happy.

I arrived at Patrick’s house just before twilight hit and parked to the side of the garage, since I didn’t have an opener.  I didn’t want to block Patrick from being able to pull in, and knowing him, he’d move my car once he got back anyway.  He didn’t like leaving vehicles open to the elements all night.  I’d put the key on my key chain with the others and stared at it for a few minutes before I’d left the house.  It looked so at home there.  It slipped into the lock effortlessly, and the mechanism clicked open, allowing me to push the whisper silent door open and step into the foyer that always made me stop and look around.  It was wonderful.

His home had a very clean, modern feeling to it, a lot of whites, sharp angles and wide open windows.  One of the reasons that he’d picked a neighborhood with such high security had been so that he could have those wide open windows without the fear of someone peeping back at him all the time.

I wandered through the house, taking the long way around until I hit the bedroom.  I wasn’t sure where to put my bag.  I’d never really packed a bag before, because I’d never been out there and stayed as part of a plan.  This was new.  I sighed and walked over to the closet, dropping my bag to the left, the empty side of the massive walk-in.  I could ask him if that was okay when he got there.  My phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out, grinning when I saw Patrick’s handsome face on the caller ID.  It’s like he knew that I was thinking about him.

“Hello?”  I said.

“Are you there yet?”

“I just got here, in fact.” 

“Good, I just got out of the showers.  I’ll be on my way as soon as I get dressed.”

“Who are you over there whispering to?”  I heard a voice that sounded alarmingly like Joey’s ask from the background.

“If that’s Joey, he’ll tell Charlotte and we’ll never hear the end of it,” I said, laughing.  Char had been convinced that Patrick and I were a couple in denial for a while now.  Confirmation, especially in a way like Patrick being caught trying to secretly talk to me about our weekend together, would equal merciless teasing.

“Mind your business,” Patrick said to the mystery nosy person, laughing.

“Hi Jacinta!”  The voice, which I was now totally sure belonged to Joey, yelled.

“Oh geez,” I said.  Patrick laughed.

“Anyway, I’ll be there in about thirty minutes, with dinner.  Okay?”

“Okay.”  I laughed as more voice chimed in behind him and he mercifully ended the call.

I puttered around the house a bit more, marveling at it and appreciating the view for a bit before finally settling in the den with a soda and the remote to the TV.

~~~

I woke up to the sound of the front door closing.  I hadn’t even noticed that I’d fallen asleep, but I sat up and stretched, listening as footfalls came into the room with me.

“Hey, sweets.  I grabbed Chinese food on the way home.  Is that alright?” he asked as I turned to face him with a smile.

“That’s wonderful,” I said.  Patrick paused where he stood, watching me thoughtfully before moving closer and leaning down to kiss me.

“I bought you some wine.”  He turned and walked towards the kitchen.  I stood and trotted after him.

“You did?  But you don’t drink,” I said.  He put the bag down and started opening cabinets.

“Generally speaking, no I don’t,” he said.  “I drank a lot when I was younger, and I made a lot of bad decisions.  But, I don’t mind having a glass with you every once in a while.  You’ll just end up drinking more of the bottle than I will.” 

“I didn’t know that was why you don’t drink,” I said.  Patrick handed me a bottle of already chilled wine to slip into the fridge until we were ready for it.

“Yep,” he said.  “I don’t mind being around people who are drinking and know their limits.  I’ve never seen you get completely sloshed, and I’ve noticed that past a point, you switch to water so I know that you know how much you can handle.”

“Charlotte does not put up with sloppy drunks.  She’ll put you out on the side of the road,” I said with a laugh.  Patrick grinned.

“Is that why you know how much you can drink?”  Patrick asked.  I shook my head.

“No, but it helps to know that I’ll be abandoned somewhere and on my own should I get carried away.” 

Patrick fixed us both a plate and took them to the table as I pulled down two wine glasses and poured us both a glass.  We met at the breakfast bar and sat down together.

“Shrimp fried rice and wine.  We are classy,” Patrick said as the two of us collapsed into laughter together.

“So what’s the plan for this weekend together?”  I asked.  Patrick shrugged and took a sip of his wine.

“I didn’t plan anything, really.  We can do anything that you want.”  

I glanced up at him. “What if I want to go shopping in Paris?”

“That would probably be something that you should save for a time when we are together for more than a weekend,” he said with a wink.  I stopped and put down my fork.

“But you’d take me?”

“Of course I would,” Patrick said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.  I smiled to myself and went back to eating.

Chapter 10

I woke up the next morning alone in the bed.  I’d completely forgotten that I was at Patrick’s until I heard him humming from outside of the bedroom and smelled something that had to be pig-related.  I’d been contemplating getting up and going to see what he was up to, but he beat me to it, returning with a tray that looked to contain a plate of breakfast food and a large cup of something steaming.

“Breakfast is served, m’lady,” he said, setting the tray on the night stand beside me and grinning.

“What?”  I said, confused.  Breakfast in bed?

“I brought you breakfast, this isn’t that baffling, Jacinta,” he said with an amused grin.  I stopped.

“Yes it is!  Who does that anymore?”  I squealed.

“I do.  Now eat, I’m going to go get my plate.”  He turned and walked out of the room.  I glanced over to the tray beside me.  He’d made French toast, eggs over easy and sausage patties.  The steaming cup was actually tea, and the bag hanging from the side of the cup stated that it was raspberry.  I smiled and turned, perching myself on the edge of the bed and picking up the fork he’d brought.

I wondered, there while he was in the other room, if this was something that I could get used to.  Was this something that I could live with forever?  And if it was, would it be something that I’d get bored with and start searching for a way out of.  Or better yet, would he?  The sex was still just as amazing as it had been that first night, or maybe more so because we’d learned about each other.  We knew what the other liked better, how hard or soft, fast or slow.  I could honestly say that in that moment, right then, sticking that warm buttered piece of French toast into my mouth, I didn’t want to be with anyone else.  It had been months and I wasn’t remotely interested in another lover.  I glanced up at the doorway and grabbed my phone, opening up a text message.

To: Char
                Have you gotten bored with Joey?

I hit send and waited, glancing to the side as Patrick came back into the room and settled in one of the arm chairs across from where I sat with a grin.

“Is it good?” he asked.  I shook my head.

“It’s really good, the French toast is so buttery!”  I said as my phone vibrated.

To: Me
                I’m sorry, have you met my husband?

I chuckled to myself as I hit reply.

“Who are you texting over there?”  Patrick asked.

“Charlotte.  I just needed to ask her something.  It won’t be a long conversation.”  I didn’t want to take anything away from our time together, but for some reason her answer was very important to me right then.

“No worries, we aren’t really doing anything right now.  Take your time,” Patrick said with a wink that made me grin.

To: Char
              Come on, I’m serious!

Her response this time around was almost instant.

To: Me
Bored, not even slightly.  Annoyed, occasionally.  Never bored.  But you have to work to keep it exciting, Jacinta.  Go buy a copy of the Kama Sutra and try out the ones that don’t look like they cause injury.  Surprise him with sudden gifts.  That kind of thing.  A relationship takes work in a lot of ways, this is one of them.

I glanced up at the surprise breakfast in bed that I’d just received.  Relationships take work, like sudden surprise breakfasts in bed and the like.  That actually made sense to me.  And I was totally willing to work to keep what Patrick and I had fun and exciting for both of us.  Not because I thought I might walk away, but because I didn’t want him to.  Was that what love was?  Being more concerned about your significant other than yourself?  Not being selfish anymore because you’ve finally met someone who makes you want to be better?

I shoved a bite of egg into my mouth as I thought.

“Okay, what deep and profound thing are you and Charlotte talking about over there?”  Patrick asked, bringing me back around.  I blinked at him for a moment.

“What do you mean?  What makes you think it’s something deep and profound?” 

“Because you stared at your eggs for two minutes, took one bite and then stared off into the distance for another five minutes in complete silence.” He chuckled.  “I probably could have started waving and you wouldn’t have seen it.”

“Oh.  Sorry about that.”

“So? What was it?  Or am I not allowed to know?”

“We were just talking about how you’re worth it,” I said with a smirk.  Patrick frowned, clearly amused by that answer.

“Worth what?”

“Everything.”  I went back to eating my eggs.

A few hours later, after deciding to go out to Joey and Char’s house, Char and I stood together in the kitchen, seasoning the food to put out on the grill.  Patrick and Joey were out in the garage with Coach, looking at his car and laughing loudly over a few beers.  Well, Joey and Coach had beers, Patrick had soda.  I’d noticed that Joey always made sure that there was something there for Patrick to drink.

“Is Izzy coming to help us grill?”  I asked.

“Hey!  We can grill on our own, damn it.  Plus, she said she had other plans today,” Char said.  I put the seasoned steak onto the wooden block that she’d been using to beat the living crap out of them, otherwise known as tenderizing, and picked up an unseasoned steak.

“But she is so much better at this than we are,” I said with a laugh.  Char snorted.

“True.  Joey started the grill for us before he, Patrick and Coach went into the garage.  He said to come get him if something catches on fire.”

“Wow, he has faith in us, doesn’t he?”  I laughed.

“Notice, he took Al with him into the garage,” she said with a look.

“I thought he was just giving us some space,” I said.  Char laughed and bumped her shoulder gently against mine.

“So what was that text about this morning?” she asked gently.  I hesitated.

“You didn’t tell Joey, did you?”  I asked.  She shot me a look.

“Of course not, you know me better than that.  If you want to talk to Joey about it, to get a man’s opinion, be my guest.  But I’m not going to spill your thoughts to him,” she said.  I nodded and started seasoning again.  Talking to Joey wasn’t a bad idea, actually.

“Patrick asked me to stay out at his house this weekend.”  I said.  Char nodded.

“Mmhm.” 

“You don’t find that odd?” 

“No.  Should I?  You’ve stayed out there before, and he’s stayed at your apartment.  What’s the big deal about pre-planning to spend time together?”

“When you put it that way, nothing,” I said softly.

“The way the guys have been practicing, you kind of have to.”

“Yeah, that’s true.  I don’t know, I just thought there seemed to be something different about it.  And this morning, he made me breakfast in bed and I started to wonder if this was really something that I could live with for the rest of my life.  Like, would I get bored?  Would he get bored with me?”  I said, just letting all of those thoughts and paranoia spill out of my lips.

“You can’t tell the future, Jacinta,” she said.  “No one can answer those questions for you right now.  What you can do is do everything that you can to keep it fun and interesting.  And not you, just you.  You, meaning you and Patrick.  This is a joint effort.” 

“I guess if it’s not something that he’d be willing to work to keep varied and fresh, then I have my answer on if he’s really willing and able to be with me.”

“Exactly.  But, judging from his sudden come stay with me and surprise breakfast this morning, I don’t foresee that being a problem for you two.”  She put her hand gently on my shoulder.  I smiled and turned, hugging her.

“I am such a wuss,” I said.

“Sometimes.  But that’s okay, that’s why you have me and Izzy.”

The steaks, baked potatoes and steamed veggies that Char and I cooked actually turned out to be perfectly done.  Char went into the garage and brought out the guys, telling them to take a break and come eat.  But not before they washed their hands.  Alton was settled into a carrier with a bottle, and Char started making plates.  I’d ducked inside for a minute, and came back just as Char looked up and smiled at me.  She glanced over to where the guys stood.

“Patrick, can you come help me for a second?” she asked.  Then she inclined her head towards Coach and Joey.  Right, she was giving me a few moments to talk to two happily married men.  I took a breath, and walked over.

“Hey, can I ask you guys something?  It’s personal, so just between us, okay?”  I said.  Joey and Coach immediately became serious.

“Sure,” Coach said.

“Anything,” Joey said.  They waited.

“I didn’t think this would be so nerve wracking,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“You can talk to us about anything, you know that,” Joey said with a warm smile.  He was right, I did know that.

“You guys are both happily married.  I need to know… how you do it?  Don’t you get bored? Or, tired of each other or something?”  I asked.  The men shared a look, but it was Coach that spoke first.

“We annoy each other, yeah.  We argue, or disagree.  Sometimes, we need some time away from each other.  That’s one way that my profession comes in handy, honestly.  There’s a pretty good chance that if I am getting on her nerves, I’m going to be out of town for a few days sometime soon, and we get to miss each other again.”

“Arguments aren’t bad, Jacinta.  It simply means that you both have your own opinions.  Would you want someone who was exactly like you?  Thought like you and everything?”  Joey asked.

“Not at all,” I said immediately.  That would definitely be boring.

“The trick is in how you deal with your disagreements,” Joey said.

“Compromise?”  I asked.  Both men nodded.

“My wife and I set ground rules for who owns what, as far as decisions,” Coach said.  “For example, she’s great at decorating, so she makes all the final decisions on furniture for the house.  I know more about cars, so I make final decisions on that.”  

I frowned.  “So you picked her car?”

“I could have just picked something and she would have accepted it, because we agreed,” Coach said.  “But, I asked her what she wanted in a car, like size, color, features, coupe or four door, van or SUV… things like that.  Then, I took what she wanted and I picked what I believed to be the best option that fit as many of her desires as possible.  She knew what I wanted in my den, what I needed to be comfortable in there because she asked me.  Meaning, I said I’d love to have a small bar in there, so she searched until she found one that matched the rest of the room and wasn’t overpriced.”

“Oh.  I get it.”  It meant that you were concerned about someone other than just you.  That didn’t seem difficult; I cared about Patrick so of course I’d want to make him happy.

“As far as not getting bored, we vary things up,” Coach said.

“It can be little things,” Joey added.  “I usually get Char flowers on Fridays when I’m home, because it makes the den look and smell nice all weekend, which is normally the time that we’re here all day.  Yesterday, I brought her home a book that she just hadn’t had the chance to go get but wanted, some gourmet hot chocolate and a pair of earrings that I thought she’d look great in.  Then, Al and I went on a play date with Speedy’s daughter and gave her a few hours alone to enjoy them.” 

“Oh, that’s good,” Coach said.  Joey winked.

“I know.  But I can’t take all the credit.  My Dad actually suggested changing it up a bit when I talked to him earlier in the week.”